GRE prep

prudence

(n.) cautious, circumspect (After losing a fortune in a stock market crash, my father vowed to practice greater prudence in future investments.)

eschew

deliberately avoid using

(v.) to shun, avoid (George hates the color green so much that he eschews all green food.)

conciliate

To overcome the distrust or animosity of; appease, placate

to reconcile, to pacify, to renew a friendship

reconcile

(v.) to restore to friendship; to settle; to resign

1. (v.) to return to harmony (The feuding neighbors finally reconciled when one brought the other a delicious tuna noodle casserole.) 2. (v.) to make consistent with existing ideas

capricious

Impulsive and unpredictable

Given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior

esoteric

(adj.) intended for or understood by only a select few, private, secret

dilatory

(adj.) tending to delay or procrastinate, not prompt; intended to delay or postpone

mollify

(v.) to soften, make gentle, pacify; to calm, allay (as an emotion), assuage, appease, placate; to reduce in intensity

denigrate

criticize unfairly; disparage

(v.) to belittle, diminish the opinion of (The company decided that its advertisements would no longer denigrate the company's competitors.)

to attack the reputation of; to speak ill of

covet

greatly desired

(v) to desire something belonging to another

resent

to feel angry or bitter at something

She resented the fact that I had children

grandiose

(adj.) on a magnificent or exaggerated scale (Margaret planned a grandiose party, replete with elephants, trapeze artists, and clowns.)

grand in an impressive or stately way; absurdly exaggerated; extravagantly or pretentiously imposing in appearance or style. "the court's grandiose facade"

sporadic

(adj.) occurring at irregular intervals, having no set plan or order

Occasional, happening irregularly or in scattered locations

subvert

to overthrow; to cause the downfall, ruin, or destruction of; to undermine the principles of; corrupt.

vacillate

To sway physically; to be indecisive

(v.) to swing indecisively from one idea or course of action to another; to waver weakly in mind or will

pragmatic

Dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations

practical, as opposed to idealistic

perpetrate

To commit, as a crime or other antisocial act

contemplate

v. to look at or think about carefully; to consider as a possibility

attune

v. to bring into harmony

to cause (a person, company, etc.) to have a better understanding of what is needed or wanted by a particular person or group

lexicographer

n. a person who writes or compiles dictionaries

deliberation

long and careful consideration or discussion

favela

a slum community in a Brazilian city

rasher

A thin slice of bacon

dilapidation

The condition of being run-down or in need of repairs

state of ruin

lucubration

(n.) laborious study or thought, especially at night; the result of such work

meditation

enamor

(v.) to fill with love, fascinate, usually used in passive form followed by "of" or "with" (I grew enamored of that boy when he quoted my favorite love poem.)

(adj.) inspired by love; captivated; (adj.) marked by foolish or unreasoning fondness

enchant

(v.) to please greatly; to charm, put under a magic spell

to bewitch, cast a spell on, fascinate

truculent

(adj.) fierce and cruel; aggressive; deadly, destructive; scathingly harsh

(adj.) ready to fight, cruel (This club doesn't really attract the dangerous types, so why was that bouncer being so truculent?)

impediment

(n.) a physical defect; a hindrance, obstacle

cacophony

A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds

Tremendous noise, disharmonious sound

circumvent

(v.) to get around (The school's dress code forbidding navel-baring jeans was circumvented by the determined students, who were careful to cover up with long coats when administrators were nearby.)

To circle AROUND and therefore bypass; to avoid by artful maneuvering

palled

becoming boring or uninteresting

voluptuous

full of, characterized by, or ministering to indulgence in luxury, pleasure, and sensuous enjoyment; directed toward or concerned with sensuous enjoyment or sensual pleasure.

pleasant to the senses; luxurious; pleasure-seeking; extra full and shapely

(of a woman) curvaceous and sexually attractive.

surreptitious

(adj.) stealthy, secret, intended to escape observation; made or accomplished by fraud

inimical

(adj.) hostile, enemylike (I don't see how I could ever work for a company that was so cold and inimical to me during my interviews.)

(adj.) tending to cause harm or obstruct developments; being oppositional or adverse

persistent

continuing firmly or obstinately in an opinion or course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.

refusing to give up or let go; preserving obstinately.

pertinacious

(adj.) stubbornly persistent (Harry's parents were frustrated with his pertinacious insistence that a monster lived in his closet. Then they opened the closet door and were eaten.)

apathetic

(adj.) lacking concern, emotion (Uninterested in politics, Bruno was apathetic about whether he lived under a capitalist or communist regime.)

Indifferent

traversty

A false or distorted representation

a grotesque or shameful imitation; a mockery; a perversion

perversion

corruption; turning from right to wrong

(n.) the alteration of something from its original course, meaning, or state to a distortion or corruption of what was first intended.

sexual behaviour that is considered abnormal and unacceptable. "his book revolutionized ideas about sexual perversion"

beckon

to signal or summon, as by nodding or waving

extemporaneous

Done without preparation (esp. of a speech), or with some preparation but no notes; improvised, done on the spur of the moment

impromptu

(adj., adv.) without preparation, offhand, suddenly or hastily done; (n.) an extemporaneous composition or remark; a minimal piece suggestive of improvisation

reprobate

(n) a depraved, vicious, or unprincipled person, scoundrel; (adj.) wicked, corrupt, or unprincipled; (v.) to disapprove of, condemnexpress or feel disapproval of.

