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GRE Vocabulary > Deck 4 > Flashcards

Deck 4 Flashcards

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1
Q

exhort

A

verb: to strongly urge on; encourage

Nelson’s parents exhorted him to study medicine, urging him to choose respectable profession.

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2
Q

cardinal

A

adjective: of primary importance, fundamental

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3
Q

check

A

verb: to limit (usually modifying the growth of something)

Deserted for six months, the property began to look more like a jungle and less like a residence - weeks gew unchecked in the front yard.

noun: the condition of being held back or limited

When government abuses are not kept in check, that government is likely to become autocratic.

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4
Q

replete

A

adjective: completely stocked or furnished with something

a replete supermarket shelf

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5
Q

disparate

A

adjective: two things are fundamentally different

Biology and religion are two disparate fields.

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6
Q

junta

A

noun: an aggressive takeover by a group (usually military); the group that executes such a takeover

As dangerous of a threat as North Korea is, some analysts believe that were a junta suddently to gain power, it could be eben more unpredictable and bellicose than the current leadership.

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7
Q

virago

A

noun: an ill-tempered or violent woman

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8
Q

pugnacious

A

adjective: eager to fight or argue; verbally combative

the comedian told one flat joke after another, and when the audience started booing, he pugnaciously spat back at them, “Hey, you think this is easy - why don’t you buffoons give it a shot?”.

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9
Q

avarice

A

noun: greed

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10
Q

catalyst

A

noun: something that speeds up an event

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11
Q

obdurate

A

adjective: unable to be persuaded or moved emotionally; stubborn; unyielding

No number of pleas and bribes would get him to change his obdurate attitude.

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12
Q

ornate

A

adjective: marked by elaborate rhetoric and elaborate with decorative details

an ornate home

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13
Q

fledgling

A

adjective: young and inexperienced
noun: any new participant in some activity

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14
Q

boon

A

noun: a desirable state; something helpful or beneficial

Modern technology has been a boon to the travel industry.

adjective: very close and convivial

He was a boon companion to many, and will be sadly missed.

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15
Q

endemic

A

adjective: native; originating where it is found

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16
Q

patronize

A

verb: treat condescendingly

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17
Q

inclement

A

adjective: (of weather) unpleasant, stormy
adjective: used of persons or behaviour; showing no mercy

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18
Q

archaic

A

adjective: so old as to appear to belong to a different period

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19
Q

impede

A

verb: be a hindrance or obstacle to

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20
Q

snide

A

adjective: exporessive of contempt; derogatory or mocking in an indirect way

The chairman interpreted Taylor’s question about promotions as a snide remark, but in all innocence Taylor was trying to figure out the company’s process.

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21
Q

dearth

A

noun: a lack or shortage

I am suprised by the dearth of fast food chains; this is America and I assumed they were on every street.

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22
Q

incessant

A

adjective: uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing

I don’t mind small children in brief doses, but I think the incessant exposure that their parents have to them would quickly wear me down.

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23
Q

avid

A

adjective: marked by active interest and enthusiasm

An avid reader will read many books in a month.

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24
Q

fete

A

verb: to celebrate a person

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25
Q

entice

A

verb: get someone to do something through (often false of exaggerated) promises

Harold enticed his wife, Maude, to go on a vacation to Hawaii, with promises of luaus on the beach and all-you-can-eat seafood buffets.

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26
Q

appreciable

A

adjective: large enough to be noticed (usually refers to an amount)

There is an appreciable difference between those who say they can get the job done and those who actually get it done.

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27
Q

quandary

A

noun: state of uncertainty or perplexity especially as requiring a choice between equally unfavorable options

Steve certainly is in a quandary: if he doesn’t call Elaine, she will blame him for everything, but if he does call her, the evidence of where he currently is could cost him his job.

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28
Q

raffish

A

adjective: marked by a carefree unconventionality or disreputableness

The men found him raffish, but the women adored his smart clothes and casual attitude.

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29
Q

guffaw

A

verb: laugh boisterously/loudly and heartily

Whenever the jester fell to the ground in mock pain, the king guffawed, exposing his yellow, fang-like teeth

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30
Q

pithy

A

adjective: concise and full of meaning

I enjoy reading the Daodejing for its pithy and insightful prose; it always gives me something to think about.

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31
Q

plodding

A

adjective: (of movement) slow and laborious

Charlie may seem to run at a plodding pace, but he is an ultramarathoner, meaning he runs distances of up to 100 miles, and can run for ten hours at a stretch.

