GRE VOCAB: "H" + "I"

Hackneyed (adj)

Rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage

1. Every hackneyed phrase began as something other than a cliché, it only ended up on the greeting card circuit because enough people repeated it over and over.

2. Despite the often hackneyed writing, some pulp fiction can still be fun to read.

Halcyon (adj)

Calm and peaceful, prosperous

1. I always hated it when the halcyon days of summer were interrupted by the start of school in the fall.

The halcyon was a legendary bird that was thought to be able to clam the waves so that it could nest on the sea.

hallow (v)

To set apart as holy

1. The site for the new church was set aside and hallowed in a special ceremony.

hallowed (adj)

consecrated, or highly venerated

1. Abraham Lincoln remains one of the nation’s most hallowed heroes.

2. Graceland is hallowed ground for Elvis’s legions of fans.

Happenstance (n)

A chance happening or event

1. They ran into each other at the grocery aisle of the supermarket by sheer happenstance; neither had planned on it.

Harangue (v)

To deliver a loud, pompous speech or tirade.

1. After having been harangued for hours about the superiority of his methods, we should be forgiven for laughing when his demonstration failed.

Harbinger (n)

Anything that foreshadows a future event; an omen; a sign

1. Many scientists note that the growing number of hurricanes and tornadoes are harbingers of global climate change.

Harrow (v)

To distress, create stress or torment

1. The sadistic professor loved to harrow his students with harrowing tales of the upcoming final exam that no student in the school’s history had ever passed.

Hedonism (n)

Devotion to pleasurable pursuits, especially to the pleasures of the senses

1. Spring break is popularly known as a festival of hedonism when thousands of college students gather for a week of debauchery in the sun.

2. He had to give up his hedonistic lifestyle once he had a full-time job; it was just too hard to get up in the morning after a long night of partying.

Hegemony (n)

The consistent dominance or influence of one group, state, or ideology over others.

1. It has been argued that the United States has achieved global hegemony in the post-Cold War era.

2. Many people point to the growing power of multinational corporations as evidence of the hegemony of globalization and capitalism.

3. The company’s hegemonic control over the market was threatened by the gains its competitors were making as well as by the changing economy.

Heretical (adj)

Violating accepted dogma or convention, unorthodox

1. Galileo was brought before the Inquisition because of his heretical agreement with Copernicus that the earth moved around the sun.

2. The once heretical notion that computers would become more than calculating machines or toys is now so obvious that i't’s hard to remember when we ever thought differently.

Hermetic (adj)

Airtight, impervious to outside influence

1. The tomb’s hermetic seal allowed its contents to be perfectly preserved for thousands of years.

2. The hermit’s hermetic existence in a cave kept him from hearing any news of the outside world.

3. We discovered that the jar had not been hermetically sealed when we finally identified it as the source of the nasty smell in the cupboard.

Heterodox (adj)

Unorthodox, heretical, iconoclastic

1. Einstein’s heterodox theories changed our fundamental understanding of time and space forever.

2. The designer’s heterodox assertion that it is perfectly fine to wear white after Labor Day shocked the fashion world.

Heterodoxy (from heterodox)

an idea that departs from what is accepted

Hidebound (adj)

Narrow or rigid in opinion, inflexible; oriented toward or confined to the past; extremely conservative

1. He was hidebound by outdated notions of chivalry.

Hirsute (adj)

Hairy, shaggy

1. If he hadn’t been so hirsute, the werewolf might have escaped detection forever and settled down into a nice, quiet life in the suburbs.

2. My hirsute dog sheds life-size replicas of himself and still has more hair left over.

Homily (n)

A sermon or morally instructive lecture, a platitude

1. The subject of the minister’s homilies ranged from the importance of compassion to the virtues of brushing one’s teeth three times a day.

2. Spare me the homilies; I already know why I should do the right thing.

Homiletics (from homily)

The art of preaching

1. She was famous for her homiletic skill; people came from all of the surrounding counties to hear her preach.

Homogenous (adj)

Same throughout

1. The town had so little influx of new people and ideas that its population seemed homogenous to outsiders.

2. What seemed like a homogenous coating from a distance was really a swirl of different colors and textures when you examined it up close.

Hortatory (adj)

Urging to some course of conduct or action; encouraging

1. The dean’s hortatory commencement speech encouraged all graduates to seek their own true path.

Hubris (n)

Arrogant presumption or pride

1. Icarus was destroyed by the sun god, who melted the wax in Icarus’s wings as punishment for his hubris in daring to fly so close to the sun.

