Gre

Front 1

Abate

Back 1

to reduce in amound, degree, or severity

As the hurricane's force ABATED, the winds dropped and the sea became calm

Front 2

Abscond

Back 2

to leave secretly

The patron ABSCONDED from the restaurant without paying his bill by sneaking out the back door.

Front 3

Abstain

Back 3

to choose not to do something

She abstained from choosing a mouthwatering dessert from the tray

Front 4

Abyss

Back 4

an extremeley deep hole

The submarine dove into the abyss to chart the previously unseen depths

Front 5

Adulterate

Back 5

to make unpure

The chef made his ketchup last londer by adulterating it with water

Front 6

Advocate

Back 6

to speak in favor of

the vegetatrian advocated a diet containing no meat

Front 7

Aesthetic

Back 7

concerning the appreciation of beauty

followers of the aesthetic movement regarded the pursuit as the only true purpose of art

Front 8

Aggrandize

Back 8

to increase in power, influence, and reputation

the supervisor sought to aggrandize herself by claiming that the achievments of her staff were actually her own

Front 9

Alleviate

Back 9

to make more bearable

taking aspirin helps to alleviate a headache

Front 10

Amalgamate

Back 10

to combine, mix together

giant industries amalgamated with meg products to form giant-mega products inc.

Front 11

Ambiguous

Back 11

doubtful or uncertain; able to be interpreted several ways.
the directions she gave were so ambiguous that we disagreed on which way to turn

Front 12

Ameliorate

Back 12

to make better, to improve

the doctor was able to ameliorate the patients suffering by using painkillers

Front 13

anachorism

Back 13

soemthing out fo place in time

the aged hippe used anachronistic phrases live groovy and far out that had not been popular for years.

Front 14

Analogous

Back 14

similar or alike in soem way, equivalent to

In the Newtonian construct for explaining the existence of God, the universe is Analogous to a mechanical timepiece, the creation of the divinely intelligent "clockmaker."

Front 15

Anomaly

Back 15

deviation from what is normal

Albino animals may display too great an anomaly i ntheir coloring to attract normally colored mates.

Front 16

Antagonize

Back 16

to annoy or provoke to anger

The child discovered that he could antagonize the cat by pulling its tail

Front 17

Antipathy

Back 17

extreme dislike

The antipathy between the french and the english regulary erupted into open warfare

Front 18

Apathy

Back 18

lack of interest or emotion

the apathy of voters is so great that less than half the people who are eligible to vote actually bother to do so.

Front 19

Arbitrate

Back 19

to judge a dispute between two opposing parties.

Since the couple could not come to agreement, a judge was forcd to arbitrate their divorce proceedings.

Front 20

Archaic

Back 20

ancient, old fashioned

her archaic commodore computer could not run the latest software

Front 21

Ardor

Back 21

intense and parrionate feeling

Bishop's Ardor for the landscape was exident when he passionately described the beauty of the scenic Hudson Valley

Front 22

Articulate

Back 22

able to speak cleary and expressivley

she is such an articulate defender of labor that unions areamong her strongest supporters.

Front 23

Assuge

Back 23

to make something unpleaseant less severe

Serena used aspirin to assuage her pounding headache

Front 24

Attenuate

Back 24

to reduce in force or degree; to weaken

the bill of rights attenuated the traditional power of governments to change laws at will.

Front 25

Audacious

Back 25

fearless and daring

her audacious nature allowed her to fulfill her dream of skydiving.

Front 26

Austere

Back 26

severe or stern in appearance; undecorated

the lack of decoration makes millitary barracks seem austere to the civillian eye

Front 27

Banal

Back 27

Predictable, cliched boring

he used banal phrases like have a nice day,or another day, another dollar.

Front 28

Bolster

Back 28

to support; to prop up

the presence of giant footsteps bolstered the argument that sasquatch was in the area.

Front 29

Bombastic

Back 29

pompous in speech and manner

the ranting of the radio talk-show host was mostly bombastic; his boasting and outragous claims had no basis in fact.

Front 30

Cacophony

Back 30

harsh, jarring noise

the junior high orchestra created an almost unbearable cacophony as they tried to tune their instruments

Front 31

Candid

Back 31

impartial and honest in speech

the observations of a child can be charming since they are candid and unpretentious

Front 32

Capricious

Back 32

changing one's mind quickly and often

Queen Elizabeth I was quite capricous; hercourtiers could never be sure which of their number woul catch her fancy

Front 33

Castigate

Back 33

to punish or critize harshly

many americans are amazed at how harsly the authorities in SInagapore Castigate perpertrators of what would be considered minor crimes in the United States

Front 34

Catalyst

Back 34

something that brings about a change in something else

the impostion of the harsh taxes was the catalyst that finally brought on the revolution

Front 35

Caustic

Back 35

biting in wit

Dorothy Oarjer gained her reputation for Caustic wit from her cuttin , yet clever, insults

Front 36

Chaos

Back 36

great disorder or confusion

in many religious traditions, God created an ordered universe from chaos.

