GRE20 Flashcards
hydrophobia
fear of water; rabies
refrain
abstain from; resist; forbear; N: chorus
viable
capable of maintaining life; feasible; practical or workable; Ex. viable scheme
peroration
conclusion of an oration; perorating; V. perorate: conclude a speech; speak at great length
knell
tolling of a bell especially to indicate a funeral, disaster, etc.; sound of the funeral bell; V.
resourceful
clever and imaginative (in dealing with difficult situations); N. resource, resourcefulness
ravage
devastate; plunder; despoil; Ex. crops ravaged by storms
chaffing
bantering; joking
stun
make unconscious or numb as by a blow; amaze; astound
euphemism
mild expression in place of an unpleasant one; ADJ. euphemistic
foreshadow
give an indication beforehand; be a sign of (what is coming); portend; prefigure
austere
forbiddingly stern; ascetic; without comfort or enjoyment; severely simple and unornamented; Ex. a monk’s austere life; Ex. austere grandeur of the cathedral; N. austerity
dispassionate
calm; impartial; not influenced by personal feelings
aerie
nest of a large bird of prey
adage
wise saying; proverb
distinction
honor; excellence; difference; contrast; discrimination; Ex. graduated with distinction; Ex. a writer of real distinction
callous
hardened; unfeeling; without sympathy for the sufferings of others; unkind
oracular
of an oracle; prophetic; uttered as if with divine authority; mysterious or ambiguous; hard to understand; N. oracle: wiser person; prophecy made by an oracle
equine
resembling a horse; Ex. equine face
ward
administrative division of a city; division in a hospital or prison; incompetent person placed under the protection of a guardian; V: guard; ward off: avert
plaudit
praise; enthusiastic approval; round(succession or series) of applause; ADJ. plauditory; CF. applaud
outrage
act of extreme violence or viciousness; resentful anger; V: commit an outrage on; produce anger in; ADJ. outrageous: offensive
bohemian
unconventional (in an artistic way)
encipher
encode; convert a message into code; put into cipher
inebriated
habitually intoxicated; drunk; N. inebriety
probity
uprightness; honesty; incorruptibility
talisman
charm; object believed to give supernatural powers to or protect its bearer
effective
effectual; producing a strong response; striking; in operation; in effect; Ex. effective speech/photograph
score
number of points; written form of a musical composition; reason; group of 20; notch or incision; Ex. full/vocal score; Ex. Don’t worry on that score; V: mark with lines or notches; Ex. score the paper to make it easy to fold
iconoclastic
attacking cherished traditions; N. iconoclast: one who attacks traditional ideas; one who destroys sacred images
incisive
(appreciatively) cutting; sharp; Ex. incisive remarks; V. incise: make a cut into
quiescent
dormant; temporarily inactive; at rest; N. quiescence
detraction
slandering; aspersion; detracting; CF. detractor
hap
chance; luck
churlish
boorish; rude; N. churl: boor; yahoo
inert
inactive; lacking power to move; unable to move or act; Ex. chemically inert; N. inertia: state of being inert; force which keeps a thing in the position or state
rent
tear made by rending; rip; split
penitent
repentant; N.
progenitor
ancestor
arraign
charge in court; indict
aegis
shield; protection; defense
contentious
quarrelsome; controversial; likely to cause arguments
engaging
charming; attractive
ooze
(of a thick liquid) pass or flow slowly; N: mud or thick liquid as at the bottom of a river
doctrine
teachings in general; particular principle (religious, legal, etc.) taught; dogma; tenet; ADJ. doctrinal
celestial
heavenly
thrash
beat with a whip or flail; defeat utterly; talk about thoroughly in order to find the answer; move wildly or violently; Ex. The fishes thrashed about in the net.
brave
face courageously; Ex. brave the storm
goad
urge on; drive with a goad; cause (someone) to do something by continued annoyance; Ex. They goaded him into doing it by saying he was a coward; N: sharp-pointed stick for driving cattle; stimulus; CF. annoy continually
apostate
one who abandons his religious faith or political beliefs; N. apostasy
hallucination
delusion; false idea; false perception of objects with a compelling sense of their reality; objects so perceived; V. hallucinate; ADJ. hallucinatory
psychosis
mental disorder; ADJ. N. psychotic
prudent
cautious; careful; prudential
desecrate
profane; violate the sanctity of
jingoist
extremely aggressive and militant patriot; warlike chauvinist; N. jingoism: extreme nationalism
crest
top (as of a hill or wave); showy feathers on the head of a bird
uninhibited
unrepressed; free in behavior and feelings
veer
change in direction; swerve
magniloquent
boastful; pompous
convoke
call together; Ex. convoke Parliament; N. convocation
retrieve
recover; put right; find and bring in; regain; Ex. retrieve the situation
garnish
decorate; add a garnish to; decorate (food or drink) with small items such as lemon slices; N.
significant
expressing a meaning; important; Ex. significant smile; N. significance: importance; meaning; V. signify: denote; mean; signal; make known; matter; be significant
genealogy
record of descent; lineage; ancestry; study of ancestry
allocate
assign; set apart for a particular purpose
equipoise
balance; balancing force; equilibrium
sherbet
flavored dessert ice
abeyance
suspended action
grandiloquent
(of a person or speech) using high sounding or important-sounding language; pompous; bombastic
geriatrics
medical treatment and care of old age
aspire
seek to attain (position or status); long for; Ex. aspire to become president; Ex. aspire to/after the leadership
climactic
relating to the highest point; N. climax; CF. climatic
polar
of a pole; characterized by opposite extremes; Ex. polar opposites
glitter
shine brightly with flashing points of light; Ex. glittering diamond ring; N: sparkling light; attractiveness; glamor; Ex. glitter of the sun on the waves
clime
climate
sardonic
scornfully mocking; disdainful; sarcastic; cynical; Ex. sardonic smile
embody
give a bodily form to; incorporate; include
prolixity
tedious wordiness; verbosity; ADJ. prolix: wordy; verbose; diffuse
spontaneity
lack of premeditation; naturalness; freedom from constraint; ADJ. spontaneous: self-generated; unpremeditated; happening without being planned
conformity
harmony; agreement with established rules or customs; similarity; Ex. behave in conformity with; V. conform: be similar; act in agreement; comply; Ex. conform to the rule; CF. conformance