GRE Vocabulary: Short Story Edition
Verdant: green with vegetation; inexperienced.
The verdant dragon, ivy entwined around its talons, launched himself into the air, determined to distress his first damsel.
Verbose: wordy
"Don't be too verbose when you go about it," his father had warned him. "It might give you a charismatic charm -- which she probably won't notice as she's shrieking her pretty little head off -- but it will also give some dastardly knight the opportunity to slay you. Death by monologue is the chief cause of death for dragons -- second only to failure of the heart."
Veracity (noun): Filled with truth and accuracy.
The dragon did not doubt the veracity of his father's words. After all, his sister, in the midst of her own Operation: Distress mission had died in the midst of proclaiming her various talents, life ambitions, etc (monologue) when the knight to whom she had been speaking plunged his sword into her breast (heart failure).
Venerate (verb): to respect deeply.
Despite his father's objections, he still continued to venerate his sister's memory
Venerable (adj): respected because of age
and grieved that she would never become the venerable matriarch she had dreamed of becoming.
Variegated (adj): varied; marked with different colors.
Green against the variegated sky of a the setting sun, he flapped his mighty wings,
Vacillate (verb): to physically sway or to be indecisive
vacillated by the wind and his own troubled heart: what if the distressed maiden to be refused to come away with him?
Usury (noun): the practice of lending money at exorbitant rates.
It would be his undying shame if he had to resort to usury in order to bribe some fair young maiden to scream and kick her dainty little heels and flick her golden hair -- and who knew what sort of rates they'd demand for a proper swoon.
Upbraid (verb): to scold sharply.
He would just have to do the job properly and thus avoid any upbraids his father might have in store for him.
Unequivocal (adj): absolute, certain.
He roared fire: that should establish him as a dragon! Not just any dragon, but a monster! An unequivocal terror that would be feared unequivocally!
Unconscionable (adj): unscrupulous; shockingly unfair or unjust
He would be known throughout the human realms as the most unconscionable beastie they ever met, the sort that launched night attacks and actually ate the damsels that fought back.
Umbrage (noun): offense; resentment
No, no -- there was no use taking umbrage at the genetics that determined that he be a dragon instead of something pleasant like a bard who sang to damsels instead of frightened them.
Tyro (noun): beginner; novice
(You see, fair reader, it never occurred to the dragon to become a draconian tyro of the harp.)
Turgid (adj): swollen as from a fluid; bloated
And so, belly turgid with molten flame, the dragon soared to the nearest castle where dwelt the richest king with his loveliest daughter.
Trenchant (adj): acute, sharp, or incisive; forceful; effective
Flame blasting through his trenchant teeth (literally and metaphorically speaking), he swooped over the soldiers manning the walls (careful not to buffet them unduly with his awe inspiring wings).
Transitory (adj): temporary; lasting a brief time
Unfortunately, their fear was transitory and the soldiers sounded the horn and thumped their swords against their shields and, generally, made a nuisance of themselves
Torpor (noun): extreme mental and physical sluggishness.
and once more the dragon longed to have been born when the golden age of the dragons was simply twilight with the promise of a brilliant dawn, in the days when soldiers, usually woefully ignorant of the very notion of flying lizards, swung their blades about in a drunken torpor, more often than not cutting off their own ears.
Tome (noun): book, usually large and academic
But now, there were entire tomes written about dragons, full of strategies for killing them in a variety of ways (quick and fast, slow and tortuous, ironically, etc) -- all in all, it was a bit more troublesome now that the human inhabitants had wised up a bit.
Toady (noun): one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors.
Then, of course, there were the spelled swords who were constantly begging for a blast of draconian fire to increase their sharpness or such nonsense -- the dragon always wondered if their wielders truly believed that such toady insinuations would actually work on a dragon of his mental caliber.
Tirade (noun): long, harsh speech or verbal attack.
The dragon sighed (a huge plume of fire completely enveloped the stables) and wondered if he would have to launch into some sort of tirade demanding that the population hand over their fairest damsel because, even after some thunderous roars that would have sent anybody in their right mind shrieking for the nearest exist, there was still no sign of anyone of suitable distress-able material.
