GENEALOGY (n) [jee-nee-OL-uh-jee]
Syn: study of ancestry or family tree
Usage: His family tree or genealogy showed traces of royal blue blood in the early fifteen century.
GENIALITY (n) [jee-nee-AL-i-tee]
Syn: cheerfulness; kindliness; sympathy
Ant: unfriendliness; irritation; aloofness
Usage: After the death of his daughter, George lost his cheerfulness and geniality and became a withdrawn, silent man.
GENTEEL (adj) [jen-TEEL]
Syn: well-bred; elegant
Ant: boorish; clownish; rude; uncultivated
Usage: The old woman retained her genteel, well-bred behavior even though her sons had grown to be brash, rude young men.
GENUFLECT (v) [JEN-yoo-flekt]
Syn: bend the knee as in worship
Ant: stand erect
Usage: The young man genuflected in front of the emperor, his eyes downcast and manner respectful.
GERMINAL (adj) [JUR-muh-nl]
Syn: pertaining to a germ; creative
Ant: dying; shrinking
Usage: Jane Smith had been very active in the germinal stages of the space program.
GERONTOCRACY (n) [jer-uh n-TOK-ruh-see]
Syn: government ruled by old people
Usage: We had never before come across a nation with gerontocracy, where the government was formed wholly of elders.
GERRYMANDER (v) [jer-i-man-der]
Syn: change voting district lines in order to favor a political party
Usage: This redistricting looked like a clear attempt to gerrymander the boundaries to try to help the Conservatives.
GESTICULATION (n) [je-stik-yuh-LEY-shuh]
Syn: motion; gesture
Usage: She used a lot of gesticulation to convey her messages across the glass door.
GIBBERISH (n) [GIB-er-ish]
Syn: nonsense; babbling
Ant: sense; wisdom
Usage: The kids were speaking gibberish and the young mother laughed in delight at hearing their talk.
GIDDY (adj) [GID-ee]
Syn: light-hearted; dizzy
Ant: solemn; serious
Usage: The height of the tower was making her giddy.
GIRTH (n) [gurth]
Syn: distance around something; circumference
Usage: The man’s girth had increased immensely since he had left the house and now his old trousers could no longer fit him.
GLACIAL (adj) [GLEY-shuh,l]
Syn: like a glacier; extremely cold
Ant: warm
Usage: His sea blue eyes had a glacial, icy look which made her shiver slightly.
GLEAN (v) [gleen]
Syn: gather leavings
Ant: abandon
Usage: They tried to glean any bit of information they could from him about the new proposed project.
GLIMMER (v) [GLIM-er]
Syn: shine erratically; twinkle
Usage: The lake glimmered as the sun’s rays touched its surface.
GLOSSARY (n) [GLOS-uh-ree]
Syn: brief explanation of words used in the text
Usage: A self-explaining glossary was missing in the book, which made it difficult to comprehend the technical jargon.
GLUTINOUS (adj) [GLOOT-n-uh s]
Syn: sticky; viscous
Ant: slippery; dry
Usage: Walt stuck to Mary’s side like a glutinous substance.
GOAD (v) [gohd]
Syn: urge on
Ant: discourage
Usage: They goaded and egged him on to win the race.
GRANARY (n) [GREY-nuh-ree]
Syn: storehouse for grain
Usage: Robbers ransacked the granary at midnight and made away with many sacks of grains.
GRANDILOQUENT (adj) [gran-DIL-uh-kwuh nt]
Syn: pompous; bombastic; using high-sounding language
Ant: humble; unpretentious; plain; unadorned
Usage: The wedding celebrations were in his inimitable, grandiloquent style.
GRANDIOSE (adj) [GRAN-dee-ohs]
Syn: pretentious; high-flown; ridiculously exaggerated; impressive
Ant: humble; unpretentious
Usage: His grandiose plans came to a standstill with his father’s sudden death
GRATE (v) [greyt]
Syn: make a harsh noise; have an unpleasant effect; shred
Usage: The heavy noise on the street below the flat she had shifted to yesterday grated on her nerves.
