gre 2000-2500 Flashcards
lagoon
shallow body of water near a sea; lake (Eg: They enjoyed their swim in the calm lagoon. )
laity
laypersons; persons not connected with the clergy (Eg: The laity does not always understand the clergy’s problems. )
lambaste
beat; thrash verbally or physically (Eg: It was painful to watch the champion lambaste his opponent, tearing into him mercilessly. )
lament
grieve; express sorrow (Eg: Even advocates of the war lamented the loss of so many lives in combat. )
lampoon
ridicule (Eg: This article lampoons the pretensions of some movie moguls. )
languid
weary; sluggish; listless (Eg: Her siege of illness left her languid and pallid. )
languish
lose animation; lose strength (Eg: In stories, lovelorn damsels used to languish and pine away. )
languor
lassitude; depression (Eg: His friends tried to overcome the languor into which he had fallen by taking him to parties and to the )
lank
long and thin (Eg: lank, gaunt, Abraham Lincoln was a striking figure. )
larceny
theft (Eg: Because of the prisoner’s record, the district attorney refused to reduce the charge from grand larceny to )
larder
pantry; place where food is kept (Eg: The first thing Bill did on returning home from school was to check what snacks his mother had in the )
largess
generous gift (Eg: Lady Bountiful distributed largess to the poor. )
lascivious
lustful (Eg: Because they might arouse lascivious impulses in their readers, the lewd books were banned by the clergy. )
lassitude
languor; weariness (Eg: The hot, tropical weather created a feeling of lassitude and encouraged drowsiness. )
latent
dormant; hidden (Eg: Her latent talent was discovered by accident. )
lateral
coming from the side (Eg: In order to get good plant growth, the gardener must pinch off all lateral shoots. )
latitude
freedom from narrow limitations (Eg: I think you have permitted your son too much latitude in this matter. )
laudable
praiseworthy; commendable (Eg: His laudable deeds will be remarked by all whom he aided. )
laudatory
expressing praise (Eg: The critics’ laudatory comments helped to make her a star. )
lavish
liberal; wasteful (Eg: The actor’s lavish gifts pleased her. )
lax
careless (Eg: We dislike restaurants where the service is lax and inattentive. )
leaven
cause to rise or grow lighter; enliven (Eg: As bread dough is leavened, it puffs up, expanding in volume. )
lechery
gross lewdness; lustfulness (Eg: In his youth he led a life of lechery and debauchery; he did not mend his ways until middle age. )
lectern
reading desk (Eg: The chaplain delivered his sermon from a hastily improvised lectern. )
leery
suspicious; cautious (Eg: Don’t eat sushi at this restaurant; I’m a bit leery about how fresh it is. )
leeway
room to move; margin (Eg: When you set a deadline, allow a little leeway. )
legacy
a gift made by a will (Eg: Part of my legacy from my parents is an album of family photographs. )
legend
explanatory list of symbols on a map (Eg: The legend at the bottom of the map made it clear which symbols stood for rest areas along the highway )
legerdemain
sleight of hand (Eg: The magician demonstrated his renowned legerdemain. )
leniency
mildness; permissiveness (Eg: Considering the gravity of the offense, we were surprised by the leniency of the sentence. )
leonine
like a lion (Eg: He was leonine in his rage. )
lethal
deadly (Eg: It is unwise to leave lethal weapons where children may find them. )
lethargic
drowsy; dull (Eg: The stuffy room made her lethargic; she felt as if she was about to nod off. )
levee
earthen or stone embankment to prevent flooding (Eg: As the river rose and threatened to overflow the levee, emergency workers rushed to reinforce the walls )
levitate
float in the air (especially by magical means) (Eg: As the magician passed his hands over the recumbent body of his assistant, she appeared to rise and )
levity
lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity (Eg: Stop giggling abd wriggling around in the pew; such levity is improper in church. )
levy
impose (a fine); collect (a payment) (Eg: Crying “No taxation withouth representation,” the colonists demonstrated against England’s power to levy )
lewd
lustful (Eg: They found his lewd stories objectionable. )
lexicographer
compiler of a dictionary (Eg: The new dictionary is the work of many lexicographers who spent years compiling and editing the work. )
lexicon
dictionary (Eg: I cannot find this word in any lexicon in the library. )
liability
