GRE Major Tests Chapter 28

Question 1

Abeyance

Answer 1

state of inactivity, disuse

ex) Once the famine was over, the food rationing dictated by the government was put in abeyance.

Question 2

Disarm

Answer 2

having the ability to decrease suspicions and fears

ex) Because Danny is a disarming man and can easily reduce buyer fears, he is a great car salesman.

Question 3

Elaborate

Answer 3

1. complex and detailed (a) 2. to expand on (v)

ex) Only my mother could turn simple sardines into an elaborate seafood pasta dish.

Question 4

Foment

Answer 4

1. stir up 2. bathe with hot liquids (medical)

ex) The celebrity liked to foment rumors by posting cryptic statements about her private relationships online.

Question 5

Jockeying

Answer 5

maneuvering, struggling to get ahead of others [jockey (v)]

ex) The movers jockeyed the sofa through the door.

Question 6

Minutiae

Answer 6

small details

ex) The students ignored their teacher as she told them minutiae about her boring life.

Question 7

Rue

Answer 7

regret [rueful (a)]

ex) My husband will rue the day he ever cheated on me!

Question 8

Somatic

Answer 8

concerned with the body

ex) Somatic symptoms like headaches and fatigue generally resolve themselves quickly.

Question 9

Stinting

Answer 9

holding back, limiting the supply (of supplies/money etc.) [stint (v)], a span of time in which a person is occupied with a particular job or in a particular place

ex) Patricia’s stint as a waitress gave her the patience she needed to work in shoe sales.

Question 10

Temperate

Answer 10

moderate

ex) Living in a temperate climate, I sometimes had to wear my jacket in the early fall since it was cool outside.

Question 11

Allure

Answer 11

1. attraction (n) 2. to attract (v)

ex) The woman’s allure was her floral perfume that captivated the man’s senses.

Question 12

Caulk

Answer 12

treat with substance such as tar to make water-tight

ex) He carefully caulked the area around the windows.

Question 13

Conscript

Answer 13

1. person enlisted compulsorily into the armed forces 2. (v) to enlist compulsorily
   ex) Because of John’s moral beliefs, he refuses to take part in the conscription that would require him to bear arms.

Question 14

Desultory

Answer 14

aimless, inconsistent in effort

ex) The students were confused by the teacher’s desultory lecture which seemed to have no real focus.

Question 15

Elegy

Answer 15

poem concerned with death, praise of a dead person

ex) Since I am not an animal lover, I could only sigh as Ann sang an elegy for her dead cat.

Question 16

Fallow

Answer 16

uncultivated, not being used

ex) At the end of summer, the once crowded beaches become fallow as the young people return to school.

Question 17

Forbearing

Answer 17

tolerant [forbear (v); forbearance (n)]

ex) The police officer showed forbearance when he let the young thief off with a warning.

Question 18

Hegemony

Answer 18

political domination, complete authority

ex) The president of the company has hegemony over his employees.

Question 19

Improbity

Answer 19

lack of honesty or integrity

ex) Their blood is filled with improbity, their face are ferocious.

Question 20

Qualm

Answer 20

hesitation or fear

ex) I have a serious qualm about my teenage daughter dating an older man.

Question 21

Assay

Answer 21

a test or assessment on something to determine what it contains

ex) The laboratory conducted an assay to quantitatively measure the presence of ore in the composition.

Question 22

Chauvinist

Answer 22

someone excessively patriotic [chauvinism (n)]

ex) Racial chauvinism has kept minorities out of the exclusive country club for many years.

Question 23

Discrete

Answer 23

separate, distinct, individual

ex) Brown and white rice are two discrete varieties.

Question 24

Enlist

Answer 24

1. sign up for the army 2. obtain

ex) Evidently. I’m wondering why you don’t enlist help.

Question 25

Fabricated

Answer 25

to make up for the purpose of deception

ex) The journalist got fired when his editor learned of his plan to fabricate a story about the president.

Question 26

Fulminate

Answer 26

1. attack loudly in words, denounce thunderously 2. explode noisily
   ex) The disgruntled customer continued to fulminate over a price difference.

Question 27

Hawser

Answer 27

thick rope or cable

ex) The towing hawsers also had to be kept under constant surveillance.

Question 28

Jibe

Answer 28

to agree, harmonize

ex) The findings of the court did not jibe with the testimony of the witness, angering the judge.

Question 29

Peer

Answer 29

1. an equal, 2. to stare at, 3. nobleman

ex) Technology allowed us to peer deeper into the mysteries of the miniscule.

Question 30

Stickler

Answer 30

one who is strict about rules or details

ex) Our company hired an efficiency expert who is a stickler for increasing productivity.

Question 31

Cloture

Answer 31

the act of ending a debate or discussion with a request for a vote

ex) There was a call for cloture on the discussion so voting could begin.

Question 32

Congruent

Answer 32

matching [congruency (n)]

ex) Eating five chocolate bars is not congruent with your plan for losing weight.

Question 33

Dally

Answer 33

waste time, flirt

ex) They fired the guard because he would dally about, wasting his time.

Question 34

Dissemble

Answer 34

avoid the truth, to disguise or conceal behind a false appearance

ex) Her plan was to dissemble her intentions from her husband so she could successfully plan him a surprise party.

Question 35

Dote

Answer 35

be excessively fond of [doting (a)]

ex) My grandmother loves to dote on her grandchildren and sends us many gifts.

Question 36

Errant

Answer 36

1. wandering, 2. wrong, 3. straying from accepted standards

ex) The errant student was given a warning for not going directly to class.

Question 37

Fervent

Answer 37

passionate

ex) Jack’s fervent love for Kelly encouraged him to tattoo her name on his back.

Question 38

Stomach (v)

Answer 38

to tolerate

ex) I can’t stomach raw onions.

Question 39

Synapse

Answer 39

junction between two nerve cells

ex) Some pharmaceutical companies are also working on a pill that could repair the synapses that get the electrical signal to your brain.

Question 40

Undercutting

Answer 40

offering a lower price, undermining

ex) Frankly, approving this project would have undercut that global leadership.

Question 41

Arson

Answer 41

deliberate, criminal starting of fires

ex) Fire investigators suspected arson when they couldn’t find an electrical source for the fire.

Question 42

Carrion

Answer 42

dead flesh, carcasses

ex) We could smell the carrion left by hunters even before we stumbled upon it during our trek up the mountain.

Question 43

Intelligible

Answer 43

can be understood

ex) Because the intoxicated man slurred his words, his speech was far from intelligible.

Question 44

Ironclad

Answer 44

cannot be altered, firm

ex) The company has an ironclad policy against revealing secrets to competitors.

Question 45

Lint

Answer 45

fluff, soft material used to cover wounds

ex) Some fabrics leave tiny specks of lint on the glass.

Question 46

Pretension

Answer 46

assumed attitude of superiority, arrogance

ex) He spoke about his achievements without pretension.

Question 47

Pundit

Answer 47

expert

ex) During the trial, the prosecutor will call upon a pundit of forensics to link the evidence to the suspect.

Question 48

Pyre

Answer 48

ceremonial fire

ex) Over the pyre of wood in the backyard, we roasted marshmallows and hot dogs.

Question 49

Sate

Answer 49

satisfy

ex) I need a glass of ice water to sate my thirst.

Question 50

Syncopation

Answer 50

type of musical rhythm with missed beats

ex) There was some nice syncopation and it had a good swing to it.