Magoosh Basic - II Flashcards
preemptive
adjective: done before someone else can do it
Just as Martha was about to take the only cookie left on the table, Noah preemptively swiped it.
avarice
noun: greed (one of the seven deadly sins)
The Spanish conquistadors were known for their avarice, plundering Incan land and stealing Incan gold.
immaterial
adjective: not relevant
The judge found the defendant’s comments immaterial to the trial, and summarily dismissed him from the witness stand.
raft
noun: a large number of something
Despite a raft of city ordinances passed by an overzealous council, noise pollution continued unabated in the megalopolis.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
animosity
noun: intense hostility
The governor’s animosity toward his rival was only inflamed when the latter spread false lies regarding the governor’s first term.
catalyst
noun: something that speeds up an event
Rosa Parks’s refusal to give up her bus seat acted as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement, setting into motion historic changes for African-Americans.
desecrate
verb: to willfully violate or destroy a sacred place
After desecrating the pharaoh’s tomb, the archaeologist soon fell victim to a horrible illness.
melee
noun: a wild, confusing fight or struggle
After enduring daily taunts about my name, I became enraged and pummeled the schoolyard bully and his sycophantic friends in a brutal melee.
cadaverous
adjective: emaciated; gaunt
Some actors take challenging roles in which they have to lose so much weight that they appear cadaverous.
disparate
adjective: different in every way:
The two cultures were so utterly disparate that she found it hard to adapt from one to the other.
corroborate
verb: to confirm or lend support to (usually an idea or claim)
Her claim that frog populations were falling precipitously in Central America was corroborated by locals, who reported that many species of frogs had seemingly vanished overnight.
wax
verb: to gradually increase in size or intensity
Her enthusiasm for the diva’s new album only waxed with each song; by the end of the album, it was her favorite CD yet.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
cogent
adjective: clear and persuasive
A cogent argument will change the minds of even the most skeptical audience.
moment
noun: significant and important value
a decision of great moment
this words has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
virago
noun: an ill-tempered or violent woman
Poor Billy was the victim of the virago’s invective—she railed at him for a good 30-minutes about how he is the scum of the earth for speaking loudly on his cellphone in public.
becoming
adjective: appropriate, and matches nicely
Her dress was becoming and made her look even more beautiful.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
sanctimonious
adjective: making a show of being pious; holier-than-thou
Even during the quiet sanctity of evening prayer, she held her chin high, a sanctimonious sneer forming on her face as she eyed those who were attending church for the first time.
badger
verb: to pester
Badgered by his parents to find a job, the 30-year-old loafer instead joined a gang of itinerant musicians.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
stem
verb: to hold back or limit the flow or growth of something
To stem the tide of applications, the prestigious Ivy requires that each applicant score at least 330 on the Revised GRE.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
pittance
noun: a small amount (of money)
Vinny’s uncle beamed smugly about how he’d offered his nephew fifty dollars for his Harvard tuition; even twice the amount would have been a mere pittance.
paucity
noun: a lack of something
There is a paucity of jobs hiring today that require menial skills, since most such jobs have either been automated or outsourced.
lassitude
noun: extreme tiredness, either mental or physical
Upon finishing a 6-hour standardized exam, Dahlia emerged from the testing center overcome by lassitude.
sanguine
adjective: cheerful; optimistic
With the prospect of having to learn 3,000 words during the course of the summer, Paul was anything but sanguine.
ferret
verb: to search for something persistently
After a bit of ferreting, I managed to find his address.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
flush
adjective: to be in abundance
The exam’s passage is flush with difficult words, words that you may have learned only yesterday.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
extenuating
adjective: making less guilty or more forgivable
The jury was hardly moved by the man’s plea that his loneliness was an extenuating factor in his crime of dognapping a prized pooch.
errant
adjective: to be wandering; not sticking to a circumscribed path
Unlike his peers, who spent their hours studying in the library, Matthew preferred errant walks through the university campus.
adjective: behaving wrongly in some way, especially by leaving home:
example: an errant husband is unfaithful to his partner.
start
verb: to suddenly move in a particular direction
All alone in the mansion, Henrietta started when she heard a sound.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
replete
adjective: To be replete with something means to be full of it.
