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1
Q

macabre

A

gruesome; grisly

The city morgue is a macabre spot for the uninitiated.

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2
Q

mace

A

ceremonial staff; clublike medieval weapon

The Grand Marshal of the parade raised his mace to signal that it was time for the procession to begin.

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3
Q

macerate

A

soften by soaking in liquid; waste away

The strawberries had been soaking in the champagn for so long that they had begun to macerate: they literally fell apart at the touch of a spoon.

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4
Q

machiavellian

A

crafty; double-dealing

I do not think he will be a good embassador because he is not accustomed to the machiavellian maneuverings of foreign diplomats.

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5
Q

machinations

A

schemes

I can see through your wily machinations.

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6
Q

maculated

A

spotted; stained

Instead of writing that Gorbachev had a birthmark on his forehead, the pompous young poet sang of the former premier’s maculated brow.

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7
Q

madrigal

A

pastoral song

His program of folk songs included several madrigals which he sang to the accompaniment of a lute.

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8
Q

maelstrom

A

whirlpool

The canoe was tossed about in the maelstrom.

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9
Q

magisterial

A

authoritative; imperious

The learned doctor laid down the law to his patient in a magisterial tone of voice.

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10
Q

magnanimity

A

generosity

Noted for his magnanimity, philanthropist Eugene Lang donated millions to charity.

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11
Q

magnate

A

person of prominence or influence

The steel magnate decided to devote more time to city politics.

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12
Q

magniloquent

A

boastful, pompous

In their stories of the trial, the reporters ridiculed the magniloquent speeches of the defense attorney.

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13
Q

maim

A

mutilate; injure

The hospital could not take care of all who had been mangled or maimed in the railroad accident.

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14
Q

maladroit

A

clumsy; bungling

In his usual maladroit way, he managed to upset the cart and spill the food.

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15
Q

malaise

A

uneasiness; distress

She felt a sudden vague malaise when she heard sounds at the door.

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16
Q

malapropism

A

comic misuse of a word

When Mrs. Malaprop criticizes Lydia for being “as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile,” she confuses “allegory” and “allegator” in a typical malapropism.

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17
Q

malcontent

A

person dissatisfied with existing state of affairs

He was one of the few malcontents in the Congress; he constantly voiced his objections to the Presidential program.

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18
Q

malediction

A

curse

The witch uttered maledictions against her captors.

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19
Q

malfeasance

A

wrongdoing

The authorities did not discover the campaign manager’s malfeasance until after he had spent most of the money he had embezzled.

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20
Q

malign

A

speak evil of; defame

Because of her hatred of the family, she maligns all who are friendly to them.

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21
Q

malingerer

A

one who feigns illness to escape duty

The captain ordered the sergeant to punish all malingerers and force them to work.

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22
Q

malleable

A

capable of being shaped by pounding

Gold is a malleable metal.

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23
Q

malodorous

A

foul-smelling

The component heap was most malodorous in summer.

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24
Q

manacle

A

restrain; handcuff

The police immediately manacled the prisoner so he could not escape.

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25
Q

mangy

A

shabby; wretched

We finally thew out the mangy rug that the dog had destroyed.

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26
Q

maniacal

A

raving mad

His maniacal laughter frightened us.

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27
Q

manifest

A

understandable; clear

His evil intentions were manifest and yet we could not stop him.

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28
Q

manifesto

A

declaration; statement of policy

The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels proclaimed the principles of modern communism.

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29
Q

manifold

A

numerous; varied

I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate your manifold kindnesses.

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30
Q

mannered

A

affected; not natural

Attempting to copy the style of his wealthy neighbors, Gatsby adopted a mannered, artificial way of speech.

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31
Q

manumit

A

emancipate; free from bondage

Enlightened slave owners were willing to manumit their slaves and thus put an end to the evil slavery in the country.

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32
Q

marred

A

damaged; disfigured

She had to refinish the marred surface of the table.

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33
Q

marshal

A

put in order

At a debate tournament, extemporaneous speakers have only a minute or two to marshal their thoughts before addressing their audience.

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34
Q

marsupial

A

one of a family of mammals that nurse their offspring in a pouch

The most common marsupial in North America is the opposum.

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35
Q

martinet

A

strict disciplinarian

The commanding officer was a martinet who observed each regulation to the ltter.

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36
Q

matrix

A

point of origin; array of numbers or algebraic symbols; mold or die

Some historians claim the Nile Valley was the matrix of the Western civilization.

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37
Q

maudlin

A

effusively sentimental

I do not like such maudlin pictures. I call them tearjerkers.

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38
Q

maul

A

handle roughly

The rock star was mauled by his overexcited fans.

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39
Q

mausoleum

A

monumental tomb

His body was placed in the family mausolem.

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40
Q

mauve

A

pale purple

The mauve tint in the lilac bush was another indication that spring had finally arrived.

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41
Q

maverick

A

rebel; nonconformist

To the masculine literary establishment, George Sand with her insistence on wearing trousers and smoking cigars was clearly a maverick who fought her proper womanly role.

