PREPARE FOR THE GRE TEST WITH A NEW WORD EACH DAY

Welcome to my blog

Words and phrases shown on this blog are taken from actual speeches and written text in the public arena during the current week

I hope that GRE General Test Takers and others who aim to build their word power will find this blog useful

"Language is the medium of all understanding and all tradition

And language is not to be understood as an instrument or tool that we use, rather it is the medium in which we live" (Gadamer)



This is a work in progress.
- Your comments and suggestions are welcome
- Hope you will visit often, and share this blog with your friends

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

189. Solemn


From, “An Altered Japan Marks a Year After Quake,” by Yuka Hayashi, Daisuke Wakabayashi and Mitsuru Obe, 3/12/12, The Wall Street Journal:

By makeshift altars in tsunami-flattened neighborhoods, at solemn ceremonies attended by dignitaries, and at a crowded antinuclear rally, the Japanese on Sunday commemorated the first anniversary of the powerful earthquake and tsunami that ravaged the country's northeast, triggering the world's worst nuclear accident in 25 years.

Solemn: not cheerful or smiling; serious

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

188. Foie gras


From, “In Search Of: The Best Dim Sum in Hong Kong,” by Georgia Freedman, 3/9/12, The Wall Street Journal:

A handful of high-end restaurants have also been incorporating top-shelf ingredients, including foie gras and morel mushrooms. One of the best examples is Lung King Heen, the Michelin-starred restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, where chef Chan Yan Tak has added duck liver and black truffles to pork dumplings, and invented new dim sums, like abalone baked in a cup of flaky puff pastry. The dish is so popular, he said, that he hasn't been able to take it off the menu since he opened six years ago.

Foie gras: a pate made from goose liver (marinated in Cognac) and truffle

Monday, March 19, 2012

187. Arsenal


From, “How a Rubber Giraffe Became a Jet-Setter,” by Christina Passariello, 3/8/12, The Wall Street Journal:

In the arsenal of branded products that now accessorize babyhood, it's easier to understand why parents spend more for a complex item like the Bugaboo stroller—or for a baby clothing line from a designer such as Stella McCartney—than for a rubber teether. With its brown spots, pink cheeks and black eyes, Sophie is simple: It squeaks when squeezed. Every Sophie is made in a small factory in eastern France.

Arsenal: a store or supply

Sunday, March 18, 2012

186. Rabble


From, “Nicolas Sarkozy says France has too many foreigners,” 3/7/12, BBC News:

He [Sarkozy] has often made controversial comments on race and immigration issues, sharply dividing opinion in France.
In 2005, just before the Paris riots, he described young delinquents in the Paris suburbs as "racaille", meaning rabble.

Rabble:  i) a disorderly crowd; a mob. ii) ordinary people; the masses

Saturday, March 17, 2012

185. Traumatize


From, “Preschoolers in Surgery for a Mouthful of Cavities,” by Catherine Saint Louis, 3/6/12, The New York Times:

And because some toddlers dislike tooth-brushing, some parents do not enforce it. “Let’s say a child is 1 ½, and the child screams when they get their teeth cleaned,” said Dr. Jed Best, a pediatric dentist in Manhattan. “Some parents say, ‘I don’t want my little darling to be traumatized.’ The metaphor I give them is, ‘I’d much rather have a kid cry with a soft toothbrush than when I have to drill a cavity.’ ”

Traumatize: To wound or injure (a tissue), as in a surgical operation; to subject to psychological trauma

Friday, March 16, 2012

184. Confucian Values


From, “Seoul, Korea,” by Jieun Shin, 3/7/12, The Wall Street Journal:

Amid all the innovation, this 600-year-old city also manages to preserve its traditions. A row of traditional Korean houses in Bukchon Village gives visitors a sense of Confucian values of modesty and frugality.

Confucian values: attitudes and beliefs based on the teachings of Chinese teacher and philosopher Confucius (6th Century BC)

Thursday, March 15, 2012

183. Adept


From, “When Gaming Is Good for You,” by Robert Lee Hotz, 3/5/12, The Wall Street Journal:

People who played action-based video and computer games made decisions 25% faster than others without sacrificing accuracy, according to a study. Indeed, the most adept gamers can make choices and act on them up to six times a second—four times faster than most people, other researchers found.

Adept: very skilled or proficient at something

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

182. Humility


From, “Harvard Business School? You'll Go Through Her First,” by Melissa Korn, 3/1/12, The Wall Street Journal:

Interview with Ms. Leopold [Harvard B School]: Sure. This process isn't perfect. We're like very experienced country doctors who see a lot of patients.
We're screening out undesirable qualities that would be toxic in our community. We like to think that our arrogance detectors are pretty good. We're looking for confidence, with humility.

Humility: modesty

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

181. Inebriation


From, “At Tribe’s Door, a Hub of Beer and Heartache,” by Timothy Williams, 3/5/12, The New York Times:

After the lawsuit was filed, Whiteclay’s two-lane road, Highway 87, bustled with traffic driving to and from the beer stores. Dozens of people in various states of inebriation wandered along the road. Other men and women were passed out in front of abandoned buildings.

Inebriation: the state or characteristic of drunkenness

Monday, March 12, 2012

180. Fiat


From, “Mitt Romney Praises Chinese Regulators,” by Max J. Rosenthal, 3/9/12, The Huffington Post:

They're also moving quickly, of course, because China's communist government can seize property by fiat and marshal state-owned industries to build large projects. While much of China's economy is capitalist, Romney's praise of infrastructure projects like roads and airports seemed to be an odd defense of centrally directed economics.

