gre 501-1000 Flashcards
carnivorous
meat-eating (Eg: The lion is a carnivorous animal. )
carousal
drunken revel (Eg: The party degenerated into an ugly carousal. )
carping
petty criticism; fault-finding (Eg: Welcoming constructive criticism, Lexy appreciated her editor’s comments, finding them free of carping. )
carrion
rotting flesh of a dead body (Eg: Buzzards are nature’s scavengers; they eat the carrion left behind by other predators. )
cartographer
map-maker (Eg: Though not a professional cartographer, Tolkien was able to construct a map of the fictional world. )
cascade
small waterfall (Eg: )
caste
one of the hereditary classes in Hindu society, social stratification; prestige (Eg: The differences created by caste in India must be wiped out if true democracy is to prevail in that country. )
castigation
punishment; severe criticism (Eg: Sensitive even to mild criticism, Woolf could not bear castigation that she found in certain reviews. )
casualty
serious or fatal accident (Eg: The number of automotive casualties on this holiday weekend was high. )
cataclysm
deluge; upheaval (Eg: A cataclysm such as the French Revolution affects all countries. )
catalyst
agent that brings about a chemical change while it remains unaffected and unchanged (Eg: Many chemical reactions cannot take place without the presence of a catalyst. )
catapult
slingshot; hurling machine (Eg: Airplanes are sometimes launched from battleships by catapults. )
cataract
great waterfall; eye abnormality (Eg: She gazed with awe at the mighty cataract known as Niagara Falls. )
catastrophe
calamity (Eg: The Johnstown flood was a catastrophe. )
catechism
book for religious instruction; instruction by question and answer (Eg: He taught by engaging his pupils in a catechism until they gave him the correct answer. )
<p>categorical</p>
<p>without exceptions; unqualified; absolute (Eg: Though the captain claimed he was never, never sick at sea, he finally qualified his categorical denial; he )</p>
catharsis
purging or cleansing of any passage of the body (Eg: Aristotle maintained that tragedy created a catharsis by purging the soul of base concepts. )
cathartic
purgative (Eg: Some drugs act as laxatives when taken in small doses but act as cathartics when taken in much larger )
catholic
universal; wide-ranging liberal (Eg: He was extremely catholic in his taste and read everything he could find in the library. )
<p>caucus</p>
<p>private meeting of members of a party to select officers or determine policy (Eg: At the opening of Congress the members of the Democratic Party held a caucus to elect the majority )</p>
caulk
to make watertight (by plugging seams) (Eg: )
causal
implying a cause-and-effect relationship (Eg: The psychologist maintained there was a causal relationship between the nature of one’s early childhood )
caustic
burning; sarcastically biting (Eg: The critic’s caustic remarks angered the hapless actors who were the subjects of his sarcasm. )
cauterize
burn with hot iron or caustic (Eg: In order to prevent infection, the doctor cauterized the wound. )
<p>cavalcade</p>
<p>procession; parade (Eg: As described by Chaucer, the cavalcade of Canterbury pilgrims was motley group. )</p>
cavalier
casual and offhand; arrogant (Eg: Sensitive about having her ideas taken lightly, Marcia felt insulted by Mark’s cavalier dismissal of her )
cavil
make frivolous objections (Eg: I respect your sensible criticisms, but I dislike the way you cavil about unimportant details. )
cede
transfer; yield title to (Eg: I intend to cede this property to the city. )
celerity
speed; rapidity (Eg: Hamlet resented his mother’s celerity in remarrying within a month after his father’s death. )
<p>celestial</p>
<p>heavenly (Eg: She spoke of the celestial joys that awaited virtuous souls in the hereafter. )</p>
celibate
abstaining from sexual intercourse; unmarried (Eg: Though the late Havelock Ellis wrote extensively about sexual customs and was considered an expert in )
censor
overseer of morals; person who eliminates inappropriate matter (Eg: Soldiers dislike having their mail read by a censor but understand the need for this precaution. )
censorious
critical (Eg: censorious people delight in casting blame. )
censure
blame; criticize (Eg: He was censured for his inappropriate behavior. )
centaur
mythical figure, half man and half horse (Eg: I was particularly impressed by the statue of the centaur in the Roman Hall of the museum. )
centigrade
denoting a widely used temperature scale (basically same as Celsius) (Eg: )
centrifugal
radiating; departing from the center (Eg: Many automatic drying machines remove excess moisture from clothing by centrifugal force. )
<p>centrifuge</p>
