GRE Barron's 29-30 Flashcards
lout
clumsy person. The delivery boy is an awkward lout.
ludicrous
laughable; trifling. Let us be serious; this is not a ludicrous issue.
lugubrious
mournful. The lugubrious howling of the dogs added to our sadness.
lull
moment of calm. Not wanting to get wet, they waited under the awning for a lull in the rain.
lumber
move heavily or clumsily. Still somewhat torpid after its long hibernation, the bear lumbered through the woods.
luminary
celebrity; dignitary. A leading light of the American stage, Ethel Barrymore was a theatrical luminary whose name lives on.
lunge
make a quick forward dive or reach; thrust. The wide receiver lunged forward to grab the football. With his sword, Dartagnan lunged at his adversary.
lurid
wild; sensational; graphic; gruesome. Do the lurid cover stories in the Enquirer actually influence people to buy that trashy tabloid?
lurk
stealthily lie in waiting; slink; exist unperceived; 待ち伏せする、こそこそ動く. “Who knows what evils lurk in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows.”
luscious
pleasing to taste or smell. The ripe peach was luscious.
luster
shine; gloss. The soft luster of the silk in the dim light was pleasing.
luxuriant
abundant; rich and splendid; fertile. Lady Godiva was completely covered by her luxuriant hair.
macabre
gruesome; grisly. The city morgue is a macabre spot for the uninitiated.
macerate
soften by soaking in liquid; waste away. The strawberries had been soaking in the champagne for so long that they had begun to macerate: they literally fell apart at the touch of a spoon.
magisterial
authoritative; imperious. The learned doctor laid down the law to his patient in a magisterial tone of voice.
magnate
person of prominence or influence. Growing up in Pittsburgh, Annie Dillard was surrounded by the mansions of the great steel and coal magnates who set their mark on that city.
magniloquent
boastful, pompous. In their stories of the trial, the reporters ridiculed the magniloquent speeches of the defense attorney.
maim
mutilate; injure. The hospital could not take care of all who had been mangled or maimed in the railroad accident.
maladroit
clumsy; bungling. “Oh! My stupid tongue!” exclaimed Jane, embarrassed at having said anything so maladroit.
malady
illness. A mysterious malady swept the country filling doctors’ offices with feverish, purple-spotted patients.
malaise
uneasiness; vague feeling of ill health. Feeling slightly queasy before going onstage, Carol realized that this touch of malaise was merely stage fright.
malcontent
person dissatisfied with existing state of affairs. He was one of the few malcontents in Congress; he constantly voiced his objections to the presidential program.
malefactor
evildoer; criminal. Mighty Mouse will save the day, hunting down malefactors and rescuing innocent mice from peril.
malevolent
wishing evil; 悪意のある、邪悪な. Iago is a malevolent villain who takes pleasure in ruining Othello.
malfeasance
wrongdoing; 違法(不正)行為. The authorities did not discover the campaign manager’s malfeasance until after he had spent most of the money he had embezzled.
malignant
injurious; tending to cause death; aggressively malevolent. Though many tumors are benign, some are malignant, growing out of control and endangering the life of the patient.
malodorous
foul-smelling; 悪臭を放つ. The compost heap was most malodorous in summer.
mandate
order; charge. In his inaugural address, the president stated that he had a mandate from the people to seek an end to social evils such as poverty and poor housing.
mangy
shabby; wretched; 汚らしい、卑劣な. We finally threw out the mangy rug that the dog had destroyed.
maniacal
raging mad; insane. Though Mr. Rochester had locked his mad wife in the attic, he could still hear her maniacal laughter echoing throughout the house.
manifestation
outward demonstration; indication. Mozart’s early attraction to the harpsichord was the first manifestation of his pronounced musical bent.
manifold
numerous; varied. I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate your manifold kindnesses.
mannered
affected; not natural. Attempting to copy the style of his wealthy neighbors, Gatsby adopted a mannered, artificial way of speech.
manumit
emancipate; free from bondage; 解放する. Enlightened slave owners were willing to manumit their slaves and thus put an end to the evil of slavery in the country.
marshal
put in order. At a debate tournament, extemporaneous speakers have only a minute or two to marshal their thoughts before addressing their audience.
martial
warlike. The sound of martial music inspired the young cadet with dreams of military glory.
martinet
(規律に)やかましい[厳格な]人. No Talking at meals! No mingling with the servants! Miss Minchin was a martinet who insisted that the schoolgirls in her charge observe each regulation to the letter.
