Gre Master Word List 5

Front 1

auxiliary

Back 1

adj. offering or providing help; additional or subsidiary

Hint 1

To prepare for the emergency, they built an auxiliary power station

Front 2

avarice

Back 2

n. greediness for wealth.

Hint 2

Montaigne is correct in maintaining that it is not poverty, but rather abundance, that breeds avarice, the more shoes Imelda marcos had, the more she craved.

Front 3

avenge

Back 3

v. take vengeance for something (or on behalf of someone).

Hint 3

Hamlet vowed he would avenge his father's murder and punish Claudius for his horrible crime.

Front 4

aver

Back 4

v. assert confidently or declare; as used in law, state formally as a fact

Hint 4

The self-proclaimed psychic averred that, because he had extrasensory perception on which to base his predictions, he needed no seismographs or other gadgets in order to foretell earthquakes.

Front 5

averse

Back 5

adj. reluctant; disinclined

Hint 5

The reporter was averse to revealing the sources of his information

Front 6

aversion

Back 6

n. firm dislike

Hint 6

Bert had an aversion to yuppies; alex had an aversion to punks. Their mutual aversion was so great that they refused to speak to one another

Front 7

avert

Back 7

v. prevent; turn away

Hint 7

She averted her eyes from the dead cat on the highway

Front 8

avid

Back 8

adj. gready; eager for.

Hint 8

He was avid for learning and read everything he could get

Front 9

avocation

Back 9

n. secondary or minor occupation

Hint 9

his hobby proved to be so fascinating and profitable that gradually he abandoned his regular occupation and concentrated on his avocation.

Front 10

avow

Back 10

v. declare openly

Hint 10

Lana avowed that she never meant to steal Debbies boyfriend, but no one believed her avowal of innocence

Front 11

avuncular

Back 11

adj. like an uncle

Hint 11

avuncular pride did not prevent him from noticing his nephew's shortcomings

Front 12

awe

Back 12

n. solemn wonder

Hint 12

the tourists gazed with awe at the tremendous expanse of the grand canyon

Front 13

awry

Back 13

adv. distorted; crooked

Hint 13

he held his head awry, giving the impression that he had caught cold in his necck during the night

Front 14

axiom

Back 14

n. self-evident truth requiring no proof

Hint 14

the declaration of independence records certain self-evident truths or axioms, the first of which is all men are created equal to sherlock holmes. it was axiomatic that the little things were infinitely the most important; he based his theory of detection on this obvious truth

Front 15

badger

Back 15

v. pester; annoy

Hint 15

she was forced to change her telephone number because she was badgered by obscene phone calls.

Front 16

baffle

Back 16

v. frustrate; perplex

Hint 16

the new code baffled the enemy agents

Front 17

bait

Back 17

v. harass; tease

Hint 17

the school bully baited teh smaller children terrorizing them

Front 18

baleful

Back 18

adj. threatening; menacing; sinister; foreshadowing evil

Hint 18

the bully's baleful glare across the classroom warned Tim to expect trouble after school. Blood-red in color, the planet Mars has long been associated with warfare and slaughter because of its ominous baleful appearance

Front 19

balk

Back 19

v. stop short, if faced with an obstacle, and refuse to continue

Hint 19

the chief of police balked at sending his officers into the riot-torn area

Front 20

balk

Back 20

v. foil

Hint 20

When the warden learned that several inmates were planning to escape, he took steps to balk their attempt

Front 21

balm

Back 21

n. something that relieves pain

Hint 21

Friendship is the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love

Front 22

balm

Back 22

adj. mild; fragrant

Hint 22

a balmy breeze refreshed us after the sultry blast

Front 23

banal

Back 23

adj. hackneyed; commonplace; trite; lacking originality

Hint 23

The hack writer's worn-out cliches made his comic sketch seem banal. He even resorted to the banality of having someone slip on a banana peel

Front 24

bandy

Back 24

v. discuss lightly or glibly; exchange (words) heatedly.

Hint 24

While the president was happy to bandy patriotic generalizations with anyone who would listen to him, he refused to bandy words with unfriendly reporters at the press conference

Front 25

bane

Back 25

n. curse; cause of ruin

Hint 25

Lucy's little brother was the bane of her existence, scribbling on walls with her lipstick and pouring her shampoo down the drain. While some factions praised technology as the mainspring of social progress, others criticized it as the bane of modern man, responsible for the tyranny of the machine and the squalor of urban life

Front 26

baneful

Back 26

adj. destructive, causing ruin or death

Hint 26

anointment seems intended to apply the power of natural and supernatural forces to the sick and thus to ward off the baneful influences of diseases and of demons

Front 27

bantering

Back 27

adj. good-naturedly ridiculing

Hint 27

they resented his bantering remarks because they misinterpreted his teasing as sarcasm

Front 28

barb

Back 28

n. sharp projection from fishhook or other object; openly cutting remark

Hint 28

If you were a politician, which would you prefer, being caught on the bar of a fishhook or being subjected to malicious verbal barbs? Who can blame the president if he's happier fishing than he is listening to his critics' barbed remarks

Front 29

barefaced

Back 29

adj. shameless; bold; unconcealed

Hint 29

shocked by huck finns barefaced lies, Miss Watson prayed the good lord would give him a sense of his unregenerate wickedness

Front 30

baroque

Back 30

adj. highly ornate

Hint 30

accustomed to the severe, angular lines of modern skyscrapers, they found the flamboyance of baroque architecture ausing

Front 31

barterer

Back 31

n. trader

Hint 31

The barterer exchanged trinkets for the natives' furs

Front 32

bask

Back 32

v. luxuriate; take pleasure in warmth

Hint 32

basking on the beach, she relaxed so completely that she fell asleep

Front 33

bastion

Back 33

n. stronghold; something seen as a source of protection

Hint 33

The villagers fortified the town hall, hoping this improvised bastion could protect them from the guerrilla raids

Front 34

bawdy

Back 34

adj. Indecent; obscene

Hint 34

Jack took offense at Jill's bawdy remarks. What kind of young man did she think he was?

