GRE Hit Parade Group 3

Acumen

Keen; accurate judgement or insight

Adulterate

To reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients

Amalgamate

To combine several elements into a whole

Archaic

Outdated; associated with an earlier, perhaps more primitive, time

Aver

To state as a fact; to declare or assert

Bolster

To provide support or reinforcement

Bombastic

Pompous; grandiloquent

Diatribe

A harsh denunciation

Dissemble

To disguise or conceal; to mislead

Eccentric

Departing from norms or conventions

Endemic

Characteristic of or often found in a particular locality, region, or people

Evanescent

Tending to disappear like vapor; vanishing

Exacerbate

To make worse or more severe

Fervent

Greatly emotional or zealous

Fortuitous

Happening by accident or chance

Germane

Relevant to the subject at hand; appropriate in subject matter

Grandiloquence

Pompous speech or expression

Hackneyed

Rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage

Halcyon

Calm and peaceful

Hedonism

Devotion to pleasurable pursuits, esp. to the pleasures of the senses (a hedonist is someone who pursues pleasure)

Hegemony

The consistent dominance of one state or ideology over others

Iconoclast

One who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institutions

Idolatrous

Given to intense or excessive devotion to something

Impassive

Revealing no emotion

Imperturbable

Marked by extreme calm, impassivity and steadiness

Implacable

Not capable of being appeased or significantly changed

Impunity

Immunity from punishment or penalty

Inchoate

In an initial stage; not fully formed

Infelicitous

Unfortunate; inappropriate

Insipid

Without taste or flavor; lacking in spirit; bland

Loquacious

Extremely talkative

Luminous

Characterized by brightness and the emission of light

Malevolent

Having or showing often vicious ill will, spite, or hatred

Malleable

Capable of being shaped or formed; tractable; pliable

Mendacity

The condition of being untruthful; dishonesty

Meticulous

Characterized by extreme care and precision; attentive to detail

Misanthrope

One who hates all other humans

Mitigate

To make or become less severe or intense; to moderate

Obdurate

Unyielding; hardhearted; intractable

Obsequious

Exhibiting a fawning attentiveness

Occlude

To obstruct or block

Opprobrium

Disgrace; contempt; scorn

Pedagogy

The profession or principles of teaching, or instructing

Pedantic

Overly concerned with the trivial details of learning or education; show-offish about one's knowledge

Penury

Poverty; destitution

Pervasive

Having the tendancy to permeate or spread throughout

Pine

To yearn intensely; to languish; to lose vigor

Pirate

To illegally use or reproduce

Pith

The essential or central part

Pithy

Precise and brief

Placate

To appease; to calm by making concessions

Platitude

A superficial remark, esp. one offered as meaningful

Plummet

To plunge or drop straight down

Polemical

Controversial; argumentative

Prodigal

Recklessly wasteful; extravagant; profuse; lavish

Profuse

Given or coming forth abundantly; extravagant

Proliferate

To grow or increase swiftly and abundantly

Queries

Questions; inquiries; doubts in the mind; reservations

Querulous

Prone to complaining or grumbling; peevish

Rancorous

Characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment

Recalcitrant

Obstinately defiant of authority; difficult to manage

Repudiate

To refuse to have anything to do with; disown

Rescind

To invalidate; to repeal; to retract

Reverent

Marked by, feeling, or expressing a feeling of profound awe and respect

Rhetoric

The art or study of effective use of language for communication and persuasion

Salubrious

Promoting health or well-being

Solvent

Able to meet financial obligations; able to dissolve another substance

Specious

Seeming true, but actually being fallacious; misleadingly attractive; plausible but false

Spurious

Lacking authenticity or validity; false; counterfeit

Subpoena

A court order requiring appearance and/or testimony

Succinct

Brief; concise

Superfluous

Exceeding what is sufficient or necessary

Surfeit

An overabundant supply; excess; to feed or supply to excess

Tenacity

The quality of adherence or persistence to something valued; persistent determination

Tenuous

Having little substance or strength; flimsy; weak

Tirade

A long and extremely critical speech; a harsh denunciation

Transient

Fleeting; passing quickly; brief

Zealous

Fervent; ardent; impassioned, devoted to a cause (a zealot is a zealous person)