Vocab Wednesday: Words from the Workplace

Impudence
Rude behavior, insolence
Impudence in the workplace is rarely savvy; such behavior will only alienate ones
colleagues.

Sycophant
A person who kisses up to superiors
Ever the enterprising sycophant, Niles had learned all of the executives favorite sports
teams, snack foods, and other such idiosyncrasies; often he would ply them with
confections, root on their favorite teams, and tell them how impeccably dressed they
were.

Martinet
A strict disciplinarian
The new VP of marketing, Martin, whom the young reps called Martin the Martinet, made
sure everyone on his team logged in 40 hours of phone calls each week, forcing those
who had missed their daily goal to stay late each day.

Imperious
Bossy, domineering
Marching like Napoleon on the battlefront, Helens new boss would imperiously bark
orders to those on the trading floor.

Solicitous
Showing concern, always trying to help
The new interns were overly solicitous, always bothering senior-level staff by asking if
even the most frivolous details should be attended to.

Alacrity
Brisk eagerness to help
Showing none of the alacrity of fresh hires, Frank spent the time lounging about in his
cube, checking on the latest baseball scores and expanding his waistline with a constant
infusion of powdered treats.

Words from Newly Released ETS Material

Nascent
In the early stages, just beginning.
According to the pundit, the nascent economic reforms have only begun to affect the
private sector; a measurable improvement may still be as much as a year off.

Plastic
(second definition) n. adaptable, capable of change, not fixed.
Because the brain is plastic, many who suffer severe head trauma are able to recover
without losing the ability to go about their daily lives unencumbered.

Contemptuous
Looking down at someone scornfully.
An easy way to invite contemptuous sneers is to waltz through the mall dressed in last
decades fashion.

Nettle
To irritate or annoy.
Nettles are small prickly plants, which prick the unsuspecting; having to pull out the little
thorns, the victim is most likely nettled.

Acumen
Sharpness, cleverness; keen judgment.
Chester lacked the necessary financial acumen to make savvy investments; often he
would jump on the bandwagon only to buy a stock that was already overly inflated.

Maladroit
Not skillful; clumsy, bungling.
Mark played videos games as though he had two left hands; so maladroit was he that as
a child he never progressed beyond the first level of Super Mario Brothers.

Ubiquitous
Everywhere, universal.
Globally, Starbucks are ubiquitous; even along Chinas redoubtable Great Wall, , there is
rumored to be a Starbucks or two.

Boon
A beneficial thing.
Having an on-line dictionary with copious example sentences is a boon for those
studying for the GRE.

Panned
Criticized harshly.
No matter how mercilessly a Sci-Fi movie is panned by the critics, Charles will always
attend opening night; so unflinching is his devotion to the genre.

Interminable
Never ending.
The 20-mile hiker to the summit seemed interminable for the fatigued hikers, who opted
to camp at the base of the mountain and press on in the morning.

GRE Vocab Wednesday: Some Weather Were Having!

The following words come to us from the world of meteorology. While some mean
exactly what they imply, e.g. inclement, most have a secondary GRE definition. Either
way, next time somebody asks how the weather is you can give that person quite an
earful.

Torrid
The Sahara in July? Torrid. Hot and dry. Miami, or any city known for its humidity, Hong
Kong, Mumbai, just about any time or year? Sweltering not torrid. Torrid can also refer
to a relationship marked by passionate feelings. I am sure that many great poems and
songs have come out of torrid relationships.

Inclement
Want to sound GRE-y next time you are out with friends and the weather has taken a
turn for the worse? All you have to do is whip out inclement, which means unpleasant
weather-wise: Wow, things have become quite inclement, wouldnt you say?
Interestingly, clement, which refers to pleasant weather, can also refer to somebody
who is merciful. Clemency, meaning mercy, is the noun form of mercy. So hopefully your
friends will grant some clemency if you begin referring to the weather using only GRE
words.

