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English Vocalbulary > GRE Vocabulary 6 > Flashcards

GRE Vocabulary 6 Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

Pedant (n)

A

A person who is excessively concerned with displaying academic learning.

The royal palace (some pedants would say the ex-royal palace).

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2
Q

Penchant (n)

A

Strong liking or preference for.

He has a penchant for adopting stray dogs.

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3
Q

Penury (n)

A

Poverty.

He couldn’t face another year of penury.

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4
Q

Tangent (n)

A

A completely different line of thought or action.

Loretta’s mind went off at a tangent.

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5
Q

Technocracy (n)

A

The government or control of society or industry by an elite of technical experts.

Failure in the war on poverty discredited technocracy.

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6
Q

Tedium (n)

A

The quality or state of being bored.

The tedium of car journey.

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7
Q

Tenacious (adj)

A

Holding fast, characterized by keeping a firm hold.

A tenacious grip.

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8
Q

Timorous (adj)

A

Cowardly, fearful.

A timorous voice.

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9
Q

Tirade (n)

A

A long vehement speech.

A tirade of abuse.

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10
Q

Torpid (adj)

A

Inactive or dormant.

We sat around in a torpid state.

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11
Q

Torpor (n)

A

State of low energy, sluggish inactivity or inertia.

They veered between apathetic torpor and hysterical fanaticism.

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12
Q

Torrid (adj)

A

Oppressively hot, parching or burning.

The torrid heat of the afternoon.

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13
Q

Totalitarianism (n)

A

Absolute control by the state or a governing body.

Democratic countries were fighting against totalitarianism.

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14
Q

Tractable (adj)

A

Docile, easily manageable.

She has always been tractable and obedient, even as a child.

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15
Q

Anomalous (adj)

A

Deviating from or inconsistent with the common order.

An anomalous situation.

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16
Q

Antipathy (n)

A

Hatred, loathing.

His fundamental antipathy to capitalism.

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17
Q

Approbate (v)

A

To approve officially.

I approbate the one, I reprobate the other.

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18
Q

Arbiter (n)

A

A person empowered to decide matters at issue.

The Secretary of State is the final arbiter.

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19
Q

Archetype (n)

A

The original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied.

He was the archetype of the old-style football club chairman.

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20
Q

Ardor (n)

A

Fervor, passion or enthusiasm.

The rebuff did little to dampen his ardor.

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21
Q

Arduous (adj)

A

Requiring great exertion, laborious.

An arduous journey.

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22
Q

Aria (n)

A

An elaborate melody sung solo

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23
Q

Arid (adj)

A

Dry, parched.

The arid plains north of Cape Town.

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24
Q

Sundry (n)

A

Miscellaneous.

A drugstore selling magazines, newspapers, and sundries.

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25
Q

Reprise (n) (v)

A

Repeat act.

A stale reprise of past polemic.

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26
Q

Harrow (v) (adj)

A

Distress the mind, feelings.

Unfazed by harrowing stories of religious repression, she exhibited courage under fire.

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27
Q

Sardonic (adj)

A

Characterized by bitter or scornful derision.

Starkey attempted a sardonic smile.

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28
Q

Subterfuge (n)

A

An artifice or expedient used to evade a rule, escape a consequence.

He had to use subterfuge and bluff on many occasions.

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29
Q

Axiom (n)

A

A self-evident truth that requires no proof.

The axiom that sport builds character.

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30
Q

Controvert (v)

A

To argue against, dispute, deny.

Subsequent work from the same laboratory controverted these results.

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31
Q

Progeny (n)

A

A descendant or offspring.

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32
Q

Potentate (n)

A

A person who possesses great power, as a sovereign, monarch.

Diplomatic missions to foreign potentates.

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33
Q

Cardinal (adj)

A

Of prime importance, chief, principal.

Two cardinal points must be borne in mind.

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34
Q

Hidebound (adj)

A

Rigid, unwilling to change.