2. The company president’s hubris turned out to be his downfall when he ignored all of the warnings of the coming depression, thinking that he could predict the future on his own.

Hyperbole (n)

An exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech.

1. I should have realized she was using hyperbole when she promised me the moon and stars; that way I wouldn’t have been disappointed when I only got the moon.

Iconoclast (n)

One who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institutions

1. Frank always insisted on being the iconoclast; whenever everyone else agreed to “up,” he would argue for “down.”

2. In a sense, all great innovators are iconoclasts who challenge the prevailing assumptions of the day.

Iconoclastic

Attacking cherished beliefs, heretical

1. Jill’s iconoclastic attitude shocked everyone when she made an impassioned argument to the class in support of the restoration of the British monarchy’s rule over America.

Idolatrous (adj)

Given to intense or excessive devotion to something

1. Jim’s family realized his love of football was truly idolatrous when they discovered the Raiders shrine in his closet.

Idyll (n)

A carefree, lighthearted pastoral or romantic episode or experience, a literary or musical piece describing such

1. The smell of the ocean always made me nostalgic for our summer idyll on the coast two years ago.

2. Theocritus is generally credited with originating the poetic form of the idyll, although it is not entirely clear whether he wrote all the bucolic poems we currently associate with him.

Idyllic

simple or carefree

1. Our once-idyllic house became a nightmare when the family of kazoo players moved in next door.

Ignominious (adj)

Shameful, dishonorable, ignoble, undignified, disgraceful

1. It was an ignominious, though well deserved, end to all his boasting when the wheels fell off his car halfway through the race.

2. The company president made a hasty and ignominious retreat from public life when it was discovered that she had been embezzling money for years.

Ignominy (from ignominious)

Dishonor or humiliation

Illiberality (n)

Quality of being narrow-minded, bigoted

1. Her illiberality against all those poorer than her became apparent when she berated the cleaning staff.

Imbroglio (n)

Difficult or embarrassing situation

1. We could see a public relations imbroglio developing before our eyes when the food fight started in the senior citizens’ home right as the mayor began his speech.

2. Clare tried to extricate herself from the imbroglio she started at the party by sneaking out the back door.

Imminent (adj)

About to happen; impending

1. Alfred had a hunch that his luck was going to improve shortly and that good fortune was imminent; little did he know, though, that it would show up in the form of a pink poodle.

2. They say that a sound like a freight train can be a sign of a tornado’s imminent approach.

Immutable (adj)

Not capable of change

1. Her position on the matter was immutable; no reasoning could convince her that Elvis was not alive and well and working at the car wash down the street.

2. Gravity is an immutable force— what goes up must come down.

Impassive (adj)

Revealing no emotion or sensibility

1. The guards at Buckingham Palace are required to be completely impassive; they can’t show any emotion whatsoever.

2. The principal remained impassive in the face of our most impassioned pleas; even our tears didn’t move him to leniency.

Impecunious (adj)

Lacking funds; without money

1. The impecunious actor was so desperate for money that he had to sacrifice his artistic principles and work as a mime for a few months.

2. The worst thing about the impecunious life of a grad student might be the endless diet of ramen noodles.

imperious (adj)

Commanding, masterful, arrogant, domineering, haughty

1. Her imperious manner was extremely annoying to her employees, who thought her arrogance was unfounded since she wasn’t even that bright.

2. The diva dismissed us from her presence with an imperious wave of her hand.

Imperturbable (adj)

Marked by extreme calm, impassivity and steadiness

1. We were in awe of the teacher’s ability to remain imperturbable while chaos erupted in the classroom; even with twenty kindergartners running amuck, she managed to stay calm.

2. Bo’s usually imperturbable nature was put to the test when his roommate spilled cornflakes all over the couch and left without cleaning them up.

Impetuous (adj)

Hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement

1. We regretted our impetuous decision to spend our vacation in Greenland when we realized we hadn’t packed any warm clothing.

2. John’s impetuous nature kept him from planning anything in advance, but somehow everything always seemed to work out in the end.

Implacable (adj)

Not capable of being appeased or significantly changed.

1. Her anger over her partner’s betrayal was implacable; nothing anyone said or did would appease her.

2. Because I have an implacable fear of dentists, I haven’t been to see one in twenty years and now only have two teeth left.