Turbulent
Ladies and gentleman fasten your seatbelts, we have turbulence. No, not of the planeshaking kind. If a person or a relationship is turbulent, it is filled with emotionally
charged ups and downs, figuratively speaking.
Rarely are Hollywood relationships not fraught with emotional turmoil; marked by tabloid
scandals, they are turbulent affairs, lasting less than a year.

Tempestuous
Tempestuous, like turbulent, doesnt just refer to story winds. If a person or thing is
tempestuous, he/she is led by strong, conflicting emotions.
Beethovens 5th symphony captures the composers tempestuousness in its frequent
changes from stormy brooding to sudden idylls.

Halcyon
This word is not quite a weather word, but as its backstory has something to do with
calming winds, I thought Id throw it in here. The ancient Greeks believed that a giant

bird would nest at sea every winter, calming the waves and the wind, with its massive
flapping wings. This bird was called the halcyon.
Of course if you encounter halcyon on the GRE it will not be the following:
Mike spotted a ____ flapping over his beach chalet, calming the oceans turbulent
waves.
Halcyon refers to bygone days when things were pleasant. Indeed, many of us are old
enough to remember the halcyon days of the late 90s, when the economy was soaring
like a halcyon and it seemed like anybody with a .com idea could become an instant
millionaire. Today, things are slightly more turbulent.

GRE Vocab Wednesday: Words Students Always Mix Up

Comprehensive vs. Comprehensible
Many mix up these two words, thinking that both refer to comprehend, as in to
understand. However, only comprehensible relates to comprehend, and means
intelligible.
Comprehensive, on the other hand, means thorough, wide-ranging in scope.
Until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, hieroglyphics were not comprehensible, but seemed
nothing more than a jumble of pictograms and slashes.
Rosetta Stone is a language program that provides a comprehensive immersion into another
language: dialogues, grammar, and visual stimuli are all employed to help a person acquire a
foreign tongue.

Overweening vs. Overbearing

These two words arent actually too far apart in meaning. Overweening means excessive
and overbearing means bossy and arrogant. I doubt both will ever be the answer choices
and that youll have to discriminate between them. Nonetheless, it is a good idea not to
mix them up completely.
Charles is overweening, puffing his chest out like a troubadour whenever he walks into a
room full of people.
My boss became overbearing, treating me like some mere lackey, adept at only bringing
coffee and making photocopies.

Portentous vs. Ponderous

Portentous actually has two definitions, neither of which relates to ponderous (a word
that recently surfaced on a vocab Wednesday session). Portentous can mean pretentious
(which come to think of it sounds very similar to portentous) in a way that you take
yourself way too seriously.
The other definition of portentous is ominous, threatening, premonitory. As in:
The clouds were portentous, great gray billowy beasts ready to burst forth in a deluge of
apocalyptic proportions.

Seamy vs. Seemly

Neither of these words relates to seem or seemingly, both of which mean to give the
appearance of something. Both seamy and seemly relate to decorum: what is
considered properand by extensionimproper behavior.
Seamy refers to the inappropriate side of things. Celebrity rags are filled with seamy
scandals regarding certain stars who manage to become pixilated and drive a vehicle
into a fence, only to wake up in jail with a mug shot making the rounds on Twitter feeds.
Seemly refers to behavior that is proper and fitting. Needless to say it is rarely used to
refer to celebrities.
Of note is the word unseemly. It is the opposite of seemly and a synonym with
seamy. Just a little confusing, right?.

GRE Vocab Wednesday: Descriptive Words

The following words are often times perfect to describe people. Though pinning down the
exact definitions of these words can be more difficult than uttering, Hey, that guy is
such and such. Thats why in addition to providing definitions, Ive provide an example
sentence that gives a little bit of context before the word in question appears.

1. Staid
sober, serious, grave, adhering to a sense of propriety

Making Joel laugh proved difficult. He always seemed to feel that laughter, even a mere
smile, was inappropriate. That wasnt to say he was antisocial. He simply preferred to remain
serious, as though such staidness conferred upon him a sense of dignity. Of course that was
the case until we discovered Joels predilection for Irish whiskey.

