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Barron's GRE Verbal Workbook > T > Flashcards

T Flashcards

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1
Q

tableau

A

n. vivid description, striking incident or scene

The dancers formed a tableau in the shape of a diamond.

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2
Q

taboo

A

n. a ban as a result of a social custom

That society has a taboo against men and women displaying affection for each other in public.

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3
Q

tabula rasa

A

n. condition of mind free from ideas or impressions; something that is new and not marked by external influence

The professor regards each new class of students as a tabula rasa.

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4
Q

tacit

A

adj. silently understood or implied

There was a tacit agreement between the couple not to bring up the subject.

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5
Q

taciturn

A

adj. uncommunicative, not inclined to speak much

Vermonters have a reputation for being taciturn.

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6
Q

tactile

A

adj. relating to the sense of touch

The soldier’s burned hands had lost their tactile sensitivity.

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7
Q

talisman

A

n. charm to bring good luck and avert misfortune

Chase’s talisman is a rabbit’s foot that he brings to exams.

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8
Q

talon

A

n. claw of an animal, esp. a bird of prey

The eagle held a chicken with its talon.

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9
Q

tandem

A

adj. one behind the other

The cyclists rode around the track in tandem.

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10
Q

tangent

A

n. digression, diversion

The speaker keeps going off on tangents.

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11
Q

tangential

A

adj. digressing, diverting

Try to avoid discussing tangential issues in your essay.

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12
Q

tangible

A

adj. able to be touched

The judge asked for tangible evidence to be produced.

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13
Q

tantamount

A

adj. equivalent in value of significance; amounting to

Offering him five dollars for the watch is tantamount to saying the watch is a fake.

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14
Q

tattoo

A

n. a signal sounded on a drum or a bugle to summon soldiers to their quarters at night; a continuous even drumming

The tattoo sounded at 9:00 P.M.

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15
Q

tautological

A

adj. needlessly repetitious

Try to avoid tautological expressions in your writing.

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16
Q

tautology

A

n. unnecessary repetition

The phrase “repeat again” is often a tautology.

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17
Q

tawdry

A

adj. gaudy, cheap, showy

Mandy loves to wear tawdry jewelry.

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18
Q

taxonomy

A

n. science of classification; in biology, the process of classifying organisms in categories

The Swedish scientist Carolus Linnaeus developed the system of taxonomy used by scientists today.

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19
Q

technocracy

A

n. government by scientists and engineers

Some observers believe that the United States is becoming a technocracy.

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20
Q

technocrat

A

n. a scientist or technical expert who has a lot of power in politics or industry

The Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has been described as a technocrat.

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21
Q

technophile

A

n. person who is enthusiastic about technology

The technophile always buys the most advanced cell phone available.

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22
Q

tectonic

A

adj. related to structural deformation of the Earth’s crust

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge tectonic plate boundary runs down the center of the Atlantic Ocean.

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23
Q

teleology

A

n. belief in a purposeful development toward an end

Teleology is a recurring issue in biology.

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24
Q

temerity

A

n. oldness; rashness

The professor had the temerity to suggest that sports have little place at a university.

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25
Q

temper

A

v. to moderate; restrain; tone down or toughen

The critic tempered her negative remarks about the book by saying that it showed some promise.

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26
Q

temperament

A

n. disposition; characteristic frame of mind

By temperament Steve is not the type of person likely to become a writer.

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27
Q

temperance

A

n. restraint, self-control, moderation

Hardship taught the family the value of temperance.

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28
Q

temperate

A

adj. marked by moderate temperatures, weather, or climate; moderate in degree or quality

Tired of the hard winter, Mr. Smith moved to a temperate climate.

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29
Q

tempered

A

adj. moderated, restrained

His tempered support for the war is due to the fact that his son is in that army.

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30
Q

tempestuous

A

adj. stormy, raging, furious

The movie portrays the couple’s tempestuous relationship.

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31
Q

template

A

n. pattern for making a copy

This template has produced 10,000 copies of the product.

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32
Q

temporal

A

adj. related to time; not eternal

The monastery is organized so that temporal matters occupy little of the monk’s time.

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33
Q

temporize

A

v. to act evasively to gain time, avoid an argument, or postpone a decision

The board of governors temporized so long that our company lost the contract.

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34
Q

tenable

A

adj. defensible, reasonable

This is tenable if we proceed cautiously.

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35
Q

tenacious

A

adj. stubborn, holding firm

Our team’s tenacious defense is allowing less than seven points a game.

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36
Q

tendentious

A

adj. biased; designed to further a cause; having an aim

The columnist’s tendentious article sparked a debate on the issue.

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37
Q

tenet

A

n. belief, doctrine

The philosophy has three basic tenets.

