Some Gre Vocab, Word List 9

Front 1

1: deadpan

Back 1

Wooden; impassive; with no show of feeling; with an expressionless face
adj.

Hint 1

Mitch Hedburg. And he's dead too, so it's sad, but it works even better.

Front 2

2: debutante

Back 2

Young woman making formal entrance into society
n.

Front 3

3: decadence

Back 3

Decay; a fall to a lower level (of morality, civilization, or art); [adj. decadent]
n.

Hint 3

Hedonismbot (Futurama) is pretty decadent.

For that matter, hedonism is pretty decadent.

Front 4

4: decant (wl3)

Back 4

Pour off gently (wine or liquid)
v.

Hint 4

De-can it. Once you've decanted it, you cant take it back.

Front 5

5: deciduous

Back 5

Falling off at a specific season or stage of growth as of leaves; Ex. deciduous tree/teeth
adj.

Hint 5

DECIduous trees are more DECIsive and DECIde to get rid of their leaves in winter? Decide to visit the US when the leaves are falling. Ous decide to leave in winter.

(Deciduous trees defoliate in winter)

Front 6

6: décolleté

Back 6

(Of a dress) having a low-cut neckline; CF. d'ecolletage: low neckline (on a dress)
adj.

Hint 6

I think Pamala Anderson probably has plenty of decollete dresses. I could be wrong.

Front 7

7: defoliate

Back 7

Destroy leaves; deprive of leaves (by the use of chemicals); [n. defoliant]
v.

Hint 7

Leaves are called foliage. Defoliate - un-foliate the foliage.

Deciduous trees defoliate in winter.

Foliage: the (like aluminium) foil a tree gets as it ages (get older)?

Front 8

8: defrock

Back 8

Strip a priest or minister of church authority; unfrock
v.

Hint 8

They "defrock" him, take away his collar and "frock"/gown, though they do give him other clothes...

You could say they've been divested (more undressing, very inappropriate) of their holy robes, I mean frocks.

Front 9

9: deleterious

Back 9

Harmful
adj.

Hint 9

It would be very deleterious to delete all the files on your computer.

Front 10

10: delineate

Back 10

Portray; depict; sketch; describe; [n. delineation]
v.

Hint 10

You can de-"line"-ate, as in sketch, the ˆlinesˆ on a map

Front 11

11: deluge (vs. delude)

Back 11

Great flood or rush of water[v.]
n.

Front 12

12: demagogue

Back 12

Person who appeals to people's prejudice; false leader of people; CF. demagoguery
n.

Front 13

13: demotic

Back 13

Of or pertaining to the people
adj.

Front 14

14: demur

Back 14

Object (because of doubts, scruples); raise an objection (showing qualms); hesitate; Ex. demur at the idea of working on Sunday
v.

Hint 14

A priest might demur at groping a woman with decollete dress for fear of being defrocked.

Front 15

15: demure

Back 15

(Of a woman or child) grave; quiet and serious; coy; pretending to be demure
adj.

Front 16

16: denizen

Back 16

(Animal, person, or plant) inhabitant or resident of a particular place; regular visitor
n.

Hint 16

A denizen often inhabits a den or home.

Front 17

17: denotation

Back 17

Meaning; distinguishing by name; [v. denote: indicate; refer to directly; mean;] CF. connotation
n.

Hint 17

Santa can denote, or indicate, if you're good or bad by writing a note about you in his list.

Front 18

18: denouement

Back 18

Final outcome; final development of the plot of a play or other literary work; the end of a story when everything is explained
n.

Front 19

19: deprecate

Back 19

Express disapproval of; deplore; protest against; belittle; [adj. deprecatory]
v.

Hint 19

Deprecate is similar to depreciate. When you belittle someone they have obviously lost their value of you.

Front 20

20: depredation (wl4)

Back 20

Plundering; destruction
n.

Front 21

21: descry

Back 21

Catch sight of (something distant)
v.

Hint 21

When you descry your loved one, Des (short for Desmond) coming home from the war, you'd cry out in joy.

Front 22

22: desiccate (vs. desecrate)

Back 22

Dry up
v.

Hint 22

Runners need to hydrate, even priests, so desiccation can be decimating.

It would not be unholy, though, so you couldn't say it was desecration.

Front 23

23: despoil

Back 23

Plunder; sack; Ex. despoil the village
v.

