GRE Deck 12 Flashcards
ablution
washing
abortive
unsuccessful; fruitless
acetic
vinegary
adage
wise saying; proverb
admonish
warn or speak to with gentle disapproval; reprove
affidavit
written statement made under oath (for use as proof in a court of law)
aloft
upward; high up in the air
altruistic
unselfishly generous; concerned for others; N. altiruism: unselfish concern for the welfare of others; unselfishness; OP. egoism
ambiguous
unclear or doubtful in meaning; having more than one possible interpretation
amble
walking at an easy unhurried pace; V: walk slowly and aimlessly
amiss
wrong; faulty; Ex. something amiss; ADV.
annuity
yearly allowance
apropos
with reference to; regarding; Ex. remarks apropos (of) the present situation; ADJ. ADV.
arbitrary
unreasonable or capricious; random; tyrannical; Ex. arbitrary ruler
artless
without guile; open and honest
askance
with a sideways or indirect look (with disapproval or distruct); Ex. look askance at
astute
wise; shrewd; keen; seeing quickly something that is to one’s advantage
atrophy
wasting away; V: weaken and lose flesh and muscle (through lack of blood or lack of use)
bedraggle
wet thoroughly; ADJ. bedraggled: draggled
bellicose
warlike
bicameral
two-chambered as a legislative body
blackball
vote against (an applicant); ostracize; N: negative vote
blurt
utter impulsively from nervousness or excitement
bohemian
unconventional (in an artistic way)
boisterous
violent; rough; noisy
brandish
wave around (a weapon); flourish
breadth
width; extent
brim
uppermost edge of a cup; projecting rim (as on a hat); Ex. The glass was full to the brim; V: be full to the brim
callow
youthful; immature; inexperienced
canard
unfounded false rumor; exaggerated false report
caprice
whim; sudden change of mind without any real cause
capricious
unpredictable; fickle
carat(karat)
unit of weight for precious stones; measure of the purity of gold
categorical
without exceptions; made without any doubt in mind; unqualified; absolute
cede
yield (title or territory) to (esp. after losing a war); surrender formally; N. cession
cession
yielding to another; ceding
chafe
warm by rubbing; make sore by rubbing; N.
chaff
worthless products of an endeavor; husk(outer seed cover) separated from grain; Ex. separate the wheat from the chaff
chant
tune(melody) in which a number of words are sung on the same note; V: sing (a chant); utter (a slogan) in the manner of a chant
coercion
use of force to get someone to object; compelling; V. coerce
colander
utensil with perforated bottom used for straining
collaborate
work together; cooperate treasonably with the enemy
collage
work of art put together from fragments
complaisant
trying to please; obliging; willing to please others
conceit
vanity or self-love; too high opinion of one’s own value; extravagant metaphor (in poetry)
confidant(confidante)
trusted friend (to whom one tells one’s secret)
consolidation
unification; process of becoming firmer or stronger; V. consolidate: merge; strengthen
constituency
voters represented by an elected official; district so represented; group of supporters (or constituents)
context
writings preceding and following the passage quoted; circumstance in which an event occurs
contortions
twistings; distortions; V. contort: twist violently out of shape; CF. contortionist
contrived
unnatural and forced; artificial; not spontaneous; Ex. The ending was rather contrived.
conveyance
vehicle; transfer; act of conveying; Ex. public conveyance
convulsion
violent uncontrollable shaking movement (caused by illness); V. convulse; ADJ. convulsive
cordial
warmly friendly; gracious; heartfelt; Ex. cordial welcome
corpulent
very fat; N. corpulence
corrugated
wrinkled; ridged
crass
very unrefined; grossly insensible; crude and undiscriminating; Ex. crass behavior
crinkle
wrinkle
cue
word or signal (as in a play to prompt another actor’s speech or entrance); reminder or hint; V: give a cue to
dabble
work at in a nonserious fashion; splash around; move noisily in a liquid
deadpan
wooden; impassive; with no show of feeling; with an expressionless face
debilitate
weaken (esp. through heat, hunger, illness); enfeeble
debutante
young woman making formal entrance into society
decrepit
weak and in bad condition from old age or hard use; Ex. decrepit old chair/man
deflect
turn aside; turn away from a straight course
deify
turn into a god; make a god of; idolize; Ex. Kings were deified; CF. deity
deputize
work or appoint as a deputy; N. deputy: person who has the power to take charge when the leading person is away
derivative
unoriginal; obtained from another source; Ex. derivative prose style; N.
