gre 1000-1500 Flashcards
discrete
separate; unconnected (Eg: The universe is composed of discrete bodies. )
discretion
prudence; ability to adjust actions to circumstances (Eg: Use your discretion in this matter and do not discuss it with anyone. )
discrimination
ability to see differences; prejudice (Eg: They feared he lacked sufficient discrimination to judge complex works of modern art. )
discursive
digressing; rambling (Eg: They were annoyed and bored by her discursive remarks. )
disdain
treat with scorn or contempt (Eg: You make enemies of all you disdain. )
disembark
go ashore; unload cargo from a ship (Eg: Before the passengers could disembark, they had to pick up their passports from the ship’s purser. )
disenfranchise
deprive of a civil right (Eg: The imposition if the poll tax effectively disenfranchised poor Southern blacks, who lost their right to vote. )
disengage
uncouple; separate; disconnect (Eg: A standard movie routine involves the hero’s desperate attempt to disengage a railroad car from a moving )
disfigure
mar the appearance of; spoil (Eg: An ugly frown disfigured his normally pleasant face. )
disgorge
surrender something; efect; vomit (Eg: Unwilling to disgorge the cash he had stolen from the pension fund, the embezzler tried to run away. )
disgruntle
make discontented (Eg: The passengers were disgruntled by the numerous delays. )
dishearten
discourage (Eg: His failure to pass the bar exam disheartened him. )
disheveled
untidy (Eg: Your disheveled appearance will hurt your chances in this interview. )
disinclination
unwilingness (Eg: Some mornings I feel a great disinclination to get out of bed. )
disingenuous
not naive; sophisticated (Eg: )
disinter
dig up; unearth (Eg: They disinterred the body and held an autopsy. )
disinterested
unprejudiced (Eg: The only disinterested person in the room was the judge. )
disjointed
disconnected (Eg: His remarks were so disjointed that we could not follow his reasoning. )
dislodge
remove (forcible) (Eg: Thrusting her fist up under the choking man’s lower ribs, Margaret used the Heimlich maneuver to )
dismantle
take apart (Eg: When the show closed, they dismantled the scenery before restoring it. )
dismember
cut into small parts (Eg: When the Austrian Empire was dismembered, several new countries were established. )
dismiss
eliminate from consideration; reject (Eg: Believing in John’s love for her, she dismissed the notion that he might be unfaithful. )
disparage
belittle (Eg: Do not disparage anyone’s contribution; these little gifts add up to large sums. )
disparate
basically different; unrelated (Eg: It is difficult, if not impossible, to organize these disparate elements into a coherent whole. )
disparity
difference; condition of inequality (Eg: The disparity in their ages made no difference at all. )
dispassionate
calm; impartial (Eg: In a dispassionate analysis of the problem, he carefully examined the causes of the conflict and proceeded )
dispatch
speediness; prompt execution; message sent with all due speed (Eg: Young Napoleon defeated the enemy with all possible dispatch; he then sent a dispatch to headquarters, )
dispel
scatter; drive away; cause to vanish (Eg: The bright sunlight eventually dispelled the morning mist. )
disperse
scatter (Eg: The police fired tear gas into crowd to disperse the protesters. )
dispirited
lacking in spirit (Eg: The coach used all the tricks at his command to buoy up the enthusiasm of his team, which I had become )
disport
amuse (Eg: The popularity of Florida as a winter resort is constantly increasing; each year, thousands more disport )
disputatious
argumentative; fond of argument (Eg: People avoided discussing contemporary problems with him because of his disputatious manner. )
disquisition
a formal systematic inquiry; an explanation of the results of a formal inquiry (Eg: In his disquisition, he outlined the steps he had taken in reaching his conclusions. )
dissection
analysis; cutting apart in order to examine (Eg: The dissection of frogs on the laboratory is particularly unpleasant to some students. )
dissemble
disguise; pretend (Eg: Even though John tried to dissemble his motive for taking modern dance, we all knew there not to dance )
disseminate
scatter (like seeds) (Eg: The invention of the radio helped propagandists to disseminate their favorite doctrines very easily. )
dissent
disagree (Eg: In a landmark Supreme Court decision, Justice Marshall dissented from the majority opinion. )
dissertation
formal essay (Eg: In order to earn a graduate degree from many of our universities, a candidate is frequently required to )
dissident
dissenting; rebellious (Eg: In the purge that followed the student demonstrations at Tianamen Square, the government hunted down )
dissimulate
pretend; conceal by feigning (Eg: She tried to dissimulate her grief by her exuberant attitude. )
