GRE_3000_List23 Flashcards
shoal
having little depth; shallow;
[E] shoal waters of the bay;
[S] deep;
shopworn
worn-out, as from overuse; trite;
[E] the shopworn suggestion to job applications to just be yourself.
[S] banal; cliche; trite;
[A] new; fresh;
shred
a small mount; a particle;
[E] He struggled to retain a shred of his dignity.
[S] crumb; scintilla; spark;
shroud
1 something that conceal protects, or screens
[E] under a shroud of cloud
2 to shut off from sight; screen;
[E] She shroud the fact that the child had been adopted.
[S] belie; blanket; cloak; curtain;
[A] bare; disclose; expose;
sidestep
to avoid having to comply with
[E] The eager enlistee sidestepped the regulations by lying about his age.
[S] beat; bypass; dodge;
[A] comply; follow; keep; obey;
simpleton
a person lacking in common sense
[E] His silly antics at office parties have earned him a reputation as a simpleton.
[S] airhead; donkey;
[A] sage; intellectual;
sinecure
an office or position that requires little or no work and that usually provides an income.
[E] Brenda’s job was by no means a sinecure; she actually had to work quite hard for her salary.
[A] drudge; drudgery; toil
sinew
vigorous strength
[E] Money is the sinew of love as well as war.
[S] energy; potency;
[A] impotence;
skimp
1 less plentiful than what is normal, necessary, or desirable;
[E] The dieter complained about skimp meals that were served at the fat farm.
[S] exiguous; meager; niggardly; scanty;
[A] abundant;
2 to give insufficient or barely sufficient attention or effort to or funds for
[E] We must skimp and save if we are going to afford a vacation this summer.
[S] pinch; scrimp;
[A] prodigalize; squander;
skirmish
a minor or preliminary conflict or dispute
[E] The had a skirmish over the rules before the debate began
[S] altercation; controversy; spat; squabble;
[A] amity; concord;
slake
to satisfy
[E] Mountain climbing has largely slaked my desire for adventure.
[S] assuage; quench; sate;
[A] tantalize; arouse;
slant
1 a way of looking at or thinking about something
[E] an interesting slant an the problem of underage drinking
[S] angle; outlook;
2 running in a slanting direction
[E] The computer keyboard has a slightly slant surface so that typing is more comfortable for the wrist.
[S] canted; leaning;
[A] perpendicular; plumb;
3 to change so much as to create a wrong impression or alter the meaning of
[E] Reports slanted the truth in order to a political agenda.
[S] bend; color; warp;
[A] clarify; illuminate;
shipshape
marked by meticulously order and neatness
[E] I like to keep my car shipshape.
[S] antiseptic; kempt; prim;
[A] disheveled; disordered;
slate
to put on a list
[E] You have been slated for a three o’clock interview.
[S] catalog; enroll; register;
[A] erase;
slew
a large amount or number
[E] donate a slew of books to the university library
[S] abundance; scad; plentitude;’
[A] driblet; pittance; sprinkle;
sling
to send through the air especially with a quick forward motion of the move
[E] sling stones at the check point
[S] cast; dash; fling; lob;
[A] catch;
slipshod
marked by carelessness or indifference to exactness, precision, and accuracy
[E] a slipshod piece of research;
The hotel had always been run in a slipshod way.
[S] botchy; messy; sloppy;
[A] fastidious; meticulous;
sloppy
1 lacking neatness in dress or person
[E] a sloppy child always seems to have spilled something on his clothes.
[S] blowsy; dowdy; frowsy;
[A] dapper; spruce;
2 lacking in order
[E] dump the papers in a sloppy pile on the desk
[S] chaotic; disarranged; disheveled;rumpled; tousled;
[A] bandbox; trim;
slouch
1 a lazy person [E] She is no slouch when it comes to cooking; [S] deadbeat; drone; idler; loafer; [A] doer; hummer; hustler; rustler; 2 to go or move slowly; [E] He slouched towards the church as if going to his own funeral; [S] creep; limp; [A] fly; speed;
sluggard
an habitually lazy person
[E] The teacher tried to wake up the sluggards who were sleeping at that late hour.
[S] loafer; slouch;
[A] hummer;
slumber
to be in a state of sleep
[E] She slumbered for hours while the train rolled on.
[S] catnap; doze;
[A] arouse;
smarmy
hypocritically; complacently;
[E] He is slightly smarmy and eager to impress;
[S] fulsome; oily; unctuous;
[A] artless; genuine;
smart
to suffer slightly
[E] The injection only smart for a few seconds
[S] ache;
[A] allay; mitigate;
smattering
1 superficial piecemeal knowledge [E] a smattering of Greek grammar; [A] erudition; insight; 2 a small number [E] Only a smattering of spectators presented. [S] bit; mite; [A] myriad; plentitude;
smirk
to smile in an affected, often offensively self-satisfied way
[E] She tried to not to smirk when they announced the winner.