<p>machine that separates substances by whirling them (Eg: At the dairy, we employ a centrifuge to separate cream from milk. )</p>
centripetal
tending toward the center (Eg: Does centripetal force or the force of gravity bring orbiting bodies to the earth’s surface? )
centurion
Roman army officer (Eg: Because he was in command of a company of one hundred soldiers, he was called a centurion. )
cerebral
pertaining to the brain or intellect (Eg: The content of philosophical works is cerebral in nature and requires much thought. )
cerebration
thought (Eg: Mathematics problems sometimes require much cerebration. )
ceremonious
marked by formality (Eg: Ordinary dress would be in appropriate at so ceremonious an affair. )
<p>cessation</p>
<p>stopping (Eg: The workers threatened a cessation of all activities if their demands were not met. )</p>
cession
yielding to another; ceding (Eg: The cession of Alaska to the United States is discussed in this chapter. )
chafe
warm by rubbing (Eg: The collar chafed his neck. )
chaff
worthless products of an endeavor (Eg: When you separate the wheat from the chaff, be sure you throw out the chaff. )
chaffing
bantering; joking (Eg: Sometimes his flippant and chaffing remarks annoy us. )
chagrin
vexation; disappointment (Eg: Her refusal to go with us filled us with chagrin. )
<p>chalice</p>
<p>goblet; consecrated cup (Eg: In a small room adjoining the cathedral, many ornately decorated chalices made by the most famous )</p>
chameleon
lizard that changes color in different situations (Eg: Like the chameleon, he assumed the political coloration of every group he met. )
champion
support militantly (Eg: )
chaotic
in utter disorder (Eg: He tried to bring order into the chaotic state of affairs. )
charisma
divine gift; great popular charm or appeal (Eg: Political commentators have deplored the importance of a candidate’s charisma in these days of television )
charlatan
quack; pretender to knowledge (Eg: When they realized that the Wizard didn’t know how to get them back to Kansas, Dorothy and her friends )
chary
cautious; sparing or restrained about giving (Eg: A prudent, thrifty New Englander, DeWitt was as chary of investing money in junk bonds as he was chary )
chase
ornament a metal surface by indenting (Eg: With his hammer, he carefully chased an intricate design onto the surface of the chalice. )
<p>chasm</p>
<p>abyss (Eg: They could not see the bottom of the chasm. )</p>
chassis
framework and working parts of an automobile (Eg: Examining the car after the accident, the owner discovered that the body had been ruined but that the )
chaste
pure (Eg: Her chaste and decorous garb was appropriately selected for the solemnity of the occasion. )
chasten
discipline; punish in order to correct (Eg: Whom God loves, God chastens. )
chastise
punish (Eg: I must chastise you for this offense. )
chauvinist
blindly devoted patriot (Eg: A chauvinist cannot recognize any faults in his country, no matter how flagrant they may be. )
check
stop motion; curb or restrain (Eg: Thrusting out her arm, Grandma checked Bobby’s lunge at his sister. “Young man,” she said, “you’d better )
checkered
marked by changes in fortune (Eg: During his checkered career he had lived in palatial mansions and in dreary boardinghouses. )
cherubic
angelic; innocent-looking (Eg: With her cheerful smile and rosy cheeks, she was a particularly cherubic child. )
<p>chicanery</p>
<p>trickery (Eg: Your deceitful tactics in this case are indications of chicanery. )</p>
chide
scold (Eg: Grandma began to chide Steven for his lying. )
chimerical
fantastic; highly imaginative (Eg: Poe’s chimerical stories are sometimes too morbid for reading in bed. )
chivalrous
courteous; faithful; brave (Eg: chivalrous behavior involves noble words and good deeds. )
choleric
hot-tempered (Eg: His flushed, angry face indicated a choleric nature. )
choreography
art of dancing (Eg: Martha Graham introduced a form of choreography that seemed awkward and alien to those who had )
chronic
long established, as a disease (Eg: The doctors were finally able to attribute his chronic headaches and nausea to traces of formaldehyde gas )
chronicle
report; record (in chronological order) (Eg: The gossip columnist was paid to chronicle the latest escapades of the socially prominent celebrities. )
churlish
boorish; rude (Eg: Dismayed by his churlish manners at the party, the girls vowed never to invite him again. )
ciliated
having minute hairs (Eg: The paramecium is a ciliated, one-celled animal. )
cipher
nonentity; worthless person or thing (Eg: She claimed her ex-husband was a total cipher and wondered why she had ever married him. )
cipher
secret code (Eg: Lacking his code book, the spy was unable to decode the message sent to him in cipher. )
