GRE Barron's 47-48 Flashcards
torrent
rushing stream; flood. Day after day of heavy rain saturated the hillside until the water ran downhill in torrents.
torrid
passionate; hot or scorching. The novels published by Harlequin Romances feature torrid love affairs, some set in torrid climates.
totter
move unsteadily; sway, as if about to fall. On unsteady feet, the drunk tottered down the hill to the nearest bar.
touchy
sensitive; irascible. Do not discuss his acne with Archy; he is very touchy about it.
traduce
expose to slander; 中傷する. His opponents tried to traduce the candidate’s reputation by spreading rumors about his past.
transcendent
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.
transcribe
copy. When you transcribe your notes, please send a copy to Mr. Smith and keep the original for our files.
transfigure
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.
transmute
change; convert to something different. He was unable to transmute his dreams into actualities.
transpire
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.
transport
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.
trappings
outward decorations; ornaments. He loved the trappings of success: the limousines, the stock options, the company jet.
trek
travel; journey. The tribe made their trek further north that summer in search of game.
tremor
trembling; slight quiver. She had a nervous tremor in her right hand.
trenchant
forceful and vigorous; cutting. With his trenchant wit, reviewer Frank Rich cut straight to the heart of the matter, panning a truly dreadful play.
tribulation
distress; suffering. After all the trials and tribulations we have gone through, we need this rest.
tribunal
court of justice. The decision of the tribunal was final and the prisoner was sentenced to death.
tribute
tax levied by a ruler; mar of respect. The colonists refused to pay tribute to a foreign despot.
trifling
trivial; unimportant. Why bother going to see a doctor for such a trifling, everyday cold?
trinket
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.
trite
hackneyed; commonplace. The trite and predictable situations in many television programs turn off many viewers, who, in turn, turn off their sets.
truism
self-evident truth. Many a truism is summed up in a proverb; for example, “Marry in haste, repent at leisure.”
truncate
cut the top off. The top of the cone that has been truncated in a plane parallel to its base is a circle.
tumult
commotion; riot; noise. She could not make herself heard over the tumult of the mob.
turncoat
traitor. The British considered Benedict Arnold a loyalist; the Americans considered him a turncoat.
turpitude
depravity; 卑劣（な行為）. A visitor may be denied admittance to this country if she has been guilty of moral turpitude.
tutelage
guardianship; training. Under the tutelage of such masters of the instrument, she made rapid progress as a virtuoso.
tycoon
wealthy leader. Joh D. Rockefeller was a prominent tycoon.
tyranny
oppression; cruel government. Frederick Douglass fought against the tyranny of slavery throughout his entire life.
tyro
beginner; novice. For a mere tyro, you have produced some marvelous results.
ulterior
situated beyond; unstated and often questionable. You must have an ulterior motive for your behavior, since there is no obvious reason for it.
ultimatum
last demand; warning. Since they have ignored our ultimatum, our only recourse is to declare war.
umbrage
resentment; anger; sense of injury or insult. She took umbrage at his remarks and stormed away in a huff.
unaccountable
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.”
unanimity
complete agreement. We were surprised by the unanimity with which our proposals were accepted by the different groups.
unassailable
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.
unassuaged
unsatisfied; not soothed. Her anger is unassuaged by your apology.
unassuming
modest. He is so unassuming that some people fail to realize how great a man he really is.
unbridled
violent. She had a sudden fit of unbridled rage.
unconscionable
unscrupulous; excessive. She found the loan shark’s demands unconscionable and impossible to meet.
uncouth
outlandish; clumsy; boorish. Most biographers portray Lincoln as an uncouth and ungainly young man.
unctuous
oily; bland; insincerely suave; お世辞たらたらの. Uriah Heep disguised his nefarious actions by unctuous protestations of his “umility.”
undermine
weaken; sap. The recent corruption scandals have undermined many people’s faith in the city government.
unearth
dig up. When the unearthed the city, the archeologists found many relics of an ancient civilization.
unearthly
not earthly; weird. There is an unearthly atmosphere in her work that amazes the causal observer.
unequivocal
plain; obvious. My answer to your proposal is an unequivocal and absolute “No.”
unerringly
infallibly; 寸分の違いもなく、的確に. My teacher unerringly pounced on the one typographical error in my essay.
unexceptionable
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.
unfaltering
steadfast; よろめかない、決然とした、断固とした. She approached the guillotine with unfaltering steps.
unfettered
liberated; freed from chains. Chained to the wall for months on end, the hostage despaired that he would ever be unfettered.
unfledged
immature. It is hard for an unfledged writer to find a sympathetic publisher.
ungainly
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.
unilateral
One-sided. This legislation is unilateral since it binds only one party in the controversy.
unimpeachable
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.
uninhibited
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.
unkempt
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.
unmitigated
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!
unobtrusive
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.
unpalatable
distasteful; disagreeable. “I refuse to swallow your conclusion,” she said, finding his logic unpalatable.
unprepossessing
unattractive. During adolescence many attractive young people somehow acquire the false notion that their appearance is unprepossessing.
unravel
disentangle; solve. With equal ease Miss Marple unraveled tangled balls of yarn and baffling murder mysteries.
unrequited
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.
unruly
disobedient; lawless. The only way to curb this unruly mob is to use tear gas.
unsavory
distasteful; morally offensive. People with unsavory reputations should not be allowed to work with young children.
unscathed
unharmed. They prayed he would come back from the war unscathed.
unseemly
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.
unsightly
ugly. Although James was an experienced emergency room nurse, he occasionally became queasy when faced with a particularly unsightly injury.
unsullied
untarnished; 汚されていない. I am happy that my reputation is unsullied.
untrammeled
without limits or restrictions; unrestrained. The first principle of a free society is an untrammeled flow of words in an open forum.
unwieldy
awkward; cumbersome; unmanageable. The large carton was so unwieldy that the movers had trouble getting it up the stairs.
unwitting
unintentional; not knowing. She was the unwitting tool of the swindlers.
unwonted
unaccustomed. He hesitated to assume the unwonted role of master of ceremonies at the dinner.
upbraid
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.
uproarious
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.
upshot
outcome. The upshot of the rematch was that the former champion proved that he still possessed all the skills of his youth.
urbane
suave; refined; elegant. The courtier was urbane and sophisticated.
usurp
seize another’s power or rank. The revolution ended when the victorious rebel general succeeded in his attempt to usurp the throne.
uxorious
excessively devoted to one’s wife. His friends laughed at him because he was so uxorious and submissive to his wife’s desires.
vagabond
wanderer; tramp; さすらい人. In summer, college students wander the roads of Europe like carefree vagabonds.
vagary
caprice; whim; 予測の付かない変化、気まぐれ. She followed every vagary of fashion.
vagrant
homeless wanderer. Because he was a stranger in town with no visible means of support, Martin feared he would be jailed as a vagrant.
vainglorious
boastful; excessively conceited. She was a vainglorious and arrogant individual.
valor
bravery. He received the Medal of Honor for his valor in battle.
vanguard
forerunners; advance forces; 先駆け、先駆者. We are the vanguard of a tremendous army that is following us.
vantage
position giving an advantage. They fired upon the enemy from behind trees, walls and any other point of vantage they could find.
vegetate
live in a monotonous way. I do not understand how you an vegetate in this quiet village after the adventurous life you have led.
vehement
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.