drawback; debts (Eg: Her lack of an extensive vocabulary was a liability that she was able to overcome. )
liaison
officer who acts as go-between for two armies; intermediary (Eg: As the liason, he had to avoid offending the leaders of the two armies. )
libelous
defamatory; injurious to the good name of a person (Eg: He sued the newspaper because of its libelous story. )
libertine
debauched person, roue (Eg: )
libidinous
lustful (Eg: They objected to his libidinous behavior. )
libido
emotional urges behind human activity (Eg: The psychiatrist maintained that suppression of the libido often resulted in maladjustment and neuroses. )
libretto
text of an opera (Eg: The composer of an opera’s music is remembered more frequently than the author of its libretto. )
licentious
wanton; lewd; dissolute (Eg: The licentious monarch helped bring about his country’s downfall. )
lien
legal claim on a property (Eg: There was a delay before Ralph could take possession of his late uncle’s home; apparently, another )
ligneous
like wood (Eg: Petrified wood may be ligneous in appearance, but it is stonelike in composition. )
lilliputian
extremely small (Eg: Tiny and delicate, the model was built on a lilliputian scale. )
limber
flexible (Eg: Hours of ballet classes kept him limber. )
limbo
region near heaven or hell where certain souls are kept (Eg: Among the divisions of Hell are Purgatory and limbo. )
limn
draw; outline; describe (Eg: Parodoxically, the more realistic the details this artist chooses, the better able to limn her fantastic, other- )
limpid
clear (Eg: A limpid stream ran through his property. )
lineage
descent; ancestry (Eg: He traced his lineage back to Mayflower days. )
lineaments
features, especially of the face (Eg: She quickly sketched the lineaments of his face. )
linguistic
pertaining to language (Eg: The modern tourist will encounter very little linguistic difficulty as English has become an almost universal )
lionize
treat as a celebrity (Eg: )
liquidate
settle accounts; clear up (Eg: He was able to liquidate all his debts in short period of time. )
list
tilt; lean over (Eg: That flagpole should be absolutely vertical; instead, it lists to one side. )
listless
lacking in spirit or energy (Eg: We had expected him to be full of enthusiasm and were surprised by his listless attitude. )
litany
supplicatory prayer (Eg: On this solemn day, the congregation responded to the prayers of the priest during the litany with fervor )
lithe
flexible; supple (Eg: Her figure was lithe and willowy. )
litigation
lawsuit (Eg: Try to settle this amicably; I do not want to start litigation. )
litotes
understatement for emphasis (Eg: To say, “He little realizes,” when we mean that he does not realize at all, is an example of the kind of )
livid
lead-coloredl; black and blue; ashen; enraged (Eg: His face was so livid with rage that we were afraid that he might have an attack of apoplexy. )
loath
averse; reluctant (Eg: They were both loath for him to go. )
loathe
detest (Eg: We loathed the wicked villain. )
lode
metal-bearing vein (Eg: If this lode that we have discovered extends for any distance, we have found a fortune. )
lofty
very high (Eg: They used to tease him about his lofty ambitions. )
loiter
hang around; linger (Eg: The policeman told him not to loiter in the alley. )
loll
lounge about (Eg: They lolled around in their chairs watching television. )
longevity
long life (Eg: When he reached ninety, the old man was proud of his longevity. )
lope
gallop slowly (Eg: As the horses loped along, we had an opportunity to admire the ever-changing scenery. )
loquacious
talkative (Eg: She is very loquacious and can speak on the telephone for hours. )
lout
clumsy person (Eg: The delivery boy is an awkward lout. )
low
moo (Eg: From the hilltop, they could see the herd like ants in the distance; they could barely hear the cattle low. )
lucid
easily understood; clear; intelligible (Eg: Her explanation was lucid enought for a child to grasp. )
lucrative
profitable (Eg: He turned his hobby into a lucrative profession. )
lucre
money (Eg: Preferring lucre to undying fame, he wrote stories of popular appeal. )
ludicrous
laughable; trifling (Eg: Let us be serious; this is not a ludicrous issue. )
lugubrious
mournful (Eg: The lugabrious howling of the dogs added to our sadness. )
lull
moment of calm (Eg: Not wanting to get wet, they waited under the awning for a lull in the rain. )
lumber
move heavily of clumsily (Eg: Still somewhat torpid after its long hibernation, the bear lumbered through the woods. )