circlet
small ring; band (Eg: This tiny circlet is very costly because it is set with precious stones. )
circuitous
roundabout (Eg: Because of the traffic congestion on the main highways, she took a circuitous route. )
circumlocution
indirect or roundabout expression (Eg: He was afraid to call spade a spade and resorted to circumlocutions to avoid direct reference to his subject. )
circumscribe
limit; confine (Eg: )
<p>circumspect</p>
<p>prudent; cautious (Eg: Investigating before acting, she tried always to be circumspect. )</p>
circumvent
outwit; baffle (Eg: In order to circumvent the enemy, we will make two preliminary attacks in other sections before starting )
citadel
fortress (Eg: The citadel overlooked the city like a protecting angel. )
cite
quote; commend (Eg: She could cite passages in the Bible from memory. )
civil
having to do with citizens or the state; courteous and polite (Eg: Although internal Revenue Service agents are civil servants, they are not always civil to suspected tax )
clairvoyant
having foresight; fortuneteller (Eg: Cassandra’s clairvoyant warning was not heeded by the Trojans. )
clamber
climb by crawling (Eg: She clambered over the wall. )
clamor
noise (Eg: The clamor of the children at play outside made it impossible for her to take a nap. )
clandestine
secret (Eg: After avoiding their chaperon, the lovers had a clandestine meeting. )
clangor
loud, resounding noise (Eg: The blacksmith was accustomed to the clangor of hammers on steel. )
clapper
striker (tongue) of a bell (Eg: Wishing to be undisturbed by the bell, Dale wound his scarf around the clapper to muffle its striking. )
clarion
shrill, trumpetlike sound (Eg: We woke to the clarion to muffle its striking. )
claustrophobia
fear of being locked in (Eg: His fellow classmates laughed at his claustrophobia and often threatened to lock him in his room. )
clavicle
collarbone (Eg: Even though he wore shoulder pads, the football player broke his clavicle during a practice scrimmage. )
cleave
split asunder (Eg: The lightening cleaves the tree in two. )
cleft
split (Eg: Erosion caused a cleft in the huge boulder. )
clemency
disposition ot be lenient; mildness, as of the weather (Eg: The lawyer was pleased when the case was sent to Judge Smith’s chambers because Smith was noted for )
cliche
phrase culled in meaning by repetition (Eg: High school compositions are often marred by such cliches as “strong as an ox.” )
clientele
body of customers (Eg: The rock club attracted a young, stylish clientele. )
climactic
relating to the highest point (Eg: When he reached the climactic portions of the book, he could not stop reading. )
clime
region; climate (Eg: His doctors advised him to move to a milder clime. )
clique
small, exclusive group (Eg: She charged that a clique had assumed control of school affairs. )
cloister
monastery or convent (Eg: The nuns lived in the cloister. )
clout
great influence (especially political or social) (Eg: Gatsby wondered whether he had enough clout to be admitted to the exclusive club. )
cloying
distasteful (because excessive); excessively sweet or sentimental (Eg: Disliking the cloying sweetness of standard wedding cakes, Jody and Tom chose a homemade carrot cake )
coagulate
thicken; congeal; clot (Eg: Even after you remove the pudding from the burner, it will continue to coagulate as it stands. )
coalesce
combine; fuse (Eg: The brooks coalesce into one large river. )
coda
concluding section of a musical or literary composition (Eg: The piece concluded with a distinctive coda that strikingly brought together various motifs. )
coddle
treat gently; pamper (Eg: Don’t coddle the children to much; they need a taste of discipline. )
codicil
supplement to the body of a will (Eg: This codicil was drawn up five years after the writing of the original will. )
codify
arrange (laws, rules) as a code; classify (Eg: )
coercion
use of force (Eg: They forced him to obey, but only by great coercion. )
coeval
living at the same time as; contemporary (Eg: coeval with the dinosaur, the pterodactyl flourished during the Mesozoic era. )
cog
tooth projecting from a wheel (Eg: A bicycle chain moves through a series of cogs in order to propel the bike. )
cogent
convincing (Eg: She presented cogent arguments to the jury. )
cogitate
think over (Eg: cogitate on this problem; the solution will come. )
cognate
related linguistically; allied by blood; similar or akin in nature (Eg: The English word “mother” cognate to the Latin word “mater,” whose influence is visible in the words )
cognitive
having to do with knowing or perceiving related to the mental precesses (Eg: Though Jack was emotionally immature, his cognitive development was admirable; he was very advanced )
