GRE Barron's 47-48 Flashcards

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1
Q

torrent

A

rushing stream; flood. Day after day of heavy rain saturated the hillside until the water ran downhill in torrents.

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2
Q

torrid

A

passionate; hot or scorching. The novels published by Harlequin Romances feature torrid love affairs, some set in torrid climates.

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3
Q

totter

A

move unsteadily; sway, as if about to fall. On unsteady feet, the drunk tottered down the hill to the nearest bar.

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4
Q

touchy

A

sensitive; irascible. Do not discuss his acne with Archy; he is very touchy about it.

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5
Q

traduce

A

expose to slander; 中傷する. His opponents tried to traduce the candidate’s reputation by spreading rumors about his past.

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6
Q

transcendent

A

surpassing; exceeding ordinary limits; superior. Standing on the hillside watching the sunset through the Golden Gate was a transcendent experience for Lise: the sight was so beautiful it surpassed her wildest dreams.

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7
Q

transcribe

A

copy. When you transcribe your notes, please send a copy to Mr. Smith and keep the original for our files.

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8
Q

transfigure

A

transform outwardly, usually for the better; change in form or aspect. Elizabeth Barrett’s love for Robert Browing transfigured her poetry as well as transforming her life.

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9
Q

transmute

A

change; convert to something different. He was unable to transmute his dreams into actualities.

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10
Q

transpire

A

be revealed; happen. When Austen writes the sentence “It had just transpired that he had left gaming debts behind him,” her meaning is not that the debts had just been incurred, but that the shocking news had just leaked out.

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11
Q

transport

A

strong emotion. Margo was a creature of extremes, at one moment in transports of joy over a vivid sunset, at another moment in transports of grief over a dying bird.

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12
Q

trappings

A

outward decorations; ornaments. He loved the trappings of success: the limousines, the stock options, the company jet.

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13
Q

trek

A

travel; journey. The tribe made their trek further north that summer in search of game.

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14
Q

tremor

A

trembling; slight quiver. She had a nervous tremor in her right hand.

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15
Q

trenchant

A

forceful and vigorous; cutting. With his trenchant wit, reviewer Frank Rich cut straight to the heart of the matter, panning a truly dreadful play.

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16
Q

tribulation

A

distress; suffering. After all the trials and tribulations we have gone through, we need this rest.

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17
Q

tribunal

A

court of justice. The decision of the tribunal was final and the prisoner was sentenced to death.

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18
Q

tribute

A

tax levied by a ruler; mar of respect. The colonists refused to pay tribute to a foreign despot.

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19
Q

trifling

A

trivial; unimportant. Why bother going to see a doctor for such a trifling, everyday cold?

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20
Q

trinket

A

knickknack; bauble; 小さなアクセサリー、つまらないもの. Whenever she traveled abroad, Ethel would pick up costume jewelry and other trinkets as souvenirs.

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21
Q

trite

A

hackneyed; commonplace. The trite and predictable situations in many television programs turn off many viewers, who, in turn, turn off their sets.

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22
Q

truism

A

self-evident truth. Many a truism is summed up in a proverb; for example, “Marry in haste, repent at leisure.”

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23
Q

truncate

A

cut the top off. The top of the cone that has been truncated in a plane parallel to its base is a circle.

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24
Q

tumult

A

commotion; riot; noise. She could not make herself heard over the tumult of the mob.

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25
Q

turncoat

A

traitor. The British considered Benedict Arnold a loyalist; the Americans considered him a turncoat.

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26
Q

turpitude

A

depravity; 卑劣(な行為). A visitor may be denied admittance to this country if she has been guilty of moral turpitude.

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27
Q

tutelage

A

guardianship; training. Under the tutelage of such masters of the instrument, she made rapid progress as a virtuoso.

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28
Q

tycoon

A

wealthy leader. Joh D. Rockefeller was a prominent tycoon.

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29
Q

tyranny

A

oppression; cruel government. Frederick Douglass fought against the tyranny of slavery throughout his entire life.