2. Stolid
dull, impassive, emotion-less, almost giving the sense of stupidity
Boris never became excited. With glazed eyes, he would greet both mundane news and the
most extraordinary revelations. Were it not for his rare quipssuggesting at least a capacity
for humorBoriss coworkers would think he was the victim of some massive head trauma.

3. Retiring
fond of being alone, typically departing from the social circle, preferring privacy to the
mob, shy
Harold rarely came out of his den. When he did so, he was pleasant enough, exchanging a
few pleasantries with guests. But whenever the conversation would start dragging on, he
would subtly edge his way back into his study, once again safely ensconced in his world of
books.

This word should not be confused with retiring, as in he will be retiring next fall.

4. Redoubtable
causing fear; worthy of awe; employed humorously and cheekily to show that
somebody is big and scary
Even now I can remember the redoubtable Ms. Knowles, my 3rd grade grammar teacher. Like
the Napoleon of syntax, she would march each morning in our room, wooden ruler gripped in
her hand, ready to rattle knuckles at even the slightest misplaced modifying phrase with her
ruler. Ouch! (Sorry Ms. Knowles).

This word does not relate to doubt but comes from an Old French verb meaning to
fear.

5. Expansive
talkative, effusive, out-going in social situations (the opposite of retiring)
Often retiring, if not downright stolid, Chester, with only a single glass of wine, would strike
up conversations with those around him. By the second glass, he would become expansive,
sharing intimate details of his past with perfect strangers. Unfortunately, by the third glass,
hed become a redoubtable drunk, haranguing others for being in cahoots with government
spies.

Expansive call also mean wide-ranging in scope.

GRE Vocab Wednesday: Masquerading Words

Some words masqueradehiding behind a false appearance, ready to deceive and lead
us astray. Im not talking about words that look like other words (e.g., loath and loathe)
but words whose definitions themselves speak of duplicity and the counterfeit.

1. Mountebank
150 years ago, about the time that Wyatt Earp was corralling the bad guys, and
Tombstone was riddled with fresh tombstones, a certain kind of salesman would make
his way across the great expanse of the United States.
In small towns, he would set up shop, mounting a large bench and hawking the most
wonderful remedies: mam, this green oil will make your skin glow like a babys; and lad,
this purple snakes oil will give you the strength of three men.

By the time it was clear that the green potion caused nothing more than indigestion, and
the purple a nasty case of lockjaw, our huckster would be hundreds miles away, plying
his wondrous wares on a fresh crop of dupes.
Remember how I said he would mount a large bench? Well, banco is the Italian for
bench, so a mountebank and is one who figuratively mounts a bench and tries to sell us
snake oil, or any product with no value effect, especially the one the mountebank touts.
Today, mountebank can refer to anyone who makes false claims in order to extract
money from us.

2. Spurious
Okay, spurious doesnt get a nice fancy back-story like mountebank. Spurious refers to
anything that is counterfeit or fake. Claims can be spurious, meaning they are not
authentic (see apocryphal, below).
Do not confuse specious with spurious. Though the two words look similar, specious
means something that is attractive but ultimately misleading and false. That is not to say
that which is spurious is not specious. Sometimes the two overlap. However often the
contexts in which they are used are different. For example, an argument can be specious
and a claim spurious, but not vice-versa.

3. Nostrum
Oh yes, the years of the mountebank are long behind us. The idea that anyone would try
to mulct us of our hard-earned money, hawkingsham remedies right in front of our eyes:
pills that imbue us with the sheen of youth; 10-hours of energy in a bottle; Brazilian
berries that allow us to leap tall buildings in a single bound.
He may no longer travel in a horse drawn carriage, but the mountebank is very much
alive, setting up his shop all over the Internet. And all these unproven remedies have
their own word: nostrum.
Properly defined, a nostrum is any medicine or cure that does not live up to its claim.
Nostrum can also apply to social remediesthat is plans, philosophies that claim to cure
society of its many ills.

