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GRE Studying > Deck 3 > Flashcards

Deck 3 Flashcards

1
Q

Noxious

A

(adjective): harmful. Think: TOXIC. Burning plastic releases NOXIOUS fumes that are TOXIC to living things.

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2
Q

Bowdlerize

A

(verb): to cut out all the offensive parts of a book. Think: BOULDER-IZE. Originally, they would BOWDLERIZE Huckleberry Finn so much that they might as well have let BOULDERS roll over the book and tear out half the pages.

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3
Q

Iconoclast

A

(noun): someone who goes against society. Think: CLASHED. The ICONOCLAST had beliefs that CLASHED with most people’s views.

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4
Q

Effaced

A

(verb): made less visible. Think: ERASED. On old nickels, Thomas Jefferson’s face is often EFFACED to the point of almost being ERASED.

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5
Q

Chagrin

A

(noun): distress caused by disappointment. Think: TRAGIC. To my CHAGRIN, a TRAGIC wardrobe malfunction made my pants fall down in the middle of my speech.

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6
Q

Ineffable

A

(adjective): that which cannot be described in words. Think: IN-F-ABLE. There’s a word beginning with “F” that you’re not supposed to say, so if you can’t describe something, it’s INEFFABLE - like that word is “IN-F-ABLE”.

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7
Q

Inculcate

A

(verb): to teach by constant repetition and warning. Think: IN CULT. IN the CULT of Scientology, they INCULCATED Tom Cruise until he was brainwashed.

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8
Q

Indigenous

A

(adjective): native to an area. Think: INDIAN DIG IN U.S. The archaeologist found arrowheads during her INDIAN DIG IN THE U.S. and concluded that Native Americans were INDIGENOUS to the area.

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9
Q

Welter

A

(verb): to be in turmoil; to get tossed around. Think: WELTS. When I surf, I WELTER in the waves and my board hits me; I come out covered in WELTS.

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10
Q

Vilify

A

(verb): to speak ill of. Think: VILLAIN-FY. The dumpee decided to VILIFY her ex-boyfriend so the other girls would think he was a VILLAIN.

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11
Q

Sangfroid

A

(noun): coolness and composure. Think: SANG FROG. “You don’t scare me!” SANG the FROG when he saw the fox - he had SANGFROID in spades.

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12
Q

Secretes

A

(verb): forms and gives off. Think: SEA CREATURE SECRET. The octopus is a SEA CREATURE that stays SECRET when it SECRETES an inky cloud.

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13
Q

Fetid

A

(adjective): bad-smelling. Think: FEET. FEET often are FETID.

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14
Q

Callow

A

(adjective): inexperienced; immature. Think: SHALLOW. Popping her gum while reading Cosmo, the CALLOW teenager was SHALLOW only because she hadn’t seen much of the world yet.

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15
Q

Ameliorated

A

(verb): made better. Think: EMILIO RATED. EMILIO RATED my pasta as a 0 out of 0, which AMELIORATED my fear that I had ruined it.

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16
Q

Undermine

A

(verb): to weaken in a sneaky way. Think: UNDER MINE. UNDER the ground lay a land MINE designed to UNDERMINE the army’s advance.

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17
Q

Fuliginous

A

(adjective): obscure; murky; dark. Think: FULL OF GIN. After he was FULL OF GIN, James Joyce composed poetry so moody and FULIGINOUS that few could appreciate it.

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18
Q

Revulsion

A

(noun): disgust. Think: REVOLT and SHUN. When the king barfed then ate the barf, I felt such REVULSION that I wanted to REVOLT and SHUN him.

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19
Q

Philander

A

(verb): to have casual or unfaithful sex. Think: ZOOLANDER. When you’re ridiculously good-looking like ZOOLANDER, it’s easy to PHILANDER.

