GRE word of the day

gre_wotd @ 2006-06-24T15:53:00

2006-06-24T19:51:54Z

SANGUINE (saan gwuhn) adj.
Ruddy; cheerfully optimistic.

A sanguine person views the glass as half full, whereas the depressed person thinks it is half empty.

Syonyms: confident, hopeful, positive, rubicund.

gre_wotd @ 2006-06-24T15:52:00

2006-06-24T19:50:09Z

MISANTHROPE (mihs ahn throhp) noun
A person who dislikes others.

Raquel the Grinch was such a misanthrope that even the sound of kids singing made her angry.

Synonyms: curmudgeon.

gre_wotd @ 2006-06-24T15:52:00

2006-06-24T19:48:35Z

PERIPATETIC (peh ruh puh teh tehk) adj.
Wandering from place to place, especially on foot.

Raquel's peripatetic meanderings took her all over the countryside in summer months.

Synonyms: itinerant, nomadic, wayfaring.

gre_wotd @ 2006-06-23T16:54:00

2006-06-23T20:56:14Z

CRESCENDO (kruh shehn doh) noun
Steadily increasing in volume or force.

The crescendo of tension became unbearable as he prepared to jump off the cliff.

Synonyms: acme, capstone, climax, crest, culmen.

gre_wotd @ 2006-06-23T16:53:00

2006-06-23T20:54:20Z

SPECIOUS (spee shuhs) adj.
Deceptively attractive; seemingly plausible but fallacious.

The student's specious excuse for being late sounded legitimate, but was proved otherwise when the teacher called his home.

Synonyms: illusory, ostensible, plausible, sophistic, spurious.

gre_wotd @ 2006-06-23T16:51:00

2006-06-23T20:52:54Z

POLEMIC (puh leh mihk) noun
Controversy, argument; verbal attack.

The candidate's polemic against his opponent was vicious and small-minded rather than convincing and well-reasoned.

Synonyms: denunciation, refutation.

gre_wotd @ 2006-06-22T12:33:00

2006-06-22T16:37:24Z

FRUGALITY (fru gaa luh tee) noun
Tendency to be thirfty or cheap.

Scrooge "Raquel" McDuck's frugality was so great that she accumulated enough wealth to fill a giant storehouse with money. Duck tales! ooOOooh

Synonyms: cheapness, economy, parsimony.

gre_wotd @ 2006-06-22T12:32:00

2006-06-22T16:35:20Z

FALLOW (faa loh) adj.
Dormant, unused.

This field should lie fallow for a year so the soil does not become completely depleted.

Synonyms: idle, inactive, unseeded.

gre_wotd @ 2006-06-22T12:30:00

2006-06-22T16:33:51Z

EXCULPATE (ehk skuhl payt / ihk skuhl payt) verb
To clear from blame, to prove innocent.

The legal system is intended to convict those who are guilty and exculpate those who are innocent.

Synonyms: absolve, acquit, clear, exonerate, vindicate.

gre_wotd @ 2006-06-21T20:08:00

2006-06-21T23:55:26Z

ICONOCLAST (ie kahn uh klaast) noun
One who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions.

Raquel's lack of regard for traditional beliefs soon established her as an iconoclast.

Synonyms: maverick, nonconformist, rebel, revolutionary.

gre_wotd @ 2006-06-21T20:06:00

2006-06-21T23:54:13Z

MAUDLIN (mawd lihn) adj.
Overly sentimental.

The mother's death should have been a touching scene, but the movie's treatment of it was so maudlin, instead of making Raquel cry, it made her cringe.

Synonyms: bathetic, mawkish, saccharine, weepy.

gre_wotd @ 2006-06-21T20:04:00

2006-06-21T23:52:08Z

INVIDIOUS (ihn vihd ee uhs) adj.
Envious, obnoxious, offensive; likely to promote ill-will.

It is cruel and invidious for Raquel to play favorites with her children.

Synonyms: discriminatory, insulting, jaundiced, resentful.

gre_wotd @ 2006-06-20T18:16:00

2006-06-20T22:16:39Z

QUERULOUS (kwehr yoo luhs) adj.
Inclined to complain; irritable.

Raquel's complaint letter received prompt attention after the company
labeled her a querulous potential troublemaker.

Synonyms: Peevish, sniveling, whining, puling.

gre_wotd @ 2006-06-20T18:16:00

2006-06-20T22:16:29Z

PUSILLANIMOUS (pyoo suh laa nih muhs) adj.
Cowardly; without courage.

Because she never stood up for herself or took any chances, everyone
thought of Raquel as pusillanimous.

Synonyms: Cowardly, timid.

gre_wotd @ 2006-06-20T18:16:00

2006-06-20T22:16:09Z

POLYGLOT (pah lee glaht) noun
A speaker of many languages.

Raquel's extensive travels have helped her to become a true polyglot.

Synonyms: --

gre_wotd @ 2006-06-19T19:31:00

2006-06-19T23:18:53Z

CONTRITE (kuhn triet) adj.
Deeply sorrowful and repentant for a wrong.

After three residents were mugged in the lobby while the watchman was away from her post, Raquel felt very contrite.

Synonyms: apologetic, regretful, remorseful.

gre_wotd @ 2006-06-19T19:28:00

2006-06-19T23:16:14Z

STASIS (stay sihs) noun
A state of static balance or equilibrium; stagnation.

The rusty, ivy-covered World War II tank had obviously been in stasis for years.

Synonyms: inertia, standstill.

gre_wotd @ 2006-06-19T19:10:00

2006-06-19T22:58:41Z

BURGEON (buhr juhn) verb
To grow and flourish.

Raquel neither confirmed nor denied stories about herself, allowing rumors to burgeon where it could.

Synonyms: bloom, flourish, prosper, thrive.