GRE Major Tests Chapter 24

Question 1

Asperity

Answer 1

using harsh or critical tone

ex) When I was a teenager, my father used asperity when he spoke with all my dates in hopes of scaring them away.

Question 2

Blowhard

Answer 2

boastful person

ex) He doesn’t like to be a blowhard about what he’s developed.

Question 3

Disingenuous

Answer 3

not candid or sincere, generally by pretending one knows less than one actually does

ex) The detective was a disingenuous man who often played dumb to trick others into confessing.

Question 4

Evanescent

Answer 4

short-lived [evanescence (n)]

ex) We would have all missed the evanescent moment if not for the photographer’s speed and skill.

Question 5

Intangible

Answer 5

cannot be touched, abstract [intangibility (n)]

ex) Love is the intangible bond that keeps my husband and I together.

Question 6

Labile

Answer 6

changing rapidly, unstable

ex) My body’s response to dairy products is labile and usually hurts worse when I exercise after consumption.

Question 7

Malapropism

Answer 7

use of similar sounding but incorrect word

ex) As everyone laughed at the funny sentence, the president apologized for the malapropism made by his twisted tongue.

Question 8

Posture (v)

Answer 8

to put on an act

ex) The small book it hefted made its stooped posture almost double over.

Question 9

Proximate

Answer 9

immediate, nearest

ex) The proximate cause of the fire

Question 10

Pugnacious

Answer 10

aggressive, ready to fight [pugnacity (n)]

ex) The pugnacious little boy constantly talks back to his mother.

Question 11

Foreshadowed

Answer 11

indicated a future event [foreshadow (v)]

ex) Telling lies up front in a relationship can foreshadow serious problems down the road.

Question 12

Gaucherie

Answer 12

awkwardness [gauche (a)]

ex) She had long since got over gaucheries such as blushing

Question 13

Heterodox

Answer 13

unorthodox

ex) The church will excommunicate anyone who preaches heterodox beliefs.

Question 14

Inscrutability

Answer 14

quality of being difficult to comprehend [inscrutable (a)]

ex) When Larry wrote the letter, he was so tired the writing was nearly inscrutable.

Question 15

Limerick

Answer 15

short amusing poem

ex) As for that limerick of hers, I have heard her tell worse.

Question 16

Mannered

Answer 16

stylized, pretentious

ex) So mannered as to be unintelligible.

Question 17

Pluck (n)

Answer 17

courage

ex) It is admitted that her extraordinary pluck and sense of leadership were responsible for this result.

Question 18

Sedulous

Answer 18

diligent, hard working and persistent

ex) Because he is a sedulous worker who is always on the lookout for new prospects, Garrison has been Salesman of the Year for six years in a row.

Question 19

Syllogism

Answer 19

a line of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn from two related premises

ex) If you believe that all water is safe to drink just because water from a bottle is safe to drink, you have used syllogism to reach a wrong conclusion.

Question 20

Vicissitude

Answer 20

unexpected change in fortune or circumstances

ex) My vicissitude in college was tackling seven classes and a job.

Question 21

Acolyte

Answer 21

disciple, follower or attendant

ex) a popular professor dining with a few of her acolytes.

Question 22

Admonitory

Answer 22

conveying a warning

ex) The teacher’s voice had an admonitory tone as she told the students to stop talking or lose recess.

Question 23

Caprices

Answer 23

an impulsive act

ex) Because John did not think before acting, he could spend the next ten years in prison for a silly caprice.

Question 24

Cornucopia

Answer 24

a large amount of something

ex) The gigantic farmer’s market has a cornucopia of fresh foods.

Question 25

Deferential

Answer 25

showing respect [deference (n); defer (v)]

ex) Kyle decided to shave off his mohawk in deference to his Grandmother.

Question 26

Intractability

Answer 26

stubbornness, resistance [intractable (a)]

ex) When the hyperactive child did not take his sedative, he was intractable and difficult to manage.

Question 27

Luminary

Answer 27

eminent person, a person who influences or motivates other people

ex) Because Dr. Swanson is a luminary in the medical profession, he recently had a surgical procedure named after him.

Question 28

Minion

Answer 28

underling, servant

ex) At work, I’m a minion who does everything my boss says.

Question 29

Undergird

Answer 29

support, strengthen

ex) Took measures to undergird the ship.

Question 30

Vitiate

Answer 30

weaken, sap energy

ex) When peers and bullies apply pressure, it can vitiate the moral character of young people and lead them down the wrong path.

Question 31

Coterie

Answer 31

clique, small group with common interests

ex) Our coterie of girls always sits at the best table in the school cafeteria.

Question 32

Denigrate

Answer 32

decry, criticize, belittle

ex) I would never succeed in the corporate world because I could never denigrate others in order to move ahead in business.

Question 33

Empirical

Answer 33

found by experiment or practice

ex) Our data is based on empirical evidence collected in numerous studies.

Question 34

Gainsay

Answer 34

contradict

ex) Since Jack told the truth on the witness stand, no one was able to gainsay his statement.

Question 35

Hyperbole

Answer 35

exaggeration [hyperbolic (a)]

ex) The main element of the product’s commercial was a hyperbole describing rapid weight loss.

Question 36

Modest

Answer 36

1. bashful, unpretentious 2. not excessive

ex) With our modest incomes, my wife and I can usually afford two vacations a year.

Question 37

Prolixity

Answer 37

wordiness [prolix (a)]

ex) The paper was marked down for the writer’s use of prolixity to lengthen it.

Question 38

Rebus

Answer 38

puzzle in which pictures give clues

ex) A picture of an eye followed by an L followed by an ampersand is a rebus for “island”

Question 39

Sere

Answer 39

withered, old

ex) The sere leaves that covered the ground were once healthy, but are now dry and brittle.

Question 40

Vulpine

Answer 40

like a fox [compare with bovine (cow-like), porcine (pig-like), etc.]

ex) He noticed Lord Faustus, especially, laughing at him with a vulpine grin.

Question 41

Corroborate

Answer 41

give supporting evidence [corroboration (n)]

ex) I prayed my friend would corroborate the lie I told my parents!

Question 42

Exacerbated

Answer 42

made worse [exacerbate (v), exacerbation (n)]

ex) Cora chose to exacerbate the argument by throwing a lamp at Mark’s head.

Question 43

Exact (v)

Answer 43

to demand, extort

ex) Sure, the cross bars exact a big fuel economy penalty, but don’t the rails hurt a bit, too?

Question 44

Faddish

Answer 44

whimsical, following a fashion

ex) The same is happening now with other foods that have become unbearably faddish.

Question 45

Hapless

Answer 45

unlucky

ex) When Jason lost his wife and job on the same day, he knew he was a hapless soul.

Question 46

Misconstrue

Answer 46

put a wrong interpretation on something

ex) Carla had no idea that her intended compliment had been completely misconstrued by her aunt.

Question 47

Perennial

Answer 47

long-lasting

ex) Every election seems to continue to deal with the same perennial issues that have been the focus of all the previous elections.

Question 48

Rent

Answer 48

torn (past participle of the verb to rend)

ex) The hungry dog is going to rend the steak into pieces.

Question 49

Shard

Answer 49

fragment of pottery

ex) A sharp shard of shrapnel pierced the soldier’s armor and caused a deep wound.

Question 50

Xenophobe

Answer 50

person afraid of foreigners

ex) The boy’s xenophobia arose when he watched a black man kill his mother.