GRE Barron's 27-28 Flashcards
inviolable
secure from corruption, attack, or violation; unassailable. Batman considered his oath to keep the people of Gotham City safe inviolable: nothing on earth could make him break this promise.
invocation
prayer for help; calling upon as a reference or support. The service of Morning Prayer opens with an invocation during which we ask God to hear our prayers.
invoke
call upon; ask for. She invoked her advisor’s aid in filing out her financial aid forms.
iota
very small quantity. She hadn’t and iota of common sense.
irate
angry. When John’s mother found out that he had overdrawn his checking account for the third month in a row, she was so irate that she could scarcely speak to him.
irksome
annoying; tedious. He found working on the assembly line irksome because of the monotony of the operation he had to perform.
irrefutable
indisputable; incontrovertible; undeniable. No matter how hard I tried to find a good comeback for her argument, I couldn’t think of one: her logic was irrefutable.
irreparable
not able to be corrected or repaired. Your apology cannot atone for the irreparable damage you have done to her reputation.
irrepressible
unable to be restrained or held back. My friend Kitty’s curiosity was irrepressible: she poked her nose into everybody’s business and just laughed when I warned her that curiosity killed the cat.
irreproachable
blameless; impeccable. Homer’s conduct at the office party was irreproachable; even Marge had nothing bad to say about how he behaved.
irretrievable
impossible to recover or regain; irreparable. The left fielder tried to retrieve the ball, but it flew over the fence, bounced off a wall, and fell into the sewer: it was irretrievable.
irreverence
lack of proper respect. Some people in the audience were amused by the irreverence of the comedian’s jokes about the pope; others felt offended by his lack of respect for their faith.
irrevocable
unalterable; irreversible. As Sue dropped the “Dear John” letter into the mailbox, she suddenly had second thoughts and wanted to take it back, but she could not: her action was irrevocable.
jabber
chatter rapidly or unintelligibly. Why does the fellow insist on jabbering away in French when I can’t understand a word he says?
jaded
fatigued; surfeited. He looked for exotic foods to stimulate his jaded appetite.
jaunty
lighthearted; animated; easy and carefree. In Singing in the Rain, Gene Kelly sang and danced his way through the lighthearted title number in a properly jaunty style.
jettison
throw overboard; を投げ捨てる. In order to enable the ship to ride safely through the storm, the captain had to jettison much of his cargo.
jocund
merry. Santa Claus is always cheerful and jocund.
jollity
gaiety; cheerfulness. The festive Christmas dinner was a merry one, and old and young alike joined in the general jollity.
jostle
shove; bump; ぶつかる. In the subway he was jostled by the crowds.
jovial
Good-natured; merry. A frown seemed out of place on his invariably jovial face.
jubilation
rejoicing; 歓喜、祝賀. There was great jubilation when the armistice was announced.
judicious
sound in judgement; wise. At a key moment in his life, he made a judicious investment that was the foundation of his later wealth.
juncture
crisis; joining point. At this critical juncture, let us think carefully before determining the course we shall follow.
ken
range of knowledge. I cannot answer your question since this matter is beyond my ken.
killjoy
grouch; spoilsport; 楽しみに水を差す人. At breakfast we had all been enjoying our bacon and eggs until that killjoy John started talking about how bad animal fats and cholesterol were for our health.
kindle
start a fire; inspire. One of the first things Ben learned in the Boy Scouts was how to kindle a fire by rubbing two dry sticks together.
kindred
related; similar in nature or character. Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn were two kindred spirits.
knave
untrustworthy person; rogue; scoundrel. Any politician nicknamed Tricky Dick clearly has the reputation of a knave.
knead
mix; work dough. Her hadns grew strong from kneading bread.
knit
contract into wrinkles; grow together. Whenever David worries, his brow knits in a frown. When he broke his leg, he sat around the house all day waiting for the bones to knit.
knotty
intricate; difficult; tangled. What to Watson had been a knotty problem to Sherlock Holmes was simplicity itself.
laborious
demanding much work or care; tedious. In putting together his dictionary of the English language, Doctor Johnson undertook a laborious task.
laceration
torn, ragged wound. The stock-car driver needed stitches to close the lacerations he received in the car crash.
lachrymose
producing tears. His voice has a lachrymose quality that is more appropriate at a funeral than a class reunion.
lackadaisical
lacking purpose or zest; halfhearted; languid. Because Gatsby had his mind more on his love life than on his finances, he did a very lackadaisical job of managing his money.
lackluster
dull. We were disappointed by the lackluster performance.
laggard
slow; sluggish. The sailor had been taught not to be laggard in carrying out orders.
lament
grieve; express sorrow. Even advocates of the war lamented the loss of so many lives in combat.
lampoon
ridicule. This article lampoons the pretensions of some movie moguls.