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38
Q

tensile

A

adj. capable of withstanding physical stress

The engineer designed a test to check the product’s tensile strength.

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39
Q

tenuous

A

adj. weak, insubstantial

Scientists have established a tenuous connection between achievement and IQ.

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40
Q

tepid

A

adj. lukewarm; showing little enthusiasm

The suggestion received a tepid response.

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41
Q

terra firma

A

n. solid ground

After the fourteen-hour flight we were glad to be back on terra firma.

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42
Q

terra incognita

A

n. an unexplored region or area of knowledge

Modern researchers are steadily exploring the terra incognita of the brain.

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43
Q

terrestrial

A

adj. earthly; down-to-earth, commonplace

The terrestrial tracking station monitors the space probe.

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44
Q

terse

A

adj. concise, brief, free of extra words

The terse reply to our question simply said, “No.”

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45
Q

tête-à-tête

A

n. a private conversation between two people

Lawyers for each of the parties met for a tête-à-tête.

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46
Q

theism

A

n. belief in the existence of a god

Surveys show that most Americans believe in some form of theism.

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47
Q

theocracy

A

n. government by priests representing a god

Some European settlers wanted to establish a theocracy.

48
Q

theological

A

adj. concerned with the study of religion

The book discusses theological issues such as whether God is all-powerful.

49
Q

theoretical

A

adj. abstract; not verified; not practical

So far the plan is only theoretical.

50
Q

therapeutic

A

adj. having healing powers

Many doctors consider swimming to be therapeutic.

51
Q

thermal

A

adj. pertaining to heat

The generator runs on thermal energy from the sun.

52
Q

thesaurus

A

n. book of synonyms and antonyms

The thesaurus groups similar words around a single shared meaning.

53
Q

thesis

A

n. a proposition put forward for consideration

The thesis of the book is that women should have the duty as well as the right to serve in the military.

54
Q

thespian

A

n. an actor or actress

Our school’s thespians will perform the musical South Pacific next month.

55
Q

timbre

A

n. the characteristic quality of sound produced by a particular experiment or voice

The guitar maker uses a special type of wood to give the instruments he makes a particular timbre.

56
Q

timorous

A

adj. timid, shy, full of apprehension

The timorous girl became more confident and outgoing when she went to college.

57
Q

tirade

A

n. long violent speech; verbal assault

The principal’s tirade lasted over an hour.

58
Q

titan

A

n. person of colossal stature, strength, or achievement

The play depicts a titanic struggle between good and bad.

59
Q

titillate

A

v. to excite pleasurably

Several scenes in the movie are designed to titillate viewers.

60
Q

titular

A

adj. holding of title without obligations; nominal

The country’s titular ruler hosted a dinner for foreign guests.

61
Q

toady

A

n. flatterer, hanger-on, yes-man

The toady agrees with everything her boss says.

62
Q

tome

A

n. book, usually large and academic

The tome contains twenty long essays on Shakespeare’s play.

63
Q

topography

A

n. art of making maps or charts; physical features of a place

The country’s rugged topography makes land travel difficult.

64
Q

torpid

A

adj. lethargic; unable to move; dormant

The snakes are torpid in the winter.

65
Q

torpor

A

n. lethargy; dormancy; sluggishness

The bear slowly recovered from the torpor caused by its long hibernation.

66
Q

torque

A

n. a turning or twisting force

The engine generates a lot of torque, making it excellent for use in vehicles designed to tow heavy loads.

67
Q

torrid

A

adj. burning hot; passionate

The actor’s torrid affair is the subject of a popular movie.

68
Q

torsion

A

n. act of twisting and turning

The race car uses a bar that provides torsion to stabilize when it corners.

69
Q

tortuous

A

adj. having many twists and turns; highly complex

The road takes a tortuous path through the mountains.

70
Q

totalitarianism

A

n. a system of government in which one political group maintains complete control

Communism and Fascism were the two major forms of totalitarianism during the twentieth century.

71
Q

totem

A

n. a natural object or animal believed to have spiritual significance

The clan keep s a wooden pole on which totems are carved.

72
Q

touchstone

A

n. a quality or example used to test the genuineness or excellence of others

The touchstone I use in judging a poem is a Shakespearean sonnet.

73
Q

tout

A

v. to promote or praise energetically

The salesperson touted this product as the best of its type.

74
Q

toxin

A

n. poison

The toxins were stored safely away from children.

75
Q

tract

A

n. region of land; pamphlet

The 100-acre tract was sold for ten million dollars.

76
Q

tractable

A

adj. obedient, yielding

The children became more tractable as the year progressed.

77
Q

transcendent

A

adj. rising above, going beyond; superior; beyond the material

Many people believe that human beings possess a soul that is transcendent.

