Reading Comprehension Vocabulary Flashcards
(141 cards)
1
Q
Abate
A
Reduce or diminish.
Her stress over spending so much money on a house abated when the real estate broker told
her about the property’s 15-year tax abatement.
2
Q
Acquisitiveness
A
Desire to acquire more, especially an excessive desire.
The firm did well in buying up its competitors as a means of growth, but its acquisitiveness
ultimately resulted in problems related to growing too quickly.
3
Q
Ad-lib
A
1) Make something up on the spot, give an unprepared speech;
2) Freely, as needed, according to desire.
We have ended our policy of rationing office supplies—pens may now be given to employees
ad-lib.
4
Q
Advent
A
Arrival.
Before the advent of the Internet, people often called reference librarians to look up information
for them in the library’s reference section.
5
Q
Agency
A
The ability to use power or influence.
Some global warming deniers acknowledge that the planet is heating up, but argue that human
agency does not affect the climate.
6
Q
Ambivalent
A
1) Uncertain, unable to decide;
2) Wanting to do two contradictory things at once.
The health care plan has been met with ambivalence from lawmakers who would like to pass the bill but find supporting it to be politically impossible.
7
Q
Annex
A
To add on, or something that has been added on. An annex to a building is a part built later
and added on, or a new building that allows an organization to expand.
8
Q
Anoint
A
The literal meaning is “rub or sprinkle oil on, especially as part o f a ceremony that makes
something sacred.” The word is used metaphorically to refer to power or praise being given to someone who is thought very highly of. For instance:
After Principal Smitters raised test scores over 60% at her school, it was only a matter of time
before she was anointed superintendant by a fawning school board.
9
Q
Archaic
A
Characteristic of an earlier period, ancient, primitive.
The schools archaic computer system predated even floppy disks—it stored records on tape
drives!
Sometimes, when you look a word up the dictionary, certain definitions are marked “archaic”—unless you are a Shakespeare scholar, you can safely ignore those archaisms.
10
Q
Baldly
A
Plainly, explicitly. (This is the same word as in “losing one’s hair.”) To say something baldly is
to be blunt. People are sometimes shocked or offended when things are said too bluntly or baldly.
An article in Mother Jones explained that Maine is not very diverse: “It is, to put it baldly, one
of the whitest states in the union.”
11
Q
Belie
A
Contradict or misrepresent.
The actress’s public persona as a perky “girl next door” belied her private penchant for abusing
her assistants and demanding that her trailer be filled with ridiculous luxury goods.
The data belie the accepted theory—either we’ve made a mistake, or we have an amazing new
discovery on our hands!
12
Q
Benign
A
1) Harmless;
2) Kind or beneficial;
3) Not cancerous.
He was relieved when the biopsy results came back, informing him that the growth was benign.
He’s a benign fellow. I’m sure having him assigned to your team at work will be perfectly pleasant, without changing the way you do things.
13
Q
Brook
A
Suffer or tolerate. Often used with the word no. You could say The dictator will not brook dissent,
but a more common usage would be The dictator will brook no dissent.
14
Q
Buffer
A
Something that separates two groups, people, etc., who potentially do not get along. When the U.S. was controlled by England, the state of Georgia was colonized as a buffer between the English
colonies and Spanish Florida. A breakwater of rocks would act as a buffer, protecting the beach against crashing waves.
15
Q
Bureaucracy
A
1) Government characterized by many bureaus and petty administrators;
2) Excessive,
seemingly meaningless requirements.
Some nations have a worse reputation for bureaucracy than others— in order to get a Visa, he had to file papers with four different agencies, wait for hours in three different waiting rooms, and, weeks later, follow up with some petty bureaucrat who complained that the original application should’ve been filed in triplicate.
16
Q
Canon
A
Body of accepted rules, standards or artistic works; canonical means authorized, recognized,
or pertaining to a canon. Note that the spelling of canon is not the same as cannon (a large weapon).
The “Western canon” is an expression referring to books traditionally considered necessary for a person to be educated in the culture of Europe and the Americas.
School boards often start controversies when replacing canonical books in the curriculum with
modern literature; while many people think students should read works more relevant to their
lives, others point out that Moby Dick is part of the canon for a reason.
