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Barron's GRE Verbal Workbook > F > Flashcards

F Flashcards

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1
Q

fabricate

A

v. to construct; to fake, falsify

The jury believed that the witnesses’ story was fabricated.

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2
Q

facade

A

n. the front of a building; face; superficial appearance

The boy’s brave facade crumbled after the fight began.

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3
Q

facet

A

n. aspect; side

The class discussed every facet of the issue.

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4
Q

facetious

A

adj. humorous

Two boys sat in the back of the class making facetious comments.

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5
Q

facile

A

adj. easy; superficial

I find their argument facile.

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6
Q

facilitate

A

v. to make less difficult

Adequate rest facilitates learning.

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7
Q

facility

A

n. ability

I have limited facility in mathematics.

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8
Q

faction

A

n. a group of people forming a minority within a larger group

A vocal faction is against the proposal.

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9
Q

faculty

A

n. ability; power

The ability to reason is one of our greatest faculties.

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10
Q

fait accompli

A

n. something done about which it is too late to argue

The CEO presented the merger to the board as a fait accompli.

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11
Q

fallacious

A

adj. false

Recent studies have proven the theory to be fallacious.

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12
Q

fallacy

A

n. incorrect idea

It is a fallacy that sun orbits the Earth.

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13
Q

fallow

A

adj. plowed but not sowed; uncultivated

The field lies fallow.

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14
Q

fanaticism

A

n. excessive enthusiasm or zeal

The historian studies religious fanaticism.

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15
Q

farcical

A

adj. absurd, ridiculous

The performance was so bad it was farcical.

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16
Q

Fascism

A

n. a system of government with centralization of power under a dictator, strict control of the economy, suppression of the opposition, and often a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism

Fascism flourished in Mussolini’s Italy and Hitler’s Germany.

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17
Q

fastidious

A

ad. very fussy; concerned with detail

The teacher is fastidious in her preparation for class.

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18
Q

fatalism

A

n. belief that events are determined by forces beyond one’s control.

The theme of fatalism reoccurs in the works of that novelist.

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19
Q

fathom

A

v. to penetrate to the meaning or nature of; comprehend

Science has begun to fathom the mysteries of nature.

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20
Q

fatuous

A

adj. foolishly self-satisfied

Nobody laughed at the fatuous comment.

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21
Q

fauna

A

n. animals of a period or region

The guidebook describes the fauna of the area.

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22
Q

faux pas

A

n. a social blunder

The lieutenant committed a faux pas, addressing the colonel as major.

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23
Q

fawning

A

adj. trying to please by flattering and behaving in a servile manner

The fawning congressmen gathered around the president.

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24
Q

faze

A

v. to disconcert, bother

The quarterback wasn’t fazed by the fierce pass rush.

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25
Q

fealty

A

n. loyalty owed by a vassal to his feudal lord

The king is generous to subjects as long as they pledge fealty to him.

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26
Q

feasible

A

adj. possible

Someday a voyage to Mars may be feasible.

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27
Q

feckless

A

adj. ineffective; irresponsible

The police department was criticized for its feckless attempts to catch the embezzler.

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28
Q

fecund

A

adj. fertile, productive

The novelist’s fecund imagination produced a wonderful fantasy world.

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29
Q

federal

A

adj. related to a system of government in which power is divided between a central government and constituent states; related to federal government of federation

The federal system of government has been adopted by many countries.

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30
Q

feign

A

v. to pretend

The boy feigned ignorance of the theft.

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31
Q

felicitous

A

adj. suitably expressed; appropriate; well-chosen

The writer Oscar Wilde is famous for his felicitous sayings.

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32
Q

felony

A

n. a very serious crime

The felony was committed last week.

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33
Q

feral

A

adj. existing in a wild or untamed state; having returned to an untamed state from domestication

The abandoned dog became feral.

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34
Q

fervent

A

adj. full of strong emotion; impassioned

His protest was fervent but not very logical.

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35
Q

fervid

A

adj. passionate, intense

He is known for his fervid devotion to the movement.

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36
Q

fervor

A

n. warmth and intensity of emotion

Sheila embraced the movement with fervor.

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37
Q

fetid

A

adj. having a bad smell

The fisherman didn’t like the look of the black and fetid water of the lake.

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38
Q

fetter

A

v. to bind, confine

The police fettered the suspect.

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39
Q

fey

A

adj. having a magical or fairy-like quality

The hero meets a fey girl who says nothing and smiles enigmatically.

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40
Q

fiasco

A

n. disaster

The party was a fiasco.

41
Q

fiat

A

n. arbitrary order; authorization

The king issued a fiat banning the use of fireworks in celebrations.

42
Q

fictitious

A

adj. imaginary

The story sounded believable but turned out to be fictitious.

43
Q

fidelity

A

n. loyalty; exact correspondence

Fidelity is a virtue that many people admire.

44
Q

fiefdom

A

n. estate of a feudal lord; something over which a dominant person or group has control

The principal runs the school like his fiefdom.

45
Q

figurative

A

adj. using figures of speech, metaphorical

Poets generally use a lot of figurative language.

46
Q

filial

A

adj. pertaining to a son or daughter

Mr. Smith’s son took his filial duties seriously.

47
Q

filibuster

A

n. use of obstructive tactics in a legislature to block passage of a law

The filibuster prevented the bill from being passed by the lgislature.

48
Q

finesse

A

v. to handle with deceptive or evasive strategy; to use finesse, that is refinement, in performance

The diplomat was able to finesse the problem.

