Gre Hard Words 3

Front 1

imprecation

Back 1

a curse, malediction

Front 2

cupidity

Back 2

greed, avarice

Front 3

cosset

Back 3

to treat as a pet, pamper, codle

Front 4

foment

Back 4

to instigate or foster (discord, rebellion, etc.); promote the growth or development of: to foment trouble; to foment discontent.

Front 5

quash

Back 5

to put down or suppress completely; quell; subdue: to quash a rebellion.

Front 6

inchoate

Back 6

1.not organized; lacking order: an inchoate mass of ideas on the subject.
2. not yet completed or fully developed; rudimentary.
3. just begun; incipient.

Front 7

torpor

Back 7

sluggish inactivity

Front 8

vim

Back 8

lively or energetic spirit; enthusiasm; vitality.

Front 9

panegyric

Back 9

a lofty oration or writing in praise of a person or thing; eulogy.

Front 10

exigent

Back 10

Demanding immediate attention or aid. Pressing, crucial. Example: Legislative sessions are long, constituents' demands are exigent, policy problems are increasingly complicated.

Front 11

inundate

Back 11

to overwhelm.
example: inundated with letters of protest

Front 12

inure

Back 12

To make accustomed or used to something painful, difficult, or inconvenient; to harden; to habituate; as, "inured to drudgery and distress

Front 13

rejoinder

Back 13

a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one); "it brought a sharp rejoinder from the teacher" a riposte

Front 14

scintilla

Back 14

a minute particle; spark; trace: not a scintilla of remorse.

Front 15

maudlin

Back 15

tearfully or weakly emotional; foolishly sentimental: a maudlin story of a little orphan and her lost dog

Front 16

husband

Back 16

to use frugally; conserve: to husband one's resources.

Front 17

diaphanous

Back 17

1.very sheer and light; almost completely transparent or translucent.
2.delicately hazy.

Front 18

burnish

Back 18

To make smooth or glossy by or as if by rubbing; polish.
To rub with a tool that serves especially to smooth or polish.

Front 19

Hoary

Back 19

ancient or venerable

Front 20

Tangential

Back 20

1. merely touching; slightly connected: tangential information.
2.divergent or digressive, as from a subject under consideration: tangential remarks.

Front 21

Unconscionable

Back 21

1. not guided by conscience; unscrupulous.
2. not in accordance with what is just or reasonable: unconscionable behavior.
3.excessive; extortionate: an unconscionable profit.

Front 22

intrepid

Back 22

resolutely fearless; dauntless: an intrepid explorer.

Front 23

Stolid

Back 23

unemotional, impassionate

Front 24

Wily

Back 24

crafty, cunning

Front 25

Lionize

Back 25

to treat with importance, to give great social importance to

Front 26

Invective

Back 26

1. An abusive expression or speech; a vehement verbal attack._
2. Insulting or abusive language
Example: They all seemed to be in their usual mood of precarious good humour which could splinter at any moment into invective and menacing gesture.

Front 27

Heedless

Back 27

careless; thoughtless; unmindful: Heedless of the danger, he returned to the burning building to save his dog.

Front 28

Sentient

Back 28

1. Capable of perceiving by the senses; conscious._
2. Experiencing sensation or feeling.
I can remember very vividly the first time I became aware of my existence; how for the first time I realised that I was a sentient human being in a perceptible world._-- Lord Berners, First Childhood

Front 29

Verve

Back 29

1. enthusiasm or vigor, as in literary or artistic work; spirit: Her latest novel lacks verve.
2.vivaciousness; liveliness; animation: I like a teacher with plenty of verve.

Front 30

Vindicate

Back 30

1. show to be right by providing justification or proof; "vindicate a claim" [syn: justify]
2. maintain, uphold, or defend; "vindicate the rights of the citizens"
3. \clear of accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt with supporting proof; "You must vindicate yourself and fight this libel"

Front 31

Torque

Back 31

a turning or twisting force

Front 32

Shard

Back 32

a broken piece of pottery. a broken piece of artifact

Front 33

cynicism

Back 33

a cynical character or belief....