17
Q
Clamor
A
Noisy uproar or protest, as from a crowd; a loud, continuous noise. (NOT the same word as clamber, “to scramble or climb awkwardly.”)
As soon as a scent o f scandal emerged, the press was clamoring for details.
The mayor couldn’t even make herself heard over the clamor of the protestors.
18
Q
Coalesce
A
Come together, unite; fuse together.
While at first, everyone on the team was jockeying for power and recognition, eventually, the group coalesced and everyone was happy to share credit for a job well-done.
East and West Germany coalesced into a single country in 1990.
19
Q
Cogent
A
Very convincing, logical.
Most GMAT Critical Reasoning arguments are not terribly cogent— they depend on unspoken
and unjustified assumptions.
20
Q
Confer
A
Consult, compare views; bestow or give.
A Ph.D. confers upon a person the right to be addressed as “Doctor” as well as eligibility to
pursue tenure-track professorship.
Excuse me for a moment to make a call— I can’t buy this car until I confer with my spouse.
21
Q
Contemplative
A
Contemplating, thoughtful, meditative.
22
Q
Copious
A
Plentiful, bountiful.
Although she took copious notes in class, she found that she was missing a big picture that
would have tied all the information together.
23
Q
Countenance
A
Approve or tolerate. Countenance can also literally mean “face” {Her countenance was
familiar—did we know each other?). The metaphorical meaning makes sense when you think about a similar expression: “I cannot look you in the face after what you did.” (You would usually say “I cannot face you” when the speaker is the guilty party.)
I saw you cheating off my paper, and I cant countenance cheating—either you turn yourself
in or HI report you.
24
Q
Curtail
A
Cut short or reduce.
25
Debase
Degrade; lower in quality, value, rank, etc.; lower in moral quality.
Members of the mainstream church argued that the fringe sect was practicing a debased version
o f the religion, twisting around its precepts and missing the point.
I can tell from the weight that this isn’t pure gold, but rather some debased mixed metal.
You have debased yourself by accepting bribes.
26
Decry
Condemn openly. The “cry” in decry has the sense of “cry out against,” as in The activist decried the destruction of the animals' habitat.
27
Delimit
Fix, mark, or define the boundaries of.
The role of an executive coach is delimited by our code of conduct—we may not counsel people
for psychological conditions, for instance.
28
Denote
Be a name or symbol for. A denotation is the literal meaning of a word; a connotation is the feeling that accompanies that word.
There’s nothing in the denotation of “crotchety” (grumpy, having strong and irrational preferences)
that indicates any particular group of people, but because of the expression “crotchety old man,” the word connotes, for many people, an image of an especially unpleasant male senior citizen.
29
Deride
Mock, scoff at, laugh at contemptuously.
The manager really thought that deriding his employees as “stupid” or “lazy” would motivate
them to work harder; instead, it motivated them to hide his office supplies as an act of revenge.
30
Dichotomy
Division into two parts or into two contradictory groups.
There is a dichotomy in the sciences between theoretical or “pure” sciences such as physics and
chemistry, and the life sciences, which often deal more with classifying than with theorizing.
31
Disinterested
Unbiased, impartial; not interested. Don’t confuse with uninterested, which means not interested, bored, apathetic.
Let’s settle this argument once and for all! We’ll get a disinterested observer to judge who can
sing the highest note!
32
Disparate
Distinct, different.
He chose the college for two disparate reasons: the strength of the computer science program,
and the excellence o f the hip-hop dance squad.
33
Dispatch
Speed, promptness (noun); send off or deal with in a speedy way (verb).
So, you want to be a bike messenger? I need messengers who approach every delivery with alacrity, care, and dispatch—if the customers wanted their packages to arrive slowly, they’d use the post office.
Acting with all possible dispatch, emergency services dispatched a rescue squad to the scene.
34
Divest
Deprive or strip of a rank, title, etc., or of clothing or gear; to sell off holdings (opposite of invest).
When she found out that the most profitable stock in her portfolio was that of a company that tested products on animals, she immediately divested by telling her broker to sell the stock.
Once his deception was exposed, he was divested of his position on the Board.
