GRE Vocabulary 7 Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in GRE Vocabulary 7 Deck (100)
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1
Q

Dissociate (v)

A

To withdraw from association

He tried to dissociate himself from the bigotry in his past.

2
Q

Dissonant (adj)

A

Out of harmony; incongruous; at variance

It was something more than harsh and dissonant, and it betrayed no lack of skill

3
Q

Distend (v)

A

To spread in all directions; expand; swell:

The sea distended about them.

4
Q

Distill (v)

A

To extract the essential elements of; refine; abstract:

She managed to distill her ideas into one succinct article.

5
Q

Divest (v)

A

To rid of or free from:

He divested himself of all responsibility for the decision.

6
Q

Doctrinaire (n)

A

A person who tries to apply some doctrine or theory without sufficient regard for practical considerations; an impractical theorist.

7
Q

Elate (v)

A

To make very happy or proud

News to elate the hearer.

8
Q

Elegy (n)

A

A sad or mournful musical composition.

Then, as afterwards recorded by Robison, he turned towards his officers and repeated several stanzas of Gray’s elegy.

9
Q

Elucidate (v)

A

To make lucid or clear; throw light upon; explain:

An explanation that elucidated his recent strange behavior.

10
Q

Emaciate (v)

A

To make abnormally lean or thin by a gradual wasting away of flesh.

Sickness diminished the ranks, and emaciate men, haggard and way-worn, tottered painfully along the rugged ways.

11
Q

Emollient (n)(adj)

A

Having the power of softening or relaxing, as a medicinal substance;

Emollient lotions for the face.

12
Q

Venal (adj)

A

Open to bribery; mercenary.

A venal judge.

13
Q

Doggerel (n)

A

Comic or burlesque, and usually loose or irregular in measure.

I had the girls say that doggerel about the forty-nine blue bottles while we were stuck fast in the mud.

14
Q

Manse (n)

A

The house and land occupied by a minister

15
Q

Nexus (n)

A

A means of connection, tie, link.

The nexus between industry and political power.

16
Q

Promulgate (v)

A

To make known by open declaration; publish;

The federal and state governments, at their core, establish laws and promulgate rules.

17
Q

Dross (adj)

A

Waste matter, refuse.

18
Q

Demur (v)

A

To make objection, especially on the grounds of scruples;

They wanted to make him the treasurer, but he demurred.

19
Q

Felicitous (adj)

A

Well-suited for the occasion, as an action, manner

The chairman’s felicitous anecdote set everyone at ease.

20
Q

Veritable (adj)

A

Being truly or very much so.

The early 1970s witnessed a veritable price explosion.

21
Q

Impassive (adj)

A

Not feeling or showing emotion.

His cold, impassive face.

22
Q

Hermetic (adj)

A

Made airtight by fusion or sealing.

A hermetic seal that ensures perfect waterproofing.

23
Q

Fracas (n)
[frakɑ]

A

A noisy, disorderly disturbance or fight.

The fracas was broken up by stewards.

24
Q

Eminence (n)

A

High station, rank, or repute.

Philosophers of eminence.

25
Q

Epigram (n)

A

A pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way.

Oscar Wilde had a genius for epigram.

26
Q

Epitome (n)

A

A person or thing that is a perfect example of a particular quality or type.

She looked the epitome of elegance and good taste.

27
Q

Equanimity (n)

A

Mental or emotional stability or composure.

In person, Reagan was a great deal like Obama, in his self-confidence and his equanimity under pressure.

28
Q

Equivocal (adj)

A

Deliberately ambiguous,allowing the possibility of several different meanings.

An equivocal answer.

29
Q

Erudite (adj)

A

Characterized by great knowledge, learned or scholarly.

An erudite professor.

30
Q

Espouse (v)

A

To make one’s own, adopt or embrace.

Mitt Romney agrees with nearly everything the Tea Party claims to espouse.

31
Q

Eradicate (v)

A

Remove completely.

32
Q

Estrange (v)

A

To turn away in feeling or affection; make unfriendly or hostile.

