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GRE Studying > Deck 2 > Flashcards

Deck 2 Flashcards

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1
Q

Eclectic

A

(adjective): varied. Think: SELECTION COLLECTION. If your musical tastes are ECLECTIC, I can probably name any style SELECTION and you’ll say it’s in your COLLECTION.

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2
Q

Pertinacious

A

(adjective): stubbornly persistent. Think: PERSISTENT and TENACIOUS. My PERTINACIOUS defender was both PERSISTENT and TENACIOUS; I had no open shots.

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3
Q

Abomination

A

(noun): something awful. Think: BOMB A NATION.It is an ABOMINATION to BOMB a NATION.

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4
Q

Salacious

A

(adjective): appealing to sexual desire. Think: SALIVATE. All the girls read Fifty Shades of Gray because the SALACIOUS details make them SALIVATE.

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5
Q

Nugatory

A

(adjective): unimportant. Think: McNUGGETS. Eating Chicken McNUGGETS is NUGATORY for good health; their health benefits could be said to be negative.

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6
Q

Malevolent

A

(adjective): evil. Think: VIOLENT MALE. MALEVOLENT criminals are usually VIOLENT MALES; most serial killers are men.

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7
Q

Decorous

A

(adjective): well-behaved. Think: THE CHORUS. Kids in THE CHORUS are usually not rebels - they’re often DECOROUS.

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8
Q

Quail

A

(verb): to pull back in fear. Think: QUAIL (the bird). I feel bad for QUAIL (noun) - those poor birds QUAIL (verb) as soon as they see people because they’re often hunted for sport.

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9
Q

Pastiche

A

(noun): an imitation; something made of many things. Think: PASTE EACH. If you copy Wikipedia and PASTE EACH entry into your paper, it will be a PASTICHE.

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10
Q

Espy

A

(verb): to glimpse; to catch sight of. Think: I SPY. I SPY something blue - do you ESPY it, too?

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11
Q

Dolorous

A

(adjective): sad; mournful. Think: DOLORES’S DOLDRUMS. I’d be DOLOROUS and in the DOLDRUMS too if my name were DOLORES.

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12
Q

Recondite

A

(adjective): not easily understood. Think: RECKONED IT. I couldn’t understand my professor’s RECONDITE lecture, but I RECKONED IT had something to do with the fourth dimension.

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13
Q

Invidious

A

(adjective): causing envy. Think: ENVIOUS. I knew marrying a supermodel would make my friends ENVIOUS - it’s unfortunately an INVIDIOUS thing to do.

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14
Q

Vocation

A

(noun): job. Think: afford a VACATION. If you want to afford a VACATION get a VOCATION.

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15
Q

Deter

A

(verb): to prevent. Think: DETOUR. The DETOUR sign will DETER drivers from trying to drive down the closed road.

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16
Q

Profligacy

A

(noun): reckless wastefulness. Think: PROFITS FLING. If your PROFITS FLING out the window, you’re probably following a course of PROFLIGACY.

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17
Q

Misanthrope

A

(noun): one who hates people. Think: MISTAKE to be an ANTHROPOLOGIST. It’s a huge MISTAKE to be an ANTHROPOLOGIST and study people all day long if you’re a MISANTHROPE.

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18
Q

Aplomb

A

(noun): confidence. Think: The BOMB. If you have APLOMB, you think you’re the BOMB.

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19
Q

Finagled

A

(verb): obtained, often through trickery or indirect methods. Think: FINAGLE a BAGEL. Even though I had lost my wallet, I FINAGLED a BAGEL from the bagel lady by claiming I had invented cream cheese.

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20
Q

Flamboyant

A

(adjective): having an extremely noticeable quality. Think: FLAME BOY. In The Hunger Games, Peeta’s costume was FLAMBOYANT: it literally burst into FLAME.

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21
Q

Mandate

A

(noun): an order or command. Think: MANDATORY. The captain’s MANDATE was obviously MANDATORY - so swab the deck!

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22
Q

Picaresque

A

(adjective): about someone’s adventures. Think: PIXAR-ESQUE. Your novel is like Wall-E because of your hero’s journey; it’s both PICARESQUE and PIXAR-ESQUE.

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23
Q

Foreground

A

(verb): to highlight. Think: FOREGROUND (noun). That boy is magic! FOREGROUND (verb) his talent by making sure he’s in the FOREGROUND (noun) of the stage!

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24
Q

Grasping

A

(adjective): excessively greedy. Think: Mr. Burns’ GRASPING. The Simpsons’ Mr. Burns is a GRASPING (adjective) tycoon who is always GRASPING (verb) at any new source of profit.

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25
Q

Modish

A

(adjective): fashionable. Think: MODEL-ISH. MODISH brands like Burberry and Prada are MODEL-ISH because only models seem to actually wear them.