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32
Q

discriminate

A

verb: recognize or perceive the difference

Sarah couldn’t discriminate between a good wine and a bad wine, so she avoided wine tastings.

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33
Q

flounder

A

verb: behave awkawardly; have difficulties

Sylvia has excelled at advanced calculus, but ironically, when she has to deal with taxes, she flounders.

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34
Q

morose

A

adjective: ll-tempered and not inclined to talk; gloomy

After Stanley found out he was no longer able to go on vacation with his friends, he sat in his room morosely.

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35
Q

elusive

A

adjective: difficult to capture or difficult to remember

Many first time skydivers say that describing the act of falling from the sky is elusive.

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36
Q

deter

A

verb:
1) turn away from by persuasion

His mother tried to deter him from joining the army.

2) try to prevent; show opposition to

The government’s primary job should involve deterring paths of war, not finding ways to start them.

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37
Q

muted

A

adjective: softened, subdued

Helen preferred muted earth colors.

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38
Q

smattering

A

noun: a slight or superficial understanding of a subject; a small amount of something

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39
Q

spurn

A

verb: reject with contempt

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40
Q

cornucopia

A

noun: an abundant supply of something good

The International Food Expo was a cornucopia of culinary delights.

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41
Q

precedent

A

noun: an example that is used to justify similar occurences at a later time

There are several precedents for promoting people who don’t have formal qualifications.

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42
Q

credence

A

noun: belief in something

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43
Q

irresolute

A

adjective: uncertain how to act or proceed

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44
Q

derisive

A

adjective: abusing vocally; expressing contempt or ridicule

I was surprised by her derisive tone; usually, she is sweet, soft spoken, and congenial.

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45
Q

pertinent

A

adjective: having precise or logical relevance to the matter at hand

While the salaries of the players mmight draw attention in the media, such monetary figures are not pertinent to the questions of who plays the best on the field.

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46
Q

genial

A

adjective: agreeable

Betty is a genial young woman: everyone she meet sis put at ease by her elegance and grace.

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47
Q

urbane

A

adjective: showing a high degree of refinement and the assurance that comes from wide social experience

Because of his service as an intelligence officer and his refined tastes, W. Somerset Maugham became the inspiration for the urbane and sophisticate spy James Bond.

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48
Q

impeccable

A

adjective: without fault or error

to dress impeccably

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49
Q

surly

A

adjective: inclined to anger or bad feelings with overtones of menace

Every morning, Bhavin was a surly, unhappy person, but once he ate breakfast, he became loving, laughing, and a joy to be around.

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50
Q

glib

A

adjective: (of a person) speaking with ease but without sincerity

I have found that the more glib the salesman, the worse the product.

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51
Q

buck

A

verb: resist

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52
Q

hamstrung

A

verb: make ineffective or powerless

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53
Q

rankle

A

verb: make resentful or angry

His constant whistling would rankle her, sometimes causing her to leave in a huff.

54
Q

tawdry

A

adjective: tastelessly showy; cheap and shoddy

Carol expected to find New York city magical, but she was surprised how often tawdry displays took the place of genuine elegance.

55
Q

debase

A

verb: reduce the quality or value of something

The third-rate script so debased the film that not even the flawless acting could save it from being a flop.

56
Q

banish

A

verb: expel from a community, residence, or location; drive away

The most difficult part of the fast was banishing thoughts of food.

57
Q

benign

A

adjective:
1) kind
2) (medicine) not dangerous to health; not recurrent or progressive

58
Q

genteel

A

adjective: marked by refinement in taste and manners

A live string quartet would provide a more genteel air to the wedding than would a folk singer.

59
Q

assuage

A

verb: make something intense less severe

Her fear that the new college would be filled with unknown faces was assuaged when she recognized her childhood friend standing in line.

60
Q

assail

A

verb: attack in speech or writing

In the weekly paper, the editor assailed the governor for wasting money in public projects that quickly failed.

61
Q

conducive

A

adjective: making a situation or outcome more likely to happen

Studying in a quiet room is conducive to learning; studying in a noisy environment makes learning more difficult.

62
Q

contemptuous

A

adjective: scornful, looking down at others with a sneering attitude

Always on the forefront of fashion, Vanessa looked contemptuously at anyone wearing dated clothing.

63
Q

grovel

A

verb: show submission or fear

Every time Susan comes to the office, Frank grovels as if she were about to fire him.

64
Q

lucid

A

adjective: (of language) transparently clear; easily understandable

65
Q

fickle

A

adjective: liable to sudden unpredictable change, especially in affections or attachments

She was so fickle in her politics, it was hard to pinpoint her beliefs; one week she would embrace a side, and the next week she would denounce it.