Their quarrel estranged the two friends.

33
Q

Evanescent (adj)

[ev-uh-nes-uh nt]

A

Vanishing, fading away, fleeting.

The evanescent Arctic summer.

34
Q

Extrinsic (adj)

A

Not essential or inherent; not a basic part or quality; extraneous

Facts that are extrinsic to the matter under discussion.

35
Q

Exult (v)

A

To show or feel a lively or triumphant joy, rejoice exceedingly, be highly elated or jubilant.

They exulted over their victory.

36
Q

Facetious (adj)

[fuh-see-shuh s]

A

Lacking serious intent, concerned with something nonessential.

A facetious remark.

37
Q

Facile (adj)

[faas-il]

A

Easily done, performed OR superficial ignoring complexities.

A facile seven-lengths victory. .

38
Q

Rectitude (n)

A

Rightness of principle or conduct, moral virtue.

The rectitude of her motives.

39
Q

Crucible (n)

A

A container of metal or refractory material employed for heating substances to high temperatures.

40
Q

Ingenue (n)

[an-zhuh-noo]

A

Artless, innocent, unworldly girl.

41
Q

Cadge (v)

[kaj]

A

To beg or obtain by begging.

He cadged fivers off old school friends.

42
Q

Flout (v)

A

To treat with disdain, scorn, or contempt; scoff at, mock.

To flout the rules of propriety.

43
Q

Ennui (n)

[ahn-wee]

A

A feeling of utter weariness and discontent.

He succumbed to ennui and despair.

44
Q

Urbanity (n)

A

The quality of being urbane, refined courtesy or politeness, suavity.

He was the last word in urbanity.

45
Q

Vicissitude (n)

A

A change or variation occurring in the course of something.

The vicissitude of seasons and human fortunes.

46
Q

Hubris (n)

A

Excessive pride or self-confidence.

The self-assured hubris among economists was shaken in the late 1980s.

47
Q

Fallow (adj)

A

Not in use, inactive.

My creative energies have laid fallow this year.

48
Q

Fathom (v)

A

To penetrate to the truth of; comprehend understand.

To fathom someone’s motives.

49
Q

Fatuous (adj)

[faach-oo-uh s]

A

Foolish or inane.

A fatuous comment.

50
Q

Ferment (v)

A

To cause agitation or excitement in.

Reading fermented his active imagination.

51
Q

Fervent (adj)

A

Having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit.

A fervent admirer.

52
Q

Fetter (n)

A

Anything that confines or restrains:

Boredom puts fetters upon the imagination.

53
Q

Garrulous (adj)

[gar-uh-luh s]

A

Talkative.

A garrulous cab driver

54
Q

Gauche (adj)

[gohsh]

A

Lacking social grace, tactless

Their exquisite manners always make me feel gauche.

55
Q

Germane (adj)

A

Apt, to the point.

That is not germane to our theme.

56
Q

Glib (adj)

A

Readily fluent

A glib talker.

57
Q

Glutton (n)

A

A person who eats and drinks excessively OR excessively fond of something.

He’s a glutton for adventure.

58
Q

Grandiloquent (adj)

A

Speaking or expressed in a lofty style.

A grandiloquent celebration of Spanish glory.

59
Q

Gratuitous (adj)

[gruh-too-i-tuh s]

A

Given, done, bestowed, or obtained without charge or payment, free.

Solicitors provide a form of gratuitous legal advice.

60
Q

Gregarious (adj)

A

Fond of the company of others, sociable.

He was a popular and gregarious man.

61
Q

Guile (n)

A

Insidious cunning in attaining a goal, crafty or artful deception.

If that is the case, hats off to him for guile and deviousness

62
Q

Hyperbole (n)

[hahy-pur-buh-lee]

A

Obvious and intentional exaggeration.

He vowed revenge with oaths and hyperbole.

63
Q

Iconoclast (n)

A

A person who attacks cherished beliefs, traditional institutions.

