GRE_3000_List24 Flashcards
spiny
1 bearing spines, prickles or thorns [E] low spiny bushes of sage [S] brambly; prickly; thorny; [A] even; lat; 2 requiring exceptional skill [E] This promises to be a spiny problem to negotiate [S] catchy; delicate; difficult; [A] easy; manageable;
spleen
feelings of anger or ill will
[E] She vented her spleen on her boyfriend and felt much better for having done so.
[S] angriness; choler; furor;
[A] delight;
splice
to unite by interweaving the strands, or to join an the ends
[E] He taught me to edit and splice film.
[S] associate; coalesce; combine;
[A] disjoin;
spoof
1 a work that imitates and exaggerates another work for comic effect.
[E] Many viewers thought that the spoof of a television newscast was the real thing.
[S] burlesque; mimicking;
2 to cause to believe what is untrue
[E] The public was spoofed by a supposedly plausible report of a UFO encounter.
[S] beguile; cozen; misinform;
[A] disabuse; disillusion;
sporadic
not often occurring or repeated
[E] On the whole situation has significantly improved with only sporadic disturbance.
[S] few; infrequent;
[A] frequent;
sprightly
full of spirit and vitality
[E] He was deeply impressed by the sprightly Gypsy dance.
[S] active; airy; animated; jaunty;
[A] dead;
spurious
lacking authenticity or validity in essence or origin
[E] In statistics, a spurious relationship is a mathematical relationship in which two events or variables have no direct casual connection, but it may be wrongly inferred that they do, due to either coincidence or the presence of a certain third, unseen factor.
[S] apocryphal; bogus;
[A] authentic;
[P] spuriously;
spurn
to reject with disdain or contempt [E] They spurned his recommendation. [S] decline; reject; [A] accede; accept; [P] spurned;
squalid
1 dirty and wretched [E] The migrants have been living in squalid conditions. [S] black; dirty; filthy [A] clean; immaculate; 2 morally repulsive [E] the squalid atmosphere of intrigue and betrayal [S] base; despicable; ignoble; [A] moral;
squall
1 a brief , sudden , violent windstorm, often accompanied by rain or snow [E] A snow squall is expected tonight. [S] blizzard; hailstorm; 2 to scream or cry loudly and harshly [E] The baby squalled in pain. [S] howl; shriek [A] murmur;
squint
to look or glance sideways
[E] The driver squinted as the sun hit his windshield.
[S] leer
[A] gaze; goggle;
squelch
1 to put a stop to by the use of force
[E] The authority tried to squelch the worker’s protest.
[S] muffle; crush; squash;
[A] abet; aid; assist;
2 to put down or silence, as with a crushing retort
[E] His irritated glare squelched any other potential objections.
[S] dumb; extinguish;
[A] foment; incite;
stalwart
1 feeling or displaying no fear by temperament
[E] The stalwart soldiers in the army of Alexander the Great, who willingly followed him to the ends of the known world.
[S] bold; manful; stouthearted;
[A] cowardly; pusillanimous;
2 marked by outstanding strength and vigor of body, mind, or spirit
[E] a lithe yet stalwart athlete
[S] brawny; firm;
[A] delicate; frail
3 firm and resolute
[E] a stalwart supporter of the UN
[S] adament; obstinate;
stealth
1 the act or action of proceeding furtively, secretly, or imperceptibly
[E] Both sides advanced by stealth.
2 intended not to attract attention
[E] The SWAT team carried out a stealth raid on the house, which was believed to be harboring a terrorist cell.
[S] backstairs; clandestine; surreptitious;
[A] overt;
[P] stealthy
steep
1 to make thoroughly wet
[E] Steep the tea for 5 minutes.
[S] drench; drown; impregnate;
[A] desiccate; parch;
2 having an incline approaching the perpendicular
[E] a very steep rock face that is nearly impossible to climb
[S] precipitate;
[A] gradual;
3 going beyond a normal or acceptable limit in degree or amount
[E] We would like to hire him, but his salary demands are just too steep.
[S] exorbitant; extravagant; extreme; immoderate;
[A] moderate; temperate;
stickler
one who insists on exactness
[E] a stickler for perfection
[S] disciplinarian; pedant; martinet;
stifle
to cut off; to keep in or hold back [E] stifle free expression [S] choke; suffocate; [A] foment; instigate; [P] stifling;
stigma
a mark of shame or discredit
[E] the stigma of cowardice
There is a social stigma attached to receiving welfare.
