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GRE '08 Hit Parade 4
GRE '08 Hit Parade Group 4 Vocab.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 1. ACERBIC | (adj) having a sour or bitter taste or character; sharp; biting |
| 2. AGGRANDIZE | (v) to increase in intensity, power, influence or prestige |
| 3. ALCHEMY | (n) a medieval science aimed at the transmutation of metals into gold |
| 4. AMENABLE | (adj) agreeable; responsive to suggestion |
| 5. ANACHRONISM | (n) something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context |
| 6. ASTRINGENT | (adj) having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe |
| 7. CONTIGUOUS | (adj) sharing a border; touching; adjacent |
| 8. CONVENTION | (n) generally agreed-upon practice or attitude |
| 9. CREDULOUS | (adj) tending to believe too readily; gullible (nou form |
| 10. CYNICISM | (n) an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness |
| 11. DECORUM | (n) polite or appropriate conduct or behavior |
| 12. DERISION | (n) scorn, ridicule, contemptuous treatment |
| 13. DESICCATE | (v) to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull |
| 14. DILETTANTE | (n) one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge |
| 15. DISPARAGE | (v) to slight or belittle |
| 16. DIVULGE | (v) to disclose something secret |
| 17. FAWN | (v) to flatter or praise excessively |
| 18. FLOUT | (v) to show contempt for, as in a rule or convention |
| 19. GARRULOUS | (adj) pointlessly talkative, talking too much |
| 20. GLIB | (adj) marked by ease or informality; nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial |
| 21. HUBRIS | (n) overbearing presumption or pride; arrogance |
| 22. IMMINENT | (adj) about to happen; impending |
| 23. IMMUTABLE | (adj) not capable of change |
| 24. IMPETUTOUS | (adj) hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement |
| 25. INDIFFERENT | (adj) having no interest or concern; showing no bias or prejudice |
| 26. INIMICAL | (adj) damaging; harmful; impending |
| 27. INTRACTABLE | (adj) not easily managed or directed; stubborn; obstinate |
| 28. INTREPID | (adj) steadfast and courageous |
| 29. LACONIC | (adj) using few words; terse |
| 30. MAVERICK | (n) an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party |
| 31. MERCURIAL | (adj) characterized by rapid and unpredictable change in mood |
| 32. MOLLIFY | (v) to calm or soothe; to reduce in emotional intensity |
| 33. NEOPHYTE | (n) a recent convert; a beginner; novice |
| 34. OBFUSCATE | (v) to deliberately obscure; to make confusing |
| 35. OBSTINATE | (adj) stubborn; hardheaded; uncompromising |
| 36. OSTENTATIOUS | (adj) characterized by or given to pretentious display; showy |
| 37. PERVADE | (v) to permeate thoughout |
| 38. PHLEGMATIC | (adj) calm; sluggish; unemotional |
| 39. PLETHORA | (n) an overabundance; a surplus |
| 40. PRAGMATIC | (adj) practical rather than idealistic |
| 41. PRESUMPTUOUS | (adj) overstepping due bounds; taking liberties |
| 42. PRISTINE | (adj) pure; uncorrupted; clean |
| 43. PROBITY | (n) adherence to highest principles; complete ad confirmed integrity; uprightness |
| 44. PROCLIVITY | (n) a natural predisposition or inclination |
| 45. PROFLIGATE | (adj) excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant |
| 46. PROPENSITY | (n) a natural inclination or tendency; penchant |
| 47. PROSAIC | (adj) dull; lacking in spirit or imagination |
| 48. PUNGENT | (adj) characterized by a strong, sharp smell or taste |
| 49. QUIXOTIC | (adj) foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romatic ideals |
| 50. QUOTIDIAN | (adj) occuring or recurring daily; commonplace |
| 51. RAREFY | (v) to make or become thin, less dense; to refine |
| 52. RECONDITE | (adj) hidden, concealed; difficult to understand; obscure |
| 53. REFULGENT | (adj) radiant; shiny; brilliant |
| 54. RENEGE | (v) to fail to honor a commitment; to go back on a promise |
| 55. SEDULOUS | (adj) diligent; persistent; hardworking |
| 56. SHARD | (n) a piece of broken pottery or glass |
| 57. SOPORIFIC | (adj) causing drowsiness; tending to induce sleep |
| 58. SPARSE | (adj) thin; not dense; arranged at widely spaced intervals |
| 59. SPENDTHRIFT | (n) one who spends money wastefully |
| 60. SUBTLE | (adj) not obvious; elusive; difficult to discern |
| 61. TACIT | (adj) implied; not explicitly stated |
| 62. TERSE | (adj) brief and concise in wording |
| 63. TOUT | (v) to publicly praise or promote |
| 64. TRENCHANT | (adj) sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating |
| 65. UNFEIGNED | (adj) genuine; not false of hypocritical |
| 66. UNTENABLE | (adj) indefensible; not viable; uninhabitable |
| 67. VACILLATE | (v) to waver indecisively between one course of action or opinion and another |
| 68. VARIEGATED | (adj) multicolored |
| 69. VEXATION | (n) annoyance; irritation |
| 70. VIGILANT | (adj) alertly watchful |
| 71. VITUPERATE | (v) to use harsh, condemnatory language; to abuse or censure severely; to berate |
| 72. VOLATILE | (adj) readily changing to vapor; changeable; fickle; explosive |