78
Q

transcription

A

n. copy, reproduction; record

The transcription of the speech will be available next week.

79
Q

transfix

A

v. to render motionless, as with awe, terror, or amazement

The crowd watched, transfixed, as the gigantic UFO landed.

80
Q

transgress

A

v. to trespass, violate a law

Be careful not to transgress against the local laws.

81
Q

transient

A

adj. temporary, short-lived, fleeting

Each individual life seems to be transient.

82
Q

transitory

A

adj. short-lived, existing only briefly

Rainbows are normally trnasitory.

83
Q

translucent

A

adj. partially transparent

We could see the fish quite well through the translucent glass.

84
Q

transmogrification

A

n. change from one shape or form to another

The story describes Joe’s transmogrification into a werewolf.

85
Q

transmutation

A

n. change in appearance, shape, or nature

At involves the transmutation of the ordinary into the extraordinary.

86
Q

trappings

A

n. outward decorations; ornaments

The president enjoyed the trappings of office, such as flying in a special jet plane.

87
Q

travail

A

n. work, especially arduous work; tribulation; anguish

The book tells the story of the travail of a slave in America.

88
Q

travesty

A

n. parody, exaggerated imitation, caricature

The new play is a deliberate travesty of Hamlet.

89
Q

treatise

A

n. article treating a subject systematically and thoroughly

The treatise argues that countries most often go to war for economic reasons.

90
Q

tremulous

A

adj. trembling, quivering; fearful, timid

Gail was tremulous as she waited to get her GRE score.

91
Q

trenchant

A

adj. acute, sharp, incisive; forceful, effective

The student took her teacher’s trenchant criticism of her writing to heart.

92
Q

trepidation

A

n., fear and anxiety

The soldier looked forward to the battle with trepidation.

93
Q

trifling

A

adj. of slight worth, trivial, insignificant

Don’t worry about this trifling matter.

94
Q

trite

A

adj. unoriginal

Try to avoid trite language when you write.

95
Q

trivial

A

adj. unimportant

Things that seemed important before the war now seem trivial.

96
Q

trope

A

n. a figure of speech using words in a nonliteral way

The writer uses the two Americas trope to highlight the difference between rich and poor.

97
Q

trophic

A

adj. related to nutrition

The trophic level of an organism is the position it occupies on the food chain.

98
Q

tropism

A

n. the movement of an organism or part of an organism toward or away from a external stimulus

In one type of tropism, gravitropism, plant movement occurs in response to gravity.

99
Q

troupe

A

n. group of actors

The troupe has performed three Shakespearean comedies.

100
Q

truculence

A

n. state of violent agitation

The child’s truculence began when his mother took away his favorite toy.

101
Q

truism

A

n. a statement that is obviously true and that says nothing new

The salesperson often utters the truism to customers “You get what you pay for.”

102
Q

truncate

A

v. to cut off, shorten by cutting

The editor truncated the long novel by eliminating long descriptions.

103
Q

tryst

A

n. agreement between lovers to meet; rendezvous

The lovers arranged a tryst.

104
Q

tsunami

A

n. a very large wave caused by a seismic disturbance of the ocean floor

With coastal area around the world becoming increasingly populated, tsunamis are posing a great risk to human life.

105
Q

tumid

A

adj. swollen; distended

Images of starving children with tumid bellies captured the world’s attention.

106
Q

tumult

A

n. state of confusion; agitation

There was tumult in the streets when the enemy invasion began.

107
Q

tundra

A

n. treeless plain found in arctic or subarctic regions

The explorers walked across the frozen tundra, searching for oil.

108
Q

turbid

A

adj. muddy; opaque; in a state of confusion

They rowed down the silty, turbid wasters of the Congo River.

109
Q

turbulence

A

n. commotion, disorder; agitation

The 1960s was a period of turbulence in American history.

110
Q

turgid

A

adj. swollen, bloated

The publisher rejected the book because it was written in turgid prose.

111
Q

turmoil

A

n. great commotion; confusion

There was turmoil in the city when invaders reached the edge of town.

112
Q

turpitude

A

n. inherent vileness, foulness, depravity

The novelist portrays the turpitude human beings are capable of.

113
Q

tutelary

A

adj. serving as a guardian or protector

The ancient Romans believed that everyone has a tutelary spirit.

114
Q

typology

A

n. a theory of types

The linguist’s typology of language classifies language by grammatical features rather than common ancestyr.

115
Q

tyrannical

A

adj. oppressive; dictatorial

The men took up arms to end the dictator’s tyrannical rule.

116
Q

tyro

A

n. beginner, novice

The students tried to take advantage of the teacher because she was a tyro.

Barron's GRE Verbal Workbook (26 decks)

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