[S] blemish; onus;;
[A] award;stipple
to mark with small spots
[E] They crossed a field stippled with purple lavender.
[S] blotch; dapple;freckle;
stitch
a sharp unpleasant sensation usually felt in some specific part of the body
[E] He had to drop out of the race when the stitch in his side became too painful.
[S] ache; pang; prick;
[A] ease;comfort;
stoke
1 supply with fuel
[E] She was stoking the furnace.
[S] fuel; rekindle;
2 to make greater in size
[E] stoke the workers’ commitment to the company by raising their salaries.
[S] aggrandize; amplify; augment; enlarge;
[A] abate; decrease; diminish;
stolid
having or revealing little emotion or sensibility
[E] Her face showed nothing but stolid indifference
[S] apathetic; catatonic; deadpan;
[A] demonstrative; fervent; fervid;
[P] stolidity;
stonewall
to be uncooperative; obstructive or evasive
[E] lobbying efforts to stonewall passage of the legislation.
[S] blockade; filibuster; impede;
[A] collaborate; cooperate;
spindly
frail or flimsy in appearance or structure
[E] I prefer having rather spindly legs.
[S] gangling; gangly; lanky;
[A] squat;
stouthearted
having a stout heart or spirit
[E] a stouthearted army who risk his life to save his men
[S] bold; brave; stalwart;
[A] cowardly; craven; fearful; pusillanimous;
stratagem
an artifice or trick in war for deceiving and outwitting the enemy;
[E] a stratagem to secure customer loyalty
[S] artifice; gimmick; wile;
stratify
to divide into classes
[E] Income distribution often stratifies a society
[S] assort; categorize; classify; differentiate; separate;
[A] homogenize; commingle;
[P] stratification;
stray
1 lacking a definite plan, purpose, or pattern
[E] No stray sighting of UFO’s has been rigorously analyzed by scientist;
[S] aimless; arbitrary; desultory; haphazard;
[A] methodical; regular;
2 to move away from a group
[E] stray from the main road
[S] deviate; digress; err; wander;
striate
to mark with striations or striae
[E] The inner surface of the bark is smooth, of a pale, yellowish brown and very finely striated.
[S] furrow; streak; stripe;
[P] striated;
stricture
an adverse criticism
[E] The reviewer made several strictures upon the author’s style.
[S] censure; condemnation; obloquy;
[A] eulogy
strident
characterized by harsh, insistent, and discordant sound [E] plagued by the strident noise; [S] grating; harsh; squawky; raucous [A] mellifluous; [P] stridence;
stringent
1 tight; constricted [S] inflexible; rigid; [A] lax; loose; 2 marked by rigor; strictness; [E] Its drug-testing procedures are the most stringent in the world. [S] denude; disrobe; doff; [A] dress; robe;
strut
1 to walk with a pompous and affected air
[E] A pompous general strutted off the parade ground.
[S] parade; prance;
2 a structural element used to strengthen a framework
[S] brace; buttress; girder;
stultify
to deprive of vitality and render futile especially by enfeebling or repressive influences
[E] The accident stultifies his previous efforts;
[S] constipate; stagnate; stifle; trammel;
[A] encourage; foster;
[P] stultifying;
stupor
a condition of greatly dulled or completely suspended sense or sensibility
[E] The heartbreaking man lapsed into an alcoholic stupor.
[S] coma; languor; lethargy
[A] alertness; vigilance; vigor;
stygian
extremely dark
[E] the stygian blackness of the cave
[S] black; caliginous; dim
[A] brilliant;
stymie
to present an obstacle to [E] stymied by red tape [S] encumber; fetter; handcuff; handicap; [A] aid; assist; facilitate; [P] stymieing;
subjugate
1 to bring under control and governance as a subject [E] I would rather die than be subjugated; [S] conquer; dominate; pacify; [A] capitulate; [P] subjugation 2 to make subservient [S] enfetter; enslave; [A] emancipate; enfranchise;
subliminal
below the threshold of conscious perception
[E] subliminal advertising in the movie
[S] concealed; subconscious;
[A] apparent;
subservient
obsequiously submissive
[S] obsequious; servile; biddable;
[A] contumacious; recalcitrant;
[P] subservience;
subterfuge
deception by artifice or stratagem in order to conceal
[E] The spy obtained the documents by subterfuge
[S] artifice; chicanery;
succor
to go to the aid of
[E] We see it as our duty to succor any one in need.
[S] aid; assist;