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42
Q

mawkish

A

sickening; insipid

Your mawkish sighs fill me with disgust.

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43
Q

maxim

A

proverb; a truth pithily stated

Aesop’s fables illustrate moral maxims.

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44
Q

mayhem

A

injury to the body

The riot was marked not only by mayhem, with its attendant loss of life and limb, but also by arson and pillage.

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45
Q

mealymouthed

A

indirect speech; hypocritical; evasive

Rather than tell Jill directly what he disliked, Jack made a few mealymouthed comments and tried to change the subject.

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46
Q

meander

A

to wind or turn in its course

It is difficult to sail up this stream because of the way it meanders through the countryside.

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47
Q

meddlesome

A

interfering

He felt his marriage was suffering because of his meddlesome mother-in-law.

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48
Q

medley

A

mixture

The band played a medley of Gershwin tunes.

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49
Q

meek

A

submissive; patient and long-suffering

Mr. Barrett never expected his meek daughter would dare to defy him by eloping with her suitor.

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50
Q

megalomania

A

mania for doing grandiose things

Developers who spend millions trying to build the world’s tallest skyscraper suffer from megalomania.

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51
Q

melee

A

fight

The captain tried to ascertain the cause of the melee that had broken out among the crew members.

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52
Q

mellifluous

A

flowing smoothly; smooth

Italian is a mellifluous language.

53
Q

memento

A

token; reminder

Take this book as a memento of your visit.

54
Q

memorialize

A

commemorate

Let us memorialize his great contribution by dedicating this library in his honor.

55
Q

mendacious

A

lying; false

He was pathological liar, and his friends learned to discount his mendacious stories.

56
Q

mendicant

A

beggar

From the moment we left the ship, we were surrounded by mendicants and peddlers.

57
Q

menial

A

suitable for sevants; low

I cannot understand why a person of your ability and talent should engage in such menial activities.

58
Q

mercantile

A

concerning trade

I am more interested in the opportunites available in the mercantile field than I am in those in the legal profession.

59
Q

mercenary

A

motivated solely by money or gain

“I’m not in this war because I get my kicks waving flags,” said the mercenary soldier. “I’m in it for the dough.”

60
Q

mercurial

A

fickle; changing

He was of a mercurial temperament and therefore unpredictable.

61
Q

meretricious

A

flashy; tawdry; falsely attractive

Her jewels were inexpensive but not meretricious.

62
Q

mesmerize

A

hypnotize

The incessant drone seemed to mesmerize him and place him in a trance.

63
Q

metallurgical

A

pertaining to the art of removing metals from ores

During the course of his metallurgical research, the scientist developed a steel alloy of tremendous strength.

64
Q

mete

A

measure; distribute

He tried to be impartial in his efforts to mete out justice.

65
Q

meteoric

A

swift; momentarily brilliant

We all wondered at his meteoric rise to fame.

66
Q

methodical

A

systematic

An accountant must be methodical and maintain order among his financial records.

67
Q

mettle

A

courage; spirit

When challenged by the other horses in the race, the thoroughbred proved its mettle by its determination to hold the lead.

68
Q

miasma

A

swamp gas; heavy, vaporous atmosphere, often emanating from decaying matter; pervasive corrupting influence

The smog hung over Victorian London like a dark cloud; noisome, reeking of decay, it was a visible miasma.

69
Q

militant

A

combative; bellicose

Althoughat this time he was advocating a policy of neutrality, one could usually find him adopting a more militant attitude.

70
Q

militate

A

work against

Your record of lateness and absence will militate against your chances of promotion.

71
Q

minatory

A

menacing; threatening

Jabbing a minatory forefinger at Dorothy, the Wicked Witch cried, “I’ll get you, and your little dog, too!”

72
Q

mincing

A

affectedly dainty

Yum-Yum walked across the stage with mincing steps.

73
Q

minion

A

a servile dependent

He was always accompanied by several of his minions because he enjoyed their subservience and flattery.

74
Q

minutiae

A

petty details

She would have liked to ignore the minutiae of daily living.

75
Q

mirage

A

unreal reflection; optical illusion

The lost prospector was fooled by a mirage in the desert.

76
Q

mire

A

entangle; stick in swampy ground

Their rear wheels became mired in mud.

77
Q

mirth

A

merriment; laughter

Sober Malvolio found Sir Toby’s mirth improper.

78
Q

misanthrope

A

one who hates mankind

We thought the hermit was a miantrope because he shunned our society.

79
Q

misapprehension

A

error; misunderstanding

To avoid msapprehension, I am going to ask all of you to repeat the instructions I have given.

80
Q

miscellany

A

mixture of writings on various subjects

This is an interesting miscellany of nineteenth-century prose and poetry.

81
Q

mischance

A

ill luck

By mischance, he lost his week’s salary.

82
Q

misconstrue

A

interpret incorrectly; misjudge

She took the passage seriously rather than humourously because she misconstrued the author’s ironic tone.

