GRE Major Tests Chapter 20 Flashcards
Benignity
compassion, gentleness, fondness
ex) Her benignity makes him too nice and allows him to be an easy target for con artists.
Contusion
a bruise
ex) He has a back contusion, unrelated to the previous injury.
Emerge
come out, appear
ex) She emerged from the kitchen.
Gullibility
being easily fooled
ex) He is such a gullible person he always believes everything people say.
Jollity
gaiety, happiness
ex) I love all the warmhearted jollity of the holiday season.
Nonentity
not famous
ex ) The celebrity cut in front of me like I was a nonentity.
Pinnacle
topmost point
ex) At the pinnacle of her career, she was on the cover of every entertainment magazine.
Referendum
public vote
ex) The employees were asked to vote on a referendum about the company insurance plan.
Suspect
doubtful
ex) Nobody suspected him because he had a reputation for being honest.
Wistful
melancholy
ex) I became wistful when I saw my ex-boyfriend with his new love.
Bequeath
leave something in one’s will to be given after ones’s death
ex) The billionaire’s will states that he plans to bequeath all of his fortune to his butler.
Conundrum
a puzzle
ex) Trying to solve this conundrum is really making my head hurt.
Emulate
to imitate something admired
ex) If you want to be rich, emulate a wealthy entrepreneur.
Gullible
easily fooled
ex) The gullible woman gave all her money to a fake charity.
Jubilant
filled with joy, ecstatic, delighted, rejoicing
ex) I am jubilant to learn that my sister is finally having a baby.
Nostalgia
longing for the past
ex) If my brother sees the family pictures and videos, nostalgia may help him regain his memory.
Pious
very religious
ex) Everyone knows the pious Mr. Smith never leaves his house without his Bible.
Refute
disprove, to prove wrong by argument or evidence
ex) My physics teacher challenged us to refute his laboratory findings with our own evidence.
Sybarite
lover of luxury
ex) So he could relax whenever he wanted, the sybarite wanted to include a hot tub in his living room renovations.
Zany
crazy, wacky, unique, amusing
ex) My cat behaves in a zany manner after inhaling catnip.
Berate
scold, criticize
ex) As the director started to berate the cast for the hundredth time, several of the lead actors walked out.
Conventional
usual, customary, common
ex) n many cultures, a handshake is a conventional greeting exchanged between people meeting for the first time.
Endorse
give support or approval to
ex) The singer is being paid to endorse the soft drink in a series of commercials.
Gustatory
concerned with the sense of taste
ex) The chef was trying to teach his students about the gustatory arts.
Judicious
correct in judgment, wise
ex) The experienced software engineer is judicious when it comes to finding the best way to code a software application.
Notoriety
infamy, known for wrong doing
ex) The restaurant’s notoriety for its low health department score has led to a huge decline in sales.
Pivotal
of central importance
ex) Good customer service is pivotal to a successful business.
Regale
entertain
ex) The chef hoped his meal would regale the food critic.
Sycophant
bootlicker, flatterer
ex) My sister is a shallow sycophant who will flatter anyone for a free designer handbag.
Zeal
enthusiasm
ex) The athlete’s zeal gave him the energy to reach the top of the mountain.
Beret
type of cap
ex) I’d have been wearing a beret in no time.
Corpulent
fat
ex) After overeating for months, the skinny girl became somewhat corpulent.
Endurance
staying power, patience, stamina
ex) The ballet director was seeking talented dancers who had incredible endurance.
Hackneyed
common and over-used
ex) Eventually, the phrase became so hackneyed that people stopped saying it.
Jurisprudence
science or study of law
ex) People who study jurisprudence hope to learn more about the nature and history of laws.
Novel
new, unusual
ex) She has suggested a novel approach to the problem.
Placate
pacify, soothe, calm
ex) My husband will do just about anything to placate me so I will not be mad at him.
Relegate
dismiss to a lower position, to put (someone or something) in a lower or less important position,
ex) Mr. Pierce eases his workload by having his secretary pick out the mail that is most important and relegate everything else to the recycling bin.
Taciturn
quiet, saying little
ex) When Jack drinks, he goes from being taciturn to being very outspoken.
Zealot
fanatic
ex) The security camera caught the health zealot vandalizing the soft drink manufacturer’s office.
Bestial
behaving like a beast, brutal
ex) The attacker’s bestial assault left Henry in a coma.
Corrugated
highly folded
ex) The roof was made of corrugated material so the rain could flow down easily.
Enduring
lasting
ex) He formed a number of enduring relationships with women.
Hallowed
worshipped, consecrated
ex) The college’s hallowed tradition of ringing the chapel bell one hundred times before commencement ceremonies.
Juxtapose
place next to
ex) Don’t juxtapose your own ideas with your sister’s. You both think way too differently to be able to function together.
Novice
a beginner, tyro
ex) The bike race is only for novice riders who have never participated in a professional race.
Placebo
harmless medicine with no effect, dummy medicine
ex) To the surprise of the medical researchers, people who took the placebo reported feeling better than ever.
Remorse
regret, sorrow, contrition
ex) The psychopath appeared content and showed no remorse during the murder trial.
Tactile
concerned with the sense of touch
ex) When I accidently touched the cactus, my tactile senses told my brain to quickly remove my fingers.
Zenith
summit, the strongest or most successful period of time
ex) Before her zenith ended, Meredith published six best-selling books.
