GRE Major Tests Chapter 30 Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in GRE Major Tests Chapter 30 Deck (50)
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1
Q

Compromised

A
  1. damaged or put in doubt (esp. of reputation) 2. reached an agreement by giving up part of a claim
    ex) Eventually they reached a compromise.
2
Q

Drabness

A

dullness

ex) It’s the unrelieved drabness of big industrial cities that depresses me.

3
Q

Endow

A

to bestow something in a natural way or to give funds that are needed to support a project

ex) The billionaire will endow the school of nursing with a huge donation.

4
Q

Esoterica

A

obscure details

ex) It was the sort of esoterica I had never had an interest in but which now composed a whole world.

5
Q

Falters

A

hesitates

ex) When the bank teller noticed that the masked man began to falter slightly, she discreetly pressed the silent alarm.

6
Q

Prattle

A

mindless talk

ex) At every party, there is always one lady who has to prattle on about her cute kids.

7
Q

Prohibitive

A
  1. prohibiting 2. exorbitantly expensive

ex) The park association was prohibitive of bringing glass on the beach.

8
Q

Purist

A

a perfectionist who believes in sticking to all of the rules

ex) Dressed in a suit and tie, the purist raised his hand every time to answer each question the teacher asked.

9
Q

Quack

A

charlatan, fake

ex) A quack doctor.

10
Q

Taunt

A

mock, tease

ex) As the visiting team walked on the court, the hometown fans began to taunt the players.

11
Q

Arresting (a)

A

attracting attention, striking

ex) Quinn asked, arresting everyone’s attention.

12
Q

Barrage

A

extended gunfire to cover an attack; dam across river; deluge or information etc.

ex) The attorney asked the reporters not to barrage his client with questions until he had made a statement.

13
Q

Chantey

A

type of song sung by sailors

ex) I love singing chanteys.

14
Q

Ferrous

A

concerned with iron or its compounds

ex) The water was reacting with the ferrous iron in the tank.

15
Q

Manipulative

A

scheming

ex) Edith is a very manipulative woman.

16
Q

Orate

A

speak in a pompous manner

ex) Although the pope’s oration lasted for only fifteen minutes, it left many in the audience in tears.

17
Q

Psychosis

A

severe mental disturbance

ex) After three doctor visits, the man suffered from psychosis due to his mind-altering hallucinations and obscure delusions.

18
Q

Savor

A

enjoy

ex) The team will savor the championship victory for years to come.

19
Q

Table (v)

A

put down for future discussion

ex) The committee tabled the issue until the next meeting.

20
Q

Underwrite

A

give guarantee, insure

ex) A university willing to underwrite an archaeological expedition.

21
Q

Dissident

A

person who disagrees [dissidence (n)]

ex) The dissident was jailed for refusing to obey the law.

22
Q

Enigmatic

A

puzzling [enigma (n)]

ex) The lady in red had an enigmatic smile which made all the men curious about her.

23
Q

Foolhardy

A

reckless [foolhardiness (n)]

ex) It is foolhardy to not go to the doctor when one is having chest pains.

24
Q

Homogeneity

A

evenness, uniformity

ex) As races have mixed, the world’s population has become more and more homogenous.

25
Q

Personification

A
  1. represent something as a person 2. a concrete example of

ex) The queen was the personification of royalty as she waved from her coach.

26
Q

Plaque

A
  1. surface deposit on teeth or in artery etc. 2. decorative plate or sign
    ex) A bronze plaque marked the city’s oldest building.
27
Q

Plausibility

A

believability [plausible (a)]

ex) This idea is plausible but needs further empirical support.

28
Q

Resilience

A

resistance, ability to spring back [resilience (a)]

ex) The community was highly spirited and resilient despite a hurricane disaster.

29
Q

Trilogy

A

set of three (literary works etc.), tetralogy = set of four

ex) The first book in the trilogy sets the course for the other two books in the series.

30
Q

Vagary

A

something unaccountable, freak

ex) Because Kim has a bipolar disorder, she is known to display a vagary without any warning.

31
Q

Aisle

A

corridor, passageway (esp. between rows of seats)

ex) The bus ride home was so packed that anyone without a seat was forced to sit in the center aisle.

32
Q

Discountenance

A

disallow

ex) The teachers discountenanced smoking by the students.

33
Q

Imperative

A

must be obeyed

ex) It is imperative that we continue to move with speed to make housing more affordable.

34
Q

Indigent

A

poor, needy [indigence (n)]

ex) The indigent man could not afford food or clothing.

35
Q

Nadir

A

lowest point

ex) Since the relationship between the two warring nations has reached its nadir, world leaders are greatly concerned about the risk of nuclear war.

36
Q

Paranoia

A

an illogical belief that others are against you

ex) Jake kept his money under his mattress because of his paranoia about crooked bankers.

37
Q

Prudence

A

caution, wisdom

ex) It is not prudent to go swimming during a hurricane.

38
Q

Resuscitation

A

revival from unconsciousness [resuscitate (v)]

ex) Although we tried, we could not resuscitate the puppy who got hit by the speeding car.

39
Q

Shirk

A

avoid (esp. work)

ex) The man tried to shirk his duties by pretending to be ill.

40
Q

Teetotalism

A

total abstinence from alcohol

ex) He will not be having a celebratory drink, as he is teetotal.

41
Q

Balm

A

soothing ointment or anything soothing [balmy (a)]

ex) After shaking his dry cracking hand, I realized that the old man needed to rub some balm on his hands.

42
Q

Calibrate

A

mark an accurate scale on a device

ex) The hospital pharmacist knows how important it is to calibrate the IV medications correctly.

43
Q

Cataclysmic

A

violently disruptive [cataclysm (n)]

ex) A severe attack upon the Internet could cause a cataclysm in the financial world.

44
Q

Impropriety

A

inappropriate behavior

ex) The teacher was arrested for performing a sexual impropriety with a female student.

45
Q

Pith

A

center, soft part of stem, essence

ex) The heart of a watermelon is the best part because he pith tastes the best.

46
Q

Primordial

A

in the beginning, in a basic way

ex) Sometimes I feel primordial when I eat food without silverware.

47
Q

Reconnaissance

A

examination or survey conducted in advance [reconnoiter (v)]

ex) The football coach sent his assistant to his rival’s field to perform reconnaissance on the other team’s strategy.

48
Q

Sinistral

A

left-handed (or counterclockwise) [dextral - right handed]

ex) Left-handed or sinistral specimens occur rarely.

49
Q

Tempers

A

moderates

ex) He had to learn to temper his enthusiasm.

50
Q

Undermine

A

to weaken, hinder, sabotage

ex) Chloe hoped that her allergies were not going to undermine her ability to perform in the recital.