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Barron's GRE Verbal Workbook > H > Flashcards

H Flashcards

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GRE® Vocabulary flashcards
1
Q

habitat

A

n. dwelling place; the area in which an organism lives

The bears’ habitat is being threatened by development.

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2
Q

hackneyed

A

adj. worn out by overuse

The politician used the same hackneyed phrases in every speech.

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3
Q

halcyon

A

adj. calm and peaceful; happy; golden; prosperous

On the eve of the battle the soldier’s mind took him back to the halcyon years before the war.

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4
Q

hallowed

A

adj. holy; sacred

The couple walked through the hallowed battlefield, remembering their son who had died there.

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5
Q

hamlet

A

n. small village

The president was born in a hamlet in Indiana.

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6
Q

hamper

A

v. to obstruct

Economic development has been hampered by a poorly educated work force.

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7
Q

haphazard

A

adj. unplanned, happening by change

The job was done in a haphazard way.

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8
Q

hapless

A

adj. unfortunate, having bad luck

The hapless soldiers were killed by a powerful explosion.

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9
Q

harangue

A

n. long pompous speech; tirade

The old senator launched into a harangue about the good old days.

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10
Q

harbinger

A

n. precursor, sign of something to come

The fall in the stock market is a harbinger of economic decline.

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11
Q

hardy

A

adj. robust, vigorous

The plant is hardy enough to withstand the desert heat.

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12
Q

harrowing

A

adj. extremely distressing, terrifying

We had a harrowing journey by train along the mountainside.

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13
Q

haughty

A

adj. arrogant and condescending

Few of the employees like the haughty manager.

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14
Q

havoc

A

n. widespread destruction; chaos

The explosion caused havoc in the city.

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15
Q

headstrong

A

adj. reckless; insisting on the one’s own way

The mother had her hands full with her headstrong toddler.

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16
Q

heathen

A

adj. pagan; uncivilized and irreligious

The missionary preaches to the heathen people.

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17
Q

hector

A

v. to bully; torment

The bully hectored the boy until the boy began to cry.

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18
Q

hedonism

A

n. pursuit of pleasure as a goal

Brad lived a life of hedonism.

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19
Q

heedful

A

adj. paying close attention; mindful

Visitors should be heedful of the dangers of a big city.

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20
Q

hegemony

A

n. leadership, domination, usually by a country

No one challenges the country’s hegemony in the region.

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21
Q

heinous

A

adj. shocking, wicked, terrible

The heinous crime shocked the town.

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22
Q

Hellenism

A

n. the culture and civilization of ancient Greece

Hellenism had a great influence on all the civilizations in the Mediterranean region.

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23
Q

hemorrhage

A

n. heavy bleeding

Doctors used stitches to stop the hemorrhage.

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24
Q

Herculean

A

adj. calling for great strength or courage

The historian started on the Herculean task of writing a comprehensive history of the world.

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25
Q

heresy

A

n., opinion contrary to popular belief

The church condemned the belief as heresy.

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26
Q

heretical

A

adj. opposed to a established religious teaching

The heretical beliefs were condemned by the Church.

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27
Q

hermaphrodism

A

n. a condition in animals and humans in which male and female reproductive organs and secondary sexual characteristics are present in the same individual

The word “hermaphrodism” originates from the name of the Greek minor deity, Hermaphroditus.

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28
Q

hermeneutic

A

adj. explaining; interpreting

The two literary critics disagree on which of the two approaches is the best hermeneutic approach.

29
Q

hermetic

A

adj. tightly sealed; magical

]The scholar is studying the hermetic tradition associated with the Egyptian pyramids.

30
Q

heterodox

A

adj. unorthodox, not widely accepted

The newspaper likes to publish letters expressing heterodox views.

31
Q

heterogeneous

A

adj. composed of unlike parts, different, diverse

The school believes in heterogeneous grouping of students.

32
Q

heuristic

A

adj. helping to learn

The science teacher uses models of organic compounds as a heuristic device.

33
Q

hiatus

A

n. break, interruption, vacation

There was a hiatus in the signal, and then it resumed.

34
Q

hidebound

A

adj. excessively rigid; dry and stiff

The students complain that the principal is so hidebound that she won’t consider any of their new ideas.

35
Q

hierarchy

A

n. a series arranged by rank or grade

Some people enjoy the challenge of climbing the company hierarchy.

