KAPLAN GRE Flashcards
Deride
To speak of or treat with contempt; to mock
The awkward child was often derided by his “cooler” peers.
gibe, jeer, mock, ridicule, scoff, sneer taunt
Spartan
highly self-disciplined; frugal; austere
When he was in training, the athlete preferred to live in a spartan room, so he could shut out all distractions.
restrained, simple
Analgesia
a lessening of pain without loss of consciousness
After having her appendix removed, Tatiana welcomed the analgesia that the painkillers provided.
Dictum
authoritative statment
“You have time to lean, you have time to clean,” was the dictum our boss made us live by.
adage; apothegm; aphorism; decree; edict
Raconteur
a witty, skillful storyteller
Banal
**predictable; boring; clichéd; overused; **
His conversation consisted of banal phrases like “Have a nice day” or Another day, another dollar”
bland; bromidic; clichéd; commonplace; fatuous; hackneyed; innocuous; inspid; jejune; musty; p;atitudinous; prosaic; quotidian; shopworn; stale; stereotypic; threadbare; timeworn; tired; trite; vapid; worn-out
Sacrosanct
extremely sacred; beyon criticism
Many people considered Monther Teresa to be sacrosanct and would not tolerate any criticism of her.
holy; inviolable; off-limits
Plastic
able to be molded, altered, or bent
The new material was very plastic and culd be formed into products of vastly different shapes.
adaptable; ductile; malleable; pliant
Multifarious
diverse
Ken opened the htel room window, letting in the multifarious noises of the great city.
assorted; indiscriminate; heterogeneous; legion; motley; multifold; mutiform; mutiplex; multivarious; populous; varied
Cosset
to pamper; to reat with great care
Marta just loves to cosset her first and only grandchild
cater to; cuddle; dandle; fondle; love; pamper; pet; spoil
Desultory
jumping from one thing to another; disconnected
Athena had a desultory academic record; she had changed majors 12 times in 3 years.
aimless; disconnected; erratic; haphazard; indicriminate; objectless; purposeless; random; stray; unconsidered; unplanned
Edify
to instruct morally and spiritually
The guru was paid to edify the actress in the ways of his religious sect.
educate; enlighten; guide; teach
Affected
phony; artificial
The affected hairdresser spouted French phrases, though she had never been to France.
insincere; pretentious; puton
Rejoinder
Response
Patrick tried desperately to think of a clever rejoinder to Marianna’s joke, but he couldn’t.
retort; riposte
Ingenuous
showing innocence or childlike simplicity
she was so ingenuous that her friends feared her innocence and trustfulness would be exploited when she visited the big city.
artless; guileless; innocent; naive; simple; unaffected
