gre vocabulary plus Flashcards
noun
diatribe
(noun)
DIE-uh-TRIBE
bitter, abusive attack or criticism; rant
I’d stay out of the living room for awhile - Grandpa’s on another one of his diatribes about it’s un-American to call a large coffee a “venti.” You can hear him ranting from here.
abjure
(verb)
ab-JOOR
Give up, renounce; repudiate, recant, or shun (especially formally or under oath)
To become a citizen of the United States, you must abjure loyalty to the nation of your birth.
deface
(verb)
deh-FACE
vandalize, mar the appearance of
Ernest was charged with three counts of vandalism after being caught defacing a row of townhouses with spray paint
crescendo
(noun, verb)
creh-SHEN-doh
steady increase in force, intensity, or the loudness of musical passage; a climactic moment or peak (noun)
; to rise in volume or intensity (verb)
Mrs. Higgins did not love the symphony, but she was also coming down with a migraine - by the time the music reached its towering crescendo, her head was pounding.
crafty
(adj)
CRAFF-tee
cunning, skillful in deception or underhanded schemes
A crafty play in basketball is the “head-fake” - moving the head in one direction slightly prior to running in the other direction, t try to get a tiny head start on a disoriented pursuer.
counterpoint
(noun)
COUNT-er-point
Contrasting item, opposite; a complement; the use of contrast or interplay in a work of art
The play’s lighthearted, witty narrator provides a welcome counterpoint to the seriousness and grief expressed by the other characters
construe
(verb)
cuhn-STROO
interpret or translate
I do not know how you construed my comment as an insult. All I said was, “Wow, I never knew you could sing.”
console
(verb, noun)
cuhn-SOHL
Lessen the suffering or grief of (verb);
a control panel, or small table or cabinet(noun)
I was unable to console Tina after she fell asleep at the console of her airplane and thereby her pilot’s exam.
castigate
(verb)
CASS-tigg-ayt
Criticize severely; punish in order to correct
At the grocery store, the mother attracted stares when she castigated - rather than merely admonished - her child for throwing a box of instant oatmeal.
bout
baut
a period of time during which something is happening, being done, or causing suffering for someone.
Following a bout of unemployment, he got a job at a tire factory.
Limb
手足、支部
The country has become a limb of the West.
その国は西洋の一員となった。
Sarcastic
皮肉な、辛辣な
I heard the sarcastic tone in his voice.
彼の声には嘲るような調子があった。
Ironical, scathing, caustic, acid, pungent, disparaging, acerbic, mordant
