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GRE vocab > D > Flashcards

D Flashcards

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0
Q

Debutante

A

Noun

Young woman making debut in high society:

The debutante spent hours feeding for her very first ball, hoping to catch the eye of an eligible bachelor.

Synonym: lady ; maiden

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1
Q

Declivity

A

Noun

Downward slope:

Because the village was situated on the declivity of a hill, it never flooded.

Synonym: decline; slant

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2
Q

Decorous

A

Adj

Proper, tasteful, socially correct

The countess trained her daughters in the finer points of decorous behavior, hoping they would make a good impression when she presented them at the court.

Synonym: appropriate ; courteous; polite

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3
Q

Decorum

A

Appropriateness of behavior or conduct; propriety:

The countess complained that the vulgar peasants lacked the decorum appropriate for a visit to the palace.

Synonym: correctness; etiquette; manner;’propriety

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4
Q

Deface

A

Verb

To mar the appearance of, to vandalize:

After the wall was torn down, the students began to deface the statues of communists leaders of the former eastern bloc.

Synonym: disfigure

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5
Q

Deference

A

Noun

Respect, courtesy:

The respectful young law clerk treated the Supreme Court justice with the utmost deference.

Synonym: honor; veneration

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6
Q

Deleterious

A

Adj

Subtly or unexpectedly harmful:

If only we had known the clocks were defective before putting them on the market, it wouldn’t have been quite so deleterious to our reputation.

Synonym: Adverse; inimical; hurtful

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7
Q

Demagogue

A

Noun

A leader, rabble-rouser, usually appealing to emotion or prejudice:

He began his career as a demagogue, giving fiery speeches at political rallies.

Synonym: agitator; inciter; instigator

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8
Q

Demur

A

Verb

To express doubts or objections:

When scientific authorities claimed that all the planets revolved around the earth, Galileo, with his superior understanding of the situation, was forced to demur.

Synonym: dissent; expostulate; protest

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9
Q

Deride

A

Verb

To speak of or treat with contempt, mock:

The awkward child was often derided by his ‘cooler’ peers.

Synonym: gibe; ridicule;

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10
Q

Desiccate

A

Verb

To dry out thoroughly:

After a few weeks lying in the desert, the cows carcass became completely desiccated.

Synonym: dehydrate; parch

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11
Q

Desultory

A

Adj

Jumping from one thing to another; disconnected:

Lisa had a desultory academic record; she had changed majors 12 times in three years.

Synonym: erratic; haphazard

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12
Q

Diaphanous

A

Adj

Allowing light to show through; delicate:

These diaphanous curtains do nothing to block out the sunlight.

Synonym: gauzy; sheer; translucent

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13
Q

Diatribe

A

Noun

An abusive; condemnatory speech:

The trucker bellowed a diatribe at the driver who cut him off.

Synonym: culmination: invective

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14
Q

Dictum

A

Noun

Authoritative statement:

“You have time to lean, you have time to clean,” was the dictum our boss made us live by.

Synonym: apothegm; aphorism

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15
Q

Diffident

A

Adj

Lacking self-confidence:

Steve was diffident during the job interview because of his nervous nature and lack of experience in the field.

Synonym: timid; shy

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16
Q

Dilate

A

Verb

To make larger, expand:

When you enter a darkened room, the pupils of your eyes dilate so as to let in more light.

Synonym: amplify; enlarge

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17
Q

Dilatory

A

Adj

Intended to delay; procrastinating:

The congressman used dilatory measures to delay the passage of the bill.

Synonym: putting off

18
Q

Dilettante

A

Noun

Someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic:

Jett’s friends were such dilettantes they seemed to have new jobs and hobbies every week.

Synonym: amateur; rookie

19
Q

Dirge

A

Noun

A funeral hymn or mournful speech:

The poet wrote the poem “a dirge for james” for the funeral of a union general who was killed in 1864.

Synonym: elegy; lament

20
Q

Disabuse

A

Verb

To set right , to free from error:

Scientist’s observations disabused scholars of the notion that wheat could be turned into gold.

