Gre 500 Words Set 3

Front 1

collusion

It came to light that the police chief and the mafia had a collusion in running the numbers racket.

Back 1

collaboration, complicity, conspiracy

Hint 1

connivance, intrigue, machination

Front 2

ribald

The court jester's ribald brand of humor delighted the rather uncouth king.

Back 2

humorous in a vulgar way

Hint 2

coarse, gross, indelicate, lewd, obscene

Front 3

sacrosanct

Many people considered Mother Teresa to be sacrosanct and would not tolerate any criticism of her.

Back 3

extremely sacred, beyond criticism

Hint 3

holy inviolable, off-limits

Front 4

sycophant

Dreading criticism, the actor surrounded himself with admirers and sycophants.

Back 4

a self-serving flatterer, yes-man

Hint 4

bootlicker, fawner, lickspittle, toady

Front 5

repose

After working hard every day in the busy city, Mike finds his repose on weekends playing golf with friends.

Back 5

relaxation, leisure

Hint 5

calmness, tranquility

Front 6

placate

The burglar tried to placate the snarling dog by referring to it as a "nice doggy" and offering it a treat.

Back 6

to soothe or pacify

Hint 6

appease, conciliate, mollify

Front 7

audacious

The audacious peasant dared to insult the king's mother.

Back 7

fearless and daring

Hint 7

adventuresome, aggressive, assertive, bold, brave, courageous, daring, dauntless, doughty, fearless, gallant, game, heroic, intrepid, mettlesome, plucky, stout, stouthearted, unafraid, undaunted, valiant, valorous, venturesome, venturous

Front 8

rejoinder

Patrick tried desperately to think of a clever rejoinder to Marianna's joke, but he couldn't.

Back 8

response

Hint 8

retort, riposte

Front 9

laconic

He was the classic laconic of Maine, he talked as if he were being charged for each word.

Back 9

using a few words

Hint 9

concise, curt, pithy, taciturn, terse

Front 10

equivocate

When faced with criticism of his policies, the politician equivocated and left all parties thinking he agreed with them.

Back 10

to use expression of double meaning in order to mislead

Hint 10

ambiguous, evasive, waffling

Front 11

condone

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

Back 11

to overlook, pardon, or disregard

Hint 11

exculpate, excuse, pardon, remit

Front 12

disparate

Although the twins are physically identical, their personalities are disparate.

Back 12

fundamentally different, entirely unlike

Hint 12

different, dissimilar, divergent, diverse, variant, various

Front 13

obstinate

The obstinate child could not be made to eat any food that he perceived to be "yucky".

Back 13

stubborn, unyielding

Hint 13

intransigent, mulish, persistent, pertinacious, stubborn, tenacious

Front 14

redress

Seeking redress from the injuries she had received in the accident, Doreen sued the driver of the truck that had hit her.

Back 14

relief from wrong or injury

Hint 14

amends indemnity, quittance, reparation, restitution

Front 15

salient

His most salient characteristic is his tendency to dominate every conversation.

Back 15

prominent, a notable significance

Hint 15

marked, noticable, outstanding

Front 16

pejorative

The teacher scolded Mark for his unduly pejoratie comments about his classmate's presentation.

Back 16

having bad connotations, disparaging

Hint 16

belittling, dismissive, insulting

Front 17

expurgate

Government propagandists expurgated all negative references to the dictator from the film.

Back 17

to censor

Hint 17

bowdlerize, cut, sanitize

Front 18

exponent

The vice president was an enthusiastic exponent of computer technology.

Back 18

one who champions or advocates

Hint 18

representative, supporter

Front 19

symbiosis

The rhino and the tick-eating bird live in symbiosis, the rhino gives the bird food in the form of ticks, and the bird rids the rhino of parasites.

Back 19

cooperation, mutual helpfulness

Hint 19

association, interdependence

Front 20

frenetic

The employee's frenetic schedule left her little time to socialize.

Back 20

frantic, frenzied

Hint 20

corybantic, delirious, feverish, mad, rabid, wild

Front 21

dilate

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

Back 21

to make larger, expand

Hint 21

amplify, develop, elaborate, enlarge, expand, expatiate

Front 22

doctrinaire

The professor's manner of teaching was considered doctrinaire for such a liberal school.

Back 22

rigidly devoted to theories without regard for practicality, dogmatic

Hint 22

dictatorial inflexible

Front 23

gradation

The paint store offers so many different gradations of red that it's impossible to choose among them.

Back 23

process occurring by regular degrees of stages, variation in color

Hint 23

nuance, shade, step, subtlety

Front 24

exigent

The patient was losing blood so rapidly that it was exigent to stop the source of the bleeding.

Back 24

urgent, requiring immediate action

Hint 24

critical, imperative, needed, urgent

Front 25

boor

"That utter boor ruined my recital with his constant guffawing!" wailed the pianist.

Back 25

crude person, one lacking manners or taste

Hint 25

clod, lout, oaf, vulgarian, yahoo

Front 26

toady

The king was surrounded by toadies who rushed to agree with whatever outrageous thing he said.

