Keys to Success
Vocabulary and the GRE
Your vocabulary will be the make-or-break factor in your GRE verbal score. Experts agree, vocabulary is the most important factor in the GRE verbal section. In fact, the GRE Verbal section is nothing more than an advanced vocabulary test. If your vocabulary isn't up to scratch, you are putting yourself at a serious disadvantage.
What experts say about vocabulary and the GRE: Quiz-Tree.com, a leading authority on GRE preparation say:
"Even though GRE Verbal is composed of several parts (such as reading comprehension, analogies and antonyms), it is basically a vocabulary test. If you have an extensive vocabulary, you will do well."
Silenttimer.com, makers of GRE test aids say:
"the GRE verbal exam will test many words candidates will be expected to understand"
Preparing for the GRE
There is a lot that you can do to prepare yourself mentally for your GRE exam. This is just as important as studying and revising, because you will score much better if you are comfortable with the idea of sitting the exam rather than stressed to high heaven on the day of your test! Some of the things you can do include: 1. Mental rehearsal of the exam situation 2. Predict (and avoid!) disasters 3. Psyche yourself up with a countdown calendar
We'll look at these tips in some of our other lessons.
Get Enough Sleep
Sleep is very very important for your GRE exam results. No, I'm not suggesting you have a nap in the middle of the test! But you absolutely must be properly rested if you are to perform at your best on the big day.
Starting at least two weeks before your test, you should be ensuring that you are sleeping regular hours. In particular, if your test is scheduled for first thing in the morning and you usually sleep in, you must move your body clock a little so that you will be alert on the test.
During this time, you should aim to get AT LEAST 8 hours sleep every night. Don't be tempted into all-night cramming sessions and overdosing on caffeine.
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You're probably saying "I know, I know, I've heard this before." But it's not important whether you've heard it before, what's important is what you DO! abacus | frame with balls for calculating | Usage | abate | to lessen to subside | Usage | abdication | giving up control authority | Usage | aberration | straying away from what is normal | Usage | abet | help/encourage somebody (in doing wrong) | Usage | abeyance | suspended action | Usage | abhor | to hate to detest | Usage | abide | be faithful to endure | Usage | abjure | promise or swear to give up | Usage | abraded | rubbed off worn away by friction | Usage | abrogate | repeal or annul by authority | Usage | abscond | to go away suddenly (to avoid arrest) | Usage | abstruse | difficult to comprehend obscure | Usage | abut | border on | Usage | abysmal | bottomless extreme | Usage | acarpous | effete no longer fertile worn out | Usage | acclaimed | welcomed with shouts and approval | Usage | accolade | praise approval | Usage | accretion | the growing of separate things into one | Usage | accrue | accumulate | Usage | acumen | Keen, quick, accurate insight or judgment | Usage | adamant | kind of stone inflexible | Usage | admonitory | containing warning | Usage | adorn | add beauty decorate | Usage | adulteration | making unpure poorer in quality | Usage | affable | polite and friendly | Usage | affinity | close connection relationship | Usage | aggravate | make worse irritate | Usage | agile | active quick-moving | Usage | agog | eager/excited | Usage | ail | to cause pain, uneasiness, or trouble to. | Usage | alacrity | eager and cheerful readiness | Usage | alcove | recess/partially enclosed place | Usage | ale | fermented alcoholic beverage similar to but heavier than beer | Usage | aleck | one who considers himself smarter than others | Usage | allegiance | duty support loyalty | Usage | alleviate | make (pain) easier to bear | Usage | alloy | to debase by mixing with something inferior | Usage | aloof | reserved indifferent | Usage | amalgamate | mix combine unite societies | Usage | ambidextrous | able to use the left hand or the right equally well | Usage | ambiguous | doubtful uncertain | Usage | ambivalent | having both of two contrary meanings | Usage | ambrosial | extremely pleasing to taste | Usage | ameliorate | improve make better | Usage | amortize | end (a debt) by setting aside money | Usage | anguish | severe suffering | Usage | animosity | strong dislike | Usage | antidote | medicine used against a poison or a disease | Usage | antithetical | direct opposing | Usage | apartheid | brutal racial discrimination | Usage | aplomb | self-confidence | Usage | apostate | one who abandons long-held religious or political convictions | Usage | apotheosis | deification glorification to godliness | Usage | appease | make quiet or calm | Usage | apprehensive | grasping understanding fear unhappy feeling about future | Usage | apprise | give notice to inform | Usage | approbation | approval | Usage | apropos | appropriate to the situation apt | Usage | apt | well-suited quick-witted | Usage | arabesque | a complex ornate design | Usage | arboreal | of connected with trees | Usage | ardor | enthusiasm | Usage | arduous | steep difficult ascent laborious | Usage | argot | jargon slang | Usage | arrant | in the highest degree | Usage | arrogance | proud superior manner of behaviour | Usage | articulate | speak distinctly connect by joints | Usage | ascend | go or come up | Usage | ascertain | get to know | Usage | ascetic | practicing self-denial austere stark | Usage | ascribe | consider to be the origin of or belonging to | Usage | aseptic | surgically clean | Usage | asperity | roughness harshness ill temper irritability | Usage | aspersion | slander | Usage | assail | with attack violently | Usage | assiduous | diligent hard-working sedulous | Usage | assuage | make something (pain desire) less | Usage | asterisk | the mark * (e.g.. omitted letters) | Usage | astringent | substance that shrinks | Usage | astute | clever quick at seeing to get an advantage | Usage | atonement | repayment death of Jesus | Usage | attenuate | make thin. weaken enervate | Usage | attune | bring into harmony | Usage | audacious | Bold | Usage | augury | omen sign | Usage | august | majestic venerable | Usage | auspicious | favorable successful prosperous | Usage | austere | severely moral and strict simple and plain | Usage | auxiliary | helping supporting | Usage | aver | affirm assert prove justify | Usage | aversion | strong dislike | Usage | avid | eager greedy | Usage | avow | admit. Declare openly | Usage | baleful | harmful ominous causing evil | Usage | balk | obstacle purposely to get on the way of | Usage | bandy | discuss lightly or glibly; exchange (words) heatedly | Usage | baneful | causing harm or ruin pernicious destructive | Usage | barrage | artificial obstacle built across a river | Usage | barren | not good enough unable to have young ones without value | Usage | bask | in enjoy warmth and light | Usage | beatify | to bless make happy or ascribe a virtue to | Usage | bedizen | to adorn especially in a cheap showy manner | Usage | beguile | mislead or delude; cheat; pass time | Usage | belabor | beat hard | Usage | bellicose | inclined to fighting | Usage | belligerent | (person nation) waging war | Usage | benefactor | person who has given help | Usage | benevolence | wish or activity in doing good | Usage | benign | kind and gentle mild (climate) | Usage | benison | blessing | Usage | bequest | arrangement to give something at death | Usage | berate | scold sharply | Usage | bereft | rob or dispossess of something (material) | Usage | bewilder | puzzle confuse | Usage | bigot | stubborn narrow-minded person | Usage | bilge | bulge the protuberance of a cask | Usage | blandishment | flattery coaxing | Usage | blandness | polite manner comforting uninteresting | Usage | blasé | bored with pleasure or dissipation | Usage | blatant | noisy and rough | Usage | blithe | cheerful casual carefree | Usage | boggle | To hesitate as if in fear or doubt | Usage | bogus | sham counterfeit not genuine | Usage | boisterous | loud noisy rough lacking restraint | Usage | bolster | give greatly needed support | Usage | boorish | crude offensive rude | Usage | brash | hasty rush cheeky saucy | Usage | brass | yellow metal (mixing copper and zinc) | Usage | brazen | made of brass | Usage | breach | opening broken place breaking | Usage | brittle | easily broken | Usage | broach | bring up announce begin to talk about | Usage | brook | to tolerate endure | Usage | buoyant | able to float light-hearted | Usage | burgeon | grow forth send out buds | Usage | burnish | to polish rub to a shine | Usage | cabal | a scheme or plot a group of plotters | Usage | cadge | to beg to get by begging | Usage | cajole | use flattery or deceit to persuade | Usage | calipers | metal supports attached to the legs measuring instrument | Usage | calisthenics | exercises to develop strong bodies | Usage | calumny | slander aspersion | Usage | candid | frank straight-forward | Usage | cant | insincere talk/jargon | Usage | cantankerous | bad-tempered/quarrelsome | Usage | canvass | discuss thoroughly sort of touting | Usage | castigate | to chastise correct by punishing | Usage | castigation | severe punishment | Usage | catalyst | substance that causes speeding up | Usage | caustic | biting sarcastic | Usage | cavalcade | a possession | Usage | censure | expression of blame or disapproval a rebuke | Usage | centurion | leader of a unit of 100 soldiers | Usage | chagrin | vexation | Usage | chary | cautious wary | Usage | chaste | pure | Usage | chastened | corrected punished | Usage | chastisement | punishment | Usage | chauvinist | a blindly devoted patriot | Usage | chicanery | legal trickery/false argument | Usage | chisel | steel tool for shaping materials | Usage | churl | bad-tempered person | Usage | churlish | (adj) boorish | Usage | clamor | shout complain with a lot of noise | Usage | clientele | customers | Usage | clinch | come to grips/settle conclusively | Usage | cling | to resist separation | Usage | clot | half-solid lump formed from liquid | Usage | cloture | closing device (in Parliament) to end a debate by voting | Usage | coagulation | change to a thick and solid state | Usage | coalescing | coming together and uniting into one substance | Usage | coax | get somebody to do something by kindness | Usage | coda | passage that completes a piece of music | Usage | coddle | treat with care and tenderness | Usage | coerce | compel to force to make obedient | Usage | coeval | of the same period coexisting | Usage | cogent | strong convincing | Usage | cogitate | think deeply mediate | Usage | cognizant | being fully aware of | Usage | cohort | a group or band of people | Usage | colander | bowl-shaped vessel with many holes used to drain off water | Usage | colloquial | involving or using conversation. | Usage | collusion | secret agreement for a deceitful purpose | Usage | combustion | process of burning | Usage | commemorate | keep the memory of | Usage | commodious | having plenty of space for what is needed | Usage | commuter | person who travels regularly | Usage | complaisance | tending to comply obliging willingness to please | Usage | complaisant | trying to please; obliging | Usage | compunction | feeling of regret for one's action | Usage | conceal | hide keep secret | Usage | conceit | over-high opinion of too much pride | Usage | conciliatory | reconciling soothing comforting mollifying | Usage | concoct | invent, prepare by mixing together | Usage | concord | agreement or harmony | Usage | concur | agree in opinion happen together | Usage | condense | increase in density strength make laconic | Usage | condone | forgive | Usage | Conduce | To bring about | Usage | congeal | make or become stiff and solid | Usage | conjoin | to join together | Usage | connoisseur | a person with good judgement (e.g.. in art) | Usage | connotation | suggestion in addition to | Usage | connote | Suggest or imply in addition to the precise, literal meaning | Usage | consequential | pompous self important | Usage | console | give comfort or sympathy to | Usage | conspicuous | easily seen remarkable | Usage | consternation | surprise and fear dismay | Usage | constrain | compel | Usage | constrict | make tight or smaller | Usage | consume | get to the end of | Usage | consummate | perfect/make perfect/complete | Usage | contemn | to scorn or despise | Usage | contentious | argumentative pugnacious combative quarrelsome | Usage | contiguous | touching neighboring near | Usage | contrite | filled with deep sorrow for wrongdoing | Usage | contumacious | insubordinate rebellious | Usage | conundrum | a riddle dilemma enigma | Usage | conviction | convincing firm belief | Usage | convoke | call together summon | Usage | convoluted | complicated coiled twisted | Usage | cordial | warm and sincere | Usage | cordon | line (of police acting as a guard) | Usage | cornucopia | abundant supply | Usage | corporeal | physical of or for the body | Usage | correlate | have a mutual relation | Usage | corroboration | additional strengthening evidence | Usage | coruscate | sparkle | Usage | countenance | to favor or approve of | Usage | counterfeit | forgery | Usage | countervail | counterbalance | Usage | covert | disguised | Usage | covetous | eagerly desirous | Usage | cower | crouch shrink back | Usage | coy | shy/modest (esp of a girl) | Usage | crass | very great (es. stupidity) | Usage | cravat | piece of linen worn as a necktie | Usage | craven | cowardly | Usage | crease | line made by crushing white line on the ground in cricket | Usage | credulity | too great a readiness to believe things | Usage | credulous | ready to believe things | Usage | crush | press lose shape subdue overwhelm | Usage | cryptic | secret with a hidden meaning | Usage | cumbersome | burdensome heavy and awkward to carry | Usage | curmudgeon | bad-tempered person | Usage | curriculum | course of study | Usage | cursory | quick hurried | Usage | curtail | make shorter then was planned | Usage | dainty | pretty/delicate(food)/difficult to please | Usage | dangle | hand or swing loosely | Usage | daunt | intimidate make fearful | Usage | dawdler | person who is slow waste of time | Usage | dearth | shortage | Usage | debacle | a breakup overthrow sudden disaster | Usage | decorum | propriety properness | Usage | decree | order given by authority | Usage | decry | disapprove of | Usage | defalcate | (v) to embezzle or misappropriate | Usage | defer | postpone | Usage | deferential | showing respect | Usage | defiance | open disobedience or resistance | Usage | delineate | to portray depict sketch out | Usage | deluge | great flood heavy rush of water | Usage | demagogue | person appealing not to reasons | Usage | demur | to hesitate raise objections | Usage | denigrate | blacken belittle sully defame | Usage | denouement | an outcome or solution the unraveling of a plot | Usage | deplete | use until none remains | Usage | deposition | dethronement depositing | Usage | deprave | make morally bad corrupt | Usage | deprecate | protest against express disapproval of | Usage | depredation | plundering | Usage | dereliction | deserting and leaving to fall into ruins | Usage | derision | ridicule mockery deriding | Usage | derivative | unoriginal obtained from another source | Usage | derogatory | insulting tending to damage | Usage | descry | catch sight of see something in the distance | Usage | desiccant | substance used to absorb moisture | Usage | desuetude | cessation of use disuse | Usage | desultory | aimless haphazard digressing at random | Usage | deter | discourage hinder | Usage | detraction | slandering verbal attack aspersion | Usage | detumescence | diminishing or lessening of swelling | Usage | deviance | being different in moral standards (from normal) | Usage | dexterity | skill (esp. in handling) | Usage | diaphanous | transparent gauzy | Usage | diatribe | bitter and violent attack in words | Usage | didactic | intended to instruct | Usage | diffidence | shyness | Usage | dilate | speak comprehensively become wider large | Usage | dirge | a song of grief or lamentation | Usage | disallow | refuse to allow or accept as a correct | Usage | discern | see with an effort but clearly | Usage | discomfit | confuse embarrass | Usage | disconcert | upset the self-possession of | Usage | discountenance | refuse to approve of | Usage | discourse | speech lecture | Usage | discredit | refuse to believe | Usage | discreet | careful/prudent | Usage | discrete | individually distinct | Usage | disdain | look on with contempt | Usage | disencumber | free from encumbrance | Usage | disheveled | untidy | Usage | disingenuous | sophisticated artful trying to deceive cunning | Usage | disinter | dig up from the earth | Usage | dislodge | move force from the place occupied | Usage | dismal | sad gloomy miserable | Usage | disparate | essentially different | Usage | disproof | proof to the contrary | Usage | disrobe | undress | Usage | dissemble | speak or behave so as to hide something (in mind) | Usage | disseminate | distribute (esp. ideas) | Usage | dissent | have a different opinion refuse to assent | Usage | dissolution | disintegration looseness in morals | Usage | distrait | distracted | Usage | distraught | distracted violently upset in mind | Usage | divergence | getting farther apart from a point | Usage | divestiture | taking off getting rid of giving up | Usage | divulge | make known something secret | Usage | doggerel | trivial poorly constructed verse | Usage | dogmatic | positive certain arbitrary without room for discussion | Usage | doleful | dismal, mourful | Usage | dolt | stupid fellow | Usage | dormant | in a state of inactivity but awaiting development | Usage | dote | show much fondness center one's attention | Usage | drawl | slow way of speaking | Usage | droll | jesting | Usage | drone | male bee person who isn't self-employed | Usage | drowsiness | feeling sleepy half asleep | Usage | dubious | feeling doubt | Usage | dud | no use person something that fails | Usage | dulcet | melodious harmonious | Usage | dupe | cheat make a fool of | Usage | duplicity | deliberate deception | Usage | duress | threats to compel somebody | Usage | dwarf | person much smaller the usual size | Usage | dynamo | a generator something that produces electric current | Usage | earthenware | dishes made of baked clay | Usage | ebullience | exuberance outburst of feeling | Usage | ebullient | overflowing with enthusiasm showing excitement | Usage | eclat | Great brilliance, as of performance or achievement | Usage | ecumenical | representing the whole Christian world | Usage | edacious | voracious devouring | Usage | eddy | circular or spiral movement (e.g.. of wind) | Usage | edible | fit to be eaten/not poisonous | Usage | edify | instruct; correct morally | Usage | efface | rub or wipe out, obliterate | Usage | effete | infertile worn out weak | Usage | efficacy | production of a desired result | Usage | effluvia | outflow in a stream of particles a noxious odor or vapor | Usage | effrontery | boldness impudence arrogance | Usage | egress | way out exit | Usage | elaborate | worked out with much care in great detail | Usage | elegy | a lament a melancholy composition | Usage | elicit | draw out | Usage | eloquence | fluent speaking skillful use of language | Usage | emaciate | make thin and weak | Usage | embellish | make beautiful | Usage | embezzle | use in a wrong way for one's own benefit | Usage | emote | stir up excite | Usage | empirical | relying on experiment | Usage | encapsulate | enclose in capsule | Usage | encomium | warm or glowing praise eulogy panegyric | Usage | encumbrance | burden things that get on the way of | Usage | endearing | making dear or liked | Usage | endeavor | to make an effort, to try very hard | Usage | endemic | epidemic | Usage | endorse | write one's name on the back of | Usage | enduring | lasting | Usage | enervate | weaken deprive of strength attenuate | Usage | engender | cause produce give rise to | Usage | engrave | impress deeply | Usage | engrossing | taken up all the time or attention writing in large or formal | Usage | engulf | swallow up | Usage | enigma | something that is puzzling | Usage | enmity | hatred being an enemy | Usage | ensconce | To settle (oneself) securely or comfortably | Usage | ensign | flag/badge | Usage | entangle | put into difficulties | Usage | enthral | take the whole attention, enslave | Usage | entice | attract, lure | Usage | entreat | ask earnestly | Usage | enunciate | pronounce (words)/express a theory | Usage | enzyme | catalyst | Usage | epicurean | devoted to pleasure (sensuous enjoyment) | Usage | epiphany | A Christian feast celebrating the manifestation of the divine nature of Jesus to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi. | Usage | epistle | letter | Usage | epithet | adjective | Usage | epitome | brief summary representative example a typical model | Usage | equable | steady regular | Usage | equanimity | calmness of temperament | Usage | equilibrium | state of being balanced | Usage | equipoise | equal distribution of weight equilibrium | Usage | equivocal | having a double or doubtful meaning suspicious | Usage | equivocate | try to deceive by equivocal language | Usage | eradicate | get rid of pull up by the roots | Usage | erratic | irregular in behaviour or opinion | Usage | erudite | learned scholarly | Usage | eschew | avoid | Usage | esoteric | abstruse intended only for a small circle of | Usage | espouse | To take in marriage | Usage | eulogy | formal praise panegyric | Usage | euphoria | elation state of pleasant excitement | Usage | euthanasia | easy and painless death | Usage | evasive | tending to evade | Usage | evince | to show clearly to indicate | Usage | evoke | call up bring out | Usage | excoriation | severe criticism | Usage | exculpate | to clear from a charge of guilt | Usage | exhaustive | complete thorough | Usage | exigency | emergency an urgent situation | Usage | exoneration | set someone clear (e.g.. from blame) | Usage | exorbitant | much too high or great | Usage | expatiate | to roam wander freely | Usage | expedient | likely to be useful for a purpose | Usage | expiation | ending expiring | Usage | exploit | brilliant achievement develop use selfishly | Usage | expostulate | argue earnestly to dissuade correct or protest | Usage | expurgate | to remove obscenity purify censor | Usage | exscind | to cut out cut away | Usage | extant | still in existence | Usage | extempore | without previous thought or preparation | Usage | extenuate | reduce the strength of lessen seriousness partially excuse | Usage | extinct | no longer active | Usage | extinguish | end the existence of/wipe or put out | Usage | extirpate | to destroy exterminate cut out exscind | Usage | extol | to praise highly | Usage | extort | obtain by threats violence | Usage | extralegal | outside the law | Usage | extricable | that can be freed | Usage | extrovert | cheerful person | Usage | exuberance | state of growing vigorously being full of life | Usage | facetious | humorous funny jocular | Usage | facile | easily done | Usage | fagged | too tired | Usage | fallacious | based on error | Usage | falter | waver/move in an uncertain manner | Usage | fatuous | without sense foolish self-satisfaction | Usage | fawn | To seek favor or attention by flattery and obsequious | Usage | feckless | lacking purpose or vitality ineffective careless | Usage | fecund | fertile | Usage | feint | pretend | Usage | felicitous | apt suitably expressed well chosen apropos | Usage | felon | person guilty of murder | Usage | feral | Existing in a wild or untamed state | Usage | ferment | substance become excited | Usage | ferocity | savage cruelty | Usage | ferret | discover by searching search | Usage | fervid | showing earnest feeling | Usage | fervor | warmth of feelings earnestness | Usage | fetid | stinking | Usage | fetter | to shackle put in chains | Usage | feud | bitter quarrel over a long period of time | Usage | fidelity | loyalty accuracy | Usage | fidget | move restlessly make nervous | Usage | figurehead | carved image on the prow of a ship | Usage | finesse | delicate way of dealing with a situation | Usage | finical | too fussy about food clothing etc. | Usage | finicky | finical | Usage | fission | splitting or division (esp. of cells) | Usage | fixate | stare at | Usage | flak | criticism/anti-aircraft guns | Usage | flamboyant | brightly colored florid | Usage | flaunting | show off complacently | Usage | flax | pale yellow (hair) a plant | Usage | fledged | able to fly trained experienced | Usage | fledgling | an inexperienced person. | Usage | fleet | number of ships quick-moving | Usage | flimsy | lacking solidarity, strength | Usage | flinch | draw move back wince | Usage | floe | a sheet of floating ice | Usage | flop | fail/move/fall clumsily | Usage | florid | very much ornamented naturally red (e.g.. of face) | Usage | flout | reject mock to go against (as in going against tradition) | Usage | fluke | lucky stroke | Usage | fluster | make nervous or confused | Usage | foible | defect of character (a person is wrongly proud) | Usage | foil | prevent from carrying out contrast | Usage | foment | put something warm (to lessen the pain) | Usage | foolproof | incapable of failure or error | Usage | foppish | like a man who pays too much attention to his clothes | Usage | forage | food for horses and cattle | Usage | foray | to venture | Usage | forbear | refrain from be patient ancestor | Usage | forbearance | patience willingness to wait | Usage | ford | shallow place in a river (to cross) | Usage | forestall | prevent by taking action in advance preempt | Usage | forfeit | suffer the loss of something | Usage | forge | workshop for the shaping of metal to shape metal lead | Usage | forgery | counterfeit | Usage | forswear | renounce disallow repudiate | Usage | foster | nurture care for | Usage | fracas | noisy quarrel | Usage | fragile | easily injured broken or destroyed | Usage | fragrant | sweet-smelling | Usage | frantic | wildly excited with joy pain anxiety | Usage | frenetic | frantic frenzied | Usage | fret | worry irritation wear away | Usage | fringe | edge ornamental border part of hair over the forehead | Usage | froward | intractable not willing to yield or comply stubborn | Usage | frugal | careful economical | Usage | fulmination | bitter protest | Usage | fulsome | disgusting offensive due to excessiveness | Usage | fustian | bombastic | Usage | gainsay | to deny to oppose | Usage | gallant | brave,behaves well with women | Usage | garble | make unfair selection from facts | Usage | garner | to gather and save to store up | Usage | garrulous | too talkative | Usage | gauche | hence, awkward | Usage | gaucherie | socially awkward tactless behavior | Usage | germane | relevant pertinent to | Usage | gerontocracy | government ruled by old people | Usage | gist | the point general sense | Usage | glean | gather facts in small quantities | Usage | glib | ready and smooth but not sincere | Usage | glimmer | weak/unsteady light | Usage | gloat | over look at with selfish delight | Usage | glut | supply to much fill to excess | Usage | gnaw | waste away bite steadily | Usage | goad | something urging a person to action | Usage | gorge | eat greedily/narrow opening with a stream | Usage | gossamer | soft light delicate material | Usage | gouge | tool for cutting grooves in wood | Usage | gourmand | a person who is devoted to eating and drinking to excess | Usage | grandiloquent | using pompous words | Usage | grave | serious requiring consideration | Usage | graze | touch or scrape lightly in passing | Usage | gregarious | living in societies liking the company | Usage | grievous | causing grief or pain serious dire grave | Usage | grouse | Complain or grumble (verb) | Usage | grovel | crawl humble oneself | Usage | grumble | to complain | Usage | guile | deceit cunning | Usage | gullible | easily gulled | Usage | gush | burst out suddenly/talk ardently | Usage | gust | outburst of feeling sudden rain wind fire etc. | Usage | hack | cut roughly hired horse | Usage | halcyon | calm and peaceful | Usage | hallow | to make holy consecrate | Usage | hapless | unlucky | Usage | harangue | a long passionate speech | Usage | harbinger | One that indicates or foreshadows what is to come; a forerunner. | Usage | harrow | to distress create stress or torment | Usage | haughty | arrogant conceited | Usage | hauteur | haughtiness | Usage | heed | attention/give notice to | Usage | heinous | odious (of crime) | Usage | heresy | belief contrary to what is generally accepted | Usage | heretic | recreant, protestant,skeptic | Usage | hermetic | sealed by fusion | Usage | heterogeneous | made up of different kinds | Usage | hew | make by hard work cut (by striking) | Usage | highbrow | (person) with superior tastes | Usage | hirsute | hairy shaggy | Usage | hoax | mischievous trick played to deceive | Usage | hoi | polloi the masses the rabble | Usage | hollow | not soled with hole | Usage | holster | leather case for a pistol | Usage | homiletics | act of preaching | Usage | hone | stone used for sharpening tools | Usage | hoodwink | trick mislead | Usage | hospitable | liking to give hospitality | Usage | hubris | arrogant pride | Usage | hush | make or become silent | Usage | husk | worthless outside part of anything | Usage | hypocrisy | falsely making oneself appear to be good | Usage | iconoclast | person who attacks popular beliefs | Usage | idiosyncrasy | personal mannerism | Usage | idolatry | excessive admiration of | Usage | idyll | a carefree episode or experience | Usage | ignoble | dishonorable common undignified | Usage | ignominious | shameful dishonorable undignified disgraceful | Usage | illicit | unlawful forbidden | Usage | imbroglio | complicated and embarrassing situation | Usage | immaculate | pure faultless | Usage | imminent | likely to come or happen soon | Usage | immutable | that cannot be changed | Usage | impair | worsen diminish in value | Usage | impassive | unmoved feeling no sign of passion | Usage | impecunious | having little or no money | Usage | impede | hinder get in the way of | Usage | impediment | something that hinders (e.g. stammer) | Usage | impending | imminent being about to happen expected | Usage | imperative | urgent essential | Usage | imperious | commanding haughty arrogant | Usage | impermeable | that cannot be permeated | Usage | imperturbable | calm not capable of being excited | Usage | impervious | not allowing to pass through (of materials) | Usage | imperviousness | haughty arrogant commanding | Usage | impetuous | having sudden energy impulsive thrusting ahead forceful | Usage | impiety | lack of reverence or dutifulness | Usage | implacable | incapable of being placated unpleasable | Usage | implicate | to be involved | Usage | implicit | implied though not plainly expressed | Usage | implosion | collapse bursting inward | Usage | importune | beg urgently solicit (of a prostitute) | Usage | imprecation | an invocation of evil a curse | Usage | impromptu | without preparation | Usage | impudent | rash indiscreet | Usage | impugned | challenged to be doubted | Usage | impute | to attribute to a cause or source ascribe | Usage | inadvertent | not paying proper attention | Usage | inane | silly senseless | Usage | inasmuch | since because | Usage | incense | make angry | Usage | incessant | Constant | Usage | inchoate | not yet fully formed rudimentary elementary | Usage | incipient | beginning | Usage | incise | engrave make a cut in | Usage | incite | stir up rouse | Usage | inclined | directing the mind in a certain direction | Usage | incongruous | out of place not in harmony or agreement | Usage | incorrigibility | cannot be cured or corrected | Usage | incredulous | skeptical unwilling to believe | Usage | inculcate | fix firmly by repetition | Usage | incumbents | official duties | Usage | incursion | a raid a sudden attack | Usage | indefatigability | not easily exhaustible tirelessness | Usage | indelible | that cannot be rubbed out | Usage | indigence | poverty | Usage | indigenous | native | Usage | indistinct | not easily heard seen clearly marked | Usage | indolence | laziness | Usage | indomitable | not easily discouraged or subdued | Usage | indulge | gratify give way to satisfy allow oneself | Usage | indulgent | inclined to indulge | Usage | ineffable | to great to be described in words | Usage | ineluctable | certain inevitable | Usage | inept | unskillful said or done at the wrong time | Usage | ineptitude | quality of being unskillful | Usage | inferno | hell | Usage | infuriate | fill with fury or rage | Usage | infuse | put pour fill | Usage | ingenuous | naive young artless frank honest sincere | Usage | ingest | take in by swallowing | Usage | inimical | harmful or unfriendly | Usage | inimitable | defying imitation unmatchable | Usage | innocuous | causing no harm | Usage | inquest | Legal or judicial inquiry, especially before a jury and especially made by a coroner into the cause of someone.s death | Usage | inscrutable | incapable of being discovered or understood | Usage | insensible | unconscious unresponsive unaffected | Usage | insinuate | suggest unpleasantly make a way for something gently | Usage | insipid | without taste or flavor | Usage | insouciant | unconcerned carefree | Usage | insularity | narrow-mindedness isolated | Usage | insurrection | rising of people to open resistance to | Usage | interdict | prohibit forbid | Usage | interim | as an installment | Usage | intersperse | place here and there | Usage | intransigence | unwillingness to compromise stubbornness intractability | Usage | intransigent | uncompromising | Usage | intrepid | fearless brave undaunted | Usage | introspection | examining one's own thoughts and feelings | Usage | introvert | one who turns towards himself | Usage | inundate | flood cover by overflowing | Usage | inured | accustomed to adapted | Usage | invective | abusive language curses | Usage | inveigh | to attack verbally denounce deprecate | Usage | inveterate | deep-rooted. long-established | Usage | invincible | too strong to be defeated | Usage | involute | complex | Usage | irascible | irritable easily angered | Usage | irate | angry | Usage | ire | anger | Usage | irksome | tiresome | Usage | irresolute | hesitating undecided | Usage | irrevocable | final and unalterable | Usage | itinerate | to travel from place to place to peregrinate | Usage | jabber | talk excitedly utter rapidly | Usage | jagged | notched | Usage | jejune | insubstantial/dull/immature | Usage | jibe | gibe make fun of | Usage | jocular | meant as a joke | Usage | judicious | sound in judgment wise | Usage | knit | draw together unite firmly | Usage | labyrinthine | to entangle the state of affairs | Usage | lachrymose | causing tears