GRE Barron's 1-2 Flashcards
abase
lower; degrade; humiliate
abash
embarrass
abet
assist, usually in doing something wrong; encourage
abhor
detest; hate
ablution
washing;
abnegation
renunciation; self-sacrifice
abominable
detestable; extremely unpleasant; very bad
abominate
loathe; hate
abortive
unsuccessful; fruitless
abrasive
rubbing away
abridge
condense or shorten
abrogate
v. abolish
absolve
v. pardon (an offense)
abstain
v. refrain;
abstruse
adj. Obscure; profound; difficult to understand
abut
v. border upon; adjoin.
accede
v. agree
acclaim
v. applaud; announce with great approval
acclimate
v. adjust to climate or environment; adapt
acclivity
n. sharp upslope of a hill
accolade
n. award of merit.
accomplice
n. partner in crime
accord
n. agreement
accost
approach and speak first to a person. When the two young men accosted me, I was frightened because I thought they were going to attack me.
accoutre
equip. The fisherman was accoutred with the best that the sporting goods store could supply.
acerbic
bitter or sour in nature; sharp and cutting. Noted for her acerbic with and gossiping, Alice had a pillow in her home embroidered with the legend “If you can’t say something good about someone, sit right here by me.”
acerbity
bitterness of speech and temper. The meeting of the UN Assembly was marked with such acerbity that observers held little hope of reaching any useful settlement of the problem.
acetic
vinegary. The salad had an exceedingly acetic flavor.
acidulous
slightly sour; sharp; caustic. James was unpopular because of his sarcastic and acidulous remarks.
acme
peak; highest point.
acquiesce
assent; agree passively. Although she appeared to acquiesce to her employer’s suggestions, I could tell she had reservations about the changes he wanted made.
acquittal
deliverance from a charge; 無罪放免. His acquittal by the jury surprised those who had thought him guilty.
acrid
sharp; bitterly pungent. The acrid odor of burnt gunpowder filed the room after the pistol had been fired.
acrimonious
bitter in words or manner. The candidate attacked his opponent in highly acrimonious terms.
acrophobia
fear of heights. A born salesman, he could convince someone with a bad case of acrophobia to sign up for a life membership in a sky-diving club.
actuate
motivate. I fail to understand what actuated you to reply to this letter so nastily.
acuity
sharpness. In time his youthful acuity of vision failed him, and he needed glasses.
acumen
mental keenness. Her business acumen helped her to succeed where others had failed.
adage
wise saying; proverb. There is much truth in the old adage about fools and their money.
adamant
hard; inflexible. In this movie Bronson played the part of a revenge-driven man, adamant in his determination to punish the criminals who destroyed his family.
addendum
addition; appendix to book. Jane’s editor approved her new comparative literature text but thought it would be even better with an addendum on recent developments in literary criticism.
addle
muddle; drive crazy; become rotten. This idiotic plan is confusing enough to addle anyone.
adept
expert at. She was adept at the fine art of irritating people.
adhere
stick fast. I will adhere to this opinion until proof that I am wrong is presented.
adherent
supporter; follower. In the wake of the scandal, the senator’s one-time adherents quietly deserted him.
adjuration
solemn urging. Her adjuration to tell the truth did not change the witnesses’ testimony.
adjutant
staff officer assisting the commander; assistant. Though Welington delegated many tasks to his chief adjutant, Lord Fitzroy Somerset, Somerset was in no doubt as to who made all major decisions.
adorn
decorate. Wall paintings and carved statues adorned the temple.
adroit
skillful. Her adroit handling of the delicate situation pleased her employers.
adulation
flattery; admiration. The rock starthrived on the adulation of his groupies and yes-men.
advent
arrival. Most Americans were unaware of the advent of the Nuclear Age until the news of Hiroshima reached them.
adventitious
accidental; casual. She found this adventitious meeting with her friend extremely fortunate.
adversary
opponent; enemy. Batman struggled to save Gotham City from the machinations of his wicked adversary, the Joker.
