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New Words 2 Flashcards

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1
Q

Prehensile

A

(chiefly of an animal’s limb or tail) capable of grasping:

many monkeys have long, prehensile tails which they use in swinging through the trees

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2
Q

non-starter

A

** informal a person or plan that has no chance of succeeding or being effective:**

as a business proposition it’s a non-starter
when it came to women, he was a non-starter

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3
Q

Stultifying

A

** (usually as adjective stultifying) cause to lose enthusiasm and initiative, especially as a result of a tedious or restrictive routine:**

the stultifying conformity of provincial life

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4
Q

Pugnacious

A

eager or quick to argue, quarrel, or fight:

the increasingly pugnacious demeanour of right-wing politicians

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5
Q

Stolid

A

calm, dependable, and showing little emotion or animation:

a stolid bourgeois gent

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6
Q

Poultices

A

a soft, moist mass of material, typically consisting of bran, flour, herbs, etc., applied to the body to relieve soreness and inflammation and kept in place with a cloth.

verb
[with object]
apply a poultice to:
he poulticed the wound

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7
Q

Bane

A
  • *1a cause of great distress or annoyance:**
  • the telephone was the bane of my life*
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8
Q

Ape

A

imitate (someone or something), especially in an absurd or unthinking way:

new architecture can respect the old without aping its style

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9
Q

Arresting

A

striking; eye-catching:

at 6 ft 6 in he was an arresting figure

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10
Q

Quixotic

A

extremely idealistic; unrealistic and impractical:

a vast and perhaps quixotic project

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11
Q

Literati

A

Well educated people who are interested in literature

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12
Q

Nugatory

A
  • *of no value or importance:**
  • a nugatory and pointless observation*

useless or futile:

the teacher shortages will render nugatory the hopes of implementing the new curriculum

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13
Q

Solipsism

A
  • *the view or theory that the self is all that can be known to exist.**
  • the quality of being self-centred or selfish.*
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14
Q

cabal

A

a secret political clique or faction:

a cabal of dissidents

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15
Q

Mimetic

A

formal or technical
relating to, constituting, or habitually practising mimesis:

mimetic patterns in butterflies

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16
Q

Hoi Polloi

A

(derogatory) the masses; the common people:

avoid mixing with the hoi polloi

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17
Q

Facile

A
  • *ignoring the true complexities of an issue; superficial:**
  • facile generalizations*
  • *(of a person) having a superficial or simplistic knowledge or approach:**
  • a man of facile and shallow intellect*
  • *(of success, especially in sport) easily achieved:**
  • a facile seven-lengths victory*
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18
Q

Ennui

A

a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement:

he succumbed to ennui and despair

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19
Q

Maudlin

A
  • *self-pityingly or tearfully sentimental:**
  • a bout of maudlin self-pity*
  • *(of a book, film, or song) highly sentimental:**
  • a maudlin jukebox tune*
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20
Q

Evanescent

A

soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing:

the evanescent Arctic summer

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21
Q

Propinquity

A

the state of being close to someone or something; proximity:

he kept his distance as though afraid propinquity might lead him into temptation

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22
Q

Prophylactic

A
  • *intended to prevent disease:**
  • prophylactic measures*
  • *medicine or course of action used to prevent disease:**
  • I took malaria prophylactics*
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23
Q

Inimical

A
  • *tending to obstruct or harm:**
  • the policy was inimical to Britain’s real interests*
  • *unfriendly; hostile:**
  • an inimical alien power*
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24
Q

Insuperable

A

(of a difficulty or obstacle) impossible to overcome:

