GRE WORDS 1B

GRE WORDS 1B

Group 6

1.      Abstain: Restrain oneself from doing or enjoying something; choose not to consume alcohol.

a.      Refrain forbear desist avoid teetotal

2.      Blighted: Spoil, harm, or destroy; anything that mars or prevents growth or prosperity; affected by blight= cause to suffer a blight

a.      The scandal blighted the careers of several politicians; "his father's blighted ambitions".

b.      Plagued spoilt afflicted smote

3.      Credulous: Disposed (make fit or prepared) to believe on little evidence; showing lack of judgement or experience.

                                                              i.      The gimmick would convince none but the most credulous.

                                                            ii.      Credible naïf naïve trustful unquestioning

4.      Enshroud: cover as if with a shroud (Burial garment in which a corpse is wrapped)

a.      The origins of this civilization are enshrouded in mystery.

b.      Cover hide shroud enclose enfold envelop wrap

5.      Haughtiness: overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner towards inferiors

a.      Arrogance hauteur high-handedness lordliness pride superbia disdainfulness overbearingness snobbism superiority superciliousness bossiness

b.      But though he was rather haughty, we were fond of him.

6.      Lachrymose: Showing sorrow, tearful

a.      Dolorous tearful weeping

b.      Lachrymose pictures of the children affected were used to further illustrate the terrible effect of eu law.

7.      Obfuscate: make obscure (make less visible or unclear) or unclear, unintelligible; bewilder (confuse) someone

a.      Alter change modify darken confuse dim becloud

b.      Obfuscate to keep scrutiny at bay is no longer an option.

8.      Plethora: extreme excess; the property of being extremely abundant

a.      The plethora of detail.

b.      Cornucopia overplus profuseness profusion richness superfluity

9.      Repudiate: cast off; refuse to acknowledge, ratify or recognize as valid; reject as untrue

a.      The parents repudiated their son; repudiate as debt

b.      Disown renounce decline deny

10.  Tedium: the feeling of being bored by something tedious; dullness owing to length or slowness

a.      Boredom ennui tedious tiresome wearisome

b.      To relieve with the tedium they messed about with the tennis ball.

Group 7

1.      Abstemious: Sparing in consumption of especially food and drink; marked by temperance (the trait of avoiding excesses) in indulgence.

a.      The pleasures of the table, never of much consequence to the one naturally abstemious

b.      Light abstentious abstinent ascetic austere temperate

c.       Ant: gluttonous

2.      Blithe: Lacking or showing a lack of due concern; carefree and happy and light-hearted

a.      Spoke with blithe ignorance of the true situation.

b.      Light-hearted playful cheerful unconcerned

3.      Crepuscular: Like twilight (The soft glowing light from the sky during evening when the sun is below the horizon, caused by the reflection of the sun's rays from the atmosphere.); dim

a.      The evening’s crepuscular charm.

b.      Dark

c.       Crepuscular rays may be spotted downward, upward or both; these are upward.

4.      Enunciation: The articulation (formation) of speech regarded from the point of view of its intelligibility to the audience (such that the audience would understand).

a.      The broken syntax and casual enunciation of the conversational English.

b.      Diction articulation mumbling

c.       He actually has a very strong and unique delivery, fragile and emotional at the same time, with all words carefully enunciated.

5.      Headstrong: Habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition

a.      The relationship between the intellect and the emotions is like the relationship between parents and their headstrong five-year-old.

b.      Forward self-willed wilful disobedient obstinate

6.      Lacklustre: Lacking brilliance or vitality, lacking shine

a.      Lustreless dull hebetudinous

b.      A dull lacklustre life, staring with lacklustre eyes.

7.      Objective: The goal intended to be attained (and which is believed to be attainable).

                                                              i.      The sole objective of her trip was to see her children

                                                            ii.      Accusative aim object target goal end

                                                          iii.      Ant: subjective

8.      Pliable: Susceptible to being led or directed, capable of being shaped; able to adjust readily

a.      Pliable masses of people ripe for propaganda (Information that is spread for the purpose of promoting some cause).

b.      Bendable ductile fictile flexible malleable tractile waxy adaptable susceptible.

9.      Rescind: cancel officially

a.      He rescinded the ban on smoking.

b.      Annul countermand lift overturn repeal reverse revoke vacate cancel renege

10.  Temper: a sudden outburst of anger; exhibiting uncontrollable anger.

a.      Harden by reheating; bring to desired consistency or hardness by a process of gradual heating.

b.      His temper was well known to all his employees.

c.       Anneal biliousness chasten harden mollify peevishness pique snappiness

Group 8

1.      Abstruse: Difficult to understand; incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge

a.      The professor’s lectures were so abstruse that students tended to avoid them.

b.      Deep recondite esoteric obscure profound

2.      Blunderbuss: A short musket (an infantryman’s light gun with long barrel) of wide bore with a flared muzzle used at a short range; an action or way of doing something regarded as lacking in subtlety and precision.

a.      Musket

b.      He fired two blunderbusses in the air from the top of the house, and they went off.