adverse
unfavorable; hostile. The recession had a highly adverse effect on Father’s investment portfolio: he lost so much money that he could no longer afford the butler and the upstairs maid.
adversity
poverty; misfortune. We must learn to meet adversity gracefully.
advert
refer (to). Since you advert to this matter so frequently, you must regard it as important.
advocate
urge; plead for. The abolitionists advocated freedom for the slaves.
aegis
shield; defense. Under the aegis of the Bill of Rights, we enjoy our most treasured freedoms.
affable
easily approachable; warmly friendly. Accustomed to cold, aloof supervisors, Nicholas was amazed at how affable his new employer was.
affix
attach or add on; fasten. First the registrar had to affix his signature to the license; then he had to affix his official seal.
affliction
state of distress; cause of suffering. Even in the midst of her affliction, Elizabeth tried to keep up the spirits of those around her.
affront
insult; offense; intentional act of disrespect. When Mrs. Proudie was not seated beside the Archdeacon at the head table, she took it as a personal affront and refused to speak to her hosts for a week.
agape
openmouthed. She stared, agape, at the many strange animals in the zoo.
agglomeration
collection; heap. It took weeks to assort the agglomeration of miscellaneous items she had collected on her trip.
aggressor
attacker. Before you punish both boys for fighting, see whether you can determine which one was the aggressor.
aghast
horrified; dumbfounded. Miss Manners was aghast at the crude behavior of the fraternity brothers at the annual toga party.
agitate
stir up; disturb. Her fiery remarks agitated the already angry mob.
agnostic
one who is skeptical of the existence of a god or any ultimate reality. Agnostics say we can neither prove nor disprove the existence of God; we simply have no way to know.
agog
highly excited; intensely curious. We were all agog at the news that the celebrated movie star was giving up his career in order to enter a monastery.
agrarian
pertaining to land or its cultivation. As a result of its recent industrialization, the country is gradually losing its agrarian traditions.
alienate
make hostile; separate. Her attempts to alienate the two friends failed because they had complete faith in each other.
alimentary
supplying nourishment, 食物の、栄養の. The alimentary canal in our bodies is so named because digestion of foods occurs there. When asked for the name of the digestive tract, Sherlock Holmes replied, “Alimentary, my dear Watson”.
allege
state without proof. Although it is alleged that she has worked for the enemy, she denies the allegation and, legally, we can take no action against her without proof.
allegiance
loyalty. Not even a term in prison could shake Lech Walesea’s allegiance to Solidarity, the Polish trade union he had helped to found.
allegory
story in which characters are used as symbols; fable. Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory of the temptations and victories of the human soul.
allude
refer indirectly. Try not to mention divorce in Jack’s presence because he will think you are alluding to his marital problems with Jill.
allusion
indirect reference. When Amanda said to the ticket scalper, “One hundred bucks? What do you want, a pound of flesh?” she was making an allusion to Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice.
aloof
apart; reserved. Shy by nature, she remained aloof while all the rest conversed.
aloft
upward. The sailor climbed aloft into the rigging.
altercation
noisy quarrel; heated dispute. In that hot-tempered household, no meal ever came to a peaceful conclusion; the inevitable altercation sometimes even ended in blows.
altruistic
unselfishly generous; concerned for others. In providing tutorial assistance and college scholarships for hundreds of economically disadvantaged youths, Eugene Lang performed a truly altruistic deed.
amass
collect. The miser’s aim is to amass and hoard as much gold as possible.
ambidextrous
capable of using either hand with equal ease. A switch-hitter in baseball should be naturally ambidextrous.
ambience
environment; atmosphere. She went to the restaurant not for the food but for the ambience.
amble
moving at an easy pace. When she first mounted the horse, she was afraid to urge the animal to go faster than a gentle amble.
ambulatory
able to walk; not bedridden. Calvin was a highly ambulatory patient; not only did he refuse to be confined to bed, but also he insisted on riding his skateboard up and down the halls.
amend
correct; change, generally for the better. Hoping to amend his condition, he left Vietnam for the United States.