GRATUITOUS (adj) [gruh-TOO-i-tuh s]
Syn: given freely; unwarranted; uncalled for
Ant: warranted
Usage: Many gratuitous favors were granted to her because she had been kind and helpful to the emperor in the past when he was exiled and in need of help.
GREGARIOUS (adj) [gri-GAIR-ee-uh s]
Syn: sociable; extroverted
Ant: introverted
Usage: Karen is such a gregarious person; she loves to be surrounded by people.
GROTESQUE (adj) [groh-TESK]
Syn: fantastic; comically hideous
Ant: beautiful
Usage: A huge, grotesque figure stood near the top of the hill in the darkness, frightening the young children.
GRUEL (v) [GROO-uh l]
Syn: liquid food made by boiling oatmeal, etc, in milk or water
Usage: She woke him and handed him some warm rice gruel saying she did not have good food supplies to cook a more healthy meal.
GUFFAW (n) [guh-FAW]
Syn: boisterous laughter
Ant: snicker; chuckle
Usage: The crowd guffawed loudly at the comedian’s jokes.
GUILELESS (adj) [GAHYL-lis]
Syn: without deceit; honest
Ant: artful; cunning; deceitful
Usage: I was taken aback by the sheer honesty and guileless attitude of the young man.
GULLIBLE (adj) [GUHL-uh-buh l]
Syn: easily deceived
Ant: discerning
Usage: Ben is too gullible; anyone can easily cheat him and get away with it too.
GUSTATORY (adj) [GUHS-tuh-tawr-ee]
Syn: affecting the sense of taste
Ant: bland
Usage: The lunch was sumptuous and gustatory so Harold had two helpings of the dishes.
GUSTY (adj) [GUHS-tee]
Syn: windy
Ant: windless; still
Usage: The air near the castle was gusty and blowing hard enough to make trees sway.
GYROSCOPE (n) [JAHY-ruh-skohp]
Syn: apparatus used to maintain balance, ascertain direction, etc.
Usage: For her fifteenth birthday, Jennifer’s father bought her a gyroscope, which she could use to counteract the rolling movements of an object.
HABITUATE (v) [huh-BICH-oo-yet]
Syn: accustom or familiarize; addict
Syn: ignore
Usage: Discussion includes the move from the lecturer as expert to that of facilitator and questions concerning the need to habituate staff to new technology.
HACKNEYED (adj) [HAK-need]
Syn: commonplace; trite
Ant: fresh
Usage: The conversation was very hackneyed, with the three of them almost falling asleep due to fatigue and drowsiness.
HALCYON (adj) [HAL-see-uh n]
Syn: calm; peaceful
Ant: stormy
Usage: The island was a serene, halcyon place.
HALLUCINATION (n) [huh-loo-suh-NEY-shuh n]
Syn: delusion
Ant: reality
Usage: The doctor was sure that the man had been seeing some hallucination because UFOs didn’t exist in reality.
HAP (n) [hap]
Syn: chance; luck
Ant: plan
Usage: The report elaborates on the hap of being stranded of an island alone.
HARANGUE (n) [huh-RANG]
Syn: noisy speech; long lecture
Ant: conversation
Usage: Kenneth Parker then launched into a long and tiresome harangue on why the public should vote for the Democrats.
HARBINGER (n) [HAHR-bin-jer]
Syn: forerunner
Ant: follower
Usage: The uncle’s visit was a harbinger of good news.
HARPING (n) [HAHR-ping]
Syn: tiresome dwelling on a subject
Ant: praise
Usage: Peter was annoyed at Nora’s constant harping on the topic.
HARROW (v) [HAR-oh]
Syn: break up ground after plowing; torture
Ant: leave alone
Usage: It wasn’t my intention to harrow him about the traumatic experience.
HAUGHTINESS (n) [HAW-tee-nis]
Syn: pride; arrogance
Ant: modesty; meekness; humility
Usage: I disliked her haughtiness and overbearing attitude.
