The liaison to the president is always urbane and impeccably dressed.

Most scientists now agree that the rise in the average temperature of the oceans is a harbinger of long-term and possibly permanent climate change in the near future.

When it is discovered that this teacher had once been convicted of drunk driving, the parents and the school administration will ostracize him, even though he’s one of the best teachers in the district and is a great favorite of the students.

The American folk artist named Grandma Moses began painting when she was in her 70s, and reached the zenith of her career at the age of 90.

Because Ellen had never been invited to join the manager’s lunch table before, she was very circumspect in her conversation at first.

The senator insisted he never supported the new legislation, but his mendacity was quickly made apparent when news reporters compared videotapes of his speeches from last year with his current statements.

When Charles Lindbergh completed his solo transatlantic flight in May 1927, he was cheered on by people from both Europe and America, and received accolades from officials in New York City and Paris.

Her whimsical mannerisms are usually charming, but not entirely appropriate at a more solemn occasion, such as the dedication of the new chapel.

Though Peter’s quest to provide laptop computers to children in Bangladesh seemed quixotic at first, but he got funding from major philanthropic organizations, and he now runs a nonprofit company that sends used laptops to children all over the world.

Athletes in contact sports such as rugby, basketball, and hockey often have a reputation for being bellicose both on and off the field of play.

Although the jocund figure of Santa Claus handing out presents at Christmas is a familiar one in many countries, the original St. Nicholas was the patron saint of sailors.

After Japan’s 200 years of near-total isolation from the rest of the world between the early 1600s and the mid-1800s, it wasn’t surprising that there would be a bit of xenophobia in the general population, along with a curiosity about other cultures.

Margaret is generally very frugal, but she will splurge on a dinner at an elegant restaurant to celebrate a special occasion.

Putting electronic marquee billboards up on Ludgate Hill would desecrate the area around St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the City of London would never agree to doing so.

Some atheists were brought up in strict fundamentalist families, but repudiate their teachings and turn to science and philosophy to learn to understand the world.

James was very lucky to get such an erudite scholar as his mentor during his first year at university; she was able to answer all of his questions, and with her help he was able to complete two years’ worth of classes in only eighteen months.

When you start working for a print publication such as a newspaper or magazine, you’re quickly discouraged from writing overly verbose articles, in the interest of saving space and keeping the reader’s attention.

I think it’s a good thing for a bus driver to be friendly with the passengers, but this morning the driver on my bus was so garrulous that we couldn’t hear the route announcements, and I missed my stop.

There are several new “green energy” project in development that are designed to harness the kinetic energy of the ocean’s waves and tides.

Anna was too impetuous when she volunteered to run the charity food program, and didn’t realize how much time it would take each week.

Our families counsel us to wait until we graduate, but we yearn to get married soon, and plan on a simple civil ceremony over the summer holiday.

She’s such an outgoing person that it’s easy to overlook her more timorous sister.

I was confused by the difference between the use of subjunctive and conditional verbs in French, but Mme. Balland’s lucid explanations made it easy to understand.

Professor Jones is so pedantic that he takes a full mark off an answer on a test if there is even one error in spelling.

The natural gas used to heat homes does not have any odor, so the utilities add a compound to give it a noxious smell to help people discover any leaks in their gas lines.

Candidates for the novitiate must pass stringent tests to ensure that they are truly dedicated to a life of prayer and service before taking their vows.

How did you score? Review these words and create practice sentences of your own to help you remember them. We’ll have more tips for vocabulary study in the future. Do you have tips to share, or questions about this quiz? Leave a comment and we’ll be happy to help.

We’ve been reviewing words that often appear in the vocabulary testing section of the GRE, and today we’re giving you an opportunity to test yourself and see if you can use these words correctly. Each word appears once in the following sentences. Print this page, fill in the blanks, and check back tomorrow for the answers.

The liaison to the president is always ____________________ and impeccably dressed.

Most scientists now agree that the rise in the average temperature of the oceans is a ____________________ of long-term and possibly permanent climate change in the near future.

When it is discovered that this teacher had once been convicted of drunk driving, the parents and the school administration will ____________________ him, even though he’s one of the best teachers in the district and is a great favorite of the students.

The American folk artist named Grandma Moses began painting when she was in her 70s, and reached the ____________________ of her career at the age of 90.

Because Ellen had never been invited to join the manager’s lunch table before, she was very ____________________ in her conversation at first.

The senator insisted he never supported the new legislation, but his ____________________ was quickly made apparent when news reporters compared videotapes of his speeches from last year with his current statements.

When Charles Lindbergh completed his solo transatlantic flight in May 1927, he was cheered on by people from both Europe and America, and received ____________________ from officials in New York City and Paris.

