GRE Barron's 11-12 Flashcards
connivance
pretense of ignorance of something wrong; assistance; permission to offend; 見て見ぬ振りをすること. With the connivance of his friends, he plotted to embarrass the teacher.
connoisseur
person competent to act as a judge of art, etc.; a lover of an art. Bernard Berenson, the American art critic and connoisseur of Italian art, was hired by wealthy art lovers to select paintings for their collections.
connotation
suggested or implied meaning of an expression. Foreigners frequently are unaware of the connotations of the words they use.
consanguinity
kinship. Wanting to be rid of yet another wife, Henry VII sought a divorce on the grounds of consanguinity, claiming their blood relationship was improperly close.
conscientious
scrupulous; careful; 良心的な、入念な. A conscientious editor, she checked every definition for its accuracy.
consecrate
dedicate; sanctify. In 1804, Napoleon forced Pope Pius VII to come to Paris to consecrate him as emperor, only to humiliate Pius at the last minute by taking the crown from the pope’s hands and crowning himself.
consequential
pompous; self-important. Convinced of his own importance, the actor strutted about the dressing room with a consequential air.
consign
deliver officially; entrust; set apart. The court consigned the child to her paternal grandmother’s care.
console
lessen sadness or disappointment; give comfort. When her father died, Marius did his best to console Cosette.
consonance
harmony; agreement. Her agitation seemed out of consonance with her usual calm.
consort
associate with. We frequently judge people by the company with whom they consort.
constituent
supporter. The congressman received hundreds of letters from angry constituents after the Equal Rights Amendment failed to pass.
construe
explain; interpret. If I construe your remarks correctly, you disagree with the theory already advanced.
consummate
wholly without flaw; supremely skilled; complete and utter. Free of her father’s autocratic rule, safely married to the man she loved, Elizabeth Barrett Browning felt consummate happiness.
contempt
scorn; disdain. The heavyweight boxer looked on ordinary people with contempt, scorning them as weaklings who couldn’t hurt a fly. We thought it was contemptible of him to be contemptuous of people for being weak.
contend
struggle; compete; assert earnestly. In Revolt of the Black Athlete, sociologist Harry Edwards contends that young black athletes have been exploited by some college recruiters.
contention
claim; thesis. It is our contention that, if you follow our tactics, you will boost your score on the GRE.
contentious
quarrelsome. Disagreeing violently with the referee’s ruling, the coach became so contentious that the referees threw him out of the game.
contiguous
adjacent to; touching upon. The two countries are contiguous for a few miles; then they are separated by the gulf.
contortions
twistings; distortions. As the effects of the opiate wore away, the contortions of the patient became more violent and demonstrated how much pain she was enduring.
contravene
contradict; oppose; infringe on or transgress. Mr. Barrett did not expect his frail daughter Elizabeth to contravene his will by eloping with Robert Browning.
contrite
penitent; 深く悔いている. Her contrite tears did not influence the judge when he imposed sentence.
contrived
forced; artificial; not spontaneous. Feeling ill at ease with his new in-laws, James made a few contrived attempts at conversation and then retreated into silence.
controvert
oppose with arguments; attempt to refute; contradict. The witness’s testimony was so clear and her reputation for honesty so well established that the defense attorney decided it was wiser to make no attempt to controvert what she said.
contumacious
disobedient; resisting authority. The contumacious mob shouted defiantly at the police.
conundrum
riddle; difficult problem. During the long car ride, she invented conundrums to entertain the children.
convene
assemble. Because much needed legislation had to be enacted, the governor ordered the legislature to convene in special session by January 15.
conversant
familiar with. In this age of specialization, someone reasonably conversant with modern French literature may be wholly unacquainted with the novels of Latin America and Spain.
conveyance
vehicle; transfer. During the transit strike, commuters used various kinds of conveyances.
conviction
judgement that someone is guilty of a crime; strongly held belief. Even her conviction for murder did not shake Lord Peter’s conviction that Harriet was innocent of the crime..
convoke
call together. Congress was convoked at the outbreak of the emergency.
convoluted
coiled around; involved; intricate. His argument was so convoluted that few of us could follow it intelligently.
copious
plentiful. She had copious reasons for rejecting the proposal.
cordial
gracious; heartfelt; 思いやりのある. Our hosts greeted us at the airport with a cordial welcome and a hearty hug.