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Hit Parade 2010 # 2
Princeton Review GRE Vocab Set #2
Question | Answer |
---|---|
abate | (verb) to lessen in intensity or degree |
accolade | (noun) an expression of praise |
adulation | (noun) excessive praise; intense adoration |
aesthetic | (adjective) dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful |
ameliorate | (verb) one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion |
avarice | (noun) greed, esp. for wealth (adj. form: avaricious) |
axiom | (noun) a universally recognized principle (adj. form: axiomatic) |
burgeon | (verb) to grow rapidly or flourish |
bucolic | (Adjective) rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants |
cacophony | (noun) harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance (adj. form: cacophonous) |
canon | (noun) an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature (adj. form: canonical) |
castigation | (noun) severe criticism or punishment (verb form: castigate) |
catalyst | (noun) a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing that causes change |
caustic | (adjective) burning or stinging; causing corrosion |
chary | (adjective) wary; cautious; sparing |
cogent | appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing |
complaisance | (noun) the willingness to comply with the wished of others (adj. form: complaisant) |
contentious | (adjective) argumentative; quarrelsome;causing controversy or disagreement |
contrite | (adjective) regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness (noun form: contrition) |
culpable | (adjective) deserving blame (noun form: culpability) |
dearth | (noun) smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack |
demur | (verb) to question or oppose |
didactic | (adjective) intended to teach or instruct |
discretion | (noun) cautious reserve in speech;ability to make responsible decisions (adj. form: discreet) |
disinterested | (adjective) free of bias or self-interest; impartial |
dogmatic | (adjective) expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or unprovable principles (noun form: dogma) |
ebullience | (noun) the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings (adjective form: ebullient) |
eclectic | (adjective) composed of elements drawn from various sources |
elegy | (noun) a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead (adj. form: elegiac) |
emollient | (adjective/noun) soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smoothes the skin |
empirical | (adjective) based on observation or experiment |
enigmatic | (adjective) mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand (noun form: enigma) |
ephemeral | (adjective) brief; fleeting |
esoteric | (adjective) intended for or understood by a small, specific group |
eulogy | (noun) a speech honoring the dead (verb form: eulogize) |
exonerate | (verb) to remove blame |
facetious | (adjective) playful; humorous |
fallacy | (noun) an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief (adj. form: fallacious) |
furtive | (adjective) marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious |
gregarious | (adjective) sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people |
harangue | (verb/noun) to deliver a pompous speech or tirade; a long, pompous speech |
heretical | (adjective) violating accepted dogma or convention (noun form: heresy) |
hyperbole | (noun) an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech (adj. form: hyperbolic) |
impecunious | (adjective) lacking funds; without money |
incipient | (adjective) beginning to come into being or become apparent |
inert | (adjective) unmoving; lethargic; sluggish |
innocuous | (adjective) harmless; causing no damage |
intransigent | (adjective) refusing to compromise (noun form: intransigence) |
inveigle | (verb) to obtain by deception or flattery |
morose | (adjective) sad; sullen; melancholy |
odious | (adjective) evoking intense aversion or dislike |
opaque | (adjective) impenetrable by light; not reflecting light |
oscillation | (noun) the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm (verb form: oscillate) |
penurious | (adjective) extremely harmful; potentially causing death |
peruse | (verb) to examine with great care (noun form: perusal) |
pious | (adjective) extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion (noun form: piety) |
precursor | (noun) one that precedes and indicates or announces another |
preen | (verb) to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care |
prodigious | (adjective) abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary |
prolific | (adjective) producing large volumes or amounts, productive |
putrefy | (verb) to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor (adj. form: putrid) |
quaff | (verb) to drink deeply |
quiescence | (noun) stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest (adj. form: quiescent) |
redoubtable | (adjective) awe-inspiring; worthy of honor |
sanction | (noun/verb) authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance; to give permission or authority to |
satire | (noun) a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision (adj. form: satirical) |
squalid | (adjective) sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect (noun form: squalor) |
stoic | (adjective) indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast (noun form: stoicism) |
supplant | (verb) to take the place of; supersede |
torpid | (adjective) lethargic; sluggish; dormant (noun form: torpor) |
ubiquitous | (adjective) existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; wide-spread |
urbane | (adjective) sophisticated; redefined; elegant (noun form: urbanity) |
vilify | (verb) to defame; to characterize harshly |
viscous | (adjective) thick; sticky (noun form: viscosity) |