GRE_3000_List20

Question 1

prowl

Answer 1

to roam through stealthily, as in search of prey or plunder

[E] I prowled the shop, looking for sales.

Question 2

prudish

Answer 2

marked by prudery
[E] By the prudish standards of the 19th century, any depiction of the nude was scandalous.
[S] nice-nelly; prim; puritanical;

Question 3

pseudonym

Answer 3

a fictitious name
[E] Mark Twain in the pseudonym of the American writer Samuel L. Clemens.
[S] alias;

Question 4

pucker

Answer 4

to cause to become gathered, contracted, and wrinkled.

[E] pucker my limps

Question 5

puckish

Answer 5

mischievous; impish
[E] She had a puckish smile on her face.
[S] devilish; prankish; waggish
[A] sober; grave; staid;

Question 6

puerile

Answer 6

immature; lacking in adult experience or maturity;
[E] puerile remarks
[S] adolescent; green; immature; unfledged; unformed; unripened;
[A] adult; mature;

Question 7

puissance

Answer 7

power; might;
[E] The president pledged to put the full puissance of the nation into the war effort.
[S] potency; force; sinew;
[A] impotence;

Question 8

pulchritude

Answer 8

great physical beauty and appeal

[A] ugliness; homeliness; hideousness;

Question 9

pulverize

Answer 9

to pound, crush, or grind to powder or dust; to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
[E] Bits of pulverized rock filled the air.
[A] solidify; build; construct; erect;

Question 10

pun

Answer 10

the usually humorous use of a word in such a way as to suggest two or more of its meanings or the meaning of another word similar in sound.
[E] He’s a skillful pilot whose career has – no pun intended – really taken off.

Question 11

punctilious

Answer 11

strictly attentive to minute details of form in action or conduct
[S] decorous; starchy; stilted
[A] remiss; casual; unceremonious;

Question 12

pundit

Answer 12

a person who gives opinions in an authoritative manner usually through the mass media.
[E] The new laptop has gotten thumbs-up from industry pundits.
[S] savant; scholar;

Question 13

puny

Answer 13

of inferior size, strength, or significance; weak
[E] I wouldn’t mess with him – he makes bodybuilders look puny in comparison.
[S] diminutive; dwarfish; slight; subnormal;
[A] enormous; considerable; grand; husky; overscale;

Question 14

purlieu

Answer 14

1 a place for spending time or socializing
[E] The restaurant, the preferred purlieu of the theatergoing crowd, is always packed an hour or two before showtimes.
[S] haunt; rendezvous;resort;
2 an adjoining region or space
[E] We stopped at one of the several pubs in the purlieus of the stadium.
[S] backyard; neighborhood; vicinage; vicinity;

Question 15

purloin

Answer 15

to steal, often in a violation of trust
[E] fearing that someone might attempt to purloin a copy of the script for the show’s season finale
[S] appropriate; filch; pilfer; snitch; thieve;

Question 16

purvey

Answer 16

to supply

[E] a little shop purveying handmade merchandise

Question 17

quack

Answer 17

a pretender to medical skills
[E] Don’t bother to see that guy, I have heard that he is only a quack with no actual training.
[S] charlatan; fake; fraud; phony;
[A] honest practitioner;

Question 18

quaff

Answer 18

to drink heartily
[E] He stopped at a bar and quaffed a few beers.
[S] gulp; swig; swill;

Question 19

quail

Answer 19

to shrink back in fear; cower
[E] She quailed at the thought of seeing him again.
[S] blench; cringe; recoil; shrink; wince;
[A] become resolute;

Question 20

quandary

Answer 20

a state of perplexity or doubt
[E] I’ve had two job offers, and I’m in a real quandary about which one to accept.
[S] double bind
[A] state of complete certainty;

Question 21

quarantine

Answer 21

enforced insolation or restriction of free movement imposed to prevent the speed of contagious disease.
[E] The cows will be kept in quarantine for another two weeks.

Question 22

quash

Answer 22

to put a stop to sth. by the use of force
[E] quash a rebellion
[S] repress; squelch; subdue; suppress;
[A] engender; foment;

Question 23

quell

Answer 23

1 to put down forcibly; suppress;
[E] quell riot;
[S] quash; repress
2 to pacify
[E] quell fears
[S] dumb; extinguish; mute;
[A] foment; instigate; rouse;

Question 24

querulous

Answer 24

habitually complaining
[E] a querulous voice
[S] crabby; cranky; grouchy; grumpy;
[A] forbearing; stoic; tolerant;

Question 25

quibble

Answer 25

1 to find fault or criticize for petty reasons; cavil [E] She spent the entire evening quibbling about the historical inaccuracies in the television series on World War II. [S] carp; cavil; fuss; niggle; nitpick 2 a minor objection or criticism [E] My only quibble about the trip was that it rained a lot.

