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GRE > Vocab 2 > Flashcards

Vocab 2 Flashcards

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1
Q

officious

A

too helpful; meddlesome

While planning her wedding, Maya discovered just how officious her future mother-in-law could be.

eager, intrusive, unwanted

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2
Q

puerile

A

childish, immature, or silly

Olivia’s boyfriend’s puerile antics are really annoying; sometimes he acts like a five-year-old!

infantile, jejune, juvenile

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3
Q

pugilism

A

boxing

Pugilism has been defended as a positive outlet for aggressive impulses.

fighting, sparring

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4
Q

pulchritude

A

beauty

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

comeliness, gorgeousness, handsomeness, loveliness, prettiness

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5
Q

pungent

A

sharp and irritating to the senses

The smoke from the burning tires was extremely pungent.

acrid, caustic, piquant, poignant, stinging

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6
Q

pusillanimous

A

cowardly; without courage

The pusillanimous man would not enter the yard where the miniature poodle was barking.

cowardly, timid

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7
Q

querulous

A

inclined to complain; irritable

Curtis’s complaint letter received prompt attention after the company labeled him a querulous potential troublemaker.

peevish, puling, sniveling, whiny

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8
Q

quiescent

A

motionless

Many animals are quiescent over the winter months, minimizing activity in order to conserve energy.

dormant, latent

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9
Q

quixotic

A

overly idealistic; impractical

The practical Danuta was skeptical of her roommate’s quixotic plans to build a roller coaster in their yard.

capricious, impulsive, romantic, unrealistic

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10
Q

supplant

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.

displace, supersede

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11
Q

surfeit

A

excessive amount

Because of the surfeit of pigs, pork prices have never been lower.

glut, plethora, repletion, superfluity, surplus

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12
Q

rhetoric

A

effective writing or speaking

Lincoln’s talent for rhetoric was evident in his beautifully expressed Gettysburg Address.

eloquence, oratory

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13
Q

ribald

A

humorous in a vulgar way

The court jester’s ribald brand of humor delighted the rather uncouth king.

coarse, gross, indelicate, lewd, obscene

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14
Q

rococo

A

very highly ornamented; relating to an 18th century artistic style of elaborate ornamentation

The ornate furniture in the house reminded Tatiana of the rococo style.

intricate, ornate

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15
Q

rustic

A

rural

The rustic cabin was an ideal setting for a vacation in the country.

bucolic, pastoral

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16
Q

sacrosanct

A

extremely sacred; beyond criticism

Many people considered Mother Teresa to be sacrosanct and would not tolerate any criticism of her.

holy, invoilable, off-limits

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17
Q

sagacious

A

shrewd; wise

Owls have a reputation for being sagacious, perhaps because of their big eyes, which resemble glasses.

astute, judicious, perspicacious, sage, wise

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18
Q

salient

A

prominent; of notable significance

His most salient characteristic is his tendency to dominant every conversation.

marked, noticeable, outstanding

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19
Q

monastic

A

extremely plain or secluded, as in a monastery

The philosopher retired to his monastic lodgings to contemplate life free from any worldly distraction.

austere, contemplative, disciplined, regimented, self-abnegating

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20
Q

monotony

A

no variation; tediously the same

The monotony of the sound of the dripping faucet almost drove the research assistant crazy.

drone, tedium

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21
Q

mores

A

fixed customs or manners; moral attitudes

In keeping with the mores of ancient Roman society, Nero held a celebration every weekend.

conventions, practices

22
Q

multifarious

A

diverse

Ken opened the hotel room window, letting in the multifarious noises of the great city.

assorted, heterogeneous, indiscriminate, legion, motley, multifold, multiform, multiplex, populous, varied

23
Q

myopic

A

lacking foresight; having a narrow view or short-range perspective

Not wanting to spend a lot of money up front, the myopic business owner would likely suffer the consequences later.

short-sighted, unthinking

24
Q

nadir

A

lowest point

As Joey waited in line to audition for the diaper commercial, he realized he had reached the nadir of his acting career.

bottom, depth, pit

25
Q

naive

A

lacking sophistication or experience

Inexperienced writers often are naive and assume that big words make them sound smarter.

artless, credulous, guileless, ingenuous, simple, unaffected, unsophisticated

26
Q

nascent

A

starting to develop; coming into existence

The advertising campaign was still in a nascent stage, and nothing had been finalized yet.

embryonic, emerging, inchoate, incipient

27
Q

neologism

A

new word or expression

Aunt Mabel simple doesn’t understand today’s youth; she is perplexed by their clothing, music and neologisms.

slang, coinage

28
Q

orotund

A

pompous

Roberto soon grew tired of his date’s orotund babble about her new job, and decided their first date would probably be their last.

aureate, bombastic, declamatory, euphuistic, flowery, grandiloquent, magniloquent, oratorical, overblown, sonorous

29
Q

ossify

A

to change into bone; to become hardened or set in a rigidly conventional pattern

The forensics expert ascertained the body’s age based on the degree to which the facial structure had ossified.

