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GRE > Deck 3 > Flashcards

Deck 3 Flashcards

1
Q

coterminous

A

adjective: being of equal extent or scope or duration

The border of the state is coterminous with geographic limits on travel; the east and north are surrounded by a river and the south by a desert.

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2
Q

bridle

A

verb: the act of restraining power or action or limiting excess

New curfew laws bridled people’s tendency to go out at night.

verb: to react with anger or to take offense

The hostess bridled at the tactless dinner guests.

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3
Q

vaunted

A

adjective: Highly or widely praised or boasted about

Heard so much about New York City’s vaunted skyline

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4
Q

panegyric

A

noun: a formal expression of praise

rather than a small toast, he launched into a full panegyric of the man’s achievements and admirable qualities

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5
Q

complaisant

A

adjective: showing a cheerful willingness to do favors for others

Annie was complaisant, fulfilling every request and anticipating future requests

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6
Q

proscribe

A

verb: command against

My doctor proscribed my habit of eating donuts

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7
Q

stultify

A

verb: cause one, through routine, to lose energy and enthusiasm

Mark felt stultified by classes outside his are of study, only in grad school could he focus solely on his interests.

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8
Q

elegiac

A

adjective: expressing sorrow

the elegiac opening bars of the Moonlight sonata

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9
Q

enormity

A

noun: an act of extreme wickedness

The enormity of Pol Pot’s regime

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10
Q

inviolable

A

adjective: never to be broken, infringed, or dishonored

the grass at Wimbledon is inviolable and only great tennis players may play there

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11
Q

pellucid

A

adjective: transparently clear; easily understandable

The professor made difficult concepts seem pellucid.

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12
Q

inequity

A

noun: injustice by the virtue of not conforming with the rules or standards

After decades of racial inequity, the “separate but equal” doctrine was successfully overturned.

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13
Q

malingerer

A

noun: someone shirking their duty by pretending to be sick or incapacitated

it seems everyone is a malingerer with little inclination to work

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14
Q

facile

A

adjective: arrived at without due care or effort, lacking depth

Many news shows provide facile explanations to complex politics, so I prefer in-depth reporting in print journalism.

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15
Q

abjure

A

verb: formally reject or give up (as a belief)

Galileo abjured the heliocentric theory under torture

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16
Q

callow

A

adjective: young and inexperienced

callow out-of-towners hoping to make it big

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17
Q

complicit

A

adjective: associated with or participating in an activity, especially one of a questionable nature

although cleared of all charges, many viewed the mayor as complicit in the corruption

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18
Q

turgid

A

adjective: (of language) pompous and tedious

his novels became so turgid, even his diehard fans refused to read them

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19
Q

mendicant

A

noun: a pauper who lives by begging

going under cover as a mendicant

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20
Q

assiduously

A

adverb: with care and persistence

recruit new talent assiduously

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21
Q

autocratic

A

adjective: characteristic of an absolute ruler or absolute rule, having absolute soverignty

The last true autocratic country is North Korea.

adjective: offensively self-assured or given to exercising usually unwarranted power

The manager was fired for his autocratic leadership

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22
Q

desideratum

A

noun: something desired as a necessity

The desideratum of the environmental group is motorists should rely on carpooling.

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23
Q

tyro

A

noun: someone new to a field or activity

All great writers were tyros at one time

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24
Q

hauteur

A

noun: overbearing pride evidenced by superior manner toward inferiors

Alice began displaying a hauteur to her friends, calling them dirty-clothed peasants

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25
Q

noisome

A

adjective: having an extremely bad smell

noisome vapors from the garbage

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26
Q

doughty

A

adjective: brave, bold, courageous

a doughty group came together to battle a force of evil

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27
Q

internecine

A

adjective: (of conflict) within a group or organization

the guerilla group was destroyed by internecine conflict

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28
Q

discursive

A

adjective: (of a speech and writing) tending to depart from the main point

In Moby Dick, Melville is discursive, often cutting short the action to spend pages on the history of a whale.

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29
Q

self-effacing

A

adjective: reluctant to draw attention to yourself

the most admirable leaders are those who are self-effacing

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30
Q

veritable

A

adjective: truthfully, without a doubt

a veritable life-saver

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31
Q

halcyon

A

adjective: idyllically calm and peaceful; suggesting happy tranquility, marked by peace and prosperity

a halcyon period in history

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32
Q

extrapolate

A

verb: draw from specific cases to more general cases

extrapolate on the data from the last few months

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33
Q

splenetic

A

adjective: very irritable

Pierre is splenetic and unpleasant to be around.

