GRE Major Tests Chapter 8

Question 1

Amity

Answer 1

friendship

ex) The purpose of the treaty is to help two countries develop amity so they can live in cooperation instead of in war.

Question 2

Castigate

Answer 2

scold strongly

ex) My mother was a cruel woman who never missed an opportunity to castigate my father.

Question 3

Destitution

Answer 3

hardship, poverty, misery

ex) The family faced eviction and destitution.

Question 4

Expedient

Answer 4

convenient

ex) Given the fact the police will be looking for us soon, it is expedient we leave this apartment quickly.

Question 5

Incantation

Answer 5

chant, invocation, prayer

ex) As the wizard made his incantation, the white clouds in the sky turned black.

Question 6

Lynch

Answer 6

assassinate, kill

ex) The accused killer was lynched by an angry mob.

Question 7

Overt

Answer 7

obvious, not hidden

ex) In some countries, racial prejudice is overt and not disguised in the least.

Question 8

Predicament

Answer 8

dilemma, difficult situation

ex) Because I do not want to end up in a financial predicament, I pay my bills regularly.

Question 9

Sanguine

Answer 9

optimistic, cheerful

ex) You can tell by the big smile on her face that she has a sanguine temperament.

Question 10

Ubiquitous

Answer 10

found everywhere, omnipresent

ex) McDonalds has a ubiquitous presence in the world.

Question 11

Amorphous

Answer 11

lacking in shape

ex) Because the painting was amorphous, I had no idea what it represented.

Question 12

Catharsis

Answer 12

the process of releasing strong emotions and feelings

ex) Sometimes the act of taking a break away from then world will help a tired person experience the catharsis he or she needs to deal with everyday life.

Question 13

Deter

Answer 13

put off, prevent

ex) Her father taught her that she would never let anything deter her in her goal to get at least a bachelor’s degree.

Question 14

Expedite

Answer 14

make faster

ex) If you would like to expedite the shipping of your order, please pay the express shipping fee.

Question 15

Incarceration

Answer 15

putting in prison

ex) His conviction of an armed robbery at a bank led to his incarceration.

Question 16

Machinations

Answer 16

plots and plans (usually for bad reasons)

ex) The con artist’s victims quickly fell for his easy money machination.

Question 17

Overwrought

Answer 17

worker up, in an emotional state

ex) The spy was overwrought by the demands of the job.

Question 18

Preeminent

Answer 18

famous, outstanding

ex) He worked exceptionally hard to earn admittance into a preeminent medical school.

Question 19

Sardonic

Answer 19

mocking

ex) After he was fired from the restaurant, he wrote a sardonic review of the eatery.

Question 20

Unalloyed

Answer 20

undiluted, pure

ex) Unalloyed metals.

Question 21

Analgesic

Answer 21

medicine to combat pain

ex) Aspirin is a mild analgesic.

Question 22

Caucus

Answer 22

type of private political meeting

ex) Before the student government caucus, I need to make copies of the meeting’s agenda.

Question 23

Deteriorate

Answer 23

worsen, decline

ex) The situation has deteriorated.

Question 24

Exposition

Answer 24

clear explanation

ex) The subject requires some exposition.

Question 25

Incessant

Answer 25

without stopping ex) The incessant crying of a baby drives me nuts.

Question 26

Maelstrom

Answer 26

whirlpool, storm in the ocean, situation with confusion ex) The hall was a maelstrom of color, fragrance, and sneezing.

Question 27

Palatable

Answer 27

good to eat, agreeable ex) We can add some hot spices to make the curry more palatable.

Question 28

Prerogative

Answer 28

right or privilege ex) The princess thought it was her prerogative to always walk in front of everyone else.

Question 29

Savant

Answer 29

person with knowledge ex) He is a savant in Mathematics.

Question 30

Unctuous

Answer 30

oily, using excessive flattery ex) His unctuous demeanor got on everyone's nerves.

Question 31

Analogous

Answer 31

comparable ex) Looking for an honest man in politics is analogous to looking for a virgin in a brothel.

Question 32

Caustic

Answer 32

burning, sarcastic, critical ex) Being caustic to the receptionist is not going to get you in the doctor's office any sooner.

Question 33

Detrimental

Answer 33

harmful ex) Although he enjoys smoking cigarettes, she does know the habit is detrimental to her physical well being.

Question 34

Extol

Answer 34

praise ex) I got angry when my mother would extol my brother's accomplishments and ignore all the good things I did.

Question 35

Incipient

Answer 35

just beginning to appear or develop ex) The best way to stop the disease from spreading is by identifying it while it is incipient.

Question 36

Magnanimous

Answer 36

generous ex) Even though the defendant had broken the law, the magnanimous judge gave him the lightest sentence possible.

Question 37

Palisade

Answer 37

fence made of posts. ex) The tribe built a wooden palisade around their village to protect it from raiders.

Question 38

Prescient

Answer 38

having fore-knowledge ex) A prescient warning.

Question 39

Scale

Answer 39

to climb ex) It took climbers overs 5 hours to scale the cliff face.

Question 40

Undermined

Answer 40

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

Question 41

Anarchy

Answer 41

chaos, lack of government ex) There must always be a leader or else anarchy will prevail.

Question 42

Cavalcade

Answer 42

procession of vehicles ex) We saw cavalcade of cars on the street yesterday.

Question 43

Devoured

Answer 43

greedily eaten, consumed ex) She devoured the steaks.

Question 44

Extradite

Answer 44

deport from one country back to the home country ex) The state will soon extradite him to the island nation where he is wanted for assaulting a girl.

Question 45

Inclination

Answer 45

tendency ex) A coward's natural inclination is to walk away from a flight.

Question 46

Magnate

Answer 46

powerful businessman ex) Due to his status as a political magnate, many people were eager to vote for him in the next election.

Question 47

Palliative

Answer 47

a remedy that improves but doesn't cure. ex) Orthodox medicines tend to be palliative rather than curative.

Question 48

Presentiment

Answer 48

a feeling that something might happen ex) The presentiment lingered after I saw a black cat twice a day.

Question 49

Scapegoat

Answer 49

person on whom blame is placed for faults of others ex) She became the scapegoat for her friend's doing.

Question 50

Underscore

Answer 50

emphasize ex) As the movie played, I realized the director used music to underscore key scenes.