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GRE Essential > Essential Units 22-28 > Flashcards

Essential Units 22-28 Flashcards

1
Q

Diffuse

A

Diffuse (v)

To spread out

The idea of equality and liberty diffused through society after the French Revolution.

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2
Q

Digression

A

Digression (n)

Act of straying from the main point

The novel Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Contain many fascinating digressions from the main story that discuss topics such as platonic philosophy.

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3
Q

Dirge

A

Dirge (n)

Funeral hymn

The music critic described the movement of the symphony portraying the here’s last days as dirge like.

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4
Q

Disabuse

A

Disabuse (v)

To free from a misconception

The chairman of the federal reserve used his testimony before congress to disabuse his audience of the idea that the business cycle had been eliminated by the unprecedented period of prosperity.

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5
Q

Discerning

A

Discerning (adj)

Perceptive; exhibiting keen insight and good judgement.

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6
Q

Discomfit

A

Discomfit (v)

To make uneasy; disconcert

The young man was discomfited being the only male in the play.

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7
Q

Discordant

A

Discordant (adj)

Not in tune

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8
Q

Discredit

A

Discredit (v)

To dishonor; disgrace; cause to be doubted.

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9
Q

Discrepancy

A

Discrepancy (n)

Difference between

The book studies the discrepancy between x and y.

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10
Q

Discrete

A

Discrete (adj)

Constituting a separate thing; distinct

Like the physicist, the abstract artist strives to identify the discrete elements of reality and to understand how they interact.

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11
Q

Discretion

A

Discretion (n)

Quality of showing of self-restraint in speech or actions; circumspection; freedom to act on ones own.

Gentlemen are expected to behave with discretion.

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12
Q

Disingenuous

A

Disingenuous (adj)

Not candid; crafty

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13
Q

Disinterested

A

Disinterested (adj)

Unprejudiced; objective

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14
Q

Diffidence

A

Diffidence (n)

Shyness; lack of confidence

As a result of the strength of his opposition to the Vietnam War Senator Eugene Mcarthy overcame his diffidence and ran against President Lyndon Johnson for the Democratic nomination for president.

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15
Q

Disjointed

A

Disjointed (adj)

Lacking order or coherence; dislocated

The technique of telling a story through a disjointed narrative is a brilliant technique.

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16
Q

Dismiss

A

Dismiss (v)

To put away from consideration; reject

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17
Q

Disparage

A

Disparage (v)

To belittle

Philosophy is sometimes disparaged as an intellectual game.

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18
Q

Disparate

A

Disparate (adj)

Dissimilar

Many tech projects are interdisciplinary, requiring a knowledge of fields as disparate as physics and biology.

Disparity (noun) - unequal or unlike

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19
Q

Dissemble

A

Dissemble (v)

To pretend; disguise ones motives

I believe you are dissembling. I want you to tell me the truth.

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20
Q

Disseminate

A

Disseminate (v)

To spread; scatter; disperse

The belief of reincarnation disseminated all over India.

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21
Q

Dissident

A

Dissident (n)

Person who disagrees about beliefs

Some of the most notorious concentration camps in history were the gulag camps used by the Soviet Union to control dissidents.

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22
Q

Dissolution

A

Dissolution (n)

Disintegration; debauchery

Some philosophers maintain that the dissolution of the body does not mean the destruction of the mind.

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23
Q

Dissonance

A

Dissonance (n)

Discord; lack of harmony

In psychology, the term cognitive dissonance refers to a conflict between ones beliefs and ones actions.

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24
Q

Distend

A

Distend (v)

To expand; swell out

People in an advanced stage of starvation often have distended bellies.