lumen
unit of light energy (one candle’s worth) (Eg: In buying light bulbs, she checked not only their power, as measured in watts, but their brightness, as )
luminary
celebrity; dignitary (Eg: A leading light of the American stage, Ethel Barrymore was a theatrical luminary whose name lives on. )
luminous
shining; issuing light (Eg: The sun is a luminous body. )
lunar
pertaining to the moon (Eg: lunar craters can be plainly seen with the aid of a small telescope. )
lurid
wild; sensational (Eg: The lurid stories he told shocked his listeners. )
lurk
stealthily lie in waiting; slink; exist unperceived (Eg: “Who knows what evils lurk in the hearts of men? The shadow knows.” )
luscious
pleasing to taste or smell (Eg: The ripe peach was luscious. )
luster
shine; gloss (Eg: The soft luster of the silk in the dim light was pleasing. )
lustrous
shining (Eg: Her large and lustrous eyes gave a touch of beauty to an otherwise drab face. )
luxuriant
fertile; abundant; ornate (Eg: Farming was easy in this luxuriant soil. )
laxative
facilitating evacuation of the bowels (Eg: The effect of the constipation medicine is laxative; it empties the bowels. )
macabre
gruesome; grisly (Eg: The city morgue is a macabre spot for the uninitiated. )
mace
ceremonial staff; clublike medieval weapon (Eg: The Grand Marshal of the parade raised his mace to signal that it was time for the procession to begin. )
macerate
soften by soaking in liquid; waste away (Eg: The strawberries had been soaking in the champagn for so long that they had begun to macerate: they )
machiavellian
crafty; double-dealing (Eg: I do not think he will be a good embassador because he is not accustomed to the machiavellian )
machinations
schemes (Eg: I can see through your wily machinations. )
maculated
spotted; stained (Eg: Instead of writing that Gorbachev had a birthmark on his forehead, the pompous young poet sang of the )
madrigal
pastoral song (Eg: His program of folk songs included several madrigals which he sang to the accompaniment of a lute. )
maelstrom
whirlpool (Eg: The canoe was tossed about in the maelstrom. )
magisterial
authoritative; imperious (Eg: The learned doctor laid down the law to his patient in a magisterial tone of voice. )
magnanimity
generosity (Eg: Noted for his magnanimity, philanthropist Eugene Lang donated millions to charity. )
magnate
person of prominence or influence (Eg: The steel magnate decided to devote more time to city politics. )
magniloquent
boastful, pompous (Eg: In their stories of the trial, the reporters ridiculed the magniloquent speeches of the defense attorney. )
magnitude
greatness; extent (Eg: It is difficult to comprehend the magnitude of his crime. )
maim
mutilate; injure (Eg: The hospital could not take care of all who had been mangled or maimed in the railroad accident. )
maladroit
clumsy; bungling (Eg: In his usual maladroit way, he managed to upset the cart and spill the food. )
malaise
uneasiness; distress (Eg: She felt a sudden vague malaise when she heard sounds at the door. )
malapropism
comic misuse of a word (Eg: When Mrs. Malaprop criticizes Lydia for being “as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile,” she )
malcontent
person dissatisfied with existing state of affairs (Eg: He was one of the few malcontents in the Congress; he constantly voiced his objections to the Presidential )
malediction
curse (Eg: The witch uttered maledictions against her captors. )
malefactor
criminal (Eg: We must try to bring these malefactors to justice. )
malevolent
wishing evil (Eg: We must thwart his malevolent schemes. )
malfeasance
wrongdoing (Eg: The authorities did not discover the campaign manager’s malfeasance until after he had spent most of the )
malicious
dictated by hatred or spite (Eg: The malicious neighbor spread the gossip. )
malign
speak evil of; defame (Eg: Because of her hatred of the family, she maligns all who are friendly to them. )
malignant
having an evil influence; virulent (Eg: This is a malignant disease; we must have to use drastic measures to stop its spread. )
malingerer
one who feigns illness to escape duty (Eg: The captain ordered the sergeant to punish all malingerers and force them to work. )
malleable
capable of being shaped by pounding (Eg: Gold is a malleable metal. )
malodorous
foul-smelling (Eg: The component heap was most malodorous in summer. )
mammal