Front 34

Neologism

Back 34

1. a new word, meaning, usage, or phrase.
2. the introduction or use of new words or new senses of existing words.
3.a new doctrine, esp. a new interpretation of sacred writings

Front 35

Urbane

Back 35

having the polish and suavity regarded as characteristic of sophisticated social life in major cities: an urbane manner.

Front 36

Extemporaneous

Back 36

extemporaneous \ek-stem-puh-RAY-nee-us\, adjective:_1. Composed, performed, or uttered on the spur of the moment, or without previous study; unpremeditated; impromptu._2. Prepared beforehand but delivered without notes or text._3. Skilled at or given to extemporaneous speech._4. Provided, made, or put to use as an expedient; makeshift.

Front 37

Aver

Back 37

aver \uh-VUR\, transitive verb:_1. To affirm with confidence; to declare in a positive manner, as in confidence of asserting the truth._2. (Law) To assert, claim, or declare as a fact.

Front 38

Abscission

Back 38

the act of cutting off and removing

Front 39

Abscond

Back 39

to depart clandestinely, to steal off and hide

Front 40

Adroit

Back 40

adept, dexterous

Front 41

Adulation

Back 41

excessive praise and adoration

Front 42

Adumbrate

Back 42

to forshadow vaguely, to intimate, to suggest or outline sketchily

Front 43

Anodyne

Back 43

soothing

Front 44

Apotheosis

Back 44

the perfect example. Glorification or deification to goldliness

Front 45

Apposite

Back 45

Being of striking appropriateness and relevance; very applicable; apt.

As we survey Jewish history as a whole from the vantage point of the late twentieth century, Judah Halevi's phrase "prisoner of hope" seems entirely apposite. The prisoner of hope is sustained and encouraged by his hope, even as he is confined by it.

Front 46

Apprise

Back 46

to give notice, inform

When Tyler, tuning in to channel seven, became apprised of this news, he raised his eyebrows and smiled.

Front 47

Approbation

Back 47

an expression of approval or praise

The speech struck a responsive chord among many and won him much approbation.

Front 48

Arabesque

Back 48

complex, ornate design

Front 49

Artless

Back 49

completely without guile, natural, without artificiality

Front 50

Astringent

Back 50

harsh, severe. Having a tightening effect on living tissue

Front 51

Attenuate

Back 51

to rarefy, weaken, or make thinner. Lessen.

Front 52

Augury

Back 52

omen, portent, the reading of omens

Front 53

August

Back 53

majestic, venerable
an august personage.
an august performance of a religious drama.

Front 54

Auspice

Back 54

protection or support, patronage. Sign or portent

Front 55

Axiom

Back 55

a universally recognized principle. A generally accepted or common saying

Front 56

Axiomatic

Back 56

taken as a given, possessing self-evident truth

Front 57

Miasma

Back 57

a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike influence or
atmosphere.

Front 58

Beatify

Back 58

to bless, make happy, or ascribe a virtue to

Front 59

Bedizen

Back 59

to adorn, esp. in a cheap, showy manner. Festoon, caparison

Front 60

Festoon

Back 60

1. a string or chain of flowers, foliage, ribbon, etc., suspended in a curve between two points.
2. a decorative representation of this, as in architectural work or on pottery

Front 61

Brandish

Back 61

to shake or wave menacingly

Front 62

Caparison

Back 62

rich and sumptuous clothing or equipment

Front 63

Dizen

Back 63

to deck with clothes or finery; bedizen.

Front 64

Accouter

Back 64

to equip or outfit, esp. with military clothes, equipment, etc.

Front 65

Belie

Back 65

to give a false impression of, to misrepresent

Front 66

Bellicose

Back 66

belligerent, pugnacious, warlike

Front 67

Bent

Back 67

leaning, inclination, proclivity, tendancy

Front 68

Blandish

Back 68

to coax with flattery, toady, or fawn

Front 69

Blithe

Back 69

carefree, merry

Front 70

Toady

Back 70

an obsequious flatterer; sycophant.

