GRE Major Tests Chapter 17 Flashcards
Bane
troublesome influence, something causing misery
ex) According to Stewart, her jealousy was the bane of their relationship.
Condone
tacitly, support
ex) Good politician officers will not condone speeding.
Eclectic
taking things from different sources
ex) She followed an unusual eclectic method for finishing her work.
Genre
a category
ex) The game of his novel is comedy.
Irascible
easily angered
ex) After my sister got dumped by her boyfriend, she was irascible all the time.
Mundane
ordinary
ex) Mundane thinking will only take you so far in innovation.
Perpetuated
caused to continue
ex) In his memory, let us perpetuate his desire to get more homeless people off the streets.
Rancor
resentment, animosity
ex) I could almost see the rancor in his eyes when he challenged me to a fight.
Strut
swagger, show off
ex) She was strutting around like a peacock to show off her new pants.
Voluble
talkative
ex) She was voluble with excitement.
Bard
poet
ex) People sometimes refer to William Shakespeare as the Bard.
Condoning
overlooking, ignoring
ex) The government condoned the computer hacking among rival corporations.
Edifice
building, structure, construction
ex) The church on the corner is the oldest edifice in the country.
Germane
relevant
ex) The president will only respond the media questions that are germane to the economic crisis.
Ire
anger
ex) Their ire was directed mainly at the government.
Munificent
generous, charitable
ex) A munificent host who was presided over many charitable events at his mansion.
Perpetuity
eternity
ex) As a devoted wife, I vow to love my husband in perpetuity.
Rant
use bombastic language, complaining
ex) The last time I saw Tom, he was ranting about something.
Stupefying
astonishing, shocking
ex) The results were stupefying.
Voluminous
very large, spacious
ex) In their voluminous wine cellar, the couple kept hundreds of bottles of various types of alcohol.
Bastion
fortress, stronghold
ex) The soldiers hid behind the bastion.
Conflagration
big fire, conflict, war
ex) The conflagration destroyed the warehouses.
Efface
wipe out
ex) If I could efface all my sad memories, I would be a very happy person.
Germinal
just growing, not developed
ex) A germinal idea.
Irksome
annoying, infuriating
ex) Her loud music was irksome.
Mutinous
very rebellious
ex) The city was becoming mutinous.
Personable
attractive, pleasant
ex) The doctor was personable and made me feel better.
Ratify
approve, consent
ex) Until all of the countries ratify the treaty, the war will continue.
Subpoena
summons to court
ex) As soon as I received the subpoena, I knew I had to testify during the trial.
Voracious
ravenous
ex) The football player was a voracious eater who easily consumed two chickens during one meal.
Befuddle
confuse
ex) The befuddled old man could not remember where he lived.
Confound
confuse
ex) Without instructions, this unusual game will confound anyone.
Effigy
a model of a person
ex) It displays his trophies and his effigy in wax.
Gibbering
making meaningless noises
ex) Calm down! You sound like a gibbering idiot!
Ironic
satiric, unexpected
ex) It’s ironic that computers break down so often, since they’re meant to save people time.
Myriad
in large numbers
ex) Our house has been plagued with myriad insects this summer.
Perspicacious
insightful
ex) Using his perspicacious mind, he easily solved the mystery.
Raucous
rough and unpleasant
ex) He had a harsh laugh that could only be described as raucous.
Substantiate
give supporting advice
ex) They substantiated their claim by producing dated receipts.
Waive
surrender, give up rights
ex) Since Ted does not want to be responsible for anyone, he is going to waive his rights to his son.
Begrudge
resent, to be envious of what one feels another does not deserve
ex) James was the only team member to begrudge Carl of his role as Captain.
Congeal
to solidify
ex) Before I could put a bandage on, my blood begun to congeal on my cut.
Effusive
gashing, demonstrative, expressing a lot of emotion
ex) My serious professor rarely smiles and is hardly what I would describe as effusive.
Glacial
hostile
ex) He had a glacial stare.
Irrational
unreasonable
ex) Arachnophobia is an irrational fear of spiders.
Navigable
suitable for sailing
ex) This map shows which rivers are navigable and which aren’t.
Perspicacity
insight
ex) His poor financial decision showed a lack of perspicacity regarding the stock market.
Raze
destroy
ex) The decision to drop the bomb should not be taken lightly as the power of the weapon could raze and entire town.
Subterfuge
a trick
ex) From now on, he will no longer subterfuge to his family and instead focus on living an honest lifestyle.
Wane
grow less
ex) Since sales have started to wane, the store is in danger of becoming unprofitable.
