GRE3 Flashcards
agile
Acrobatic, quick and well-coordinated in movement, able to think quickly in an intelligent way:
and agile person/mind
caustic
capable of burning, severely sarcastic or unkind remark:
Her caustic reply really hurt my feelings and my reputation.
caustic chemicals could burn things
genial
kind and friendly:
Bob is such a genial person, helping others daily.
septuagenarian
a person who is between 70 and 79 years old:
Anyone living who was born before World War II is now at least a septuagenarian.
hoary
(of a person) very old and white- or grey-haired, old:
No need to give too much of a shock to their hoary old constitutions.
pusillanimous
weak and cowardly (= not brave); frightened of taking risks:
He’s too pusillanimous to stand up to his opponents.
punctilious
extremely attentive to punctilios/detail:
He was always punctilious in his manners.
dissemble
to give a false or misleading appearance to; conceal the truth or real nature of:
to dissemble one’s incompetence in business. He accused the government of dissembling.
spry
nimble, quick and light in movement; moving with ease; agile:
He was amazingly spry for a man of almost 80.
sobriquet
nickname, title:
These charms have earned the television programme’s presenter the sobriquet ‘the thinking woman’s crumpet’.
revere
to respect and admire someone very much. venerate:
The child revered her mother.
syncopation
temporary irregularity in musical rhythm:
syncopated jazz rhythms
euphemism
the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, a polite word or phrase that is used to avoid saying something embarrassing or offensive:
Passed away’ is a euphemism for ‘died’.
guile
clever but sometimes dishonest behaviour that you use to deceive someone, insidious cunning in attaining a goal; crafty or artful deception, sneakiness:
The boys from Porkys used their cunning and guile to catch a peek at the girls showering.
sophism
deceptively false argument
lure
to attract, entice, or tempt; allure:
It seems that he was lured into a trap.
They had been lured to the big city by the promise of high wages.
credulous
willing to believe or trust too readily, marked by or arising from credulity:
a credulous rumor.
Opposite: incredulous (skeptical)
obtuse
not observant, not quick or alert in perception, 90<180
sanction
authoritative permission or approval or punishment:
We have the sanction of our company to undertake this procedure;
The actor believes he has a case for sanctioning the publishers and intends to seek sanctions against them unless they withdraw the unauthorized biography.
enigma
a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation:
His disappearance is an enigma that has given rise to much speculation.
ploy
(n.) a maneuver or stratagem, as in conversation, to gain the advantage (trick someone):
The phone call was just a ploy to get rid of her.
artifice
ploy, a clever trick or stratagem:
The Trojan horse was an artifice designed to get the soldiers inside the walls.
expedient
appropriate to a purpose; convenient; practical:
The management has taken a series of expedient measures to improve the company’s financial situation.
bestow
to give someone an important present or a public reward for their achievements:
The trophy was bestowed upon the winner.
lavish
done in excess:
lavish spending.
penitent
feeling or expressing remorse for misdeeds,, showing or feeling regret for wrongdoing, repentant:
“I’m sorry,” she said with a penitent smile.
It was hard to be angry with him when he looked so penitent.
repent
to regret and feel sorry for something you did:
she felt repent when she got a bad grade in her report card.
you should repent all of your sins to the preist to become closer to God.
desultory
(adj.) inconsistant:
She made a desultory attempt at conversation.
He wandered around, clearing up in a desultory way.
contentious
argumentative:
a contentious decision/policy/issue/subject
She has some rather contentious views on education.
pugnacious
inclined to quarrel or fight readily; quarrelsome; belligerent; combative:
I found him pugnacious and arrogant.
hackneyed
very common, boring, unoriginal, overused, repeated too often:
The plot of the film is just a hackneyed boy-meets-girl scenario.
polemic/polemical
controversial argument against an opinion/ argumentative/ controversial person:
The candidate’s polemic against his opponent was vicious and small-minded rather than well reasoned and convincing.
frugal
economic, prudent in saving and spending:
The man was filled with frugality that he ordered a cheap meal.
opulence/opulent
excess, abundance, wealth/ luxurious and expensive:
an opulent lifestyle. an opulent hotel.
Parsimony
excessive frugality, extreme or excessive economy; stinginess; niggardliness, thrift:
She’s too parsimonious to heat the house properly.
skulk
move secretly:
The thief skulked in the shadows.
convene
to come together or assemble, usually for some public purpose,to arrange a meeting, or to meet for a meeting:
The committee convenes three times a year.
inept
unskillful maladroit (lacking adroitness): He is inept at mechanical tasks. She is inept at dealing with people.
flub
to perform poorly; blunder; bungle: He flubbed the last shot and lost the match.
rescind
to abrogate; annul; revoke; repeal, to invalidate (an act, measure, etc.) by a later action or a higher authority,to abolish by formal or official means; annul by an authoritative act; repeal: to abrogate a law:
The policy of charging air travellers for vegetarian meals proved unpopular and has already been rescinded.
hubris
excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance:
He was punished for his hubris.
cordial
friendly, gracious:
a cordial invitation
enrapture
delight beyond measure:
We were enraptured by her singing.
mortify
to humiliate or shame:
I told her she’d upset John and she was mortified.
scrutinize
to examine something very carefully::
The evidence was carefully scrutinized.
defy
to challenge the power of; resist boldly or openly:
to defy parental authority.
Some of these children openly defy their teachers.
flout
to intentionally not obey a rule, law, or custom,to treat with disdain, scorn, or contempt; scoff at; mock:
Many motorcyclists flout the law by not wearing helmets.
The orchestra decided to flout convention/tradition, and wear their everyday clothes for the concert.
baleful
evil, angry, threatening:
She gave him a baleful look that scared him.
pernicious
causing insidious harm or ruin; ruinous; injurious; hurtful:
The storm was very pernicious (Destructive) in strength.
John was a very pernicious (Spiteful) person.
He also had a very pernicious (Evil) nature.
His words were pernicious (Malicious) in there content.
tremulous
characterized by trembling, as from fear, nervousness, or weakness:
He watched her tremulous hand reach for the teacup.
In a tremulous voice she whispered: “Who are you people?”
trepidation
(unease) tremulous fear, alarm, or agitation; perturbation.trembling or quivering movement; tremor:
It was with trepidation that I accepted Klein’s invitation.
insouciant
cheerfully free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree; nonchalant:
Sarah had a very ‘insouciant’ attitude toward her failed math exam.
Jacob took to the news with much ‘insouciance.’ [He didn’t much care about the news, or what effect it may have.]
vitriolic
caustic, very caustic; scathing: vitriolic criticism:
His answer was vitriolic, and I drew back, surprised by his caustic tone.
galvanize
to excite, stimulate:
His words galvanized the team into action.
vilipend
to vilify; depreciate, defame:
she falsely vilipended the Canadians over the 9-11 bombers.
engender
to create, produce:
We want to engender loyalty to our products.
predilection
a preference toward someone or something:
She has a predilection for chocolate.
pellucid
clear in meaning, expression, or style, lucid, luminous:
The newly made glass was very pellucid.
