Common Words 5

Question 1

gauche

Answer 1

unsophisticated and socially awkward
lacking social polish

synonyms: graceless , unpolished

Sylvester says the most gauche things, such as telling a girl he liked that she was much prettier when she wore makeup

Question 2

austere

Answer 2

practicing self-denial
harsh in manner of temperament
unadorned in style or appearance

Synonyms : ascetic , ascetical , spartan, monk-like

Question 3

sycophant

Answer 3

a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage

Synonyms : ass-kisser , crawler , lackey , toady

The CEO was unaware of the damaging consequences of his choices, largely because he surrounded himself with sycophants who would never dare criticize him.

Question 4

accolade

Answer 4

an award or praise granted as a special honor

Question 5

taciturn

Answer 5

habitually reserved and uncommunicative
introvert

While the CEO enthusiastically shares his plans and agenda with all who will listen, the CFO is far more taciturn, rarely revealing his perspective.

Question 6

insolent

Answer 6

rude and arrogant

Lilian could not help herself from being insolent, commenting that the Queen’s shoes were showing too much toe.

Question 7

obsequious

Answer 7

attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner; attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
(subservient)

Synonyms : bootlicking , fawning , sycophantic , toadyish

The obsequious waiter did not give the couple a moment’s peace all through the meal, constantly returning to their table to refill their water glasses and to tell them what a handsome pair they made.

Question 8

inveterate

Answer 8

habitual

Synonyms : chronic

He is an inveterate smoker and has told his family and friends that there is no way he will ever quit.

Question 9

dilettante

Answer 9

an amateur who engages in an activity without serious intentions and who pretends to have knowledge

Synonyms : dabbler , sciolist,dilettanteish , dilettantish , sciolistic

Fred has no formal medical training; while he likes to claim authority on medical issues, he is little more than a dilettante

Question 10

arcane

Answer 10

requiring secret or mysterious knowledge

Most college fraternities are known for arcane rituals that those hoping to join the fraterntiy must learn.

Question 11

inimical

Answer 11

hostile (usually describes conditions or environments)

Synonyms : unfriendly

Venus, with a surface temperature that would turn rubber to liquid, is inimical to any form of life.

Question 12

ravenous

Answer 12

extremely hungry; devouring or craving food in great quantities
(ravens eat)

Synonyms : esurient , famished , sharp-set , starved,edacious , esurient , rapacious , ravening , voracious , wolfish

John didn’t eat much at all during the week he had the flu, so now that he is regaining his health, it’s not surprising that he has a ravenous appetite.

Question 13

reverent

Answer 13

feeling or showing profound respect or veneration

Synonyms : godly , worshipful

The professor could speak objectively about the other composers, but he always lectured about Brahms with a particularly reverent air, unable to offer a single criticism of his compositions.

Question 14

foment

Answer 14

try to stir up public opinion
(Pakistan’s sports anchors)

Synonyms : agitate , stir up

After having his pay cut, Phil spread vicious rumors about his boss, hoping to foment a general feeling of discontent.

Question 15

tempered

Answer 15

moderated in effect

Synonyms : hardened , toughened , treated

The wide-eyed optimism of her youth was now tempered after she had worked many years in the criminal justice system.

Question 16

hegemony

Answer 16

dominance over a certain area

Until the Spanish Armada was defeated in 1587, Spain had hegemony over the seas, controlling waters stretching as far as the Americas.

Question 17

munificent

Answer 17

very generous

Synonyms : lavish , overgenerous , too-generous , unsparing , unstinted , unstinting

Uncle Charley was known for his munificence, giving all seven of his nephews lavish Christmas presents each year.

Question 18

lionize

Answer 18

assign great social importance to

Synonyms : celebrate , lionise

Students in the U.S. learn to lionize Jefferson, Franklin, and Washington because they are the founding fathers of the nation.

Question 19

prolific

Answer 19

intellectually productive

Synonyms : fecund , fertile

Schubert was the most prolific composer, producing hundreds of hours of music before he died at the age of 31

Question 20

antithetical

Answer 20

sharply contrasted in character or purpose
being in direct and clear opposition
Synonyms : antithetic

His deep emotional involvement with these ideas is, in fact, antithetical to the disattachment Buddhism preaches.

Question 21

myriad

Answer 21

a large indefinite number

Synonyms : countless , infinite , innumerable , innumerous , multitudinous , numberless , uncounted , unnumberable , unnumbered , unnumerable

There are a myriad of internet sites hawking pills that claim to boost energy for hours on end.

Question 22

intrepid

Answer 22

fearless

Question 23

winsome

Answer 23

charming in a childlike or naive way

She was winsome by nature, and many people were drawn to this free and playful spirit.

Question 24

trite

Answer 24

repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse

Synonyms : banal , commonplace , hackneyed , old-hat , shopworn , stock , threadbare , timeworn , tired , well-worn

Many style guides recommend not using idioms in writing because these trite expressions are uninteresting and show a lack of imagination on the part of the writer.

Question 25

circumscribe

Answer 25

restrict or confine

Synonyms : confine , limit

Their tour of South America was circumscribed so that they saw only popular destinations and avoided the dangerous parts of cities.

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

Question 26

vacillate

Answer 26

be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action

Synonyms : hover , oscillate , vibrate,fluctuate , waver

Some students vacillate between schools when deciding which to attend, while others focus only on one school.