vertebrate animal whose female suckles its young (Eg: Many people regard the whale as a fish and do not realize that it is a mammal. )
mammoth
gigantic (Eg: The mammoth corporations of the twentieth century are a mixed blessing )
manacle
restrain; handcuff (Eg: The police immediately manacled the prisoner so he could not escape. )
mandate
order; charge (Eg: In his inaugural address, the President stated that he had a mandate from the people to seek an end to )
mandatory
obligatory (Eg: These instructions are mandatory; any violation will be severely punished. )
mangy
shabby; wretched (Eg: We finally thew out the mangy rug that the dog had destroyed. )
maniacal
raving mad (Eg: His maniacal laughter frightened us. )
manifest
understandable; clear (Eg: His evil intentions were manifest and yet we could not stop him. )
manifestation
outward demonstration; indication (Eg: Mozart’s early attraction to the harsichord was the first manifestation of his pronounced musical bent. )
manifesto
declaration; statement of policy (Eg: The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels proclaimed the principles of modern communism. )
manifold
numerous; varied (Eg: I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate your manifold kindnesses. )
manipulate
operate with the hands; control or change by artful means (Eg: How do you manipulate these puppets? )
mannered
affected; not natural (Eg: Attempting to copy the style of his wealthy neighbors, Gatsby adopted a mannered, artificial way of )
manumit
emancipate; free from bondage (Eg: Enlightened slave owners were willing to manumit their slaves and thus put an end to the evil slavery in the )
marital
pertaining to marriage (Eg: After the publication of his book on marital affairs, he was often consulted by married people on the verge )
maritime
bordering on the sea; nautical (Eg: The maritime Provinces depend on the sea for their wealth. )
marked
noticeable; targeted for vengeance (Eg: He walked with a marked limp, a souvenir of an old IRA attack. As British ambassador, he knew he was a )
marred
damaged; disfigured (Eg: She had to refinish the marred surface of the table. )
marshal
put in order (Eg: At a debate tournament, extemporaneous speakers have only a minute or two to marshal their thoughts )
marsupial
one of a family of mammals that nurse their offspring in a pouch (Eg: The most common marsupial in North America is the opposum. )
martial
warlike (Eg: The sound of marital music was always inspiring to the young poet. )
martinet
strict disciplinarian (Eg: The commanding officer was a martinet who observed each regulation to the ltter. )
masochist
person who enjoys his own pain (Eg: The masochist begs, “Hit me.” The sadist smiles and says, “I won’t.” )
masticate
chew (Eg: We must masticate our food carefully and slowly in order to avoid digestive disorders. )
materialism
preoccupation with physical comforts and things (Eg: By its nature, materialism is opposed to idealism, for where the materialist emphasizes the needs of the )
maternal
motherly (Eg: )
matriarch
woman who rules a family or larger social group (Eg: The matriarch ruled her gypsy tribe with a firm hand. )
martrix
point of origin; array of numbers or algebraic symbols; mold or die (Eg: Some historians claim the Nile Valley was the matrix of the Western civilization. )
maudlin
effusively sentimental (Eg: I do not like such maudlin pictures. I call them tearjerkers. )
maul
handle roughly (Eg: The rock star was mauled by his overexcited fans. )
mausoleum
monumental tomb (Eg: His body was placed in the family mausolem. )
mauve
pale purple (Eg: The mauve tint in the lilac bush was another indication that spring had finally arrived. )
maverick
rebel; nonconformist (Eg: To the masculine literary establishment, George Sand with her insistence on wearing trousers and smoking )
mawkish
sickening; insipid (Eg: Your mawkish sighs fill me with disgust. )
maxim
proverb; a truth pithily stated (Eg: Aesop’s fables illustrate moral maxims. )
mayhem
injury to the body (Eg: The riot was marked not only by mayhem, with its attendant loss of life and limb, but also by arson and )
meager
scanty; inadequate (Eg: His salary was far too meager for him to afford to buy a new car. )
mealymouthed
indirect speech; hypocritical; evasive (Eg: Rather than tell Jill directly what he disliked, Jack made a few mealymouthed comments and tried to change )
meander
to wind or turn in its course (Eg: It is difficult to sail up this stream because of the way it meanders through the countryside. )