HAZARDOUS (adj) [HAZ-er-duh s]
Syn: dangerous
Ant: safe
Usage: They had warned him that the trek was hazardous and full of perils and dangers, yet it was his lifetime ambition to fulfill it.
HEADSTRONG (adj) [HED-strawng]
Syn: stubborn; willful; unyielding
Ant: yielding; meek
Usage: He is hot-blooded, headstrong.g and stubborn.
HECKLER (n) [HEK-ler]
Syn: person who harasses others
Ant: fan; supporter
Usage: Jim Smith of Sunday Times is notorious for being a heckler; when he attends a press conference, the people groan in anticipation of his rude remarks.
HEDONISM (n) [HEED-n-iz-uh m]
Syn: belief that pleasure is the sole aim in life
Ant: spartanism
Usage: The way he indulges himself in all his favorite pleasures and pursuits is the height of hedonism.
HEGEMONY (n) [hi-JEM-uh-nee]
Syn: hedonism and asceticism are opposing philosophies of human behavior.
Usage: The man’s hegemony to the topmost position in the corporate ladder is attributed to his sycophantic attitude.
HEINOUS (adj) [HEY-nuh s]
Syn: atrocious; hatefully bad
Ant: mild; good
Usage: They all agreed that it was a heinous, terrible crime.
HERPETOLOGIST (n) [hur-pi-TOL-uh-jist]
Syn: one who studies reptiles
Usage: The man channeled his affinity for snakes into a profession, that of a herpetologist.
HETEROGENEOUS (adj) [het-er-uh-JEE-nee-uh s]
Syn: dissimilar; mixed
Ant: homogeneous; same
Usage: The crowd was a heterogeneous mix of intellectuals, students and veteran professors.
HEW (v) [hyoo]
Syn: cut to pieces with ax or sword
Ant: make whole
Usage: The huge monolith was hewn out of a single rock.
HIATUS (n) [hahy-EY-tuh s]
Syn: interruption in duration or continuity; pause; a gap;
Ant: continuation
Usage: I decided to take brief hiatus from writing the novel and traveled to Japan for some idle sightseeing and relaxing.
HIEROGLYPHIC (n) [hahy-er-uh-GLIF-ik]
Syn: picture writing
Usage: The hieroglyphics written on the inner walls of the tomb seemed to have a great significance so we decided to bring a team to decipher it.
HINDRANCE (n) [HIN-druh ns]
Syn: block; obstacle
Ant: support
Usage: Holly’s presence was a hindrance to Jim’s concentration but he couldn’t summon the courage to ask her to leave.
HIRSUTE (adj) [HUR-soot]
Syn: hairy
Ant: bald; shorn
Usage: The man was huge, well built and hirsute to boot, with thick hair all over his burly arms.
HOARD (v) [hawrd]
Syn: stockpile; accumulate for future use
Ant: waste; squander; dissipate
Usage: The man is a miser and loves to hoard gold and silver rather than share it with those in need.
HOARY (adj) [HAWR-ee]
Syn: white with age
Ant: modern; young
Usage: A hoary old man opened the door in response to my knocks.
HOLOCAUST (n) [HOL-uh-kawst]
Syn: destruction by fire
Usage: The holocaust perpetrated by the Germans in Auschwitz was beyond anything the world had ever seen.
HONE (v) [hohn]
Syn: sharpen
Syn: dull
Usage: The writing workshop was intended to hone the skills of new writers.
HORTATORY (adj) [HAWR-tuh-tawr-ee]
Syn: encouraging; exhortive
Ant: discouraging; unsupportive
Usage: The hortatory speech by the electoral candidate had the crowd very enthused in his favor.
HOSTILITY (n) [ho-stil-i-tee]
Syn: unfriendliness; hatred
Ant: friendliness; calm; detente
Usage: Within the neighborhoods, living conditions are affected by competition and harsh hostility between different ethnic groups.