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34
Q

dissolution

A

noun: a living full of debauchery and indulgence in sensual pleasure

Roman emperors were known for their dissolution

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35
Q

graft

A

noun: corruption, usually through bribery

a country with rampant graft, it was easy to buy off guards

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36
Q

palaver

A

verb: speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly

The people palavered through the delay hoping the chatter would make time pass more quickly.

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37
Q

ineluctable

A

adjective: impossible to avoid or evade

a major health crisis brought on by smoking is ineluctable

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38
Q

diminutive

A

noun, adjective: small

a diminutive youth

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39
Q

countermand

A

verb: a contrary command cancelling or reversing the previous command

the colonel countermanded his soldiers not to land in enemy territory

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40
Q

oblique

A

adjective: not straightforward, indirect

obliquely suggest

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41
Q

infelicitous

A

adjective: inappropriate

making infelicitous comments throughout the meeting

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42
Q

demonstrative

A

adjective: given to or marked by the open expression of emotion

expected him to react demonstratively

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43
Q

eponym

A

noun: the name derived from a person (real or imaginary); the person for home something is named

Alexandria, Egypt is an eponym. It is named for Alexander the great.

44
Q

abrogate

A

verb: revoke or relinquish formally, do away with

workers abrogated their right to strike for four years in exchange for health insurance

45
Q

surfeit

A

noun: an excessive amount of something

no such thing as a surfeit of butter

46
Q

capitulate

A

verb: to surrender (usually under agreed conditions)

finally capitulated

47
Q

panacea

A

noun: hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases, a universal solution

the company credit card is no panacea, smaller transactions must still be conducted in cash

48
Q

bereft

A

adjective: unhappy in love, suffering from unrequited love

I am bereft in the workplace

adjective: sorrowful through loss or deprivation

You are not bereft if you haven’t played your Xbox in the past week.

49
Q

concomitant

A

adjective: describing an event or situation that happens at the same time as or in connection with another

Concomitant with his desire for nature was a desire for the culture and energy of the big city.

50
Q

obtain

A

verb: be valid, applicable, or true

The custom of waiting your turn in line does not obtain in some countries.

51
Q

officious

A

adjective: intrusive in a meddling or offensive manner

her officious secretary would barge in frequently reminding her of some trivial detail

52
Q

verisimilitude

A

noun: the appearance of truth

good novels are good for their verisimilitude of reality

53
Q

exiguity

A

noun: the quality of being meager

the exiguity of the ship’s supplies forced them to fish for food

54
Q

chauvinism

A

noun: fanatical patriotism; belief that one’s group/cause is superior to all other groups/causes

Vegetarians argue that man is chauvinistic in his belief that animals do not feel pain.

55
Q

sardonic

A

adjective: disdainfully or ironically humorous; scornful and mocking

jokes that were sardonic and cutting

56
Q

loath

A

adjective: unwilling to do something contrary to your custom (usually followed by to)

I was loath to leave the concert before my favorite band finished.

57
Q

simulacrum

A

noun: a representation of a person or thing (especially in the form of sculpture)

a small-scale simulacrum of a skyscraper

noun: a bad imitation

a bland simulacrum of American soul music

58
Q

estimable

A

adjective: deserving of esteem or respect

one of the more estimable people in town

59
Q

pillory

A

verb: ridicule or expose to public scorn

take every opportunity to pillory the politician

60
Q

ebullient

A

adjective: joyously unrestrained

the recent medical school graduate was ebullient

61
Q

canard

A

noun: a deliberately misleading fabrication

fooled by the media’s canards

62
Q

trenchant

A

adjective: characterized by or full of force and vigor; having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought, expression, or intellect

trenchant analysis

63
Q

raillery

A

noun: light teasing

The new employee was not bothered by the raillery, finding most of it good-natured.

64
Q

raft

A

noun: a large number of something

Despite a raft of city ordinances, noise pollution continued unabated.

65
Q

sanctimonious

A

adjective: making a show of being pious, holier than thou

a sanctimonious sneer

66
Q

extenuating

A

adjective: making less guilty or more forgivable

his loneliness was an extenuating factor in his crime of dognapping

67
Q

cadaverous

A

adjective: emaciated, gaunt

the actor lost so much weight he appeared cadaverous

68
Q

errant

A

adjective: to be wandering; not sticking to a circumscribed path

errant walks through the campus

69
Q

virago

A

noun: an ill-tempered or violent woman

a victim of the virago’s invective

70
Q

moment

A

noun: significant and important value

The play was of no great moment in Hampton’s writing career and was quickly forgotten.