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20
Q

Homespun

A

(adjective): simple; unpretentious. Think: HOME SPUN. Her clothes are pretty HOMESPUN, but then again, they actually are HOME SPUN - her mom weaves them at home on a loom.

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21
Q

Roborant

A

(noun): an invigorating drug. Think: ROBO-ANT. After I gave him a ROBORANT, my ant felt as strong as a ROBO-ANT.

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22
Q

Variegated

A

(adjective): varied. Think: VARIED. The autumn leaves in Vermont are known for their VARIEGATED colors; last year, they VARIED from red to yellow to orange.

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23
Q

Staunch

A

(adjective): firm; true; strong. Think: STAy UNCHanged. I’m a STAUNCH supporter of Justin Bieber, so my support for him will STAY UNCHANGED even if he does something really stupid.

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24
Q

Querulous

A

(adjective): whiny; complaining. Think: QUARREL US. We’d invite you over more, but you’re so QUERULOUS that you always end up in a QUARREL with US!

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25
Q

Undulate

A

(verb): to move in a smooth, wavelike way. Think: UNDO LACE. You’ll definitely turn your lover on if you UNDO your LACE lingerie while slowly UNDULATING your body.

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26
Q

Egalitarian

A

(adjective): based on the belief in human equality. Think: EQUAL EAGLE. In the U.S., our EGALITARIAN belief that all men are created EQUAL is symbolized by the bald EAGLE.

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27
Q

Steadfast

A

(adjective): loyal; immovable. Think: STAYED FASTENED. The fallen soldier’s dog was so STEADFAST that it STAYED FASTENED to the ground near his grave.

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28
Q

Antithesis

A

(noun): opposite. Think: ANTI-THESIS. You got a “D” on your essay because your examples argued for the ANTITHESIS of your introduction’s THESIS.

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29
Q

Kindle

A

(verb): to start; to stir up. Think: KINDLING. You can’t just light a log on fire - to KINDLE the campfire, you need some KINDLING: twigs, paper, dried grass, etc.

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30
Q

Disgruntled

A

(adjective): displeased. Think: GRUNTED. The fat warthog GRUNTED to show he was DISGRUNTLED with his small dinner.

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31
Q

Noisome

A

(adjective): stinky. Think: NOSE POISON. The boys’ locker room is NOISOME; going in there is like taking NOSE POISON.

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32
Q

Parsimonious

A

(adjective): stingy. Think: PARSLEY MONEY. My dad was so PARSIMONIOUS he’d give us PARSLEY MONEY instead of lunch money.

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33
Q

Rotund

A

(adjective): round; full; plump. Think: ROUND TUMMY. Your pet hippo’s TUMMY has grown so ROTUND that it’s literally ROUND at this point.

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34
Q

Respite

A

(adjective): a short rest. Think: REST IT. Don’t overwork your respiratory system; if you take a RESPITE and REST IT, your lungs will thank you.

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35
Q

Assiduous

A

(adjective): hardworking; dedicated. Think: ASSIST US. ASSIDUOUS Sid worked his ass off to ASSIST US.

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36
Q

Cacophony

A

(noun): a harsh, unharmonious sound. Think: COUGH SYMPHONY. The sounds from the tuberculosis ward were a CACOPHONY - an unpleasant COUGH SYMPHONY.

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37
Q

Cache

A

(noun): a secure storage place or something in that place. Think: CASH. The Great Depression survivor kept his CASH in a CACHE under the bed - he didn’t trust banks.

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38
Q

Hardy

A

(adjective): strong; robust; adaptable. Think: HEARTY. If you’re HARDY, you’re probably HEARTY and full of life.

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39
Q

Scuttle

A

(verb): to destroy; to scrap. Think: IT’S CUT. SCUTTLE the launch of that Space Shuttle! IT’S CUT from the space program as of 0.

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40
Q

Manifold

A

(adjective): diverse; varied. Think: MANY FOLDS. The surface of the brain is MANIFOLD because it has MANY FOLDS.