64
Q

Idiosyncrasy (n)

A

A characteristic, habit, mannerism, or the like, that is peculiar to an individual.

One of his little idiosyncrasies was always preferring to be in the car first.

65
Q

Idyll (n)

A

A simple descriptive or narrative piece in verse or prose.

The rural idyll remains strongly evocative in most industrialized societies.

66
Q

Immutable (adj)

A

Unchangeable.

67
Q

Imperious (adj)

A

Haughty, arrogant.

His imperious demands.

68
Q

Impetuous (adj)

A

Of, relating to, or characterized by sudden or rash action, emotion, etc. impulsive.

An impetuous decision.

69
Q

Impetus (n)

A

A moving force, impulse, stimulus.

70
Q

Implacable (adj)

A

Not to be appeased, mollified, or pacified, inexorable.

An implacable enemy.

71
Q

Inert (adj)

A

Having no inherent power of action, motion.

72
Q

Infallible (adj)

A

Absolutely trustworthy or sure

An infallible rule.

73
Q

Ingenuous (adj)

A

Innocent; naive, candid or sincere.

He eyed her with wide, ingenuous eye.

74
Q

Iniquitous (adj)

A

Characterized by injustice or wickedness.

We must pass hastily over the time during which this iniquitous treaty was in force.

75
Q

Innocuous (adj)

A

Not harmful or injurious.

It was an innocuous question.

76
Q

Inoculate (v)

A

To implant (a disease agent or antigen) in a person, animal, or plant to produce a disease for study or to stimulate disease resistance.

77
Q

Insolence (n)

A

Contemptuously rude or impertinent behavior or speech.

It will be easy for me to make you repent any insolence to me or my friend.

78
Q

Insular (adj)

A

Detached, standing alone, isolated.

A stubbornly insular farming people.

79
Q

Intractable (adj)

A

Not easily controlled or directed, not docile or manageable.

The boy had an intractable disposition.

80
Q

Laconic (adj)

A

Reserved in speech, terse

81
Q

Lampoon (v)

A

A sharp, often virulent satire directed against an individual or institution.

To lampoon important leaders in the government.

82
Q

Latent (n)

A

Present but not visible, apparent, or actualized; existing as potential

83
Q

Lattice (n)

A

A structure of crossed wooden or metal strips usually arranged to form a diagonal pattern

84
Q

Laud (v)

A

To praise, extol.

85
Q

Leaven (n)

A

Any substance that produces fermentation in dough or batter, such as yeast, and causes it to rise

86
Q

Lethargic (adj)

A

Lazy.

87
Q

Levy (v)

A

An imposing or collecting, as of a tax, by authority or force.

88
Q

Mien (n)

A

Air, bearing, or demeanor, as showing character.

A man of noble mien.

89
Q

Meander (v)

A

To proceed by or take a winding or indirect course.

The stream meandered through the valley.

90
Q

Medley (n)

A

A mixture, especially of heterogeneous elements.

An interesting medley of flavors.

91
Q

Melancholy (adj) (n)

A

A gloomy state of mind, especially when habitual or prolonged; depression.

A melancholy mood.

92
Q

Mercurial (adj)

A

Changeable, volatile, fickle.

93
Q

Monotonous (adj)

A

Lacking in variety, tediously unvarying.

Monotonous activity.

94
Q

Moratorium (n)

A

A suspension of activity.

A moratorium on the testing of nuclear weapons.

95
Q

Mores (n)

[mawr-eyz]

A

Customs, conventions, practices.

An offence against social mores.

96
Q

Morphology (n)

A

The branch of biology dealing with the form and structure of organisms.

97
Q

Muse (v) (n)

A

To think or meditate in silence, as on some subject OR a person who is the source of inspiration.

Readers are invited to muse about the parenting style of members

98
Q

Nadir (n)

A

The lowest point, point of greatest adversity or despair.

99
Q

Nascent (adj)

A

Beginning to exist or develop.

That nascent republic is holding its first election this month.

100
Q

Nebulous (adj)

A

Hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused.

A nebulous recollection of the meeting.