GRE Major Tests Chapter 20

Question 1

Benignity

Answer 1

compassion, gentleness, fondness

ex) Her benignity makes him too nice and allows him to be an easy target for con artists.

Question 2

Contusion

Answer 2

a bruise

ex) He has a back contusion, unrelated to the previous injury.

Question 3

Emerge

Answer 3

come out, appear

ex) She emerged from the kitchen.

Question 4

Gullibility

Answer 4

being easily fooled

ex) He is such a gullible person he always believes everything people say.

Question 5

Jollity

Answer 5

gaiety, happiness

ex) I love all the warmhearted jollity of the holiday season.

Question 6

Nonentity

Answer 6

not famous

ex ) The celebrity cut in front of me like I was a nonentity.

Question 7

Pinnacle

Answer 7

topmost point

ex) At the pinnacle of her career, she was on the cover of every entertainment magazine.

Question 8

Referendum

Answer 8

public vote

ex) The employees were asked to vote on a referendum about the company insurance plan.

Question 9

Suspect

Answer 9

doubtful

ex) Nobody suspected him because he had a reputation for being honest.

Question 10

Wistful

Answer 10

melancholy

ex) I became wistful when I saw my ex-boyfriend with his new love.

Question 11

Bequeath

Answer 11

leave something in one’s will to be given after ones’s death

ex) The billionaire’s will states that he plans to bequeath all of his fortune to his butler.

Question 12

Conundrum

Answer 12

a puzzle

ex) Trying to solve this conundrum is really making my head hurt.

Question 13

Emulate

Answer 13

to imitate something admired

ex) If you want to be rich, emulate a wealthy entrepreneur.

Question 14

Gullible

Answer 14

easily fooled

ex) The gullible woman gave all her money to a fake charity.

Question 15

Jubilant

Answer 15

filled with joy, ecstatic, delighted, rejoicing

ex) I am jubilant to learn that my sister is finally having a baby.

Question 16

Nostalgia

Answer 16

longing for the past

ex) If my brother sees the family pictures and videos, nostalgia may help him regain his memory.

Question 17

Pious

Answer 17

very religious

ex) Everyone knows the pious Mr. Smith never leaves his house without his Bible.

Question 18

Refute

Answer 18

disprove, to prove wrong by argument or evidence

ex) My physics teacher challenged us to refute his laboratory findings with our own evidence.

Question 19

Sybarite

Answer 19

lover of luxury

ex) So he could relax whenever he wanted, the sybarite wanted to include a hot tub in his living room renovations.

Question 20

Zany

Answer 20

crazy, wacky, unique, amusing

ex) My cat behaves in a zany manner after inhaling catnip.

Question 21

Berate

Answer 21

scold, criticize

ex) As the director started to berate the cast for the hundredth time, several of the lead actors walked out.

Question 22

Conventional

Answer 22

usual, customary, common

ex) n many cultures, a handshake is a conventional greeting exchanged between people meeting for the first time.

Question 23

Endorse

Answer 23

give support or approval to

ex) The singer is being paid to endorse the soft drink in a series of commercials.

Question 24

Gustatory

Answer 24

concerned with the sense of taste

ex) The chef was trying to teach his students about the gustatory arts.

Question 25

Judicious

Answer 25

correct in judgment, wise ex) The experienced software engineer is judicious when it comes to finding the best way to code a software application.

Question 26

Notoriety

Answer 26

infamy, known for wrong doing ex) The restaurant’s notoriety for its low health department score has led to a huge decline in sales.

Question 27

Pivotal

Answer 27

of central importance ex) Good customer service is pivotal to a successful business.

Question 28

Regale

Answer 28

entertain ex) The chef hoped his meal would regale the food critic.

Question 29

Sycophant

Answer 29

bootlicker, flatterer ex) My sister is a shallow sycophant who will flatter anyone for a free designer handbag.

Question 30

Zeal

Answer 30

enthusiasm ex) The athlete’s zeal gave him the energy to reach the top of the mountain.

Question 31

Beret

Answer 31

type of cap ex) I'd have been wearing a beret in no time.

Question 32

Corpulent

Answer 32

fat ex) After overeating for months, the skinny girl became somewhat corpulent.

Question 33

Endurance

Answer 33

staying power, patience, stamina ex) The ballet director was seeking talented dancers who had incredible endurance.

Question 34

Hackneyed

Answer 34

common and over-used ex) Eventually, the phrase became so hackneyed that people stopped saying it.

Question 35

Jurisprudence

Answer 35

science or study of law ex) People who study jurisprudence hope to learn more about the nature and history of laws.

Question 36

Novel

Answer 36

new, unusual ex) She has suggested a novel approach to the problem.

Question 37

Placate

Answer 37

pacify, soothe, calm ex) My husband will do just about anything to placate me so I will not be mad at him.

Question 38

Relegate

Answer 38

dismiss to a lower position, to put (someone or something) in a lower or less important position, ex) Mr. Pierce eases his workload by having his secretary pick out the mail that is most important and relegate everything else to the recycling bin.

Question 39

Taciturn

Answer 39

quiet, saying little ex) When Jack drinks, he goes from being taciturn to being very outspoken.

Question 40

Zealot

Answer 40

fanatic ex) The security camera caught the health zealot vandalizing the soft drink manufacturer’s office.

Question 41

Bestial

Answer 41

behaving like a beast, brutal ex) The attacker’s bestial assault left Henry in a coma.

Question 42

Corrugated

Answer 42

highly folded ex) The roof was made of corrugated material so the rain could flow down easily.

Question 43

Enduring

Answer 43

lasting ex) He formed a number of enduring relationships with women.

Question 44

Hallowed

Answer 44

worshipped, consecrated ex) The college's hallowed tradition of ringing the chapel bell one hundred times before commencement ceremonies.

Question 45

Juxtapose

Answer 45

place next to ex) Don’t juxtapose your own ideas with your sister’s. You both think way too differently to be able to function together.

Question 46

Novice

Answer 46

a beginner, tyro ex) The bike race is only for novice riders who have never participated in a professional race.

Question 47

Placebo

Answer 47

harmless medicine with no effect, dummy medicine ex) To the surprise of the medical researchers, people who took the placebo reported feeling better than ever.

Question 48

Remorse

Answer 48

regret, sorrow, contrition ex) The psychopath appeared content and showed no remorse during the murder trial.

Question 49

Tactile

Answer 49

concerned with the sense of touch ex) When I accidently touched the cactus, my tactile senses told my brain to quickly remove my fingers.

Question 50

Zenith

Answer 50

summit, the strongest or most successful period of time ex) Before her zenith ended, Meredith published six best-selling books.