WaterWord
Data File 2/3 (Based
on GRE Hit Parade in the Princeton review Word Smart I and II)
Notes 1. Capital
letters in the phonetic symbols mean accentuation.
2. Phonetic
symbols used in this site are as follows;
Notation
a
e
i
o
u
uh
ei
oo
yoo
Example
hot
bat
bee
robot
her
but
skate
boo
new
mellifluous [meLIfloous]
sweetly flowing
The choir's mellifluous singing made us
feel as though we were being covered with a sticky yellow liquid.
oscillate to waver; vacillate (= hesitate) between
beliefs or ideas
ossify make or become hard like bone
probity uprightness of character; integrity; honesty
proselytize [PROslitaiz]
to convert somebody from one religion
or doctrine to another
pundit [PUHndit]
an expert; an authority
recondite hard to understand; over one's head
The philosopher's thesis was so recondite
that I couldn't get past the first two sentence.
spendthrift extravagant or wasteful, especially with
money
vacuous empty of content; lacking in ideas or
intelligence
Her expressing is as vacuous as a rabbit's.
coda passage concluding a composition (in music)
penchant a strong taste or liking for something;
predilection [preduLEKshun]
abstruse hard to understand; over one's head
cognizant aware; conscious
To be cognizant of your responsibility
is to know what your responsibilities are.
gainsay deny; contradict
There is no gainsaying his honesty.
garner to gather; to acquire; to earn
Mary's articles about toxic waste garnered
her a Pulitzer Prize.
obdurate stubborn and insensitive
propinquity [proPINGkoouti]
nearness (in time, place, relationship);
similarity (of ideas)
ribald indecent [inDIsnt] (= obscene, improper)
or vulgar (= ill-mannered); off-color (= in low spirit)
ribaldry ribald language
veracity [vuREsuti]
truthfulness
The veracity of young George Washington
is legendary, but it may be apocryphal.
apocryphal doubtful authority
conjoin to join or act together
panegyric [peniJIrik]
elaborated praise; eulogy; lofty praise
All these panegyrics are embarrassing
me, lied the actress at the dinner in her honor.
pedagogue school master; pedantic [piDENtik] teacher
pedagogy science of teacher
reprobate [REprubeit]
v. express or feel strong disapproval
of
n. a depraved (= make morally bad), wicked
person
untoward [uhnTORD]
unfavorable or unfortunate; improper
welter v. roll, wallow (= roll about in mud,
dirty water); be soaked (= become wet) or
steeped (= soak or
bathe)
The victims lie weltering
in blood
n. genital confusion; disorderly mixture
or aimless conflict
the welter of a cloud
inchoate [inKUooit]
just begin; in an underdeveloped, half-formed
state
problematic doubtful or questionable
timbre characteristic quality or sound produced
by a particular voice or instrument
disavow to deny
An avowed criminal is one who admits he
is criminal.
To disavow is to deny or repudiate someone
else's claim.
repugnant repulsive; offensive; disgusting
taut [tot]
tightly stretched; emotional tense
tautological redundant, circular
cajole [kuJUool]
persuade someone to do something that
he or she doesn't want to do
discomfit to frustrate; to confuse; deject (= make
sad); deceive
I was discomfited by my secretary's apparent
inability to type or recite alphabet.
discomfort make uneasy
accrete [ukRIT]
to increase by growth or addition
accrue come as a natural growth or development
Interest accrues at the rate of 5 percent.
contumacious [kontyooMEIshus] (opp.
docile)
stubborn and rebellious; obstinate and
disobedient
The contumelious (= be guilty of contumely)
prisoners stuck out their tongue at their jailers.
fulsome disgusting or repulsive; (of praise, flattery,
etc.) excessive and insincere; sickening
homeostasis [homiuSTEIsis]
the tendency of an organic system to maintain
internal stability
hone [hown]
to sharpen; ¼ýµ¹
ligneous [LIgnius]
(of plants) woody; wood-like
herbaceous having stems that are not woody
motility spontaneous movement
munificent very generous; lavish
neophyte beginner
rivet [RIvit]
to engross (= take up all the time or
attention of); to hold tightly
After reading the first paragraph, I was
riveted to the murder mystery.
saturnine [SEturnain]
gloomy, sluggish (= inactive, slow moving)
temperament
distend to swell; to extend a great deal
A distended belly (= abdomen [EBdumun])
is one symptom of malnutrition.
vilify [VIlifai]
to say vile things about; to defame; to
slander; to attack someone's reputation
The teacher was reprimanded (= rebuke
severely) for vilifying the slow student in front of the rest of the class.
reprimand [REprimend]
stern (= severe; strict) proof; official
rebuke
David was relieved to see that the officer
intended to give him a verbal reprimand instead of speeding ticket.
din noise that continues
The cries of his tormentors (= suffering)
were still dinning in his ears.
How much longer must I din into your ears
the importance of hard work?
ebullient [iBUHliunt]
boiling; exuberant (= highly joyous or
enthusiastic)
The roaring crowd in a full stadium before
the World series might be said to be ebullient.
endemic native; restricted to a particular region
or era; indigenous [inDIjinus] (= belonging naturally) That peculiar strain
of influenza was endemic to a small community in South Carolina.
doff (opp. don)
take off one's hat, coat, etc.
somatic of the body
chary cautious, wary, careful
loll to hang out lazily
gauche socially awkward; tactless; unsophisticated;
inelegant
appraise to estimate the value or quality of; to
judge
apprise give notice to; to inform
palatable pleasant to the taste; agreeable to the
feelings
Rather than telling Frank that his essay
was worthless, Hillary told him that his essay was not quite worth of his
talents; by diluting her criticism she made it more palatable to Frank.
verdant covered with green plants; leafy; inexperienced
In spring time, the verdant hills seem
to whisper "Skip school and come for a walk."
