PREPWords Flashcards
Synthesis Card # 1 - RETICENT
Jerry was reticent in voicing his opinion; he was unsure people would take him seriously even if he spoke up.
RETICENT
- Reserved
- quiet
- restrained;
- unforthcoming
Synthesis Card # 2
When Christine saw the face of the Phantom of the Opera, she recoiled in horror; he had been burned beyond recognition.
RECOIL
- Shrink back
- withdraw
- retreat
- jump back
Synthesis Card # 3
Some mathematicians argue mathematical laws are a priori – they would be true even if humans never existed to learn about them.
A PRIORI
- Prior to experience
- not requiring experience to be justified
- true eternally
Synthesis Card # 4
Some mathematicians argue mathematical laws are a posteriori, just like scientific laws - humans created mathematics based on their experiences
A POSTERIORI
- Post-experience
- requiring experiment or a sensory experience ( like sight, sounds, touch, taste or audio) to be declared existent or true.
Synthesis Card # 5
Anna wrote a perspicacious essay on the German philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, leading her professor to declare it one of the most intelligent pieces of writing the professor had ever read.
PERSPICACIOUS
(per·spi·ca·cious; pərspiˈkāSHəs)
- wise
- astute
- sagacious
- intelligent
- clear in thought
Synthesis card # 6
Following the harsh university review, professors were lambasted for ignoring the needs of students.
LAMBASTED
- Attacked
- Criticized
Synthesis Card # 7
Environmental activism is often motivated by inspired ideals and hopeful principles related to better ecological management.
PRINCIPLES
- belief
- moral value
- social norm
Synthesis Card # 8
Her hypothesis was still a mere conjecture; it had not yet been proven by any experimental results.
CONJECTURE
- hypothesis
- guess
- speculation
- assumption
Synthesis Card # 9
To improve the salubriousness of his lifestyle, Jonas quit smoking and changed his eating habits.
SALUBRIOUS
- healthy
- good for your mental/physical being
- wholesome
Synthesis Card # 10
It was the band’s first practice together and what they pronounced was a cacophony of disharmonious noises rather than a melodious tune
CACOPHONY
- dissonance
- discord
- noise
- disharmony
Synthesis Card # 11
The peace-making efforts in the war-torn country were aided by a surge in global financial support for the aid workers and their mission.
SURGE
- influx
- heave
- rush
- flow
- sudden abundence of
SYNTHESIS CARD # 12
The board denied funding for the project, deeming it to have been poorly planned and lacking in foresight.
FORESIGHT
- prudence
- forward-thinking
- long-term vision
- prescience
Synthesis Card # 13
Commiserating her friend’s sprained ankle, Ana promised to help her friend train more safely for the next race.
COMMISERATE
- offer condolences
- sympathize
- empathize
Synthesis Card # 14
His recalcitrant behaviour led many teachers to conclude that he would never listen to authority and never follow the rules set before him.
RECALCITRANT
- rebellious
- riotous
- disturbing
- disorderly
Synthesis Card # 15
The poet found the use of short, rhyming poems on subway marketing posters a repellent and degraded form of poetic expression.
REPELLENT
- vile
- disgusting
- distasteful
- foul
Synthesis card # 16
His unobtrusive style led people to often conclude, mistakenly, that he held no opinions on how the company ought to have been managed.
UNOBTRUSIVE
- inconspicuous
- mild
- shy
- modest
- unremarkable
Synthesis Card # 17
Janine’s wilfulness rendered her a formidable foe in a debate or discussion, as she always refused to admit defeat or accept an alternative point of view.
WILFUL
- headstrong
- obstinate
- stubborn
Synthesis Card # 18
The first Irish referendum on the European Union’s constitution demonstrated that most voters did not agree with the proposed document.
REFERENDUM
- vote
- election
Synthesis Card # 19
Always on the cusp of generating a new idea, Randy was a trailblazer in his field of research.
TRAIL-BLAZER
- pioneer
- speculator
- innovator
Synthesis Card # 20
Horse-drawn carriages are now obsolete in London; they are relics of the past, replaced in more recent times by automobiles.
OBSOLETE
- disused
- unused
- outdated
- archaic
Synthesis Card # 21
Children will often ostracize one another on the playground, which has led the parents of those children who are mistreated to worry about schoolyard bullying and social exclusion.
OSTRACIZE
- exclude
- banish
- expatriate
Synthesis Card # 22
To augment her status as council leader, Dr. Spikes insisted upon a coronation and official ceremony at her inauguration.
AUGMENT
- increase
- maximize
- inflate
Synthesis Card # 23
Mr. Jones called the police last night as his unruly and obstreperous neighbours, with their loud music and constant partying, wouldn’t quiet down after his repeated requests.
OBSTREPEROUS
- resisting control
- rebellious
- boisterous
Synthesis Card # 24
It would be hard to dissuade Monica of the correctness of her theory as she had already invested most of her academic career in proving its truth.
DISSUADE
- convince
- deter
- persuade
Synthesis Card # 25
Depressed, despondent and broken-down, Michael left his office for the last time-his dismissal notice in hand.
DESPONDENT
- heartsick
- depressed
- morose
- hopeless
Synthesis Card # 26
Although animals are often thought to act in instinctive and immediate ways, zoologists have documented premeditated and well-organize attacks by cheetahs and lionesses in the wild, demonstrating some animals have the ability to plan for the future.
