GRE Barron's 9-10 Flashcards
champion
support militantly. Martin Luther King, Jr., won the Nobel Peace Prize because he championed the oppressed in their struggle for equality.
chary
cautious; sparing or restrained about giving. A prudent, thrifty New Englander, DeWitt was as chary of investing money in junk bonds as he was chary of paying people unnecessary compliments.
chasm
abyss. They could not see the bottom of the chasm.
chasten
correct by punishment or scolding; restrain. No matter how much a child deserves to be chastened for doing wrong, the maxim “Spare the road and spoil the child” never justifies physical abuse.
chastise
punish or scold; reprimand. Mis Watson liked nothing better than to chastise Huck for his alleged offenses.
chauvinist
blindly devoted patriot; zealous adherent of a group or cause. A chauvinist cannot recognize any faults in his country, no matter how flagrant they may be.
check
stop motion; curb or restrain. Thrusting out her arm, Grandma checked Bobby’s lunge at his sister. “Young man,” she said, “you’d better check your temper.”
checkered
marked by changes in fortune; 波瀾万丈の. During his checkered career he had lived in palatial mansions and in dreary boardinghouses.
cherubic
angelic; innocent-looking. With her cheerful smile and rosy cheeks, she was a particularly cherubic child.
chicanery
trickery; deception. Those sneaky lawyers misrepresented what occurred, made up all sorts of implausible alternative scenarios to confuse the jurors, and in general depended on chicanery to win the case.
chide
scold. Grandma began to chide Steven for his lying.
chimerical
fantastically improbably; highly unrealistic; imaginative. As everyone expected, Ted’s chimerical scheme to make a fortune by raising ermines in his backyard proved a dismal failure.
chivalrous
courteous; faithful; brave. Chivalrous behavior involves noble words and good deeds.
choleric
Hot-tempered. His flushed, angry face indicated a choleric nature.
chortle
chuckle with delight. When she heard that her rival had just been jailed for embezzlement, she chortled with joy.
chronic
long established, as a disease. The doctors were finally able to attribute his chronic headaches and nausea to traces of formaldehyde gas in his apartment.
chronicle
report; record (in chronological order). The gossip columnist was paid to chronicle the latest escapades of the socially prominent celebrities.
churlish
boorish; rude. Dismayed by his churlish manners at the party, the girls vowed never to invite him again.
cipher
nonentity; worthless person or thing. She claimed her ex-husband was a total cipher and wondered why she had ever married him.
circuitous
roundabout. Because of the traffic congestion on the main highways, she took a circuitous route.
circumlocution
unnecessarily wordy and indirect speech; evasive language. Don’t beat about the bush, but just say what you want to say: I’m fed up with listening to your circumlocutions.
circumscribe
limit narrowly; confine or restrict; define. The great lords of state tried to circumscribe the queen’s power by having her accept a set of conditions that left the decisive voice in all important matters to the privy council.
circumspect
prudent; cautious. Investigating before acting, she tried always to be circumspect.
circumvent
outwit; baffle; (ずる賢い方法で問題などを)避ける. In order to circumvent the enemy, we will make two preliminary attacks in other sections before starting our major campaign.
clairvoyant
having foresight; fortuneteller. Cassandra’s clairvoyant warning was not heeded by the Trojans.
clamor
noise. The clamor of the children at play outside made it impossible for her to take a nap.
clandestine
secret. After avoiding their chaperon, the lovers had a clandestine meeting.
clangor
loud, resounding noise. The blacksmith was accustomed to the clangor of hammers on steel.
cleave
split or sever; cling to; remain faithful to. With her heavy cleaver, Julia child could cleave a whole roast duck in two.
cleft
split. Trying for a fresh handhold, the mountain climber grasped the edge of a cleft in the sheer rockface.
clemency
disposition to be lenient; mildness, as of the weather; 慈悲、温和. Why did the defense lawyer look pleased when his case was sent to Judge Bland’s chambers? Bland was noted for her clemency to first offenders.
cliché
phrase dulled in meaning by repetition. High school compositions are often marred by such cliches as “strong as an ox.”
climactic
relating to the highest point. When he reached the climactic portions of the book, he could not stop reading.
clime
region; climate. His doctor advised him to move to a milder clime.
clique
small, exclusive group. Fitzgerald wished that he belonged to the clique of popular athletes and big men on campus who seemed to run Princeton’s social life.
clout
great influence (especially political or social). Gatsby wondered whether he had enough clout to be admitted to the exclusive club.
cloying
distasteful (because excessive); excessively sweet or sentimental. Disliking the cloying sweetness of standard wedding cakes, Jody and Tom chose a homemade carrot cake for their reception.
coagulate
thicken; congeal; clot. Even after you remove the pudding from the burner, it will continue to coagulate as it stands.