Hint 23

When you despoil the village, there'll be a lot of plunder and a lot of fire, so be careful not to spoil the spoils you get from despoiling the village.

Front 24

24: despondent

Back 24

Without hope and courage; depressed; gloomy; [n. despondency: loss of hope with gloom; dejection]
adj.

Hint 24

It's natural to be despondent in a hopeless situation. After all, DESpair can put DENT in anyone's day.

Front 25

25: desuetude

Back 25

A state of disuse or inactivity. [dictionary.com]
n.

Hint 25

If you get sued, your 'tude (attitude?) might be despondent and instead of going out you'll stay in and watch TV and your muscles will fall into a state of (more) disuse.

Front 26

26: devolve

Back 26

Deputize; pass or be passed to others (power, work, or property); Ex. devolve on/upon/to
v.

Hint 26

If you don't want to involve yourself in a project you could devolve it onto someone else (if you're their boss, that is).

Front 27

27: diadem

Back 27

Crown
n.

Hint 27

The demagogue had plenty of diamonds in his golden diadem.

Front 28

28: diaphanous

Back 28

Sheer; transparent
adj.

Front 29

29: dictum

Back 29

Authoritative and weighty statement (made by a judge in court); saying; maxim; CF. obiter dictum: incidental, nonbinding remark (something said in passing)
n.

Front 30

30: didactic

Back 30

(Of speech or writing) intended to teach a moral lesson; teaching; instructional; [n. didacticism]
adj.

Front 31

31: die

Back 31

Metal block used for shaping metal or plastic; device for stamping or impressing; mold; CF. dice
n.

Front 32

32: diffuse

Back 32

Wordy; verbose; rambling; spread out (like a gas); [v: spread out in all directions; disperse;] [n. diffusion; CF. suffuse]
adj.

Hint 32

Chatting at dinner, his discourse was so diffuse and boring, it seemed to go on forever, spreading out like sleeping gas over the rest of the guests.

Front 33

33: dilatory

Back 33

Delaying; tending to delay
adj.

Front 34

34: dilettante

Back 34

Aimless follower of an art or a field of knowledge (not taking it seriously); amateur; dabbler; CF. delight
n.

Front 35

35: dint

Back 35

Means; effort; Ex. by dint of hard work
n.

Front 36

36: disabuse

Back 36

Correct a false impression; undeceive; free from a wrong belief
v.

Hint 36

(Something Dad might say) If, for some reason, I gave you the impression that life was fair, let me disabuse you of that right now.

Front 37

37: disaffected

Back 37

Disloyal; lacking loyality; [v. disaffect: cause to lose affection or loyalty]
adj.

Front 38

38: disburse

Back 38

Pay out (as from a fund); [n. disbursement; CF. purse]
v.

Hint 38

Disburse the dollars from your purse.

Front 39

39: discerning

Back 39

Mentally quick and observant; having insight; perceptive; able to make good judgments; [v. discern: perceive]
adj.

Front 40

40: discomfit

Back 40

Frustrate; put to rout; defeat; disconcert; embarrass; perturb
v.

Front 41

41: disconsolate

Back 41

Hopelessly sad (at the loss of something)
adj.

Hint 41

If you loose something and you are disconsolate, you deserve a consolation prize to soften the blow.

Front 42

42: discursive

Back 42

(Of a person or writing) digressing; rambling (without any clear plan)
adj.

Hint 42

The discursive narrative was like his cursive, flowing and continuous.

Front 43

43: disgorge (wl5)

Back 43

Surrender something (stolen); eject; vomit; OP. gorge
v.

Front 44

44: disinter

Back 44

Dig up; unearth; OP. inter
v.

Hint 44

If you disinter something, or dig it up, you make it external, and not internal?

Front 45

45: disinterested

Back 45

Unprejudiced; free from bias and self-interest; objective
adj.

Front 46

46: disport

Back 46

Amuse; Ex. disport oneself; CF. divert
v.

Front 47

47: disquietude

Back 47

Uneasiness; anxiety; [v. disquiet: make anxious]
n.

Front 48

48: disquisition

Back 48

Formal systematic inquiry; explanation of the results of a formal inquiry; long formal speech or written report
n.

Front 49

49: dissemble

Back 49

Disguise; hide the real nature of; pretend
v.

Front 50

50: (desecrate)

Back 50

Profane; violate the sanctity of
adj.

Front 51

51: (delude)

Back 51

~ sb deliberately mislead sb; deceive sb
v.