martyr
one who voluntarily suffers death for his or her religion or cause; great sufferer. By burning her at the stake, the English made Joan of Arc a martyr for her faith. Mother played the martyr by staying home to clean the house while the rest of the family went off to the beach.
masticate
chew. We must masticate our food carefully and slowly in order to avoid digestive disorders.
matriculate
enroll (in college or graduate school). Incoming students formally matriculate at our college in a special ceremony during which they sigh the official register of students.
maudlin
effusively sentimental; 感傷的な、涙もろい. Whenever a particularly maudlin tearjerker was playing at the movies, Marvin would embarrass himself by weeping copiously.
maul
handle roughly. The rock star was mauled by his overexcited fans.
mawkish
mushy and gushy; icky-sticky sentimental; maudlin; 泣き上戸の. Whenever Gigi and her boyfriend would sigh and get all lovey-dovey, her little brother would shout, “Yuck!” protesting their mawkish behavior.
mayhem
injury to body. The riot was marked not only by mayhem, with its attendant loss of life and limb, but also by arson and pillage.
meager
scanty; inadequate. Still hungry after his meager serving of porridge, Oliver Twist asked for a second helping.
mealymouthed
indirect in speech; hypocritical; evasive. Rather than tell Jill directly what he disliked, Jack made a few mealymouthed comments and tried to change the subject.
meander
wind or turn in its course. Needing to stay close to a source of water, he followed every twist and turn of the stream as it meandered through the countryside.
melee
fight. The captain tried to ascertain the cause of the melee that had broken out among the crew members.
mellifluous
sweetly or smoothly flowing; melodious. Italian is a mellifluous language, especially suited to being sung.
memento
token; reminder. Take this book as a memento of your visit.
menial
suitable for servants; lowly; mean. Her wicked stepmother forced Cinderella to do menial tasks around the house while her ugly stepsisters lolled around painting their toenails.
mercantile
concerning trade. I am more interested in the opportunities available in the mercantile field than I am in those in the legal profession.
mercurial
capricious; changing; fickle. Quick as quicksilver to change, he was mercurial in nature and therefore unreliable.
mete
measure; distribute. He tried to be impartial in his efforts to mete out justice.
meteoric
swift; momentarily brilliant; 流星の、素早い. We all wondered at his meteoric rise to fame.
methodical
systematic. An accountant must be methodical and maintain order among his financial records.
miasma
swamp gas; heavy, vaporous atmosphere, often emanating from decaying matter; pervasive corrupting influence;毒気、立ちこめたガス、悪影響. The smog hung over Victorian London like a dark cloud; noisome, reeking of decay, it was a visible miasma.
migratory
wandering. The return of the migratory birds to the northern sections of this country is a harbinger of spring.
milieu
environment; means of expression. Surrounded by smooth preppies and arty bohemians, the country boy from Smalltown, USA, felt out of his milieu. Although he has produced excellent oil paintings and lithographs, his proper milieu is watercolor.
mimicry
imitation. Her gift for mimicry was so great that her friends said that she should be in the theatre.
mincing
affectedly dainty; 刻む(ための)、上品ぶった、気取った. Yum-Yum walked across the stage with mincing steps.
minion
a servile dependent; 子分、手先. He was always accompanied by several of his minions because he enjoyed their subservience and flattery.
mire
entangle; stick in swampy ground. Their rear wheels became mired in mud.
mirth
merriment; laughter; 陽気、浮かれ騒ぎ、笑い. Sober Malvolio found Sir Toby’s mirth improper.
misadventure
mischance; ill luck. The young explorer met death by misadventure.
misapprehension
error; misunderstanding. To avoid misapprehension, I am going to ask all of you to repeat the instructions I have given.
mischance
ill luck. By mischance, he lost his week’s salary.
misconstrue
interpret incorrectly; misjudge. She took the passage seriously rather than humorously because she misconstrued the author’s ironic tone.
misdemeanor
minor crime. The culprit pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor rather than face trial for a felony.
miserly
stingy; mean. Transformed by his vision on Christmas Eve, mean old Scrooge ceased being miserly and became a generous, kind old man.
misgivings
doubts. Hamlet described his misgivings to Horatio but decided to fence with Laertes despite his foreboding of evil.
mishap
accident. With a little care you could have avoided this mishap.
misnomer
wrong name; incorrect designation. His tyrannical conduct proved to all that his nickname, King Eric the Just, was a misnomer.