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

Question 27

inscrutable

Answer 27

not easily understood; unfathomable

Synonyms : cryptic , cryptical , deep , mysterious , mystifying

His speech was so dense and confusing that many in the audience found it inscrutable.

Question 28

rescind

Answer 28

cancel officially

Synonyms : annul , countermand , lift , overturn , repeal , reverse , revoke , vacate

The man’s driver’s license was rescinded after his tenth car accident, which meant he would never be allowed to legally drive again.

Question 29

propitious

Answer 29

presenting favorable circumstances; likely to result in or show signs of success

The child’s heartbeat is still weak, but I am seeing many propitious signs and I think that she may be healing.

Question 30

constituent

Answer 30

a citizen who is represented in a government by officials for whom he or she votes

The mayor’s constituents are no longer happy with her performance and plan to vote for another candidate in the upcoming election.

noun: an abstract part of something

Synonyms : component , element , factor , ingredient

The constituents of the metal alloy are nickel, copper, and tin.

Question 31

ostracize

Answer 31

exclude from a community or group

Synonyms : ban , banish , blackball , cast out , ostracise , shun

Later in his life, Leo Tolstoy was ostracized from the Russian Orthodox Church for his writings that contradicted church doctrine.

Question 32

brazen

Answer 32

bold and shameless

Synonyms : audacious , bald-faced , barefaced , bodacious , brassy , brazen-faced , insolent

Their large “donations” to the local police department gave the drug cartel the brazen confidence to do their business out in the open.

Question 33

admonish

Answer 33

Real GRE: to indicate duties or obligations to
To criticize usually gently so as to correct a fault
To warn harshly

Synonyms : caution , monish

Before the concert began, security personnel admonished the crowd not to come up on stage during the performance.

Question 34

sporadic

Answer 34

recurring in scattered and irregular or unpredictable instances

The signals were at first sporadic, but now we detect a clear, consistent pattern of electromagnetic radiation eminating from deep space.

Question 35

pedestrian

Answer 35

lacking imagination

Synonyms : earthbound , prosaic , prosy

While Nan was always engaged in philosophical speculation, her brother was occupied with far more pedestrian concerns: how to earn a salary and run a household.

Question 36

subversive

Answer 36

GRE: destructive
subvert: to overturn or overthrow
in opposition to a civil authority or government

Synonyms : insurgent , seditious

The ruling political party has begun a campaign to shut down subversive websites that it deems as a threat to “national safety.”

Question 37

pernicious

Answer 37

deleterious
harmful in an unexpected way
exceedingly harmful; working or spreading in a hidden and injurious way

Synonyms : baneful , deadly , pestilent,insidious , subtle

The most successful viruses are pernicious: an infected person may feel perfectly healthy for several months while incubating and spreading the virus.

Question 38

prodigious

Answer 38

so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe

Synonyms : colossal , stupendous

After the relatively small homerun totals in the “dead ball” era, Babe Ruth’s homerun totals were truly prodigious: every year, he set a new all-time record.

Question 39

repudiate

Answer 39

reject as untrue or unfounded. used with recant

Many in the public believed the rumors of a UFO crash outside town, so the chief of police did everything he could to repudiate the rumors.

Question 40

arbitrary

Answer 40

based on a random, groundless decision

One of the arbitrary decrees in place during the emperor’s rule is that all citizens pay him weekly homage at his palace.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 41

garrulous

Answer 41

excessively talkative, especially on trivial matters

Synonyms : chatty , gabby , loquacious , talkative , talky

Lynne was garrulous: once, she had a fifteen minute conversation with a stranger before she realized the woman didn’t speak English.

Question 42

precipitous

Answer 42

done with very great haste and without due deliberation
(precipitate)

Synonyms : hasty , overhasty , precipitant , precipitate

He was expecting a precipitous rise in the value of a “hot” tech stock, so he was disappointed when it only inched up a dollar or two each day

Question 43

irrevocable

Answer 43

incapable of being retracted or revoked

Synonyms : irrevokable

Once you enter your plea to the court, it is irrevocable so think carefully about what you will say.

Question 44

resurgent

Answer 44

rising again as to new life and vigor
(Pakistan’s cricket team)

Synonyms : renascent

The team sank to fourth place in June, but is now resurgent and about to win the division.

Question 45

haphazard

Answer 45

discursion
marked by great carelessness; dependent upon or characterized by chance
lacking any obvious principle of organization.
“Pakistan’s drama industry works in a haphazard fashion”

Synonyms : slapdash , slipshod , sloppy, hit-or-miss

Many golf courses are designed with great care, but the greens on the county golf course seem entirely haphazard.

Question 46

sanction

Answer 46

to give legal permission to do something
a fine or a penalty for a forbidden action

Question 47

tractable

Answer 47

readily reacting to suggestions and influences; easily managed (controlled or taught or molded)

Synonyms : amenable,manipulable

Compared to middle school students, who have an untamed wildness about them, high school students are somewhat more tractable.

Question 48

poigant

Answer 48

emotionally touching

Synonyms : affecting , touching

After the Montagues and Capulets discover the dead bodies of Romeo and Juliet, in the play’s most poignant moment, the two griefstricken familes agree to end their feud once and for all.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study