Front 35

beatific

Back 35

adj. showing or producing joy; blissful

Hint 35

When Johnny first saw the ew puppy, a beatific smile spread across his face. In his novel, Waugh praises LImbo, not Heaven: LImbo is the place. IN limbo one has natural happiness without the beatific vision; no harps; no communal order; but wine and conversation and imperfect, various, humanity

Front 36

beatify

Back 36

adj. bless or sanctify; proclaim someone dead to be one of the blessed

Hint 36

In 1996 Pope John Paull II traveled to Belgium to beatify Joseph De Veuster, better known as Father Damien, who died in 1889 after caring or lepers in Hawaii. How can you tell the pope from a cosmetologist? A cosmetologist beautifies someone living; the Pope beatifies someone dead

Front 37

bedraggled

Back 37

v. wet thoroughly

Hint 37

We were so bedraggled by the severe storm that we had to change into dry clothing

Front 38

beeline

Back 38

n. dirct, quick route

Hint 38

As soon as the movie was over, Jum made a beeline for the exit

Front 39

befuddle

Back 39

v. confuse thoroughly

Hint 39

His attempts to clarify the situations succeeded only in befuddling her further

Front 40

beget

Back 40

v. father; produce; give rise to

Hint 40

One good turn may deserve another; it does not necessarily beget another

Front 41

begrudge

Back 41

v. resent

Hint 41

I begrudge every minute I have to spend attending meetings

Front 42

beguile

Back 42

v. mislead or delude; cheat; pass time

Hint 42

With flattery and big talk of easy money, the con men beguiled Kyle into betting his allowance on the shell game

Front 43

beholden

Back 43

adj. obligated; indebted

Hint 43

Since I do not wish to be beholden to anyone, I cannot accept this favor

Front 44

behoove

Back 44

v. be necessary or proper for; be incumbent upon

Hint 44

Because the interest of the ruler and the ruled are incompatible, it behooves the ruler to trust no one; to be suspicious of sycophants; to permit no one to gain undue power or influence; and above all, to use guile to unearth blots against the throne

Front 45

belabor

Back 45

b. explain or go over excessively or to a ridiculous degree, assail verbally

Hint 45

The debate coach warned her student not to bore the audience by belaboring his point

Front 46

belated

Back 46

adj. delayed

Hint 46

He apologized for his belated note of condolence to the widow of his friend and explained that he had just learned of her husbands untimely death

Front 47

beleaguer

Back 47

v. besiege or attack; harass

Hint 47

The babysitter was surrounded by a crowd of unmanageable brats who relentlessly beleaguered her

Front 48

belie

Back 48

v. contradict; give a false impression

Hint 48

His coarse, hard bitten exterior belied his innate sensitivity

Front 49

belittle

Back 49

v. disparage; deprecate

Hint 49

Parents should not belittle thir children's early attempts at drawing, but should encourage their efforts

Front 50

bellicose

Back 50

adj. warlike; pugnacious; naturally inclined to fight

Hint 50

someone who is spoiling for a fight is by definition bellicose

Front 51

belligerent

Back 51

adj. quarrelsome

Hint 51

Whenever he had too much to drink he became belligerent and tried to pick fights with strangers

Front 52

bemoan

Back 52

v. lament; express disapproval of

Hint 52

The widow bemoaned the death of her beloved husband. Although critics bemoaned the serious flaws in the authors novels, each year his latest book topped the best seller list

Front 53

bemused

Back 53

adj. confused; lost in thought; preoccupied

Hint 53

Jill studied the garbled instructions with a bemused look on her face

Front 54

benediction

Back 54

n. blessing

Hint 54

the appearance of the sun after the many rainy days was like a benediction

Front 55

benefactor

Back 55

n . gift giver, patron

Hint 55

scrooge later became tiny tims benefactor and gave him gifts

Front 56

beneficent

Back 56

adj. kindly; doing good

Hint 56

The overgenerous philanthropist ha dto curb his beneficent impulses before he gave away all his money and left himself with nothing

Front 57

beneficial

Back 57

adj. helpful; useful

Hint 57

Tiny Tim's cheerful good nature had a beneficial influence on Scrooge's once unchartable disposition

Front 58

benevolent

Back 58

adj generous; charitable

Hint 58

Mr. Fezziwig was a benevolent employer who wished to make Christmas merrier for young scrooge and his other employees

Front 59

benign

Back 59

adj. kindly; favorable; not malignant

Hint 59

Though her benign smile and gentle bearing made Miss Marple seem a sweet little old lady, in reality she was a tough minded, shrewd observer of human nature

Front 60

bent

Back 60

adj,; N. determined; natural talent or inclination

Hint 60

Bent on advancing in the business world, the secretary heroine of working girl had a true bent for high finance.