Front 37

Chauvinist

Back 37

Someone predudiced in favor of a group in which he or she belongs

the attitude that men are inherently superior to women and therefore must be obeyed is common amoung male chauvinists.

Front 38

Chicanery

Back 38

deception by means of craft or guile

Dishonest used car sales people often use chicanery to sell their beat-up old cars

Front 39

Cogent

Back 39

convincing and well reasoned

Swayed by cogent argumen argument of the defensem the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendent

Front 40

Condone

Back 40

to overlook, pardon, or disregard

Some theorists believe that failing to prosecute minor crimes is the same as condoning an air of lawlessness

Front 41

Convoluted

Back 41

intricate and complicated

Although many people bought a brief history of time, few could follow the convoluted ideas and theories.

Front 42

Corroborate

Back 42

to provide supporting evidence

fingerprints corroborated the witness's testimony that he saw the defendent in the victim's apartment.

Front 43

Credulous

Back 43

too trusting; gullible

although some four-yera-olds believe in the easter bunny, only the most credulous nin-year olds also believe in him

Front 44

Crescendo

Back 44

Steadily increasing volume or force

The crescendo of tension became unbearable as Evel Knievel prepared to jump his motocycle over the school buses

Front 45

Decorum

Back 45

appropriateness or behavior or conduct; propriety

The countess compleained tha tthe vulgar peasents lacked the decorum appropriate for a visit to the palace.

Front 46

Deference

Back 46

respect, courtesy

the respectful young law clerk treated the Supreme Court justice with the utmost deference

Front 47

Deride

Back 47

to speak or treat with contempt; to mock

The awkward child was often derided by his "cooler" peers.

Front 48

Desiccate

Back 48

to dry out thorougly

after a few weeks of lying in the desert's backing sands, the cow'd carcass became completely desiccated.

Front 49

Desultory

Back 49

jumping form one thing to another; disconnected

Diane had a desultory academic record; she had chaged majors 12 times in 3 years.

Front 50

Diatribe

Back 50

an abusie, condemnatory speech

the trucker bellowed a diatribe at the driver who had cut him off

Front 51

Diffident

Back 51

lacking self-confidence

steve's diffident manner during the job interview stemmed from his nervous nature and lack of experience in the field.

Front 52

Dilate

Back 52

to make larger to expand

When you enter a darkened room, the pupils of your eyes dilate to let in more light.

Front 53

Dilatory

Back 53

intended to delay

The congressman used dilatory measures to delay the passage of the bill

Front 54

Dilettante

Back 54

someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic

Joey's friends were such dilentantes that they seemed to have new jobs and hobbies every week

Front 55

Dirge

Back 55

a funeral hymn or mournful speech

Melville wrote tha tpoem "a dirge for james mcpherson" for the funeral of a Union general who was killed in 1864

Front 56

Disabuse

Back 56

to set right; to free from error

Galileo's observations disabused scholars of the notion that the sun revolvesd around the earth

Front 57

Discern

Back 57

to perceive; to recognize

It is easy to discern the difference between butter and butter-flavored topping

Front 58

Disperate

Back 58

Fundamentally different; entirely unlike

Although the twins appear to be identical physicallym their personalities are disparate

Front 59

Dissemble

Back 59

to present a false appearance; to disquse one''s real intentions or character

the villain could dissemble to the police no longer --he admitted the deed and rore up the floor to reveal the body of the old man

Front 60

Dissonance

Back 60

a harsh and disagreeable combination, often in sounds

Cognitive Dissonance is the inner conflict produced when long-standing belifs are contradicted by new evidence

Front 61

Dogma

Back 61

a firmly held opinion, often a religious belief

Linus' central Dogma was the children who belived in the Great Pumpkin would be rewarded

Front 62

Dogmatic

Back 62

dictatorial in one's opinions

the dicttator was dogmatic-- he and only he, was right

Front 63

Dupe

Back 63

to decieve a person who is easily decieved

Bugs Bunny was able to dupe elmer fudd by dressing up as a lady rabbit

Front 64

Ecletic

Back 64

Selecting from on made up from a variety of sources

Budapest's architectire is an eclectic mix of Eastern and Western Styles

Front 65

Efficacy

Back 65

effectiveness

the efficacy of penicillin was unsurpassed when it was first introduced; the drug completely eliminated almost all bacterial infections for which it was administered.