GRE Major Tests Chapter 21

Question 1

Abate

Answer 1

reduce in intensity

ex) I hope this medicine will abate the pain in my leg.

Question 2

Abjure

Answer 2

renounce, swear to refrain from something

ex) In order to marry the peasant he loved, the prince made the decision to abjure his title.

Question 3

Blandishment

Answer 3

words used to coax or flatter

ex) Despite his nervousness at meeting his in-laws, Dylan was able to offer just the right blandishment to get their approval.

Question 4

Boor

Answer 4

ill-mannered person

ex) Jack was such a boor he would not even hold a door for his mother.

Question 5

Cardinal

Answer 5

1. high ranking church official; 2. major, important

ex) In a town in Italy, having litter-free land is a cardinal law due to the number of environmentalists who live there.

Question 6

Deliberate

Answer 6

1. slow (a); 2. to think over (v); 3. on purpose (a)

ex) Tom deliberately broke the window.

Question 7

Equivocation

Answer 7

speaking ambiguously [equivocate (v), equivocal (a)]

ex) The crooked salesman went out of his way to equivocate the sales terms to the elderly couple.

Question 8

Feckless

Answer 8

feeble, helpless, lacking in initiative

ex) Larry was such a feckless manager that the company was forced to declare bankruptcy.

Question 9

Imperturbability

Answer 9

quality of being calm and not easily disturbed [imperturbable (a)]

ex) The imperturbable actress carried on with her performance even when her costar forgot his lines.

Question 10

Meretricious

Answer 10

falsely attractive, tawdry

ex) Adding those flamboyant earrings to such a colorful skirt gives your entire outfit a meretricious effect.

Question 11

Augury

Answer 11

prediction, looking for omens [augur (v)]

ex) There are those who view the virus as an augury of the world coming to an end.

Question 12

Boycott

Answer 12

refuse to have dealings with

ex) Since the employees have had their insurance demands met, they have ended the boycott and are now returning to work.

Question 13

Glib

Answer 13

speaking easily but without thinking carefully; speaking in a smooth, easy way that is insincere

ex) How could he have been so glib about such a traumatic event?

Question 14

Incise

Answer 14

cut into [incision (n); incisive (a)]

ex) The clay is incised to create a design.

Question 15

Moralistic

Answer 15

concerned with morals [moralize (v)]

ex) The conversation took a moralistic turn as my mother began to scold me for living a lifestyle she felt to be immoral.

Question 16

Ostracism

Answer 16

shunning, social isolation [ostracize (v)]

ex) Sadly, the rich children ostracize the other girl because she comes from a poor family.

Question 17

Penchant

Answer 17

inclination, leaning, tendency, predilection

ex) At an early age, my annoying brother seemed to have a penchant for getting into trouble.

Question 18

Rarefy

Answer 18

make less dense [rarefaction (n)]

ex) To make the mixture less dense, add water to rarefy it.

Question 19

Repine

Answer 19

fret, be discontented

ex) While in prison the man did nothing but repine for his freedom.

Question 20

Stipulate

Answer 20

to insist upon something as a condition of an agreement [stipulation (n)]

ex) Before I agree to close the deal, I must stipulate a few requirements that must be met before I sign on the dotted line.

Question 21

Diaphanous

Answer 21

transparent, thin and delicate

ex) Most dancers wear several layers of clothing because the stage lights often make their costumes appear diaphanous.

Question 22

Feint

Answer 22

pretended attack, a move intended to deceive

ex) The child’s feint involved pretending to be ill so he would not have to face his bullies at school.

Question 23

Inured

Answer 23

able to withstand hardship, to become accustomed to something unpleasant by prolonged exposure

ex) Ever since Melissa lost her mother when she was a child, she has been inured to hardship.

Question 24

Mettlesome

Answer 24

describes a person or animal that is both spirited and brave

ex) My brother is a mettlesome boy whose free-spirit always leads him to some type of adventure.