49
Q

fission

A

n. splitting into two parts

The first nuclear fission reaction was produced in 1942.

50
Q

fitful

A

adj. starting and stopping

I had a fitful sleep last night.

51
Q

flaccid

A

adj. lacking firmness; lacking energy

Daily exercise will tone those flaccid muscles.

52
Q

flag

A

v. to grow tired, weak, or less enthusiastic

As the term went on, Sheila’s enthusiasm for the subject flagged.

53
Q

flagrant

A

adj. conspicuously wicked, outrageous, shameless

It was a flagrant violation of the rules.

54
Q

flamboyant

A

adj. flashy, exciting

Ted is a flamboyant dresser.

55
Q

fledgling

A

n. beginner, novice

The fledgling chess player surprised everyone by beating an expert player.

56
Q

fleeting

A

adj. passing quickly; ephemeral

For a flippant attitude always got him into trouble with his teachers.

57
Q

flora

A

n. plants of a region or era

I like the flora of subtropical areas.

58
Q

florid

A

ad. ruddy; reddish; flowery

The editor asked the writer to cut back on her florid prose.

59
Q

flounder

A

v. to waver, falter, struggle

The weak student floundered in the advanced class.

60
Q

flourish

A

v. to grow vigorously; thrive

The plant flourished after it was replanted.

61
Q

flout

A

v. to treat scornfully

Don’t flout school regulations.

62
Q

fluctuate

A

v. to shift up and down; to come and go

The value of the U.S. dollar fluctuates on international money markets.

63
Q

fluent

A

adj. gifted in speaking

The most fluent speaker won the speech competition.

64
Q

flux

A

n. a continuous flowing

Many people picture time as a flux.

65
Q

foible

A

n. minor weakness

John’s foible is his tending to want to take too long to complete tasks.

66
Q

foment

A

v. to incite, arouse

The protesters were accused of fomenting revolution.

67
Q

foolhardy

A

adj. rash; heedless

We told them that the plan was foolhardy, but they went ahead with it anyway.

68
Q

foreboding

A

n. sense of evil to come

The movie builds up an atmosphere of foreboding very effectively.

69
Q

forensic

A

adj. relating to law or debates

Julie is a member of the Charleston Forensic Society.

70
Q

foreshadow

A

v. to suggest beforehand

The novel foreshadows certain events early in the story.

71
Q

foresight

A

n. looking into the future; concern about the future; concern about the future

The student showed foresight in planning her study schedule for the month.

72
Q

forestall

A

v. to prevent, delay

The legislator forestalled opposition to the bill.

73
Q

forlorn

A

adj. dreary; unhappy; despairing

After the ship sank there were only three forlorn survivors in a lifeboat.

74
Q

formidable

A

adj. menacing, threatening

The enemy has assembled a formidable fighting force.

75
Q

formulate

A

v. to conceive; plan

The economists formulated a plan to improve the economy.

76
Q

forswear

A

v. to renounce; repudiate

The country forswears the use of nuclear weapons.

77
Q

forte

A

n. a person’s strong point

Jim’s forte is his willingness to work hard.

78
Q

fortuitous

A

adj. accidental; occurring by chance

The discovery was fortuitous.

79
Q

foster

A

v. to promote the growth of

The rich man established a museum to foster the arts.

80
Q

founder

A

v. to sink; fail, collapse

The ship foundered in the storm.

81
Q

fracas

A

n. loud dispute

There as a fracas outside the house last night.

82
Q

fractious

A

adj. unruly, rebellious

The president tried to control fractious elements in the party.

83
Q

frenetic

A

adj. hectic, frantic

There were frenetic last minute preparations for the president’s arrival.

84
Q

fresco

A

n. a painting done on plaster

Leonardo DaVinci’s The Last Supper is a fresco.

85
Q

Freudian

A

adj. relating to the psychoanalytic theories or practices of Sigmund Freud

The critic takes a Freudian approach to understanding the characters in the novel.

86
Q

frieze

A

n. ornamental band on a wall

The Parthenon frieze represents the procession of the Great Panathenaia, the most important festival of ancient Athens.

87
Q

frivolous

A

ad. lacking in seriousness; relatively unimportant

With only one week left to prepare for the exam, there isn’t time for frivolous discussion.

88
Q

froward

A

ad. stubbornly contrary; obstinately disobedient

Even the most experienced trainer has trouble handling the froward colt.

89
Q

frugal

A

adj. thrifty

Being frugal allowed Bill to save twenty percent of his salary every month.

90
Q

fulminate

A

v. to attack loudly; denounce

The speaker fulminated against the growth of government.

91
Q

fulsome

A

adj. excessive, overdone

The award winner was embarrassed by the fulsome praise she received.

92
Q

fundamental

A

adj. forming a foundation; basic; essential

First, understand the fundamental ideas of the subject.

93
Q

fundamentalist

A

n. a person who believes in a literal interpretation of the Bible or other holy book

The scientist and the fundamentalist debated the origin of the universe.

94
Q

funereal

A

adj. mournful

The mood at the school was funereal after we lost the state championship game.

95
Q

furor

A

n. general commotion, disorder; frenzy

The arrival of the movie star created a furor.

96
Q

furtive

A

adj. sneaky; stealthy

Cheryl keeps stealing furtive glances at Peter.

97
Q

fusion

A

n. merging things into one

The book argues for an approach in which there is a fusion of art, science, and religion.

98
Q

futile

A

adj. ineffective; fruitless

“Resistance is futile” is the rebel’s slogan.

Barron's GRE Verbal Workbook (26 decks)

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