Gre 500 Words Set 5

Front 1

inimical

Even though a cease-fire had been in place for months, the two sides were still inimical to each other.

Back 1

hostile, unfriendly

Hint 1

adverse, antagonistic, dissident, recalcitrant

Front 2

vacillate

The customer held up the line as he vacillated between ordering chocolate-chip or rocky-road ice cream

Back 2

to physically sway or be indecisive

Hint 2

dither, falter, fluctuate, oscillate, waver

Front 3

cosset

Marta just loves to cosset her first and only grandchild.

Back 3

to tamper, treat with great care

Hint 3

cater to, cuddle, dandle, fondle, love, pamper, pet, spoil

Front 4

pathogenic

Bina's research on the origins of pathogenic microorganisms should help stop the spread of disease.

Back 4

causing disease

Hint 4

infecting, noxious

Front 5

zephyr

The zephyr from the ocean made the intense heat on the beach bearable for the sunbathers.

Back 5

a gentle breeze, something airy or unsubstantial

Hint 5

breath, draft

Front 6

deride

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

Back 6

to speak of or treat with contempt, to mock

Hint 6

gibe, jeer, mock, ridicule, scoff, sneer, taunt

Front 7

aerie

Perched high among the trees, the eagle's aerie was filled with eggs.

Back 7

a nest built high in the air, an elevated often secluded, dwelling

Hint 7

perch, stronghold

Front 8

ameliorate

The doctor was able to ameliorate the patient's suffering using pain killers.

Back 8

to make better, to improve

Hint 8

amend, better, improve, pacify, upgrade

Front 9

amortize

While college students are notorious for accumulating credit card debt, they are not as well known for amortizing it.

Back 9

to diminish by installment payments

Hint 9

conviviality

Front 10

variegated

The variegated foliage of the jungle allows it to support thousands of different animal species.

Back 10

varied, marked with different colors

Hint 10

diversified

Front 11

dissemble

The villain could dissemble to the police no longer-he admitted the deed and tore up the floor to reveal the stash of stolen money.

Back 11

to present a false appearance, to disguise one's real intentions or character

Hint 11

act, affect, assume, camouflage, cloak, counterfeit, cover up, disguise, dissimulate, fake, feign, mask, masquerade, pose, pretend, put on, sham

Front 12

sublime

The music was so sublime that it transformed the rude surroundings into a special place.

Back 12

lofty or grand

Hint 12

august, exalted, glorious, grand, magnificent, majestic, noble, resplendent, superb

Front 13

impercation

Spouting violent imprecations, Hank searched for the person who had vandalized his truck.

Back 13

a curse

Hint 13

damnation

Front 14

coterie

Angel invited a coterie of fellow stamp enthusiasts to a stamp-trading party.

Back 14

an intimate group of persons with a similar purpose

Hint 14

clique, set

Front 15

husband

The cyclist paced herself at the start of the race, knowing that if she husbanded her resources she'd have the strength to break out of the pack later on.

Back 15

to manage economically, to use sparingly

Hint 15

conserve

Front 16

leery

After being swindled once, Ruth became leery of strangers trying to sell things to her.

Back 16

suspicious

Hint 16

distrustful, guarded, wary

Front 17

veracity

She had the reputation for veracity, so everyone trusted her description of events.

Back 17

filled with truth and accuracy

Hint 17

candor, exactitude, fidelity, probity

Front 18

bombastic

Mussolini's speeches were mostly bombastic, his boasting and outrageous claims had no basis in fact.

Back 18

pompous in speech and manner

Hint 18

bloated, declamatory, fustian, grandiloquent, grandiose, high-flown, magniloquent, orotund, pretentious, rhetorical, self-important

Front 19

phlegmatic

Although the bomb could go off at any moment, the phlegmatic demolition expert remained calm and unafraid.

Back 19

calm and unemotional in temperament

Hint 19

apathetic, calm emotionless, impassive, indifferent, passionless, unemotional

Front 20

perfidious

The actresses perfidious companion revealed all of her intimate secrets to the gossip columnist.

Back 20

willing to betray one's trust

Hint 20

disloyal, faithless, traitorous, treacherous,

Front 21

ingratiate

The new intern tried to ingratiate herself with the managers so that they might consider her for a future job.

Back 21

to gain favor with another by deliberate effort, to seek to please somebody so as to gain an advantage

Hint 21

curry, favor, flatter

Front 22

stratagem

The Tojan Horse must be one of the most successful military stratagems used througout history.

Back 22

trick designed to deceive an enemy

Hint 22

artifice, feint, maneuver, wile

Front 23

craven

The craven lion cringed in the corner of his cage, terrified of the mouse.

Back 23

lacking courage

Hint 23

fainthearted, spineless, timid

Front 24

embellish

Britt embelished her resume, hoping to make the lowly position she had held seem more important.

Back 24

to add ornamental or fictitious details

Hint 24

adorn, bedeck, elaborate, embroider, enhance, exaggerate

Front 25

peccadillo

Gabriel tends to harp on his brother's peccadilloes and never lets him live them down.

