Advanced VI

Question 1

turgid

Answer 1

turgid
adjective: (of language) pompous and tedious

The amount of GRE vocabulary he used increased with his years–by the time he was 60, his novels were so turgid that even his diehard fans refused to read them.

Question 2

enormity

Answer 2

enormity
noun: an act of extreme wickedness

The enormity of Pol Pot’s regime is hard to capture in words–within months hundreds of thousands of Cambodians lost their lives.

This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 3

aplomb

Answer 3

aplomb
noun: great coolness and composure under strain

Nancy acted with aplomb during dangerous situations–she once calmly climbed up an oak tree to save a cat.

Question 4

bridle

Answer 4

bridle
verb: the act of restraining power or action or limiting excess

New curfew laws have bridled people’s tendency to go out at night.

verb: to react with anger or to take offense

The hostess bridled at the tactless dinner guests who insisted on eating before everybody had gotten their food.

Question 5

dolorous

Answer 5

dolorous
adjective: showing sorrow

Chopin’s ballades are filled with sharp changes in moods–a dolorous melody can give way to a lighthearted tempo.

Question 6

elegiac

Answer 6

elegiac
adjective: expressing sorrow

Few can listen to the elegiac opening bars of the Moonlight sonata without feeling the urge to cry.

Question 7

conflate

Answer 7

conflate
verb: mix together different elements or concepts

In her recent book, the author conflates several genres–the detective story, the teen thriller, and the vampire romance–to create a memorable read.

Question 8

unassailable

Answer 8

unassailable
adjective: immune to attack; without flaws

Professor Williams is so self-assured as to seem arrogant, presenting each and every opinion as an unassailable fact.

Question 9

stultify

Answer 9

stultify
verb: cause one, through routine, to lose energy and enthusiasm

As an undergraduate Mark felt stultified by classes outside his area of study; only in grad school, in which he could focus solely on literary analysis, did he regain his scholarly edge.

Question 10

inequity

Answer 10

inequity
noun: injustice by virtue of not conforming with rules or standards

After decades of racial inequity, the “separate but equal” doctrine was successfully overturned.

Question 11

autocratic

Answer 11

autocratic
adjective: characteristic of an absolute ruler or absolute rule; having absolute sovereignty

The last true autocratic country is certainly North Korea; nowhere does a leader exercise the absolute control over all aspects of a people the way that Kim Jong-un does.

adjective: offensively self-assured or given to exercising usually unwarranted power

The manager was finally fired for his autocratic leadership, which often bordered on rude and offensive.

Question 12

doughty

Answer 12

doughty
adjective: brave; bold; courageous

I enjoy films in which a doughty group comes together to battle a force of evil.

Question 13

transmute

Answer 13

transmute
verb: change or alter in form, appearance, or nature

One of the goals of alchemy was to find the substance or process that would transmute lead into gold.

Question 14

malingerer

Answer 14

malingerer
noun: someone shirking their duty by pretending to be sick or incapacitated

At one time, our country was full of hardworking respectful people, but now it seems that everyone is a malingerer with little inclination to work.

Question 15

panegyric

Answer 15

panegyric
noun: a formal expression of praise

Dave asked Andrew to do just a simple toast, but Andrew launched into a full panegyric, enumerating a complete list of Dave’s achievements and admirable qualities.

Question 16

fecund

Answer 16

fecund
adjective: intellectually productive

The artist had entered a fecund period, producing three masterpieces in the span of two months.

Question 17

self-effacing

Answer 17

self-effacing
adjective: reluctant to draw attention to yourself

The most admirable teachers and respected leaders are those who are self-effacing, directing attention and praise to their students and workers.

Question 18

hauteur

Answer 18

hauteur
noun: overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors

As soon as she won the lottery, Alice began displaying a hauteur to her friends, calling them dirty-clothed peasants behind their backs.

Question 19

impugn

Answer 19

impugn
verb: attack as false or wrong

Though many initially tried to impugn Darwin’s theory, in scientific circles today, the idea is taken as truth.

Question 20

tyro

Answer 20

tyro
noun: someone new to a field or activity

All great writers, athletes, and artists were tyros at one time—unknown, clumsy, and unskilled with much to learn.

Question 21

callow

Answer 21

callow
adjective: young and inexperienced

Both Los Angeles and New York are known for callow out-of-towners hoping to make it big.

Question 22

pellucid

Answer 22

pellucid
adjective: transparently clear; easily understandable

The professor had a remarkable ability to make even the most difficult concepts seem pellucid.

Question 23

obtuse

Answer 23

obtuse
adjective: slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity; lacking in insight or discernment

Jackson was the most obtuse member of the team: the manager’s subtle ironies were always lost on him.