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26
Q

Captious

A

(adjective): overly critical. Think: red CAPITALS. Our English teacher is CAPTIOUS: our papers come back with lots of red writing that’s in CAPITALS.

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27
Q

Tenable

A

(adjective): able to be defended; workable. Think: TEN ABLE. The scientist’s theory was TENABLE because it was “TEN-ABLE”, worthy of being rated a 0 out of 0.

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28
Q

Antipode

A

(noun): the exact opposite. Think: ANTI-POLE. The North POLE is the ANTIPODE to the South POLE - you might say they’re “ANTI-POLES.”

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29
Q

Espouse

A

(verb): to support or to give loyalty to. Think: SPOUSE. Chances are that you will ESPOUSE your SPOUSE - you married her, so you probably have her back.

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30
Q

Artifice

A

(noun): deception; trickery. Think: ARTIFICIAL. In The Hunger Games, Effie Trinket tries to win people over with ARTIFICE, but it doesn’t work because her sweetness is so ARTIFICIAL.

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31
Q

Recant

A

(verb): to formally deny a former position. Think: REALLY I CAN’T. I know I said I would move to Canada if we elected Obama, but REALLY I CAN’T, so I RECANT that statement.

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32
Q

Tirade

A

(noun): a long angry speech. Think: TIRED of RAGE. If someone gives you a TIRADE, you’ll probably be TIRED of the RAGE after a few minutes.

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33
Q

Penitent

A

(adjective): being sorry for one’s actions. Think: REPENT. The beggar’s sign read, “REPENT! Do penance for your sins! Only the PENITENT will see God!”

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34
Q

Avuncular

A

(adjective): like an uncle. Think: UNCLE. The AVUNCULAR professor was like an UNCLE to him, dispensing well-intentioned advice.

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35
Q

Wily

A

(adjective): clever; sly. Think: WILE E. COYOTE. WILE E. Coyote was not quite WILY enough to catch the Roadrunner despite his clever traps.

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36
Q

Nettle

A

(verb): to irritate. Think: NEEDLE. Poking someone with a NEEDLE is a quick way to NETTLE him.

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37
Q

Seminal

A

(adjective): important; original. Think: SEMINAR. If a book is SEMINAL, you’re probably gonna have to read it in your freshman year literature SEMINAR.

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38
Q

Enmity

A

(noun): hatred. Think: ENEMY. I have ENMITY for my ENEMY - what else would you expect?

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39
Q

Austere

A

(adjective): plain; strict; serious; cold. Think: ALL STERILE. Operating rooms are AUSTERE because they’re ALL STERILE.

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40
Q

Scrupulous

A

(adjective): having integrity, or being exact. Think: SCRAPE the POOP. If you are SCRUPULOUS, you will SCRAPE your dog’s POOP off my lawn.

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41
Q

Maelstrom

A

(noun): something violently powerful; a whirlpool. Think: MAIL STORM. Spam emails flock to my inbox like a MAELSTROM; reading the MAIL STORM would suck up all my time.

42
Q

Raze

A

(verb): to completely destroy. Think: RAYS BLAZE. The powerful laser’s RAYS are making a BLAZE that will RAZE the old building to make room for the new one.

43
Q

Licentious

A

(adjective): lacking restraint. Think: LICENSE-ish. Flappers were thought to be LICENTIOUS, since they acted as if they had a LICENSE to do whatever they wanted.

44
Q

Protean

A

(adjective): varied; versatile. Think: PROTEINS. Since they can be formed from a vast number of combinations of 500 different amino acids, PROTEINS are PROTEAN.

45
Q

Infirm

A

(adjective): weak; ill. Think: INFIRMARY. In college, food poisoning sent me to the INFIRMARY where I remained INFIRM for a few days while they nursed me back to health.

46
Q

Funereal

A

(adjective): like a funeral. Think: FUNERAL. Your gothic style is so FUNEREAL it looks as though you’re headed to a FUNERAL instead of the mall.

47
Q

Cognizant

A

(adjective): aware; informed. Think: RECOGNIZE. If you’re COGNIZANT of our theory, you must RECOGNIZE where our solution came from.

48
Q

Polemic

A

(noun): a harsh attack against a principle. Think: POLITICIAN at a MIC. Put a POLITICIAN at a MIC, and you’ll soon hear POLEMIC as he attacks his opponent’s policies.

49
Q

Politic

A

(adjective): shrewd; wise. Think: POLITICIAN. After reading The Prince by Machiavelli, the POLITICIAN became much more POLITIC and cleverly defeated his opponent.

50
Q

Impeded

A

(verb): blocked. Think: STAMPEDE. As I walked across the fruited plain, a buffalo STAMPEDE IMPEDED my progress.

