Tricky "easy" words

Question 1

stem

Answer 1

To hold back or limit the flow or growth of something.

Apply pressure to the wound to stem the bleeding.

Question 2

blinkered

Answer 2

To have a limited outlook or understanding.

If you blink a lot you are likely to miss something. The meaning of blinkered is extended from this thought.

In gambling, the addict is easily blinkered by past successes and continues to bet.

Question 3

check

Answer 3

To stop the growth of something.

If something is left unchecked, then it frowns freely (i.e. weeds).

Question 4

checkered

Answer 4

marked by numerous changes or dubious episodes; suspect in character or quality.

The politician’s checkered past of embezzlement and infidelity squashed his hopes of getting into the White House.

Question 5

raft

Answer 5

large number of something.

A raft of calories in a serving of Nutella makes it a formidable food for dieters.

“A raft of rats on a raft”

Question 6

involved

Answer 6

complicated, difficult to understand.

The physics lecture became so involved that the student decided it wasn’t worth the brain power to try understanding.

Question 7

retiring

Answer 7

shy and inclined to retract from company.

The nickname Wallflower was given to the retiring girl who always stood around off to the side feebly and quietly.

Question 8

expansive

Answer 8

effusive, prone to talking in a sociable manner.

Expansive people always make a party lively with a good flow of interesting conversations.

Question 9

moment

Answer 9

significant, important.
[proceeded by “of”]

Receiving of a diploma is of great moment to all

Question 10

base

Answer 10

immoral, contemptible, ignoble.

It was base of the teacher to take bribes from the student’s parents as payment for rigging his test scores.

Question 11

imbibe

Answer 11

to intake or drink in knowledge.

Plato imbibed Socrates’ teachings to such an extent that he was able to write volumes of work that he directly attributed, sometimes word for word to Socrates.

Question 12

inundate

Answer 12

to be overwhelmed by too many people or things.

It is possible to be inundated by all the words in this GRE vocabulary list.

inundate literally means to flood or deluge, so you can be inundated by a flood of people.

Question 13

arch

Answer 13

deliberately teasing.

She played along with her brother’s jabs because she knew he was only being arch.

Question 14

beg

Answer 14

to ask a question with an underlying assumption.

By assuming that she was going to keep the baby, he begged the question when he asked if she had starting thinking about names.

Question 15

tender

Answer 15

to offer up.

Someone with a tender heart may tender her time to charity.

The government was loath to tender more money in the fear that it might set off inflation.

Question 16

intimate

Answer 16

to subtly suggest.

In order to avoid hurting his feeling, the hiring committee intimated that he was short of the prerequisites for the job.

Question 17

wanting

Answer 17

lacking.

Her explanations are wanting and therefore hard to understand.

Question 18

becoming

Answer 18

matching nicely, appropriate.

Her sundress was becoming and brightened up her attire.

Question 19

scintillating

Answer 19

brilliant, lively.

Einstein’s brain giving off sparks because it was so scintillating.

Even on days when she was sleep-deprived, the student stayed alert throughout the scintillating lecture.

Question 20

benighted

Answer 20

intellectually or morally ignorant; unenlightened.

During the time Columbus discovered the west indies, many westerners and Europeans thought that indigenous people were benighted and needed spiritual as well as humane guidance.

Question 21

galvanize

Answer 21

to excite into an action; to spur on.

After seeing his friend’s gallantry, Gavin was galvanized into becoming more chivalrous.

Question 22

hedge

Answer 22

to limit a statement; to avoid making a direct statement; to play it safe.

When asked why he had decided to buy millions of shares at the very moment the tech companies stock soared, the CEO hedged, mentioning something vague about gut instinct.

Question 23

flush

Answer 23

being in abundance.

Classic novels are flush with GRE words.

Question 24

fell

Answer 24

terribly evil

“An evil person who cuts down trees, and falls himself”

To PETA members, fashion designers who make clothes out of fur are considered to be fell.

Question 25

start

Answer 25

to suddenly move or dart in a particular direction.

When the girl poked the sleeping mouse, it started and scurried into its hole.

Question 26

fleece

Answer 26

to deceive.

Don’t be fleeced by a dog’s seemingly clean fur; it is a source of flees.

Question 27

telling

Answer 27

revealing.

The low viewership of the pilot was telling enough to cancel the show.

Question 28

wax

Answer 28

to increase.

A moon waxes and wanes.

Question 29

qualify

Answer 29

to limit a statement or opinion.

The doctor qualified his diagnosis to be on the safe side.