Term
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Definition
sharing a border; touching; adjacent
Georgia is considered Florida's _____________, sharing an obvious border.
bordering |
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Term
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Definition
an informed and astut judge in matters of taste; expert
syn: aficionado, enthusiast, specialist |
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Definition
The willingness to comply with the wishes of others
syn: agreeableness |
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Term
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Definition
concluding section of a musical or literary piece
At the end of the movie, a ______ described what happened to each of the characters later in life.
Syn: conclusion |
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Term
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Definition
to come together or unite
Suddenly, all the different ideas _______ into one perfect story, and the rest of hte script practically wrote itself.
Syn: fuse |
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Term
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Definition
vulgar; difficult and intractable
As I am far from a morning person, my loud nieces are likely to find me ______ before 8 o'clock.
Syn: Boorish |
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Term
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Definition
an illusion; originally, an imaginary fire-breathing monster
You vision of running New York City entirely on solar power is a ________.
Syn: Delusion |
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Term
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Definition
trickery or subterfuge
Enron's financial ________ included creating fake businesses in order to boost profit.
Syn: ruse, sham, deception |
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Term
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Definition
a blindly devoted patriot
Giovanni is a __________ about his grandmother's cooking and complains constantly whenever he heats at an Italian restaurant.
Syn: jingoist |
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Term
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Definition
to restrain or correct
We all hoped that joining the army would _______ his wild behavior.
Syn: reprove |
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Term
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Definition
to criticize severely; to officially rebuke
When the senator was caught buying a boat with taxpayer dollars, many members of his party publicly ________ him.
Syn: chastise, denounce, reprimand |
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Term
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Definition
burning or stinging, causing corrosion
We were reminded to wear gloves when handling the ________ chemicals.
Syn: sarcastic |
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Term
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Definition
a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person who causes change
We hope the new ambassador will be the __________ for reviving peace discussions.
Syn: acccelerator, impetus |
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Term
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Definition
to severely criticize or punish
The teacher ____________ the student for arriving late to class.
Syn: chastise |
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Term
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Definition
an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature
The priest encouraged the parishioners to adhere to the ________ of the church.
Syn: rules |
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Term
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Definition
inclined to change one's mind impulsively or unpredictably
At first the child wanted tacos, but now she wants banana pudding; she cannot help her _________ appetite.
Syn: whimsical, erratic, fickle |
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Term
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Definition
to inveigle; to coax through flattery
The director had to _____ the vain actor into wearing the chicken suit.
Syn: wheedle |
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Term
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Definition
harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance
Gerald can't sleep because of the ________ of car alarms going off each night.
Syn: inharmony |
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Term
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Definition
a scheme or plot; a group of plotters
The stock price of a healthy company is not likely to drop that dramatically unless a ________ of investors decided to sell the stock short.
Syn: coterie |
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Term
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Definition
labyrinthine; complex
In our department, ___________ filing systems are a form of job security since we are the only ones who can find key documents.
Syn: intricate |
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Term
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Definition
a rude or insensitive person
Many people have called him a ______; his genius leaves him with little patience in social niceties.
Syn: churl |
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Term
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Definition
to provide support
Bob convinced me he was right only after he _______ his argument with facts and data.
Syn: reinforce |
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Term
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Definition
loud; noisy; lacking restraint
Children are ________ by nature, but experienced teachers can calm an entire class down in a matter of seconds.
Syn: raucous |
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Term
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Definition
to beset; to besiege
Within a week of starting the job, she was _________ by complaints from clients and employees about the company's bad service.
Syn: harass |
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Term
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Definition
to give a false impression of
The lack of school funding _______ the government's claim of making education reform a top priority.
Syn: contradict |
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Term
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Definition
a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude
Flouting ________, the bride wore a brilliant red suit while her bridesmaids were dressed in white.
Syn: custom |
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Term
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Definition
something enormous; a gigantic creature
That huge shopping mall is a _________ that ruins the charm of the historical waterfront.
Syn: leviathan |
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Term
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Definition
to state as a fact; to confirm or support
The court records show that the witness _________ that she saw the defendant at the scene of the crime.