51
Q

Pendulous

A

(adjective): hanging loosely; sagging. Think: PENDULUM. As the naked old lady danced, her PENDULOUS breasts swung back and forth like the PENDULUMS of grandfather clocks.

52
Q

Aerie

A

(noun): an eagle’s nest; a high fortress. Think: AIRY. Since it was atop a mountain, the AERIE was AIRY.

53
Q

Circumscribed

A

(adjective): restricted. Think: CIRCUMFERENCE SCRIBE. The evil SCRIBE drew a magical CIRCUMFERENCE around our campsite, which CIRCUMSCRIBED our movement to that circle.

54
Q

Wistful

A

(adjective): sadly wishing for. Think: WISHFUL. The “Forever Alone” meme guy feels WISTFUL because he is still alone after weeks of being WISTFUL for a girlfriend.

55
Q

Slatternly

A

(adjective): untidy or promiscuous. Think: SLUTTY. If you want to say she’s SLUTTY but use a bit more flattery, call her SLATTERNLY.

56
Q

Arrogate

A

(verb): to unrightfully take or claim. Think: A ROGUE ATE. My liege - A ROGUE ATE my rations - may I have more since he ARROGATED what was rightfully mine?

57
Q

Bauble

A

(noun): a small, inexpensive piece of jewelry or toy. Think: BOBBLEHEAD. The BAUBLE that my favorite baseball player gave me was a BOBBLEHEAD of himself.

58
Q

Mimetic

A

(adjective): something that imitates or mimics. Think: MIMES MIMIC. You may think MIMES are annoying, but their MIMETIC abilities are pretty cool when they MIMIC what it would look like to be trapped in a glass box.

59
Q

Gainsay

A

(verb): to deny. Think: AGAINST SAY. Those who GAINSAY us are AGAINST what we SAY.

60
Q

Minion

A

(noun): a servant; a follower. Think: MINI-ONE. In Austin Powers, Mini-Me is Dr. Evil’s MINION; he is a MINI-ONE of Dr. Evil.

61
Q

Hector

A

(verb): to bully or harass. Think: HECKLE. I tried to HECTOR the comedian by HECKLING him, but he made fun of me, so I stopped.

62
Q

Munificent

A

(adjective): generous or giving. Think: MONEY SENT. The MONEY SENT to us by our grandparents every year makes us consider them to be MUNIFICENT.

63
Q

Omniscient

A

(adjective): all-knowing. Think: OWNS HIS SCIENCE. I’m not surprised to hear that Jesus got an A in AP Chem; he OWNS HIS SCIENCE classes because he’s OMNISCIENT.

64
Q

Languid

A

(adjective): lazy; lacking energy. Think: LAYING SQUID. The LAYING SQUID was LANGUID because it just lay on the bottom of the ocean all day.

65
Q

Lionized

A

(verb): treated with great interest. Think: LION-IZED. The cute little meerkat was so LIONIZED by the zoo’s visitors that he felt like a LION.

66
Q

Rash

A

(adjective): hasty; incautious. Think: RASH (noun). If you make the RASH (adjective) decision to have unprotected sex with that NBA player, you might get a RASH (noun).

67
Q

Declaimed

A

(verb): spoke loudly and self-importantly. Think: “I DECLARE!” “Well, I DECLARE!” the southern belle DECLAIMED.

68
Q

Imperious

A

(adjective): dominant in a kingly way. Think: EMPEROR. When we went out to dinner with the EMPEROR, he was so IMPERIOUS that he ordered all of our meals.

69
Q

Aspersion

A

(noun): a false claim intended to harm. Think: ASP POISON. Her ASPERSIONS about what I did last night felt like ASP POISON.

70
Q

Mercenary

A

(adjective): motivated by money. Think: MERCHANT. I knew the MERCHANT’S compliments were insincere since he was clearly MERCENARY.

71
Q

Tranquil

A

(adjective): calm. Think: NYQUIL. Taking NYQUIL before bed made me so TRANQUIL that I slept for hours.

72
Q

Becalm

A

(verb): to make motionless; to soothe. Think: BE CALM! When my -year-old is running around causing havoc, I usually whisper “BE CALM!” to BECALM him.

73
Q

Prolix

A

(adjective): too long/wordy. Think: PROLIFIC. After writing dozens of 000+ page books, the PROLIFIC author was often criticized for his PROLIX writing style.

74
Q

Dint

A

(noun): force; power. Think: Hulk’s DENT. The Incredible Hulk made a DENT in the car by DINT of his enormous strength.

75
Q

Aesthetic

A

(adjective): relating to beauty. Think: ATHLETIC body. If you’re ATHLETIC, then you’re likely to have a body that is AESTHETICally pleasing.

