GRE PART 1

etiolated

adj. (especially of plants) developed without chlorophyll by being deprived of light

effervescent

adj. (of a liquid) giving off bubbles; marked by high spirits or excitement; used of wines and waters; charged naturally or artificially with carbon dioxide

newfangled

adj. (of a new kind or fashion) gratuitously new

rampant

adj. (of a plant) having a lush and unchecked growth; unrestrained and violent

discursive

adj. (of e.g. speech and writing) tending to depart from the main point or cover a wide range of subjects; proceeding to a conclusion by reason or argument rather than intuition

turbid

adj. (of especially liquids) clouded as with sediment

calamitous

adj. (of events) having extremely unfortunate or dire consequences; bringing ruin

uncultivated

adj. (of land or fields) not prepared for raising crops; characteristic of a person who is not cultivated or does not have intellectual tastes; (of persons) lacking art or knowledge

motile

adj. (of spores or microorganisms) capable of movement; noun one whose prevailing mental imagery takes the form of inner feelings of action

tremulous

adj. (of the voice) quivering as from weakness or fear

susceptible

adj. (often followed by `of' or `to') yielding readily to or capable of; easily impressed emotionally

detrimental

adj. (sometimes followed by `to') causing harm or injury

sere

adj. (used especially of vegetation) having lost all moisture

conversant

adj. (usually followed by `with') well informed about or knowing thoroughly

turgid

adj. abnormally distended especially by fluids or gas; ostentatiously lofty in style

toothsome

adj. acceptable to the taste or mind; having strong sexual appeal; extremely pleasing to the sense of taste

sapient

adj. acutely insightful and wise

demure

adj. affectedly modest or shy especially in a playful or provocative way

credible

adj. appearing to merit belief or acceptance; capable of being believed; a common but incorrect usage where `credulous' would be appropriate

risible

adj. arousing or provoking laughter

stilted

adj. artificially formal

cunning

adj. attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness; showing inventiveness and skill; marked by skill in deception; noun crafty artfulness (especially in deception); shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception

scotch

adj. avoiding waste; of or relating to or characteristic of Scotland or its people or culture or its English dialect or Gaelic language; noun whiskey distilled in Scotland; especially whiskey made from malted barley in a pot still; a slight surface cut (especially a notch that is made to keep a tally); verb make a small cut or score into; hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of

conjectural

adj. based primarily on surmise rather than adequate evidence

pivotal

adj. being of crucial importance

coterminous

adj. being of equal extent or scope or duration

divine

adj. being of such surpassing excellence as to suggest inspiration by the gods; emanating from God; being or having the nature of a god; appropriate to or befitting a god; devoted to or in the service or worship of a deity; resulting from divine providence; noun terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God; a clergyman or other person in religious orders; verb search by divining, as if with a rod; perceive intuitively or through some inexplicable perceptive powers

vernacular

adj. being or characteristic of or appropriate to everyday language; noun the everyday speech of the people (as distinguished from literary language); a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves)

strident

adj. being sharply insistent on being heard; unpleasantly loud and harsh; of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a constricted passage (as `f', `s', `z', or `th' in both `thin' and `then'); conspicuously and offensively loud; given to vehement outcry

cynical

adj. believing the worst of human nature and motives; having a sneering disbelief in e.g. selflessness of others

objective

adj. belonging to immediate experience of actual things or events; undistorted by emotion or personal bias; based on observable phenomena; emphasizing or expressing things as perceived without distortion of personal feelings, insertion of fictional matter, or interpretation; serving as or indicating the object of a verb or of certain prepositions and used for certain other purposes; noun the lens or system of lenses in a telescope or microscope that is nearest the object being viewed; the goal intended to be attained (and which is believed to be attainable)

sectarian

adj. belonging to or characteristic of a sect; of or relating to or characteristic of a sect or sects; noun a member of a sect

wry

adj. bent to one side; humorously sarcastic or mocking

inestimable

adj. beyond calculation or measure

ludicrous

adj. broadly or extravagantly humorous; resembling farce; incongruous; inviting ridicule

crestfallen

adj. brought low in spirit

deliberate

adj. by conscious design or purpose; marked by careful consideration or reflection; with care and dignity; produced or marked by conscious design or premeditation; carefully thought out in advance; verb discuss the pros and cons of an issue; think about carefully; weigh

objectionable

adj. causing disapproval or protest; liable to objection or debate; used of something one might take exception to

disquieting

adj. causing mental discomfort

slatternly

adj. characteristic of or befitting a slut or slattern; used especially of women

worldly

adj. characteristic of or devoted to the temporal world; concerned with secular rather than sacred matters; very sophisticated especially because of surfeit; versed in the ways of the world

distaff

adj. characteristic of or peculiar to a woman; noun the staff on which wool or flax is wound before spinning; the sphere of work by women

earnest

adj. characterized by a firm and humorless belief in the validity of your opinions; not distracted by anything unrelated to the goal; earnest; noun something of value given by one person to another to bind a contract

totalitarian

adj. characterized by a government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control; of or relating to the principles of totalitarianism according to which the state regulates every realm of life; noun an adherent of totalitarian principles or totalitarian government

diligent

adj. characterized by care and perseverance in carrying out tasks; quietly and steadily persevering especially in detail or exactness

dissident

adj. characterized by departure from accepted beliefs or standards; disagreeing, especially with a majority; noun a person who dissents from some established policy

conscientious

adj. characterized by extreme care and great effort; guided by or in accordance with conscience or sense of right and wrong

anesthetic

adj. characterized by insensibility; noun a drug that causes temporary loss of bodily sensations

jocose

adj. characterized by jokes and good humor

ironic

adj. characterized by often poignant difference or incongruity between what is expected and what actually is; humorously sarcastic or mocking

utopian

adj. characterized by or aspiring to impracticable perfection; of or pertaining to or resembling a utopia; of or pertaining to or resembling a utopia; noun an idealistic (but usually impractical) social reformer