71
Q

paucity

A

noun: a lack of something

There is a paucity of jobs in a recession

72
Q

beatific

A

adjective: blissfully happy

the beatific smile of the Buddha

73
Q

exhort

A

verb: to strongly urge on; encourage

His parents exhorted him to study medicine

74
Q

raffish

A

adjective: marked by a carefree unconventionality or disreputableness

The men found him raffish, but the women adored his smart clothes and casual attitude

75
Q

consummate

A

adjective: having or revealing supreme mastery or skill

the consummate musician

verb: to make perfect and complete in every way

the restoration was consummated after twenty years of labor

76
Q

ascendancy

A

noun: the state that exists when one person or group has power over another

The ascendancy of the Irish soccer team was clear, they had decades of championships behind them

77
Q

fete

A

verb: to celebrate a person

after WWII, war heroes were feted at first, but then quickly forgotten

78
Q

assuage

A

verb: make something intense less severe

her fear of loneliness was assuaged when she recognized her friend

79
Q

tawdry

A

adjective: tastelessly showy, cheap and shoddy

tawdry displays in store windows

80
Q

perennial

A

adjective: lasting an indefinitely long time; eternal; everlasting

a perennial favorite

81
Q

irresolute

A

adjective: uncertain how to act or proceed

He stood irresolute at the split in the trail.

82
Q

hamstrung

A

verb: made ineffective or powerless

local police were hamstrung by FBI restrictions

83
Q

augment

A

verb: enlarge or icrease; improve

the restaurant’s augmented menu will expand its clientele

84
Q

debase

A

verb: reduce (something) in quality or value; degrade.

“the love episodes debase the dignity of the drama”

85
Q

cornucopia

A

noun: an abundant supply of something good

a cornucopia of culinary delights

86
Q

urbane

A

adjective: showing a high degree of refinement and the assurance that comes from wide social experience

the inspiration for the urbane and sophisticate spy James Bond was W. Somerset Maugham

87
Q

credence

A

noun: belief in something

He placed no credence in psychics

88
Q

savvy

A

verb: get the meaning of something

The student savvies the meaning of astrophysics with little effort.

89
Q

travail

A

noun: use of physical or mental energy; hard work; agony or anguish

experience nothing by travails in refinishing the kitchen

90
Q

devolve

A

verb: pass on or delegate to another

The company was full of managers known for devolving tasks to lower management, but never doing much work themselves.

91
Q

aphoristic

A

adjective: something that is concise and instructive of a general truth or principle

trying to impress everyone by being aphoristic, but just stating the obvious

92
Q

enmity

A

noun: a state of deep-seated ill-will

made cruel remarks due to illness, not any real enmity toward the other person

93
Q

maxim

A

noun: a short saying expressing a general truth

live by the maxim “actions speak louder than words”

94
Q

peevish

A

adjective: easily irritated or annoyed

The 所長 is so peevish, that we tip toe around him hoping not to set off a tantrum.

95
Q

preempt

A

verb: take the place of or have precedence over

a government warning preempts ordinary television programming

96
Q

coalesce

A

verb: fuse or cause to grow together

Over time the various tribes coalesced into a single common culture.

97
Q

behoove

A

verb: to be one’s duty or obligation

it would behoove you to be in class on time

98
Q

emulate

A

verb: strive to equal or match, especially by imitating; compete with successfully

emulate the speech patterns of native speakers

99
Q

piquant

A

adjective: having an agreeably pungent taste

turn the bland tomato soup into a piquant meal

100
Q

begrudge

A

verb: to envy someone for possessing or enjoying something

Sitting alone, she begrudged the happiness of the many couples around her.

verb: to give reluctantly

We never begrudge money spent on ourselves.

101
Q

convivial

A

adjective: describing a lively atmosphere

The wedding reception was convivial.

102
Q

perquisite

A

noun: a right reserved exclusively by a particular person or group (especially a hereditary or official right)

the dishwasher had the perquisite of being able to eat terrific food for half the price

103
Q

staid

A

adjective: characterized by dignity and property

Frank came from a staid environment, so he was shocked that his college roommate sold narcotics.

104
Q

creditable

A

adjective: deserving of praise but not that amazing

The movie was creditable, but few gave it more than 3 out of 5 stars.

105
Q

differentiate

A

verb: be a distinctive feature, attribute, or trait (sometimes in a positive sense)

Mozart’s long melodic lines differentiate his compositions.

verb: evolve so as to lead to a new species or develop in a way most suited to the environment

Animals on Madagascar differentiated from other similar species.

GRE (3 decks)

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