the rest of gre vocab Flashcards
crescendo
steadily increasing in volume or force
-The crescendo of tension became unbearable as Evel Knievel prepared to jump his motorcycle over the school buses.
credulous
too trusting; gullible
-Although some 4 yr olds believe in the Easter bunny, only the most credulous 9 yr olds also believe in him.
convoluted
intricate and complicated
-Although many people bought “A Brief History of Time”, few could follow its convoluted ideas and theories.
condone
to overlook, pardon, or disregard
-Some theorists believe that failing to prosecute minor crimes is the same as condoning an air of lawlessness.
cogent
convincing and well reasoned
-Swayed by the cogent argument of the defense, the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendant.
chicanery
deception by means of craft or guile
-dishonest used car sales people often use chicanery to sell their beat-up old cars.
chauvinist
someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs
-the attitude that men are inherently superior to women and therefore must be obeyed is common among male chauvinists.
austere
severe or stern in appearance; undecorated
-The lack of decoration makes military barracks seem austere to the civilian eye.
archaic
ancient, old-fashioned
-Her archaic commodore computer could not run on the latest software.
antagonize
to annoy or provoke to anger
-The child discovered that he could antagonize the cat by pulling its tail.
alleviate
to make more bearable
-Taking aspirin helps to alleviate a headache.
aggrandize
to increase in power, influence, and reputation
-The supervisor sought to aggrandize herself by claiming that the achievements of her staff were actually her own.
aesthetic
concerning the appreciation of beauty
-Followers of the aesthetic movement regarded the pursuit of beauty as the only true purpose of art.
advocate
to speak in favor of
-The vegetarian advocated a diet containing no meat.
abyss
an extremely deep hole
-The submarine dove into the abyss to chart the previously unseen depths.
abate
to reduce in amount, degree, or severity
-As the hurricane’s force abated, the winds dropped and the sea became calm.
abscond
to leave secretly
-The patron absconded from the restaurant without paying his bill by sneaking out the back door.
amalgamate
to combine; to mix together
-Giant industries amalgamated with mega products to form Giant-mega products incorporated.
ambiguous
doubtful or uncertain; able to be interpreted several ways
-The directions she gave were so ambiguous that we disagreed on which way to turn.
ameliorate
to make better; to improve
-The doctor was able to ameliorate the patient’s suffering using painkillers.
anachronism
something out of place in time
-The aged hippie used anachronistic phrases like “groovy” and “far out” that had not been popular for years.
analogous
similar or alike in some way; equivalent to
-In the Newtonian construct for explaining the existence of God, the universe is analogous to a mechanical timepiece, the creation of a divinely intelligent “clockmaker”.
antipathy
extreme dislike
-the antipathy between the french and the english regularly erupted into open warfare.
arbitrate
to judge a dispute between 2 opposing parties
-Since the couple could not come to agreement, a judge was forced to arbitrate their divorce proceedings.