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41
Q

Crepuscular

A

(adjective): related to twilight. Think: CREEPY MUSCULAR. In the movie Twilight, CREEPY, MUSCULAR vampires prowl during the CREPUSCULAR hours of the evening.

42
Q

Menial

A

(adjective): a task suitable to a servant. Think: ME KNEEL. Tasks that make ME KNEEL, like scrubbing the floor, are aptly called MENIAL.

43
Q

Opportune

A

(adjective): well-timed. Think: OPPORTUNITY. It’s OPPORTUNE that I got picked for this singing OPPORTUNITY because a genie just granted my wish to sing perfectly.

44
Q

Disparage

A

(verb): to insult or put down. Think: DESPAIR and RAGE. He felt DESPAIR and RAGE because the rapper liked to diss and DISPARAGE him.

45
Q

Scapegoat

A

(noun): one that takes the blame. Think: ESCAPED GOAT. Even though the dog ate some of the vegetables in the garden, the ESCAPED GOAT became the SCAPEGOAT.

46
Q

Cocksure

A

(adjective): overconfident. Think: COCKY and SURE. The baseball rookie was so COCKY and SURE that he’d hit a home run during his first at-bat that he was COCKSURE.

47
Q

Incandescent

A

(adjective): bright; brilliant. Think: CANDLE SENT. The CANDLE SENT INCANDESCENT light throughout the tomb, revealing a sleeping vampire.

48
Q

Pallid

A

(adjective): lacking color. Think: PALE. After playing video games in his mother’s basement all winter, Al was so PALE his friends described him as PALLID.

49
Q

Nascent

A

(adjective): coming into existence; new. Think: NEW CAR SCENT. I jumped into the NASCENT BMW while it was still on the assembly line and breathed in the best NEW CAR SCENT I’ve ever smelled.

50
Q

Duplicitous

A

(adjective): deceptive. Think: DUPLICATE-NESS. Politicians try to make everyone like them, but their two-faced DUPLICATE-NESS is DUPLICITOUS.

51
Q

Raiment

A

(noun): clothing. Think: RAIN MEANT. In the nudist colony, a forecast of RAIN MEANT they’d actually have to don some RAIMENT.

52
Q

Hidebound

A

(adjective): inflexible; ultra-conservative. Think: HIDE-BOUND. The HIDEBOUND extremists were BOUND in animal HIDES and unsurprisingly were against gay marriage.

53
Q

Diurnal

A

(adjective): daily; of the daytime. Think: The URINAL. My use of the URINAL is DIURNAL - I pee every day.

54
Q

Fervor

A

(noun): passion. Think: FEVER. The lovers’ FERVOR for each other was so great that their skin felt FEVER-hot.

55
Q

Conscientious

A

(adjective): driven by the urge to do what’s right; careful. Think: CONSCIENCES. CONSCIENTIOUS people usually are driven to do good deeds by their CONSCIENCES.

56
Q

Dexterity

A

(adjective): skill; good coordination. Think: DEXTER. The fictional serial killer DEXTER has a grisly DEXTERITY about the way he kills people.

57
Q

Eldritch

A

(adjective): weird; eerie. Think: ELF-WITCH. The ELF-WITCH Galadriel in The Lord Of The Rings was ELDRITCH because of her ability to speak inside our heads.

58
Q

Quagmire

A

(noun): a difficult situation. Think: QUICKSAND MIRE. QUICKSAND can MIRE you if you step in it, and the more you struggle, the worse the QUAGMIRE becomes.

59
Q

Archaic

A

(adjective): no longer current; outdated. Think: ARCH AGE. I knew you time-traveled here from the Roman Empire because your ARCHAIC expressions sound like you’re from the ARCH AGE.

60
Q

Rhapsodize

A

(verb): to enthusiastically praise. Think: RAPTURE. The rapper Sisqo felt so much RAPTURE when looking at women wearing thongs that he RHAPSODIZED about them in “The Thong Song”.