30
Q

ostensible

A

apparent

The ostensible reason for his visit was to borrow a book, but he secretly wanted to chat with the lovely Wanda.

represented, supposed, surface

31
Q

ostentation

A

excessive showiness

The ostentation of the Sun King’s court is evident in the lavish decoration and luxuriousness of his palace at Versailles.

conspicuousness, flashiness, pretentiousness, showiness

32
Q

overwrought

A

agitated; overdone

The lawyer’s overwrought voice on the phone made her clients worry about the outcome of their case.

elaborate, excited, nervous, ornate

33
Q

palatial

A

relating to a palace; magnificent

After living in a cramped studio apartment for years, Sible thought the modest one bedroom looked downright palatial.

grand, stately

34
Q

disparate

A

fundamentally different; entirely unlike

Although the twins are physically identical, their personalities are disparate.

different, dissimilar, divergent, diverse, variant, various

35
Q

dissemble

A

to present a false appearance; to disguise one’s real intentions or character

The villain could dissemble to the police no longer - he admitted the deed and tore up the floor to reveal the stash of stolen money.

dissimulate, fake, feign, pose, counterfeit, sham

36
Q

dissonance

A

a harsh and disagreeable combination, especially of sounds

Cognitive dissonance is the inner conflict produced when long-standing beliefs are contradicted by new evidence.

clash, contention, discord, dissension, dissent, dissidence, friction, strife, variance

37
Q

distaff

A

the female branch of a family

The lazy husband refused to cook dinner for his wife, joking that the duty belongs to the distaff’s side.

maternal

38
Q

distend

A

to swell, inflate, or bloat

Her stomach was distended after she gorged on the six-course meal.

broaden, bulge

39
Q

dither

A

to act confusedly or without clear purpose

Ellen dithered around her apartment, uncertain how to tackle the family crisis.

falter, hesitate, vacillate, waffle, waver

40
Q

diurnal

A

active or occurring during the day

Diurnal creatures tend to become inactive during the night.

daylight, daytime

41
Q

divine

A

to foretell or know by inspiration

The fortune-teller divined from the pattern of the tea leaves that her customer would marry five times.

auger, foresee, intuit, predict, presage

42
Q

doctrinaire

A

rigidly devoted to theories without regard for practicality; dogmatic

The professor’s manner of teaching was considered doctrinaire for such a liberal school.

dictatorial; inflexible

43
Q

dogma

A

a firmly held opinion, especially a religious belief

Linus’s central dogma was that children who believed in the Great Pumpkin would be rewarded.

creed, doctrine, teaching, tenet

44
Q

endemic

A

belonging to a particular area; inherent

The health department determined that the outbreak was endemic to the small village, so they quarantined the inhabitants before the virus could spread.

indigenous, local, native

45
Q

perspicacious

A

shrewd, astute, or keen-witted

Inspector Gadget used his perspicacious mind to solve mysteries.

insightful, intelligent, sagacious

46
Q

pervade

A

to be present throughout; to permeate

Four spices - cumin, turmeric, coriander, and cayenne - pervade almost every Indian dish, ad give the cuisine its distinctive flavor.

imbue, penetrate, permeate, suffuse

47
Q

phalanx

A

a compact or close-knit body of people, animals, or things

A phalanx of guards stood outside the prime minister’s home day and night.

legion, mass

48
Q

droll

A

amusing in a wry, subtle way

Although the play couldn’t be described as hilarious, it was certainly droll.

comic, entertaining, funny, visible, witty

49
Q

dupe

A

to deceive

Bugs Bunny was able to dupe Elmer Fudd by dressing up as a lady rabbit.

beguile, betray, bluff, cozen, deceive, delude, fool, hoodwink, humbug, mislead, take in, trick

50
Q

philanthropy

A

charity; a desire or effort to promote goodness

The Metropolitan Museum of Art owes much of its collection to the philanthropy of private collectors who willed their estates to the museum.

altruism, humanitarianism

GRE (13 decks)

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