4. Veneer
This word describes a surface that is appealing but covers up something negative
beneath. Politicians, beneath a veneer of white-toothed smiles, arent always
trustworthy.
Veneer also describes the small glossy coating on wood that covers the coarse wood
below. Makes sense: the polish of the top often belies the coarseness below. Not too
different for some politicians.

5. Apocryphal
Quack remedies are often tangible; apocryphal is reserved for the intangiblestories or
reports that are of dubious authenticity. And apocryphal stories are not intentionally
misleading. Many untrue stories are simply bandied about, with few people every
questioning the validity of their respective sources.

In religious circles, this word is a contentious one. The Apocrypha were parts of the Bible
that many did not consider authentic. Did Jesus really say and do that, the debate
rages. As a result, the Apocrypha have been let out of the New Testament.
The modern use of the word apocryphal does not typically pertain to a religious context.
Today any story that is of dubious validity is apocryphal.
So remember: Always check your sources. Always scratch the veneer to see what lies
below. And always watch out for the mountebank and his nostrums. They are
masquerading all around us.

GRE Vocab Wednesday: My Favorite Words

Some words have an ineffable quality to them, a certain beauty that, through the mere
connection of their respective syllables, evokes a world of associations. To me
diaphanous conjures up a fairy-tale kingdom; lugubrious something pitifully comical;
gossamer could be a spell Harry Potter casts to vanquish the vile Voldemort. Indeed all
the words below have tickled me over the years and so have made my Favorite Words
list.

Gossamer
Spiders are not popular with most. Their webs though arent quite as icky (unless you
are some hapless bug.) It is from a spiders web that we get one of Englishs most
beautiful, magical sounding word: gossamer.
Gossamer does not mean of or relating to a spider web (as that would make for an odd
GREText Completion). While inspired by arachnid silk, gossamer more broadly means:
light, delicate, insubstantial (and is usually used in a more poetic sense).
Here dreams were mere gossamer: upon waking they vanished into the recesses of her mind,
perchance to be plucked anew come the waning of the light.

Diaphanous
Interestingly, gossamer and diaphanous are very similar words. Diaphanous can mean
light and insubstantial as well. Typically diaphanous means translucent; able to be seen
through. A flys wings her diaphanous, as is certain fabric.

Troglodyte
Oh woe on the poor soul who is called a troglodyte. Yes, even if he has never heard the
word, he will know he is not being complimented. Nevertheless, the insult is not quite as
damning as the sound of the word would lead you to believe. A troglodyte is a cave
dweller. While such a word would be limited utility (beyond an insult), troglodyte has
taken on two definitions. It can describe anyone who is out of touch with the times, or
one who wants to be left alone.

Lugubrious
Oh lugubrious, how aptly your sound reflects your meaning. Just by pronouncing the lufollowed by the gu I cannot help but feel a sadness wash over me, a sadness that is
comical to the observer (much like when a six-month old cant find her pacifier, she lets
a lu and a gu (the brious will have to wait a few years).
So lugubrious describes a mournfulness, one that is overdone and theatrical, and yes,
slightly comical.

Pulchritude
This is perhaps one of the ugliest words in the English language. Even pronouncing the
word silently, I have a nauseous feeling well up in the pit of my stomach. Perhaps it is
the words phonetic proximity to puke. Or maybe it is those first two syllables, which
sound like the grinding of teeth, or nails on a chalkboard (or maybe they are just an
onomatopoeia for puke).
So why, you implore, could I possibly like this word? Well, its definition is so ironic, I
always get a chuckle out of it. Pulchritude is beauty, and beauty pulchritude (to
paraphrase Keats). Thats right, if you see a beautiful person, say Angelina Jolie, you can
call her pulchritudinous (though I dont know if shed be particularly flattered).

GRE Vocabulary Wednesday: In Theory

Text Completions on the Revised GRE love to discuss theories. A physicist has refuted

longstanding beliefs; fossil remains found in Kenya undermine prevailing wisdom; an

ascendant theory in plate tectonics is not without its detractors.
Whatever the spin on the verbiage may be, you can bet at least one of the questionstest
day will discuss a theory. Then there is the entire Reading Comprehension passage, which
is filled with words such as the ones below.