66
Q

unruly

A

adjective: (of persons) noisy and lacking in restraint or discipline; unwilling to submit to authority

Walk in to any preschool and I am sure that you will find an unruly and chaotic scene - unless it’s nap time.

67
Q

lucid

A

adjective: very clear and easy to understand

68
Q

assuage

A

verb: to make an (unpleasant) feeling less intense

A massage canassuagethe soreness in your muscles.

69
Q

fervid

A

adjective: intensely enthusiastic or passionate

The child showed afervidfascination for superheroes, pouring over comic books for hours.

70
Q

zeal

A

noun: a strong feel of interest and enthusiasm that makes someone very eager or determined to do something

The great emperor’s crusadingzealled him to conquer many lands.

71
Q

dessicate

A

verb: remove the moisture from (something)

The heat and energy from the sun candesiccateeven the most hearty plants.

72
Q

pedant

A

noun: a person who makes an excessive display of learning

Professor Blackwell, a well-knownpedant, required his pre-med students to speak in Latin throughout the entire semester.

73
Q

vacillate

A

verb: to waver between different opinions or actions

Undergraduate students oftenvacillateamong various majors before deciding which degree to pursue.

74
Q

adulterate

A

verb: to make (something) impure or weaker by adding something of inferior quality

Many chefs use fresh produce and refuse toadulteratetheir dishes with canned ingredients.

75
Q

loquacious

A

adjective: tending to talk a great deal

Theloquaciousprofessor was known for his five-hour lectures.

76
Q

corroborate

A

verb: to confirm or make more certain

The scientist was able tocorroboratehis hypothesis with data gathered from multiple sources.

77
Q

deride

A

verb: to express contempt for; ridicule

The unreasonable supervise was known toderidehis employees on a daily basis.

78
Q

philantropic

A

adjective: seeking to promote the welfare of others

The students were grateful to receive financial support fromphilanthropicorganizations that promote education.

79
Q

garrulous

A

adjective: excessively talkative

Thegarruloushair stylist talked to each customer for hours at a time.

80
Q

despot

A

noun: a cruel and oppressive dictator

The Emperor Caludius was regarded a a fair-minded leader; his successor, Nero, was an absolute despot.

81
Q

pillory

A

verb: ridicule or expose to public scorn

After the candidate confessed, the press of the opposing party took the opportunity to pillory him, printing editorials with the most blatantly exaggerated accusations.

82
Q

palaver

A

verb: soeak (aber unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly

During the rain delay, many who had come to see the game palavered, probably hoping that idle chatter would make the time go by faster.

83
Q

row

A

noun: an angry dispute

The Prime Minister looked very foolish after his row with the foreign dignitary was caught on video and posted on youtube.

84
Q

graft

A

noun: corruption, usually through bribery

In countries with rampant graft, getting a driver’s license can require no more than paying an official.

85
Q

bastardization

A

noun: an act that debases or corrupts

The movie World War Z is a complete bastardization of the book with little more in common than zombies and a title.

86
Q

adjudicate

A

verb: to serve as a judge in a comptetition; to arrive at a judgement or conclusion

Oly those with the most refined palates were able to adjudicateduring the barbeque competition.

87
Q

diminutive

A

noun: to indicate smallness

He prefers to be called a diminutive of his name: “Bill” instead of “John William”.

adjective: very small

When he put on his father’s suit and shoes, his appearance was that of a diminutive youth.

88
Q

trenchant

A

adjective: characterized by or full of force and vigor; having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought, expression, or intellect

Jill presented a rather superficial treatment or sales in Asia, but her trenchant analysis of sales in Europe inspired a number of insights into how to proceed in that market.

89
Q

modicum

A

noun: a small or moderate or token amount

If my sister had even a modicum of sense, she wouldn’t be engaged to that barbarian.

90
Q

bereft

A

adjective:
1) unhappy in love, suffering from unrequited love
1) sorrowful through loss or deprivation

91
Q

ineluctable

A

adjective: impossible to avoid or evade

For those who smoke cigarettes for years, a mojor health crisis brought on by smoking is ineluctable.

92
Q

countermand

A

verb: a contrary command cancelling or reversing a previous command

By the time the colonel cocuntermanded his soldiers not to land in enemy territory, a few helicopters had already touched down amid heavy gunfire.

93
Q

veritable

A

adjective: truthfully, without a doubt

Frank is a veritable life-saver - last year, on two different occasions, he revived people using CPR.