61
Q

Quizzical

A

(adjective): questioning; teasing. Think: QUIZZING. When I started asking my date about the periodic table, her QUIZZICAL expression seemed to be QUIZZING me about why I’d brought up such an awkward topic.

62
Q

Embryonic

A

(adjective): in an early stage. Think: EMBRYO. It’s pretty obvious that a human EMBRYO is EMBRYONIC when compared to an adult human.

63
Q

Wax

A

(verb): to increase; to grow. Think: Ear WAX. Thanks to your body’s glands, your sticky, orange-brown ear WAX will WAX daily even if you use Q-tips.

64
Q

Parochial

A

(adjective): narrow-minded. Think: PARISH YOKEL. Our church is led by a PARISH YOKEL who is so PAROCHIAL that he believes women should be barefoot and pregnant.

65
Q

Forbearance

A

(noun): patience; tolerance. Think: BEAR TOLERANCE. I’m usually harsh on people who borrow my money, but for BEARS I have more TOLERANCE and practice FORBEARANCE since they scare me.

66
Q

Objective

A

(adjective): not influenced by personal perspective. Think: OBJECT. It’s easy to have an OBJECTIVE opinion about an OBJECT like a rock - there’s not much debate about what a rock is.

67
Q

Fanatic

A

(adjective): full of extreme enthusiasm. Think: FAN LUNATIC. The FANATIC Green Bay Packers FAN - a LUNATIC - painted his face green and wore a cheesehead hat every day of the year.

68
Q

Urbane

A

(adjective): sophisticated; polite and polished. Think: URBAN. The farmboy moved to a hip URBAN city and became so URBANE that he threw away his straw hat.

69
Q

Hermetic

A

(adjective): protected from outside influence. Think: HERMIT. The HERMIT lived in a HERMETIC cave that was only reachable via a treacherous mountain path.

70
Q

Heterogeneous

A

(adjective): made of dissimilar parts. Think: HETEROSEXUAL. HETEROSEXUAL sex is more HETEROGENEOUS than homosexual sex since it involves a wider variety of body parts.

71
Q

Posit

A

(verb): to assume to be true; to suggest. Think: POSITIVE. POSITIVE about her findings, the scientist finally agreed to POSIT the existence of extraterrestrial life in a journal article.

72
Q

Skulk

A

(verb): to hide or be stealthy. Think: SKUNKS LURK. SKUNKS LURK and SKULK until it’s dark enough for them to eat from your garbage cans.

73
Q

Scathing

A

(adjective): sharply critical. Think: SCYTHE. Getting killed by the Grim Reaper’s sharp, hooked SCYTHE is as about as SCATHING a criticism as one can get.

74
Q

Rectitude

A

(noun): extreme integrity. Think: CORRECT ATTITUDE. Since he was a church rector, Paul considered the CORRECT ATTITUDE to be RECTITUDE.

75
Q

Precursor

A

(noun): something that came before another thing. Think: PRE-CURSOR. When you’re typing, the word you just typed is literally PRE-CURSOR; it’s before the cursor and is thus a PRECURSOR to it.

76
Q

Impeccable

A

(adjective): flawless. Think: IM-PECKABLE. Due to the IMPECCABLE net you covered my apple tree with, the crows can’t get at the fruit - it’s IM-PECKABLE.

77
Q

Spurious

A

(adjective): false. Think: SPUR CURIOUS. His SPUR of the moment explanation made me CURIOUS if his story was SPURIOUS.

78
Q

Strenuous:

A

(adjective): requiring lots of energy. Think: STRAIN ON US. The STRENUOUS hike up Mt. Everest was a STRAIN ON US.

79
Q

Diabolical

A

(adjective): devilish. Think: DIE ABOLISH. Your law that makes cigarettes part of school lunches is DIABOLICAL and will cause children to DIE… ABOLISH it!