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30
Q

tyro

A

beginner; novice. For a mere tyro, you have produced some marvelous results.

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31
Q

ulterior

A

situated beyond; unstated and often questionable. You must have an ulterior motive for your behavior, since there is no obvious reason for it.

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32
Q

ultimatum

A

last demand; warning. Since they have ignored our ultimatum, our only recourse is to declare war.

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33
Q

umbrage

A

resentment; anger; sense of injury or insult. She took umbrage at his remarks and stormed away in a huff.

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34
Q

unaccountable

A

inexplicable; unreasonable or mysterious. I have taken an unaccountable dislike to my doctor: “I do not love thee, Doctor Fell. The reason why, I cannot tell.”

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35
Q

unanimity

A

complete agreement. We were surprised by the unanimity with which our proposals were accepted by the different groups.

36
Q

unassailable

A

not subject to question; not open to attack. Penelope’s virtue was unassailable; while she waited for her husband to come back from the war, no other guy had a chance.

37
Q

unassuaged

A

unsatisfied; not soothed. Her anger is unassuaged by your apology.

38
Q

unassuming

A

modest. He is so unassuming that some people fail to realize how great a man he really is.

39
Q

unbridled

A

violent. She had a sudden fit of unbridled rage.

40
Q

unconscionable

A

unscrupulous; excessive. She found the loan shark’s demands unconscionable and impossible to meet.

41
Q

uncouth

A

outlandish; clumsy; boorish. Most biographers portray Lincoln as an uncouth and ungainly young man.

42
Q

unctuous

A

oily; bland; insincerely suave; お世辞たらたらの. Uriah Heep disguised his nefarious actions by unctuous protestations of his “umility.”

43
Q

undermine

A

weaken; sap. The recent corruption scandals have undermined many people’s faith in the city government.

44
Q

unearth

A

dig up. When the unearthed the city, the archeologists found many relics of an ancient civilization.

45
Q

unearthly

A

not earthly; weird. There is an unearthly atmosphere in her work that amazes the causal observer.

46
Q

unequivocal

A

plain; obvious. My answer to your proposal is an unequivocal and absolute “No.”

47
Q

unerringly

A

infallibly; 寸分の違いもなく、的確に. My teacher unerringly pounced on the one typographical error in my essay.

48
Q

unexceptionable

A

not offering any basis for criticism; entirely acceptable. Objecting to Jack’s lack of a respectable family background, Lady Bracknell declared that Cecily could marry only a man of unexceptionable lineage and character.

49
Q

unfaltering

A

steadfast; よろめかない、決然とした、断固とした. She approached the guillotine with unfaltering steps.

50
Q

unfettered

A

liberated; freed from chains. Chained to the wall for months on end, the hostage despaired that he would ever be unfettered.

51
Q

unfledged

A

immature. It is hard for an unfledged writer to find a sympathetic publisher.

52
Q

ungainly

A

awkward; clumsy; unwieldy. “If you want to know whether Nick’s an ungainly dancer, check out my bruised feet,” said Nora. Anyone who has ever tried to carry a bass fiddle knows it’s an ungainly instrument.

53
Q

unilateral

A

One-sided. This legislation is unilateral since it binds only one party in the controversy.

54
Q

unimpeachable

A

blameless and exemplary; 非難できない、申し分のない. Her conduct in office was unimpeachable and her record is spotless.

55
Q

uninhibited

A

unrepressed; 禁じられていない、遠慮のない. The congregation was shocked by her uninhibited laughter during the sermon.

56
Q

unkempt

A

disheveled; uncared for in appearance; 手入れされていない、無作法な. Jeremy hated his neighbor’s unkempt lawn: he thought its neglected appearance had a detrimental effect on neighborhood property values.

57
Q

unmitigated

A

unrelieved or immoderate; absolute. After four days of unmitigated heat, I was ready to collapse from heat prostration. The congresswoman’s husband was an unmitigated jerk: not only did he abandon her, but also he took her campaign funds!

58
Q

unobtrusive

A

inconspicuous; not blatant; 控えめな、目立ちすぎない. Reluctant to attract notice, the governess took a chair in a far corner of the room and tried to be as unobtrusive as possible.