Back 25

minor sin or offense

Hint 25

failing, fault, lapse, misstep

Front 26

estimable

Most people consider it estimable that Mother Teresa spent her life helping the poor of India.

Back 26

admirable

Hint 26

admirable, commendable, creditable, honorable, laudable, meritorious, praiseworthy, respectable, venerable, worthy

Front 27

grievous

Maude and Bertha sobbed loudly throughout the grievous event.

Back 27

causing grief or sorrow, serious and distressing

Hint 27

dire, dolorous, grave, mournful

Front 28

aberrant

Since she had been a steady, chearful worker for many years, his fellow postal workers did not expect his aberrant burst of rage.

Back 28

deviating from what is normal or expected

Hint 28

abnormal, anomalous, deviant, divergent, errant, irregular

Front 29

tyro

An obvious tyro at salsa, Millicent received no invitations to dance.

Back 29

beginner, novice

Hint 29

apretice, fledgling, greenhorn, neophyte, tenderfoot

Front 30

sportive

Back 30

frolicsome, playful

Hint 30

frisby, merry

Front 31

pithy

Martha's pithy comments during the interview must have been impressive because she got the job.

Back 31

profound or substantial yet concise, succint and to the point

Hint 31

brief, compact, laconic, terse

Front 32

surly

When asked to clean the windshield, the surly gas station attendant tossed a dirty rag at the customer and walked away.

Back 32

rude and bad-tempered

Hint 32

gruff, grumpy, testy

Front 33

surfeit

Because of the surfeit of pigs, pork prices have never been lower.

Back 33

excessive amount

Hint 33

glut, plethora, repletion, superfluity, surplus

Front 34

abyss

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

Back 34

an extremely deep hole

Hint 34

chasm, void

Front 35

circumspect

She was very circumspect in her language and behavior when first introduced to her fiancee's parents.

Back 35

cautious, aware of potential consequences

Hint 35

alert, cautious, heedful, mindful, prudent, solicitous, vigilant, wary

Front 36

dupe

Bugs Bunny was able to dupe Elmer Fudd by dressing up as a lady rabbit.

Back 36

to deceive, a person who is easily deceived

Hint 36

beguile, betray, bluff, cozen, deceive, delude, fool, hoodwink, humbug, mislead, take in trick

Front 37

precipitate

Theirs was a precipitate marriage-they had only known each other for two weeks before they wed.

Back 37

to throw violently or bring about abruptly, lacking deliberation

Hint 37

abrupt, hasty, headlong, hurried, ill-considered, impetuous, impulsive, prompt, rash, reckless, sudden

Front 38

stasis

The rusty, ivy-covered World War II tank had obviously been in stasis for years.

Back 38

a state of static balance or equilibrium, stagnation

Hint 38

inertia, standstill

Front 39

furtive

Glen was furtive when he peered out of the corner of his eye at the stunningly beautiful model.

Back 39

secret, stealthy

Hint 39

clandestine, covert, shifty, surreptitious, underhand

Front 40

droll

Although the play couldn't be described as hilarious, it was certainly droll.

Back 40

amusing in wry, subtle way

Hint 40

comic, entertaining, funny, risible, witty

Front 41

cloying

When Enid and Jay first started dating, their cloying affection towards one another often made their friends ill.

Back 41

sickly sweet, excessive

Hint 41

excessive, fulsome

Front 42

occlude

A shadow is thrown across the Earth's surface during a solar eclipse, when the light from the sun is occluded by the moon.

Back 42

to stop up, prevent the passage of

Hint 42

barricade, block, close, obstruct

Front 43

blight

The farmers feared that the night's frost would blight the potato crops entirely.

Back 43

to afflict, destroy

Hint 43

damage, plague

Front 44

ethos

It is the Boy Scouts' ethos that one should always be prepared.

Back 44

beliefs or character of a group

Hint 44

culture, ethic, philosophy

Front 45

enervate

The guerillas hoped that a series of suprise attacks would enervate the regular army.

Back 45

to reduce in strength

Hint 45

debilitate, enfeeble, sap, weaken

Front 46

dilettante

Jerry's friends were such dillettantes they seemed to have new jobs and hobbies every week.

Back 46

someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic

Hint 46

amateur, dabbler, superficial, tyro

Front 47

eloquent

The Gettysburg Address is moving not only because of its lofty sentiments but because of its eloquent words.

Back 47

persuasive and moving, especially in speech

Hint 47

articulate, expressive, fluent, meaningful, significant, smooth-spoken

Front 48

burgeon

Faulkner neither confirmed nor denied stories about himself, allowing rumor to burgeon where it would.

Back 48

to grow and flourish

Hint 48

bloom, flourish, prosper, thrive

Front 49

blithe

Summer finally came, and the blithe students spent their days at the beach.

Back 49

joyful, cheerful, or without appropriate thought

Hint 49

carefree, lighthearted, merry

Front 50

potentate

Alex was much kinder before he assumed the role of potentate.

Back 50

a monarch or ruler with great power

Hint 50

dominator, leader