Gre Part 2

Front 1

abate

Back 1

to lessen in intensity or degree

Front 2

accolade

Back 2

an expression of praise

Front 3

adulation

Back 3

excessive praise; intense adoration

Front 4

aesthetic

Back 4

dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful

Front 5

ameliorate

Back 5

to make better or more tolerable

Front 6

ascetic

Back 6

one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion

Front 7

avarice

Back 7

greed, esp. for wealth (adj. form: avaricious)

Front 8

axiom

Back 8

a universally recognized principle (adj. form axiomatic)

Front 9

burgeon

Back 9

to grow rapidly or flourish

Front 10

bucolic

Back 10

rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants

Front 11

cacophony

Back 11

harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance

Front 12

canon

Back 12

an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature

Front 13

castigation

Back 13

severe criticism or punishment

Front 14

catalyst

Back 14

a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing that causes change

Front 15

caustic

Back 15

burning or stinging; causing corrosion

Front 16

chary

Back 16

wary; cautious; sparing

Front 17

cogent

Back 17

appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing

Front 18

complaisance

Back 18

the willingness to comply with the wishes of others

Front 19

contentious

Back 19

argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement

Front 20

contrite

Back 20

regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness

Front 21

culpable

Back 21

deserving blame

Front 22

dearth

Back 22

smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack

Front 23

demur

Back 23

to question or oppose

Front 24

didactic

Back 24

intended to teach or instruct

Front 25

discretion

Back 25

cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions

Front 26

disinterested

Back 26

free of bias or self-interest; impartial

Front 27

dogmatic

Back 27

expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or improvable principles

Front 28

ebullience

Back 28

the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings

Front 29

eclectic

Back 29

composed of elements drawn from various sources

Front 30

elegy

Back 30

a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead (adj form: elegiac)

Front 31

emollient

Back 31

soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smoothes the skin

Front 32

empirical

Back 32

based on observation or experiment

Front 33

enigmatic

Back 33

mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand

Front 34

ephemeral

Back 34

brief; fleeting

Front 35

esoteric

Back 35

intended for or understood by a small, specific group

Front 36

eulogy

Back 36

a speech honoring the dead

Front 37

exonerate

Back 37

to remove blame

Front 38

facetious

Back 38

playful; humorous

Front 39

fallacy

Back 39

an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief (adj. form: fallacious)

Front 40

furtive

Back 40

marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious

Front 41

gregarious

Back 41

sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people

Front 42

harangue

Back 42

to deliver a pompous speech or tirade; a long, pompous speech

Front 43

heretical

Back 43

violating accepted dogma or convention

Front 44

hyperbole

Back 44

an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech

Front 45

impecunious

Back 45

lacking funds; without money

Front 46

incipient

Back 46

beginning to come into being or become apparent

Front 47

inert

Back 47

unmoving; lethargic; sluggish

Front 48

innocuous

Back 48

harmless; causing no damage

Front 49

intransigent

Back 49

refusing to compromise (noun form: intransigence)

Front 50

inveigle

Back 50

to obtain by deception or flattery

Front 51

morose

Back 51

sad; sullen; melancholy

Front 52

odious

Back 52

evoking intense aversion or dislike

Front 53

opaque

Back 53

impenetrable by light, not reflecting light

Front 54

oscillation

Back 54

the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm

Front 55

penurious

Back 55

penny pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous

Front 56

pernicious

Back 56

extremely harmful; potentially causing death

Front 57

peruse

Back 57

to examine with great care

Front 58

pious

Back 58

extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion

Front 59

precursor

Back 59

one that precedes and indicated or announces another

Front 60

preen

Back 60

to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care

Front 61

prodigious

Back 61

abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary

Front 62

prolific

Back 62

producing large volumes or amounts; productive

Front 63

putrefy

Back 63

to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor

Front 64

quaff

Back 64

to drink deeply

Front 65

quiescence

Back 65

stillness; motionless; quality of being at rest (adj. form: quiescent)

Front 66

redoubtable

Back 66

awe inspiring; worthy of honor

Front 67

sanction

Back 67

authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance; to give permission or authority to

Front 68

satire

Back 68

a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision

Front 69

squalid

Back 69

sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect

Front 70

stoic

Back 70

indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast

Front 71

supplant

Back 71

to take the place of; to supersede

Front 72

torpid

Back 72

lethargic; sluggish; dormant (noun form: torpor)

Front 73

ubiquitous

Back 73

existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread

Front 74

urbane

Back 74

sophisticated; refined; elegant (noun form: urbanity)

Front 75

vilify

Back 75

to defame; to characterize harshly

Front 76

viscous

Back 76

thick; sticky (noun form: viscosity)