36
Q

hieroglyphics

A

n. a system of writing in which pictorial symbols represent meaning or sounds; writing or symbols that are difficult to decipher

For many years scholars believed that Egyptian hieroglyphics did not represent phonetic characters.

37
Q

hindsight

A

n. perception of events after they happen

In hindsight I should not have bought the stock.

38
Q

hinterland

A

n. the remote or less developed parts of a country

Early American settlers clung to the East coast, leaving the hinterland largely unexplored.

39
Q

hirsute

A

adj. covered with hair

Scientists believe early man was hirsute.

40
Q

histrionics

A

n. exaggerated emotional behavior calculated for effect; theatrical arts or performances

Critics panned the actor’s performance as mere histrionics.

41
Q

hoary

A

adj. very old; whitish or gray from age

The hoary poet read the poem he had written as a young man.

42
Q

Hobson’s choice

A

n. a double bind; that is, a situation in which a person must choose between alternatives that are equally unsatisfactory

henry Ford famously offered customers Hobson’s choice in selecting what color Model-T they wanted: Any color as long as it’s black.

43
Q

hoi polloi

A

n. the common people

The billionaire told his son not to mix with the hoi polloi.

44
Q

holistic

A

adj. emphasizing importance of the whole and interdependence of its parts

Only a holistic approach can solve this complex problem.

45
Q

holocaust

A

n. widespread destruction, usually by fire

The bombing caused a holocaust in the city.

46
Q

homage

A

n. public honor and respect

On George Washington’s birthday we pay homage to “the father of our nation.”

47
Q

homeostasis

A

n. automatic maintenance by n organism of normal temperature, chemical balance, etc., within itself

Various processes help the body to maintain tissue homeostasis.

48
Q

homily

A

n. sermon; tedious moralizing

The minister has the habit of writing his weekly homily on Wednesday morning.

49
Q

homogeneous

A

adj. composed of identical parts; uniform in composition

Our group is homogeneous in terms of age.

50
Q

homogenize

A

v. to make uniform in composition

Many countries are afraid that globalization will homogenize culture.

51
Q

homonym

A

n. word identical in pronunciation and spelling but different in meaning

The word “bear” and the word “bear” are homonyms.

52
Q

hone

A

v. to sharpen

The young writer honed her skills by writing an hour every day.

53
Q

host

A

n. a great number

The bankruptcy of the large company presented the town with a host of problems.

54
Q

hubris

A

n. overbearing pride; arrogance

Hubris and greed contributed to his downfall.

55
Q

humane

A

adj. merciful, kindly

Many people advocate the humane treatment of animals.

56
Q

humanist

A

n. one who believes in humanism, a system of ideas and values relating to human beings, emphasizing their value and de-emphasizing belief in God

The debate was between a Christian and a humanist.

57
Q

husband

A

v. to farm, manage carefully and thriftily

The expedition husbanded their supplies.

58
Q

hybrid

A

n. something of mixed origin or composition

The new vehicle is a hybrid – part car and part helicopter.

59
Q

hydrological

A

adj. concerned with water, especially its effects on the Earth

Life on Earth is dependent on the hydrological cycle.

60
Q

hyperbole

A

n. purposeful exaggeration for effect

The sports writer uses hyperbole regularly.

61
Q

hyperbolic

A

adj. relating to purposeful exaggeration for effect

The sports writer likes to use hyperbolic language.

62
Q

hyperventilate

A

v. to breathe abnormally fast

The patient was hyperventilating.

63
Q

hypochondria

A

n. unfounded belief that one is often ill

The doctor suspected that her patient was suffering from hypochondria.

64
Q

hypocritical

A

adj. pretending to be virtuous; deceiving

His teacher scolded him for his hypocritical behavior.

65
Q

hypostatize

A

v. to ascribe physical existence to

The human mind seems to have a tendency to hypostatize the self.

66
Q

hypothermia

A

n. abnormally low body temperature

The survivors of the avalanche were treated for hypothermia.

67
Q

hypothesis

A

n. unproved theory; provisional explanation of facts

The scientist is trying to support his hypothesis with evidence.

68
Q

hypothetical

A

adj. based on assumptions or hypotheses

The existence of life on other planets is only hypothetical.

Barron's GRE Verbal Workbook (26 decks)

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