Question 25

Puissance

Answer 25

power

ex) After having an undefeated record for months, the wrestler’s puissance over her competitors was quickly displayed in every fight.

Question 26

Recondite

Answer 26

obscure

ex) The difficult concept of the physics theory was recondite to everyone but the scientists.

Question 27

Stygian

Answer 27

very dark

ex) The stygian cave led to an underground river which frightened the explorers.

Question 28

Touting

Answer 28

brag, advertising, supporting [tout (v)]

ex) Although Jared’s parents are extremely wealthy, he acts like a normal person and does not tout his background.

Question 29

Virtuosity

Answer 29

skill, expertise [virtuoso (n); virtuosi (n.pl)]

ex) The talented singer’s virtuosity landed her a spot at the famed Apollo Theater.

Question 30

Volubility

Answer 30

excessive talkativeness [voluble (a)]

ex) After my grandfather drinks a few beers, he becomes voluble and will not stop talking.

Question 31

Caret

Answer 31

A proofreading symbol (‸) used to indicate where something is to be inserted in a line of printed or written matter.

ex) Always include carets when needed.

Question 32

Contiguous

Answer 32

used to describe things that touch each other or are next to each other

ex) Having a balcony that is contiguous to my bedroom allows me to view the sunrise from my bed.

Question 33

Damp

Answer 33

(used of vibration) reduce in extent

ex) His hand moved to his mouth as he tried to damp down the panic.

Question 34

Ellipsis

Answer 34

omission of essential words

ex) Always include ellipsis’s when needed.

Question 35

Extirpation

Answer 35

wiping out, complete destruction [extirpate (v)]

ex) Hopefully the pesticides will extirpate the insects from my garden.

Question 36

Foppish

Answer 36

behaving or dressing like a dandy, excessively concerned with fashion

ex) Like a fop, a man overly concerned with his appearance.

Question 37

Gaffe

Answer 37

an obvious error or mistake

ex) Because of the quarterback’s gaffe, our team lost the big game.

Question 38

Hortatory

Answer 38

encouraging, exhorting

ex) The coach gave his players a hortatory speech to inspire them to play well.

Question 39

Opprobrious

Answer 39

conveying shame or contempt

ex) Elaine was offended by her friends’ opprobrious remarks about her drunken behavior.

Question 40

Recumbent

Answer 40

reclining, lying down

ex) After drinking four beers, my father was recumbent in his favorite chair.

Question 41

Ambidextrous

Answer 41

able to use both left and right hands equally well

ex) Although he considered himself to be ambidextrous, he was always cutting his left hand when he tried to juggle swords.

Question 42

Culpability

Answer 42

guilt [culpable = blameworthy]

ex) The judge found the man culpable of the crime and sentenced him to life in prison.

Question 43

Discernment

Answer 43

smart judgement

ex) I used discernment to choose the candidate for whom I wanted vote.

Question 44

Encomium

Answer 44

praise

ex) Paula finds painting so therapeutic that she has written an encomium celebrating the art form.

Question 45

Inveigle

Answer 45

coax, cajole, wheedle, entice

ex) The detective could inveigle information out of the quietest suspects.

Question 46

Minatory

Answer 46

threatening

ex) Although the message seemed minatory, the student swore that it was joke and not a threat.

Question 47

Ossified

Answer 47

turned to bone; become rigid [ossification (n)]

ex) My father’s opinion has started to ossify so I know he won’t change his mind.

Question 48

Plumb

Answer 48

explore, measure depth of (v), exact (a. slang)

ex) Using the Internet, you can easily plumb your essay topic before writing the paper.

Question 49

Quintessential

Answer 49

most typical, the perfect example of [quintessence (n)]

ex) Everyone knows watermelon is the quintessential fruit on a hot summer day.

Question 50

Runic

Answer 50

mysterious, magical

ex) And the book may be just what the thieves need to figure out the runic symbols.