GRE Major Tests Chapter 25 Flashcards
Alleviated
made less severe [alleviation (n); alleviate (v)]
ex) When I have migraines, aspirin doesn’t alleviate the pain for me.
Apostrophe
- punctuation mark 2. appeal to someone not present (a figure of speech)
ex) You should always include apostrophes in your text.
Centurion
roman soldier (commander of a company of 100 soldiers)
ex) The Roman centurion lead his group of one hundred soldiers into battle.
Emollient
softening (a); something which softens (n)
ex) The lotion was a great emollient for her dry skin.
Fusillade
long burst of gunfire
ex) Before the trial started, the defense fired a fusillade of motions to have the case dismissed.
Inerrancy
infallibility, inability to make mistakes [inerrant (a)]
ex) Fundamentalist theology tends to stress Biblical inerrancy and Biblical literalism.
Mince
- chop into small pieces 2. walk with tiny steps 3. speak in an affected manner
ex) Minced some garlic and added it to the stew.
Palpate
medical term meaning to examine with the hands
ex) The skin of the lower neck must be palpated for cysts and infection.
Platitude
unoriginal, obvious saying
ex) Because I have heard your platitude a hundred times, it means nothing to me now.
Quibble
- (v) to argue about minor matters, to play on words when finding fault 2. (n) a minor verbal point in an argument
ex) We should not quibble over a small detail like borrowed money before your surgery.
Apprehension
slight fear, sense of something unfavorable
ex) With recent job cuts, Kate is apprehensive about losing her job.
Conniving
discreetly working to complete a dishonest task, cunning, scheming [connive (v)]
ex) Alan’s wife is a conniving woman who only married him for his money.
Derision
being laughed at or ridiculed, mockery [deride (v)]
ex) The kids erupted in derision when a handicapped man entered in the classroom.
Epigram
short, witty saying
ex) At his daughter’s wedding, Jason shared a heartwarming epigram he had written.
Lassitude
lack of energy, weariness
ex) After the long race, Jack experienced a feeling of lassitude.
Pedantic
giving too much importance to details and formal rules
ex) My father is a pedantic man who usually misses all the vacation fun because he is busy reviewing travel documents.
Phenomenology
branch of science concerned with things as they are perceived, not directly derived from theory
ex) The Phenomenology of Spirit, regarded as an introduction, suffers from a different fault.
Precipitate
to bring about especially abruptly
ex) The rising level of unemployment is going to precipitate a huge crowd at the welfare office.
Renege
to not fulfill a promise
ex) The property buyers will be sued if they renege on the terms of the contract.
Armada
fleet of ships
ex) During the war a country’s navy sent its armada to attack its enemy.
Dawdler
slow person who falls behind others [dawdle (v)]
ex) Stop dawdling and help me with these packages!
Dross
something worthless, impurities left after refining
ex) My cheap husband bought me a dross ring that turned my finger green.
Expiate
atone, make amends for
ex) To expiate for breaking his neighbor’s window, John shoveled snow for three months.
Hack
- chop roughly 2. person who writes to earn money 3. hired horse
ex) Unfazed by Gabe’s attempt to hack him into pieces, Rhyn sat beside him.
Prone
- vulnerable to 2. horizontal
ex) Jack is prone to be quite talkative after he has consumed several beers.
Propensity
tendency, inclination
ex) My mother has a propensity to drink when she gets anxious.
Scabbard
cover for a sword
ex) The pirate pulled his sword out of the scabbard attached to his belt.
Skiff
small boat
ex) The fisherman hoped that the small skiff would be able to hold all of the fish he caught.
Umbrage
- shadow 2. offense, sense of injury
ex) Don’t take umbrage to my biblical views!
Dilettantism
dabbling esp. in the arts [dilettante (n) = person who dabbles]
ex) Because Peter studied music composition for eight years, he is definitely not a dilettante in the field of music.
Enervate
weaken
ex) The alcohol appeared to enervate Jason’s ability to focus at work.
Malevolent
having evil intentions [malevolence(n)]
ex) How malevolent of you to wish that I was dead!
Neophyte
new convert, tyro
ex) Because Jack had no experience with the financial markets, everyone on the trading team considered him to be a neophyte.
Panegyric
speech praising someone, laudatory words
ex) After the princess died a popular singer wrote a panegyric to honor her life.
Presage
forewarn of, indicate
ex) The changing of the terror alert color may presage a possible terrorist attack.
Serration
jagged edge
ex) Those pinkish ones with the patterns and the wavy lines and the serration, or whatever you call it.
Slight
- minor (a) 2. perceived insult (v) and (n)
ex) I have a slight cold.
Tare
- weed 2. allowance made for container when weighing
ex) Peas are part of the Legume family, and a flowering legume plant is referred to as a tare.
Unprepossessing
unattractive
ex) A wardrobe makeover would help the young woman replace her outdated and unprepossessing clothing in an attractive collection.
Aberration
deviation from the normal
ex) Shelley’s angry retort was an aberration from her normally quiet demeanor.
Cant
insincere talk
ex) An example of cant is two panhandlers speaking to each other in a language that others won’t understand.
Disinter
to take out of the grave or tomb, to unbury, to exhume, to dig up
ex) They needed to disinter the body to retest for forensic evidence.
Facade
- front elevation of building 2. false appearance or demeanor
ex) His facade of disinterest infuriated her.
Impeding
hindering [impede (v); impediment (n)]
ex) If you do not eat while you are sick, the lack of nutrients will impede your recovery.
Lacuna
gap, missing part [plural = lacunae]
ex) The story’s plot was missing, creating a lacuna in the middle of the text.
Monolithic
united in purpose, forming a single unit
ex) Unfortunately there was no way to make the monolithic project smaller.
Pied
multicolored
ex) The young children rode the tan and brown pied colored pony at the birthday party.
Roster
list of names
ex) A new student was added to the teacher’s roster, causing her to be short one desk.
Seemly
appropriate (of behavior), decorous
ex) We found it seemly to book a flight at Houston International since it’s the closest airline to my house.