dissipate
squander (Eg: The young man quickly dissipated his inheritance and was soon broke. )
dissolution
disintegration; looseness in morals (Eg: The profligacy and dissolution of life in Caligula’s Rome appall some historians. )
dissonance
discord (Eg: Some contemporary musicians deliberately use dissonance to achieve certain effects. )
dissuade
advise against (Eg: He could not dissuade his friend from joining the conspirators. )
distant
reserved or aloof; cold in manner (Eg: )
distend
expand;swell out (Eg: I can tell when he is under stress by the way the veins distend on his forehead. )
distill
purify; refine; concentrate (Eg: A moonshiner distills mash into whiskey; an epigrammatist distills thoughts into quips. )
distortion
twisting out of shape (Eg: It is difficult to believe the newspaper accounts of this event because of the distortions and exaggerations )
distrait
absentminded (Eg: Because of his concentration on the problem, the professor often appeared distrait and unconcerned about )
distraught
upset; distracted by anxiety (Eg: The distraught parents frantically searched the ravine for their lost child. )
diurnal
daily (Eg: A farmer cannot neglect his diurnal tasks at any time; cows, for example, must be milked regularly. )
diva
operatic singer; prima donna (Eg: Although world famous as a diva, she did not indulge in fits of temerament. )
diverge
vary; go in different directionsfrom the same point (Eg: The spokes of the wheel diverge from the hub. )
divergent
differing; deviating (Eg: The two witnesses presented the jury with remarkably divergent accounts of the same epipode. )
diverse
differing in some characteristics; various (Eg: There are diverse ways of approaching this problem. )
diversion
act of turning aside; pastime (Eg: After studying for several hours, he needed a diversion from work. )
diversity
variety; dissimilitude (Eg: The diversity of colleges in this country indicates that many levels of ability are being served. )
divest
strip; deprive (Eg: He was divested of his power to act and could no longer govern. )
divine
perceive intuitively; foresee the future (Eg: Nothing infuriated Tom more than Aunt Polly’s ability to divine when he was not telling the truth. )
divulge
reveal (Eg: I will not tell you this news because I am sure you will divulge it prematurely. )
docile
obedient; easily managed (Eg: As docile as he seems today, that old lion was once a ferocious, snarling beast. )
docket
program asfor trial; book where such entries are made (Eg: The case of Smith v. Jones was entered in the docket for July 15. )
doctrinaire
unable to compromise about points of doctrine; dogmatic; unyielding (Eg: Weng had hoped that the student-led democracy movement might bring about change in China, but the )
document
provide written evidence (Eg: She kept all the receipts from her business trip in order to document her expenses for the firm. )
doddering
shaky; infirm from old age (Eg: Although he is not as yet a doddering and senile old man, his ideas and opinions no longer can merit the )
doff
take off (Eg: A gentleman used to doff his hat to a lady. )
dogged
determined;stubborn (Eg: Les Miserables tells of Inspector Javert’s long, dogged pursuit of the criminal Jean Valjean. )
doggerel
poorverse (Eg: Although we find occasional snatches of genuine poetry in her work, most of her writing is mere doggerel. )
dogmatic
positive; arbitrary (Eg: Do not be so dogmatic about that statement; it can be easily refuted. )
doldrums
blues; listlessness; slack period (Eg: Once the excitement of meeting her deadline was over, she found herself in the doldrums. )
dolorous
sorrowfrl (Eg: He found the dolorous lamentations of the bereaved family emotionally disturbing and he left as quickly as )
dolt
stupid person (Eg: I thought I was talking to a mature audience; instead, I find myself addressing a pack of dolts. )
domicile
home (Eg: Althoughhis legal domicile was in New York City, his work kept him away from his residence for many )
domineer
rule over tyrannically (Eg: Students prefer teachers who guide, not ones who domineer. )
don
put on (Eg: When Clark Kent had to don his Superman outfit, he changed clothes in a convenient phone booth. )
dormant
sleeping; lethargic; torpid (Eg: Sometimes dormant talents in our friends surprise those of us who never realize how gifted our )
dormer
window projecting from roof (Eg: In remodeling the attic into a bedroom, we decided that we needed to put in dormers to provide sufficient )
dorsal
relating to the back of an animal (Eg: A shark may be identified by its dorsal fin, which projects above the surface of the ocean. )
dossier
file of documents on a subject (Eg: Ordered by J. Edgar Hoover to investigate the senator, the FBI compiled a complete dossier. )
