GRE Major Tests Chapter 26

Question 1

Analogue

Answer 1

1. something similar 2. output proportional to input (engineering)
   ex) If one thing is an analogue of another, it is similar in some way.

Question 2

Coda

Answer 2

piece of music at the end of a musical work, finale, final part of document

ex) The movie’s coda shows the main character as an adult 25 years later.

Question 3

Commingle

Answer 3

mix

ex) Fact and fiction commingle in the story.

Question 4

Equivocal

Answer 4

ambiguous, open to interpretation [equivocate (v), equivocation (n)]

ex) Since the defendant’s alibi is equivocal, the jury will disregard it almost instantly.

Question 5

Fallible

Answer 5

capable of making mistakes [fallibility (n)]

ex) The crime-solving techniques of a couple of decades ago were much more fallible than today’s methods.

Question 6

Hallow

Answer 6

respect, worship

ex) When the church is built, the Bishop will hallow the building with a prayer.

Question 7

Indigence

Answer 7

poverty

ex) The indigent man could not afford food or clothing.

Question 8

Papyrus

Answer 8

material used for writing on before paper was invented

ex) The ancient document was written on delicate papyrus, and needed to be handled carefully.

Question 9

Pique

Answer 9

1. annoyance (n) 2. to stimulate interest; to annoy (v)

ex) Hopefully the movie trailer will pique the interest of moviegoers and motivate them to buy tickets to see the film.

Question 10

Sap

Answer 10

1. liquid inside plants (n) 2. to drain; to undermine (v) 3. a fool (n)
   ex) Eventually it was found that the best plan was to sap through them.

Question 11

Arbitrator

Answer 11

mediator, person appointed to judge a dispute [arbitrate (v)]

ex) The couple finally agreed to let the salesclerk be the final arbitrator and tell them which shirt looked best.

Question 12

Descry

Answer 12

to see (esp. at a distance), catch sight of

ex) Using the binoculars, I hoped to descry what the criminals were doing in the woods.

Question 13

Facetious

Answer 13

not intended to be taken seriously

ex) While Aaron thought he was being funny, he did not realize his remarks came across as facetious.

Question 14

Indecorous

Answer 14

unseemly, inappropriate (of behavior)

ex) The religious woman was offended by the indecorous behavior of the atheists.

Question 15

Proliferate

Answer 15

grow and spread [proliferation (n)]

ex) As problems with the business continued to proliferate, Edward decided to chuck it all and go into retirement.

Question 16

Scotch (v)

Answer 16

to prevent, stop, disable

ex) A spokesman has scotched the rumours’

Question 17

Strut

Answer 17

1. supporting rod (n) 2. to walk in an arrogant manner, show off (v)
   ex) The rooster would strut in the yard when trying to impress the hens.

Question 18

Toy (v)

Answer 18

to play with

ex) He was a vampire, one that seemed content to toy with her.

Question 19

Usury

Answer 19

lending money at high interest rates

ex) While Pat was only a teenager, she understood usury and applied a hefty interest rate to the loans she gave her brother.

Question 20

Wag (n)

Answer 20

a witty person

ex) He is a wag.

Question 21

Atavism

Answer 21

reappearance of ancestral traits, regression [atavistic (a)]

ex) Not surprisingly, Jake was an atavistic alcoholic like his father.

Question 22

Filibuster

Answer 22

delaying tactics

ex) The senator will filibuster to prevent a vote on the bill.

Question 23

Gambit

Answer 23

opening move, transaction

ex) The general’s gambit did not pay off, and soon we were surrounded by enemy soldiers.

Question 24

Mitigation

Answer 24

making less severe [mitigate (v)]

ex) The doctor gave me a prescription to mitigate the pain.

Question 25

Obligate

Answer 25

compulsory

ex) All citizens of the United States must obligate to vote in every election as their civic duty.

Question 26

Predilection

Answer 26

leaning, interest, talent

ex) Gregory goes out to watch birds daily so I assume he has a predilection for the hobby.

Question 27

Propitiate

Answer 27

appease, try to gain favor [propitiation (n)]

ex) Only an idiot believes he can propitiate his way into heaven by giving the church all of his money.

Question 28

Stanch

Answer 28

to stop

ex) Colleagues may have saved her life by stanching the flow.

Question 29

Travesty

Answer 29

parody, ridiculous error

ex) It would be a travesty of justice to put an innocent man in jail.

Question 30

Waft

Answer 30

drift smoothly (v), whiff, smell (n)

ex) My children hurried to the kitchen when the scent of freshly baked cookies started to waft upstairs.

Question 31

Forage

Answer 31

search for food

ex) As the night grew colder, the soldiers started to forage for firewood.

Question 32

Lumber

Answer 32

1. walk in an ungainly way, 2. timber (wood)

ex) In order to make my deck, I headed to the area of Home Depot that carried lumber stacked neatly on the tall shelves.

Question 33

Muse

Answer 33

1. think, meditate (v) 2. a source of inspiration (n) [in mythology, a goddess who gives inspiration]
   ex) The model was the artist’s muse for his famous sculpture.

Question 34

Prescience

Answer 34

foreknowledge, the capacity to know future events

ex) Since Nana has prescience, she knows my baby is going to be a boy.

Question 35

Prune

Answer 35

1. to trim 2. a dried plum

ex) Have you ever pruned a tree?

Question 36

Ready

Answer 36

(used of wit) quick

ex) A ready wit.

Question 37

Resolve

Answer 37

firmness (n)

ex) he air conditioning unit will not work until the maintenance man can resolve the problem.

Question 38

Squalid

Answer 38

dirty and demeaning

ex) The homeless man had no choice but to sleep in squalid conditions.

Question 39

Sullied

Answer 39

made dirty or impure [opposite unsullied; sully (v)]

ex) The accusation of child abuse is sure to sully the teacher’s reputation and cause him his job.

Question 40

Veneration

Answer 40

worship, respect [venerable (a), venerate (v)]

ex) The Bible says we should venerate our parents and our elders.

Question 41

Demur

Answer 41

object, hesitate to accept

ex) Don’t hesitate to demur to the idea if you have any qualms.

Question 42

Duplicity

Answer 42

cunning, deception, double dealing

ex) Most politicians use duplicity to deceive voters just long enough to get their votes.

Question 43

Exigency

Answer 43

urgent matter, pressing need

ex) Rules are an exigency inside of a prison or else chaos will reign.

Question 44

Expostulate

Answer 44

offer strong objections, remonstrate

ex) More than likely, the cat will expostulate his opinion of his new food by leaving it in his dish.

Question 45

Gossamer

Answer 45

delicate, filmy, like gauze

ex) Through Carla’s gossamer sleeves, we could see her thin arms.

Question 46

Inefficacious

Answer 46

ineffective

ex) When the army’s strategy proved inefficacious, they switched tactics and incorporated guerrilla warfare.

Question 47

Pine

Answer 47

1. type of evergreen tree 2. grieve

ex) Make sure your pet won’t pine while you’re away.

Question 48

Prudish

Answer 48

narrow-minded, excessively concerned with morals [prudery (n), prude (n)]

ex) My grandmother’s narrowminded and prudish viewpoints do not line up with today’s world views.

Question 49

Quixotic

Answer 49

impractically idealistic, unrealistic and impractical

ex) Although Jack’s plan for killing the giant was quixotic, it was the village’s only hope.

Question 50

Stipple

Answer 50

cover with dots of paint etc.

ex) The sunlight falling through the lace curtain stippled her face.