tearful | Usage | lackluster | (of eyes) dull | Usage | lament | show feel great sorrow | Usage | lampoon | publicly mock or ridicule | Usage | lassitude | weariness tiredness | Usage | latent | present but not yet active developed or visible | Usage | laudatory | expressing or giving praise | Usage | lavish | giving or producing freely liberally or generously | Usage | legacy | Bequest or inheritance | Usage | levee | formal reception/embankment | Usage | levity | lack of seriousness | Usage | libel | statement that damages reputation | Usage | liberality | free giving generosity | Usage | libertine | immoral person | Usage | lien | legal claim until a debt on it is repaid | Usage | limn | paint portray | Usage | limp | lacking strength walking unevenly | Usage | lionize | treat as a famous person | Usage | lithe | bending twisting | Usage | livid | Furiously angry, enraged | Usage | loll | rest to sit or stand in a lazy way hang (dog's tongue) | Usage | lope | move along with long strides | Usage | loquacious | talkative garrulous | Usage | lucubrate | write in scholarly fashion | Usage | luculent | easily understood lucid clear | Usage | lugubrious | mournful excessively sad | Usage | lull | become quiet or less active | Usage | lumber | move in a clumsy/noisy way | Usage | luminary | star light-giving body | Usage | lurk | be out of view ready to attack | Usage | lustrous | being bright polished | Usage | macabre | gruesome suggesting death | Usage | macerate | make or become soft by soaking in water | Usage | machination | plot scheme (esp. evil) | Usage | maladroit | tactless clumsy | Usage | malapropism | misuse of a word (for one that resembles it) | Usage | malevolence | wishing to do evil | Usage | malign | to speak harmful untruths about someone | Usage | malinger | to fake illness or injury in order to shirk a duty | Usage | malleable | yielding easily shaped moldable adapting | Usage | manacle | chains for the hands or feet | Usage | massacre | cruel killing of a large number of people | Usage | matriculation | be admitted enter a university as a student | Usage | maudlin | sentimental in a silly or tearful way | Usage | maul | hurt by rough handling | Usage | maverick | rebel nonconformist | Usage | mellifluous | sweetly flowing | Usage | mendacious | lying; habitually dishonest | Usage | mendacity | dishonesty | Usage | mendicant | a beggar | Usage | mercurial | quick changeable in character fleeting | Usage | meretricious | attractive on the surface but of little value | Usage | mesmerize | hypnotize | Usage | meticulous | giving great attention to details | Usage | mettle | quality of endurance or courage | Usage | mettlesome | courageous high-spirited | Usage | middling | fairly good but not very good | Usage | mien | demeanor | Usage | minatory | menacing threatening | Usage | mince | pronounce or speak affectedly euphemize | Usage | misanthrope | person who hates mankind | Usage | mischievous | harmful causing mischief | Usage | miser | person who loves wealth and spends little | Usage | misogynist | one who hates women/females | Usage | mite | A very small amount, portion, or particle | Usage | moderation | quality of being limited not extreme | Usage | mollify | make calmer or quieter | Usage | molt | moult lose hair feathers before new growing | Usage | morbid | diseased unhealthy (e.g.. about ideas) | Usage | moribund | in a dying state; near death | Usage | morose | ill-tempered unsocial | Usage | muffler | cloth worn round the neck/silencer | Usage | mulct | aud a person of something | Usage | multifarious | varied motley greatly diversified | Usage | mundane | worldly as opposed to spiritual commonplace everyday | Usage | myriad | very great number | Usage | nadir | lowest weakest point | Usage | narcissism | Self-love | Usage | nascent | coming into existence emerging | Usage | nebulous | cloud-like hazy vague indistinct | Usage | negligent | taking too little care | Usage | neophyte | person who has been converted to a belief | Usage | nexus | a connection tie or link | Usage | nibble | show some inclination to accept (an offer) | Usage | noisome | offensive disgusting (smell) | Usage | nonchalant | not having interest | Usage | nonplused | greatly surprised | Usage | nostrum | a quack remedy an untested cure | Usage | noxious | harmful | Usage | nugatory | trifling/worthless | Usage | obdurate | hardened and unrepenting stubborn inflexible | Usage | obfuscate | to darken make obscure muddle | Usage | oblivious | unaware having no memory | Usage | obloquy | abusively detractive language sharp criticism vituperation | Usage | obsequious | too eager to obey or serve | Usage | obstreperous | noisy loud | Usage | obtain | to be established accepted or customary | Usage | obtrusive | projecting prominent undesirably noticeable | Usage | obtuse | blunt/stupid | Usage | obviate | to make unnecessary get rid of | Usage | occluded | blocked up | Usage | odious | repulsive hateful | Usage | odium | contempt dislike aversion | Usage | odor | smell favor reputation | Usage | offhand | Without preparation or forethought | Usage | officious | too eager or ready to help offer advice | Usage | ominous | threatening | Usage | onerous | needing effort burdensome | Usage | onus | responsilibilty,burden | Usage | opaqueness | dullness/not allowing light to pass through | Usage | opprobrious | showing scorn or reproach | Usage | orison | prayer | Usage | ossify | to turn to bone to settle rigidly into an idea | Usage | ostensible | seeming appearing as such professed | Usage | ostentation | display to obtain admiration or envy | Usage | ostracism | shut out from society refuse to meet talk | Usage | overhaul | examine thoroughly to learn about the condition | Usage | overweening | presumptuously arrogant overbearing immoderate being a jerk | Usage | paean | song of praise or triumph | Usage | palate | roof of the mouth sense of taste | Usage | palatial | magnificent | Usage | palliate | lessen the severity of | Usage | palpability | can be felt touched understood | Usage | Palpable | Obvious | Usage | palpitate | tremble beat rapidly and irregularly | Usage | panegyric | formal praise eulogy | Usage | paradigm | a model example or pattern | Usage | parenthesis | sentence within another one something separated | Usage | pariah | an outcast a rejected and despised person | Usage | parley | negotiation | Usage | parsimonious | too economical miserly | Usage | partisan | one-sided committed to a party biased or prejudiced | Usage | patron | regular customer person who gives support | Usage | paucity | scarcity a lacking of | Usage | peccadillo | small sin small weakness in one's character | Usage | pedantic | bookish showing off learning | Usage | pedestrian | commonplace trite unremarkable | Usage | pellucid | transparent easy to understand | Usage | penchant | strong inclination a liking | Usage | penitent | feeling or showing regret | Usage | penurious | poor/stingy | Usage | penury | extreme poverty | Usage | perch | take up a high position | Usage | peregrination | traveling about wandering | Usage | peremptory | urgent imperative unchallengeable ending debate | Usage | perfidious | treacherous faithless | Usage | perfidy | treachery breaking of faith | Usage | perfunctory | done as a duty without care | Usage | perilous | dangerous | Usage | peripatetic | wandering | Usage | perish | be destroyed decay | Usage | perjury | willful FALSE statement unlawful act | Usage | permeate | spread into every part of | Usage | pernicious | harmful injurious | Usage | perpetrate | be guilty commit (a crime) | Usage | personable | pleasing in appearance attractive | Usage | perspicacity | quick judging and understanding | Usage | pertain | belong as a part have reference | Usage | pervade | spread through every part of | Usage | pest | destructive thing or a person who is nuisance | Usage | petrified | taken away power (to think feel act) | Usage | petrify | to make hard rocklike | Usage | petrous | like a rock hard stony | Usage | petulant | unreasonably impatient | Usage | philanthropist | one who loves mankind | Usage | philistine | a smug ignorant person one who lacks knowledge | Usage | phlegmatic | calm sluggish temperament unemotional | Usage | picaresque | involving clever rogues or adventurers | Usage | pied | of mixed colors | Usage | pileous | Covered with hair | Usage | pillage | plunder (especially in war) | Usage | pinch | be too tight take between the thumb and finger | Usage | pine | waste away through sorrow or illness | Usage | pious | dutiful to parents devoted to religion | Usage | piquant | agreeably pungent stimulating | Usage | pique | hurt the pride or self-respect stir (curiosity) | Usage | pitfall | covered hole as a trap unsuspected danger | Usage | pith | essential part force soft liquid substance | Usage | pivotal | of great importance (others depend on it) | Usage | placate | soothe pacify calm | Usage | plaintive | mournful melancholy sorrowful | Usage | plaque | flat metal on a wall as a memorial | Usage | platitude | a trite or banal statement unoriginality | Usage | plea | request | Usage | plead | address a court of law as an advocate | Usage | plethora | glut | Usage | pliant | pliable easily bent shaped or twisted | Usage | plod | continue doing something without resting | Usage | pluck | pull the feathers off pick (e.g.. flowers) | Usage | plumb | get to the root of | Usage | plummet | fall plunge steeply | Usage | plunge | move quickly suddenly and with force | Usage | poignant | deeply moving keen | Usage | poncho | large piece of cloth | Usage | ponderous | heavy bulky dull | Usage | portent | omen marvelous threatening | Usage | precarious | uncertain risky dangerous | Usage | precepts | rules establishing standards of conduct | Usage | preclude | prevent make impossible | Usage | precursors | a person or thing that precedes, as in a process or job. | Usage | precursory | preliminary anticipating | Usage | predilection | special liking mental preference | Usage | predominate | have more power than others | Usage | preen | tidy/show self-satisfaction | Usage | premature | doing or happening something before the right time | Usage | preponderance | greatness in number strength weight | Usage | presage | warning sign | Usage | presentiment | anticipatory fear; premonition | Usage | presumption | arrogance | Usage | preternatural | not normal or usual | Usage | prevalent | common | Usage | prevaricate | to equivocate to stray from the truth | Usage | prim | neat formal | Usage | pristine | primitive unspoiled pure as in earlier times unadulterated | Usage | privation | hardship | Usage | probity | uprightness incorruptibility principle | Usage | proclivity | inclination | Usage | procrastination | keeping on putting off | Usage | prodigal | wasteful reckless with money | Usage | prodigious | enormous wonderful | Usage | profane | worldly having contempt for God | Usage | profligacy | shameless immorality | Usage | profligate | wasteful prodigal licentious extravagant | Usage | profundity | depth | Usage | profuse | abundant/lavish | Usage | proliferate | grow reproduce by rapid multification | Usage | prolix | tiring because too long | Usage | prone | prostrate inclined to (undesirable things) | Usage | propagation | increasing the number spreading extending | Usage | propinquity | nearness in time or place affinity of nature | Usage | propitiatory | conciliatory appeasing mitigating | Usage | propitious | auspicious presenting favorable circumstances | Usage | prosaic | everyday mundane commonplace trite pedestrian | Usage | proscribe | denounce as dangerous | Usage | protracted | prolonged | Usage | provident | frugal looking to the future | Usage | provisional | of the present time only | Usage | provoke | make angry vax | Usage | prudence | careful forethought | Usage | prudish | easily shocked excessively modest | Usage | prune | dried plum silly person | Usage | pry | get something inquire too curiously | Usage | pucker | wrinkle | Usage | puerile | childish | Usage | pugnacious | fond of in the habit of fighting | Usage | puissance | strength | Usage | pulchritude | Physical beauty | Usage | punctilious | Meticulous | Usage | pundit | pedant authority on a subject | Usage | pungency | sharpness stinging quality | Usage | punitive | Punishing | Usage | purvey | provide supply | Usage | pusillanimous | cowardly craven | Usage | putrefaction | becoming rotten | Usage | pyre | large pile of wood for burning | Usage | quack | person dishonestly claiming to something | Usage | quaff | drink deeply | Usage | quail | lose courage turn frightened | Usage | qualm | feeling of doubt temporary feeling of sickness | Usage | quandary | state of doubt or perplexity | Usage | quell | suppress subdue | Usage | quibble | try to avoid by sophistication | Usage | quiescence | state of being passive/motionless | Usage | quirk | habit or action peculiar to something | Usage | quixotic | fanciful, fantastic, imaginary | Usage | quotidian | banal everyday | Usage | rabble | mob crowd the lower classes of populace | Usage | raconteur | person who tells anecdotes | Usage | raffish | low vulgar base tawdry | Usage | ramify | to be divided or subdivided to branch out | Usage | rancorous | feeling bitterness spitefulness | Usage | rant | use extravagant language | Usage | rapacious | greedy (esp for money) | Usage | rarefy | to make thin to make less dense to purify or refine | Usage | rave | act with excessive enthusiasm | Usage | reactionary | opposing progress | Usage | rebuff | snub | Usage | rebus | puzzle in which pictures stand for words | Usage | recalcitrant | disobedient | Usage | recant | take back as being FALSE give up | Usage | recast | cast or fashion anew | Usage | recidivism | relapse into antisocial or criminal behavior | Usage | reciprocity | granting of privileges in return for similar | Usage | recitals | a number of performance of music | Usage | recluse | person who lives alone and avoids people | Usage | recompense | make payment to reward punish | Usage | reconcile | settle a quarrel restore peace | Usage | recondite | little known abstruse | Usage | recreancy | cowardice a cowardly giving up | Usage | recuperate | become strong after illness loss exhaustion | Usage | redeem | get back by payment compensate | Usage | redoubtable | formidable causing fear | Usage | refine | make or become pure cultural | Usage | refractory | stubborn unmanageable untractable | Usage | refulgent | shining brilliant | Usage | regale | to delight or entertain to feast | Usage | regicide | crime of killing a king | Usage | reiterate | say or do again several times | Usage | rejuvenation | becoming young in nature or appearance | Usage | relapse | fall back again | Usage | reminiscent | suggest something in the past | Usage | remonstrate | to protest object | Usage | render | deliver provide represent | Usage | renovate | restore something to better condition | Usage | renowned | celebrated famous | Usage | repast | meal | Usage | repel | refuse to accept/cause dislike | Usage | repine | at be discontented with | Usage | reproach | scold upbraid | Usage | reprobate | person hardened in sin one devoid of decency | Usage | repudiate | disown refuse to accept or pay | Usage | repulsive | causing a feeling of disgust | Usage | requite | repay give in return | Usage | rescind | repeal/annul/cancel | Usage | resigned | unresisting submissive | Usage | resilience | quality of quickly recovering the original shape | Usage | resort | to frequently visit | Usage | restive | refusing to move reluctant to be controlled | Usage | resuscitation | coming back to consciousness | Usage | retard | check hinder | Usage | reticence | uncommunicativeness | Usage | reticent | reserved untalkative silent taciturn | Usage | retinue | following; attendants | Usage | retrograde | receding | Usage | retrospective | Looking back on past | Usage | revere | have deep respect for | Usage | reverent | feeling or showing deep respect | Usage | riddle | puzzling person or thing | Usage | rife | widespread | Usage | rift | split crack dissension | Usage | rivet | fix take up secure metal pin | Usage | roll | call calling of names | Usage | rotund | rich and deep plump and round | Usage | rubicund | red and healthy | Usage | ruddy | reddish, healthy-looking | Usage | rueful | dejected | Usage | ruffian | violent cruel man | Usage | rumple | make rough | Usage | sadastic | Cruel | Usage | sagacious | having sound judgment perceptive wise like a sage | Usage | salacious | obscene | Usage | salubrious | healthful | Usage | salutary | remedial wholesome causing improvement | Usage | salvage | the saving of property from loss | Usage | sanctimony | self-righteousness hypocritical with FALSE piety | Usage | sanction | approval (by authority) penalty | Usage | sanguine | cheerful confident optimistic | Usage | sanity | health of mind soundness of judgment | Usage | sash | long strip worn round the waist | Usage | satiate | satisfy fully | Usage | saturnine | gloomy dark sullen morose | Usage | savant | person of great learning | Usage | savor | taste flavor something | Usage | sawdust | tiny bits of wood | Usage | scabbard | sheath for the blade | Usage | scalding | hot enough to boil | Usage | scent | smell (especially pleasant) | Usage | scorch | become discolored/dry up/go at high speed | Usage | scribble | write hastily | Usage | scurvy | mean contemptible | Usage | secular | material (not spiritual) living outside monasteries | Usage | sedulous | persevering | Usage | seminal | like a seed constituting a source originative | Usage | sententious | short and pithy full of maxims/proverbs | Usage | sequence | succession connected line of | Usage | sere | make hard and without feeling | Usage | sermon | reproving a person for his faults | Usage | serrated | having a toothed edge | Usage | serration | having a toothed edge | Usage | servile | like a slave lacking independence | Usage | sever | break off | Usage | severance | severing | Usage | shallow | little depth not earnest | Usage | shard | A piece of broken pottery | Usage | sheath | cover for the blade of a weapon or a tool | Usage | shrewd | astute showing sound judgement | Usage | shrill | sharp piercing | Usage | shun | keep away from avoid | Usage | shunned | avoided, kept away from | Usage | shunt | send from one track to another lay aside evade discussion | Usage | sidestep | step to one side | Usage | simper | (give a) silly/self-conscious smile | Usage | sinuous | winding undulating serpentine | Usage | sketchy | shortly, roughly, quickly | Usage | skiff | small boat | Usage | skit | short piece of humorous writing | Usage | slack | sluggish dull not tight | Usage | slake | to assuage to satisfy allay | Usage | slate | king of blue-grey stone propose criticize | Usage | sluggard | lazy slow-moving person | Usage | slur | join sounds/words (indistinct) | Usage | smolder | burn slowly without flame | Usage | snare | trap | Usage | snub | treat with contempt | Usage | soar | rise fly high | Usage | sober | self-controlled | Usage | sobriety | quality or condition of being sober | Usage | sobriquet | nickname | Usage | sodden | soaked saturated | Usage | soggy | heavy with water | Usage | solvent | of the power of forming a solution | Usage | somatic | of the body | Usage | somersault | rolling backward or forward (not sideways) movement | Usage | soot | black powder in smoke | Usage | sophisticated | complex subtle refined | Usage | sophistry | fallacious reasoning faulty logic | Usage | sophomoric | self-assured though immature affected bombastic overblown | Usage | soporific | producing sleep | Usage | sordid | wretched comfortless contemptible | Usage | spear | weapon with a metal point on a long shaft | Usage | specious | illogical of questionable truth or merit | Usage | splenetic | bad-tempered irritable | Usage | splice | join (two ends) | Usage | sponge | porous rubber for washing live at once expense | Usage | sporadic | happening from time to time | Usage | spurious | FALSE counterfeit | Usage | spurn | have nothing to do reject or refuse | Usage | squalid | foul filthy | Usage | squander | spend wastefully | Usage | squat | crouch/settle without permission | Usage | stanch | to stop the flow of a fluid | Usage | steeply | rising or falling sharply | Usage | stentorian | extremely loud and powerful | Usage | stickler | person who insists on importance of something | Usage | stifled | suppressed, kept back | Usage | stigma | mark of shame or disgrace | Usage | stigmatize | describe somebody scornfully | Usage | sting | something sharp | Usage | stingy | spending using unwillingly | Usage | stint | to be thrifty to set limits | Usage | stipple | paint with dots | Usage | stipulate | state or put forward as a necessary condition | Usage | stolid | showing no emotion impassive | Usage | stray | wander lose one's way | Usage | streak | long thin move very fast | Usage | striated | striped grooved or banded | Usage | stride | walk with long steps | Usage | strive | to make great efforts, to struggle | Usage | strut | a supporting bar | Usage | stygian | hence dark gloomy | Usage | stymie | to hinder obstruct or block | Usage | subdue | overcome bring under control | Usage | sublime | extreme astounding | Usage | submerge | put under water liquid sink out of sight | Usage | suborn | induce by bribery or something to commit perjury | Usage | subpoena | written order requiring a person to appear in a low court | Usage | substantiation | giving facts to support (statement) | Usage | subsume | include under a rule | Usage | succor | assistance relief in time of distress | Usage | succumb | yield, die | Usage | suffice | be enough | Usage | suffocate | cause or have difficulty in breathing | Usage | sullied | to be stained or discredited | Usage | summarily | briefly without delay | Usage | sumptuous | magnificent | Usage | sundry | various miscellaneous separate | Usage | supercilious | disdainful characterized by haughty scorn | Usage | superfluous | more then is needed or wanted | Usage | superimpose | put something on the top | Usage | supersede | take the place of | Usage | supine | lying on the back slow to act passive | Usage | suppliant | asking humbly beseeching | Usage | supplicate | make a humble petition to | Usage | suppress | prevent from being known put an end to | Usage | surcharge | additional load/charge | Usage | surfeit | satiate feed to fulness or to excess | Usage | susceptibility | sensitiveness | Usage | swerve | change direction suddenly | Usage | sycophant | person who flatter to the rich and powerful | Usage | synopsis | summary or outline | Usage | taciturn | unspoken, silent | Usage | tadpole | form of a frog when it leaves the egg | Usage | talon | claw of a bird of prey | Usage | tamp | tap or drive down by repeated light blows | Usage | tamper | interfere with | Usage | tangential | suddenly changeable | Usage | tarnished | lost brightness | Usage | tassel | bunch of threads | Usage | taunt | contemptuous reproach hurtful remark | Usage | taut | tightly stretched | Usage | tautology | a repetition a redundancy | Usage | tawdry | cheap gaudy showy tacky | Usage | teetotal | oppose to alcohol | Usage | telltale | That gives warning or information | Usage | temerity | boldness brashness intrepidness | Usage | temperance | abstinence from alcohol self-control moderation | Usage | temperate | showing self-control | Usage | tenacity | firmness persistency adhesiveness tending to hang on | Usage | tenuous | insubstantial flimsy weak | Usage | tepid | lukewarm | Usage | terse | brief and to the point | Usage | testiness | witness/evidence | Usage | thrift | care economy thriving prosperous | Usage | thwart | obstruct/frustrate | Usage | timid | shy easily frightened | Usage | timorous | fearful timid afraid | Usage | toady | obsequious flatterer | Usage | tonic | something giving strength or energy | Usage | topple | be unsteady and overturn | Usage | torment | severe pain or suffering | Usage | torpid | dull and slow | Usage | torque | twisting force causing rotation | Usage | tortuous | devious/not straightforward | Usage | tout | To solicit customers, votes, or patronage | Usage | tractable | easily controlled or guided | Usage | transgress | break go beyond (a limit) | Usage | transient | temporary fleeting | Usage | transitory | brief | Usage | travesty | parody/imitation | Usage | treacherous | not to be trusted, perfidious | Usage | trenchant | forceful effective vigorous extremely perceptive incisive | Usage | trencherman | person who eats a lot | Usage | trepidation | alarm excited state of mind | Usage | trickle | flow in drops | Usage | trifling | unimportant | Usage | trite | not new | Usage | truce | (agreement) stop of fighting for a time | Usage | truculence | aggressiveness ferocity | Usage | trudge | walk heavily | Usage | turbid | muddy having the sediment stirred up | Usage | turbulence | being uncontrolled violent | Usage | turgid | excessively ornate swollen or bloated | Usage | turmoil | trouble disturbance | Usage | turpitude | wickedness shamefulness | Usage | turquoise | greenish-blue precious stone | Usage | tyro | a beginner | Usage | ubiquitous | present everywhere | Usage | ulterior | situated beyond | Usage | umbrage | offense resentment | Usage | uncouth | rough awkward | Usage | underbid | make a lower bid then somebody else | Usage | undermine | weaken gradually at the base make something under | Usage | undulate | to move in wavelike fashion fluctuate | Usage | unearth | discover and bring to light | Usage | unencumbered | easy-going trifle | Usage | unfeigned | not pretended sincere | Usage | unscathed | unharmed unhurt | Usage | untoward | unfortunate inconvenient | Usage | upbraid | scold reproach | Usage | urbane | elegant refined in manners | Usage | vacillation | being uncertain hesitating | Usage | vacuity | idleness | Usage | vagary | strange act or idea | Usage | vain | without use result conceited | Usage | valiant | brave | Usage | valorous | brave | Usage | vanquish | conquer | Usage | variegate | To mark with different shade or colors | Usage | veer | change direction | Usage | vehemence | forcefulness | Usage | venal | ready to do something dishonest | Usage | veneer | surface appearance covering the TRUE nature | Usage | veneration | regard with deep respect | Usage | veracity | truth | Usage | verdant | fresh and green | Usage | verisimilitude | appearing TRUE or real | Usage | veritable | real rightly named | Usage | verve | spirit vigor enthusiasm | Usage | vestige | trace or sign | Usage | vex | annoy distress trouble | Usage | vigilance | watchfulness self-appointed group who maintain order | Usage | vigilant | member of a vigilance committee | Usage | vigorous | strong energetic | Usage | vilify | slander say evil things | Usage | vindictive | having a desire to revenge | Usage | virago | a loud domineering woman a scold or nag | Usage | visceral | of the internal organs of the body | Usage | viscous | sticky/semi-fluid | Usage | vitiate | lower the quality weaken the strength | Usage | vitriolic | corrosive; sarcastic | Usage | vituperate | curse abuse in words | Usage | vivacious | lively high-spirited | Usage | volatile | changeable inconstant fickle unstable explosive | Usage | volubility | fluency verbosity easy use of spoken language | Usage | voluble | fluent | Usage | voluptuous | arousing sensual pleasures | Usage | waffle | talk vaguely and without much result | Usage | waft | scent waving movement carry lightly through | Usage | wag | merry person | Usage | wan | looking ill, not bright | Usage | wanton | unrestrained; willfully malicious; unchaste | Usage | warmonger | person who stirs up war | Usage | warrant | authority written order guarantee | Usage | wean | to turn away (from a habit) | Usage | weigh | measure hoe heavy something is | Usage | welter | turmoil a bewildering jumble | Usage | wend | to go proceed | Usage | whimsical | full of odd and fanciful ideas | Usage | wile | a trick | Usage | wince | show bodily or mental pain | Usage | woo | try to win | Usage | writ | written order | Usage | xenophile (zen-uh-fahyl) | a person who is attracted to foreign peoples cultures | Usage | yarn | tale story fibers for knitting | Usage | yeoman | man owning small estate; middle-class farmer | Usage |
GRE Verbal Tips
When considering colleges and universities to apply for, you also need to consider various entrance exams to gain entry into these colleges and universities. It is never too early to start preparing for them and using GRE verbal tips, as they can be one of the most important tests of your life. The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) is one such test.
There are two types of GRE tests: 1. The GRE General Test. This test examines: verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, writing skills, and critical thinking skills. 2. The GRE Subject Test. The subject test measures achievement in eight subject areas (e.g. biology, chemistry, literature in English, and psychology) (ETS, 2009).
Vocabulary knowledge is particularly important in each of the GRE tests. A large part of the tests depend directly upon your word knowledge. Indirectly, however, much like any test, your knowledge of word meanings can make or break a test. To be able to answer questions, you must understand what is being asked. This comes down to understanding word meanings.
Tips for the Verbal Component of the GRE
Robbins (2009) suggests the following GRE verbal tips to assist participants with the verbal component of the GRE:
In the sentence completion part of the verbal section you should: * Fill in the sentence prior to looking at your choice of answers; * Take your time and look at all the answers before choosing; * Be aware of the negative words in a sentence (such as not). They can easily confuse; and, * Consider words with roots and affixes if you encounter an unknown word.
In the analogy part of the verbal section of the GRE: * Try using the two capitalized words in a sentence to see if they are similar; * Look for the words that are definitely incorrect. Rule them out straightaway; * Think about different word meanings for the words; * If you encounter an unknown word, think back to whether you have heard it spoken in an expression. This might help with the meaning; and, * Apparent, eye-catching answers may be in there to lead you up the garden path. Be aware.
The antonym section of the verbal section of the GRE: * Word parts may signpost word meanings (such as roots and affixes); * Many words have different meanings in different contexts. If no antonym seems right, consider different meanings of the word; * Straight after you read the word, consider a word that has an opposite meaning. Only then look at all the words thoroughly.
The reading comprehension part of the verbal section of the GRE: * Only provide answers that have been formed from the information provided; * Focus, in particular, upon the beginning and end sentences in the paragraphs; * Complete parts of the test that you know before you answer unknown questions.
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GRE Essay Tips
Easy Ways to Improve
The analytical writing section is important and different from most of the GRE test because it is *marked by a human rather than a computer*!
These human markers will be under a lot of pressure. They may have to mark 20-plus essays in an hour. So your essay doesn't have a lot of time to impress.
Two of the most vital things you MUST remember for the essay question are: 1. WRITE LEGIBLY! The marker will NOT waste time trying to decipher impossible handwriting 2. Read the essay prompt carefully, then KEEP ON-TOPIC! Markers are told to give off-topic essays a ZERO mark!
It is essential that you remember these two rules to avoid a disaster on your GRE essay section.
The Really Boring Essay Question
Imagine this. You've studied your vocabulary video lessons really well. You've practiced writing lots of great essays - you feel good to go!
Then you sit down in the exam and find yourself confronted with the most BORING essay prompt you could imagine. Whatever topic it is that bores you stiff, you suddenly find yourself having to write an essay on it for the next 25 minutes!
This is a real pain in the neck, but it happens often, so you must be prepared for the eventuality. To prevent this causing you a disaster on the day of your test, you should regularly practice finding and expanding a "pretend opinion" on things that you don't care a fig about. You could pretend to be someone else, and say, "People who like xxx would give the following reasons why this is a bad/good idea: .... " And so on.
The nub of the matter is that you have to be able to come up with an essay on pretty much anything, so practice writing essays as a skill, regardless of the content.
In the next lesson, we'll talk about essay templates, which will be a big help for you in these kind of situations, as well as for the essay section generally.
Essay Templates
Creating your own essay templates is a simple task and an extremely effective use of your time during GRE exam preparation. It will put you ahead of a *huge* chunk of the crowd!
Lots of students waste a bunch of time in the GRE exam essay section by trying to work out the flow of their essay. The reality is that a GRE exam essay can take a standard structure and be quickly adapted to the topic you find yourself having to write about.
An example of an essay structure might be: 1. Introductory paragraph 2. Supporting information #1 ...linked to... 3. Supporting information #2 ... linked to... 4. Supporting information #3 5. Conclusion
Get one or more essay templates of your own together and learn them by heart. It will save you a lot of time and stress in your test!
Reading for GRE Essay Success
Reading widely and often is a key success factor for the essay portion of the GRE. As you read more and more - editorial material is particularly good for this - you will subconsciously absorb the structure of a good essay and of properly constructed English.
A good idea is to set your internet homepage to a quality news site. This will make you more likely to read quality articles and editorials on a regular basis. Do this now, not the week before your exam!
How Long Should My Essays Be?
Lots of people will tell you that your essays should be "as long as possible" and even that you should use "as many long words as possible". This isn't necessarily the best approach.
The examiners are looking for your ability to express yourself clearly and present your ideas sensibly, not for how much you can write in a short space of time.
Hopefully by now you have moved lots of the important words that we covered in the GRE Vocabulary Videos from your passive to your active vocabulary, so that you will be able to draw on them in your essay. Use them APPROPRIATELY, and write as much as you need to write to get a clearly cohesive essay down, NOT the longest essay you can produce with the most words!