This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 24

complaisant

Answer 24

complaisant
adjective: showing a cheerful willingness to do favors for others

On her first day at the job, Annie was complaisant, fulfilling every request of her new employer and anticipating future requests.

Question 25

facile

Answer 25

facile
adjective: arrived at without due care or effort; lacking depth

Many news shows provide facile explanations to complex politics, so I prefer to read the in-depth reporting of The New York Times.

Question 26

palatable

Answer 26

palatable
adjective: acceptable to the taste or mind

Mikey didn’t partake much in his friends’ conversations, but found their presence palatable.

Question 27

ethereal

Answer 27

ethereal
adjective: characterized by lightness and insubstantiality

Because she dances with an ethereal style, ballet critics have called her Madame Butterfly.

Question 28

impervious

Answer 28

impervious
adjective: not admitting of passage or capable of being affected

I am not impervious to your insults; they cause me great pain.

Question 29

complicit

Answer 29

complicit
adjective: Associated with or participating in an activity, especially one of a questionable nature.

While the grand jury cleared the senator of all criminal charges, in the public mind he was still complicit in the corruption.

Question 30

gumption

Answer 30

gumption
noun: resourcefulness and determination

Wallace Stegner lamented the lack of gumption in the U.S. during the sixties, claiming that no young person knew the value of work.

Question 31

vaunted

Answer 31

vaunted
adjective: highly or widely praised or boasted about

For years, they had heard of New York City’s vaunted skyline, and when they finally saw it, the spectacular cityscape did not disappoint them in the least.

Question 32

desideratum

Answer 32

desideratum
noun: something desired as a necessity

The desideratum of the environmental group is that motorists should rely on carpooling.

Question 33

assiduously

Answer 33

assiduously
adverb: with care and persistence

The top college football program recruits new talent assiduously, only choosing those who were the top in their county.

Question 34

bromide

Answer 34

bromide
noun: a trite or obvious remark

Instead of sharing his umbrella, the cheeky stranger offered Martha the following bromide: “Looks like it’s raining.”

Question 35

proscribe

Answer 35

proscribe
verb: command against

My doctor proscribed my habit of eating donuts with chocolate sauce and hamburger patties for breakfast.

Question 36

coterminous

Answer 36

coterminous
adjective: being of equal extent or scope or duration

The border of the state is coterminous with geographic limits on travel; the east and north are surrounded by a nearly uncrossable river and the south by a desert.

Question 37

unimpeachable

Answer 37

unimpeachable
adjective: free of guilt; not subject to blame; beyond doubt or reproach

After his long and unimpeachable service to the company, Sharat felt that a gold watch was a slap in the face rather than an honor.

Question 38

afford

Answer 38

afford
verb: provide with an opportunity

The summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro affords a panoramic view that encompasses both Tanzania and Kenya.

This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 39

mendicant

Answer 39

mendicant
noun: a pauper who lives by begging

Tolstoy was an aristocrat, but he strove to understand the Christianity of the Russian peasants by wandering among them as a mendicant.

Question 40

noisome

Answer 40

noisome
adjective: having an extremely bad smell

Each August, when the winds moved in a south easterly direction, the garbage dump would spread noisome vapors through the small town.

Question 41

discursive

Answer 41

discursive
adjective: (of e.g. speech and writing) tending to depart from the main point

Many readers find it tough to read Moby Dick since the author is discursive, often cutting the action short to spend 20 pages on the history of a whale.

Question 42

conflagration

Answer 42

conflagration
noun: a very intense and uncontrolled fire

In the summer months, conflagrations are not uncommon in the southwest, due to the heat and lack of rain.

Question 43

appropriate

Answer 43

appropriate
verb: to give or take something by force

The government appropriated land that was occupied by squatters, sending them scurrying for another place to live.

verb: to allocate

The committe appropriated the funds to its various members.

This word has other definitions, but these are the most important ones to study

Question 44

abjure

Answer 44

abjure
verb: formally reject or give up (as a belief)

While the church believed that Galileo abjured the heliocentric theory under threat of torture, he later wrote a book clearly supporting the theory.

Question 45

proselytize

Answer 45

proselytize
verb: convert (someone) to another religion, philosophy, or perspective

Lisa loves her Mac but says little about it; by contrast, Jake will proselytize, interrogating anyone with an Android about why she didn’t purchase an iPhone.

Question 46

desiccated

Answer 46

uninteresting. lacking vitality

Question 47

desideratum

Answer 47

something desired as a necessity

Question 48

inviolable

Answer 48

never to be broken infringed or dishonoured

Question 49

internecine

Answer 49

destructive to both sides

(of conflict) within a group or organization

Question 50

solicitous

Answer 50

showing hovering atttentitivness

Question 51

pontificate

Answer 51

talk in a dogmatic and pompest manner