I'm afraid you're a little - well - verdant
to play Macbeth.
wax [weks] (opp. wane)
to grow stronger, larger, or more intense
diatribe a bitter, abusive denunciation (= speak
publicly against)
The essay was more of a diatribe than
a critique.
aversion a strong feeling of dislike
Mool has a powerful aversion to meat.
averse adverse; unfavorable condition
mollycoddle a person who takes too much care of his
health
profligate extravagantly wasteful and, usually, wildly
immoral
whimsy whim (= sudden desire or idea); fanciful
idea; playfulness
eschew [isCHOO]
avoid; keep oneself from, abstain from,
to shun
recant [riKENT]
give up (an opinion, a belief); to openly
confess error
nonplus to baffle; to confuse
belie [biLAI]
to give a false impression of; to contradict
Melvin's smile belied the grief he was
feeling.
Spring belies me (= very cold).
perfunctory careless; unenthusiastic
Sandra's lawn mowing was perfunctory at
best.
fulminate denounce (= condemn) vigorously; to pretest
vehemently [VIumuntli] (= strongly)
The principal's fulmination had no effect
on the naughty sophomores.
macerate [MEsureit]
make or become soft by soaking in water
or caustic potash
tout to praise highly; to brag publicly about
Advertisement touted the chocolate-flavored
toothpaste as getting rid of your sweet tooth (= be fond of sweet things)
while saving your teeth.
profuse [pruFYOOS]
flowing, extravagant; plentiful; open-handed
The grieving widow's tears were profuse.
serrated having notches on the edge like a saw
fluke a chance event; lucky stroke; a coincidence;
win
supposition supposing; assumption
This newspaper article is based on supposition,
on what the writer supposes to be the case: not on fact.
puissant [PYOOsnt]
having great power of influence
rue [ROO]
to mourn; to regret
I rue the day I walked into this place;
nothing even remotely good has happened to me since then.
predilection a natural preference for something; inclination
Joe's predilection for saturated fats
has added roughly a foot to his waistline in the past twenty years.
fledgling [FLEjling]
inexperienced or immature; a beginner;
a young bird
A fledgling bird is one still too young
to fly; once its wing feathers have grown in, it is said to be fledged.
glib ready and smooth, but not sincere
glib talker/excuses; have a glib tongue
tendentious having an underlying purpose, aimed at
helping a cause; biased
Countries at war often send out tendentious
reports, designed to show their cause in a favorable light, win sympathy,
etc.
scotch wound without killing; to put an end to;
injure
forestall to thwart (= obstruct), prevent, or hinder
something from happening to head off (= get in front of, so as to turn
back or aside)
Let's forestall a depressing January by
not spending any money on Christmas gift this year.
estrange to make unfriendly or hostile; to alienate
Mary's estranged husband had been making
unkind comments about her ever since (= continuously) the couple had separated.
preen to adorn (= decorate) oneself carefully;
to primp; tidy; pride oneself
perorate to speak formally
pluck pull the feathers off; pick (flowers,
fruits); courage
molt (of birds) lose (feathers) before a new
growth
encomium [inKUoomium]
very high praise
embellish to adorn; to beautify by adding ornaments
armada great fleet of warships
overwrought tired out by too much work or excitement;
in a state of nervous illness; overly detail or complicated
upright honest; moral; virtuous
discount to deduct (= take away); to disregard
(= pay no attention for; indifference)
exhort [igZORT]
to urge strongly; to give a serious warning
to
The fearful forest ranger exhorted us
not to go into the cave.
parquet [PARkei]
flooring of wooden blocks fitted together
to make a pattern
peccadillo [pekuDILuoo]
a minor offense
The smiling defendant acted as though
first-degree murder were a mere peccadillo rather than a hideous [HIdius]
(= very ugly) crime.
aspersion [usPUjun]
a slanderous or damning remark
To cast aspersions is to utter highly
critical or derogatory remarks.
asperity [esPEruti]
roughness; harshness
implacable angry; really pissed off (= go away);
unable to be pleased
piss pass urine; very drunken
extirpate to rip out; to uproot; to destroy
propensity a natural inclination or tendency; a predilection
Jessie has a propensity for saying stupid
things; every time she opens her mouth, something stupid comes out.
pan criticize harshly
simper to smile foolishly
prelude [PRElyood]
introduction; something that precedes
something else
Stretching exercises should be a prelude
to any bout (= period of activity) of exercises.
interregnum [interREgnum]
the period between two successive governments
pause or interval
steadfast [STEDfest]
loyal; faithful; firm and unchanging
lope to run at a steady, easy pace
conviction strong belief; determination of guilt;
resolve (= something that determined)
Ever since his conviction for first-degree
murder, Max had been spending quite a bit of time in jail.
droll humorous; amusing in an odd, often understated
(= inadequately), way
The children entertained the dinner guest
with a droll rendition (= interpretation) of their parents' style of arguing.
unlettered ignorant; unschooled; unsophisticated
affirm declare positively; declare solemnly but
not on oath
complaisant [kumpLEIznt]
easy-going habit of mind; readiness and
willingness to do what pleases others
malapropism humorous misuse of a word that sounds
similar to the word intended but has a ludicrously different meanings
apropos [epruPUoo]
appropriate
The professor's speech was about endangered
species, and the luncheon menu was perversely (= contrary, stubborn) apropos.
agog eager; excited
His unexpected return set the town agog.
pucker draw or come together into small folds
or wrinkles.
This coat puckers at the shoulder.
alcove [ELkuoov]
partially enclosed extension of a room,
often occupied by a bed or by seats; recess
aver state positively (something is true)
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