cognizance
knowledge (Eg: During the election campaign, the two candidates were kept in full cognizance of the international )
cohere
stick together (Eg: Solids have a greater tendency to cohere than liquids. )
cohesion
tendency to keep together (Eg: A firm believer in the maxim “Divide and conquer,” the emperor, by lies and trickery, sought to disrupt the )
cohorts
armed band (Eg: Caesar and his Roman cohorts conquered almost all of the known world. )
coiffure
hairstyle (Eg: You can make a statement with your choice of coiffure: in the 60’s many African-Americans affirmed their )
coincident
occurring at the same time (Eg: Some people find the coincident events in Hardy’s novels annoyingly improbable. )
colander
utensil with perforated bottom used for straining (Eg: Before serving the spaghetti, place it in a colander to drain it. )
collaborate
work together (Eg: Two writers collaborated in preparing this book. )
collage
work of art put together from fragments (Eg: Scraps of cloth, paper doilies, and old photographs all went into her collage. )
collate
examine in order to verify authenticity; arrange in order (Eg: They collated the newly found manuscripts to determine their age. )
collateral
security given for loan (Eg: The sum you wish to borrow is so large that it must be secured by collateral. )
collation
a light meal (Eg: Tea sandwiches and cookies were offered at the collation. )
colloquial
pertaining to conversational or common speech (Eg: Your use of colloquial expressions in a formal essay such as the one you have presented spoils the effect )
colloquy
informal discussion (Eg: I enjoy our colloquies but I sometimes wish that they could be made more formal and more searching. )
collusion
conspiring in a fraudulent scheme (Eg: The swindlers were found guilty of collusion. )
colossal
huge (Eg: Radio City Music Hall has a colossal stage. )
colossus
gigantic statue (Eg: The legendary Colossus of Rhodes, bronze statue of the sun god that dominated the harbor of the Greek )
comatose
in a coma; extremely sleepy (Eg: The long-winded orator soon had his audience in a comatose state. )
combustible
easily burned (Eg: After the recent outbreak of fires in private homes, the fire commissioner ordered that all combustible )
comely
attractive; agreeable (Eg: I would rather have a poor and comely wife than a rich and homely one. )
comestible
something fit to be eaten (Eg: The roast turkey and other comestibles, the wines, and the excellent service made this Thanksgiving dinner )
comeuppance
rebuke; deserts (Eg: After his earlier rudeness, we were delighted to see him get his comeuppance. )
comity
courtesy; civility (Eg: A spirit of comity should exist among nations. )
commandeer
to draft for military purposes; to take for public use (Eg: The policeman commandeered the first car that approached and ordered the driver to go to the nearest )
commemorative
remembering; honoring (Eg: The new commemorative stamp honors the late Martin Luther King, Jr. )
commensurate
equal in extent (Eg: Your reward will be commensurate with your effort. )
commiserate
feel or express pity or sympathy for (Eg: Her friends commiserated with the widow. )
commodious
spacious and comfortable (Eg: After sleeping in a small roadside cabins, they found their hotel suite commodious. )
communal
held in common; of a group of people (Eg: When they were divorced, they had trouble dividing their communal property. )
compact
agreement; contract (Eg: The signers of the Mayflower Compact were establishing a form of government. )
compact
tightly packed; firm; brief (Eg: His short, compact body was better suited to wrestling than to basketball. )
compatible
harmonious; in harmony with (Eg: They were compatible neighbors, never quarreling over unimportant matters. )
compelling
overpowering; irresistible in effect (Eg: The prosecutor presented a well-reasoned case, but the defense attorney’s compelling arguments for )
compendium
brief, comprehensive summary (Eg: This text can serve as a compendium of the tremendous amount of new material being developed in this )
compensatory
making up for; repaying (Eg: Can a compensatory education program make up for the inadequate schooling he received in earlier years? )
compilation
listing of statistical information in tabular or book form (Eg: The compilation of available scholarships serves a very valuable purpose. )
complacent
self-satisfied (Eg: There was a complacent look on his face as he examined his paintings. )
complaisant
trying to please; obliging (Eg: The courtier obeyed the king’s orders in a complaisant manner. )
complement