59
Q

unpalatable

A

distasteful; disagreeable. “I refuse to swallow your conclusion,” she said, finding his logic unpalatable.

60
Q

unprepossessing

A

unattractive. During adolescence many attractive young people somehow acquire the false notion that their appearance is unprepossessing.

61
Q

unravel

A

disentangle; solve. With equal ease Miss Marple unraveled tangled balls of yarn and baffling murder mysteries.

62
Q

unrequited

A

not reciprocated; 〔人とのやりとりが〕一方的な、報われない. Suffering the pangs of unrequited love, Olivia rebukes Cesario for his hardheartedness.

63
Q

unruly

A

disobedient; lawless. The only way to curb this unruly mob is to use tear gas.

64
Q

unsavory

A

distasteful; morally offensive. People with unsavory reputations should not be allowed to work with young children.

65
Q

unscathed

A

unharmed. They prayed he would come back from the war unscathed.

66
Q

unseemly

A

unbecoming; indecent; in poor taste; 無作法な、不適切な. When Seymour put whoopee cushions on all the seats in the funeral parlor, his conduct was most unseemly.

67
Q

unsightly

A

ugly. Although James was an experienced emergency room nurse, he occasionally became queasy when faced with a particularly unsightly injury.

68
Q

unsullied

A

untarnished; 汚されていない. I am happy that my reputation is unsullied.

69
Q

untrammeled

A

without limits or restrictions; unrestrained. The first principle of a free society is an untrammeled flow of words in an open forum.

70
Q

unwieldy

A

awkward; cumbersome; unmanageable. The large carton was so unwieldy that the movers had trouble getting it up the stairs.

71
Q

unwitting

A

unintentional; not knowing. She was the unwitting tool of the swindlers.

72
Q

unwonted

A

unaccustomed. He hesitated to assume the unwonted role of master of ceremonies at the dinner.

73
Q

upbraid

A

severely scold; reprimand. Not only did Miss Minchin upbraid Ermengarde for her disobedience, but also she hung her up by her braids from a coatrack in the classroom.

74
Q

uproarious

A

marked by commotion; extremely funny; very noisy. The uproarious comedy hit Ace Ventura: Pet Detective starred Jim Carrey, whose comic mugging provoked gales of uproarious laughter from audiences coast to coast.

75
Q

upshot

A

outcome. The upshot of the rematch was that the former champion proved that he still possessed all the skills of his youth.

76
Q

urbane

A

suave; refined; elegant. The courtier was urbane and sophisticated.

77
Q

usurp

A

seize another’s power or rank. The revolution ended when the victorious rebel general succeeded in his attempt to usurp the throne.

78
Q

uxorious

A

excessively devoted to one’s wife. His friends laughed at him because he was so uxorious and submissive to his wife’s desires.

79
Q

vagabond

A

wanderer; tramp; さすらい人. In summer, college students wander the roads of Europe like carefree vagabonds.

80
Q

vagary

A

caprice; whim; 予測の付かない変化、気まぐれ. She followed every vagary of fashion.

81
Q

vagrant

A

homeless wanderer. Because he was a stranger in town with no visible means of support, Martin feared he would be jailed as a vagrant.

82
Q

vainglorious

A

boastful; excessively conceited. She was a vainglorious and arrogant individual.

83
Q

valor

A

bravery. He received the Medal of Honor for his valor in battle.

84
Q

vanguard

A

forerunners; advance forces; 先駆け、先駆者. We are the vanguard of a tremendous army that is following us.

85
Q

vantage

A

position giving an advantage. They fired upon the enemy from behind trees, walls and any other point of vantage they could find.

86
Q

vegetate

A

live in a monotonous way. I do not understand how you an vegetate in this quiet village after the adventurous life you have led.

87
Q

vehement

A

forceful; intensely emotional; with marked vigor. Alfred became so vehement in describing what was wrong with the Internal Revenue Service that he began jumping up and down and gesticulating wildly.