Gre 500 Words Set 6

Front 1

Spartan

When he was training, the athlete preferred to live in a Spartan room, so he could shut out all distractions.

Back 1

highly self-disciplined, frugal, austere

Hint 1

restrained, simple

Front 2

discern

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

Back 2

to perceive or recognize

Hint 2

catch, descry, detect, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, espy, glimpse, know, separate, spot, spy, tell

Front 3

repast

Ravi prepared a delicious repast of chicken tikka and naan.

Back 3

meal or mealtime

Hint 3

banquet, feast

Front 4

bilk

When the greedy salesman realized that his customer spoke poor French, he bilked the tourist out of 20 euros.

Back 4

to cheat, defraud

Hint 4

beat, defraud, diddle, gyp, overreach

Front 5

abscond

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

Back 5

to leave secretly

Hint 5

decamp, escape, flee

Front 6

specious

The student's specious excuse for being late sounded legitimate, but was proved otherwise when his teacher called his home.

Back 6

deceptively attractive, seemingly plausible but fallacious

Hint 6

illusory, ostensible, plausible, sophistic, spurious

Front 7

guile

Since he was not fast enough to catch the roadrunner on foot, the coyote resorted to guile in an effort to trap his enemy.

Back 7

deceit, trickery

Hint 7

artifice, chicanery, connivery, duplicity

Front 8

supplant

The overthrow of the government meant a new leader to supplant the tyrannical former one.

Back 8

to replace (another) by force, to take the place of

Hint 8

displace, supersede

Front 9

frugality

Scrooge McDuck's frugality was so great that he accumulated enough wealth to fill a giant storehouse with money.

Back 9

tending to be thrifty or cheap

Hint 9

economical, parsimony, prudence, sparing

Front 10

iconoclast

His lack of regard for traditional beliefs soon established him as an iconoclast.

Back 10

one who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions

Hint 10

maverick, nonconformist, rebel revolutionary

Front 11

pedant

The graduate instructor's tedious and excessive commentary on the subject soon gained her a reputation as a pedant.

Back 11

someone who shows off learning

Hint 11

doctrinaire, nit-picker, pedagogue, scholar, schoolmaster, sophist

Front 12

panache

Leah has such penache when planning parties, even when they're last minute affairs.

Back 12

flamboyance or dash in style and action, verve

Hint 12

flair

Front 13

contrite

After three residents were mugged in the lobby while the watchman was away from his post, he felt very contrite.

Back 13

deeply sorrowful and repentant for a wrong

Hint 13

apologetic, regretful, remorseful

Front 14

efficacy

The efficacy of penicillin was unsurpassed when it was first introduced, completely eliminating almost all bacterial infections.

Back 14

effectiveness

Hint 14

dynamism, effectiveness, efficiency, force, power, productiveness, proficiency, strength, vigor

Front 15

ambiguous

The directions he gave were so ambiguous that we disagreed on which way to turn.

Back 15

doubtful or uncertain, can be interpreted several ways

Hint 15

cloudy, doubtful, dubious, equivocal, indeterminate, nebulous, obscure, unclear, vague

Front 16

gregarious

She was so gregarious that when she found herself alone she felt quite sad.

Back 16

outgoing, sociable

Hint 16

affable, communicative, congenial, sociable

Front 17

dyspeptic

The dyspeptic young man cast a gloom over the party the minute he walked in.

Back 17

suffering from indigestion, gloomy and irritable

Hint 17

acerbic, melancholy, morose, solemn, sour

Front 18

emulate

The graduate student sought to emulate his professor in every way, copying not only how she taught but also how she conducted herself outside the class.

Back 18

to copy, to try to equal or excel

Hint 18

ape, imitate, simulate

Front 19

amulet

Though she claimed it was not because of superstition, Vivian always wore an amulet around her neck.

Back 19

ornament worn as a charm against evil spirits

Hint 19

fetish, talisman

Front 20

stentorian

Cullen couldn't hear her speaking over the stentorian of the game on TV.

Back 20

extremely loud

Hint 20

clamorous, noisy

Front 21

posit

Before proving the math formula, we needed to posit that x and y were real numbers.

Back 21

to assume as real or conceded, propose as an explanation

Hint 21

suggest

Front 22

edify

The guru was paid to edify the actress in the ways of Buddhism.

Back 22

to instruct morally and spiritually

Hint 22

educate, enlighten, guide, teach

Front 23

ebullient

The ebullient child exhausted the baby-sitter, who lacked the energy to keep up with her.

Back 23

exhilarated, full of enthusiasm and high spirits

Hint 23

ardent, avid, bubbly, zestful

Front 24

eulogy

His best friend gave the eulogy, outlining his many achievements and talents.

Back 24

speech in praise of someone

Hint 24

commend, extol, laud

Front 25

garner

The director managed to garner financial backing from several different sources for his next project.