complete; consummate; make perfect (Eg: The waiter recommended a glass of port to complement the cheese. )
compliance
conformity in fulfilling requirements; readiness to yield (Eg: The design for the new school had to be in compliance with the local building code. )
compliant
yielding (Eg: He was compliant and ready to go along with his friends’ desires. )
complicity
participation; involvement (Eg: You cannot keep your complicity in this affair secret very long; you would be wise to admit your )
component
element; ingredient (Eg: I wish all the components of my stereo system were working at the same time. )
comport
bear one’s self; behave (Eg: He comported himself with great dignity. )
composure
mental calmness (Eg: Even the latest work crisis failed to shake her composure. )
compound
combine; constitute; pay interest; increase (Eg: The makers of the popular cold remedy compounded a nasal decongestant with an antihistamine. )
comprehensive
thorough; inclusive (Eg: This book provides a comprehensive review of verbal and math skills for the SAT. )
compress
close; squeeze; contract (Eg: She compressed the package under her arm. )
comprise
include; consist of (Eg: If the District of Columbia were to be granted a statehood, the United States of America would comprise )
compromise
adjust; endanger the interests or reputation of (Eg: Your presence at the scene of the dispute compromises our claim to neutrality in this matter. )
compunction
remorse (Eg: The judge was especially severe in this sentencing because he felt that the criminal had shown no )
compute
reckon; calculate (Eg: He failed to compute the interest, so his bank balance was not accurate. )
concatenate
link as in a chain (Eg: )
concave
hollow (Eg: The back-packers found partial shelter from the storm by huddling against the concave wall of the cliff. )
concede
admit; hield (Eg: Despite all the evidence Monica had assembled, Mark refused to concede that she was right. )
conceit
whimsical idea; extravagant metaphor (Eg: He was an entertaining companion, always expressing himself in amusing conceits and witty turns of )
concentric
having a common center (Eg: The target was made of concentric circles. )
conception
beginning; forming of a idea (Eg: At the first conception of the work, he was consulted. )
concerted
mutually agreed on; done together (Eg: The girl scouts in the troop made a concerted effort to raise funds for their annual outing, and emitted a )
concession
an act of yielding (Eg: Before they could reach an agreement, both sides had to make certain concessions. )
conciliatory
reconciling; soothing (Eg: She was still angry despite his conciliatory words. )
concise
brief and compact (Eg: When you define a new word, be concise; the shorter the definition, the easier it is to remember. )
conclave
private meeting (Eg: He was present at all their conclaves as an unofficial observer. )
conclusive
decisive; ending all debate (Eg: When the stolen books turned up in John’s locker, we finally had conclusive evidence of the identity of the )
concoct
prepare by combining; make up in concert (Eg: How did the inventive chef ever concoct such strange dish? )
concomitant
that which accompanies (Eg: Culture is not always a concomitant of wealth. )
concord
harmony (Eg: Watching Tweediedum and Tweedledee battle, Alice wondered why the two brothers could not manage to )
concur
agree (Eg: )
concurrent
happening at the same time (Eg: In America, the colonists were resisting the demands of the mother contry; at the concurrent moment in )
condescend
bestow courtesies with a superior air (Eg: The king condescended to grant an audience to the friends of the condemned man. )
condign
adequate; deservedly severe (Eg: The public approved the condign punishment for the crime. )
condiments
seasonings; spices (Eg: Spanish food is full of condiments. )
condole
express sympathetic sorrow (Eg: His friends gathered to condole with him over his loss. )
condone
overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse (Eg: Unlike Widow Douglass, who condoned Huck’s minor offenses, Miss Watson did nothing but scold. )
conducive
helpful; contributive (Eg: Rest and proper diet are conducive to good health. )
conduit
aqueduct; passageway for fluids (Eg: Water was brought to the army in the desert by an improvised conduit from the adjoining mountain. )
confidant
trusted friend (Eg: He had no confidants with whom he could discuss his problems at home. )
confiscate
seize; commandeer (Eg: The army confiscated all available supplies of uranium. )
conflagration
great fire (Eg: In the conflagration that followed the 1906 earthquake, much of San Francisco was destroyed. )
confluence
flowing together; crowd (Eg: They built the city at the confluence of two rivers. )