Gre Vocabulary Wotd

Front 1

noun

a confused mixture : hodgepodge

The shop is filled with a whimsical farrago of artwork, antiques, and vintage clothing.

"So far, the excuses and explanations offered … for this fiasco have been a farrago of misleading and contradictory statements." — From The Ottawa Sun, July 21, 2010

.... might seem an unlikely relative of "farina" (the mealy breakfast cereal), but the two terms have their roots in the same Latin noun. Both derive from "far," the Latin name for "spelt" (a type of grain). In Latin, "....." meant "mixed fodder" — cattle feed, that is. It was also used more generally to mean "mixture." When it was adopted into English in the early 1600s, "..." retained the "mixture" sense of its ancestor. Today, we often use it for a jumble or medley of disorganized, haphazard, or even nonsensical ideas or elements.

Back 1

Farrago

Front 2

verb

to emit sparks : spark

to emit quick flashes as if throwing off sparks : sparkle

We watched contentedly as our campfire scintillated in the darkness.

"Nightlife in the city is all about glitz and glitter. Bright lights to illuminate, scintillate, and titillate." — From an article by Virginia Hayes in Santa Barbara Independent, July 1, 2010 - July 8, 2010

In addition to its literal use, "scintillate" can mean "to sparkle" in a figurative sense — that is, to be lively, or to perform brilliantly. It is also frequently seen in its adjectival form, "scintillating," with the meaning "very clever, amusing, and interesting," as in "a scintillating discussion." The history of "scintillate" began with a spark — or with the Latin word for "spark," at least. That word, "scintilla," is also the source of other words in English. There is "scintilla" itself (used as a noun meaning "a little bit"), "scintillant" (an adjective describing something that ....), and "..." (which, among other things, means "a brilliant outburst").

Back 2

scintillate

Front 3

verb
1 :
to eat or gnaw into : wear, corrode; also : fray

2 :
to become vexed or worried

3 :
agitate





A consummate worrier, he frets over every little thing that might go wrong.

"Some political analysts had fretted before the speech that Obama would use the occasion as a 'victory lap' in the same way that Mr. Bush famously declared 'mission accomplished' for Iraq in May 2003." — From an article by Howard LaFranchi in The Christian Science Monitor, September 1, 2010





Since its first use centuries ago, "fret" has referred to an act of eating, especially when done by animals, in particular small ones. You might speak, for example, of moths "fretting" your clothing. Like "eat," "fret" also developed figurative senses to describe actions that corrode or wear away. A river could be said to "fret away" at its banks or something might be said to be "fretted out" with time or age. "Fret" can also be applied to emotional experiences so that something that "eats away at us" might be said to "fret the heart or mind." This use developed into the specific meaning of "vex" or "worry" with which we often use "fret" today.

Back 3

fret

Front 4

adjective:
expressive of suffering or woe : melancholy

Back 4

plaintif

Front 5

adjective:
capable of being permeated : penetrable;especially : having pores or openings that permit liquids or gases to pass through




adjective

:
capable of being permeated : penetrable;especially : having pores or openings that permit liquids or gases to pass through

Back 5

permeable

Front 6

adjective

to indulge in the process or practice of thinking or telling about past experiences

Back 6

reminisce

Front 7

lacking proper respect or seriousness

Back 7

flippant

Front 8

of, relating to, or being speech used for social or emotive purposes rather than for communicating information

Back 8

phatic

Front 9

adjective

1 :
moving in or forming a straight line

2 :
characterized by straight lines

Back 9

rectilinear

Front 10

1
a :
to make eternal


b :
to prolong indefinitely

2 :
immortalize

Back 10

eternize

Front 11

1 :
to bet in a parlay

2
a :
to exploit successfully


b :
to increase or otherwise transform into something of much greater value

Back 11

parlay

Front 12

a person who excels in telling anecdotes

Back 12

raconteur

Front 13

1 :
moving in or forming a straight line

2 :
characterized by straight lines

Back 13

rectilinear

Front 14

to move in a lively manner often with an exaggerated or affected action

Back 14

tittup

Front 15

:
in a murderously frenzied state

2
a :
in a violently raging manner


b :
in an undisciplined, uncontrolled, or faulty manner

Back 15

amok

Front 16

a closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to the same political party or faction usually to select candidates or to decide on policy; also : a group of people united to promote an agreed-upon cause

Back 16

caucus

Front 17

relating to or situated near or on the back especially of an animal or of one of its parts

Back 17

dorsal

Front 18

1
a :
curved like the letter C


b :
curved in two directions like the letter S

2 :
of, relating to, or being the sigmoid colon

Back 18

sigmoid

Front 19

1 :
difficult to guide, manage, or work with : unruly, intractable

2 :
not favorable : adverse, unpropitious

3 :
improper, indecorous

Back 19

untoward

Front 20

1 :
a representation of leaves, flowers, and branches for architectural ornamentation

2 :
the aggregate of leaves of one or more plants

3 :
a cluster of leaves, flowers, and branches

Back 20

foliage

Front 21

marked by a tendency in favor of a particular point of view : biased

Back 21

tendentious

Front 22

supersede\soo-per-SEED\




verb

1 :
to cause to be set aside

2 :
to take the place or position of

3 :
to displace in favor of another

Back 22

supersede

Front 23

a showy object of little use or value

Back 23

grimcrack

Front 24

in the past : formerly

Back 24

erstwhile

Front 25

the writing of alternate lines in opposite directions (as from left to right and from right to left)

Back 25

booustrophedon

Front 26

being numbered zero in a series; also : of, relating to, or being a zero

Back 26

Zeroth

Front 27

1
a :
a current of water or air running contrary to the main current; especially : a circular current : whirlpool


b :
something moving similarly

2 :
a contrary or circular current (as of thought or policy)

Back 27

Eddy