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25
Distill
Distill (v) Extract the essential elements He managed to distill the essence of leading thinkers like Martin Luther king.
26
Distrait
Distrait (adj) In attentive; preoccupied The chairperson became distrait because his secretary was not sitting in her usual position on his right.
27
Diverge
Diverge (v) To vary; go in different directions from the same point The two roads diverged in a wood.
28
Divest
Divest (v) To strip; deprive; rid The candidate for secretary of defense pledged to divest himself of the shares he held in defense-related companies.
29
Divulge
Divulge (v) To make known something that is secret
30
Doctrinaire
Doctrinaire (adj) Relating to a person who cannot compromise about points of a theory or doctrine; dogmatic; unyielding
31
Document
Document (v) To provide with written evidence to support
32
Doggerel
Doggerel (n) Poor verse
33
Dogmatic
Dogmatic (adj) Stating options without proof Dogma is the noun Religious dogma specifies a time of the birth of creation.
34
Dormant
Dormant (adj) Inactive Dormant volcanoes.
35
Dross
Dross (n) Waste; worthless matter; trivial matter One of the ways the dross among blogs on the internet are filtered out from the worthwhile ones is through links good blogs provide to other good blogs.
36
Dupe
Dupe (v) to deceive; trick In friendship, as well as in love, the mind is often duped by the heart.
37
Ebullient
Ebullient (adj) Exhilarated; enthusiastic The ebullient candidate for president appeared before his supporters to announce that he had won in a landslide.
38
Eclectic
Eclectic (adj) Selecting from various sources
39
Effervescence
Effervescence (n) State of high spirits or liveliness; the process of bulb ing as has escapes Effervescence occurs when hydrochloride acid is added to a block of limestone.
40
Effete
Effete (adj) Depleted of vitality; over refined; decadent In 1960, the Vice President denounced people protesting against the Vietnam war, said this was encouraged by "an effete corps of impudent snobs who characterized themselves as intellectuals."
41
Efficacy
Efficacy (n) Efficiency; effectiveness Efficacious (adj)
42
Effrontery
Effrontery (n) Shameless boldness; presumptuousness In her essay the student had the effrontery to argue that school is largely a waste of time
43
Egoism
Egoism (n) The tendency to see things in relation to oneself; self-centeredness The beginning of philosophy has been described as a moving away from egoism to an understanding of the larger world.
44
Egotistical
Egotistical (adj) Excessively self centered; conceited The critics accused the writer of being egotistical since she wrote only about herself.
45
Elegy
Elegy (n) Poem or song expressing lamentation (grief)
46
Elicit
Elicit (v) to provoke; draw out The Socratic method is designed to elicit responses that guide the student toward understanding.
47
Elixir
Elixir (n) A substance believed to have the power to cute all ills
48
Elysian
Elysian (adj) Blissful; delightful
49
Emaciated
Emaciated (adj) Thin and wasted The prisoner was Emaciated.
50
Embellish
Embellish (v) To adorn; decorate; enhance; make more attractive by adding details. The story he wrote was so powerful there was no need to embellish it.
51
Emollient
Emollient (adj) Soothing; mollifying The politician's speech is filled with emollient phrases to make his message more palatable. Emollient is also a noun that means an agent that soothes it makes acceptable .
52
Empirical
Empirical (adj) Derived from observation or experiment Empiricism is a noun meaning the view that experience is the only source of knowledge.
53
Emulate
Emulate (v) To imitate; copy Bionics uses technology to emulate nature, but sometimes a similar process occurs in reverse, in which scientists use technology as a heuristic tool to better understand natural processes.
54
Heuristic
Heuristic (adj) serving to indicate or point out; stimulating interest as a means of furthering investigation. encouraging a person to learn, discover, understand, or solve problems on his or her own, as by experimenting, evaluating possible answers or solutions, or by trial and error: a heuristic teaching method. of, relating to, or based on experimentation, evaluation, or trial-and-error methods.
55
Encomium
Encomium (n) A formal expression of praise The prime minister asked her speechwriter to compose an encomienda for the retiring general.
56
Endemic
Endemic (adj) Inherent; belonging to an area Malaria, once endemic to the area, has now been largely eradicated.
57
Enervate
Enervate (v) To weaken During World War 2 Russian commanders counted on the bitter cold to enervate German soldiers invading their country.
58
Engender
Engender (v) To cause; produce Freudians believe that the traumatic events of infancy often engender repression that creates neuroses
59
Enhance
Enhance (v) To increase; improve
60
Entomology
Entomology (n) The scientific study of insects
61
Enunciate
Enunciate (v) To pronounce clearly
62
Ephemeral
Ephemeral (adj) Short-lived; fleeting Kurt Cobain was an ephemeral phenomena.
63
Epistemology
Epistemology (n) Branch of philosophy that examines the nature of knowledge
64
Equable
Equable (adj) Steady; unvarying; serene Throughout the crisis the president remained equable
65
Equitably
Equitably Fair, just it impartial
66
Equaniminity
Equanimity (n) Composure; calmness Emergency room doctors and nurses are trained to maintain their equanimity when treating patients.
67
Equivocate
Equivocate (v) To intentionally use vague language The businessperson has earned a reputation as someone who never equivocates and can be trusted to do exactly what he promises. The noun is equivocation
68
Errant
Errant (adj) Mistaken; straying from the proper course The pitchers errant fastball struck the batter on the shoulder.
69
Erudite
Erudite (adj) Learned; scholarly He is one of the most erudite people I have ever met. Erudition (noun)
70
Esoteric
Esoteric (adj) Hard to understand; known only to a few He has a plethora of esoteric statistics that really helped this company.
71
Essay
Essay (v) To make an attempt; subject to a test The composer began to work on a sonata, a form she had not previously essayed.
72
Estimable
Estimable (adj) Admirable; possible to estimate Estimable figures

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