Question 26

quixotic

Answer 26

having or marked by a tendency to be guided more by ideals than by reality. [E] She had quixotic dreams about the future. [S] impractical; ideal; starry; utopian; visionary; [A] clear-eyed

Question 27

quotidian

Answer 27

everyday; commonplace; [E] plagued by a quotidian coughing; [S] ubiquitous; ordinary; [A] remarkable; striking;

Question 28

rabble

Answer 28

a disorganized or disorderly crowd of people [E] The crown prince was reminded that even the rabble deserved his attention and compassion. [S] riffraff; scum; rag; trash; unwashed;

Question 29

rabid

Answer 29

extremely zealous or enthusiastic; fanatical; [E] soccer fans whose rabid enthusiasm makes them go berserk when their team wins [S] delirious; ferocious; feverish; fierce; frantic; frenetic; violent; [A] logical; detached

Question 30

racy

Answer 30

vigorous [E] vivid writing and a racy plot that keeps the readers turning the pages. [S] animate; brisk; frisky; jaunty; vivacious; [A] tame;dead;

Question 31

raffish

Answer 31

marked by or suggestive of flashy vulgarity or crudeness [E] The dowager cringed at the thought of raffish tourists tromping all over her rugs. [S] crass; lowbred; uncouth; uncultivated; vulgar; [A] civilized; genteel; ultrarefined;

Question 32

raffle

Answer 32

discarded or useless material [E] The front lawn was littered with the raffle that the workers had left behind. [S] chaff; deadwood; debris; effluvium; offal; riffraff; scrap; spilth

Question 33

rakish

Answer 33

having or showing lowered moral character or standards [E] He wore his hat in a rakish angle; [S] debased; debauched; demoralized; depraved; reprobate; [A] pure; uncorrupted;

Question 34

rambunctious

Answer 34

being rough or noisy in a high-spirited way [E] The beach in often taken over by packs of rambunctious young people, so don't go there expecting peace and quite. [S] boisterous; raucous; tumultuous; [A] tranquil; serene;

Question 35

ramshackle

Answer 35

appearing ready to collapse; [E] a ramshackle cabin in the woods [S] rickety; shaky; tottering; [A] concrete; firm; sturdy

Question 36

rancor

Answer 36

a bitter deep-seated ill will [E] A good man terminates a friendship without rancor. [S] animosity; animus; antagonism; antipathy; jaundice; [A] amity; harmony; rapport; rapprochement;

Question 37

rankle

Answer 37

to cause anger [E] It rankles me when some schools can't even afford paper and pencils for the students. [S] aggravate; enrage; exasperate; [A] gratify; please;conciliate; mollify;

Question 38

rant

Answer 38

1 a long angry speech [E] After complaining about the hotel's lousy service, the woman went off on another rant about the condition of her room. [S] castigation; diatribe; harangue; lambasting; philippic; reprimand [A] encomium; eulogy; rhapsody; tribute; 2 to speak or write in a noisy, angry or violent manner [E] The old expert ranted that nobody paid any attention to his opinion. [S] fulminate; huff; [A] grumble; murmur;

Question 39

rapacious

Answer 39

1 having a huge appetite [E] The manager at the buffet restaurant was apparently astonished by a team of rapacious professional basketball players. [S] edacious; esurient; gluttonous; ravenous; voracious; 2 excessively grasping or covetous; [E] Some companies are rapacious and hardly looking for the long term value; [S] acquisitive; avaricious; avid; mercenary; grasping; [A] content; sated; satiated;

Question 40

rapport

Answer 40

a friendly relationship marked by ready communication and mutual understanding [E] His good rapport with his students was one of the reasons why the school board named him Teacher of the Year. [S] amity; rapprochement; [A] animosity; antagonism; antipathy; rancor;

Question 41

rapprochement

Answer 41

establishment of or state of having cordial relations [E] a new era of rapprochement between China and Russia [S] rapport; amity; [A] animosity

Question 42

rapscallion

Answer 42

a mean, evil, or unprincipled person [E] an unsafe place frequented by drunkards and rapscallions [S] brute; evildoer; knave; miscreant; rascal; varlet; [A] saint; cavalier; chevalier;

