GRE/CAT VOCABULARY LIST 55
exalt = raise in rank or dignity; praise highly; inspire; Ex.
exalt the imagination; ADJ. exalted; N. exaltation
scruple = hesitate for ethical reasons; fret about; Ex. She
did not scruple to read his diary; N: uneasy feeling arising
from conscience; conscience
willful = wilful; intentional; headstrong
sepulcher = tomb; V: place in a sepulcher; ADJ. sepulchral
carping = petty criticism; fault-finding; fretful complaining;
quibble
boor = rude, insensitive person
lucre = money; profit; Ex. filthy lucre
eerie = weird; causing fear because strange
archaeology = study of artifacts and relics of early
mankind
gamut = entire range
plumber = one who installs and repairs pipes and plumbing(
pipes)
address = direct a speech to; speak to; deal with or discuss;
direct one.s efforts or attention to; make with a
destination; N: formal speech
stamp = step on heavily (so as to crush or extinguish); put
an end to; imprint or impress with a mark, design, or
seal; shape with a die; characterize; Ex. machine stamping
out car bodies; Ex. newspaper stamping him as a
liar; N. stamping; implement used to stamp; impression
stamped; mark; Ex. Her remarks bear the stamp
of truth.
inhibit = restrain; prohibit; retard or prevent; N. inhibition
celerity = speed; rapidity
detraction = slandering; aspersion; detracting; CF. detractor
gruesome = grisly; horrible
beneficent = kindly; doing good
knotty = intricate; difficult; tangled; CF. knot
prescience = ability to foretell the future; knowledge of
actions before they occur; ADJ. prescient
vicissitude = change (esp. from good to bad); change of
fortune; CF. the last emperor of China
debauch = corrupt morally; seduce from virtue; N. debauchery:
wild behavior (with sex and alcohol)
renege = break a promise; deny; go back on; Ex. renege
on the contract/paying off the debt
trivia = trifles; unimportant matters
inert = inactive; lacking power to move; unable to move
or act; Ex. chemically inert; N. inertia: state of being
inert; force which keeps a thing in the position or state
arduous = hard; strenuous; Ex. arduous work
browse = graze; feed on growing grass; skim or glance at
casually
pertinacious = holding tenaciously to an action; stubborn;
persistent
patrimony = property inherited from a father
flail = beat with or as if with a flail; move wildly; thresh
grain by hand; strike or slap; toss about; N: threshing
tool consisting of a stick swinging from the end of a long
handle
environ = enclose; surround; N. environs: surrounding
area (as of a city)
annihilate = destroy
provision = act of providing; something provided;
preparatory measure; provisions: necessary supplies
(esp. food); stipulation; condition in an agreement; Ex.
According to the provisions of the agreement
balmy = soft and mild (of air); fragrant
remorse = deep regret for wrongdoing; guilt; selfreproach
fiend = evil spirit; devil
incoherent = unintelligible; muddled; unable to express
one.s thoughts in an orderly manner; illogical; lacking
cohesion; not coherent
tyro = beginner; novice
roil = make liquids murky by stirring up sediment; disturb
idyll(idyl) = short poem idealizing rural life; simple
happy period of life (in the country); scene from such
a time; Ex. idyll of two young lovers
repository = storehouse
churlish = boorish; rude; N. churl: boor; yahoo
discriminate = distinguish;make distinctions on the basis
of preference
repeal = revoke; annul
sallow = (of the skin) yellowish and unhealthy-looking;
sickly in color; Ex. sallow complexion due to jaundice
havoc = widespread damage; disorder; chaos
chary = cautious; unwilling to take risks; sparing or restrained
about giving; OP. bold
turbulence = state of violent agitation; ADJ. turbulent: violently
agitated or disturbed
lithe = flexible; supple; CF. limber
pushy = disagreeably aggressive
luxuriant = abundant; growing healthily and in large
amounts; excessively ornate; rich and splendid; fertile;
Ex. luxuriant forests/prose; CF. luxurious, luxuriate
trample = step heavily with the feet; crush under the feet
contrive = invent or fabricate in a clever way (by improvisation);
manage; Ex. contrive to attract his attention
instigate = start; urge; provoke; incite; Ex. instigate a
search/quarrel
braggart = boaster; bragger
confine = shut in an enclosed space; restrict; keep within
limits; N. confinement
motif = theme; recurrent thematic element in a musical or
literary work; single or repeated pattern; figure
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