Tomonica Gre Vocabulary Set 2

Front 1

Belfry
noun
(behl free)

Back 1

Bell tower; room in which a bell is hung

syn. spire, steeple

Hint 1

The town was shocked when a bag of money was found stashed in the old belfry of the church.

Front 2

Blight
verb
(bliet)

Back 2

To afflict; to destroy

syn. damage, plague

Hint 2

The farmers feared that the night's frost would blight the potato crops entirely.

Front 3

Voluble
adj.
(vahl yuh buhl)

Back 3

Talkative; speaking easily; glib

syn. verbose

Hint 3

The voluble man and his reserved wife proved the old saying that opposites attract.

Front 4

Deface
verb
(dih fays)

Back 4

To mar the appearance of; vandalize

syn. disfigure, impair, spoil

Hint 4

After the wall was torn down, the students began to deface the statues of Communist leaders of the former Eastern block.

Front 5

Fetid
adj.
(feh tihd)

Back 5

Foul smelling; putrid

syn. funky, rank, stinky

Hint 5

The fetid stench from the out house caused Francesca to wrinkle her nose in disgust.

Front 6

Juncture
noun
(juhnk chuhr)

Back 6

Point of time, especially where two things are joined

syn. convergence, crisis, crossroads, moment

Hint 6

At this juncture, I think it would be a good idea to take a coffee break.

Front 7

Coalesce
verb
(koh uh lehs)

Back 7

To grow together to form a single whole

syn. blend, condense, consolidate, fuse, unite

Hint 7

The sun and the planets eventually coalesce out of a vast cloud of dust.

Front 8

Toady
noun
(toh dee)

Back 8

One who flatters in the hope of gaining favors

syn. parasite, sycophant

Hint 8

The king was surrounded by toadies who rushed to agree with whatever outrageous thing he said.

Front 9

Iniquity
noun
(ih nihk wih tee)

Back 9

Sin; evil act

syn. enormity, immorality, injustice, vice, wickedness

Hint 9

"I promise to close every den of iniquity in this town!" thundered the conservative new mayor.

Front 10

Wily
adj.
(wie lee)

Back 10

Clever, deceptive

syn. crafty, cunning, tricky

Hint 10

Yet again, the wily coyote managed to elude the ranchers who wanted to capture it.

Front 11

Diatribe
noun
(die uh trieb)

Back 11

An abusive, condemnatory speech

syn. fulmination, harangue, invective

Hint 11

The trucker bellowed a diatribe at the driver who cut him off.

Front 12

Mendicant
noun
(mehn dih kuhnt)

Back 12

Beggar

syn. panhandler, pauper

Hint 12

"Please, sir, can you spare a dime?" begged the mendicant as the businessman walked by.

Front 13

Convoluted
adj.
(kahn vuh loo tehd)

Back 13

intricate and complicated

syn. byzantine, complex, intricate, tangled, elaborate, perplexing

Hint 13

Although many people bought the professor's book, few people could follow its convoluted ideas and theories.

Front 14

Libertine
noun
(lihb uhr teen)

Back 14

a free thinker, usually used disparagingly; one without moral restraint

syn. hedonist

Hint 14

The libertine took pleasure in gambling away his family's money.

Front 15

Eschew
verb
(ehs choo)

Back 15

to shun, to avoid (as something wrong or distasteful)

syn. elude, escape, evade

Hint 15

The filmmaker eschewed artificial light for her actors, resulting in a stark movie style.

Front 16

Frugality
noun
(fru gaa luh tee)

Back 16

tending to be thrifty or cheap

syn. economical, prudence, sparing

Hint 16

Scrooge McDuck's frugality was so great that he accumulated enough wealth to fill a giant storehouse of money.

Front 17

Machination
noun
(mahk uh nay shuhn)

Back 17

plot or scheme

syn. conspiracy, design, intrigue

Hint 17

Tired of his enemies' endless machinations to remove him from the throne, the king had them executed.

Front 18

Laud
verb
(lawd)

Back 18

to give praise; to glorify

syn. acclaim, applaud, commend, compliment, exult, hail, praise

Hint 18

Parades and fireworks were staged to laud the success of the rebels.

Front 19

Tangential
adj.
(taan jehn shuhl)

Back 19

digressing; diverting

syn. digressive, extraneous, inconsequential, irrelevant, peripheral

Hint 19

Your argument is interesting, but it's tangential to the matter at hand, so I suggest we get back to the point.

Front 20

Levity
noun
(leh vih tee)

Back 20

an inappropriate lack of seriousness, overly casual

syn. amusement, humor

Hint 20

The joke added needed levity to the otherwise serious meeting.

Front 21

Impious
adj.
(ihm pee uhs) (ihm pie uhs)

Back 21

not devout in religion

syn. immoral, irreverent, profane

Hint 21

The nun cut herself off from her impious family after she entered the convent.

Front 22

Fanatical
adj.
(fuh nah tih kuhl)

Back 22

acting excessively enthusiastic; filled with extreme, unquestioned devotion

syn. extremist, fiery, frenzied, zealous

Hint 22

The stormtroopers were fanatical in their devotion to the emperor, readily sacrificing their lives for him.

Front 23

Collusion
noun
(kuh loo zhuhn)

Back 23

collaboration, complicity, conspiracy

syn. intrigue, machination

Hint 23

It came to light that the police chief and the mafia had a collusion in running the numbers racket.

