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GRE Vocab > Set 13 > Flashcards

Set 13 Flashcards

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1
Q

Chaos
noun
(kay ahs)

A

Great disorder; a confused situation

In most religious traditions, God created an ordered universe from CHAOS.

Synonyms: clutter; confusion; disarrangement; disarray; disorder; disorderliness; disorganization; jumble; mess; muddle; scramble; snarl; turmoil

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2
Q

Ingenious
adj
(ihn jehn yoo uhs)

A

Showing innocence or childlike simplicity

She was so INGENIOUS that her friends feared that her innocence and trustfulness would be exploited when she visited the big city.

Synonyms: artless; guileless; innocent; naive; simple; unaffected

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3
Q

Contumacious
adj
(kahn tuh may shuhs)

A

Rebellious

The CONTUMACIOUS teenager ran away from home when her parents told her she was grounded.

Synonyms: factious; insubordinate; insurgent; mutinous; rebellious; seditious

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4
Q

Nominal
adj
(nah mihn uhl)

A

Existing in name only; negligible

A NOMINAL but far from devoted member of the high school yearbook committee, she rarely attends meetings.

Synonyms: minimal; titular

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5
Q

Coalesce
verb
(koh uh lehs)

A

To grow together to form a single whole

The sun and planets eventually COALESCED out of a vast cloud of gas and dust.

Synonyms: amalgamate; blend; condense; consolidate; fuse; unite

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6
Q

Amulet
noun
(aam yoo liht)

A

An ornament worn as a charm against evil spirits

Though she claimed it was not because of her superstition, Vivian always wore an AMULET around her neck.

Synonyms: fetish; talisman

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7
Q

Flag
verb
(flaag)

A

To decline in vigor, strength, or interest

The marathon runner slowed down as his strength FLAGGED.

Synonyms: dwindle; ebb; slacken; subside; wane

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8
Q

Debutante
noun
(dehb yoo tahnt)

A

A young woman making debut in high society

The DEBUTANTE spent hours dressing for her very first ball, hoping to catch the eye of an eligible bachelor.

Synonyms: lady; maiden

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9
Q

Opprobrium
noun
(uh pro bree uhm)

A

Public disgrace

After the scheme to defraud the elderly was made public, the treasurer resigned in utter OPPROBRIUM.

Synonyms: discredit; disgrace; dishonor; disrepute; ignominy; infamy; obloquy; shame

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10
Q

Trenchant
adj
(trehn chuhnt)

A

Acute, sharp, or incisive; forceful; effective

Tyrone’s TRENCHANT observations in class made him the professor’s favorite student.

Synonyms: biting; caustic; cutting; keen

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11
Q

Alleviate
verb
(uh lee vee ayt)

A

To make more bearable

Taking aspirin helps to ALLEVIATE a headache.

Synonyms: allay; assuage; comfort; ease; lessen; lighten; mitigate; palliate; relieve

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12
Q

Foment
verb
(foh mehnt)

A

To arouse or incite

The rebels tried to FOMENT revolution through their attacks on the government.

Synonyms: agitate; impassion; inflame; instigate; kindle

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13
Q

Decorous
adj
(deh kohr uhs)

A

Proper; tasteful; socially correct

The countess trained her daughters in the finer points of DECOROUS behavior, hoping they would make a good impression when she presented them at Court.

Synonyms: appropriate; comme il faut; courteous; polite

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14
Q

Bifurcate
verb
(bi fuhr kayt)

A

To divide into two parts

The large corporation just released a press statement announcing its plans to BIFURCATE.

Synonyms: bisect; split

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15
Q

Opaque
adj
(oh payk)

A

Impossible to see through; preventing the passage of light

The heavy build-up of dirt and grime on the windows made them almost OPAQUE.

Synonyms: blurred; cloudy; nontransparent

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16
Q

Supplant
verb
(suh plaant)

A

To replace (another) by force; to take the place of

The overthrow of the government meant a new leader to SUPPLANT the tyrannical former one.

Synonyms: displace; supersede

17
Q

Enervate
verb
(ehn uhr vayt)

A

To reduce in strength

The guerrillas hoped that a series of surprise attacks would ENERVATE the regular army.

Synonyms: debilitate; enfeeble; sap; weaken

18
Q

Castigate
verb
(kaa stih gayt)

A

To punish or criticize harshly

Martina CASTIGATED her boyfriend for not remembering her birthday.

Synonyms: admonish; chastise; chide; rebuke; reprimand; reproach; reprove; scold; tax; upbraid

19
Q

Mitigate
verb
(miht ih gayt)

A

To soften; to lessen

A judge may MITIGATE a sentence if she decides that a person committed a crime out of need.

Synonyms: allay; alleviate; assuage; ease; lighten; moderate; mollify; palliate; temper

20
Q

Perfunctory
adj
(pur fuhnk tuhr ee)

A

Done in a routine way; indifferent

The machine-like teller processed the transaction and gave the waiting customer a PERFUNCTORY smile.

Synonyms: apathetic; automatic; mechanical

21
Q

Pulchritude
noun
(puhl kruh tood)

A

Beauty

The mortals gazed in admiration at Venus, stunned by her incredible PULCHRITUDE.

Synonyms: comeliness; gorgeousness; handsomeness; loveliness; prettiness

22
Q

Turgid
adj
(tuhr jihd)

A

Swollen as from a fluid; bloated

In the process of osmosis, water passes through the walls of TURGID cells, ensuring that they never contain too much water.

Synonym: distended

23
Q

Raconteur
noun
(raa cahn tuhr)

A

A witty, skillful storyteller

The RACONTEUR kept all the passengers entertained with his stories during the six-hour flight.

Synonyms: anectotalist; monologist

24
Q

Catalyst
noun
(kaa tuh lihst)

A

Something that brings about a change in something else

The imposition of harsh taxes was the CATALYST ip that finally brought on the revolution.

Synonyms: accelerator; goad; impetus; impulse; incentive; motivation; spur; stimulant

25
Q

Replete
adj
(rih pleet)

A

Abundantly supplied; complete

The gigantic supermarket was REPLETE with consumer products of every kind.

Synonyms: abounding; full

26
Q

Peccadillo
noun
(pehk uh dih loh)

A

A minor sin or offense

Gabriel tends to harp on his brother’s PECCADILLOES and never lets him live them down.

Synonyms: failing; fault; lapse; misstep

27
Q

Abjure
verb
(aab jur)

A

To reject; to abandon formally

The spy ABJURED his allegiance to the United States when he defected to Russia.

Synonyms: forswear; recall; recant; retract; take back

28
Q

Euphony
noun
(yoo fuh nee)

A

Pleasant, harmonious sound

To their loving parents, the children’s orchestra performance sounded like EUPHONY, although an outside observer probably would have called it a cacophony of hideous sounds.

Synonyms: harmony; melody; music; sweetness

29
Q

Syncopation
noun
(sihn cuh pay shun)

A

Temporary irregularity in musical rhythm

A jazz enthusiast will appreciate the use of SYNCOPATION in that musical genre.

30
Q

Talon
noun
(taa luhn)

A

Claw of an animal, especially a bird of prey

A vulture holds its prey in its TALONS while it dismembers it with its beak.

Synonyms: claw; nail

GRE Vocab (17 decks)

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