94
Q

demonstrative

A

adjective: given to or marked by the open expression of emotion

When Sally told James that she wanted to break up with him, she expected he would act demonstratively, but he quietly nodded his head and left without saying a word.

95
Q

ebullient

A

adjective: joyously unrestrained

Can you blame him for his ebullient mood? He just graduated from medical school.

96
Q

oblique

A

adjective: not straightforward; indirect

97
Q

obtain

A

verb: be valid, applicable, or true

The custom of waiting your turn in line does not obtain in some contries, in which many people try to rush to front of the line at the same time.

98
Q

lachrymose

A

adjective: showing sorrow

99
Q

cataclysm

A

noun: an event resultingin great loss and misfortune

The introduction of smallpox was a cataclysm for Nativ Americans, killing off more than half of their population.

100
Q

panacea

A

noun hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases; a universal solution

101
Q

elucidate

A

verb: make clearer and easier to understand

102
Q

belligerent

A

adjective: characteristic of one eager to fight

Tom said that he was arguing the matter purely for philosophical reasons, but his belligerent tone indicated an underlying anger about the issue.

103
Q

subsume

A

verb:

1) contain or include

The rogue wave quickly subsumed the pier and boardwalk, destroying everything in its path.

2) consider (an instance of something) as part of a general rule or principle

Don Quixote of La Mancha subsumes all other modern novels, demonstrating modern literary devices and predating even the idea of a postmodern metanarrative.

104
Q

rudimentary

A

adjective: being in the earliest stages of development; being or involving basic facts or principles

105
Q

precocious

A

adjective: characterized by or characteristic of exceptionally early development or maturity (especially in mental aptitude)

106
Q

itinerant

A

adjective: traveling from place to place to work

107
Q

circumvent

A

verb: cleverly find a way out of one’s duties or obligations

108
Q

magnanimous

A

adjective: noble and generous in spirit, especially towards a rival or someone less powerful

He was a great sportsman: in defeat he was complimentary and in victory he was magnanimous.

109
Q

spurious

A

adjective: plausible but false

110
Q

delineate

A

verb: describe in detail

111
Q

contrive

A

verb: to pull of a plan or scheme, usually through skill or trickery

112
Q

jingoism

A

noun: fanatical patriotism

113
Q

fallacious

A

adjective: of a belief that is based on faulty reasoning

114
Q

languid

A

adjective: not inclined towards physical exertion or effort; slow and relaxed

a languid week lying around the house

115
Q

guileless

A

adjective: free of deceit

At first I thought my neice was guileless, but I then found myself buying her ice cream every time we passed a shop.

116
Q

vilify

A

verb: spread negative information about

117
Q

frustrate

A

verb: hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of

I thought I would finish writing the paper by lunchtime, but a number of urgent iterruptions served to frustrate my plan.

118
Q

tantamount

A

adjective: being essentially equal to something

In many situations, remaining silent is tantamount to admitting guilt, so speak to prove your innocence.

119
Q

insidious

A

adjective: working in a subtle but destructive way

Plaque is insidious: we cannot see it, but each day it eats away at our enamel, causing cavities and other dental problems.

120
Q

espouse

A

verb: adopt or support an idea or cause

As a college student, Charlie espoused Marxism, growing his beard out and railing against the evils of the free market.

121
Q

discrete

A

adjective: constituing a separate entity or part

What was once known as Czechoslovakia has since split into two discrete, independent nations.

122
Q

apocryphal

A

adjective: being of questionable authenticity

123
Q

incorrigible

A

adjective: impervious to correction by punishment

Tom Sawyer seems like an incorrigible youth until Huck Finn enters the novel; eben Sawyer can’t match his fierce individual spirit.

124
Q

intransigent

A

adjective: unwilling to change one’s beliefs or course of action

Despite many calls for mercy, the judge remained intransigent, citing strict legal precedence.

125
Q

bumbling

A

adjective: lacking physical movement skills, especially with the hands

Within a week of starting, the bumbling new waiter was unceremoniously fired.

126
Q

admonitory

A

adjective: serving to warn; expressing reproof or reproach especially as a corrective

At the assembly, the high school vice-principal gave the students an admonitory speech, warning them of the many risks and dangers of prom night.

127
Q

adamant

A

adjective: refusing to change one’s mind

128
Q

copious

A

adjective: in abundant supply

In midsummer, there are copious popsicle stands at the beach.

129
Q

insolent

A

adjective: rude and arrogant

130
Q

antithetical

A

adjective: sharply contrasted in character or purpose

GRE Vocabulary (11 decks)

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