35
Dovetail
Join or fit together.
When the neuroscientist married an exercise physiologist, neither thought they’d end up working
together, but when Dr. Marion Ansel received a grant to study how exercise improves brain
function and Dr. Jim Ansel was assigned to her team, the two found that their careers dovetailed
nicely.
36
Echelon
A level, rank, or grade; the people at that level. A stratum is the same idea (strata is the plural,
as in rising through the upper strata/echelons of the firm).
Obtaining a job on Wall Street doesn’t guarantee access to the upper echelon o f executives,
where multi-million dollar bonuses are the norm.
I’m not sure I’m cut out to analyze poetry; I find it hard to dig beyond the most accessible echelon
of meaning.
37
Eclectic
Selecting the best of everything or from many diverse sources.
Eclectic taste is helpful in being a DJ—crowds love to hear the latest hip-hop mixed with ‘80s classics and other unexpected genres of music.
38
Efficacy
The quality o f being able to produce the intended effect. Don’t confuse efficacy with efficiency.
Something efficacious gets the job done; something efficient gets the job done without wasting time or effort. Efficacy is frequently used in reference to medicines.
39
Egalitarian
Related to belief in the equality of all people.
It is very rare that someone turns down an offer to be knighted by the Queen of England; however, he was egalitarian enough to feel uncomfortable with the entire idea of titles and royalty.
40
Egregious
Extraordinarily or conspicuously bad; glaring.
Your conduct is an egregious violation of our Honor Code—not only did you steal your
roommate s paper off his computer and turn it in as your own, you also sold his work to a plagiarism
website so other cheaters could purchase it!
41
Eminent
Prominent, distinguished, of high rank.
42
Empirical
Coming from, based on, or able to be verified by experience or experimentation; not purely based on theory.
The Ancient Greeks philosophized about the nature of matter (concluding, for instance, that
everything was made o f earth, water, air, and fire) without any empirical evidence— that is, the
very idea o f conducting experiments hadn’t been invented yet.
People always knew empirically that when you drop something, it falls to the ground; the theory
of gravity later explained why.
43
Enigma
Puzzle, mystery, riddle; mysterious or contradictory person.
The enormous rock sculptures in Stonehenge, Scotland, are truly an enigma—were they created
as part of a religious observance, in deference to a great ruler, or for some other reason?
44
Enumerate
Count or list; specify one-by-one.
The Bill of Rights enumerates the basic rights held by every citizen of the United States.
45
Equivocal or Equivocate
Use unclear language to deceive or avoid committing to a position.
Not wanting to lose supporters, the politician equivocated on the issue, tossing out buzzwords
related to each side while also claiming more study was needed.
46
Erstwhile
Former, previous.
A novelist and erstwhile insurance salesman, he told us his story of the long road to literary success, before he was able to quit his day job.
47
Ethos
The character, personality, or moral values specific to a person, group, time period, etc.
At the prep school, the young man happily settled into an ethos of hard work and rigorous athletic competition.
48
Exacerbate
Make worse (more violent, severe, etc.), inflame.
Allowing your band to practice in our garage has greatly exacerbated my headache.
49
Exacting
Very severe in making demands; requiring precise attention.
The boxing coach was exacting, analyzing Joeys footwork down to the millimeter and forcing
him to repeat movements hundreds o f times until they were correct.
50
Expedient
Suitable, proper; effective (sometimes while sacrificing ethics).
“I need this report by 2pm, and I don’t care what you have to do to make that happen,” said
the boss. “I expect you to deal with it expediently.”
When invited to a wedding you cannot attend, it is expedient to send a gift.
51
Extrapolate
Conjecture about an unknown by projecting information about something known;
predict by projecting past experience. In math and science, to extrapolate is to infer values in an unobserved interval from values in an observed interval. For instance, from the points (1,4) and (3, 8), you could extrapolate the point (5, 12), since it would be on the same line.
No, I’ve never been to Bryn Mawr, but I’ve visited several small, private women's colleges in the
Northeast, so I think I can extrapolate.
52
Faculty
An ability, often a mental ability. Most often used in the plural, as in A stroke can often
deprive a person of important mental faculties. (Of course, faculty can also mean the teachers or professors of an institution of learning.)
