Gre Vocab #3

Front 1

rapacious

Back 1

given to seizing for plunder or the satisfaction of greed; inordinately greedy, predatory, extortionate
syn: ravenous, voracious, grasping, preying
ant: generous

Front 2

proscribe

Back 2

to denounce or condemn as dangerous or harmful, prohibit. to put outside the protection of the law
to banish or exile
syn: censure, disapprove, repudiate

Front 3

histrionic

Back 3

of or pertaining to actors or acting
deliberately affected or self-consciously emotional; overly dramatic,

Front 4

assuaging

Back 4

to make milder or less severe; relieve; ease; mitigate
to appease, satisfy, allay, relieve
to soothe, calm, mollify
syn:alleviate, lessen
ant: intensivey

Front 5

inimical

Back 5

adverse in tendency or effect; unfavorable; harmful; "a climate inimical to health"
unfriendly, hostile
syn: noxious, antagonistic
ant: friendly

Front 6

abstruse

Back 6

hard to understand; recondite; esoteric "abstruse theories"
obsolete, secret, hidden
syn: incomprehensible, unfathomable, arcane
ant: clear, uncomplicated, simple, obvious

Front 7

prosaic

Back 7

commonplace, dull; matter-of-fact or unimaginative
of or having the character or form of prose rather poetry
syn: ordinary, everyday; vapid, humdrum, tedious, tiresome, uninteresting

Front 8

ambrosial

Back 8

exceptionally pleasing to taste or smell; especially delicious or fragrant
worthy of the gods, divine
(ambrosia: nectar, food of the gods, bestows immortality)

Front 9

congenial

Back 9

agreeable, suitable, or pleasing in nature
suited or adapted in spirit, feeling, temper; compatible
syn: favorable, pleasant, complaisant, sympathetic
ant: disagreeable

Front 10

scurrilous

Back 10

grossly or obscenely abusive, defamatory
characterized by or using low buffoonery, coarsely jocular or derisive
syn: vituperative, insulting, offensive; vulgar

Front 11

arcane

Back 11

known or understood by very few; mysterious; secret; obscure; esoteric
requiring secret knowledge to be understood

Front 12

deriding

Back 12

to laugh at in score or contempt; scoff or jeer at; mock
syn: taunt, flout, gibe, banter, rally, ridicule

Front 13

shrewdness

Back 13

astute or sharp in practical matters; keen piercing
syn: quick, discerning, perceptive, perspicacious, sagacious, keen, discriminating, itelligent

Front 14

abjured

Back 14

to renounce, repudiate, or retract, especially with formal solemnity; recant
to renounce under oath, forswear "to abjure allegiance"

Front 15

chagrin

Back 15

a feeling of vexation, marked by a disappointment or humiliation; to vex by disappointment or humiliation "the rejection of his proposal chagrined him deeply"
syn: shame

Front 16

sardonic

Back 16

characterized by bitter or scornful derision; mocking, cynical, sneering "a sardonic grin"
syn: biting, mordant, contemptuous

Front 17

fatuous

Back 17

foolish or inane, especially in an unconscious, complacent manner, silly; unreal, illusory
syn: dense, dull, dim-witted, foolish

Front 18

ribald

Back 18

vulgar or indecent in speech, language, etc. coarsely mocking, abusive, or irreverent; scurrilous
syn: indecent, obscene, gross
ant: pure

Front 19

ignominious

Back 19

discreditable, humiliating "an ignominious retreat"
bear or deserving ignominy; contemptible
syn: degrading, disgraceful, dishonorable, shameful, despicable, ignoble

Front 20

apocryphal

Back 20

of doubtful authorship or authenticity
false, spurious "he told an apocryphal story about the sword, but the truth was later revealed"