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GRE vocab > C > Flashcards

C Flashcards

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0
Q

Cabal

A

Noun

A secret group seeking to overturn something:

The boys on the street formed a cabal to keep girls out of their tree house.

Synonym: circle; clique

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1
Q

Cacophony

A

Noun

Harsh; jarring noise:

The junior high orchestra created an almost unbearable cacophony as they tried to tune their instrument.

Synonym: chaos; disharmony; noise

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2
Q

Calumny

A

Noun

False and malicious accusation; misrepresentation:

The unscrupulous politician used calumny to bring down his opponent in the senatorial race.

Synonym: defamation; libel; slander

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3
Q

Canard

A

Noun

A lie:

That tabloid’s feature story about a goat giving birth to a human child was clearly a canard.

Synonym: falsity; fib

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4
Q

Candid

A

Adj

Impartial and honest in speech:

The observation of a child can be charming since they’re candid and unpretentious.

Synonym: direct; frank; sincere

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5
Q

Capricious

A

Adj

Changing one’s mind quickly and often:

Queen Elizabeth I was quite capricious; her courtiers could never be sure which one would catch her fancy.

Synonym: arbitrary; erratic; whimsical

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6
Q

Cartography

A

Noun

Science of art of making maps

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7
Q

Castigate

A

Verb

To punish or criticize harshly :

Martina castigated her boyfriend for not remembering her birthday.

Synonym: admonish; chastise; upbraid; scold

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8
Q

Catalyst

A

Noun

Something that brings about a change in something else

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9
Q

Catholic

A

Adj

Universal; broad and comprehensive:

Hot tea with honey is a catholic remedy for a sore throat.

Synonym: extensive; general

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10
Q

Caustic

A

Adj

Biting in wit:

Dorothy gained her reputation for being caustic from her cutting, yet witty insult.

Synonym: acerbic; biting; mordant; trenchant

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11
Q

Chaos

A

Noun

Great disorder

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12
Q

Chauvinist

A

Noun

Someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs:

The attitude that men should earn more money than women is common among many male chauvinists.

Synonym: biased; partial

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13
Q

Chicanery

A

Noun

Deception by means of craft or guile :

Dishonest used-car salesmen often use chicanery to sell their beat-up old cars.

Synonym: artifice, deviousness

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14
Q

Circumspect

A

Adj

Cautious, aware of potential consequences:

She was circumspect in her language and behavior when introduced to her finance’s parents.

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15
Q

Cloying

A

Adj

Sickly sweet; excessive:

When Lisa and Jay first started dating, their cloying affection toward one another often made their friends ill.

Synonym: excessive; fulsome

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16
Q

Coalesce

A

Verb

To grow together to form a single whole:

The sun and planets eventually coalesced out of a vast cloud of gas and dust.

Synonym: amalgamate; blend; fuse

17
Q

Coffer

A

Noun

Strongbox; large chest for money:

The bulletproof of glass of the coffer is what keeps the Crown Jewels secure.

Synonym: chest; treasury; war chest

18
Q

Cogent

A

Adj

Convincing and well-reasoned:

Swayed by the cogent argument of the defense, the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendant.

Synonym: convincing; persuasive; solid

19
Q

Collusion

A

Noun

Collaboration, complicity, conspiracy:

It came to light that the police chief and the mafia had a collusion in running the numbers racket.

Synonym: machination; connivance; intrigue

20
Q

Condone

A

Verb

To overlook, to pardon, to disregard:

Some theorists believe that failing to prosecute minor crimes is the same as condoning an air of lawlessness.

Synonym: exculpate; excuse; remit

21
Q

Connoisseur

A

Noun

A person with expert knowledge or discriminating tastes:

Dr. Crane was a connoisseur of fine food and wine, drinking and eating only the best.

Synonym: expert; epicure

22
Q

Contrite

A

Adj

Deeply sorrowful and repentant for a wrong:

After three residents were mugged in the lobby while the watchman was away from his post, he felt very contrite.

Synonym: apologetic; regretful; remorseful

23
Q

Contumacious

A

Adj

Rebellious:

The contumacious teenager ran away from home when her parents told her she was grounded.

Synonym; factious; insubordinate; insurgent

24
Q

Convoluted

A

Adj

Intricate and complicated:

Although many people bought the professors book, a few people could follow its convoluted ideas and theories.

Synonym: complex; perplexing

25
Q

Corroborate

A

Verb

To support with evidence:

All the DA needed was fingerprints to corroborate the witness’s testimony.

Synonym: authenticate; confirm; validate

26
Q

Cosset

A

Verb

To pamper, to treat with great care:

Marta just loves to cosset her first and only grandchild.

Synonym: cater to; fondle; love

27
Q

Coterie

A

Noun

An intimate group of persons with a similar purpose:

Angel invited a coterie of fellow stamp enthusiasts to a stamp-trading party.

Synonym: clique; set; cabal

28
Q

Craven

A

Adj

Lacking courage:

The craven lion cringed in the corner of his cage, terrified of the mouse.

Synonym: faint-hearted; spineless; timid

29
Q

Credulous

A

Adj

Too trusting; gullible;

Though many 4-year-olds believe in the tooth fairy, only the most credulous nine year olds also believe in her.

Synonym: naive; susceptible;

30
Q

Crescendo

A

Noun

Steadily increasing in volume or force:

The crescendo of tension became unbearable as Evel Knievel prepared to jump his motorcycle over the school buses.

Synonym: acme; capstone; climax;

31
Q

Cupidity

A

Noun

Greed; strong desire:

The thief stared at the shining jewels with cupidity in his gleaming eyes.

Synonym: avarice ; covetousness; rapacity

32
Q

Curmudgeon

A

Noun

Cranky person, usually old:

Ernesto was a notorious curmudgeon who snapped at anyone who disturbed him.

33
Q

Capitulate

A

Verb

Cease to resist an opponent or an unwelcome demand; surrender:

The patriots had to capitulate to the enemy forces.

Synonym: submit

34
Q

Convalescing

A

Adj

Recover one’s health and strength over a period of time after an illness or operation:

He spent eight month convalescing after the stroke.

Synonym: recuperating; recovering

35
Q

Concomitant

A

Adj

A natural accompanying associated:

She loved traveling, with all its concomitant worries.

Synonym: attendant, related

36
Q

Chagrin

A

Noun

Distress or embarrassment at having failed or been humiliated:

Jeff, much to his chagrin, was not invited.

Synonym: vexation, displeasure

37
Q

Cloistered

A

Adj

Secluded from the world; sheltered:

The monk live a cloistered life in the closed religion orders.

Synonym: sequestered, insulated

38
Q

Conglomerate

A

Verb / noun

Gathered or clustered together:

Book publishers have been consolidating for decades, under the ownership of media conglomerates like New Corporate.

Synonym: heterogeneous, amassed

39
Q

Cretaceous

A

Adj

1 - resembling or containing chalk.
2 - denoting the last period of the Mesozoic era, between the Jurassic and Tertiary periods.

GRE vocab (27 decks)

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