Supporting a Theory

Back
Nope its not the opposite of front. To back a theory is to support it.

Posit
To posit means to state an idea that forms the basis of a theory. Forward and advance
are good synonyms here. Notice that to forward a theory is to offer it up. To back a
theory does not mean to come up with a theory but support somebody elses theory.

Bolster
Bolster has a wide application. Indeed most of these words do not only apply to theories
(though on the GRE thats typically where you will encounter them).

Maintain
To maintain means to assert. You wouldnt maintain a theory (at least stylistically this is
not how the word is used). Rather you would maintain that X. Where X can stand for any
idea or theory that you want to put forward or advance.

Hold
Yep, all these secondary definitions no wonder the GRE loves questions about theories.
Hold is a synonym for maintain.

Proponents
Those who back a theory are proponents of that theory.

Going Against a Theory

Undermine
To undermine a theory is to weaken it.

Refute
Many people tend to improperly define this word, thinking that refute means to disagree.
In reality, refute is a much stronger word, and it means to disprove entirely.
Despite all the controversy it has engendered, the theory of evolution is unlikely to ever be
refuted by hard science alone.

Debunk
Debunk is typically reserved to show that a theory or claim was specious all along.
Claims of Big Foot, the Loch Ness monster, and the Yeti will in all likelihood never be truly
debunked, as it is difficult to disprove the existence of something that never existed.

Explode
Explode is a good synonym for debunk and/or refute. The only reason Im putting it here
is, like hold above, the use of explode in this context is surprising. But you can explode
a theory or a claim.

Detractors
Those who try to refute a theory or claim are detractors of that claim.

GRE Word List: The Dreaded Imp Vocabulary Words

An imp is a vile little creature, a small devil known for his fiendish ways. It is very apt
then, that some of the trickiest, most easily confuse-able words on the GRE begin with
the letters I-M-P. Imp is the theme for this weeks Vocab Wednesday.

When learning words such as these, words that blur together easily, causing you to think
inmalapropisms, you need to rely on a powerful strategy. Unfortunately, mnemonics are
not nearly as effective, since imp words already look very similar. You may end up
applying a mnemonic to the wrong word!
Instead, I recommend writing sentences. While doing so may strike some as middleschool-ish (many of us had a teacher who was fond of making us write dozens of
sentences to remember vocabulary), writing sentences can be very effective with words
that look very similar. For one, you force yourself to think of the word and faithfully
reproduce it, letter for letter. Also, crafting a sentence using words allow you to have a
better idea of how words function in context.
Finally, when writing down sentences, do not simply look over at the word, check the
definition, and cough up a sentence. Wait at least one hour after last seeing the words to
write your sentence. This delay forces you to pull up the words from your head, and
even if you do not get the word completely right, the process of trying to think of it will
actually help you store that word into long-term memory and, just as importantly, make
sure you do not confuse it with other words.

Implacable
You may be tempted to think that implacable relates to place. However, the two words
have nothing in common. If somebody is implacable, he/she is angry that he/she cannot
be calmed down or soothed. Perhaps a more familiar word is placate, which means to
make someone less angry. If somebody is implacable, he/she cannot be placated.

Implicate
This word means to charge with wrongdoing, and usually refers to some criminal act. A
second definition, and one used far less frequently, is to imply or stated something
implicitly. This definition can make things doubly confusing note the word implicit
below.

Implicit
If something is not directly stated/explicit, then it is implicit. Remember that the second
definition of implicate is the verb-ed definition of implicit. Otherwise, implicit and
implicate are very different words.

Imprecate
This word may sound a lot like implicate, however the two are totally unrelated. To
imprecate is to curse somebody. I picture the witches in Macbeth casting their
imprecations down on the foolish mortals. I picture the main character from Albert
Camus The Stranger being implicated for the crime of murder. And hopefully, I do not

picture any one casting imprecations at the imp words but mastering them.