insuperable financial problems

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25
**Gainsay**
* *deny or contradict (a fact or statement):** * the impact of the railways cannot be gainsaid* * *speak against or oppose (someone):** * none could gainsay her*
26
**Indubitable**
**impossible to doubt; unquestionable:** *an indubitable truth*
27
**Penurious**
* *extremely poor; poverty-stricken:** * a penurious old tramp* * *characterized by poverty:** * penurious years* * *unwilling to spend money; mean:** * his stingy and penurious wife*
28
**Sagacious**
**having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgement; wise or shrewd:** *they were sagacious enough to avoid any outright confrontation*
29
**Aspersion**
**an attack on the reputation or integrity of someone or something:** *I don’t think anyone is casting aspersions on you*
30
**Aspersion**
31
**Obscurantist**
**the practice of deliberately preventing the facts or full details of something from becoming known:** *allegations in the Press about government obscurantism*
32
**Inveigh**
**speak or write about (something) with great hostility:**s *he liked to inveigh against all forms of academic *
33
**Objurgate**
**rebuke severely; scold:** *the old man objurgated his son*
34
**Obloquy**
* *strong public condemnation:** * he endured years of contempt and obloquy* * *disgrace, especially that brought about by public condemnation:** * conduct to which no more obloquy could reasonably attach*
35
**remonstrate**
* *make a forcefully reproachful protest:** * he turned angrily to remonstrate with Tommy*
36
**Reprehend**
**reprimand:** *a recklessness which cannot be too severely reprehended*
37
**Vituperate**
**blame or insult (someone) in strong or viole**nt **language.**
38
**Vouchsafe**
**give or grant (something) to (someone) in a gracious or condescending manner:** *it is a blessing vouchsafed him by heaven* * *[with object] reveal or disclose (information):** * you’d never vouchsafed that interesting titbit before*
39
**Canard**
* *an unfounded rumour or story:** * the old canard that LA is a cultural wasteland*
40
**Dissemble**
* *conceal or disguise one’s true feelings or beliefs:** * an honest, sincere person with no need to dissemble* * *[with object] disguise or conceal (a feeling or intention):** * she smiled, dissembling her true emotion*
41
**Ersatz**
* *(of a product) made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, for something else:** * ersatz coffee* * *not real or genuine:** * ersatz emotion*
42
**Duplicity**
* *deceitfulness:** * the president was accused of duplicity in his dealings with Congress*
43
**Perfidy**
* *the state of being deceitful and untrustworthy:** * it was an example of his perfidy*
44
**Prevaricate**
**speak or act in an evasive way:** *he seemed to prevaricate when journalists asked pointed questions*
45
**Histrionics**
**melodramatic behaviour designed to attract attention:** *by now, Anna was accustomed to her mother’s histrionics*
46
**Fervid**
**intensely enthusiastic or passionate, especially to an excessive degree:** *his fervid protestations of love*
47
**Laconic**
**(of a person, speech, or style of writing) using very few words:** *his laconic reply suggested a lack of interest in the topic*
48
**Petulant**
**(of a person or their manner) childishly sulky or bad-tempered:** *he was moody and petulant a petulant shake of the head*
49
**Vociferous**
**expressing or characterized by vehement opinions:** *he was a vociferous opponent of the takeover*
50
**dolorous**
* *feeling or expressing great sorrow or distress:** * a dolorous and repetitive tale of atrocity*
51
**abstruse**
* *difficult to understand; obscure:** * an abstruse philosophical inquiry*
52
**Scurrilous**
* *making or spreading scandalous claims about someone with the intention of damaging their reputation:** * a scurrilous attack on his integrity* * *humorously insulting:** * a very funny collection of bawdy and scurrilous writings*
53
**Fatuous**
* *silly and pointless:** * a fatuous comment*
54
**Ribald**
**referring to sexual matters in an amusingly rude or irreverent way:** *a ribald comment*
55
**recondite**
**(of a subject or knowledge) little known; abstruse:** *the book is full of recondite information*
56
**Waggish**
* *humorous in a playful, mischievous, or facetious manner:** * a waggish riposte*
57
**Abjure**
* *solemnly renounce (a belief, cause, or claim):** * MPs were urged to abjure their Jacobite allegianc*e
58
**Catholic**
* *including a wide variety of things; all-embracing:** * her tastes are pretty catholic*
59
**Convalesce**
**recover one’s health and strength over a period of time after an illness or medical treatment:** *he spent eight months convalescing after the stroke*
60
**Mien**
**a person’s appearance or manner, especially as an indication of their character or mood:** *he has a cautious, academic mien*
61
**Ambrosia**
* * something very pleasing to taste or smell:** * the tea was ambrosia after the slop I’d been suffering*
62
**Orotund**
**(of the voice or phrasing) full, round, and imposing.** **(of writing, style, or expression) pompous; pretentious.**
63
**Arrogate**
**take or claim (something) for oneself without justification:** *they arrogate to themselves the ability to divine the nation’s true interests*
64
**August**
**respected and impressive:** *she was in august company*
65
**Acrimonious**
**(typically of speech or a debate) angry and bitter:** *an acrimonious dispute about wages*
66
**Effigy**
**a sculpture or model of a person:** *coins bearing the effigy of Maria Theresa of Austria* **a roughly made model of a particular person, made in order to be damaged or destroyed as a protest or expression of anger:**
67
**Extant**
**(especially of a document) still in existence; surviving:** *the original manuscript is no longer extant*
68
**Cosset**
**care for and protect in an overindulgent way**: *all her life she’d been cosseted by her family*
69
**Torrid**
* *very hot and dry:** * the torrid heat of the afternoon* * *full of passionate or highly charged emotions arising from sexual love:** * a torrid love affair*
70
**Daedalian**
**ingenious, intricate, and confusing:** *this curious amalgamation of comfortable hotel and Daedalian cruise ship*
71
**Gordian**
**an extremely difficult or involved problem.**
72
**Picayune**
**petty; worthless:** *the picayune squabbling of party politicians*
73
**unmitigated**
**absolute; unqualified:** *the tour had been an unmitigated disaster*
74
**Consummate**
**showing a high degree of skill and flair; complete or perfect:** *she dressed with consummate elegance*
75
**Irradiate**
* *expose to radiation.** * expose (food) to gamma rays to kill microorganisms.* **illuminate (something) by or as if by shining light on it:** *sunlight streamed down through stained glass, irradiating the faces of family and friends*
76
**Averred**
**state or assert to be the case: [with clause]** *:he averred that he was innocent of the allegations*
77
**Opined**
**hold and state as one’s opinion: [with direct speech]** *:“The man is a genius,” he opined*
78
**Exigency**
**an urgent need or demand:** *women worked long hours when the exigencies of the family economy demanded it he put financial exigency before personal sentiment*
79
**Rubicon**
**[as noun] a point of no return:** *on the way to political union we are now crossing the Rubicon*
80
**Jaunty**
**having or expressing a lively, cheerful, and self-confident manner:** *there was no mistaking that jaunty walk*
81
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86
**Penurious**
**extremely poor; poverty-stricken:a penurious old tramp characterized by poverty or need:** *penurious years* ** parsimonious; mean:** *he was generous and hospitable in contrast to his stingy and penurious wife*

Additional GRE Vocab (10 decks)

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