They are working to change hidebound corporate cultures.

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35
Q

Chary (adj)

A

Cautious or careful, wary.

She is chary of media attention.

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36
Q

Arabesque (n)

A

Any ornament as a rug or mosaic, in which flowers, foliage, fruits, vases, animals, and figures are represented in a fancifully combined pattern.

Arabesque scrolls.

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37
Q

Prattle (v)

A

To utter by chattering or babbling.

She began to prattle on about her visit to the dentist.

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38
Q

Simian (adj)

A

Of or relating to an ape or monkey.

Simian immunodeficiency virus.

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39
Q

Precipice (n)

A

A cliff with a vertical or overhanging face.

We swerved toward the edge of the precipice.

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40
Q

Augury (n)

A

Divination, the art or practice of conjecture from signs or omens.

They heard the sound as an augury of death.

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41
Q

Picayune (adj)

A

Of little value, worthless.

The picayune squabbling of party politicians.

42
Q

Anthropomorphic (adj)

A

Resembling or made to resemble a human form.

Anthropomorphic bears and monkeys.

43
Q

Ramify (v)

A

To divide or spread out into branches.

An elaborate system of canals was built, ramifying throughout the UK.

44
Q

Upbraid (v)

A

To find fault with or reproach severely.

He was upbraided for his slovenly appearance.

45
Q

Banality (n)

A

Devoid of freshness or originality, hackneyed.

There is an essential banality to the story he tells.

46
Q

Base (n)

A

The principal element or ingredient of anything, considered as its fundamental part.

47
Q

Sodden (adj)

A

Soaked with liquid or moisture.

His clothes were sodden.

48
Q

Stolid (adj)

A

Not easily stirred or moved mentally, unemotional.

A stolid bourgeois gent.

49
Q

Phthisis (n)

[Fysis]

A

Pulmonary tuberculosis.

50
Q

Vinter (n)

A

Wine maker.

51
Q

Salient (adj)

A

Prominent or conspicuous.

It succinctly covered all the salient points of the case.

52
Q

Haughty (adj)

A

Proud or arrogant.

A look of haughty disdain.

53
Q

Blanch (v)

A

Turn white or pale.

The cold light blanched her face.

54
Q

Inimitable (adj)

A

That which cannot be imitated.

They took the charts by storm with their inimitable style.

55
Q

Accretion (n)

A

The act of acquiring or growth.

The accretion of sediments in coastal mangroves.

56
Q

Trenchant (adj)

A

Keen, incisive.

The White Paper makes trenchant criticisms of health authorities.

57
Q

Turgid (adj)

A

Swollen, distended.

A turgid and fast-moving river.

58
Q

Belabor (v)

A

Talk at length.

Bernard was belaboring Jed with his fists.

59
Q

Belie (v)

A

To show to be false.

His lively, alert manner belied his years.

60
Q

Benign (adj)

A

Showing or expressive of gentleness or kindness.

His benign but firm manner.

61
Q

Bent (adj)

A

Determined or resolved.

A missionary bent on saving souls.

62
Q

Berate (v)

A

Scold, rebuke.

She berated herself for being fickle.

63
Q

Blithe (adj)

A

Joyous, merry or gay in disposition.

A blithe disregard for the rules of the road.

64
Q

Capacious (adj)

A

Capable of holding much, spacious or roomy.

She rummaged in her capacious handbag.

65
Q

Capitulate (v)

A

To give up resistance.

The patriots had to capitulate to the enemy forces.

66
Q

Caprice (n)

A

A sudden, unpredictable change, as of one’s mind.

Her caprices made his life impossible.

67
Q

Carp (v)

A

To find fault or complain.

I don’t want to carp about the way you did it.

68
Q

Cascade (n)

A

A mass of something that falls or hangs in copious quantities.

The waterfall raced down in a series of cascades.

