GRE_3000_List3

Question 1

barrage

Answer 1

1 a heavy curtain of artillery fire directed in front of friendly troops to protect them.
[E] Troops are advancing under the shield of barrage.
[S] bombardment; fusillade;
2 an overwhelming, concentrated outpouring, as of words.
[E] The announcement was met with a barrage of criticism and protests.
[S] salvo; hail; cannonade; shower; volley;
3 to attack with a rapid or overwhelming outpouring of many things at once.
[E] The athlete was barraged with requests for an autograph.
[S] bomb

Question 2

bathetic

Answer 2

characterized with exceptional commonplaceness
[E] a bathetic funeral scene;
[S] trite; cliche; 
[A] offbeat; 
[P] bathos;

Question 3

beleaguer

Answer 3

1 to surround with armed forces for the purpose of capturing or preventing commence and communication.
[E] beleaguered the castle for months
[S] siege; besiege; 
2 trouble; harass;
[E] We are still beleaguered by the very problem.
[S] annoy; harass; pester; plague; 
[A] delight; 
[P] beleaguering;

Question 4

bellwether

Answer 4

one that takes the lead or initiative
[E] Paris is a bellwether for the fashion industry.
[S] leader; pilot ;
[A] follower; disciple; imitator;

Question 5

blase

Answer 5

apathetic to pleasure or excitement
[E] Years of extravagance has made him totally blase.
[S] indifferent;
[A] zealous; fanatic;

Question 6

blazon

Answer 6

1 to make known openly
[E] Their very public canoodling has pretty much blazoned the fact that they are having an affaire.
[S] annunciate; broadcast; 
[A] withhold;
2 to make more attractive
[E] The university's dormitory has been blazoned with banners celebrating graduation.
[S] adorn; bedeck;
[A] blemish; deface;

Question 7

boggle

Answer 7

1 to hesitate because of doubt;fear
[E] boggle at the dilemma
[S] hesitate; falter; 
2 to make or do in a clumsy way
[E] She boggled her first effort to make Chirstmas cookies.
[S] bungle;

Question 8

bootless

Answer 8

useless; futile
[E] The meeting turns out to be a bootless attempt.
[S] barren; ineffective; futile;
[A] worthy;

Question 9

bravura

Answer 9

brilliant technique or style in performance
[E] a truly bravura performance of the ballet;
[S] adroit; dexterous;
[A] amateur;

Question 10

brazen

Answer 10

1 marked by contemptuous boldness
[E] a brazen disregard for the rules
[S] impertinent; impudent;
[A] diffident; 
2 to face or undergo with bold self-assurance;
[E] Some people would rather brazen a thing out rather than admit defeat.
[S] outface;
[A] dodge; shirk;

Question 11

bristle

Answer 11

1 to express one’s anger usually violently
[E] bristle at the suggestion of gay marriage
[S] bluster; fulminate; rampage; fume; storm;
[A] cower;
2 to be copiously supplied
[E] starting a new life in New York city bristling with possibilities.
[S] brim; swarm; teem;

Question 12

broach

Answer 12

1 to open for the first time
[E] broach a keg of bear
[S] break
[A] close off;
2 to present or bring forward for discussion
[E] broach the topic of plans for next year’s parade.
[S] moot; place; raise;

Question 13

browbeat

Answer 13

to intimidate by a stern manner or arrogant speech
[E] They would often browbeat the younger child until he cried.
[S] intimidate;cow;

Question 14

bruit

Answer 14

to make the subject of common talk without any authority or confirmation of accuracy
[E] It’s been bruited that…
[S] circulate; whisper;

Question 15

buck

Answer 15

1 to refuse assent
[E] buck the system
[S] defy; repel;
2 to shift possession of something from one person to another
[E] buck each box to the next person
[S] transfer;

Question 16

budge

Answer 16

1 to alter position 
[E] Nothing would budge him
2 to cease resistance; 
[E] Despite hours of intense pressure, she refused to budge from her position.
[S] concede; relent; 
[A] resist;

Question 17

bulge

Answer 17

1 a protuberant part 
[E] a bulge in his jacket;
[S] convexity; protrusion; 
[A] cavity;
2 the more favorable condition
[E] Somehow she got the bulge on him in the race for the statehouse.
[S] upper hand;
[A] drawback
3 a sudden, usually temporary increase
[E] The baby boom created a bulge in school enrollment
4 to be copiously supplied
[E] This guidebook to San Francisco positively bulges with useful information.
[S] brim; bristle; teem;

Question 18

bungle

Answer 18

to act or work clumsy
[E] bungle a job
[S] boggle; bumble; fumble; mess up
[A] bring off;

Question 19

cachet

Answer 19

1 an indication of approval carrying great prestige
[E] endorsement; warrant;
[A] interdiction;
2 prestige
[E] being rich doesn’t have the cachet it used to

Question 20

cadge

Answer 20

beg; sponge
[E] cadge a free cup of coffee;
[S] earn;

Question 21

calibrate

Answer 21

1 to standardize by determining the deviation from a standard so as to ascertain the proper correction factors.
[E] calibrate the polling procedures to ensure objectivity
2 to measure precisely

Question 22

callow

Answer 22

lacking in adult experience
[E] callow young man
[S] green; juvenile;
[A] mature;

Question 23

canard

Answer 23

an unfounded or false, deliberately story
[E] It’s a popular canard that the actress died under scandalous circumstances.
[S] story; whisper;

Question 24

barb

Answer 24

a bitting or pointedly critical remark or comment
[E] He delivered one last barb to his ex-girlfriend as he stalked away.
[S] affront; criticism; sarcasm
[A] praise; applause;