NEW GRE CONTEXTUAL VOCABULARY Flashcards
adversity
difficulty
His was a life filled with ADVERSITY, having spent time in jail on three separate occasions, and then finding it difficult to convince employers to hire him.
conciliate
pacify; make calm
It is easier to aggravate a person than it is to CONCILIATE him or her.
imminent
about to happen
Once the thunder and lightning started, we knew that rain was IMMINENT.
eminent
famous; prominent
Who do you consider the most EMINENT researcher in the field of genetic engineering?
reverberate
echo
Sheronica could hear the sound of the engine REVERBERATE in the cool autumn air.
abate
become less; diminish
Instead of taking a pain reliever, Carlos simply waited for the pain from his headache to ABATE.
apotheosis
ideal model
With her straight-A average and her prowess on the soccer field, Mary is the APOTHEOSIS of the scholar-athlete.
assuage
soothe
Linda wasn’t able to ASSUAGE her father’s concerns about her recent car trouble.
descry
catch sight of
Although the grass beside the lake was tall and dense, the hunter believed that while hiding there he would still be able to DESCRY the ducks as they landed on the water.
gingerly
carefully; delicately
After injuring my foot, I had to walk very GINGERLY.
insensible
unresponsive
The effects of the illness rendered the young man almost completely INSENSIBLE.
jovially
in a jolly way
With a big smile and a warm hug, my uncle greeted me JOVIALLY.
vying
competing with
Two hours into the spelling bee, there were still four contestants VYING for the championship.
berate
scold angrily
If you have a complaint, feel free to speak to me, but please do not BERATE me.
derogatory
insulting
He was hurt by her remarks becuase they were not just critical but also DEROGATORY.
embroiled
deeply involved; entangled
For years the two neighbors had been EMBROILED in a largely friendly but complicated disagreement over the boundaries of their property lines.
impugn
verbally attack
The speaker’s comments were clearly intended to IMPUGN the reputation of the congresswoman.
intransigent
unwilling to compromise
We argued for two hours but neither one of us could convince the other one of anything; I guess we were both pretty INTRANSIGENT.
preclude
rule out; prevent
As Flannery O’Connor once said, “Accepting oneself does not PRECLUDE an attempt to become better.”
rejoinder
quick reply
Marta made a witty comment about John’s awful haircut, but John was unable to come up with a good REJOINDER.
tirade
long, angry speech
At the end of his TIRADE, I was worn out by the length as well as the underlying hostility of his comments.
discern
perceive; distinguish
Because of the fog, the pilot was unable to DISCERN whether the lights up ahead were from a runway.
incisively
analytically; intelligently
The critic spoke INCISIVELY about the limitations of recent attempts to understand Shakespeare through computer analysis.
morass
swamp; complicated, confusing or troublesome situation
Due to the abrupt resignation of the prime minister and more than half of his cabinet, the political situation in the country had become a MORASS.
prone
likely to
She was PRONE to experiencing headaches whenever her level of stress was high.
resolute
determined; unhesitating
In private, the congresswoman seemed uncertain about how to address the budget crisis, but once the cameras were rolling she became more RESOLUTE.
alleviate
relieve; make easier
The aspirin that Lin took failed to ALLEVIATE the pain from her knee injury.
futile
ineffective; useless
As he scrubbed the wall, Kevin realized that any attempts to prevent tiny chips of paint from flaking off would be FUTILE.
garrulous
overly talkative
Although ordinarily a man of few words, Quinton became quite GARRULOUS once he began discussing a topic that interested him.
gregarious
sociable
Because Johannes is so GREGARIOUS, he seeks a job in which he would have many opportunities to interact with people.
perilous
dangerous
Attempting to walk across a busy freeway ay night is PERILOUS, no matter how carefully one proceeds.
querulous
often complaining
Due to his QUERULOUS nature, Juan found fault with all of the solutions i proposed for his computer problem.
saturate
completely fill; soak
The moment she walked into the room, her perfume began to SATURATE the air.
taciturn
not talkative; reserved
The eyewitness did not provide many details about the crime, in part because she was so TACITURN.
besotted
intoxicated; infatuated
After spending most of the day relaxing at the beach and drinking margaritas, the man was so BESOTTED with alcohol and sun he could barely find the way back to his hotel room.