83
Q

miscreant

A

wretch; villain

His kindness to the miscreant amazed all of us who had expected to hear severe punishment pronounced.

84
Q

misdemeanor

A

minor crime

The culprit pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor rather than face trial for a felony.

85
Q

miserly

A

stingy; mean

The miserly old man hoarded his coins not out of prudence but out of greed.

86
Q

mishap

A

accident

With a little care you could have avoided this mishap.

87
Q

misnomer

A

wrong name; incorrect designation

His tyrannical conduct proved to all that his nickname, King Eric the Just, was a misnomer.

88
Q

misogamy

A

hatred of marriage

He remained a bachelor not because of misogamy but because of ill fate: his fiancee died before the wedding.

89
Q

misogynist

A

hater of women

She accused him of being a misogynist because he had been a bachelor all his life.

90
Q

missive

A

letter

The ambassador received a missive from the Secretary of State.

91
Q

mite

A

very small object or creature; small coin

Gnats are annoying mites that sing.

92
Q

mitigate

A

appease

Nothing he did could mitigate her wrath; she was unforgiving.

93
Q

modicum

A

limited quantity

Although his story is based on a modicum of truth, most of the events he describes are fictitious.

94
Q

modish

A

fashionable

She always discarded all garments that were no longer modish.

95
Q

modulation

A

toning down; changing from one key to another

When we she spoke, it was with quiet modulation of voice.

96
Q

mogul

A

powerful person

The oil moguls made great profits when the price of gasoline rose.

97
Q

mollycoddle

A

pamper; indulge excessively

Don’t mollycoddle the boy, Maud! You’ll spoil him.

98
Q

molt

A

shed or cast off hair or feathers

The male robin molted in the spring.

99
Q

momentous

A

very important

On this momentous occasion, we must be very solemn.

100
Q

monastic

A

related to monks

Wanting to live a religious life, he took his monastic vows.

101
Q

monolithic

A

solidly uniform; unyielding

Knowing the importance of appearing resolute, the patriots sought to present a monolithic front.

102
Q

monotheism

A

belief in one God

Abraham was the first to proclaim his belief in monotheism.

103
Q

moodiness

A

fits of depression or gloom

We could not discover the cause of her recurrent moodiness.

104
Q

moratorium

A

legal delay of payment

If we declare a moratorium and delay collection of debts for six months, I am sure the farmers will be able to meet their bills.

105
Q

morbid

A

given to unwholesome thought; gloomy

These morbid speculations are dangerous; we must lighten our spirits by emphasizing more pleasant matters.

106
Q

mordant

A

biting; sarcastic; stinging

Actors feared the critic’s mordant pen.

107
Q

mores

A

customs

The mores of Mexico are those of Spain with some modifications.

108
Q

moribund

A

at the point of death

The doctors called the family to the bedside of the moribund patient.

109
Q

morose

A

ill-humored; sullen

When we first meet Hamlet, we find him morose and depressed.

110
Q

mortician

A

undertaker

The mortician prepared the corpse for burial.

111
Q

mortify

A

humiliate; punish the flesh

She was so mortified by her blunder that she ran to her room in tears.

112
Q

mote

A

small speck

The tiniest mote in the eye is very painful.

113
Q

motif

A

theme

This simple motif runs throughout the score.

114
Q

motility

A

ability to move spontaneously

Certain organisms exhibit remarkable motility; motile spores, for example, may travel for miles before coming to rest.

115
Q

motley

A

parti-colored; mixed

The captain had gathered a motley crew to sail the vessel.

116
Q

mottled

A

spotted

When he blushed, his face took on a mottled hue.

117
Q

mountebank

A

charlatan; boastful pretender

The patent medicine man was a mountebank.

118
Q

muddle

A

confuse; mix up

His thoughts were muddled and chaotic.

119
Q

muggy

A

warm and damp

August in New York City is often muggy.

120
Q

mulct

A

defraud a person of something

The lawyer was accused of trying to mulct the boy of his legacy.

121
Q

multifarious

A

varied; greatly diversified

A career woman and mother, she was constantly busy with the multifarious activities of her daily life.

122
Q

munificent

A

very generous

The munificent gift was presented to the bride by her rich uncle.

123
Q

murkiness

A

darkness; gloom

The murkiness and fog of the waterfront that evening depressed me.

124
Q

muse

A

ponder

For a moment he mused about the beauty of the scene, but his thought soon changed as he recalled his own personal problems.

125
Q

musky

A

having the odor of musk

She left a trace of musky perfume behind her.

126
Q

muster

A

gather; assemble

Washington mustered his forces at Trenton.

127
Q

musty

A

stale; spoiled by age

The attic was dark and musty.

128
Q

mutinous

A

unruly; rebellious

The captain had to use force to quiet his mutinous crew.

129
Q

millinery

A

person who makes or sells women’s hats

The millinery displayed fashionable hats in the street where many women passed by.

GRE (24 decks)

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