53
Fathom
Understand deeply.
I cannot even remotely fathom how you interpreted an invitation to sleep on my couch as permission
to take my car on a six-hour joyride!
54
Fledgling
New or inexperienced. A fledgling is also a young bird that cannot fly yet.
The Society of Engineers is available for career day presentations in elementary schools, where
we hope to encourage fledgling talents in the applied sciences.
55
Fleeting
Passing quickly, transitory.
I had assumed our summer romance would be fleeting, so I was very surprised when you proposed marriage!
56
Grade, Gradation
A gradation is a progression or process taking place gradually, in stages; to grade is to slant (the road grades steeply) or to blend (the dress’s fabric grades from blue to green).
The hills gradation was so gradual that even those on crutches were able to enjoy the nature trail.
The marshland grades into the water so gradually that it is difficult to tell the land from the bay.
57
Graft
Join together plant parts or skin so that two living things grow together (for instance, a skin
graft for a burn victim); or the act of acquiring money or other benefits through illegal means, especially by abusing one’s power.
The part of the book describing the financial crisis is good, but the “What You Can Do” section
seems grafted on, almost as though written by a different author.
It’s not cool for your boss to pressure you into buying Girl Scout cookies from his daughter. If
she were selling something larger, we’d call that graft.
58
Grandstand
Perform showily in an attempt to impress onlookers.
I was really passionate about the candidate when he spoke at our school, but now that I think about it, he was just grandstanding. I mean, who could disagree that young people are the future? And doing a cheer for the environment doesn’t actually signify a commitment to changing any public policies about it.
59
Guile
Clever deceit, cunning, craftiness.
The game of poker is all about guile, manipulating your own body language and patter to lead other players to erroneous conclusions about the cards you’re holding.
60
Hardy
Bold, brave, capable o f withstanding hardship, fatigue, cold, etc.
While the entire family enjoyed the trip to South America, only the hardier members even attempted to hike to the top of Ecuador’s tallest volcano.
61
Hearken or Hark
Listen, pay attention to. The expression hearken back or hark back means to turn back to something earlier or return to a source.
The simple lifestyle and anachronistic dress of the Amish hearken back to an earlier era.
The nation’s first change o f leadership in decades is causing the people to hearken closely to what is happening in government.
62
Hegemony
Domination, authority; influence by a one country over others socially, culturally, economically,
etc.
The discovery of oil by a previously poor nation disrupted the larger, richer nation’s hegemony
in the region—suddenly, the hegemon had a competitor.
63
Hyperbole
Deliberate exaggeration for effect.
Oh, come on. Saying “That movie was so bad it made me puke” was surely hyperbole. I strongly doubt that you actually vomited during or following The Back-up Plan.
64
Iconoclast
Attacker of cherished beliefs or institutions.
A lifelong iconoclast, Ayn Rand wrote a controversial book entitled The Virtue of Selfishness.
65
Impasse
Position or road from which there is no escape; deadlock, gridlock.
If the union wont budge on its demands and the transit authority wont raise salaries, then we are at an impasse.
66
Impinge on
Trespass on, violate.
Civil liberties experts argued that a school systems regulating what its students do on Facebook
outside of school is an impingement of their right to free speech.
67
Impute
Credit, attribute; lay blame or responsibility for.
The ineffectual CEO was nevertheless a master of public relations—he made sure that all successes
were imputed to him, and all o f the failures were imputed to others.
68
Inasmuch
Since, because. Usually inasmuch as.
Inasmuch as a whale is not a fish, it will not be covered in this biology course specifically
about fish.
69
Inconsequential
Insignificant, unimportant. The sense here is that the thing is so small that it doesn’t even have consequences.
You wrote a bestselling book and got a stellar review in the New York Times—whatever your
cousin has to say about it is simply inconsequential.
70
Indeterminate
Not fixed or determined, indefinite; vague.
The results of the drug trial were indeterminate; further trials will be needed to ascertain whether the drug can be released.
The lottery can have an indeterminate number of winners— the prize is simply divided among them.
71
Inert
Inactive; having little or no power to move.