Syn: assert, affirm |
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Term
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Definition
greed, especially from wealth
The investor's avarice led her to make risky moves to increase her already sizable fortune.
Syn: acquisitiveness |
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Term
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Definition
to bless, make happy, or ascribe a virtue to
Inductions into the Hall of Fame are ways to beatify the greatest players of the game.
Syn: exalt |
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Term
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Definition
aversion; dislike
I know my antipathy toward lawyers isn't fair, but I can't help thinking the worst of every one I meet.
Syn: abhorrence |
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Term
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Definition
having a sour or bitter taste or character
The child was so adorable that even the acerbic old man had to smile.
Syn: acrid |
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Term
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Definition
an expression of praise
The speeches at Sue's retirement dinner were fillerd with accolades for her achievements.
Syn: kudos |
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Term
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Definition
deviating from the norm
The child is usually well-mannered; sticking out her tounge was an abberrant behavior.
Syn: abnormal, deviant, anomalous |
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Term
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Definition
scorn; ridicule; contemptuous treatment
The regional manager was held in derision by the entire board for botching his annual presentation.
Syn: mockery, contempt |
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Term
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Definition
to combine severeal elements into a whole
The law allows two or more small companies to amalgamate into one large corporation.
Syn: unite |
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Term
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Definition
out of place in terms of historical or chronological context
The movie, set in ancient Rome, was criticized for its use of exploding projectiles, wine glasses, and other anachronistic props.
Syn: misplaced |
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Term
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Definition
agreeable; responsive to suggestion
Even investment banks, which traditionally resist restraints, are now amenable to some regulations.
Syn: acquiescent |
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Term
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Definition
deification; supreme example
With the face that launched a thousand ships, Helen of Troy was said to be the apotheosis of female beautify.
Syn: quintessence |
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Term
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Definition
deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality
It was an anomolay that I go a D on that quiz, becuase my grades are usually excellent.
Syn: abnormality, abberration, peculiarity |
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Term
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Definition
diametrically opposed; as in antithesis
She quit her position as press secretary when she realized that her views on civil rights were antithetical to the senator's.
Syn: opposite |
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Term
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Definition
to renounce or reject solemnly
I had no choice by to abjure my allegiance to the organization after teh chairman appointed his underqualified friends to the board.
Syn: recant |
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Term
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Definition
mysterious; esoteric
Arcane vocabulary words are a source of great frustration for many GRE test-takers.
Syn: inscrutable |
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Term
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Definition
completely without guile; unsophisticated
A few unscrupulous people took advantage of the artless owner of hte antique shop.
Syn: Naive |
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Term
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Definition
dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art of beauty
Elena enjoys the aesthetic qualities of great works of literature.
Syn: artisitc |
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Term
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Definition
outdated; associated with an earlier, perhaps more primitive time
In the current age of cell phones, many are treating landline telephones as archaic forms of technology.
Syn: antiquated |
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Term
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Definition
someone practicing self-denial
The ascetic tried to convince others that there was virtue in the denial of worldly goods
Syn: spartan |
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Term
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Definition
eating and drinking in moderation
Studies have shown that abstemonious people live longer, but I love cheesecake too much to moderate my intake.
Syn: self-restrained |
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Term
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Definition
quick, keen, or accurate knowledge or insight
Her business acumen led her to invest in new companies just before they launched successful products.
Syn: Shrewdness, prespicacity |
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Term
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Definition
a solemn or eccelsiatical (religious) curse; a cursed or thoroughly loathed person or thing
When the soccer player's bribery scandal came to light, the signed jersey the fan once had treasured became anathema to him.
Syn: detested thing |
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Term
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Definition
farthest or highest point; culmination; zenith
Winning the Pulitzer Prize was an affirmation that the journalist was at the apogee of her career.
Syn: summit |
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Term
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Definition
to weaken or make thinner
Economic hardships have attentuated the value of the dollar, making it much more expensive for Americans to travel to Europe.
Syn: rarefy |
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Term
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Definition
| a medieval science aimed at the transmutation of metals, expecially base metals, into gold |
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