languid
weary; sluggish; listless; 元気がない、緩慢な. Her siege of illness left her languid and pallid.
languish
lose animation or strength. Left at Miss Minchin’s school for girls where her father went off to war, Sarah Crewe refused to languish; instead, she did her grief and actively befriended her less fortunate classmates.
languor
lassitude; depression. His friends tried to overcome the languor into which he had fallen by taking him to parties and to the theater.
lank
long and thin. Lank, gaunt, Abraham Lincoln was a striking figure.
larceny
theft. Because of the prisoner’s record, the district attorney refused to reduce the charge from grand larceny to petty larceny.
larder
pantry; place where food is kept. The first thing Bill did on returning home from school was to check what snacks his mother had in the larder.
largess
generous gift. Lady Bountiful distributed largess to the poor.
lateral
coming from the side. In order to get good plant growth, the gardener must pinch off all lateral shoots.
latitude
freedom from narrow limitations. I think you have permitted your son too much latitude in this matter.
lavish
liberal; wasteful. The actor’s lavish gifts pleased her.
lax
careless. We dislike restaurants where the service is lax and inattentive.
leaven
cause to rise or grow lighter; enliven. As bread dough is leavened, it puffs up, expanding in volume.
lechery
gross lewdness; lustfulness; 好色、みだら、わいせつな行為. In his youth he led a life of lechery and debauchery; he did not mend his ways until middle age.
leery
suspicious; cautious. Don’t eat the sushi at this restaurant; I’m a bit leery about how fresh it is.
leeway
room to move; margin. When you set a deadline, allow a little leeway.
legerdemain
sleight of hand; 手品、ごまかし、あざむき. The magician demonstrated his renowned legerdemain.
leniency
mildness; permissiveness. Considering the gravity of the offense, we were surprised by the leniency of the sentence.
levitate
float in the air (especially by magical means). As the magician passed his hands over the recumbent body of his assistant, she appeared to rise and levitate about three feet above the table.
levy
impose (a fine); collect (a payment). Crying “No taxation without representation!” the colonists demonstrated against England’s power to levy taxes.
lewd
lustful; わいせつな、下劣な. They found his lewd stories objectionable.
liability
drawback; debts; 負債、不利(益)、障害. Her lack of an extensive vocabulary was a liability that she was able to overcome.
libel
defamatory statement; act of writing something that smears a person’s character; 名誉毀損、中傷すること. If Batman wrote that the Joker was a dirty, rotten, mass-murdering criminal, could the Joker sue Batman for libel?
libidinous
lustful; 肉欲的な、みだらな. They objected to his libidinous behavior.
licentious
amoral; lewd and lascivious; unrestrained. Unscrupulously seducing the daughter of his host, Don Juan felt no qualms about the immorality of his licentious behavior.
ligneous
like wood. Petrified wood may be ligneous in appearance, but it is stonelike in composition.
limber
flexible. Hours of ballet classes kept him limber.
lineaments
features, especially of the face. She quickly sketched the lineaments of his face.
linger
loiter or dawdle; continue or persist; 長居する、残存する、長居する. Hoping to see Juliet pass by, Romeo lingered outside the Capulet house for hours.
lionize
treat as a celebrity. She enjoyed being lionized and adored by the public.
liquidate
settle accounts; clear up; 清算する、一掃する. He was able to liquidate all his debts in a short period of time.
list
tilt; lean over. That flagpole should be absolutely vertical; instead, it lists to one side.
listless
lacking in spirit or energy. We had expected her to be full of enthusiasm and were surprised by her listless attitude.
lithe
flexible; supple. Her figure was lithe and willowy.
livid
Lead-colored; black and blue; ashen; enraged; 青黒い、青ざめた、激怒した. His face was so livid with rage that we were afraid that he might have an attack of apoplexy.
loath
reluctant; disinclined. Romeo and Juliet were both loath for him to go.
loathe
detest. Booing and hissing, the audience showed how much they loathed the villain.
lode
Metal-bearing vein; 鉱脈、豊かな源泉. If this lode that we have discovered extends for any distance, we have found a fortune.
lofty
very high. Though Barbara Jordan’s fellow students used to tease her about her lofty ambitions, she rose to hold one of the highest positions in the land.
loiter
hang around; linger. The policeman told him not to liter in the alley.
loll
lounge about; だらしなく座る、だらだらと過ごす. They lolled around in their chairs watching television.
longevity
long life. When he reached ninety, the old man was proud of his longevity.
loom
appear or take shape (usually in an enlarged or distorted form); ぼんやりと［ヌッと・不気味に］現れる、巨大な姿を現す、そびえ立つ. The shadow of the gallows loomed threateningly above the small boy.
lope
gallop slowly. As the horses loped along, we had an opportunity to admire the ever-changing scenery.
