GRE_3000_List6 Flashcards
croon
to sing or speak in a gentle murmuring manner
[E] croon mellow tunes
[S] whisper; grumble; mumble; murmur;
[A] shout; yell;
crouch
to lower the body stance especially by bending the legs
[E] He crouched behind a rock and watched vigilantly.
[S] huddle; squat;
[A] arise; stand;
crutch
something that sustains
[E] a crutch for local economy
[S] brace; buttress;
crux
critical point
[E] the crux of the problem
[S] core; kernel;
[A] trifle; triviality
cryptic
1 secret or occult [E] cryptic message [S] covert; furtive; [A] public; 2 having or seeming to have a hidden or ambiguous meaning [E] The senator made some cryptic explanations about the military operation. [S] ambiguous; equivocal; [A] obvious; 3 beyond one's power to know [E] They were puzzled by the cryptic message left on his computer. [S] arcane; enigmatic; [A] comprehensible;
culpable
deserving of blame or censure as being wrong, evil, improper [E] culpable behaviors [S] blameworthy; censurable; [A] inculpable; innocent; [P] culpability;
curmudgeon
an irritable and complaining person
[E] a terrible old curmudgeon
[S] crosspatch; fusser; griper;
dabble
to work or involve oneself superficially or intermittently especially in a secondary interest.
[E] dabble in arts
[A] dedicate; specialize;
[P] dabbler;
[E] He is not a dedicated musician, just a dabbler.
[A] specialist;
dais
a raised platform
[E] The speaker took his place at the front of the dais.
[S] podium; rostrum;
daft
1 having or showing a very abnormal or sick state of mind
[E] The king was clearly daft, talking to trees and rocks.
[S] demented; deranged; lunatic;
[A] sane;
2 showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgement
[E] This is a daft plan, doomed to wretched failure and merciless ridicule.
[S] fatuous; preposterous;
[A] judicious; sagacious; sapient;
dandy
1 a man who gives exaggerated attention to personal appearance
[E] That dandy was willing to spend thousands of dollars just to get the Hermes Birkin for his girlfriend.
[S] fop; gallant;
2 of the very best kind
[E] That’s a dandy new racing bike.
[S] awesome; fabulous;
[A] atrocious; execrable;
dank
slightly or moderately wet
[E] Vegetables tend to go bad quickly int the dank cellar.
[S] damp; wettish;
dapper
being strikingly neat and trim
[E] The students all looked very dapper in their uniforms.
[S] natty; sharp; snappy; spruce;
[A] frowsy; unkempt;
cronyism
favoritism shown to old friends without regard for their qualifications
[E] officials practicing cronyism
daredevil
1 foolish adventurous;
[E] His daredevil stunts are sure to end in disaster someday.
[S] audacious; temerarious
[A] circumspect;
2 having no concern for the consequences of one’s actions.
[E] a daredevil driver who thinks that racing on city streets in harmless game.
[S] foolhardy; irresponsible;
debacle
a complete failure
[E] the debacle of the war
[S] bummer; fiasco; fizzle;
[A] eclat;
debut
a first public appearance
[E] make her single debut
[A] farewell performance
decant
to pour off without disturbing the sediment
[E] The bottle were uncorked and the wine were decanted a hour before the meal.
decrepit
weakened, worn out, impaired, or broken down by old age, illness
[E] a decrepit old man
[A] vigorous; sturdy; sound; hale;
defile
1 narrow passage
[E] They climbed up the mountain through a defile.
2 to treat with great disrespect
[E] Art conservators are careful not to defile the holy relic.
[S] profane; violate;
3 to make unfit to use
[E] supplies of meat that has been defiled by maggots.
[S] befoul; taint;
[A] purify;
deify
1 to offer honor or respect to
[E] Some ancient pagans defied such objects of nature as trees and rivers.
[S] glorify; revere; venerate;
2 to love or admire too much
[E] materialist people who admire too much
[S] adore; canonize;
3 to assign a high status or value to
[E] Valentino was virtually defied by legions of female fans.
[S] aggrandize; canonize;
[P] deification;
[A] abasement;
deluge
1 a drenching rain [A] drizzle; 2 a great flow [E] receive a deluge of offers; [S] inundation;spate;
delve
to make a detailed search of information
[E] The book delves into the latest research
[S] probe; investigate;
demagogue
a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power
[E] The politician is just a demagogue who preys upon people’s fears and prejudices;
[S] incendiary; provocateur;
demolition
the act or process of wrecking or destroying
[E] the demolition of dangerous buildings
[S] annihilation; decimation; havoc;
[A] erection; construction
demotic
papular; common;
[E] demotic entertainments
[S] profound;
denigrate
to express scornfully one’s low opinion of
[E] denigrate one’s opponents;
[S] belittle; depreciate; derogate; dismiss;
[A] honor; acclaim; exalt;
denouement
the final resolution
[E] a surprising denouement
denude
make bare
[E] Drought has completely denuded the hills of grass.
[A] cover
dent
1 a depression in a surface made by pressure or a blow [E] a dent in the side of a car [S] cavity; depression; hollow; [A] bulge; convexity; protrusion; 2 to make smaller in mount; [E] Hopefully this vacation won't dent our bank account too much. [S] abate; dwindle; [A] aggrandize; augment;
deploy
to feel or express sorrow for
[E] deploy a sales force
[A] concentrate;
depose
1 to testify to under oath
[E] He was nervous when the time to depose before the jury finally arrived.
[S] attest;
[A] perjure;
2 to remove from a throne or other high position
[E] a military junta deposed the dictator after he had bankrupted the country
[S] defrock; deprive;
[A] enthrone;
3 to arrange sth in a position;
[E] She deposed her fan and glasses on the dressing table
[S] deposit;
deprecate
1 to hold an unfavorable opinion
[E] They deprecate TV sitcoms as childish
[S] disesteem;
2 to express scornfully
[E] The boys deprecate the movie as the stupidest movie of the year;
[S] denigrate
[A] applaud;
3 play down
[E] She deprecated her facility for language;
[A] vaunt;
deracinate
to pull out by the roots
[A] plant
derivative
lacking originality
[E] their dull, derivative debut album
[S] second handed;
[A] original; precursory