dotage
senility (Eg: In his dotage, the old man bored us with long tales of events in his childhood. )
dote
be excessively fond of; show signs of mental decline (Eg: Not only grandmothers bore you with stories about their brilliant grandchildren; grandfathers dote on the )
dour
sullen; stubborn (Eg: The man was dour abd taciturn. )
douse
plunge into water; drench; extinguish (Eg: They doused each other with hoses and balloons. )
dowdy
slovenly; untidy (Eg: She tried to change her dowdy image by buying a fashionable new wardrobe. )
downcast
disheartened; sad (Eg: Cheerful and optimistic by nature, Beth was never downcast despite the difficulties she faced. )
drab
dull; lacking color; cheerless (Eg: The Dutch woman’s drab winter coat contrasted with the distinctive, colorful native costume she wore )
dregs
sediment; worthless residue (Eg: David poured the wine carefully to avoid stirring up the dregs. )
droll
queer and amusing (Eg: He was a popular guest because his droll anecdotes were always entertaining. )
drone
idle person; male bee (Eg: Content to let his wife support him, the would-be writer was in reality nothing but a drone. )
drone
talk dully; buzz or murmur like a bee (Eg: On a gorgeous day, who wants to be stuck in a classroom listening to the teacher drone? )
dross
waste matter; worhtless impurities (Eg: Many methods have been devised to separate the valuable metal from the dross. )
drudgery
menial work (Eg: Cinderella’s fairy godmother rescued her from a life of drudgery. )
dubious
doubtful (Eg: He has the dubious distinction of being the lowest man in his class. )
ductility
malleability; flexibility; ability to be drawn out (Eg: Copper wire has many industrial uses because of its extreme ductility. )
dulcet
sweet sounding (Eg: The dulcet sounds of the birds at dawn were soon drowned out by the roar of traffic passing our motel. )
dupe
someone easily fooled (Eg: While the gullible Watson often was made a dupe by unscrupulous parties, Sherlock Holmes was far more )
deplicity
double-dealing; hypocrisy (Eg: People were shocked and dismayed when they learned of his duplicity in this affair, as he had always )
duress
forcible restraint, especially unlawfully (Eg: The hostages were held under duress until the prisoners’ demands were met. )
dutiful
respectful; obedient (Eg: The dutiful child grew up to be a conscientious adult aware of his civic obligations. )
dwindle
shrink; reduce (Eg: They spent so much money that their funds dwindled to nothing. )
dynamic
active; efficient (Eg: A dynamic government is necessary to meet the demands of a changing society. )
dyspeptic
suffering from indigestion (Eg: All the talk about rich food made him feel dyspeptic. )
earthy
unrefined; coarse (Eg: His earthy remarks often embarrassed the women in the audience. )
ebb
recede; lessen (Eg: His fortunes began to ebb during the recession. )
ebullient
showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm (Eg: )
eccentric
odd; whimsical; irregular (Eg: The comet passed close by the earth in its eccentric orbit. )
eccentricity
oddity; idiosyncrasy (Eg: Some of his friends tried to account for his rudeness to strangers as the eccentricity of genius. )
ecclesiastic
pertaining to the church (Eg: The minister donned his ecclesiastic garb and walked to the pulpit. )
eclectic
selective; composed of elements drawn from disparate sources (Eg: His style of interior decoration was eclectic: bits and pieces of furnishings from widely divergent periods, )
eclipse
darken; extinguish; surpass (Eg: The new stock market high eclipsed the previous record set in 1985. )
ecologist
person concerned with the interrelationship between living organisms and their environment (Eg: The ecologist was concerned that the new dam would upset the natural balance of the creatures living in )
economy
efficiency or conciseness in using something (Eg: Reading the epigrams of Pope, I admire the economy of his verse: in few words he conveys worlds of )
ecstasy
rapture, joy; any overpowering emotion (Eg: The announcement that the war had ended brought on an ecstasy that resulted in many uncontrolled )
eddy
swirling current of water, air, etc. (Eg: The water in the tide pool was still, except for an occasional eddy. )
edify
instruct; correct morally (Eg: Although his purpose was to edify and not to entertain his audience, many of his listeners were amused )
eerie
weird (Eg: In that eerie setting, it was easy to believe in ghosts and other supernatural beings. )
efface
rub out (Eg: The coin had been handled so many times that its data had been effaced. )
effectual
efficient (Eg: If we are to succeed, we must seek effectual means of securing our goals. )
effeminate
having womanly traits (Eg: His voice was high-pitched and effeminate. )
effervescence