69
Q

Castigate (v)

A

To criticize or reprimand severely.

He was castigated for not setting a good example.

70
Q

Caustic (adj)

A

Sarcastic in a scathing and bitter way.

The players were making caustic comments about the refereeing.

71
Q

Censure (n)

A

Strong or vehement expression of disapproval.

Lawyers who violate the regulations are privately censured.

72
Q

Chauvinism (n)

A

Biased devotion to any group, attitude, or cause

73
Q

Chimera (n)

A

A thing which is hoped for but is illusory or impossible to achieve.

The economic sovereignty you claim to defend is a chimera.

74
Q

Collusion (n)

A

A secret agreement, especially for fraudulent or treacherous purposes.

The armed forces were working in collusion with drug traffickers.

75
Q

Complaisant (adj)

A

Inclined or disposed to please others

A complaisant husband whose wife has taken a lover

76
Q

Concise (adj)

A

Brief in form but comprehensive in scope.

77
Q

Conjecture (n)

A

The formation or expression of an opinion or theory without sufficient evidence
for proof.

Conjectures about the newcomer were many and varied.

78
Q

Consternation (n)

A

A sudden, alarming amazement or dread that results in utter confusion.

The call raised consternation in Beijing which sees the self-ruled island as a threat

79
Q

Consummate (adj)

A

To bring to a state of perfection.

She dressed with consummate elegance.

80
Q

Contention (n)

A

Dispute, controversy OR an assertion.

Freud’s contention that all dreams were wish fulfillment.

81
Q

Contrite (adj)

A

Caused by or showing sincere remorse.

A contrite tone.

82
Q

Convalesce (v)

A

To recover health and strength after illness.

He spent eight months convalescing after the stroke.

83
Q

Deleterious (adj)

A

Injurious to health.

Divorce is assumed to have deleterious effects on children.

84
Q

Demagogue (n)

A

A person who gains power and popularity by arousing the emotions.

The Senator was a gifted demagogue, with particular skill in manipulating the press.

85
Q

Denigrate (v)

A

To speak disparaging of.

Doom and gloom merchants who denigrate their own country.

86
Q

Denote (v)

A

To be a mark or sign of.

This mark denotes purity and quality.

87
Q

Desiccate (v)

A

To dry thoroughly.

Desiccated coconut.

88
Q

Despond (v)

A

To be depressed by loss of hope.

I thought it right not to let my young lady despond.

89
Q

Desultory (adj)

A

Digressing from or unconnected with the main subject.

The desultory conversation faded.

90
Q

Diatribe (n)

A

A bitter sharply abusive denunciation.

A diatribe against consumerism.

91
Q

Discreet (adj)

A

Judicious in one’s conduct or speech.

We made some discreet inquiries.

92
Q

Disparage (v)

A

Regard or represent as being of little worth.

He never missed an opportunity to disparage his competitors.

93
Q

Disparate (adj)

A

Distinct in kind, essentially different.

They inhabit disparate worlds of thought.

94
Q

Dispassionate (adj)

A

Free from or unaffected by passion.

She dealt with life’s disasters in a calm, dispassionate way.

95
Q

Disposed (adj)

A

Having a certain inclination or disposition.

James didn’t seem disposed to take the hint.

96
Q

Tendentious (adj)

A

Having or showing a definite tendency or bias.

A tendentious reading of history.

97
Q

Complacent (adj)

A

Pleased, especially with oneself or one’s merits, advantages, situation, etc.

You can’t afford to be complacent about security.

98
Q

Rapturous (adj)

A

Full of feeling or manifesting ecstatic joy.

He was greeted with rapturous applause.

99
Q

Amalgamate (v)

A

To mix or merge so as to make a combination.

He amalgamated his company with another.

100
Q

Appropriate (v)

A

Take (something) for one’s own use, typically without the owner’s permission.

The accused had appropriated the property.

English Vocalbulary (31 decks)

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