epitaph
commemorative text on tombstone or monument
The EPITAPH on the gravestone indicated that Smith ahd been a prominent social activist in her day.
indignation
anger over injustice
Because they felt that the mayor had been dishonest, the city council addressed him with considerable INDIGNATION.
lacerate
cut irregularly; slash
The stunt man took precautions so that he would not LACERATE his skin when he leapt through the plate glass window.
liberty
freedom
Freedom of speech does not give citizens the LIBERTY to say anything they want to say in every possible situation.
pecuniary
monetary; related to money
As a corporate attorney, one of her responsibilities was to protect her company’s PECUNIARY interests.
soporific
sleep-producing
Reading late at night has a SOPORIFIC effect on some people, as it helps them fall right to sleep.
stolidity
emotionlessness
When the ship grazed the iceberg, the captain’s STOLIDITY helped keep the crew from becoming overly panicked.
torpor
listlessness; inactivity
The misician was so late to his own concert that a general TORPOR had settled over the audince well before he took the stage.
whimsical
playful; impulsive
Karima’s sudden decision to paint her room lavender was one of her more WHIMSICAL ideas.
chastisement
punishment; scolding
His crimes call for more CHASTISEMENT than I have the energy to deliver.
counterpart
thing that resembles, duplicates, or complements another
I suspect that the vice president in my company makes very little money as compared to her COUNTERPART in your company.
eccentricity
unconventional behavior
Nia’s most noticeable ECCENTRICITY is her choice of hair color - orange on one side of her head, blue on the other.
hereditary
inherited; ancestral
Melanie’s hearing loss was not due to accident or illness; rather, it was HEREDITARY
inclined
likely; having a preference
I work hard for my money, and so I’m not INCLINED to spend it freely.
jocosely
with humor
Though the recent firings were a serious matter, the employees in Wilma’s unit treated the topic of their job security JOCOSELY.
reverent
deeply respectful
Having studied and written about the visual arts for many years, Dwayne had a REVERENT attitude toward genuises such as Picasso.
cogent
well-reasoned; convincing
She persuaded me to think her way because her arguments were so COGENT and clear.
consummate
masterful; complete
Alice is a CONSUMMATE chef, capable of creating not only delicious entrees but also appetizers, side dishes, and desserts.
credulousness
gullibility
The Jenkins family was easily swindled by the con man due to their CREDULOUSNESS.
disabuse
correct a mistaken belief
Someone should gently DISABUSE Mike of his belief that he will be a professional basketball player someday, he is too small and too slow.
dissemble
deceive; create false impression
Tell me what happened; you don’t need to DISSEMBLE anymore.
fervid
passionate
Kyle is a FERVID writer; sometimes he will work on an essay for three or four hours straight without moving from his desk.
loquacious
talkative
Although he was an eloquent speaker, Jones also tended to be LOQUACIOUS, and so his speeches often ran longer than scheduled.
prevarication
lying
She accused my brother of PREVARICATION, but in fact he had made an honest mistake.
spurious
false
Because the Senator had never been to Florida, the claim that he had been arrested once in Miami was completely SPURIOUS.
assiduously
diligently; persistently
Richard studied ASSIDUOUSLY that night so that he wouldn’t fail his history test next morning.
inept
incompetent; awkward
Trey guessed that the plumber was INEPT, because when he got home he saw that his basement was knee-deep in water.
onerous
burdensome
Reading this chapter in my calculus book is such an ONEROUS task!
unassailable
impossible to attack; unalterable
The attorney’s closing statement swayed the jury in her client’s favor; she spoke with passion, and her logic was UNASSAILABLE.
undaunted
not discouraged; resolute
She continued to drive toward Anchorage, UNDAUNTED by the blizzard that was raging outside the car.
craven
cowardly
I’ll never know the identity of the CRAVEN person who left an insulting note on my desk but wasn’t brave enough to sign it.
encomium
a tribute; a formal expression of praise
After her father passed away, Reika prepared an ENCOMIUM to be read at the memorial service in order to honor his memory.
exonerate
free from blame; absolve
Although he appears to be guilty, a closer look at the evidence will surely EXONERATE the defendant.