[S] simper;
[A] cry; moan;
smug
1 having too high an opinion of oneself [E] The winner was so smug that he lost the support of the crowd. [S] complacent; egoistic; overweening [A] egoless; humble; 2 being clean and in good order [E] The suburb's smug lawns and tree lined streets bespeak a comfortable affluence. [S] dapper; spruce; [A] disheveled; slovenly;
snare
1 something that catches and holds [E] Someday you will find that your lies are a snare from which you can not escape; [S] entanglement; quagmire; 2 to capture by or by use of a snare [E] They snared a rabbit early this day. [S] ensnare; entrap [A] disentangle; free
snarl
1 to twist together into a usually confused mass
[E] You’ll be awfully sorry if you snarl you fishing line.
[S] entangle;
[A] extricate;
2 to give vent to anger in surly language
[E] She snarled at me after I kept badgering her with questions.
[S] bark; fulminate; rant;
[A] calm
snub
to treat with contempt or neglect
[E] The snob in town always snubbed anyone she thought was beneath her.
[S] contemn; disdain;
[A] esteem; honor; respect;
sodden
1 containing, covered with, or thoroughly penetrated by water
[E] We stripped off our sodden clothes and wrung them dry.
[S] awash; saturated;
[A] arid; dry
2 to wet thoroughly with liquid
[E] Soldier’s boots were soddened by endless hours in muddy trenches.
[S] douse; drench; souse;
[A] dehydrate; desiccate; wring;
solace
1 comfort in sorrow; misfortune;
[E] The kind words brought a little solace to the grieving widow.
[S] consolation; relief;
2 to comfort; to cheer; or to console, as in trouble or sorrow
[E] I did my best to solace those bereaved children.
[S] cheer; comfort; console
[A] agonize; harrow;
solder
to join or unit
[E] Wires are soldered onto the circuit board.
[S] associate; coalesce; combine;
[A] disassociate; sunder;
solicitous
1 given to or made with heedful anticipation of the needs and happiness of others
[E] The solicitous husband had already cleaned the house and cooked dinner by the time his wife returned home from work,
[S] attentive; considerate;
[A] heedless;
[P] solicitude;
2 showing urgent desire or interest;
[E] The family is solicitous to put this whole unfortunate affair behind them and to move on with their lives.
[S] agog; voracious;
[A] apathetic; uneager;
soliloquy
a dramatic or literacy form or discourse in which a character talks to himself or herself or reveals his or her thoughts without addressing a listener.
[E] A soliloquy always reveals the character’s thought and feelings.
[S] monologue;
[A] chorus; ensemble;
solvent
1 able to pay all legal debts.
[E] They’re going to have to prove that the company is now solvent.
[A] bankrupt;
2 a substance in which another substance is dissolved
[E] Some organic solvents, such as benzene, pyridine, furan, are poisonous to human’s reproductive system.
[A] solute;
somatic
of the body, especially as distinguished from a body part, the mind, or the environment.
[E] a somatic disorder that was once thought to be “all in the patient’s head”
[S] bodily; carnal;
[A] mental; spiritual;
somber
1 so shaded as to be dark and gloomy [E] The prison's somber interrogation room has the desired effect of striking fear and despair into the prisoner. [S] black; caliginous; dark; [A] brilliant; lucid; 2 causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer [E] Her death put us in a somber mood. [S] depressing; lugubrious; morose; [A] cheerful; festive;
somnolence
the quality or state of desiring or needing sleep
[E] Somnolence is likely to be the most typical reaction to this novel.
[S] doziness; drowsiness;
[A] insomnia;
sop
1 something yield to placate or soothe
[E] provide with the salary raise as a sop
[S] balm; emollient; placebo;
[A] irritant;
2 something given or promised in order to improperly influence a person’s conduct or decision
[E] As a sop to the teacher’s union for supporting his reelection campaign, the mayor promised to push for the abolition of the residency requirement;
[S] backhander;
3 to wet thoroughly
[E] My book fell in the swimming pool and was thoroughly sopped before I could fish it out.
[S] douse; drench;
[A] dehydrate; parch;
sophism
deceptive or fallacious arguments
[E] Political selection is more dependent on sophism and less on economic literacy.
[P] sophistry;
soporific
1 a drug or other substance that induces sleep
[E] Alcohol is a poor soporific because it disturbs sleep patterns and so can worsen sleep disorders.
[S] hypnotic;
[A] stimulant;
2 causing or tending to cause sleep
[E] This medicine is soporific, so do not drive after taking it.
[S] narcotic; somniferous;
[A] arousing
3 sleepless or lethargy
[E] A big lunch always make me soporific in the afternoon.
[S] dozy; drowsy;
[A] awake;
spat
a brief petty quarrel or angry outburst
[E] Like any other couple, they have their own spats.
[S] alteration; imbroglio;
[A] amity; harmony;
spate
1 sudden flood [S] bath; deluge; inundation; [A] drought; 2 a large number [E] a spate of books about GRE
specious
having a false look of truth
[E] a specious argument that really does not stand up under close examination.
[S] beguiling; fallacious;delusory;
[A] aboveboard;