Back 26

one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors

Hint 26

parasite, sycophant

Front 27

vicissitude

Investors must be prepared for vicissitudes of the stock market.

Back 27

a change or variation, ups and downs

Hint 27

inconstancy, mutability

Front 28

tawdry

The performer changed into her tawdry, spangled costume and stepped out onto the stage to do her show.

Back 28

gaudy, cheap, or showy

Hint 28

flashy, loud, meretricious

Front 29

lugubrious

Irish wakes are an arousing departure from the lugubrious funeral services to which most people are accustomed.

Back 29

sorrowful, mournful, dismal

Hint 29

funereal, gloomy, melancholy, somber, woeful

Front 30

curmudgeon

Ernesto was a notorious curmudgeon who snapped at anyone who disturbed him for any reason.

Back 30

cranky person, usually old

Hint 30

crab, coot, grouch

Front 31

neophyte

A relative neophyte at bowling, Rodolfo rolled all of his balls into the gutter.

Back 31

novice, beginner

Hint 31

apprentice, greenhorn, tyro

Front 32

vim

The vim with which she worked so early in the day explained why she was so productive.

Back 32

vitality and energy

Hint 32

force, power

Front 33

dirge

Melville wrote the poem "A Dirge for James McPherson" for the funeral of a Union general who was killed in 1864.

Back 33

a funeral hymn or mournful speech

Hint 33

elegy, lament

Front 34

axiom

Halle lived her life based on the axioms her grandmother had passed on to her.

Back 34

premise, postulate, self-evident truth

Hint 34

adage, apothegm, aphorism, maxim, rule

Front 35

crescendo

The crescendo of tension became unbearable as Evel Knievel prepared to jump his motorcycle over the school bus.

Back 35

steadily increasing in volume or force

Hint 35

acme, capstone, climax, crest, culmen, culmination, meridian, peak

Front 36

vex

The old man who loved his peace and quiet was vexed by his neighbor's loud music.

Back 36

to annoy, irritate, puzzle, confuse

Hint 36

annoy, bother, chafe, exasperate, irk, nettle, peeve, provoke

Front 37

terrestrial

Many "extraterrestrial" objects turn out to be terrestrial in origin, as when flying saucers turn out to be normal airplanes.

Back 37

earthly, down to earth, commonplace

Hint 37

earthbound, mundane, sublunary, tellurian, terrene

Front 38

neologism

Aunt Mabel simply does not understand today's youth, she is perplexed by their clothing, music and, neoglisms.

Back 38

new word or expression

Hint 38

slang, slip-of-the-tongue

Front 39

paragon

He is the paragon of what a judge should be, honest, intelligent, hardworking, and just.

Back 39

model of excellence or perfection

Hint 39

apotheosis, ideal, quintessence, standard

Front 40

monastic

The philosopher retired to his monastic lodgings to contemplate life free from any worldly distraction.

Back 40

extremely plain or secluded, as in a monastary

Hint 40

austere, contemplative, disciplined, regimented, self-abnegating

Front 41

lumber

The bear lumbered towards the garbage drooling at the prospect of the Big Mac leftovers he smelled.

Back 41

to move slowly and awkwardly

Hint 41

galumph, hulk, lurch, stumble

Front 42

viscous

Most viscous liquids, like oil or honey, become even thicker as they are cooled down.

Back 42

thick and adhesive, like a slow-flowing fluid

Hint 42

gelatinous, glutinous, thick

Front 43

wanton

The townspeople were outraged by the wanton display of disrespect when they discovered the statue of the town founder covered in graffiti.

Back 43

undisciplined, unrestrained, reckless

Hint 43

capricious, lewd, licentious

Front 44

politic

She was wise to curb her tongue and was able to explain her problem to the judge in a respectful and politic manner.

Back 44

shrewd and practical in managing and dealing with things, diplomatic

Hint 44

tactful

Front 45

venerate

In a traditional Confucian society, the young venerate their elders, deferring to the elders' wisdom and experience.

Back 45

to respect deeply

Hint 45

adore, honor, idolize, revere

Front 46

libertine

The libertine took pleasure in gambling away his family's money.

Back 46

a free thinker, usually used disparagingly, one without moral restraint

Hint 46

hedonist

Front 47

philistine

The philistine never even glanced at the rare violin in his collection but instead kept an eye on its value and sold it at a profit.

Back 47

a person who is guided by materialism and is disdainful of intellectual or artistic values

Hint 47

boor, bourgeois, capitalist, clown, lout, materialist, vulgarian

Front 48

mores

In keeping with the mores of ancient Roman society, Nero held a celebration every weekend.

Back 48

fixed customs or manners, moral attitudes

Hint 48

conventions, practices

Front 49

overwrought

The lawyer's overwrought voice on the phone made her clients worry about the outcome of their case.

Back 49

agitated, overdone

Hint 49

elaborate, excited, nervous, ornate

Front 50

venerable

All of the villagers sought the venerable old woman's advice whenver they had a problem.

Back 50

respected because of age

Hint 50

distinguished, elderly, respectable