80
Q

Quash

A

(verb): to completely stop from happening. Think: SQUASH. The best way to QUASH an invasion of ants in your kitchen is simple: SQUASH them.

81
Q

Mettle

A

(noun): strength; stamina. Think: METAL. In Gladiator, Russell Crowe was so full of METTLE he might have been made of METAL.

82
Q

Humdrum

A

(adjective): boring. Think: HUMS and DRUMS. That was a HUMDRUM band - it was just one guy who would HUM and another guy beating a DRUM.

83
Q

Furor

A

(noun): an outburst of rage or excitement. Think: FURIOUS. The governor’s use of the Fuhrer’s (Hitler’s) image in an ad made many FURIOUS and created a political FUROR.

84
Q

Companionable

A

(adjective): sociable; friendly. Think: COMPANION-ABLE. Most dogs are COMPANIONABLE and love people; that’s why they’re so ABLE to be COMPANIONS.

85
Q

Splenetic

A

(adjective): bad-tempered. Think: SPLEEN anger. In medieval times, people thought anger came from one’s SPLEEN; “SPLENETIC” was coined to describe an angry person.

86
Q

Toothsome

A

(adjective): tasty; appealing. Think: TOOTH SOME. The food looked so TOOTHSOME that I wanted to give my TOOTH SOME.

87
Q

Heinous

A

(adjective): wicked; hateable. Think: ANUS. I called you an ANUS because of your HEINOUS deeds - you cheated on me!

88
Q

Profound

A

(adjective): deep. Think: PROFESSOR FOUND. My PROFESSOR FOUND the cure for cancer because his decades of study gave him a PROFOUND understanding of the disease.

89
Q

Harangue

A

(noun): a ranting lecture. Think: HER EARS RANG. HER EARS RANG so much after the loud HARANGUE that she joked she’d rather hang than listen to it again.

90
Q

Cordon

A

(verb): to enclose, either to restrict or to protect. Think: CORD ON. CORDON off that area by tying a CORD ON and around all the trees so people know it’s off limits. Corroborate

91
Q

Headlong

A

(adjective): done without adequate thinking; rash. Think: HEADFIRST. If you dived HEADFIRST into a shallow pool, it would be a HEADLONG decision.

92
Q

Fulsome

A

(adjective): abundant, sometimes disgustingly so. Think: FULL. In the U.S., we are FULL of some crops: corn here is so FULSOME that we put it in nearly every food product.

93
Q

Harried

A

(adjective): harassed. Think: HURRIED. Being HARRIED by your teacher and HURRIED to finish your test - just because you’re the last one in the room - is terrible.

94
Q

Restitution

A

(noun): the act of making up for something bad. Think: REST of TUITION. My college’s RESTITUTION for allowing prostitution was paying the REST of our TUITION.

95
Q

Rickety

A

(adjective): weak. Think: RICKETS. RICKETS, a disease that weakens the bones, makes its sufferers RICKETY.

96
Q

Inviolate

A

(adjective): pure; intact. Think: UNVIOLATED. The virgin tract of rainforest was INVIOLATE; it had not yet been VIOLATED by greedy loggers.

97
Q

Willful

A

(adjective): stubborn, insistent. Think: WILL-FULL. The WILLFUL horse was so WILL-FULL that he refused to be trained or ridden.

98
Q

Discrete

A

(adjective): individually distinct; separate. Think: CRETE. The Greek island of CRETE is DISCRETE because it doesn’t touch any other land.

99
Q

Largess

A

(noun): generosity. Think: LARGE-NESS. Due to his wealthy parents’ LARGESS and the LARGE-NESS of their generosity, the college student lived pretty large and drove a Ferrari.

100
Q

Etiolated

A

(verb): made pale; weakened. Think: TOILET-ED. Keeping my goldfish in the bleach-containing TOILET tank violated his trust and ETIOLATED him so much that he turned white.

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