HUBBUB (n) [HUHB-uhb]
Syn: confused uproar
Ant: silence; calm
Usage: He missed the hubbub of the city while sitting in this quiet, idle countryside.
HUE (n) [hyoo]
Syn: color; aspect
Ant: colorlessness
Usage: The skies were colored with spectacular hues of orange and magenta.
HUMDRUM (adj) [HUHM-druhm]
Syn: dull; monotonous
Ant: exciting
Usage: The day-to-day humdrum routine was beginning to bore him now.
HUMMOCK (n) [HUHM-uh k]
Syn: small hill
Ant: depression (in the earth)
Usage: We trudged wearily up the hummock carrying our supplies and knapsacks.
HUMUS (n) [HYOO-muh s]
Syn: substance formed by decaying vegetable matter
Usage: The men unloaded three gunny bags of humus, which would be used as fertilizer for the crops.
HURTLE (n) [HUR-tl]
Syn: crash; rush
Ant: be still; stay at rest
Usage: With terrific speed, the car hurtled down the track.
HUSBANDRY (n) [HUHZ-buh n-dree]
Syn: frugality; thrift; agriculture
Ant: lavishness
Usage: John may look like a dunce but he is adept at home management and husbandry.
HYDROPHOBIA (n) [hahy-druh-FOH-bee-uh]
Syn: rabies; fear of water
Usage: He doesn’t want his wife going near any dog for fear of contracting hydrophobia.
HYPERBOLE (n) [hahy-PUR-buh-lee]
Syn: exaggeration; overstatement
Ant: reality
Usage: Tom tends to use a lot of hyperbole in his statements, exaggerating ordinary events to make them sound extraordinary.
HYPOCHONDRIAC (n) [hahy-puh-KON-dree-ak]
Syn: person unduly worried about his health; worrier without cause about illness
Ant: truly sick individual
Usage: Gia is a hypochondriac; she often goes to the doctor for no reason at all, imagining she has some ailment.
HYPOCRITICAL (adj) [hip-uh-KRIT-i-kuh l]
Syn: pretending to be virtuous; deceiving
Ant: sincere
Usage: I could sense his hypocritical behavior even without getting close to him; he’s too artificial and insincere.
ICHTHYOLOGY (n) [ik-thee-OL-uh-jee]
Syn: study of fish
Usage: She likes fish a lot so her uncle recommended that she take up ichthyology as her special subject under the major of zoology.
ICONOCLASTIC (adj) [ahy-KON-uh-klast-ic]
Syn: attacking cherished traditions; skeptical
Ant: traditionalist; orthodox
Usage: James Bean has always been iconoclastic, never conforming to the trend but always treading his own path.
IDEOLOGY (n) [ahy-dee-OL-uh-jee]
Syn: system of ideas of a group
Usage: He is very firm about his ideologies and beliefs.
IDIOSYNCRATIC (adj) [id-ee-oh-sing-KRAT-it]
Syn: private; peculiar to an individual
Ant: common; normal
Usage: We were amused at his peculiar and idiosyncratic behavior.
IDOLATRY (n) [ahy-DOL-uh-tree]
Syn: worship of idols; excessive admiration
Ant: disapproval
Usage: The college dean frowned at the girl’s acts of idolatry in the presence of the visiting rock star.
IGNOBLE (adj) [ig-NOH-buh l]
Syn: of lowly origin; unworthy
Ant: noble; high-minded
Usage: He has been seen lately in ignoble company, which doesn’t bode well for his future.
ILLIMITABLE (adj) [i-LIM-i-tuh-buh l]
Syn: infinite
Ant: limited; finite
Usage: He pointed out that the possibilities are illimitable offering endless opportunities for the future.
ILLUSIVE (adj) [ih-LOO-siv]
Syn: deceiving; fleeting
Ant: permanent
Usage: Happiness is an illusive goal; any temporary hold o it should be cherished before it slips away.
IMBECILITY (n) [im-buh-SIL-i-tee]
Syn: weakness of mind
Ant: intelligence; soundness of mind
Usage: His latest mistake was the height of imbecility and stupidity.