3.      Cringe: Draw back, as with fear or pain; show submission of fear

a.      Blench cower crawl fawn flinch funk quail recoil squinch wince retract

b.      Another lot will listen but still cringe from political risks.

4.      Envenom: cause to be bitter or resentful; add poison to

a.      These injustices envenomed her even more

b.      Acerbate embitter poison

5.      Hedonism: The pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle; and ethical system that evaluates he pursuit of pleasure as the highest good.

a.      Ethics ethical-motive morality morals

6.      Laconic: Brief and to the point; effectively cut short; using very few words

a.      The laconic reply; yes.

b.      Crisp short curt terse concise

7.      Oblique: Slanting or inclined in direction or course or position--neither parallel nor perpendicular nor right-angled; the oblique rays of the winter sun.

a.      Indirect in departing from the accepted or proper way; misleading; gave oblique answers.

b.      Devious

c.       Ant: nominative parallel perpendicular

8.      Plumage: the feathers on a bird’s body.

a.      Feathering feather plume

9.      Resignation: Acceptance of despair; an act of giving up; a formal document giving notice of your intention to resign

a.      He submitted his resignation as of next month.

b.      Surrender

10.  Tenacious: good at remembering; tenacious memory

a.      Stubbornly unyielding; men tenacious of opinion

b.      Sticking together; Tenacious burrs

c.       Coherent dogged dour persistent pertinacious recollective retentive unyielding

Group 9

1.      Accolade: An award or privilege granted as a special honor or as an acknowledgment of merit.

a.      An accolade for bravery

b.      Award honour laurels

2.      Bolster: support and strengthen; bolster morale

a.      Add padding to; bolster the seat of the chair

b.      The fall in interest rates is starting to bolster confidence".

c.       Support uphold back

3.      Cryptic: of an obscure nature; having a secret or hidden meaning

                                                              i.      The new insurance policy is written without any cryptic or mysterious terms.

                                                            ii.      Cabalistic cryptical deep inscrutable kabbalistic mysterious mystifying  sibyline

4.      Ephemeral: lasting a very short time; the ephemeral joys of childhood

a.      Ephemeron fugacious passing transient

b.      There is a risk that partnerships will prove ephemeral if they are devised in response to a particular funding regime.

5.      Hedonist: someone motivated by desires for sensual pleasures

a.      Pleasure-seeker sensualist

6.      Lamentation: a cry of sorrow and grief;

a.      Their pitiful lamentations could be heard throughout the ward

b.      Lament mourn plaint wail

7.      Obliterate: Mark for deletion, rub off, or erase; make undecipherable; remove or do away with completely

a.      Obliterate these lines from the President’s speech.

b.      Blot-out efface hide kill obscure veil wipe out

8.      Plummet: drop sharply;

a.      The stock market plummeted sharply

b.      Plumb plump drop

9.      Resolution: A formal expression by a meeting; agreed to by a vote

a.      The trait of being resolute; Finding a solution to a problem

b.      Something settled or resolved; the outcome of decision making

c.       A decision to do something or to behave in a certain manner

d.      Answer closure declaration definition firmness settlement result resolve solution solvent

10.  Tentative: under terms not final or fully worked out or agreed upon; unsettled in mind or opinion

a.      Just a tentative schedule

b.      Doubtful probationary provisional

Group 10

1.      Acquiesce: to agree or express agreement

a.      The Maestro acquiesced to the request for an encore (extra or repeat performance).

b.      Accede assent

2.      Bombast: pompous or pretentious talk or writing; High-sounding language with little meaning.

a.      Grandiloquence

b.      Blah claptrap fustian rant

3.      Curtail: place restrictions on; curtail drinking in school

a.      Terminate or abbreviate before its intended or proper end or its full extent; personal freedom is curtailed in many countries.

b.      Clip curb cut back cut short restrict

4.      Epicure: a person devoted to refined sensuous enjoyment (especially good food and drink)

a.      Bon vivant epicurean foodie gastronome gourmet

b.      Epicure's delight!

5.      Heed: pay close attention to; heed the advice of old men.

a.      Attentiveness listen mind regard obey advertence

6.      Lampoon: ridicule with satire; the writer lampooned the politician’s proposal

a.      A composition that imitates or misrepresents somebody’s lifestyle usually in a humorous way.

b.      Burlesque charade mockery parody sendup spoof travesty

7.      Oblivious: lacking conscious awareness of; failing to keep in mind

a.      Oblivious of the mounting pressures for political reform.

b.      Forgetful unmindful inattentive incognizant unaware

8.      Podium: A platform raised above the surrounding level to give prominence to the person on it

a.      Ambo dais pulpit rostrum stump

9.      Resonant: characterized by resonance (The ability to evoke or suggest images, memories, and emotions.); serving to bring to mind;

a.      having the character of a loud deep sound; the quality of being resonant

b.      They would have been filled with acoustic jars, to make the singing more resonant.

10.  Tenuous: having thin consistency; very thin in diameter; lacking substance or significance

a.      A tenuous fluid; a tenuous thread; a tenuous argument

b.      Flimsy fragile slight thin