inner excitement; exuberance (Eg: Nothing depressed her for long; her natural effervescence soon reasserted itself. )
effete
worn out; exhausted; barren (Eg: The literature of the age reflected the effete condition of the writers; no new ideas were forthcoming. )
efficacy
power to produce desired effect (Eg: The efficacy of this drug depends on the regularity of the dosage. )
effigy
dummy (Eg: The mob showed its irritation by hanging the judge in effigy. )
effluvium
noxious smell (Eg: Air pollution has become a serious problem in our major cities; the effluvium and the poisons in the air are )
effrontery
shameless boldness (Eg: She had the effrontery to insult the guest. )
effusion
pouring forth (Eg: The critics objected to her literary effusion because it was too flowery. )
effusive
pouring forth; gushing (Eg: Her effusive manner of greeting her friends finally began to irritate them. )
egoism
excessive interest in one’s self; belief that one should be interested in one’s self rather than in (Eg: others )
egotism
conceit; vanity (Eg: She thought so much of herself that we found her egotism unwarranted and irritating. )
egregious
notorious; conspicuously bad; shocking (Eg: She was an egregious liar; we all knew better than to believe a word she said. )
egress
exit (Eg: Barnum’s sign “To the Egress” fooled many people who thought they were going to see an animal and )
ejaculation
exclamation (Eg: He could not repress an ejaculation of surprise when he heard the news. )
elaboration
addition of details; intricacy (Eg: Tell what happened simply, without any elaboration. )
elated
overjoyed; in high spirits (Eg: Grinning from ear to ear, Bonnie Blair was clearly elated by her Olympic victory. )
elegy
poem or song expressing lamentation (Eg: )
elicit
draw out by discussion (Eg: The detectives tried to elicit where he had hidden his loot. )
elixir
cure-all; something invigorating (Eg: The news of her chance to go abroad acted on her like an elixir. )
ellipsis
omission of words from a text (Eg: Sometimes an ellipsis can lead to a dangling modifier, as in the sentence “Once dressed, you should )
elliptical
oval; ambiguous, either purposely or because key words have been left out (Eg: An elliptical billiad ball wobbles because it is not perfectly round; an elliptical remark baffles because it is )
eloquence
expressiveness; persuasive speech (Eg: The crowds were stirred by Martin Luther King’s eloquence. )
elucidate
explain; enlighten (Eg: He was called upon to elucidate the disputed points in his article. )
elusive
evasive; baffling; hard to grasp (Eg: His elusive dreams of wealth were costly to those of his friends who supported him financially. )
elysian
relating to paradise; blissful (Eg: An afternoon sail on the bay was for her an elysian journey. )
emaciated
thin and wasted (Eg: His long period of starvation had left him emaciated. )
emanate
issue forth (Eg: A strong odor of sulfur emanated from the spring. )
emancipate
set free (Eg: At first, the attempts of the Abolitioninst to emancipate the slaves were unpopular in New England as well )
embargo
ban on commerce or other activity (Eg: As a result of the embargo, trade with colonies was at a standstill. )
embark
commence; go on board a boat; begin a journey (Eg: In devoting herself to the study of gorillas, Dian Fossey embarked on a course of action that was to cost )
embed
enclose; place in something (Eg: Tales of actual historical figures like King Alfred have become embedded in legends. )
embellish
adorn (Eg: )
embezzlement
stealing (Eg: The bank teller confessed his embezzlement of the funds. )
embroil
throw into confusion (Eg: He became embroiled in the heated discussion when he tried to arbitrate the dispute. )
embryonic
undeveloped; rudimentary (Eg: The evil of class and race hatred must be eliminated while it is still in an embryonic state; otherwise, it may )
emend
correct, usually a text (Eg: The critic emended the book by retranslating several passages. )
emendation
correction of errors; improvement (Eg: Please initial all the emendations you have made in this contract. )
emetic
substance causing vomiting (Eg: The use of an emetic like mustard is useful in cases of poisoning. )
eminent
high; lofty (Eg: After his appointment to this emiment position, he seldom had time for his former friends. )
emissary
agent; messenger (Eg: The secretary of State was sent as the President’s special emissary to the conference on disarmament. )
emollient
soothing or softening remedy (Eg: He applied an emollient to the inflamed area. )
emolument
salary; compensation (Eg: In addition to the emolument this position offers, you must consider the social prestige it carries with it. )
empathy
ability to identify with another’s feelings, ideas, etc (Eg: What made Ann such a fine counselor was her empathy, her ability to put herself in her client’s place and )