Only weeks after the hurricane made landfall, the local supermarket shelves were replete with goods, so quick was the disaster relief response.
aboveboard
adjective: open and honest
The mayor, despite his avuncular face plastered about the city, was hardly aboveboard – some concluded that it was his ingratiating smile that allowed him to engage in corrupt behavior and get away with it.
junta
noun: an aggressive takeover by a group (usually military); the group that executes such a takeover
But the junta has made it clear that it rejects all international oversight or advice.
chauvinist
noun: a person who believes in the superiority of their group
The chauvinist lives on both sides of the political spectrum, outright shunning anybody whose ideas are not consistent with his own.
beatific
adjective: blissfully happy
Often we imagine all monks to wear the beatific smile of the Buddha, but, like any of us, a monk can have a bad day and not look very happy.
heyday
noun: the pinnacle or top of a time period or career
During the heyday of Prohibition, bootlegging had become such a lucrative business that many who had been opposed to the 18th Amendment began to fear it would be repealed.
hodgepodge
noun: a confusing mixture or jumble
Those in attendance represented a hodgepodge of the city’s denizens: chimney sweepers could be seen sitting elbow to elbow with stockbrokers.
pugnacious
adjective: eager to fight or argue; verbally combative
The comedian told one flat joke after another, and when the audience started booing, he pugnaciously spat back at them, “Hey, you think this is easy – why don’t you buffoons give it a shot?”
vicarious
adjective: felt or undergone as if one were taking part in the experience or feelings of another
The advent of twitter is a celebrity stalker’s dream, as he or she can experience—through hundreds of intimate “tweets”—the vicarious thrill of living the day-to-day life of a famous person.
amok
adverb: frenzied or uncontrolled state
Wherever the bowl haircut teen-idol went, his legions of screaming fans ran through the streets amok, hoping for a glance at his boyish face.
scintillating
adjective: describes someone who is brilliant and lively
Richard Feynman was renowned for his scintillating lectures—the arcana of quantum physics was made lucid as he wrote animatedly on the chalkboard.
check
verb: to limit (usually modifying the growth of something)
Deserted for six months, the property began to look more like a jungle and less like a residence—weeds grew unchecked in the front yard
noun: the condition of being held back or limited
When government abuses are not kept in check, that government is likely to become autocratic.
This word has other definitions, but these are the most important ones to study
imponderable
adjective: impossible to estimate or figure out
According to many lawmakers, the huge variety of factors affecting society make devising an efficient healthcare system an imponderable task.
bellicose
adjective: warlike; inclined to quarrel
Known for their bellicose ways, the Spartans were once the most feared people from Peloponnesus to Persia.
misanthrope
noun: a hater of mankind
Kevin is such a misanthrope that he refused to attend the Christmas party, claiming that everyone’s happiness was “fake” and “annoying.”
fleece
verb: to deceive
Many people have been fleeced by Internet scams and never received their money back.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
cardinal
adjective: of primary importance; fundamental
Most cultures consider gambling a cardinal sin and thus have outlawed its practice.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
checkered
adjective: having had both successful and unsuccessful periods in your past:
One by one, the presidential candidates dropped out of the race, their respective checkered pasts— from embezzlement to infidelity—sabotaging their campaigns.
contrite
adjective: to be remorseful
Though he stole his little sister’s licorice stick with malevolent glee, Chucky soon became contrite when his sister wouldn’t stop crying.
unconscionable
adjective: unreasonable; unscrupulous; excessive
The lawyer’s demands were so unconscionable that rather than pay an exorbitant sum or submit himself to any other inconveniences, the defendant decided to find a new lawyer.
exhort
verb: to strongly urge on; encourage
- She exhorted all of us to do our very best.
apex
noun: the highest point
The Ivy League is considered the apex of the higher education system.