(v) express or feel disapproval of.

loquacious

(adj.) talkative, wordy; fond of talking

pulverize

(v.) to ground or pound to a powder or dust; to destroy or overcome (as though by smashing into fragments)

insouciance

nonchalance or a lack of concern

"the cheerful feeling you have when nothing is troubling you"

acclaim

(n.) high praise (Greg's excellent poem won the acclaim of his friends.) accolade (n.) high praise, special distinction (Everyone offered accolades to Sam after he won the Noble Prize.)

oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.

retrospective

(adj, n) looking to the past or backward; applying to the past, retroactive (adj); an art exhibit of an artist's work over a long period of time (n)

tirade

(n.) a long, angry speech, usually very critical

panacea

(n.) a remedy for all ills; cure-all; an answer to all problems

panache

(n.) a confident and stylish manner, dash; a strikingly elaborate or colorful display

(n) Flair, style, swagger; a flamboyant or grand way of acting

crescendo

steadily increasing in volume or force

(n.) a steady increase in intensity or volume (The crescendo of the brass instruments gave the piece a patriotic feel.)

paean

a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving

eulogy

(n) speech of praise or written work of praise, esp. a speech given at a funeral

elegy

a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead.

harried

adj: troubled persistently especially with petty annoyance

feeling strained as a result of having demands persistently made on one; harassed

besiege

surround with armed forces; harass (with requests); annoy continually

Attack, overwhelm, crowd in on or surround

fete

A party or festival, especially one held out of doors.

to honor or entertain (someone) lavishly

(n.) a party or celebration

hobble

verb: to hold back the progress of something. "Bad weather has hobbled rescue efforts.

hamstring

cripple (a person or animal) by cutting their hamstrings.

dither

Act indecisively (verb); a state of fear or trembling excitement

(v.) to be indecisive (Not wanting to offend either friend, he dithered about which of the two birthday parties he should attend.)

prevarication

a false or deliberate misstatement; lie.

the act of not telling the truth by not directly answering a question

ubiquitous

(adj) existing everywhere at the same time

disconcerting

upsetting, frustrating, distracting

confusing; disturbing; causing emotional disturbance

boosterish

supporting or promoting something enthusiastically, and often uncritically.

jingoism

belligerent support of one's country

belligerent

(adj.) given to fighting, warlike; combative, aggressive; (n.) one at war, one engaged in war

Hostile, Aggressive, Quarrelsome

insipid

lacking interest or flavor

dull; bland; boring

affable

(adj.) courteous and pleasant, sociable, easy to speak to

Friendly

churlish

(adj.) lacking politeness or good manners; lacking sensitivity; difficult to work with or deal with; rude

wane

(v.) to lose size, strength, or power

(v.) to decrease in size, dwindle (Don't be so afraid of his wrath because his influence with the president is already beginning to wane.)

To decrease in strength or intensity

fiasco

a complete, ridiculous failure, debacle, a major disaster

predilection

A preference or special liking for something; a bias in favor of something

odium

(n.) hatred, contempt; disgrace or infamy resulting from hateful conduct

probity

(n.) virtue, integrity (Because he was never viewed as a man of great probity, no one was surprised by Mr. Samson's immoral behavior.)

noun: integrity, strong moral principle

benevolence

kindness, generosity, charity

Inclination to perform charitable acts

precocity

manifesting or characterized by unusually early development or maturity, especially in mental aptitude

demonstrating an exceptional talent at an early age

parsimony

(n.) frugality, stinginess (Many relatives believed that my aunt's wealth resulted from her parsimony.)

ignoble

having low moral standards; not noble in character; mean

semblence

the outward appearance or apparent form of something, especially when the reality is different

deleterious

(adj.) harmful (She experienced the deleterious effects of running a marathon without stretching her muscles enough beforehand.)

destructive, detrimental

commandeer

take (private property) for military use without needing permission or giving payment; draft for military purposes

appropriate

(v.) to take, make use of (The government appropriated the farmer's land without justification.)

extradite

deport from one country back to the home country

interdict

to forbid or stop the activities or entry of

prohibition; an order forbidding something to be done

censure

Strong disapproval or official reprimand (n); to issue such disapproval or reprimand (v)

To criticize harshly

timorous

(adj.) timid, fearful (When dealing with the unknown, timorous Tallulah almost always broke into tears.)

timid by nature or revealing fear and nervousnes

timid

hesitant; lacking in courage or boldness

lacking self-confidence

cow

(v.) to crouch or shrink away from in fear or shame

reticent

(adj) not talking much; private (of a person), restrained, reserved

Not revealing one's thoughts or feelings readily

turgid

(adj.) swollen, bloated, filled to excess; overdecorated or excessive in language

intractable

Stubborn

(adj.) difficult to manipulate, unmanageable (There was no end in sight to the intractable conflict between the warring countries.)

aberrant

deviating from what is normal or expected

poised

(adj., part.) balanced, suspended; calm, controlled; ready for action

having a composed and self-assured manner

lacklustre

Lacking in vitality, force, or conviction; uninspired or uninspiring, dull, uninspiring, likeless

decorous

Behaving with propriety and good taste; polite

(adj.) socially proper, appropriate (The appreciative guest displayed decorous behavior toward his host.)

perceptive

(adj.) having sympathetic insight or understanding, capable of keen appreciation

insightful, discerning

astute

(adj.) shrewd, crafty, showing practical wisdom

having or showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one's advantage.