empirical
based on experience (Eg: He distrusted hunches and intuitive flashes; he placed his reliance entirely on empirical data. )
emulate
rival; imitate (Eg: As long as our political leaders emulate the virtues of the great leaders of this country, we shall flourish. )
enamored
in love (Eg: Narcissus became enamored of his own beauty. )
enclave
territory enclosed within an alien land (Eg: The Vatican is an independent enclave in Italy. )
encomiastic
praising; eulogistic (Eg: Some critics believe that his encomiastic statements about Napoleon were inspired by his desire for )
encomium
high praise; eulogy (Eg: Uneasy with the encomiums expressed by his supporters, Tolkien felt unworthy of such high praise. )
encompass
surround (Eg: Although we were encompassed by enemy forces, we were cheerful for we were well stocked and could )
encroachment
gradual intrusion (Eg: The encroachment of the factories upon the neighborhood lowered the value of the real estate. )
encumber
burden (Eg: Some people encumber themselves with too much luggage, when they take short trips. )
endearment
fond word or act (Eg: Your gifts and endearments cannot make me forget your earlier insolence. )
endemic
prevailinig among a specific group of people or in a specific are or country (Eg: This disease is endemic in this part of the world; more than 80 percent of the population are at one time or )
endorse
approve; support (Eg: Everyone waited to see which one of the rival candidates for the city council the mayor would endorse. )
endue
provide with some quality; endow (Eg: He was endued with a lion’s courage. )
enduring
lasting; surviving (Eg: Keats believed in the enduring power of great art, which outlast its creator’s brief lives. )
energize
invigorate; make forceful and active (Eg: Rather than exhausting Maggie, dancing energized her. )
enervate
weaken (Eg: She was slow to recover from her illness; even a short walk to the window evervated her. )
enfranchise
admit to the rights of citizenship (especially the right to vote) (Eg: Although blacks were enfranchised shortly after the Civil War, women did not receive the right to vote )
engage
attract; hire; pledge oneself; confront (Eg: “Your case has engaged my interest, my lord,” said Holmes, “You many engage my services.” )
engender
cause; produce (Eg: To receive praise for real accomplishments engenders self-confidence in a child. )
engross
occupy fully (Eg: John was so engrossed in his studies that he did not hear his mother call. )
enhance
advance; improve (Eg: Your chances for promotion in this department will be enhanced if you take some more courses in evening )
enigma
puzzle (Eg: Depite all attempts to decipher the code, it remained an enigma. )
enigmatic
obscure; puzzling (Eg: Many have sought to fathom the enigmatic smile of the Mona Lisa. )
enjoin
command; order; forbid (Eg: The owners of the company asked the court to enjoin the union from picketing the plant. )
enmity
ill will; hatred (Eg: At Camp David President Carter labored to bring an end to the enmity that prevented Egypt and Israel )
ennui
boredom (Eg: The monotonous routine of hopital life induced a feeling of ennui which made him moody and irritable. )
enormity
hugeness (in a bad sense) (Eg: He did not realize the enormity of his crime until he saw what suffering he had caused. )
enrapture
please intensely (Eg: The audience was enraptured by the freshness of the voices and the excellent orchestration. )
ensconce
settle comfortably (Eg: The parents thought that their children were ensconced safely in the private school and decided to leave )
ensue
follow (Eg: The evils that ensued were the direct result of the miscalculations of the leaders. )
enthrall
capture; enslave (Eg: From the moment he saw her picture, he was enthralled by her beauty. )
entice
lure; attract; tempt (Eg: She always tried to entice her baby brother into mischief. )
entity
real being (Eg: As soon as the charter was adopted, the United Nations became an entity and had to be considered as a )
entomology
study of insects (Eg: I found entomology the least interesting part of my course in biology; studying insects bored me. )
entrance
put under a spell; carry away with emotion (Eg: Shafts of sunlight on a wall could entrance her and leave her spellbound. )
entreat
plead; ask earnestly (Eg: She entreated her father to let her stay out till midnight. )
entree
entrance; a way in (Eg: Because of his wealth and social position, he had entree into the most exclusive circles. )
entrepreneur
businessperson; contractor (Eg: Opponents of our present tax program argue that it discourages entrepreneurs from trying new fields of )
enumerate
list; mention one by one (Eg: Huck hung his head in shame as Miss Watson enumerated his many flaws. )