GRE word of the day

Sat, 24 Jun 2006 19:51:54 GMT

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.

Sat, 24 Jun 2006 19:50:09 GMT

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.

Sat, 24 Jun 2006 19:48:35 GMT

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.

Fri, 23 Jun 2006 20:56:14 GMT

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.

Fri, 23 Jun 2006 20:54:20 GMT

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.

Fri, 23 Jun 2006 20:52:54 GMT

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.

Thu, 22 Jun 2006 16:37:24 GMT

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.

Thu, 22 Jun 2006 16:35:20 GMT

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.

Thu, 22 Jun 2006 16:33:51 GMT

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.

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 23:55:26 GMT

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.

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 23:54:13 GMT

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.

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 23:52:08 GMT

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.

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 22:16:39 GMT

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.

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 22:16:29 GMT

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.

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 22:16:09 GMT

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

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

Synonyms: --

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 23:18:53 GMT

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.

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 23:16:14 GMT

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.

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 22:58:41 GMT

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.