Front 71

Sycophant

Back 71

A person who seeks favor by flattering people of wealth or influence; a parasite; a toady

Front 72

Broach

Back 72

to bring up, announce, begin to talk about

Front 73

Brook

Back 73

to tolerate, endure, countenance

Front 74

Bucolic

Back 74

rustic and pastoral. Characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants

Front 75

Burgeon

Back 75

to grow rapidly or flourish

Front 76

Byzantine

Back 76

labyrinth, complex

Front 77

Cadge

Back 77

to sponge, beg, or mooch

Front 78

Inveigle

Back 78

to cajole, lull, ensnare by artful talk
inveigled a free pass to museum. To inveigle into doing something

Front 79

Calumniate

Back 79

to slander

Front 80

Canon

Back 80

an established set of principles or rules or law.

Front 81

Cardinal

Back 81

of basic importance. Primary

Front 82

Chary

Back 82

wary, cautious, sparing

Front 83

Chimera

Back 83

an illusion

Front 84

Coda

Back 84

something that concludes or completes. The concluding section of a musical or literary piece

Front 85

Color

Back 85

to influence, distort, or change as if by dying

Front 86

Commensurate

Back 86

1. Equal in measure, extent, or duration._2. Corresponding in size or degree or extent; proportionate._3. Having a common measure; commensurable; reducible to a common measure; as, commensurate quantities.
It is almost a rule: the successful American--Vanderbilt, Frick, Rockefeller, Hearst, Gates--builds himself a house commensurate with his fortune.

Front 87

Complaisance

Back 87

the willingness to comply with the wishes of others. Willing to please

Front 88

Consequential

Back 88

pompous, self-important

Front 89

Contemn

Back 89

to scorn or despise

Front 90

Corrigable

Back 90

capable of being set right, correctable, reparable

Front 91

Countenance

Back 91

to approve of or tolerate. to brook. As a noun, means the mien, face, composure

Front 92

Mien

Back 92

air, bearing, or demeanor, as showing character, feeling, etc.: a man of noble mien.

Front 93

Cozen

Back 93

to cheat, deceive, or trick.
You would naturally not think so flat a rogue could cozen you. But have a care! These half idiots have a sort of cunning, as the skunk has its stench.

Front 94

Cynicism

Back 94

a belief that all people are motivated by selfishness

Front 95

Decorum

Back 95

politeness or appropriateness of conduct or behavior

Front 96

Denigrate

Back 96

blacken, belittle, sully, defame

Front 97

denouement

Back 97

1.the final resolution of the intricacies of a plot, as of a drama or novel.
2.the outcome or resolution of a doubtful series of occurrences.

Front 98

Depredate

Back 98

to plunder or lay waste to; prey upon; pillage; ravage.

Front 99

Desuetude

Back 99

disuse

Front 100

Detraction

Back 100

the act of disparaging or belittling the reputation or worth of a person, work, etc.
The candidate responded sharply to the long list of detractions concocted by his opponent.

Front 101

Die

Back 101

a tool used for shaping

Front 102

Dilatory

Back 102

causing delay/procrastination

Front 103

Disabuse

Back 103

to free (a person) from deception or error.

Front 104

Discomfit

Back 104

1. to defeat or put down. 2. to thwart by emarassment

Front 105

Discordant

Back 105

conflicting. Harsh in sound.

Front 106

Disinterested

Back 106

unbiased

Front 107

Dissolution

Back 107

the act or process of resolving or dissolving into parts or elements.

Front 108

Distrait

Back 108

Divided or withdrawn in attention, especially because of anxiety.
Yet when she stopped for a cup of coffee, finding herself too distrait to begin work, the picture was in the course of being removed from the window.

Front 109

Doggerel

Back 109

a. comic or burlesque, and usually loose or irregular in measure.
b.rude; crude; poor.

Front 110

Dross

Back 110

waste, surface scum

Front 111

Dulcet

Back 111

melodious, harmonious