76
Q

Delectable

A

(adjective): delightful; delicious. Think: DELICIOUS SELECTABLE. That DELECTABLE apple is both DELICIOUS and SELECTABLE.

77
Q

Grovel

A

(verb): to act like an unworthy servant by crawling or lowering oneself. Think: GRAVEL. GROVEL to her majesty by putting your face in the GRAVEL, slave!

78
Q

Whitewash

A

(verb): to conceal; to gloss over. Think: WHITE WASH. If only you could WHITEWASH your reputation by throwing it in the WHITE WASH with some Clorox.

79
Q

Nostrum

A

(noun): a questionable medicine or remedy. Think: NOSTRIL RUM. The Simpsons’ Dr. Nick’s NOSTRUM was NOSTRIL RUM - rum meant to be snorted to clear the sinuses.

80
Q

Squalid

A

(adjective): filthy. Think: SQUAT over LID. If the bathroom stall is SQUALID, SQUAT over the LID when you pee.

81
Q

Debauchery

A

(noun): extreme indulgence in pleasure. Think: THE BACHELOR PARTY. During THE BACHELOR PARTY, the wolf pack in The Hangover participated in some serious DEBAUCHERY.

82
Q

Petulant

A

(adjective): rude; irritable. Think: PETTY AUNT. My PETTY AUNT is always whining about something or holding a grudge; she’s PETULANT.

83
Q

Contumacious

A

(adjective): stubbornly disobedient; rebellious. Think: CONTRARY TUMMY. I have a CONTRARY TUMMY - it’s CONTUMACIOUS and gives me indigestion if I try to eat spicy food.

84
Q

Segue

A

(noun): a transition. Think: SEGWAY. A good way to make sure your friends go along with your conversational SEGUE is to barge in riding a SEGWAY.

85
Q

Mawkish

A

(adjective): overly sentimental. Think: MA’s AWKWARD KISS. MA is AWKWARD because she has to KISS us every time we leave the house - she’s MAWKISH.

86
Q

Grisly

A

(adjective): horrific; disgusting. Think: GRIZZLY death. If you piss off a GRIZZLY bear, it may give you a GRISLY death.

87
Q

Pernicious

A

(adjective): destructive; deadly. Think: PIRANHAS VICIOUS. PIRANHAS are VICIOUS; lingering in waters they inhabit can be PERNICIOUS.

88
Q

Flotilla

A

(noun): a fleet of ships. Think: FLOATING around GODZILLA. FLOATING around GODZILLA was a FLOTILLA from the Japanese navy.

89
Q

Risque

A

(adjective): almost improper or indecent. Think: RISKY. Making a RISQUE joke the first time you meet your girlfriend’s parents is RISKY.

90
Q

Sentient

A

(adjective): having sense perception; conscious. Think: SENSED IT. I knew the alien life form was SENTIENT after I pricked it with a pin and it moved: it SENSED IT.

91
Q

Volition

A

(noun): a conscious choice. Think: VOLUNTEER. No one forced him to VOLUNTEER for the mission; he did it of his own VOLITION.

92
Q

Unctuous

A

(adjective): smooth in a fake way. Think: SKUNK-TOUS. Pepe Le Pew, the smooth-talking, playboy SKUNK, acts UNCTUOUS to charm the ladies.

93
Q

Draconian

A

(adjective): cruelly strict. Think: DRACO Malfoy. If DRACO Malfoy had taught the Gryffindor students, I’m sure he would have been a DRACONIAN instructor.

94
Q

Ferret

A

(verb): to bring to light; to uncover. Think: FERRET (the animal). If you keep a FERRET as a pet, it will FERRET out all your lost earrings since they can crawl under anything.

95
Q

Retiring

A

(adjective): shy. Think: RETIRE from parties. The shy girl was so RETIRING that she decided that she would RETIRE from going to parties.

96
Q

Denuded

A

(verb): stripped bare. Think: NUDE. Loggers DENUDED the forested rise, felling trees and trampling undergrowth until it was just an NUDE hill of earth.

97
Q

Vociferous

A

(adjective): loud. Think: VOICE FOR US. The announcer’s loud VOICE, FOR US, was too VOCIFEROUS.

98
Q

Insinuate

A

(verb): to hint or imply; to subtly introduce. Think: IN SIN YOU ATE. Pop culture INSINUATES that all women should be skinny, as if to say “IN SIN YOU ATE that piece of cake”.

99
Q

Diatribe

A

(noun): an angry speech. Think: DIE TRIBE. I didn’t understand the words of his DIATRIBE, but I guessed the native said I’d DIE from his TRIBE killing me.

100
Q

Sere

A

(adjective): dried; withered. Think: SEAR. If you SEAR those vegetables on the grill too long they’ll become SERE.

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