GRE Hit Parade Group 4

Acerbic

Having a sour or bitter taste or character; sharp; biting

Aggrandize

To increase in intensity, power, influence or prestige

Alchemy

A medieval science aimed as the transmutation of metals, esp. base metals into gold

Amenable

Agreeable; responsive to suggestion

Anachronism

Something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context

Astringent

Having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe; something with a tightening effect on tissue

Contiguous

Sharing a border; touching; adjacent

Convention

A generally agreed-upon practice or attitude

Credulous

Tending to believe too readily; gullible

Cynicism

An attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness

Decorum

Polite or appropriate conduct or behavior

Derision

Scorn, ridicule, contemptuous treatment

Desiccate

To dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull

Dilettante

One with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge

Disparage

To slight or belittle

Divulge

To disclose something secret

Fawn

To flatter or praise excessively

Flout

To show contempt for, as in a rule or convention

Garrulous

Pointlessly talkative, talking too much

Glib

Marked by ease or informality; nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial

Hubris

Overbearing presumption or pride; arrogance

Imminent

About to happen; impending

Immutable

Not capable of change

Impetuous

Hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement

Indifferent

Having no interest or concern; showing no bias or prejudice

Inimical

Damaging; harmful; injurious

Intractable

Not easily managed or directed; stubborn; obstinate

Intrepid

Steadfast and courageous

Laconic

Using few words; terse

Maverick

An independent individual who does not get along with a group or party

Mercurial

Characterized by rapid and unpredictable change in mood

Mollify

To calm or soothe; to reduce in emotional intensity

Neophyte

A recent convert; a beginner; novice

Obfuscate

To deliberately obscure; to make confusing

Obstinate

Stubborn; hardheaded; uncompromising

Ostentatious

Characterized by or given to pretentious display; showy

Pervade

To permeate throughout

Phlegmatic

Calm; sluggish; unemotional

Plethora

An overabundance; a surplus

Pragmatic

Practical rather than idealistic

Presumptuous

Overstepping due bounds (as or propriety or courtesy); taking liberties

Pristine

Pure; uncorrupted; clean

Probity

Adherence to highest principles; complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness

Proclivity

A natural predisposition or inclination

Profligate

Excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant

Propensity

A natural inclination or tendency, penchant

Prosaic

Dull; lacking in spirit or imagination

Pungent

Characterized by a strong, sharp smell or taste

Quixotic

Foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals

Quotidian

Occuring or recurring daily; commonplace

Rarefy

To make or become thin, less dense; to refine

Recondite

Hidden; concealed; difficult to understand; obscure

Refulgent

Radiant; shiny; brilliant

Renege

To fail to honor a commitment; to go back on a promise

Sedulous

Diligent; persistent; hard-working

Shard

A piece or broken pottery or glass

Soporific

Causing drowsiness; tending to induce sleep

Sparse

Thin; not dense; arranged at widely spaced intervals

Spendthrift

One who spends money wastefully

Subtle

Not obvious; elusive; difficult to discern

Tacit

Implied; not explicitly stated

Terse

Brief and concise in wording

Tout

To publicly praise or promote

Trenchant

Sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating

Unfeigned

Genuine; not false or hypocritical

Untenable

Indefensible; not viable; uninhabitable

Vacillate

To waver indecisively between one course of action or opinion and another; waver

Variegated

Multicolored; characterized by a variety or patches of different color

Vexation

Annoyance; irritation

Vigilant

Alertly watchful

Vituperate

To use harsh, condemnatory language; to abuse or censure severly or abusively; berate

Volatile

Readily changing to a vapor; changeable; fickle; explosive