Back 25

to gather and store

Hint 25

amass, acquire, glean, harvest, reap

Front 26

prudence

The college student exhibited prudence by obtaining practical experience along with her studies, which greatly strengthened her resume.

Back 26

wisdom, caution, or restraint

Hint 26

astuteness, circumspection, discretion, frugality, judiciousness, providence, thrift

Front 27

laud

Parades and fireworks were staged to laud the success of the rebels.

Back 27

to give praise, to glorify

Hint 27

acclaim, applaud, commend, compliment, exalt, extol hail, praise

Front 28

oblique

Usually open and friendly, Reynaldo has been behaving in a curiously oblique manner lately.

Back 28

indirect or evasive, misleading or devious

Hint 28

glancing, slanted, tangential

Front 29

jettison

The sinking ship jettisoned its cargo in a desperate attempt to reduce its weight.

Back 29

to discard, to get rid of as unnecessary or encumbering

Hint 29

dumpt, eject

Front 30

mollify

The argument was so intense that is was difficult to believe any compromise would mollify them.

Back 30

to calm or make less severe

Hint 30

appease, assuage, conciliate, pacify

Front 31

kinetic

The kinetic sculpture moved back and forth, startling the museum visitors.

Back 31

relating to motion, characterized by movement

Hint 31

active, dynamic, mobile

Front 32

castigate

Martina castigated her boyfriend for not remembering her birthday.

Back 32

to punish or criticize harshly

Hint 32

admonish, chastise, chide, rebuke, reprimand, reproach, reprove, scold, tax, upbraid

Front 33

propriety

The aristocracy maintained a high level of propriety, adhering to even the most minor social rules.

Back 33

the quality of behaving in a proper manner obeying rules and customs

Hint 33

appropriateness, decency, decorum, modesty

Front 34

nettle

I don't particularly like having blue hair, I just do it to nettle my parents.

Back 34

to irritate

Hint 34

annoy, vex

Front 35

sobriquet

One of Ronald Reagan's sobriquets was "The Glipper".

Back 35

nickname

Hint 35

alias, pseudonym

Front 36

propitiate

Because their gods were angry and vengeful, the Vikings propitiated them with many sacrifices.

Back 36

to concilitate, to appease

Hint 36

appease, concilitate, mollify, pacify, placate

Front 37

desiccate

After a few weeks lying on the desert's baking sands, the cow's carcass became completely desiccated.

Back 37

to dry out thoroughly

Hint 37

dehydrate, dry, parch

Front 38

adulterate

The restauranteur made his ketchup last longer by adulterating it with water.

Back 38

to make impure

Hint 38

debase, doctor, load

Front 39

erratic

The plot seemed predictable until it suddenly took a series of erratic turns that suprised the audience.

Back 39

wandering and unpredictable

Hint 39

capricious, inconstant, irresolute, whimsical

Front 40

intractable

Intractable for hours, the wild horse eventually allowed the rider to mount.

Back 40

not easily managed or manipulated

Hint 40

stubborn, unruly

Front 41

cartography

Gail's interest in cartography may stem from the extensive traveling she did as a child.

Back 41

science or art of making maps

Hint 41

charting, surveying, topography

Front 42

yoke

As soon as the farmer had yoked his oxen together, he began to plow the fields.

Back 42

to join together

Hint 42

bind, harness, pair

Front 43

multifarious

Ken opened the hotel room window, letting in the multifarious noises of the great city.

Back 43

diverse

Hint 43

assorted, indiscriminate, heterogeneous, legion, motley, multifold, multiform, multiplex, polulous, varied

Front 44

fecund

The fecund couple yielded a total of 20 children.

Back 44

fertile, fruitful, productive

Hint 44

flourishing, prolific

Front 45

noisome

A dead mouse trapped in your walls produces a noisome odor.

Back 45

stinking, putrid

Hint 45

disgusting, foul, malodorous

Front 46

inundate

The tital wave inundated Atlantis, which was lost beneath the water.

Back 46

to overwhelm, to cover with water

Hint 46

deluge, drown, engulf, flood, submerge

Front 47

grovel

Thor groveled to his ex-girlfriend, hoping that she would take him back.

Back 47

to humble oneself in a demeaning way

Hint 47

bootlick, cringe, fawn, kowtow, toady

Front 48

kindle

With only damp wood to work with, Tilda had great difficulty trying to kindle the camp fire.

Back 48

to set fire to or ignite, excite or inspire

Hint 48

arouse, awaken, light, spark

Front 49

catholic

Hot tea with honey is a catholic remedy for a sore throat.

Back 49

universal, broad and comprehensive

Hint 49

extensive, general

Front 50

solecism

"I ain't going with you," she said, obviously unaware of her solecism.

Back 50

grammatical mistake, blunder in speech

Hint 50

blooper, faux, pas, vulgarism