GRE_3000_List16 Flashcards
minutiae
a minute or minor detail
[E] plagued by minutiae
[S] triviality
[A] gist
mirage
something illusionary and unattainable like a mirage
[E] Reunion with her husband has become a mirage.
[S] chimera;delusion;hallucination;phantom;vision;
[A] reality
misanthropic
having or showing a deep distrust of human beings and their motives [E] a solitary and misanthropic artist [S] antisocial;cynical; [A] philanthropic;uncynical; [P] misanthrope;
misconstrue
to mistake the meaning of
[E] An outsider might misconstrue the nature of the phenomenon.
[S] garble;misapprehend;misinterpret;
[A] appreciate;savvy
miscreant
one who behaves criminally
[E] robbed by a bunch of miscreants
[S] fiend; culprit; villain; rascal;
[A] cavalier; chevalier;
misdemeanour
a crime less serious than a felony
[E] charged with several misdemeanours
[S] infraction; infringement;peccadillo; violation;
[A] felony;
misgiving
a feeling of doubt or suspicion especially concerning a future event
[E] No one dispel his misgiving.
[S] apprehension; distrust; doubt; dread;
[A] assurance; belief; certainty; certitude;
mite
a very small object
[E] I have only a mite left to buy lunch for the rest of the week.
[S] atom; iota; pittance;
[A] bundle; fortune; colossus;
mitigate
to make less severe; [E] powerful drugs that mitigate pains [S] allay; alleviate; assuage; ease; palliate; [A] aggravate; exacerbate; intensify; [P] mitigation;
mollify
to calm in temper or feeling [E] mollify the angry customer; [S] allay; propitiate; conciliate; [A] aggravate; enrage; exasperate; incense; infuriate; vex; [P] mollification;
mollycoddle
to treat with an excessive or absurd degree of indulgence and attention
[E] mollycoddle his only grandson
[S] coddle; cosset; pamper;
[A] abuse; ill-treat
molt
to shed hair, feathers, shell, horns, or an outer layer periodically;
[E] Snakes molt as they grow, shedding the old skin and growing a larger new skin.
[S] exfoliate; exuviate; shed;
[A] fledge;
moratorium
a suspension of activity
[E] a moratorium on nuclear tests;
[S] abeyance; delay; doldrums; dormancy; latency; quiescence;
[A] resumption;
mordant
biting and caustic about in thought, manner or style
[E] feel embarrassed about the mordant satire of the critics
[S] acerbic; avid; acrid; caustic; scathing;
[A] congenial; genial;
moribund
1 approaching death
[E] The nation’s bank industry was moribund.
[S] decadent; deteriorating; dying;
[A] nascent; lively;
2 on the very verge of becoming obsolete
[E] Some social conventions have been rendered moribund in face of modernization.
[S] antiquated; archaic; fossilized; outdated;
[A] fresh; new; promising;
morose
having a sullen and gloomy disposition
[E] morose job seekers who are injured to rejection
[S] bleak; chill; dark; depressed; dire; lugubrious; saturnine; solemn;
[A] bright; sanguine; rejoiced;
mosque
a building used for public worship by Muslim
[E] a deadly suicide attack at the mosque
[S] cathedral; chapel; church; temple;
motile
exhibiting or capable of movement [E] Aircraft carriers are recognized as a motile combat platform. [S] mobile; movable; portable; [A] immobile; [P] motility
mottle
to mark with spots or blotches of different shades or colors
[E] a black horse mottled with white
[S] blotch; dapple; dot;
[A] blanch
muddy
1 not clean [E] The children got muddy after playing outside. [S] besmirched; dingy; draggled; smudged; sordid; [A] immaculate; clean; 2 lacking in clarity [E] a muddy recording [S] cloudy; foul [A] clear 3 to make unclear to the understanding [E] The point is irrelative and will only muddy the issue we are trying to resolve. [S] becloud; befog; obfuscate; [A] clarify;illuminate;
muffle
to wrap or pad in order to deaden the sound
[E] close the window to muffle the outside noises
[S] attenuate; dampen; deaden; mute; stifle;
[A] amplify; enhance; magnify;
[P] muffler
mulish
unreasonably obstinate [E] a mulish determination to act on his own. [S] pertinacious; adamant; [A] pliable; [P] mulishly
mundane
1 of, relating to, or typical of this world
[E] As for opera, I prefer mundane to religious themes.
[S] carnal; sensual;
[A] spiritual;
2 relating to, characteristic of, or concerned with commonplaces
[E] mundane concerns of day-to-day life
[S] ordinary
[A] extraordinary
murky
1 being without light or without much light
[E] I don’t like walking around the murky campground without a flashlight.
[S] black; caliginous; stygian;
[A] bright; lucent;
2 lacking clarity
[E] He felt lost in the murky bureaucratic rhetoric.
[S] ambiguous; arcane;
[A] clear; limpid;
mutate
to undergo or cause to undergo mutation
[E] Some chromosomes started to mutate after exposure to X-ray.
[S] alter; change; fluctuate; modify;
[A] plateau
myopic
a lack of foresight [E] a myopic view on climate change [S] shortsighted [A] provident [P] myopia
myriad
indefinite number
[E] the myriad stars of a summer night
[S] numerous;
[A] scanty; scarce;
nadir
the lowest point
[E] the nadir on the curve
[S] bottom
[A] acme; apex; zenith
natty
trimly neat and tidy
[E] a natty young woman
[S] dapper; smart; spruce
[A] frowsy; sloppy; slovenly;
nauseate
to feel or cause to feel loathing or disgust
[E] The malodor of the rotten meat made us nauseate.
[S] disgust; repel; revolt; sicken;
[A] delight
[P] nausea
nautical
of, relating to, or characteristic of ships, shipping, sailors, or navigation on a body of water.
[E] nautical mile
[S] marine; maritime; navigational;
[A] aeronautic; astronautic;
nefarious
flagrantly wicked or impious
[E] a nefarious scheme to assassinate the archbishop
[S] destitute; impecunious; impoverished; threadbare;
[A] affluent; opulent
nicety
1 careful attention to details [E] There's a nicety of details in his meticulously painted landscapes. [S] accuracy; delicacy; veracity; [A] coarseness; imprecision 2 a fine point or distinction [E] the niceties of the table manner [S] subtlety
nitpick
to criticize by nitpicking
[E] a peevish critic always ready to nitpick
[S] carp; cavil fuss
[P] nitpicker
nonplus
use to be at a loss as to what to say, think, or do; perplex
[E] I was nonplussed by his openly expressed admiration of me.
[S] confound; confuse; discomfit; disconcert; mortify; abash;
notch
1 a V-shaped record used for keeping a record
2 to obtain through effort
[E] a stunning performance that notched up a second Academy Award for the actor.
[S] attain; chalk up; hit;
mint
1 an abundant amount [E] worth a mint [S] bomb;boodle;wad; [A] modicum;mite; 2 unmarred as if fresh from mint; [E] a second-handed laptop in mint condition [S] intact;original;pristine; [A] impaired;