All of the missiles at the military museum are inert—they’re not going blow up.
When she saw her fathers inert body on the floor, she thought the worst, but fortunately, he was just practicing very slow yoga.
72
Inextricably
In a way such that one cannot untangle or escape something. If you are inextricably tied to something (such as your family), then you have so many different obligations and deep relationships that you could never leave, disobey, etc.
73
Ingenuity
Inventive skill, imagination, cleverness, especially in design.
74
Inordinate
Excessive, not within proper limits, unrestrained.
Students taking practice computer-adaptive tests at home often take an inordinate number of
breaks— remember, on the real thing, you cant stop just because you’re tired or hungry.
75
Insular
Pertaining to an island; detached, standing alone; narrow-minded (like the stereotype of people
from small towns or places).
The young actress couldn’t wait to escape the insularity of her small town, where life revolved
around high school football and Taco Bell was considered exotic international cuisine.
76
Intractable
Difficult to control, manage, or manipulate; hard to cure; stubborn.
That student is positively intractable! Last week, we talked about the importance of staying in
your seat during the lesson—this week, she not only got up mid-class, but she actually scrambled
on top of a bookcase and refused to come down!
Back injuries often result in intractable pain; despite treatment, patients never feel fully cured.
77
Intrepid
Fearless, brave, enduring in the face of adversity.
Intrepid explorers Lewis and Clark led the first U.S. expedition to the West Coast, facing bitter
winters and rough terrain.
78
Jettison
Discard, cast off; throw items overboard in order to lighten a ship in an emergency.
We got so tired while hiking the Appalachian Trail that we jettisoned some o f our fancy camping
supplies just so we could keep going.
Sadly, when school budgets are slashed, the first thing jettisoned is usually an art or music program
79
Juncture
Critical point in time, such as a crisis or a time when a decision is necessary; a place where
two things are joined together.
We are at a critical juncture in the history of this organization: either we can remain a nonprofit,
or we can register as a political action committee and try to expand our influence.
The little canoe started to sink when it split at the juncture between the old wood and the new material used to repair it.
80
Juxtapose
Place side-by-side (either physically or in a metaphorical way, such as to make a comparison).
If a Reading Comprehension answer choice says something like, “Juxtapose two theories,” ask
yourself if the main purpose o f the entire passage was to compare two theories. (Hint: Probably not.
Usually if an author introduces two competing ideas, only one of them turns out to be the main point of the passage.)
Making a decision between two engagement rings from two different stores was difficult, he noted—it would be much easier if he could juxtapose them and compare them directly.
81
Latent
Potential; existing but not visible or active. A similar word is dormant.
Certain experts believe that some people have a genetic propensity for addiction; however, if such a person never comes into contact with drugs, the propensity for addiction can remain latent for life.
82
Machination or machinations
Crafty schemes or plots.
It s cute to think that teen idols became famous because their talent was simply so great that
the music industry reached out to them, but usually, any teen idol is the product of intense
coaching and parental machinations.
83
Magnate
Very important or influential person, especially in business.
Many students pursue MBAs in hopes of becoming wealthy and powerful magnates; some students
never quite make it there, instead spending their careers staring at spreadsheets and taking
orders from magnates.
84
Maxim
A general truth or fundamental principle, especially expressed as a proverb or saying.
My favorite maxim is “Seize the day!” How much would it cost to get that on a tattoo? How much more for “Curiosity killed the cat”?
85
Mercurial
Quickly and unpredictably changing moods; fickle, flighty.
Its tough being married to someone so mercurial. I do pretty much the same thing every day—some days, she thinks I'm great, and other days, the exact same behaviors make her inexplicably angry.
86
Mired
Stuck, entangled (in something, like a swamp or muddy area), soiled. Morass and quagmire
are also words (often used metaphorically) for soft, swampy ground that a person can sink into. The
Vietnam War was famously called a quagmire. The expression muck and mire means, literally, “animal
waste and mud” and can be used metaphorically. To muck up is to mess up or get dirty, and to muck
about or around is to waste time.
Mired in her predecessor s mess and mistakes, the new CEO found it difficult to take the company in a new direction.
The federal prosecutor spent weeks wading through the muck and mire of the scandal—every
uncovered document showed that the corruption was deeper and worse than previously thought.
87
Mores
Customs, manners, or morals o f a particular group. Pronounce this word as two syllables
(rhymes with “more ways”).
An American in Saudi Arabia should study the culture beforehand so as to avoid violating conservative cultural mores.
88
Normative
Implying or attempting to establish a norm; expressing value judgments or telling people
what to do (rather than merely describing that which is happening).
The reason we are not understanding each other in this argument about grammar is that you are arguing normatively, telling me how people should talk, and I am simply reporting how people actually talk.
89
Nuances
Subtle differences in tone, meaning, expression, etc.
People with certain cognitive disabilities cannot understand the nuances of non-literal speech.
For instance, “You can come if you want to, but it’s really going to be mostly family” really means that you shouldn’t try to come.
90
Oligarchy
Government by the few, especially by a class or a small group or clique.
91
Operative
Operating; having influence, force, or effect; effective, key, significant. The expression operative word refers to the one most meaningful word within a larger phrase. An operative can be a worker, or a detective or spy.
In the doctor’s prescription of daily cardio exercise, the operative word is “daily.”
92
Outstrip
Surpass, exceed; be larger or better than; leave behind.
Our sales figures this quarter have outstripped those of any other quarter in the company’s history.
93
Paradigm
Model or pattern; worldview; set of shared assumptions, values, etc.
Far from being atypically bawdy, this limerick is a paradigm of the form—nearly all of them rely on off-color jokes.
94
Paradox
Contradiction, or seeming contradiction that is actually true.
Kayla was always bothering the youth minister with her paradoxes, such as “If God is all-powerful,
can He make a burrito so big He can’t eat it?”
95
Paragon
Model of excellence, perfect example.
Unlike his sister, he was a paragon of responsibility, taking in her three children when she
went to jail, and even switching jobs so he could be there to pick them up from school.
96
Partial
Biased, prejudiced, favoring one over others; having a special liking for something or someone
(usually partial to). Partial can also mean “in part,” of course.
Although I grew up in New York, I’ve always been partial to country music.
His lawyers are appealing on the grounds that the judge was partial to the plaintiff, even playing golf with the plaintiff during the trial.
97
Patent
Obvious, apparent, plain to see (adj.); a letter from a government guaranteeing an inventor the rights to his or her invention (noun).
Her resume was full of patent lies: anyone could check to see that she had never been president
of UNICEF.
98
Penumbra
Outer part of a shadow from an eclipse; any surrounding region, fringe, periphery; any
area where something “sort of" exists.
The Constitution doesn’t specifically mention a right to privacy, but some experts consider this to exist in the penumbra of the Constitution, as a guarantee of privacy is needed in order to exercise the rights that are enumerated.
The rent in Chicago was too high, so they moved to a suburb in the penumbra of the city.
99
Perpetuate
Make perpetual, cause to continue.
Failing public schools in already distressed neighborhoods only perpetuate the cycle of poverty.
100
Plutocratic
Related to government by the wealthy.
101
Polemic
Controversial argument, especially one attacking a specific idea.
Laura Kipnis’s 2003 book Against Love: A Polemic has been called “shocking” and “scathing.” Perhaps Kipnis used the word polemic in the title to indicate that she’s making an extreme argument as a means of starting a debate. After all, who's really against love?
102
Postulate
Claim, assert; assume the truth or reality of in order to form an argument.
Before proceeding further, let us postulate that men and women have some fundamental differences. If we can accept that, we can talk about what type of policies should exist to ensure
workplace equality.
103
Pragmatic
Practical; dealing with actual facts and reality.
The congresswomen personally believed in animal rights, but she knew she had to be pragmatic—
if she proposed animal rights legislation, she probably wouldn’t get reelected.
104
Preempt
Prevent; take the place of, supplant; take before someone else can.
The speaker attempted to preempt an excessively long Q&A session by handing out a “Frequently Asked Questions” packet at the beginning of the seminar.
105
Progeny
Offspring, descendants.
The study showed that selective breeding could cause the progeny of wolves to become more
like dogs in a small number of generations.
106
Propagated
Breed, cause to multiply.
Some plants can be propagated from cuttings—my mother gave me a piece of her houseplant, and it grew roots after just a few days in water.
107
Prospective
Potential, aspiring. Prospective students have not yet been admitted; prospective entrepreneurs
are people considering becoming entrepreneurs. This word is related to prospect, which can be
both a noun (a good possibility) or a verb (to look for something good, such as to prospect for gold).
A committee was formed to evaluate the new plans prospects. As part of their analysis, members
of the committee looked at the past performance of the prospective leader of the new division. One member remarked that the prospect of opening up a completely new division was exciting, but might stretch the company too thin.
108
Recalcitrant
Not obedient, resisting authority, hard to manage.
The aspiring kindergarten teacher was not prepared for a roomful of twenty recalcitrant children who wouldn’t even sit down, much less learn the words to “Holding Hands Around the
World.”
109
Redress
Setting something right after a misdeed, compensation or relief for injury or wrongdoing
(noun); correct, set right, remedy (verb).
My client was an innocent victim of medical malpractice. As would anyone who had the wrong
leg amputated in surgery, he is seeking financial redress.
110
Remedial
Providing a remedy, curative; correcting a deficient skill.
After harassment occurs in the workplace, it is important that the company takes remedial action right away, warning or firing the offender as appropriate, and making sure the complainant's concerns are addressed.
For those who need remedial reading help, we offer a summer school program that aims to help students read at grade level.
111
Reminiscent
Looking back at the past, reminding of the past. A reminiscent person is remembering; an old-fashioned object could be reminiscent of an earlier time.
112
Render
Give, submit, surrender; translate; declare formally; cause to become. To render harmless is
simply to make harmless.
When you render your past due payments, we will turn your phone back on.
Only in her second year of Japanese, she was unable to render the classic poem into English.
The judge rendered a verdict that rendered us speechless.
113
Reticent
Not talking much; private (of a person), restrained, reserved.
She figured that, to rise to the top, it was best to be reticent about her personal life; thus, even her closest colleagues were left speculating at the water cooler about whether her growing belly
actually indicated a pregnancy she simply declined to mention to anyone.
114
Rife
Happening frequently, abundant, currently being reported.
Reports of financial corruption are rife.
115
Rudimentary
Elementary, relating to the basics; undeveloped, primitive.
My knowledge of Chinese is quite rudimentary—I get the idea of characters and I can order food, but I really cant read this document you've just given me.
116
Scant
Not enough or barely enough. Scanty is used in the same way (both are adjectives).
The new intern was scant help at the conference—he disappeared all day to smoke and didn’t seem to realize that he was there to assist his coworkers.
The soldiers were always on the verge of hunger, complaining about their scanty rations.
117
Semantic
Relating to the different meanings of words or other symbols.
Bob said plastic surgery should be covered under the health care plan and Marion said it shouldn’t, but it turns out that their disagreement was purely semantic—what Bob meant was reconstructive surgery and what Marion meant was cosmetic surgery.
118
Siphon
Tube for sucking liquid out of something (some people steal gasoline from other people’s
cars by siphoning it). To siphon funds is to steal money, perhaps in a continuous stream.
119
Skirt
Border, lie along the edge of, go around; evade.
Melissa spent all of Thanksgiving skirting the issue of who she was dating and when she might get married.
The creek skirts our property on the west, so it’s easy to tell where our farm ends.
120
Slew
A large number or quantity. O f course, slew is also the past tense of slay (kill), so you could actually say She slew him with a slew of bullets.
As soon as we switched software packages, we encountered a whole slew of problems.
121
Slight
Small, not very important, slender or delicate; treat as though not very important; snub, ignore;
a discourtesy.
She was very sensitive, always feeling slighted and holding a grudge against her coworkers for a
variety of slights, both real and imagined.
Natalie Portman has always been slight, but she became even thinner to portray a ballerina in
Black Swan.
122
Sparing
Holding back or being wise in the use of resources; deficient. Be sparing with the ketchup in order to make it last longer, but don’t be sparing in praising your employees for a job well done.
123
Spate
Sudden outpouring or rush; flood.
After a brief spate of post-exam partying, Lola is ready for classes to begin again.
124
Stratum
One of many layers (such as in a rock formation or in the classes of a society). The plural is strata.
From overhearing his rich and powerful passengers’ conversations, the chauffeur grew to
despise the upper stratum of society.
I love this dish—it’s like a lasagna, but with strata made of bread, eggs, and pancetta! Oh, look
at the menu—it’s actually called a strata! That makes perfect sense.
125
Subjugation
Conquering, domination, enslavement.
126
Subvert
Overthrow, corrupt, cause the downfall of.
127
Surge
Sudden, transient increase (power surge), heavy swelling motion like that of waves. A surge of
troops is sending a lot of soldiers at once. A surge in interest is sudden.
128
Syntax
The rules governing grammar and how words join to make sentences (or how words and symbols join in writing computer code), the study of these rules, or any system or orderly arrangement.
```
Now that my linguistics class is studying syntax, it makes a little more sense when my computer
flashes “SYNTAX ERROR” at me.
```
Anyone learning a language is bound to make syntactical mistakes—even if he or she knows
the appropriate vocabulary, it is still difficult to assemble the words perfectly.
129
Temperament
Natural personality, as in an angry temperament or a pleasant temperament.
130
Temperance
Moderation, self-control, especially regarding alcohol or other desires or pleasures; total
abstinence from alcohol. Relatedly, temperate means moderate, as in a temperate climate.
After the end of the Civil War, economic change led to an increase in alcohol problems and the
birth of the Temperance Movement, which ultimately led to Prohibition.
Grandma is a model of temperance—she drinks red wine every night, but only the one-third of a glass that she read was the minimum amount needed to help prevent heart attacks.
131
Token
Sign, symbol, mark, badge; souvenir, memento; sample, or person, thing, idea taken to represent
an entire group. O f course, a token can also be a coin-like disk used as currency for subways, arcade games, etc. As an adjective, it means “not very important.”
I am starting to realize that this law firm hired me to be its token woman. There I am, smiling in all the ads—but I never actually get to work on important cases.
Hollywood movies are often guilty of tokenism—many have exacdy one black character (the “token minority”), often present to give advice to the (usually white) main characters.
I am giving you this “Best Friends Forever” necklace as a token of our friendship.
132
Transient
Moving around, not settled; temporary, not lasting.
In the last decade, podcasting was thought to be the “next big thing,” but it turned out to be
a largely transient phenomenon.
133
Undergird
Strengthen, support. To undergird an argument is to make it stronger—the opposite of undermine!
134
Underpin
Strengthen, corroborate, support from below.
Her argument was underpinned with the results of several recent studies.
135
Unfettered
Free, liberated.
136
Untempered
Not toned down; not moderated, controlled, or counterbalanced. Often untempered by.
I wouldn’t call it “tough love”—his harshness is untempered by any kind of affection.
The report was an untempered condemnation of the company’s practices—the investigators didn’t have a single good thing to say.
137
Untenable
Not defendable (as an argument), not able to be lived in (as a house).
GMAT Critical Reasoning is full of untenable arguments that rest upon unproven assumptions.
138
Utopian
Related to ideals of perfection; unrealistically idealistic.
Reducing homelessness to zero is a utopian goal, but our agency views reducing the street population
by 25% and getting children off the streets as more practical aims.
139
Whet
Stimulate, make keen or eager (especially of an appetite).
Dinner will take another twenty minutes, but maybe this cheese plate can whet your appetite?
140
Winnow
Sift, analyze critically, separate the useful part from the worthless part.
We got 120 resumes for one job—it’s going to take me awhile just to winnow this down to a reasonable stack of people we want to interview.
141
Yoke
A frame for attaching animals (such as oxen) to each other and to a plow or other equipment to
be pulled, or a bar across a person’s shoulders to help carry buckets of water, etc. Metaphorically, a yoke is a burden or something that oppresses. To yoke is to unite together or to burden. To throw off the yoke of oppression is to free oneself from oppression.
The speaker argued that humanity had traded the yoke of servitude to kings and tyrants for the yoke of consumerism, which enslaves us just as much in the end.