Synonym: correct; dismiss

21
Q

Discern

A

Verb

To perceive, to recognize:

It is easy to discern the difference between butter and butter-flavored topping.

Synonym : differentiate

22
Q

Disparate

A

Adj

Fundamentally different; entirely unlike:

Although the twins are physically identical, their personalities are disparate.

Synonym: different; dissimilar

23
Q

Dissemble

A

Verb

To present a false appearance, to disguise one’s real intentions or characters :

The villain could dissemble to the police no longer - he admitted the deed and tore up the floor to reveal the stash of stolen money.

Synonym: camouflage; cloak; feign

24
Q

Dissonance

A

Noun

A harsh and disagreeable combination, especially sound.

The cognitive dissonance is the inner conflict produced when long standing belief are contradicted by new evidence.

25
Q

Distaff

A

Noun

The female branch of the family:

The lazy husband refused to cook dinner for his wife, joking that the duty belongs to the distaff’s side.

26
Q

Distend

A

Verb

To swell, inflate, bloat:

Her stomach was distended after she forged on the six course meal.

Synonym: broaden, bulge

27
Q

Dither

A

Verb

To act confusedly or without clear purpose:

Lisa dithered around her apartment, uncertain how to tackle the family crisis.

Synonym: falter; hesitate; vacillate; waver

28
Q

Diurnal

A

Adj

Existing during the day:

Diurnal creatures tend to become inactive during the night.

Synonym: daylight; daytime

29
Q

Divine

A

Verb

To foretell or known by inspiration:

The fortune teller divined from the pattern of the tea leaves that her customer would marry five times.

Synonym: auger; intuit; foresee

30
Q

Doctrinaire

A

Adj

Rigidly devoted to theories without regard for practicality; dogmatic:

The professor’s manner of teaching was considered doctrinaire for such a liberal school.

Synonym: dictatorial; inflexible

31
Q

Dogma

A

Noun

A firmly held opinion, especially a religious belief:

Lisa’s central dogma was that children who believed in the great pumpkin would be rewarded.

Synonym: doctrines; teaching

32
Q

Dogmatic

A

Adj

Dictatorial in one’s opinion

33
Q

Droll

A

Adj

Amusing in a wry, subtle way:

Although the play couldn’t be described as hilarious, it was certainly droll.

Synonym: comic; entertaining; witty

34
Q

Dupe

A

Verb

To deceive

35
Q

Dyspeptic

A

Adj

Suffering from indigestion; gloomy and irritable:

The dyspeptic young man cast a gloom over the party the minute he walked in.

Synonym: solemn, sour

36
Q

Dilapidated

A

Adj

(of a building or object)in a state of disrepair or ruin as a result of age or neglect:

Although in the same neighborhood, the little brick house seemed dilapidated compared to the ornate new house beside it.

Synonym: shabby

37
Q

Dexterity

A

Noun

Skill in performing tasks, esp with the hands:

Her dexterity with piano

Synonym: agility; deftness

38
Q

Detritus

A

Noun

Waste or debris of any kind:

Streets are filled with rubble and detritus after the demolition.

Synonym: refuse

39
Q

Disquiet

A

Verb

Make someone worried or anxious:

She felt disquieted at the lack of interest the girl had shown.

Synonym: agitate; unsettle

40
Q

Deprecate

A

Verb

Express disapproval of:

He sniffed in a deprecating manner.

Synonym: deplore; despise

41
Q

Dreck

A

Noun / slang:

Worthless trash; junk:

The digital market is awash with millions of barely edited titles, most of it dreck.

42
Q

Duress

A

noun

threats, violence, constraints, or other action brought to bear on someone to do something against their will or better judgement:

He signed the confession under duress

Synonym: coercion; pressure; intimidation

43
Q

dolorous

A

adj

feeling or expressing great sorrow of distress:

The hunter can a hear a long-draw dolorous whine of some unseen coyote.

GRE vocab (27 decks)

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