Her ____________________ mannerisms are usually charming, but not entirely appropriate at a more solemn occasion, such as the dedication of the new chapel.

Though Peter’s quest to provide laptop computers to children in Bangladesh seemed ____________________ at first, but he got funding from major philanthropic organizations, and he now runs a nonprofit company that sends used laptops to children all over the world.

Athletes in contact sports such as rugby, basketball, and hockey often have a reputation for being ____________________ both on and off the field of play.

Although the ____________________ figure of Santa Claus handing out presents at Christmas is a familiar one in many countries, the original St. Nicholas was the patron saint of sailors.

After Japan’s 200 years of near-total isolation from the rest of the world between the early 1600s and the mid-1800s, it wasn’t surprising that there would be a bit of ____________________ in the general population, along with a curiosity about other cultures.

Margaret is generally very ____________________, but she will splurge on a dinner at an elegant restaurant to celebrate a special occasion.

Putting electronic marquee billboards up on Ludgate Hill would ____________________ the area around St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the City of London would never agree to doing so.

Some atheists were brought up in strict fundamentalist families, but ____________________ their teachings and turn to science and philosophy to learn to understand the world.

James was very lucky to get such an ____________________ scholar as his mentor during his first year at university; she was able to answer all of his questions, and with her help he was able to complete two years’ worth of classes in only eighteen months.

When you start working for a print publication such as a newspaper or magazine, you’re quickly discouraged from writing overly ____________________ articles, in the interest of saving space and keeping the reader’s attention.

I think it’s a good thing for a bus driver to be friendly with the passengers, but this morning the driver on my bus was so ____________________ that we couldn’t hear the route announcements, and I missed my stop.

There are several new “green energy” project in development that are designed to harness the ____________________ energy of the ocean’s waves and tides.

Anna was too ____________________ when she volunteered to run the charity food program, and didn’t realize how much time it would take each week.

Our families counsel us to wait until we graduate, but we ____________________ to get married soon, and plan on a simple civil ceremony over the summer holiday.

She’s such an outgoing person that it’s easy to overlook her more ____________________ sister.

I was confused by the difference between the use of subjunctive and conditional verbs in French, but Mme. Balland’s ____________________ explanations made it easy to understand.

Professor Jones is so ____________________ that he takes a full mark off an answer on a test if there is even one error in spelling.

The natural gas used to heat homes does not have any odor, so the utilities add a compound to give it a ____________________ smell to help people discover any leaks in their gas lines.

Candidates for the novitiate must pass ____________________ tests to ensure that they are truly dedicated to a life of prayer and service before taking their vows.

The more words you know, the more easily you’ll be able to hold conversations on any topic. Learning these vocabulary words will give you the ability to choose exactly the right word to use on any occasion. In many cases, it’s important to be clear and precise in your speech, neither using too few words in your explanations, or confusing the issue by using too many words. The word verbose means “using more words than necessary.” Someone who is verbose has either a tendency to talk too much, or to speak in long rambling sentences that take a long time to get to the point (or both!).

Example 1: I would prefer leaving Peter off of the invitation list for our monthly lunch; he’s so verbose that no one else gets a chance to speak.

Example 2: Alan hoped that his verbose answers to the essay questions would hide the fact that he knew very little of the material on the test.

Words can be used for many things: to inform, to intimidate, to create beauty, or just to have fun. The poets Edward Lear and Ogden Nash loved to play with words, creating whimsical poetry on many subjects. Here’s a poem by Ogden Nash:

The rhino is a homely beast,
For human eyes he’s not a feast.
Farwell, farewell, you old rhinoceros,
I’ll stare at something less prepoceros.
– Ogden Nash, 1933

Edward Lear was famous for his nonsense rhymes, limericks, and fantastical stories. He also wrote about a rhinoceros in “The Story of Four Little Children Who Went Round the World,” in which Violet, Slingsby, Guy, and Lionel meet mice who eat custard pudding, blue-bottle flies who eat oyster patties, crabs who wear mittens, and finally a friendly old rhinoceros who takes the children home, upon which the children have him killed and stuffed, and “set him up outside the door of their father’s house as a Diaphanous Doorscraper.” The word diaphanous means thin, transparent, or wispy – hardly a word that describes a huge solid animal! This playful and lighthearted use of words makes the words of Nash and Lear both strange and very enjoyable to read. Whimsical means playful, lighthearted, fun, and fantastical.

Example: Carolyn was known for the whimsical decorations she created every year for her children’s birthday parties.

Keep a sense of humor when you’re studying vocabulary, and have fun with language! You can read more poems by Ogden Nash here, and discover Edward Lear’s limericks here.