The verdant dragon, ivy entwined around its talons, launched himself into the air, determined to distress his first damsel.
Verbose: wordy
"Don't be too verbose when you go about it," his father had warned him. "It might give you a charismatic charm -- which she probably won't notice as she's shrieking her pretty little head off -- but it will also give some dastardly knight the opportunity to slay you. Death by monologue is the chief cause of death for dragons -- second only to failure of the heart."
Veracity (noun): Filled with truth and accuracy.
The dragon did not doubt the veracity of his father's words. After all, his sister, in the midst of her own Operation: Distress mission had died in the midst of proclaiming her various talents, life ambitions, etc (monologue) when the knight to whom she had been speaking plunged his sword into her breast (heart failure).
Venerate (verb): to respect deeply.
Despite his father's objections, he still continued to venerate his sister's memory
Venerable (adj): respected because of age
and grieved that she would never become the venerable matriarch she had dreamed of becoming.
Variegated (adj): varied; marked with different colors.
Green against the variegated sky of a the setting sun, he flapped his mighty wings,
Vacillate (verb): to physically sway or to be indecisive
vacillated by the wind and his own troubled heart: what if the distressed maiden to be refused to come away with him?
Usury (noun): the practice of lending money at exorbitant rates.
It would be his undying shame if he had to resort to usury in order to bribe some fair young maiden to scream and kick her dainty little heels and flick her golden hair -- and who knew what sort of rates they'd demand for a proper swoon.
Upbraid (verb): to scold sharply.
He would just have to do the job properly and thus avoid any upbraids his father might have in store for him.
Unequivocal (adj): absolute, certain.
He roared fire: that should establish him as a dragon! Not just any dragon, but a monster! An unequivocal terror that would be feared unequivocally!
Unconscionable (adj): unscrupulous; shockingly unfair or unjust
He would be known throughout the human realms as the most unconscionable beastie they ever met, the sort that launched night attacks and actually ate the damsels that fought back.
Umbrage (noun): offense; resentment
No, no -- there was no use taking umbrage at the genetics that determined that he be a dragon instead of something pleasant like a bard who sang to damsels instead of frightened them.
Tyro (noun): beginner; novice
(You see, fair reader, it never occurred to the dragon to become a draconian tyro of the harp.)
Turgid (adj): swollen as from a fluid; bloated
And so, belly turgid with molten flame, the dragon soared to the nearest castle where dwelt the richest king with his loveliest daughter.
Trenchant (adj): acute, sharp, or incisive; forceful; effective
Flame blasting through his trenchant teeth (literally and metaphorically speaking), he swooped over the soldiers manning the walls (careful not to buffet them unduly with his awe inspiring wings).
Transitory (adj): temporary; lasting a brief time
Unfortunately, their fear was transitory and the soldiers sounded the horn and thumped their swords against their shields and, generally, made a nuisance of themselves
Torpor (noun): extreme mental and physical sluggishness.
and once more the dragon longed to have been born when the golden age of the dragons was simply twilight with the promise of a brilliant dawn, in the days when soldiers, usually woefully ignorant of the very notion of flying lizards, swung their blades about in a drunken torpor, more often than not cutting off their own ears.
Tome (noun): book, usually large and academic
But now, there were entire tomes written about dragons, full of strategies for killing them in a variety of ways (quick and fast, slow and tortuous, ironically, etc) -- all in all, it was a bit more troublesome now that the human inhabitants had wised up a bit.
Toady (noun): one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors.
Then, of course, there were the spelled swords who were constantly begging for a blast of draconian fire to increase their sharpness or such nonsense -- the dragon always wondered if their wielders truly believed that such toady insinuations would actually work on a dragon of his mental caliber.
Tirade (noun): long, harsh speech or verbal attack.
The dragon sighed (a huge plume of fire completely enveloped the stables) and wondered if he would have to launch into some sort of tirade demanding that the population hand over their fairest damsel because, even after some thunderous roars that would have sent anybody in their right mind shrieking for the nearest exist, there was still no sign of anyone of suitable distress-able material.