IMBROGLIO (n) [im-BROHL-yoh]
Syn: complicated situation; perplexity; entanglement
Ant: simplicity
Usage: The imbroglio and noisy fracas in the lobby was attracting a great deal of unwanted attention.
IMMINENT (adj) [IM-uh-nuh nt]
Syn: near at hand; impending
Ant: unlikely
Usage: The imminent election was the cause for great excitement as well as apprehension for the senator.
IMMUTABLE (adj) [ih-myoo-tuh-buhl]
Syn: unchangeable
Ant: changeable; flexible; variable
Usage: The point is that you can save yourself from many sorts of mistakes by making files immutable.
IMPAIR (v) [im-PAIR]
Syn: worsen; diminish in value
Ant: enhance; improve; augment; repair; increase; build up; perfect
Usage: The chemicals had impaired his vision to some extent.
IMPALPABLE (adj) [im-PAL-puh-buh l]
Syn: imperceptible; intangible
Ant: tangible
Usage: The impalpable and intangible implications of the event worried me a lot.
IMPASSIVE (adj) [im-PAS-iv]
Syn: without feeling; imperturbable; stoical
Ant: passionate
Usage: Unperturbed, he shot an impassive look at her in response to her challenging statement.
IMPECCABLE (adj) [im-PEK-uh-buh l]
Syn: faultless
Ant: flawed
Usage: His conduct is always flawless and impeccable.
IMPEDE (v) [im-PEED]
Syn: hinder, block
Ant: assist
Usage: Nothing could now impede his progress since he was so determined to achieve his goal.
IMPENETRABLE (adj) [im-PEN-i-truh-buh l]
Syn: not able to be pierced; entered beyond understanding
Ant: easily penetrated
Usage: The fort is impenetrable and impregnable.
IMPERIOUSNESS (n) [im-PEER-ee-uh s]
Syn: lordliness; domineering manner; arrogance
Ant: humility
Usage: I was fed up with his domineering manners and imperiousness.
IMPERMEABLE (adj) [im-PUR-mee-uh-buh l]
Syn: impervious; not permitting passage through as substance
Ant: permeable; passable
Usage: The covering was made of impermeable substance so that not a drop would leak through.
IMPERTURBABLE (adj) [im-per-TUR-buh-buh l]
Syn: calm; placid; composed
Ant: anxious
Usage: His face looked imperturbable, not giving away his response to the accusation.
IMPETUS (n) [IM-pi-tuh s]
Syn: incentive; stimulus; moving force
Ant: block; hindrance
Usage: A simple, modest lady was the main impetus behind the business tycoon’s huge success.
IMPINGE (v) [im-PINJ]
Syn: infringe; touch; collide with
Ant: avoid; dodge
Usage: The trespassers impinged upon the government land too.
IMPIOUS (adj) [IM-pee-uh s]
Syn: irreverent
Ant: pious; sacred; godly; religious; reverent
Usage: The tribe did not tolerate any impious behavior; those who did not comply with the religious doctrine were immediately beheaded.
IMPLACABLE (adj) [im-PLAK-uh-buhl]
Syn: incapable of being pacified
Ant: easily pleased
Usage: The commander was implacable; no amount of cajoling would change his mind.
IMPLICATE (v) [im-pli-keyt]
Syn: incriminate; show to be involved
Ant: pardon; defend; support
Usage: The unions were deeply implicated in helping create a climate in which men's needs were seen to be paramount.
IMPLICIT (adj) [im-PLIS-it]
Syn: understood but not stated
Ant: explicit
Usage: Her assent was implicit. Although she did not explicitly agree, it was assumed that she’d said yes.
IMPLODE (v) [im-PLOHD]
Syn: burst inward
Ant: explode; burst outward
Usage: The bomb caused the mansion to implode.
IMPOLITIC (adj) [im-POL-i-tik]
Syn: not wise
Ant: tactful; politic
Usage: It was very unwise and rather impolitic of her to have broached the subject at the state dinner.
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