GRE_3000_List19 Flashcards by Chao Huang

pontificate

to speak or express opinions in a pompous or dogmatic way
[E] pontificate to show a sense of superiority
[A] condescend
[P] pontification; pontifical;

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porous

admitting the passage of gas or liquid through pores or interstices
[E] Lava rock as a porous structure which makes the material lightweight and highly moisture-retentive.
[S] passable; penetrable; permeable; pervious;
[A] impassable
[P] porosity

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portentous

1 being or showing a sense of evil
[E] an eerie and portentous stillness
[S] baleful; direful; doomy; foreboding; inauspicious; minatory;
[A] auspicious; propitious;
2 eliciting amazement or wonder
[E] The way in which he brings together opposing forces was truly portentous.
[S] amazing; astonishing; fabulous; marvelous;
[A] ordinary;

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poseur

an affected or insincere person
[E] She is such a poseur and you will never know if she is really crying or pretending.
[S] grandstander; poser

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posit

to assume or affirm the existence of
[E] The committee posited that he was qualified for the election.
[S] assume; postulate; presuppose; premise;
[A] falsify;

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potable

1 a beverage, especially an alcoholic beverage
[E] Potables are offered at bar counter for free.
[S] beverage; spirits
[A] soft drink
2 suitable for drinking
[E] Price of the potable water has soared.
[S] edible;
[A] undrinkable;

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potentate

one who has the power and position to rule over others
[E] a son of potentates
[S] authority; autocrat; monarch
[A] figurehead

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potentiate

to make effective or active, or more effective or more active
[E] additives to potentiate the drug
[S] activate; energize; intensify;
[A] deactivate; abate; attenuate; dwindle; moderate;

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pout

to show displeasure, especially by thrusting out the lips or wearing a sullen expression
[E] She pouted and didn’t say a word to anyone all morning.
[S] grump; mope; sulk
[A] grin

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practitioner

one who practices a profession
[E] medical practitioner
[S] expert; guru; professional; virtuoso;
[A] fledging; quack

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prate

to talk long and idly
[E] They have been prating on the phone for hours.
[S] babble; chat; chatter; gabble; jabber; prattle; twitter;
[A] prater;

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precarious

1 dangerously lacking in security and stability;
[E] a precarious livelihood
[S] delicate; fragile; sensitive;
[A] firm; stable; safe;secure;
2 dependent on uncertain premise
[E] His entirely argument relies on a precarious assumption.
[S] ambiguous; doubtful; dubious; equivocal;
[A] indubitable; unambiguous;

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precipice

a very steep or overhanging place
[E] a precipice too steep to climb
[S] bluff; cuff; crag; escarpment; palisade;
[A] ridge;
[P] precipitous;

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precipitate

1 acting or done with excessive or careless speed
[E] the army’s precipitate withdrawal from the field of battle
[S] cursory; flying; headlong; hurried; overhasty; precipitous;
[A] deliberate; leisurely;
[P] precipitation
2 to cause to happen, especially suddenly or prematurely
[E] precipitate an international crisis
[S] accelerate, escalate, expedite, hasten, impel,
[A] enfetter, hamper, handicap, obstruct.

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precipitation

1 something precipitated as a deposit on the earth of hail, mist, rain, sleet, or snow.
[E] The storm brought several inches of precipitation.
[S] sediment;
2 excited and often showy or disorderly speed
[E] I fear that I may have acted with some precipitation on this matter, so I would like to reconsider.
[S] haste, hastiness, hustle, precipitousness,
[A] deliberation

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precipitous

1 very steep, perpendicular, or overhanging in rise or fall
[E] a precipitous gorge
[S] abrupt; arduous; sheer;
[A] level
2 acting or done with excessive or careless speed
[E] The soon regretted their precipitous actions in international affairs.
[S] cursory; overhasty
[A] deliberate; leisurely;

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preempt

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1 to appropriate, seize, or take for oneself before others
[E] The naughty children had preempted front-row seats that were reserved for the guests of honor.
[S] appropriate; expropriate; arrogate;
[P] preemptive
2 to replace with something considered to be of greater value or priority
[E] The special newscast preempted the usual television program.
[S] replace; supersede.