PREMEDITATED
- deliberate
- calculated
- intentional
- conscious
Synthesis Card # 27
Bongo was a green, stuffed animal whose personality traits on a children’s television show personified the behaviour of a 6-year old child.
PERSONIFY
- exemplify
- incarnate
- anthropomorphize
- typify
Synthesis Card # 28
The critic called the film “disastrously directed” and a waste of acting talent; his caustic review led show houses to cut the film’s screening by two weeks.
CAUSTIC
- mordant
- acerbic
- scathing
- biting
Synthesis Card # 29
Though he can be light-hearted and comic at times, Jenson turns into a sardonic and unforgiving joker when one mentions his ex-partner.
SARDONIC
- sarcastic
- satirical
- cutting
- mordant
- scathing
Synthesis Card # 30
Scornful of his brother’s constant successes, Oskar decided to run away from home so that his parents would consider appreciating his talents too.
SCORNFUL
- contemptuous
- mocking
- sneering
- derisive
Synthesis Card # 31
The English court was known throughout the Renaissance for the gentility of its aristocrats and the refinement of its manners.
GENTILITY
- refinement
- propriety
- decorum
- courtesy
Synthesis Card # 32
Intelligent beyond comparison, Mikella impressed the hiring board with her acumen.
ACUMEN
- insight
- shrewdness
- expertise
- intelligence
Synthesis Card # 33
Stumbling about to find the right woeds, Angelina came across as inane and lacking in insight.
INANE
- mindless
- frivolous
- absurd
- stupid
Synthesis Card # 34
I am opposed to the gratuitous killing that one finds in contemporary horror films, so I refuse to watch any of them in the cinema.
GRATUITOUS
- unneeded
- unnecessarily
- superfluous
Synthesis Card # 35
Protestantism in Europe was founded, in part, upon a profoundly iconoclastic view of Catholic imagery and iconography-the latter of which many Protestants thought was an indication of mystical and pagan worship.
ICONOCLASTIC
- destruction of sacred images
- untraditional
- unconventional
- anti-dogmatic
Synthesis Card # 36
My incredulous opinion of his story was based on the fact that it was full of twists and inconsistent details.
INCREDULOUS
- disbelieving
- unconvinced
- sceptical
Synthesis Card # 37
Cynical to the end, the mathematician William Clifford refused to accept that any sort of heaven awaited him after death.
CYNICAL
- pessimistic
- distrustful
- disparaging
- mocking
Synthesis Card # 38
Their wanton behaviour was matched only by the debased nature of their colleagues in crime, all of whom pursued their route to wealth through bribery and fraud.
WANTON
- unjustifiable
- unprovoked
- unmotivated
Synthesis Card # 39
Stu’s parents had to reign in their profligate son by cutting his credit card and imposing limits on his daily bank withdrawals.
PROFLIGATE
- extravagant
- wasteful
- squandering
- decadent
Synthesis Card # 40
At the strictly religious school where Janine had been sent by her unforgiving parents, even the idea of a friendly kiss was deemed to be licentious and deeply immodest.
LICENTITIOUS
- immodest
- lustful
- dissolute
- impious
Synthesis Card # 41
In a time of recession, more people have adopted a parsimonious attitude towards their money and leisure activities.
PARSIMONIOUS
- thrifty
- economical
- frugal
- sparing
Synthesis Card # 42
The sort of abject poverty that one-sixth of the world’s population faces on a daily basis is imcomprehensible to those of us living in North America, where misery has no such home.
ABJECT
- DISMAL
- MISERABLE
- WRETCHED
Synthesis Card # 43
He stared out of the window wistfully watching the rain pour down; he had not heard from him girlfriend in more than four weeks.
WISTFULLY
- longingly
- sadly
- thoughtfully
- comtemplatively
- regretfully
Synthesis Card # 44
The gambler’s string of successes led the casino managers to suspect a ruse was at play and that they had been somehow deceived.
RUSE
- HOAX
- DECEPTION
- PLOY
SYNTHESIS CARD # 45
Following the death of her sister, Ella heard from friends she hadn’t contacted in years, all of whom sent their commiserations.
COMMISERATE
- sympathize
- empathize
- give condolences
Synthesis Card # 46
Having long cogitated on the structure of the planets and their orbits, Galileo developed the concept of a sun-centric solar system.
COGITATE
- meditate
- ponder
- ruminate
- think about
Synthesis Card # 47
The horse-drwan carriage was more rickety than romantic, leading all parties to cavil the entire way home about the ill planned choice they had made.
CAVIL
- to be picky
- complain
- niggle
Synthesis Card # 48
Rather than getting to the point right away, he meandered around the issue and raised a number of peripheral and circumlocutory concerns first.
CIRCUMLOCUTORY
- roundabout
- indirect
- unclear
- circuitous
Synthesis Card # 49
The response from the opposition was apposite, addressing the central concern raised by the government.
APPOSITE
- appropriate
- pertinent
- relevant
Synthesis Card # 50
Latisha hoped the years of solitude and isolation that her children had inadvertently experienced would not lead them to insecurity and diffidence as adults later in life
DIFFIDENT
- self-effacing
- unobtrusive
- insecure
- reticent
