GRE Word List 5
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LACHRYMOSE (ADJECTIVE)
showing sorrow or tears
"He is better known for his lachrymose ballads than hard rock numbers."
INSIDIOUS (ADJECTIVE)
attractive but harmful
"High-blood pressure is an insidious condition which has few symptoms."
RESUSCITATE (VERB)
bring someone who is near death to a recovery
"Her heart had stopped, but the doctors successfully resuscitated her."
EDIFY (VERB)
build someone up by teaching
"I tend to watch the television for pleasure rather than because it edifies me."
TRANSITIVE (ADJECTIVE)
of a verb that denotes an action that is performed on someone or something
"In this dictionary, transitive verbs, such as 'put', are marked [T]."
TUMULTUOUS (ADJECTIVE)
disorderly, chaotic
"You couldn't hear her speak over the tumultuous fans."
BESTIAL (ADJECTIVE)
of or like a beast
"The soldiers were accused of bestial acts against unarmed civilians."
CLIQUE (NOUN)
exclusive group of people
"Our golf club is run by a very unfriendly clique (of people)."
SUBSTANTIATE (VERB)
make real or solid; (of theories etc strengthened with solid evidence)
"We have evidence to substantiate the allegations against him."
SUPPLICATION (NOUN)
prayer asking God for something
"Inside the temple, worshippers were kneeling in supplication."
MALIGN (ADJECTIVE)
speak unfavorably of
"Foreign domination had a malign influence on local politics."
GAUCHE (ADJECTIVE)
lacking social class
"She had grown from a gauche teenager to a self-assured young woman."
WIZENED (ADJECTIVE)
(of people) made thin as by ageing
"He was a wizened old man with yellow skin and deep wrinkles."
DEROGATORY (ADJECTIVE)
expressing low opinion
"He made some derogatory comment/remark about her appearance."
LOGISTICS (NOUN)
art completing a task through correct management of human and physical resources
"We need to look at the logistics of the whole aid operation."
FASTIDIOUSNESS (ADJECTIVE)
hard to please
"His fastidiousness really shows when he travels under suboptimal conditions."
AUTONOMY (NOUN)
self governing
"Demonstrators demanded immediate autonomy for their region."
COMPUNCTION (NOUN)
remorseful feeling
"I wouldn't have any compunction about telling him to leave."
CONVALESCENCE (NOUN)
gradual healing (through rest) after sickness or injury
"After your operation, your convalescence may last up to 50 days."
MORATORIUM (NOUN)
postponement of an activity
"A five-year worldwide moratorium on nuclear weapons testing"
PLETHORA (NOUN)
excess of something
"There's a plethora of books about the royal family."
PROPONENT (NOUN)
person who advocates an idea
"He is one of the leading proponents of capital punishment."
CHASTE (ADJECTIVE)
morally pure
"In the past, a woman needed to be chaste to make a good marriage."
EGREGIOUS (ADJECTIVE)
blatantly bad
"It was an egregious error for a statesman to show such ignorance."
LUNACY (NOUN)
madness; a foolish act
"It would be lunacy to try to climb the mountain in this weather."
DERIVATIVE (ADJECTIVE)
based on something else
"The play was derivative of Shakespeare's story."
ORDINANCE (NOUN)
authoritative law (especially one enacted by a city)
"City Ordinance 126 forbids car parking in this area of New York."
EPITOMIZE (VERB)
represent the essential qualities of
"Even now in her sixties, she epitomizes French elegance."
VILIFY (VERB)
cause someone to be the target of hate by denigrating their character
"He was vilified by the press as a monster of perversity."
APPROBATION (NOUN)
official approval
"The council has finally indicated its approbation of the plans."