meddlesome
interfering (Eg: He felt his marriage was suffering because of his meddlesome mother-in-law. )
mediate
settle a dispute through the services of an outsider (Eg: Let us mediate out differences rather than engage in a costly strike. )
mediocre
ordinary; commonplace (Eg: We were disappointed because he gave a rather mediocre performance in this role. )
meditation
reflection; thought (Eg: She reached her decision only after much meditation. )
medley
mixture (Eg: The band played a medley of Gershwin tunes. )
meek
submissive; patient and long-suffering (Eg: Mr. Barrett never expected his meek daughter would dare to defy him by eloping with her suitor. )
megalomania
mania for doing grandiose things (Eg: Developers who spend millions trying to build the world’s tallest skyscraper suffer from megalomania. )
melee
fight (Eg: The captain tried to ascertain the cause of the melee that had broken out among the crew members. )
mellifluous
flowing smoothly; smooth (Eg: Italian is a mellifluous language. )
memento
token; reminder (Eg: Take this book as a memento of your visit. )
memorialize
commemorate (Eg: Let us memorialize his great contribution by dedicating this library in his honor. )
mendacious
lying; false (Eg: He was pathological liar, and his friends learned to discount his mendacious stories. )
mendicant
beggar (Eg: From the moment we left the ship, we were surrounded by mendicants and peddlers. )
menial
suitable for sevants; low (Eg: I cannot understand why a person of your ability and talent should engage in such menial activities. )
mentor
counselor; teacher (Eg: During this very trying period, she could not have had a better mentor, for the teacher was sympathetic )
mercantile
concerning trade (Eg: I am more interested in the opportunites available in the mercantile field than I am in those in the legal )
mercenary
motivated solely by money or gain (Eg: “I’m not in this war because I get my kicks waving flags,” said the mercenary soldier. “I’m in it for the )
mercurial
fickle; changing (Eg: He was of a mercurial temperament and therefore unpredictable. )
meretricious
flashy; tawdry; falsely attractive (Eg: Her jewels were inexpensive but not meretricious. )
merger
combination (of two business corporations) (Eg: When the firm’s president married the director of financial planning, the office joke was that it wasn’t a )
mesmerize
hypnotize (Eg: The incessant drone seemed to mesmerize him and place him in a trance. )
metallurgical
pertaining to the art of removing metals from ores (Eg: During the course of his metallurgical research, the scientist developed a steel alloy of tremendous )
metamorphosis
change of form (Eg: The metamorphosis of caterpillar to butterfly is typical of many such changes in animal life. )
metaphor
implied comparison (Eg: “He soared like an eagle” is an example of a simile; “He is an eagle in flight,” is a metaphor. )
metaphysical
pertaining to speculative philosophy (Eg: The modern poets have gone back to the fanciful poems of the metaphysical poets of the seventeenth )
mete
measure; distribute (Eg: He tried to be impartial in his efforts to mete out justice. )
meteoric
swift; momentarily brilliant (Eg: We all wondered at his meteoric rise to fame. )
methodical
systematic (Eg: An accountant must be methodical and maintain order among his financial records. )
meticulous
excessively careful (Eg: He was meticulous in checking his accounts and never made mistakes. )
metropolis
large city (Eg: Every evening this terminal is filled with the thousands of commuters who are going from this metropolis )
mettle
courage; spirit (Eg: When challenged by the other horses in the race, the thoroughbred proved its mettle by its determination )
miasma
swamp gas; heavy, vaporous atmosphere, often emanating from decaying matter; pervasive (Eg: corrupting influence )
microcosm
small world (Eg: In the microcosm of our rural village, we find illustrations of all the evils that beset the universe. )
migrant
changing its habitat; wandering (Eg: These migrant birds return every spring. )
migratory
wandering (Eg: The return of the migratory birds to the northern sections of this country is a harbinger of spring. )
milieu
environment; means of expression (Eg: His milieu is watercolors, although he has produced excellent oil paintings and lithographs. )
militant
combative; bellicose (Eg: Althoughat this time he was advocating a policy of neutrality, one could usually find him adopting a more )