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O Flashcards

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1
Q

oaf

A

stupid, awkward person

He called the unfortunate waiter a clumsy oaf.

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2
Q

obdurate

A

stubborn

He was obdurate in his refusal to listen to our complaints.

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3
Q

obeisance

A

bow

She made an obeisance as the king and queen entered the room.

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4
Q

obelisk

A

tall column tapering and ending in a pyramid

Cleopatra’s Needle is an obelisk in New York City’s Central Park.

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5
Q

obfuscate

A

confuse; muddle

Do not obfuscate the issues by dragging in irrelevant arguments.

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6
Q

oblique

A

slanting; deviating from the perpendicular or from a straight line

The sergeant ordered the men to march “oblique right.”

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7
Q

oblivion

A

forgetfulness

Her work had fallen into a state of oblivion; no one bothered to read them.

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8
Q

obloquy

A

slander; disgrace; infamy

I resent the obloquy that you are casting upon my reputation.

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9
Q

obnoxious

A

offensive

I find your behavior obnoxious; please mend your ways.

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10
Q

obsequious

A

slavishly attentive; servile; sycophantic

Helen valued people who behaved as if they respected themselves; nothing irritated her more than an excessively obsequious waiter or a fawning salesclerk.

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11
Q

obsequy

A

funeral ceremony

Hundreads paid their last respects at his obsequies.

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12
Q

obsidian

A

clak volcanic rock

The deposits of obsidian on the mountain slopes were an indiacation that volcano had erupted in ancient times.

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13
Q

obstreperous

A

boisterous; noisy

The crowd became obstreperous and shouted their disapproval of the proposals made by the speaker.

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14
Q

obtrusive

A

pushing forward

I found her a very obstrusive person, constantly seeking the center of the stage.

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15
Q

obtuse

A

blunt; stupid

Because he was so obtuse, he could not follow the teacher’s reasoning and asked foolish questions.

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16
Q

obviate

A

make unnecessary; get rid of

I hope this contribution will obviate any need for further collections of funds.

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17
Q

occult

A

mysterious; secret; supernatural

The occult rites of the organization were revealed only to members.

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18
Q

odious

A

hateful

I find the task of punishing you most odious.

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19
Q

odoriferous

A

giving off an odor

The odoriferous spices stimulated her jaded appetite.

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20
Q

offhand

A

casual; done without prior thought

Expecting to be treated with due propriety by her costs, Great-Aunt Maud was offended by their offhand manner.

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21
Q

officious

A

meddlesome; excessively pushy in offering one’s services

After her long flight, Jill just wanted to nap, but the officious bellboy was intent on showing her all the special features of the deluxe suite.

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22
Q

ogle

A

glance coquettishly at; make eyes at

Sitting for hours at the sidewalk cafe, the old gentleman would oggle the young girls and recall his youthful romances.

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23
Q

oligarchy

A

government by a few

The feudal oligarchy was supplanted by an autocracy.

24
Q

ominous

A

threatening

Those clouds are ominous; they suggest that a severe storm is on the way.

25
Q

omniscient

A

all-knowing

I do not pretend to be omniscient, but I am positive about this fact.

26
Q

onerous

A

burdensome

He asked for an assistant because his work load was too onerous.

27
Q

onomatopoeia

A

words formed in imitation of natural sounds

Words like “rustle” and “gargle” are illustrations of onomatopoeia.

28
Q

onslaught

A

vicious assault

We suffered many casualties during unexpected onslaght of the enemy troops.

29
Q

onus

A

burden; responsibility

The emperor was spared the onus of signing the surrender papers; instead, he relegated the assignment to his generals.

30
Q

opalescent

A

iridescent

The Ancient Mariner admired the opalescent sheen on the water.

31
Q

opiate

A

sleep producer; deadener of pain

By such opiates, she made the people forget their difficulties and accept their unpleasant circumstances.

32
Q

opprobrium

A

infamy; vilification

He refused to defend himself against the slander and opprobrium hurled against him by the newspapers; he preferred to rely on his record.

33
Q

opulence

A

extreme wealth; luxuriousness; abundance

The glitter and opulence of the ballroom took Cinderella’s breath away.

34
Q

opus

A

work

Although many critics hailed his Fifth Symphony, he did not regard it as his major opus.

35
Q

oracular

A

foretelling; mysterious

Oedipus could not understand the oracular warning he received.

36
Q

oratorio

A

dramatic poem set to music

The Glee Club decided to present an oratorio during their recital.

37
Q

ordain

A

command; arrange; consecrate

The king ordained that no foreigner should be allowed to enter the city.

38
Q

ordeal

A

severe trial or affliction

Terry Anderson spoke movingly of his long ordeal as a hostage in Lebanon.

39
Q

ordinance

A

decree

Passing a red light is a violation of a city ordinance.

40
Q

ordination

A

ceremony conferring holy orders

The candidate for ordination had to meet with the bishop and the diocean officers before being judged ready to be ordained a deacon.

41
Q

orient

A

get one’s bearings; adjust

Philip spent his first day in Denver orienting himself to the city.

42
Q

orientation

A

act of finding oneself in society

Freshman orientation provides the incoming students with an opportunity to learn about their new environment and their place in it.

43
Q

ornithologist

A

scientific student of birds

Auduborn’s drawings of American bird life have been of interest not only to the ornithologists but also to the general public.

44
Q

oscillate

A

vibrate pendulumlike; waver

It is interesting to note how public opinion oscillates between the extremes of optimism and pessimism.

45
Q

osseus

A

made of bone; bony

The hollow “soft spot” found at the top of the infant’s skull gradually closes as new osseus tissue fills in the gap.

46
Q

ossify

A

change or harden into bone

When he called his opponent a “bonehead,” he implied that his adversary’s brain had ossified and that he was not capable of clear thinking.

47
Q

ostensible

A

apparent; professed; pretended

Although the ostensible purpose of this expedition is to discover new lands, we are really interested in finding new markets for our products.

48
Q

ostentatious

A

showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention

Trump’s latest casino in Atlantic City is the most ostentatious gambling place in the East: it easily outglitters its competitors.

49
Q

ostracize

A

exclude from public favor; ban

As soon as the newspapers carried the story of his connection with the criminals, his friends began to ostracize him.

50
Q

oust

A

expel; drive out

The world wondered if Aquino would be able to oust Marcos from office.

51
Q

outmoded

A

no longer stylish; old-fahioned

Unconcerned about keeping in style, Lenore was perfectly happy to wear outmoded clothes as long as they were clean and unfrayed.

52
Q

outwit

A

outsmart; trick

By disguising himself as an old woman, Holmes was able to outwit his pursuers and escape capture.

53
Q

ovation

A

enthusiastic applause

When Placido Domingo came on stage in the first act of La Boheme, he was greeted by a tremendous ovation.

54
Q

overbearing

A

bossy; arrogant; decisively important

Certain of her own importance and of the unimportance of everyone else, Lady Bracknell was intolerably overbearing in manner. “In choosing a husband,” she said, “good birth is of overbearing importance; compared to that, neither wealth nor talent signifie

55
Q

overweening

A

presumptuous; arrogant

His overweening pride in his accomplishments was not justified.

56
Q
A

GRE (24 decks)

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