Importune (v)

To ask incessantly, beg, nag

1. Jerry’s constant importuning for time off worked in a way; he had plenty of time off once he was fired for nagging his boss about a vacation.

Importunate (from importune)

Persistent in asking

1. Leslie is an importunate borrower of clothing; I’m not sure she even owns an of her clothes since she is always asking to borrow other people’s stuff.

Impudent (adj)

Shamelessly bold; insolent, impertinent

1. John’s impudent personality on stage enthralled his fans; unfortunately, it also alienated his fellow band members

Impudence (from impudent)

The characteristic of being impudent (shamelessly bold; insolent, impertinent)

1. Adonia was frequently punished in school for her impudence.

Impugn (v)

Attack or assail verbally, censure, execrate, deny

1. Although the paper impugned his motives for resigning, claiming that he did it to hide his misdeeds, most people still believed he did it for virtuous reasons.

2. The candidate’s attempt to impugn his opponent’s voting record backfired when it merely brought to light his own poor attendance record.

Impunity (n)

Immunity from punishment, penalty, or harm

1. Barry the bully was able to terrorize the schoolyard with impunity because he was always able to look completely innocent whenever any authority figures were around.

2. It is only possible to lie on a bed of nails with impunity if the nails are close enough together that the force per unit area is not enough to break the skin; in other words, don’t try this at home without a physicist handy.

Impute (v)

To attribute to a cause or source, ascribe, assign as a characteristic

1. The mechanic imputed my car’s failure to start to the absence of any gasoline in the tank.

2. My dance partner kindly imputed by fall to a slippery floor, when in reality my two left feet were the cause.

Inalienable (adj)

Cannot be transferred

• Generally, we hear this word with the word “rights,” as in inalienable rights.

1. The Declaration of Independence states that man is endowed with certain inalienable rights; unfortunately, the author failed to specify whether those rights were also applicable to woman.

Inchoate (adj)

In an initial stage, not fully formed

1. Drat, our plan for world domination is still inchoate; how will we finalize it before the deadline tomorrow?

2. It was amazing to realize that the inchoate blob in front of us would become a delicate vase when the glassblower was done.

Incipient (adj)

Beginning to come into being or to become apparent

1. I could sense the dull throbbing in my head that was the sign of an incipient headache; I knew it was only a matter of time before it had developed into a full-fledged migraine.

2. Marta rushed to stop the incipient unrest that began when the food and drink ran out at the part.

Indecorous (adj)

Violating generally accepted standards of good taste or propriety, unseemly

1. Picking one’s nose in public is generally considered indecorous behavior.

2. Slurping one’s soup is considered indecorous in the United States, but is considered a sign that one enjoys one’s meal in Japan.

Indefatigable (adj)

Not easily exhaustible, tireless, dogged

1. Her indefatigable good humor was legendary; she never seemed out of sorts no matter how annoying everyone around her was.

2. Although I tried to convince myself I was indefatigable, I started to suspect I would have to be carried the last few miles of the hike.

3. His indefatigability paid off when he won the dance contest after dancing for fourteen hours straight.

Indemnify (adj)

To guard or secure against anticipated loss.

1. The homeowner’s insurance policy indemnified him from loss of any property due to inclement weather.

Indifferent (adj)

Having no interest or concern, apathetic; showing no bias or prejudice

• Indifferent is a multifunctional word. It can mean having no interest in something, but it can also mean having no bias, which should remind you of all that confusion around disinterested and uninterested. It can also mean not good or bad, not too much or too little, and neither right nor wrong.

1. Maria was indifferent about wine and could never understand all that sniffing, swirling, and sipping people seemed to care so much about.

2. He may have been an indifferent musician, but he was a brilliant composer.

3. Her reputation as an indifferent judge made all sides trust her; it was her indifference that made the two parties agree to accept her judgement as final.

Indolent (adj)

Lazy, listless, torpid

1. Alex was so indolent that he hired other people to wash his hands for him.

Indolence (n)

the noun form of indolent (Lazy, listless, torpid)

1. It seemed paradoxical that Anna so wished for a life of indolence that she worked very hard all the time to be able to afford it.