Question 43

raspy

Answer 43

``` 1 harsh an dry in sound [E] The dying man was speaking in a raspy and barely discernible voice; [S] cacophonous; coarse; croaky; gruff; [A] mellifluous; gentle; 2 easily irritated or annoyed [E] Overwork tends to make him raspy. [S] choleric; fiery; grouchy; irascible; pettish; [A] amiable; agreeable; ```

Question 44

ratiocination

Answer 44

the thought processes that have been established as leading to valid solutions to problems. [E] As an expert in ratiocination, the detective Sherlock Holmes has few rivals. [S] deduction; intellection; reason; sense;

Question 45

rave

Answer 45

1 to make an exaggerated display of affection or enthusiasm [E] Critics raved about the new play. [S] drool; effuse; rhapsodize; [A] blame; censure; condemn; criticize; denounce;pan 2 to talk irrationally and wildly in or as if in delirium [E] a man standing outside the city hall, raving like a lunatic about his tax bill. [S] bluster; fulminate; huff; [A] grumble; murmur;

Question 46

ravel

Answer 46

1 to separate the various strands of [E] Since the sweater is too small, you could ravel the yarnout and make something else with it. [S] disentangle; extricate; unbraid; unsnarl; untwine; unweave [A] braid; knit; plait; 2 to clarify by separating the aspects of [S] clarify; elucidate; untangle; [A] complex; perplex; 3 to tangle or complicate; [E] a raveled story; [S] complex; entangle; [A] elucidate;

Question 47

raze

Answer 47

to destroy completely [E] Excavators were began to raze old school building. [S] annihilate; decimate; demolish; devastate; pulverize; ruin; vaporize; wreck; [A] construct; rear; [P] razor;

Question 48

reactionary

Answer 48

characterized by reaction, especially opposition to progress or liberalism; extremely conservative; [E] reactionary rulers [S] brassbound; conservative; [A] liberal; radical;

Question 49

ream

Answer 49

to criticize severely or angrily especially for personal failings [E] You are going to get reamed out when the boss learns that you wrecked the company car. [S] baste; berate; castigate; chastise; [A] accredit; applaud; extol;

Question 50

rebuff

Answer 50

to reject or criticize sharply [E] She rebuffed an invitation from her colleagues. [S] decline; snub;spurn [A] accept; approve; welcome;

Question 51

recalcitrant

Answer 51

1 marked by stubborn resistance to and defiance of authority or guidance [E] The manager worried that the recalcitrant employee would try to undermine his authority. [S] balky; contumacious; defiant; [A] amenable; compliant; [P] recalcitrancy;

Question 52

recant

Answer 52

to withdraw or repudiate formally and publicly [E] The man has refused after torture to recant his heresy. [S] abjure; abnegate; forswear; renege; [A] adhere; insist; maintain; [P] recantation;

Question 53

recessive

Answer 53

1 of, relating to, or designating an allele that dose not produce a characteristic effect when present with dominant allele [E] a recessive disease [S] dominant 2 not comfortable around people [E] For such a recessive genius, the most comfortable thing is working alone in his lab. [S] backward; coy; demure; diffident; introverted; [A] extroverted; [P] recession

Question 54

recidivate

Answer 54

to return to a previous pattern of behavior, especially to return to criminal habits [E] The suspect has recidivated for several times. [S] regress; relapse; retrogress; [A] habilitate; reclaim; regenerate; [P] recidivism;

Question 55

reciprocate

Answer 55

1 to move forward and backward alternately [E] According to Marx's economic principle, the average price of a certain product should be reciprocating over its value. [S] fluctuate; oscillate; sway; 2 to return in kind or degree; [E] They reciprocate the favor by driving their neighbor to the airport. [S] recompense; repay; retaliate; [A] owe [P] reciprocal;

Question 56

recluse

Answer 56

1 a person who lives away from others [E] He was sick of cites and crowds, so he decided to go live by himself in the woods as a recluse. [S] anchorite; eremite; hermit; isolate; 2 marked by withdraw from society [E] a recluse poet who left a large number of literature legacies [S] cloistered; hermetic; secluded; secluse; seclusive; sequestered; [A] gregarious; [P] reclusive;

Question 57

reconnoiter

Answer 57

to make a preliminary inspection of, especially in order to gather military information [E] The wide utilization of unmanned aerial vehicles makes it much less risky to reconnoiter a certain area. [S] probe;scout; [P] reconnaissance;

Question 58

recumbent

Answer 58

lying down, especially in a position of comfort or rest [E] lying recumbent on the floor [S] decumbent; procumbent; prone; prostrate; reclining; supine; [A] erect; upright;

Question 59

recuperate

Answer 59

to recover health or strength [E] He is gradually recuperating from a serious back injury. [S] convalesce; heal; rally; recoup; rehabilitate; [A] deteriorate; flag; wane; [P] recuperative;

Question 60

redoubtable

Answer 60

``` 1 worthy of respect or honor [E] a surprising discovery by one of the most redoubtable figures in Egyptian archaeology. [S] bright; luminous; prestigious; [A] average; inferior; 2 arousing fear [E] His next opponent would be by far the most redoubtable adversary the young man had ever faced. [S] direful; dreadful; scary; [A] reassuring; consoling calming; ```

Question 61

prowess

Answer 61

superior strength, courage, or daring, especially in battle [E] his prowess on the football field [S] bravery; courageousness; daring; gallantry; gut; intrepidity; [A] timid; dastardliness; poltroonery;