Front 24

Largess
noun
(laar jehs)

Back 24

generous giving (as of money) to others who may seem inferior

syn. benevolence, compliment, favor, present

Hint 24

She'd always relied on her parents largess, but after graduation she had to get a job.

Front 25

Archaic
adj.
(ahr kay ihk)

Back 25

ancient; old fashion

syn. ancient, antique, dated, obsolete

Hint 25

Her archaic Commodore computer could not run the latest software.

Front 26

Garrulous
adj.
(gaar uh luhs)
(gaar yuh luhs)

Back 26

tending to talk a lot

syn. effusive, loquacious

Hint 26

The garrulous parakeet distracted its owner with its continuous talking.

Front 27

Impecunious
adj.
(ihm pih kyoo nyhus)
(ihm pih kyoo nee uhs)

Back 27

poor; having no money

syn. destitute, impoverished, indigent, needy, penniless

Hint 27

After the stock market crashed, many former millionnaires found themselves impecunious.

Front 28

Quotidian
adj.
(kwo tih dee uhn)

Back 28

occurring daily; commonplace

syn. everyday, normal, usual

Hint 28

The sight of people singing on the street is so quotidian in New York that passersby rarely react to it.

Front 29

Mores
noun
(mawr ayz)
(mohr eyz)

Back 29

fixed customs or manners; moral attitudes

syn. conventions, practices

Hint 29

In keeping with the mores of ancient Roman society, Nero held a celebration every weekend.

Front 30

Martinet
noun
(mahr tihn eht)

Back 30

strict disciplinarian; one who rigidly follows rules

syn. dictator, stickler, tyrant

Hint 30

A complete martinet, the official insisted that Pete fill out all of the forms again even though he was already familiar with his case.

Front 31

Heterogenous
adj.
(heh tuh ruh jee nee uhs)
(he truh jee nyuhs)

Back 31

composed of unlike parts; different; diverse

syn. assorted, miscellaneous, mixed, motley, varied

Hint 31

The United Nations is by nature a heterogenous body.

Front 32

Lumber
verb
(luhm buhr)

Back 32

to move slowly and awkwardly

syn.hulk, lurch, stumble

Hint 32

The bear lumbered towards the garbage, drooling at the prospect of the Big Mac leftovers he smelled.

Front 33

Sublime
adj.
(suh bliem)

Back 33

lofty or grand

syn. exalted, glorious, grand, majestic, noble

Hint 33

The music was so sublime that it transformed the rude surroundings into a special place.

Front 34

Capricious
adj.
(kuh pree shuhs)
(kuh prih shuhs)

Back 34

changing one's mind quickly and often

syn. arbitrary, chance, fickle, random, whimsical, mercurial

Hint 34

Queen Elizabeth I was quite capricious; her courtiers could never be sure which one would catch her fancy.

Front 35

Lament
verb
(luh mehet)

Back 35

to express sorrow, to grieve

syn. deplore, grieve, mourn

Hint 35

The children continued to lament the death of the goldfish weeks after its demise.

Front 36

Mercurial
adj.
(muhr kyoo ee uhl)

Back 36

quick, shrewd, unpredictable

syn. clever, crafty, volatile, whimsical

Hint 36

Her mercurial personality made it difficult to guess how she would react to the bad news.

Front 37

Boor
noun
(bohr)

Back 37

crude person; one lacking manners or taste

syn. lout, oaf, vulgarian, yahoo

Hint 37

"The utter boor ruined my recital with his constant guffawing!" wailed the pianist.

Front 38

Veracity
noun
(vuhr aa sih tee)

Back 38

filled with truth and accuracy

syn. candor, exactitude, fidelity

Hint 38

She had a reputation for veracity, so everyone trusted her description of events.

Front 39

Encomium
noun
(ehn koh me uhm)

Back 39

warm praise

syn. citation, eulogy, salutation, tribute

Hint 39

Georgia's "encomium to Helen" was written as a tribute to Helen of Troy.

Front 40

Placate
verb
(play cayt)

Back 40

to sooth or pacify

syn. appease, conciliate, mollify

Hint 40

The burglar tried to placate the snarling dog by referring to it as a 'Nice Doggie' and offering it a treat.

Front 41

Cacophony
noun
(kuh kah fuh nee)

Back 41

harsh, jarring noise

syn. chaos, clamor, din, discord, disharmony

Hint 41

The junior high orchestra created an almost unbearable cacophony as they tried to tune their instruments.

Front 42

Pedant
noun
(peh daant)

Back 42

someone who shows off learning

syn. doctrinaire, knit-picker, scholar, schoolmaster

Hint 42

The graduate instructor's tedious and excessive commentary on the subject gained her a reputation as a pedant.

Front 43

Audacious
adj.
(aw day shuhs)

Back 43

fearless, daring

syn. adventuresome, aggressive, assertive, bold, brave

Hint 43

The audacious peasant dared to insult the king's mother.

Front 44

Quixotic
adj.
(kwihk sah tihk)

Back 44

overly idealistic, impractical

syn. capricious, impulsive, romantic, unrealistic

Hint 44

The practical Danuta was skeptical of her roommate's quixotic plans to build a roller coaster in their yard.

Front 45

Exonerate
verb
(ihg zahn uh rayt)

Back 45

to clear of blame

syn. absolve, acquit, clear, vindicate

Hint 45

The fugitive was exonerated when another criminal confessed to committing the crime.