Ineluctable (adj)

Certain, inevitable

1. George refused to accept the ineluctable reality of death, so he planned to have himself frozen.

2. The outcome of the game seemed ineluctable once the score was 156 to 14

Inert (adj)

Unmoving, lethargic, sluggish, not reactive chemically

1. Once it hits ninety degrees Fahrenheit and ninety percent humidity, I became completely inert; I can’t even move at that point.

2. Helium and argon are two of the inert gases, which do not react with much of anything.

3. The bureaucracy had become effectively inert; everyone was so bogged down in paperwork that nothing ever moved through the system.

Ingenuous (adj)

Artless, frank and candid, lacking in sophistication

1. His ingenuous question revealed how naïve he was, but his ingenuousness was actually refreshing in this group of cynical, scheming old men.

Disingenuous

Lacking in candor, calculating, duplicitous

1. I suspected that his sudden interest in my research was disingenuous; he really just wanted an invitation to the party I was hosting.

Inherent (adj)

Ingrained within one’s nature, intrinsic, firmly established, essential

1. His inherent skill at spatial relations reasoning was revealed when he solved the Rubik’s cube at the age of two.

2. Some people believe that self-interest is inherent in human nature; others argue that it is a learned characteristic.

3. It was inherent to the plot that the protagonist dies; without his death, the story would have made no sense.

Inhere

to be inherent (ingrained within one’s nature, intrinsic, firmly established, essential) or innate to something

1. The age-old conflict that inheres in part in the parent-child relationship as the child reaches adolescence was not going to be resolved today.

Inimical (adj)

Damaging, harmful, injurious, hostile, unfriendly

1. While the Antarctic is inimical to most animal and plant life, some organisms nevertheless manage to survive there.

2. He seemed inimical to my overtures of friendship, refusing even to talk to me.

Inimitable (adj)

One of a kind, peerless

1. His inimitable feats of daring on the trapeze were so audacious that no one else even tried to imitate them.

2. She lived up to every expectation when she arrived at the party decked out in ostrich feathers and sequins in her usual inimitable style.

Iniquity (n)

Wickedness, gross injustice

1. The iniquity of the judgement was so blatant that there was immediate worldwide protest of its unfairness.

2. Having suffered under the iniquity of the dictator’s rule for decades, the citizens understandably celebrated the overthrow of his regime.

Iniquitous (from iniquity)

Characterized by wickedness.

Injudicious (adj)

Showing lack of judgement, unwise, imprudent, indiscreet

1. He proved to be so highly injudicious in his handling of the affair that the situation soon turned into a disaster.

2. She was an injudicious friend who could not be trusted to keep a secret.

Innervate (v)

To supply with nerves, energize

• Innervate is usually used to describe a physiological process, as in the fibers that innervate the facial muscles, but it can also be used metaphorically.

1. Innervated by our coach’s pep talk, we were filled with energy for the upcoming game.

Innocuous (adj)

Harmless; causing no damage

1. The poisonous-looking brew turned out to be innocuous; it didn’t taste very good, but it didn’t cause any harm.

2. At least her practical jokes are innocuous, even if they are annoying.

Inscrutable (adj)

Incapable of being discovered or understood, mysterious

1. Her expression was inscrutable; I couldn’t tell whether she liked the present or not.

2. Quantum mechanics is inscrutable to me, so I’ve given up even trying to understand it.

Insensible (adj)

Unconscious, unresponsive, unaware, unaffected, numb

1. He lay insensible on the field after being hit in the head by a baseball.

2. I am not insensible of your suffering; I just don’t care.

3. She was so insensible to his entreaties, refusing to take him back no matter how much he pleaded.

• Note the subtle difference in the last two sentences: insensible of your suffering means unaware of it (i.e., “I know you’re suffering, but in this case I just don’t care.”) and insensible to his entreaties means unresponsive to them.

Insipid (adj)

Without taste or flavor, lacking in spirit, dull

1. This insipid stew is in desperate need of some hot sauce.

2. Henry’s sense of humor was so insipid that he thought all knock-knock jokes were funny.

Insouciant (adj)

Without taste or flavor, lacking in spirit, dull

1. This insipid stew is in desperate need of some hot sauce.

2. Henry’s sense of humor was so insipid that he thought all knock-knock jokes were funny.

Insouciant (adj)

Without taste or flavor, lacking in spirit, dull

1. This insipid stew is in desperate need of some hot sauce.

2. Henry’s sense of humor was so insipid that he thought all knock-knock jokes were funny.

Insouciant (adj)

Unconcerned, carefree, nonchalant

1. Her insouciant attitude toward her schoolwork means that she rarely turned in her papers or bothered to study for a test.