Fiat: a formal authorization or proposition; a decree

Sunday, March 11, 2012

179. Indefatigable

From, “Past Imperfect. Paris or Bust: The Great New York-to-Paris Auto Race of 1908,” by Karen Abbott, 3/7/12, Smithsonian.com:

Professional driver Harold Brinker, famous for surviving a crash the previous year that had killed another driver, would take command in Ogden. George Schuster, the indefatigable mechanic, would drive through Alaska and Siberia, and Roberts would return when the car neared Europe.

Indefatigable: persisting tirelessly; untiring

Saturday, March 10, 2012

178. Tremulous; Analogy


From, “Seeding the Next Fortunes,” by Karen Hube, 3/3/12, Barron’s:

In this tremulous age when a widely perceived "safe" investment can collapse in just a few screen blips, or a long-term laggard can suddenly break out, divvying up your assets has never required more thought. "You may choose the right asset class, but if you're in the wrong part of the church, you're going to miss the sermon," says David Darst, chief investment strategist at Morgan Stanley.
Darst's churchly analogy rather elegantly sums up the intense search for divine wisdom going on inside every one of the private banks, brokerage firms and family offices in our 2012 asset-allocation survey.

Tremulous: shaking or quivering slightly
Analogy: a comparison between two things, typically on the basis of their structure and for the purpose of explanation or clarification

Friday, March 9, 2012

177. Ensure


From, “After Ratings Drop, Ford Reworks Touch Screens,” by Nick Bunkley, 3/5/12, The New York Times:

Another change moves the switch for controlling the heated seats onto the home screen. Previously, a driver had to press the screen several times to reach the correct menu option.
To ensure both the software and the upgrade process work as expected, Ford had 1,700 employees and dealers try it out for three months to collect feedback.

Ensure: To make sure or certain; insure
Do not confuse with Assure: to inform positively, as to remove doubt:

Thursday, March 8, 2012

176. Celebrate


Today, March 8, International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated all around the world.

IWD is a day to recognize women’s achievements in history, science, politics, etc;
It is an occasion to highlight women’s inequality in society – in pay, jobs, education, opportunities, health, etc.; and
Moreover, it is a day to honor the women in our lives.

Celebrate: to observe/mark a notable occasion

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

175. Paradox


From, “The Best of Both Worlds,” by Mary McRae, 2/12/12, The New York Times:

Living single in the 21st century is now about finding ways to connect while holding on to a sense of autonomy and independence. We grow and develop a sense of meaning and well-being through relationships with others. The desire to connect is strong and the threat of disconnecting can be just as strong. This is the paradox of living alone. The struggle for those who value living a single life is how to maintain connections with significant others, family and friends without sharing a communal space.

Paradox: a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

174. Incriminate


From, “News Corp. Staving Off a Scandal,” by Amy Chozick, 3/4/12, The New York Times:

The wave of incriminating headlines and the surging stock price reflect the cognitive dissonance generated by News Corporation’s phone hacking scandal. Even while Rupert Murdoch, the company’s chairman and chief executive, has doubled down on one of the newspapers at the center of the worsening scandal, creating a new Sunday edition of The Sun, investors have been cheering the possibility that the negative news in Britain could prompt the company to spin off its newspapers.

Incriminate: strongly imply the guilt of someone

Monday, March 5, 2012

173. Myriad


From, “Not So Fast: Coping With Slow Growth,” by Leslie P. Norton, 2/25/12, Barron’s:

As the Dow breached 13,000 last week, investors began to worry about a reversal in prices. So Barron's checked in with one of the great bubble-spotters to see if it was time to lose sleep.
It isn't, says Jeremy Grantham, the 73-year-old chief investment strategist of Boston money manager GMO, which manages $97 billion. Still, he says, the world faces myriad challenges, including the dilemma of slow growth.

Myriad: extremely great in number

Sunday, March 4, 2012

172. Assuage


From, “Chain of Avoidable Errors Cited in Koran Burning,” By Alissa J. Rubin, 3/2/12, The New York Times:

Even as Americans have raced to ease Afghan outrage over the burning, releasing information on Friday that American service members could face disciplinary action, accounts from more than a dozen Americans and Afghans involved in investigating the incineration laid out a complex string of events that will do little to assuage an Afghan public that in some quarters has called for deaths to avenge the sacrilege.

Assuage: to make (something burdensome or painful) less intense or severe; to pacify or calm

Saturday, March 3, 2012

171. Incessant


From, “They’re, Like, Way Ahead of the Linguistic Currrrve,” by Douglas Quenqua, 2/27/12, The New York Times:

From Valley Girls to the Kardashians, young women have long been mocked for the way they talk.
Whether it be uptalk (pronouncing statements as if they were questions? Like this?), creating slang words like “bitchin’ ” and “ridic,” or the incessant use of “like” as a conversation filler, vocal trends associated with young women are often seen as markers of immaturity or even stupidity.

Incessant: (of something regarded as unpleasant) Continuing without pause or interruption; unceasing

Friday, March 2, 2012

170. Terse


From, “Tiger Woods Stares Down Reporter Over Hank Haney Book 'The Big Miss',” by Doug Ferguson, HuffPost, 2/29/12:

Tiger Woods had a terse exchange with a magazine reporter Wednesday over excerpts from his former swing coach's new book, and ended the conversation with a long stare and a sarcastic, "Have a good day." If that wasn't enough, he fielded 10 questions about his putting.

Terse: sparing in the use of words; abrupt

Thursday, March 1, 2012

169. Imbue


From, “Jessye Norman to Publish Memoir,” by Julie Bosman, 2/29/12:

“I am absolutely thrilled to be able to tell my own story, to celebrate my family’s rich, diverse heritage, and to pay tribute to all those that have imbued my life with their resonance,” Ms. Norman said in a statement. “I am grateful beyond measure for everyone who has ever said ‘let’s get Jessye to sing’.”

Imbue: inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality