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Balam's GRE Words > Deck 7 > Flashcards

Deck 7 Flashcards

1
Q

Tergiversate

v

A
  1. To deliberately use evasions or ambiguities to mislead; equivocate.
  2. To change sides; apostatize.

Syn. Palter, prevaricate, equivocate. ; apostatize, defect, renegade.

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2
Q

Mire

n) (v

A

(n) 1. Deep slimy soil or mud.
2. Disadvantageous or difficult condition or situation: “the mire of poverty.”

(v) 1. To cause to sink or become stuck in mire.
2. To hinder entrap or entangle.
3. To soil with mud or mire.

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3
Q

Incendiary

adj) (n

A

(adj) 1. Tending to create strife, violence etc; inflammatory. “Incendiary speeches.”
2. Of or relating to the illegal burning of property or goods.
3. Capable of catching fire, causing fire, burning readily. “Incendiary bombs.”

(n) 1. A person who stirs up strife.
2. A person who deliberately sets fire to property.
3. A device containing napalm, thermite etc that burns w an intense heat.

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5
Q

Gallivant

v

A
  1. To roam about aimlessly in search of pleasure or amusement.
  2. To play around amorously; flirt.

Syn. Rove, vagabond, ramble, traipse, gad, meander, peregrinate.

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6
Q

Traipse

v

A
  1. To walk or tramp about; gad.
  2. To walk or go aimlessly or idly w/out finding or reaching one’s goal.
  3. A long or tiring walk, trudge.

Syn. Schlep; trudge; tramp; gallivant

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7
Q

Sere

adj

A

Withered; dry. (Esp. of vegetation) having lost all moisture.

Syn. arid; sear; anhydrous

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8
Q

Vaunt ; Vaunting

n) ; (v

A

(v) 1. To speak or write about sth in a strongly positive way; praise or boast about.

(n) 1. A boastful remark.
2. Speech of extravagant self- praise.

Syn. Gasconade; tout; bluster; gloat; rodomontade; fanfaronade.

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9
Q

Curtail

v

A
  1. To cut short or reduce. Abridge. “Curtailed our conversation when others entered the room.”
  2. Place restrictions on. “Curtail drinking in school.”

Syn. Circumscribe; retrench; curb

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10
Q

Besot (v) ; Besotted (adj)

A

Besot: To muddle or stupefy as with alcoholic liquor or infatuation.

Besotted:

  1. Stupefied w/ drink, intoxicated.
  2. Infatuated; doting
  3. Foolish; muddled.

Syn. crapulent; crapulous; inebriated; pixilated; soused; sozzled; squiffy; sodden.

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11
Q

Rapscallion

n

A
  1. A rascal; a disreputable person. A deceitful and unreliable scoundrel.
  2. One who is playfully mischievous.

Syn. Knave, rogue, varlet ; imp, brat.

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12
Q

Investiture

n

A
  1. the act or process of investing, as with a rank, office, or title.
  2. the state of being invested, as with a garment, quality, etc.
  3. an adornment or cover.

[from Latin investīre, to clothe.]

Syn. Coronation, enthronement, induction, initiation, installation, inauguration.

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13
Q

Labile

adj

A
  1. Open to change; readily changeable, unstable. “labile chemical compounds.”
  2. Fluctuating widely. “labile emotions.”
  3. Decomposing readily.
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14
Q

Arcane

adj

A

Known or understood by only a few; requiring secret knowledge to be understood; mysterious; esoteric.

Syn. Esoteric; occult; recondite.

[Latin arcānus, secret, from arca, chest.]

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15
Q

Chump

n

A
  1. A gullible person; a dupe.
  2. A stupid or foolish person; a dolt.
  3. A thick heavy block of wood; a thick blunt end of anything.

Syn. gull ; blockhead; clod ; dullard; numskull

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16
Q

Quisling

n

A

A traitor who aids an occupying enemy force; collaborator, often serving later in a puppet government.

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17
Q

Solicitous
(adj)
Solicitude
(n)

A

1.

a. Showing great attention or concern to another: “a solicitous parent;” “solicitous for your welfare;” “solicitous of his young sister.”
b. Expressing care or concern for another: “made solicitous inquiries about our family. “
c. Showing great care; careful or meticulous: “solicitous in the care of critically ill patients.”
d. Worried; anxious: “solicitous about his son’s behavior.”
2. Intensely desirous, interested, eager.

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18
Q

Haphazard

adj

A
  1. Dependent upon or characterized by mere chance.
    “She was trying to connect her life’s seemingly haphazard events.”
  2. characterized by lack of order or planning; irregular; chance; random. “Haphazard system of record keeping.”
  3. Careless; slipshod, unmethodical.
    “The investigation seems haphazard.”
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19
Q

Gadfly

n

A
  1. A persistent irritating critic; a nuisance.
  2. One that acts as a provocative stimulus; a goad.
  3. Any of various flies that bite or annoy livestock.

Syn. Blighter; cuss; pesterer.

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20
Q

Scintillating

adj

A

adj.
Animated, brilliant, or highly skilled: “a scintillating personality; a scintillating performance.”
1.brilliantly clever.
2.marked by high spirits or excitement; effervescent; bubbly.
3.having brief brilliant points or flashes of light.
aglitter, coruscant, fulgid, glinting, glistering, glittering, glittery, scintillant, sparkly

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21
Q

Shyster

n

A

n. Slang
An unethical, unscrupulous practitioner, especially of law or politics.
Syn. Pettifogger

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22
Q

Mirthful

adj

A
  1. Full of gladness and merriment.
  2. Arousing or provoking laughter, comical.

Syn. Jocund, jovial, risible.

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23
Q

Imbibe (v) ; Imbibition (n)

A

(v)

  1. to drink (esp alcoholic drinks)
  2. to take in or assimilate (ideas, facts, etc): “to imbibe the spirit of the Renaissance.”
  3. (tr) to take in as if by drinking: “to imbibe fresh air.”
  4. to absorb or cause to absorb liquid or moisture; assimilate or saturate.
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24
Q

High-handed

adj

A

adj

  1. tactlessly overbearing and inconsiderate; haughty disregard of others.
  2. Presumptuous; arbitrary.

Syn. dictatorial, domineering, overbearing, arbitrary, oppressive, autocratic, bossy (informal), imperious, tyrannical, despotic, peremptory.

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25
Q

Lucubration
(n)
Lucubrate
(v)

A
  1. laborious work, study, thought, etc., esp. at night.
  2. the result of such activity, as a learned speech or dissertation; a solemn literary work.
  3. Often, lucubrations. any literary effort, esp. of a pretentious or solemn nature.
  4. A careful consideration of a matter; deliberation; advisement.

Lucubrate:
To study or write in a scholarly fashion.
1. to work, write, or study laboriously, esp. at night.
2.to write learnedly; add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing.
Syn. expatiate; expound; dilate; exposit.

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26
Q

Divagate

v

A
  1. To wander or drift about.

2. To ramble; digress (in speech).

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27
Q

Leer

n) (v

A

v.
1. to look with a sideways glance, esp. suggestive of lascivious interest or malicious intention.
n.
2. a lascivious or sly look; sneering look or grin.
3. a facial expression of contempt or scorn; the upper lip curls.
“When I asked the clerk for my room key, he gave it to me with a leer.”
“Men standing around leering at passing women.”

Syn.
verb grin, eye, stare, wink, squint, goggle, smirk, drool, gloat, ogle.
noun: grin, stare, wink, squint, smirk, drool, gloat, ogle .

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29
Q

Sobriquet

n

A

n.
1. An affectionate or humorous nickname.
2. An assumed name.
Syn. byname, cognomen, moniker, nickname.

“Balon is a sobriquet my friends affectionately call me by.”

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30
Q

Sophomoric

adj

A

1.Exhibiting great immaturity and lack of judgment: “sophomoric behavior.”
2.intellectually pretentious and conceited but immature and ill-informed.
Includes the roots soph-, “wise,” and moros, “fool”—so the contrast between wisdom and ignorance is built right into the word.

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31
Q

Aggrieve

v

A
  1. To distress; afflict.
  2. To inflict an injury or injuries on.
  3. To do a wrong to; to treat unjustly.
  4. (law) infringe on the rights of.
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32
Q

Indemnify

v

A
  1. To protect against damage, loss, or injury; insure.
  2. To make compensation to for damage, loss, or injury suffered.

Syn.
1. insure, protect, guarantee, secure, endorse, underwrite “They agreed to indemnify the taxpayers against any loss.”
2. compensate, pay, reimburse, satisfy, repair, repay, requite, remunerate
“They don’t have the money to indemnify everybody.”

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33
Q

Jaundiced (adj)

Jaundice (v)

A

n
1.Also called icterus. yellow discoloration of the skin, whites of the eyes, etc., due to an increase of bile pigments in the blood.
2. a state of feeling in which views are prejudiced or judgment is distorted, as by envy or resentment ; a mental state of bitterness, jealousy, and ill humour resulting in distorted judgment
v.
3. To distort adversely. To distort or prejudice, as by resentment or envy. To cause to have a prejudiced view.
“Jealousy had jaundiced his judgement.”
Syn.
acrimony, bitterness, thorniness, acerbity, tartness.
bias, prepossess, warp.

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34
Q

Suss

v) (n

A
  1. To infer or discover; figure; attempt to work out (a situation, a person’s character etc) esp using one’s intuition. Often used with out: “I think I’m good at sussing out what’s going on”
  2. To size up; study. Often used with out: “Suss out the designers in whom you are interested”
  3. Also: sus to become aware of; suspect (esp in the phrase suss it)
    n.
  4. sharpness of mind; social astuteness
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35
Q

Wallop

v) (n

A

v.tr.
1. To beat forcefully; thrash.
2. To strike with a hard blow: walloped the ball into the outfield.
3. To defeat thoroughly.
4. To affect harshly or severely: was walloped with a large fine.
v.intr.
To move in a heavy or clumsy manner.
n.
1. A hard or severe blow.
2.
a. A powerful force: has a punch that delivers a wallop.
b. A forceful consequence; a powerful effect: “Therein lies the novel’s emotional wallop and moral message” (George F. Will).

37
Q

Concatenate

v) (adj

A

vb
1. (tr) to link or join together, esp in a chain or series.
2. To make into a whole by joining a system of parts:
articulate, integrate.
adj
1. linked or joined together

38
Q

Hankering (n) ; Hanker (v)

A

v.
To have a strong, often restless desire.
n.
A yearning for something or to do something.

“I have a keen hankering to take a hand in at that fight,” said the hunter, brandishing his rifle.
Five Weeks in a Balloon by Verne, Jules.

39
Q

Rout

n) (v

A

n.
1. an overwhelming defeat.
2. a disorderly retreat. “To put an army to rout.”
3. a noisy rabble
4. (Law) law a group of three or more people proceeding to commit an illegal act
5. a large party or social gathering
v.
6. (tr) to defeat and cause to flee in confusion.

v.

  1. to dig over or turn up (something), esp (of an animal) with the snout; root
  2. (tr; usually foll by out or up) to get or find by searching
  3. (usually foll by: out) to force or drive out: “they routed him out of bed at midnight.”
  4. (often foll by: out) to hollow or gouge out
  5. (intr) to search, poke, or rummage

Brit.
v.
1. To bellow, roar.

40
Q

Sangfroid

n

A

n.
Coolness and composure, especially in trying circumstances.

Literally coldblooded: [French : sang, blood (from Old French, from Latin sanguis) + froid, cold (from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *frigidus, alteration of Latin frīgidus)

41
Q

Boondoggle

n) (v

A

v
1. to do futile and unnecessary work
n
2. a futile and unnecessary project or work

  1. work of little or no value done merely to keep or look busy.
  2. a project funded by the federal government out of political favoritism that is of no real value to the community or the nation.
  3. a plaited leather cord for the neck made typically by a camper or a scout.
    v. t.
  4. to deceive or attempt to deceive.
    v. i.
  5. to do work of little value merely to keep or look busy.

“Unfortunately, a large percentage of the big projects were boondoggles that helped only a few in the host country’s ruling elite.”

“8 billion boondoggle, which includes transforming the county administration mall into a 16-acre park, was unveiled.”

42
Q

Tethered

adj

A
  1. confined or restricted with or as if with a rope or chain; bound.
43
Q

Tepid

adj

A

adj.

  1. Moderately warm; lukewarm.
  2. Lacking in emotional warmth or enthusiasm; halfhearted; apathetic: “the tepid conservatism of the fifties” (Irving Howe) ; “the play had a tepid reception.”
47
Q

Propinquity

n

A
  1. Proximity; nearness in place or time.
  2. Kinship; nearness in relationship.
  3. Similarity in nature.
51
Q

Which of your words means?

Withered; dry. (Esp. of vegetation) having lost all moisture.

A

Sere

adj

51
Q

Which of your words mean?

(n) 1. Deep slimy soil or mud.
2. Disadvantageous or difficult condition or situation.

(v) 1. To cause to sink or become stuck in mud.
2. To hinder entrap or entangle.
3. To soil with mud or mire.

A

Mire

n) (v

52
Q

Which of your words means?

  1. To walk or tramp about; gad.
  2. To walk or go aimlessly or idly w/out finding or reaching one’s goal.
  3. A long or tiring walk, trudge.
A

Traipse

v

53
Q

Which of your words mean?

(v) 1. To speak or write about sth in a strongly positive way; praise or boast about.

(n) 1. A boastful remark.
2. Speech of extravagant self- praise.

A

Vaunting ; Vaunt

v) ; (n

54
Q

Which of your words means:

Full of gladness and merriment.

A

Mirthful

adj

54
Q

Which of your words mean?

  1. Open to change; readily changeable, unstable.
  2. Fluctuating widely.
  3. Decomposing readily.
A

Labile

adj

54
Q

Which of your words means?

  1. To roam about aimlessly in search of pleasure or amusement.
  2. To play around amorously; flirt.
A

Gallivant

v

55
Q

Which of your words mean?

  1. To deliberately use evasions or ambiguities to mislead; equivocate.
  2. To change sides; apostatize.
A

Tergiversate

v

55
Q

Which of your words means?

  1. A rascal; a disreputable person. A deceitful and unreliable scoundrel.
  2. One who is playfully mischievous.
A

Rapscallion

n

55
Q

Which of your words mean:

Known or understood by only a few; requiring secret knowledge to be understood; mysterious; esoteric.

A

Arcane

adj

56
Q

Which of your words means:

  1. Tending to create strife, violence etc; inflammatory.
  2. Of or relating to the illegal burning of property or goods.
  3. Capable of catching fire, causing fire, burning readily.
A

Incendiary

adj) (n

57
Q

Which of your words mean?

  1. Stupefied w/ drink, intoxicated.
  2. Infatuated; doting
  3. Foolish; muddled.
A

Besotted

adj

61
Q

Which of your words means?

A traitor who aids an occupying enemy force; collaborator, often serving later in a puppet government.

A

Quisling

n

61
Q

Which of your words mean:

n.

  1. The act or formal ceremony of conferring the authority and symbols of a high office.
  2. An adornment or cover.
A

Investiture

n

63
Q

Which of your words means:

  1. A gullible person; a dupe.
  2. A stupid or foolish person; a dolt.
  3. A thick heavy block of wood; a thick blunt end of anything.
A

Chump

n

63
Q

Which of your words mean:

1-Showing great attention or concern to another.

  • Showing great care; careful or meticulous.
  • Worried; anxious.
    2. Intensely desirous, interested, eager.
A

Solicitous

adj

64
Q

Which of your words mean?

  1. To cut short or reduce; abridge.
  2. Place restrictions on.
A

Curtail

v

65
Q

Which of your words mean:

(v)

  1. to drink (esp alcoholic drinks)
  2. to take in or assimilate (ideas, facts, etc).
  3. (tr) to take in as if by drinking.
  4. to absorb or cause to absorb liquid or moisture; assimilate or saturate.
A

Imbibe

v

65
Q

Which of your words means:

v.
1. to look with a sideways glance, esp. suggestive of lascivious interest or malicious intention.
n.
2. a lascivious or sly look; sneering look or grin.
3. a facial expression of contempt or scorn; the upper lip curls.

A

Leer

v) (n

66
Q

Which of your words mean:

  1. Dependent upon or characterized by mere chance.
  2. characterized by lack of order or planning; irregular; chance; random.
  3. Careless; slipshod, unmethodical.
A

Haphazard

adj

66
Q 
Which of your words means:
adj.
Animated, brilliant, or highly skilled.
1.brilliantly clever.
2.marked by high spirits or excitement.
3.having brief brilliant points or flashes of light.
A

Scintillating

adj

68
Q

Which of your words mean:

n
1.yellow discoloration of the skin, whites of the eyes, etc.
2. a state of feeling in which views are prejudiced or judgment is distorted, as by envy or resentment ; a mental state of bitterness, jealousy, and ill humour resulting in distorted judgment.
v.
3. To distort adversely. To distort or prejudice, as by resentment or envy. To cause to have a prejudiced view.

A

Jaundice

n) (v

69
Q

Which of your words means:

  1. laborious work, study, thought, etc., esp. at night.
  2. the result of such activity, as a learned speech or dissertation; a solemn literary work.
  3. Any literary effort, esp. of a pretentious or solemn nature.
  4. A careful consideration of a matter; deliberation; advisement.

To study or write in a scholarly fashion.
1. to work, write, or study laboriously, esp. at night.
2.to write learnedly; add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing.
Syn. expatiate; expound; dilate; exposit.

A

Lucubrate ; Lucubrication

69
Q

Which of your words means:

An affectionate or humorous nickname.

A

Sobriquet

n

70
Q

Which of your words mean:

  1. Moderately warm; lukewarm.
  2. Lacking in emotional warmth or enthusiasm; halfhearted; apathetic.
A

Tepid

adj

70
Q

Which of your words means:

n. Slang
An unethical, unscrupulous practitioner, especially of law or politics.
Syn. Pettifogger

A

Shyster

n

70
Q

Which of your words means:

  1. Exhibiting great immaturity and lack of judgment: “sophomoric behavior.”
  2. intellectually pretentious and conceited but immature and ill-informed.
A

Sophomoric

adj

71
Q

Which of your words mean:

  1. Proximity; nearness in place or time.
  2. Kinship; nearness in relationship.
  3. Similarity in nature.
A

Propinquity

n

72
Q

Which of your words mean:

  1. A persistent irritating critic; a nuisance.
  2. One that acts as a provocative stimulus; a goad.
A

Gadfly

n

74
Q

Which of your words means:

Coolness and composure, especially in trying circumstances.

A

Sangfroid

n

75
Q

Which of your words mean:

adj

  1. tactlessly overbearing and inconsiderate; haughty disregard of others.
  2. Presumptuous; arbitrary.

Syn. dictatorial, domineering, overbearing, arbitrary, oppressive, autocratic, bossy.

A

High-handed

adj

75
Q

Which of your words means:

  1. To distress; afflict.
  2. To inflict an injury or injuries on.
  3. To do a wrong to; to treat unjustly.
  4. (law) infringe on the rights of.
A

Aggrieve

v

76
Q

Which of your words means:

  1. To wander or drift about.
  2. To ramble; digress (in speech).
A

Divagate

v

77
Q

Which of your words means:

  1. To infer or discover; figure; attempt to work out (a situation, a person’s character etc) esp using one’s intuition.
  2. To size up; study.
  3. to become aware of; suspect.
    n.
  4. sharpness of mind; social astuteness
A

Suss

v) (n

78
Q

Which of your words means:

v.
1. To beat forcefully; thrash.
2. To strike with a hard blow.
3. To defeat thoroughly.
4. To affect harshly or severely.
5.To move in a heavy or clumsy manner.
n.
1. A hard or severe blow.
2.
a. A powerful force.
b. A forceful consequence; a powerful effect.
A

Wallop

v) (n

78
Q

Which of your words means:

  1. To protect against damage, loss, or injury; insure.
  2. To make compensation to for damage, loss, or injury suffered.
A

Indemnify

v

79
Q

Which of your words means:

  1. (to link or join together, esp in a chain or series.
  2. To make into a whole by joining a system of parts:
    articulate, integrate.
    adj
  3. linked or joined together
A

Concatenate

v) (adj

80
Q

Which of your words means:

confined or restricted with or as if with a rope or chain; bound.

A

Tethered

adj

81
Q

Which of your words means:

v.
To have a strong, often restless desire.
n.
A yearning for something or to do something.

A

Hankering
(n)
Hanker
(v)

81
Q

Which of your words means:

n.
1. an overwhelming defeat. 
2. a disorderly retreat. 
3. a noisy rabble
4. (Law) law a group of three or more people proceeding to commit an illegal act
5. a large party or social gathering
v.
6. (tr) to defeat and cause to flee in confusion.

v.

  1. to dig over or turn up.
  2. to get or find by searching
  3. to force or drive out.
  4. to hollow or gouge out
  5. to search, poke, or rummage

Brit.
v.
1. To bellow, roar.

A

Rout

n) (v

81
Q

Which of your words means:
v.
1. to do futile and unnecessary work esp. to keep or look busy.
n
2. a futile and unnecessary project or work esp. keep or look busy.

A

Boondoggle

n) (v

Balam's GRE Words (7 decks)

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