GRE Major Tests Chapter 8 Flashcards
Amity
friendship
ex) The purpose of the treaty is to help two countries develop amity so they can live in cooperation instead of in war.
Castigate
scold strongly
ex) My mother was a cruel woman who never missed an opportunity to castigate my father.
Destitution
hardship, poverty, misery
ex) The family faced eviction and destitution.
Expedient
convenient
ex) Given the fact the police will be looking for us soon, it is expedient we leave this apartment quickly.
Incantation
chant, invocation, prayer
ex) As the wizard made his incantation, the white clouds in the sky turned black.
Lynch
assassinate, kill
ex) The accused killer was lynched by an angry mob.
Overt
obvious, not hidden
ex) In some countries, racial prejudice is overt and not disguised in the least.
Predicament
dilemma, difficult situation
ex) Because I do not want to end up in a financial predicament, I pay my bills regularly.
Sanguine
optimistic, cheerful
ex) You can tell by the big smile on her face that she has a sanguine temperament.
Ubiquitous
found everywhere, omnipresent
ex) McDonalds has a ubiquitous presence in the world.
Amorphous
lacking in shape
ex) Because the painting was amorphous, I had no idea what it represented.
Catharsis
the process of releasing strong emotions and feelings
ex) Sometimes the act of taking a break away from then world will help a tired person experience the catharsis he or she needs to deal with everyday life.
Deter
put off, prevent
ex) Her father taught her that she would never let anything deter her in her goal to get at least a bachelor’s degree.
Expedite
make faster
ex) If you would like to expedite the shipping of your order, please pay the express shipping fee.
Incarceration
putting in prison
ex) His conviction of an armed robbery at a bank led to his incarceration.
Machinations
plots and plans (usually for bad reasons)
ex) The con artist’s victims quickly fell for his easy money machination.
Overwrought
worker up, in an emotional state
ex) The spy was overwrought by the demands of the job.
Preeminent
famous, outstanding
ex) He worked exceptionally hard to earn admittance into a preeminent medical school.
Sardonic
mocking
ex) After he was fired from the restaurant, he wrote a sardonic review of the eatery.
Unalloyed
undiluted, pure
ex) Unalloyed metals.
Analgesic
medicine to combat pain
ex) Aspirin is a mild analgesic.
Caucus
type of private political meeting
ex) Before the student government caucus, I need to make copies of the meeting’s agenda.
Deteriorate
worsen, decline
ex) The situation has deteriorated.
Exposition
clear explanation
ex) The subject requires some exposition.
Incessant
without stopping
ex) The incessant crying of a baby drives me nuts.
Maelstrom
whirlpool, storm in the ocean, situation with confusion
ex) The hall was a maelstrom of color, fragrance, and sneezing.
Palatable
good to eat, agreeable
ex) We can add some hot spices to make the curry more palatable.
Prerogative
right or privilege
ex) The princess thought it was her prerogative to always walk in front of everyone else.
Savant
person with knowledge
ex) He is a savant in Mathematics.
Unctuous
oily, using excessive flattery
ex) His unctuous demeanor got on everyone’s nerves.
Analogous
comparable
ex) Looking for an honest man in politics is analogous to looking for a virgin in a brothel.
Caustic
burning, sarcastic, critical
ex) Being caustic to the receptionist is not going to get you in the doctor’s office any sooner.
Detrimental
harmful
ex) Although he enjoys smoking cigarettes, she does know the habit is detrimental to her physical well being.
Extol
praise
ex) I got angry when my mother would extol my brother’s accomplishments and ignore all the good things I did.
Incipient
just beginning to appear or develop
ex) The best way to stop the disease from spreading is by identifying it while it is incipient.
Magnanimous
generous
ex) Even though the defendant had broken the law, the magnanimous judge gave him the lightest sentence possible.
Palisade
fence made of posts.
ex) The tribe built a wooden palisade around their village to protect it from raiders.
Prescient
having fore-knowledge
ex) A prescient warning.
Scale
to climb
ex) It took climbers overs 5 hours to scale the cliff face.
Undermined
damaged
ex) He hoped that her allergies were not going to undermine her ability to perform in the recital.
Anarchy
chaos, lack of government
ex) There must always be a leader or else anarchy will prevail.
Cavalcade
procession of vehicles
ex) We saw cavalcade of cars on the street yesterday.
Devoured
greedily eaten, consumed
ex) She devoured the steaks.
Extradite
deport from one country back to the home country
ex) The state will soon extradite him to the island nation where he is wanted for assaulting a girl.
Inclination
tendency
ex) A coward’s natural inclination is to walk away from a flight.
Magnate
powerful businessman
ex) Due to his status as a political magnate, many people were eager to vote for him in the next election.
Palliative
a remedy that improves but doesn’t cure.
ex) Orthodox medicines tend to be palliative rather than curative.
Presentiment
a feeling that something might happen
ex) The presentiment lingered after I saw a black cat twice a day.
Scapegoat
person on whom blame is placed for faults of others
ex) She became the scapegoat for her friend’s doing.
Underscore
emphasize
ex) As the movie played, I realized the director used music to underscore key scenes.