deserts
what someone deserves
despondent
without hope and courage; depressed; gloomy; N. despondency: loss of hope with gloom; dejection
despot
tyrant; harsh, authoritarian ruler; CF. despotism
deviate
turn away from (a principle, norm); move away from an accepted standard; swerve; depart; diverge; N. deviation; Ex. deviation of the path of light by a prism
diffuse
wordy; verbose; rambling; spread out (like a gas); V: spread out in all directions; disperse; N. diffusion; CF. suffuse
digression
wandering away from the subject; V. digress
dire
warning of disaster; disastrous; (of needs and dangers) very great; urgent; Ex. dire prediction/need of food
disengage
uncouple; separate; disconnect; stop fighting; OP. engage
disheveled
untidy (of hair or clothing); V. dishevel
disinclination
unwillingness
disinterested
unprejudiced; free from bias and self-interest; objective
disquietude
uneasiness; anxiety; V. disquiet: make anxious
distort
twist out of shape; give a false account of; misrepresent; N. distortion
distraught
upset; distracted by anxiety; very anxious and troubled almost to the point of madness; Ex. distraught with grief/worry
diverge
vary; go in different directions from the same point; ADJ. divergent: differing; deviating
doctrinaire
unable to compromise about points of doctrine; dogmatic; unyielding; marked by inflexible attachment to a doctrine without regard to its practical difficulties
dormer
window projecting upright from roof; CF. sleeping room
dowdy
untidy (of a woman or clothes); slovenly; dressed in an unattractive way; shabby; CF. unattractive woman
dowse
use a divining rod to search for underground water or minerals
dross
waste matter; worthless impurities
dyslexia
word blindness; learning disorder marked by impairment of the ability to read
earthy
unrefined; coarse; of earth; Ex. earthy remarks; OP. ethereal
eerie
weird; causing fear because strange
elaborate
work out carefully; add more detail or information; ADJ.
emasculate
weaken; castrate
embryonic
undeveloped; rudimentary; N. embryo: organism in the early stage of development
enervate
weaken; take away energy from
enterprise
willingness to take new ventures; initiative; business organization; plan (that is difficult or daring); Ex. their latest enterprise to sail round the world in a small boat
epigram
witty thought or saying, usually short
epithet
word or phrase characteristically used to describe a person or thing; descriptive phrase to characterize a person (often contemptous)
equivocate
use equivocal language to deceive people; lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the truth; N. equivocation
errant
wandering (esp. in search of adventure); straying from proper moral standards; Ex. knight-errant
ethos
underlying character of a culture, group, etc.; character or ideas peculiar to a specific person, group, or culture; Ex. the company ethos
exacerbate
worsen; aggravate; embitter
exasperate
vex; annoy or make angry (by testing the patience)
execrable
very bad; detestable
exhort
urge (by strong argument or advice); Ex. The general exhorted his men to fight bravely; N. exhortation
exigency
urgent situation; ADJ. exigent
extenuate
weaken; mitigate; lessen the seriousness of (bad behavior)
extort
wring from; get money by threats, etc.; obtain by force or threats; CF. extortionate: exorbitant
fanciful
whimsical; visionary; imaginary; produced by imagination; Ex. fanciful scheme
figure
written symbols; number; amount represented in numbers; outline or silhouette of a thing or human body; person (well-known); impression; diagram; pattern; group in a dance; Ex. figure of speech; V. calculate with numbers; adorn with figures; appear; consider; Ex. My name did not figure in the list.
fleece
wool coat of a sheep; V: shear the fleece from; rob by a trick; swindle; plunder
fluctuate
waver; shift; rise and fall as if in waves; change or vary irregularly
fluke
unlikely occurrence; stroke of fortune; accidental stroke of good luck; ADJ. fluky
foppish
vain about dress and appearance; N. fop: man who takes too much interest in his clothes and appearance
foul
very bad or disagreeable; very dirty; Ex. foul smell/flavor/temper/language/air/deed/weather/means; N. act against the rules; V. make or become foul; commit a foul
fractious
unruly; peevish; cranky; bad-tempered; Ex. fractious horse
frail
weak; N. frailty
frantic
wild; distraught as from fear or worry; Ex. frantic with fear
fritter
waste (time or money on unimportant things)
fusion
union; coalition; V. fuse
fuss:
trouble or worry over trifles; make nervous; pay too much attention to; N: needless concern or worry (about a trivial thing); anxious nervous condition; display of attention; Ex. make a fuss over the baby
futile
useless; hopeless; ineffectual
gale
windstorm; gust of wind; emotional outburst (laughters, tears); Ex. gale of laughter
gargoyle
waterspout carved in grotesque figures on a building
generality
vague statement; general statement which is not detailed; quality of being general; greater part; most; Ex. generality of people
genteel
well-bred; elegant; striving to convey an appearance of refinement; Ex. genteel poverty
gingerly
very carefully; ADJ.
gnarled
twisted
goad
urge on; drive with a goad; cause (someone) to do something by continued annoyance; Ex. They goaded him into doing it by saying he was a coward; N: sharp-pointed stick for driving cattle; stimulus; CF. annoy continually
grapple
wrestle; come to grips with; take hold of and struggle with; Ex. grapple with the burglar
grudging
unwilling; reluctant; stingy(giving reluctantly)
grunt
utter a deep guttural sound (as a pig does); N.
guileless
without deceit
gusty
windy
haggard
wasted away; gaunt; Ex. haggard faces of the rescued miners
hapless
unfortunate; luckless
havoc
widespread damage; disorder; chaos
hazard
venture; put in danger; risk; Ex. hazard a guess; N: possible source of danger
headstrong
willful; stubborn; unyielding; determined to have one’s own way; CF. no ‘excessive’
hibernal
wintry; wintery; of or like winter
hindsight
understanding the nature of an event after it has actually happened
hoary
white with age