Magoosh 1 Flashcards
Alacrity
Eager willingness to do something
The first 3 weeks at his new job Mark worked with such alacrity that upper management knew they would be giving him a promotion
Prosaic
Dull and lacking imagination
Unlike the talented artists in his workshop, Paul had no such bent for the visual medium that he ended up with a prosaic mosaic
Veracity
Truthful
After years of political scandals the congressman was hardly known for his veracity.
Paucity
Lack of something
There is a paucity of jobs hiring today that require menial skills, since most jobs have either been automated or outsourced
Maintain
To assert
The scientist maintained that the extinction of dinosaurs was most likely brought by drastic change in climate
Contrite
To be remorseful
Though he stole his sisters licorice with glee, Chuck soon became contrite when she wouldn’t stop crying
Laconic
Says few words
While Martha always swooned over the hunky laconic types in romantic comedies, her bfs were very talkative and not very hunky
Pugnacious
Aggressively argue about everything
The comedian told one flat joke after another and when the audience started booing he pugnaciously spat back Hey you think this is easy
Disparate
Fundamentally different
With the advent of machines capable of looking inside the brain, fields as disparate as religion and biology have been brought together as scientists try to understand what happens in the brain when people have a religious experience
Egregious
Standing out in a bad way
The dictators abuse of human rights was so egregious that many world leaders asked that he be tried in an international court for genocide
Innocuous
Harmless without ill effects
Everyone found Nancy’s banter innocuous except for Mike who felt like she was intentionally picking on him
Erratic
Unpredictable, Strange/Unconventional
It came no surprise to pundits that the presidents attempt at re-election floundered; even during his term support for his policies was erratic with an approval rating jumping from 30 to 60
Bleak
Depressing take on life
Unremitting overcast skies tend to lead people to create bleak literature compared to England’s band Radiohead to any band from southern California
Profuse
Pours out in abundance
During mile 20 of the marathon Dwayne was sweating profusely that he stopped to take off his shirt
Extant
Existent
Despite many bookstores closing experts predict that some form of book dealing will still be extant generations from now
Contentious
Like to argue
Grandpa became very contentious during the summer when only re-runs were on TV
Auspicious
Favorable
Despite an auspicious beginning, Mikes road trip became a series of mishaps and he was soon stranded without a car
Enervate
Sap the energy from
John preferred to avoid equatorial countries as the intense sun would always leave him enervated
Equivocate
Speak vaguely usually with intention to mislead
The findings of the study were equivocal, the two researchers had divergent opinions on what the results signified
Ambivalent
Mixed or conflicting emotions about something
Sam was ambivalent about studying for the GRE because it ate up a lot of her time yet he learned many words.
Sedulous
Anything but idle
Harold sedulously amassed a collection of coins from over 100 countries an endeavor that took over 15 years
Stem
Limit the flow/growth of something
To stem the tide of applications, the prestigious Ivy schools require that each applicant score at least 330 on the revised GRE
Blinkered
Limited outlook or understanding
In gambling the addict is easily blinkered by past success or failure forgetting that the outcome of any one game is independent of the other
Unchecked
Something undesirable that has grown out of control
Deserted for 6 months, the property began to look like an unchecked jungle