preen

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1 to smooth or clean with the beak of bill
[S] plume
[A] rumple
2 to dress or groom with elaborate care
[E] She always preens herself in an elaborate suit before going to the opera.
[S] groom; plume; primp;
3 to take pride or satisfaction in
[E] He always preens himself on his ancestry.
[S] gloat; plume;
[A] efface

preponderant

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having superior weight, force, importance or influence
[E] a preponderant misconception
[S] dominant; paramount; predominant;
[A] secondary; subsidiary;
[P] preponderance;

prepossessing

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serving to impress favorably
[E] He was fascinated by her prepossessing appearance at first glance.
[S] alluring; attractive; captivating;
[A] abhorrent; hideous; repulsive;

preposterous

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contrary to nature, reason, or common sense
[E] a preposterous conclusion of quantum mechanics.
[S] absurd; asinine; fallacious; fatuous; ludicrous;
[A] commonsensical;

presumptuous

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1 overstepping due bounds
[E] Under such circumstance his demand for attention was utterly presumptuous.
[S] audacious; bold; brash; impertinent; insolent;
[A] courteous; decorous; genteel;
2 having a feeling of superiority
[E] The presumptuous doctor didn’t even bother to explain to me the treatment that I would be receiving.
[S] assumptive; bumptious; cavalier; peremptory

pretense

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1 the act of pretending; a false appearance or action intended to deceive
[E] There is too much pretense in his piety.
[S] affection; camouflage; deceit; masquerade;
[A] sincerity
2 an exaggerated sense of one’s importance that shows itself in the making of excessive or unjustified claims.
[S] assumption; hauteur; pomposity; imperiousness;
[A] humility

prevaricate

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to stray from or evade the truth
[E] During the hearings the witness did his best to prevaricate.
[S] equivocate; fabricate; falsify
[P] prevarication

primordial

being or happening first in sequence of time [E] primordial forms of life [S] ancient; early; primal; primeval; primitive [A] recent;

primp

to dress, adorn or arrange in a careful or finicky manner [E] She primps herself for hours before a date. [S] preen; dress up

privation

lack of what is needed for existence [E] The constant privation of sleep war starting to affect his work. [S] deprivation; loss [A] repletion;

proclivity

a natural propensity or inclination [E] show artistic proclivities at an early age [S] aptitude; disposition; learning; partiality; penchant; predilection; propensity; [A] aversion; antipathy; disinclination;

proffer

to offer for acceptance;tender [E] She proffered her assistance in helping the two sides reach a compromise. [S] extended; give; tender; trot out; [A] retain; withhold;

profligate

1 recklessly wasteful; wildly extravagant; [E] leading a profligate life [S] extravagant; squandering [A] parsimonious; frugal; 2 someone who spends money freely [E] Profligate who could not really afford the grand style he maintained at Monticello, Jefferson died deeply in debt. [S] fritterer; wastrel; 3 a person who has sank below the moral standard [E] A drunken profligate, he was given to wretched excess in every aspect of life. [S] debauchee; rake; rakehell;

profundity

something profound or abstruse [E] His books are a mixture of playfulness and profundity. [S] deepness; profoundness; [A] superficiality

prolix

tending to speak or write at excessive length [E] He habitually transforms brief anecdotes into prolix sagas that exhaust his listeners. [S] diffuse; garrulous; rambling; windy; [A] pithy; taciturn; terse;

promulgate

to make known openly or publicly [E] The law was promulgated in June 1988. [S] annunciate; declare; enunciate; herald; [A] keep secret;

propitious

favorably disposed; pointing toward a happy outcome [E] propitious sign [S] auspicious; encouraging; fair; heartening; optimistic; promising; [A] dim; discouraging; inauspicious;

prosaic

being of the type that is encountered in the normal course of events [E] prosaic advise [S] commonplace; everyday; routine; unexceptional; [A] abnormal; exceptional;

proselytize

to persuade to change one's religious faith [E] The efforts of early missionaries to proselytize the Native Americans were largely unproductive. [S] convert

protean

displaying great diversity or variety; versatile; [E] He loved to show of his protean talent. [S] adaptable; universal; all-around [A] static;

protuberant

``` thrusting out from a surrounding or adjacent surface often as a rounded mass [E] protuberant eyes [A] depressed; [P] protuberance; [A] concavity; ```

providential

happening as if through divine intervention [E] a providential escape [S] lucky; fluky; fortuitous; [A] mishap

provincial

limited in perspective [E] an artist who has been criticized for being provincial [S] insular; parochial; sectarian; [A] ecumenical; tolerant;

provisory

depending on a proviso; conditional; [E] a provisory permit to block off the street while movie scenes were being shot. [S] interim; provisional; [A] permanent;unconditional;

ponderous

``` 1 of very high weight [E] a ponderous machine [S] cumbersome; heavy; hefty; massive; [A] ethereal; gossamer; 2 oppressively or unpleasant dull [E] a ponderous sermon no one really cares [S] dreary; dull; flat; insipid; [A] absorbing; engrossing; gripping; ```

GRE_3000_List19 Flashcards

(42 cards)