2. Insouciance may be charming in a friend, but is often annoying in a co-worker if you end up doing his work for him.

Insular (adj)

Parochial, narrow-minded, like an island

1. The small fishing community have a very insular attitude toward outsiders, viewing them as strange and generally distrusting them.

2. The insularity of his upbringing was reflected in the narrow-mindedness of his views.

The primary definition of insular means relating to an island, and insulate, meaning to set off in a detached position, comes from the same root.

Interdict (v)

Prohibit, forbid, ban, halt

1. Although Prohibition attempted to interdict the sale of alcohol, it was never entirely successful.

Interdiction

A prohibition against something

1. My parents’ interdiction against my going out on a school night never worked as long as I was able to sneak out the window without getting caught.

Intimate (v)

To imply, suggest or insinuate

1. I’m shocked that you would intimate that I borrowed your car without asking; just because aI have the keys in my hand doesn’t mean I would ever think of doing such a thing!

2. The governor intimated that he might run for Congress, but coyly refused to commit one way or the other.

Intimation (from intimate, v)

A hint

1. Her intimations that I might get the job only made me more nervous.

Intractable (adj)

Not easily managed or directed, stubborn, obstinate

1. He was the most intractable child I have ever met; nothing I tried would get him to brush his teeth or go to bed.

2. Poverty remains one of the most intractable problems of modern society.

Intractable (adj)

Not easily managed or directed, stubborn, obstinate

1. He was the most intractable child I have ever met; nothing I tried would get him to brush his teeth or go to bed.

2. Poverty remains one of the most intractable problems of modern society.

Intransigent (adj)

Refusing to compromise

1. He was an intransigent supporter of the tax cut, refusing to compromise even the slightest bit.

2. Her intransigence in the face of all opposing arguments would almost have been impressive if it weren’t so darn frustrating.

Intrepid (adj)

Steadfast, courageous

1. The intrepid explorers continued on despite the harsh conditions.

2. Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen were intrepid journalists, daring to investigate under dangerous circumstances, so it was a good thing Superman was around to save them when they got into trouble.

Inundate (v)

To cover or overwhelm, to flood

1. Because the village sits in a basin, it is easily inundated when river levels rise and there is no escape route for the water.

2. Legend has it that the mail-order company was so inundated with orders in its early years that it occasionally burned order slips to get rid of them.

inundation is the noun form of inundate.

Inured (adj)

Accustomed to accepting something undesirable

1. I have become inured to waking up at 5 a.m.; I still don’t like it, but at least I’m used to it.

2. Her co-workers were so inured to her sarcasm that they no longer took it personally.

Inveigh (v)

To attack verbally, denounce, deprecate

1. The students inveighed bitterly against the new dress code, complaining that the orange shirt and red pants not only limited their freedom of expression but were also ugly.

2. Inveighing against the government’s policies will do you no good if you don’t bother to vote as well.

Inveigle (v)

To obtain by deception or flattery

1. I can’t believe she inveigled a ticket to the concert; I’ve been trying to get one for weeks.

2. Once I realized what he was up to, his attempts to inveigle me out of telling his girlfriend where he’d been were unsuccessful.

Inveterate (adj)

Deep routed, ingrained, habitual

1. Tim was such an inveterate liar that he lied even when he thought he was telling the truth.

2. Her inveterate preference for chocolate over vanilla ice cream had stayed the same for fifty years.

Inherent is a close synonym for inveterate.

Invidious (adj)

Tending to arouse envy or ill will in others

1. The promotion was important to Sven’s career; however, it meant that for a while, he was in the invidious position of supervising his former coworkers.

When invidious is used to describe a distinction or comparison, it means discriminatory.

1. It was invidious to give preferential treatment to one group of graduate students over the other, but no one was likely to question the tenured professor.

Irascible (adj)

Easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts

1. Irascible to the end, the grouchy old man started a fight on his deathbed.

2. My roommate is so irascible that I always check for the sound of flying objects before I open the door.

Itinerate (v)

To travel from place to place

1. After years of itinerating, never staying in one place for more than a couple of months, he finally settled down and bought a house.

Itinerant is an adjective that means traveling from place to place.

1. The itinerant laborers followed the harvest from county to county.