T Flashcards
1
Q
talisman
A
charm
She wore the talisman to ward off evil.
2
Q
talon
A
claw of bird
The falconer wore a leather gauntlet to avoid being clawed by the hawk’s talons.
3
Q
tangential
A
peripheral; only slightly connected; digressing
Despite Clark’s attempts to distract her with tangential remarks, Lois kept on coming back to her main question: why couldn’t he come out to dinner with Superman and her?
4
Q
tanner
A
person who turns animal hides into leather
Using a solution of tanbark, the tanner treated the cowhide, transforming it into supple leather.
5
Q
tantalize
A
tease; torture with disappointment
Tom loved to tantalize his younger brother with candy; he knew the boy was forbidden to have it.
6
Q
tantamount
A
equal
Your ignoring their pathetic condition is tantamount to the murder.
7
Q
tantrum
A
fit of petulance; caprice
The child learned that he could have almost anything if he went into tantrums.
8
Q
taper
A
candle
He lit the taper on the windowsill.
9
Q
tarry
A
delay; dawdle
We can’t tarry if we want to get to the airport on time.
10
Q
taut
A
tight; ready
The captain maintained that he ran a taut ship.
11
Q
tautological
A
needlessly repetitious
In the sentence “It was visible to the eye,” the phrase “to the eye” is tautological.
12
Q
tawdry
A
cheap and gaudy
He won a few tawdry trinkets in Coney Island.
13
Q
tedium
A
boredom; weariness
We hope this radio will help overcome the tedium of your stay in the hospital.
14
Q
temerity
A
boldness; rashness
Do you have the temerity to argue with me?
15
Q
temper
A
moderate; tone down or restrain; toughen (steel)
Not even her supervisor’s grumpiness could temper Nancy’s enthusiasm for her new job.
16
Q
temperate
A
restrained; self-controlled
Noted for his temperate appetite, he seldom gained weight.
17
Q
temporize
A
avoid committing oneself; gain time
I cannot permit you to temporize any longer; I must have a definite answer today.
18
Q
tenacious
A
holding fast
I had to struggle to break his tenacious hold on my arm.
19
Q
tenacity
A
firmness; persistency; adhesiveness
It is extremely difficult to overcome the tenacity of a habit such as smoking.
20
Q
tendentious
A
having an aim; biased; designed to further a cause
The editorials in this periodical are tendentious rather than truth-seeking.
21
Q
tender
A
offer; extend
Although no formal changes had been made against him, in the wake of the recent scandal the mayor felt he should tender his resignation.
22
Q
tenet
A
doctrine; dogma
The agnostic did not accept the tenets of their faith.
23
Q
tensile
A
capable of being stretched
Mountain climbers must know the tensile strength of their ropes.
24
Q
tentative
A
provisional; experimental
Your tentative plans sound plausible; let me know when the final details are worked out.
25
tenuous
thin; rare; slim
The allegiance of our allies is held by rather tenuous ties; let us hope they will remain loyal.
26
tenure
holding of an office; time during which such an office is held
He was permanent tenure in this position and cannot be fired.
27
tepid
lukewarm
During the summer, I like to take a tepid bath, not a hot one.
28
terminus
last stop of railroad
After we reached the railroad terminus, we continued our journey into the wilderness on saddle horses.
29
terse
concise; abrupt; pithy
I admire his terse style of writing; he comes directly to the point.
30
tesselated
inlaid; mosaic
I recall seeing a table with a tesselated top of bits of stone and glass in a very interesting pattern.
31
testator
maker of a will
The attorney called in his secretary and his partner to witness the signature of the testator.
32
testy
irritable; short-tempered
My advice is to avoid discussing this problem with him today as he is rather testy and may shout at you.
33
tether
tie with a rope
Before we went to sleep, we tethered the horses to prevent their wandering off during the night.
34
thematic
relating to a unifying motif or idea
Those who think of Moby Dick as a simple adventure story about whaling miss is underlying thematic import.
35
theocracy
government of a community by religious leaders
Some Pilgrims favored the establishment of a theocracy in New England.
36
therapeutic
curative
Now better known for its racetrack, Saratoga Springs first gained attention for the therapeutic qualities of its famous "healing waters."
37
thespian
pertaining to drama
Her success in the school play convinced her she was destined for a thespian career.
38
thrall
slave; bondage
The captured soldier was held in thrall by the conquering army.
39
thrifty
careful about money; economical
A thrifty shopper compares prices before making major purchases.
40
throes
violent anguish
The throes of despair can be as devastating as the spasms accompanying physical pain.
41
throng
crowd
Throngs of shoppers jammed the aisles.
42
throttle
strangle
The criminal tried to throttle the old man with his bare hands.
43
thwart
baffle; frustrate
He felt that everyone was trying to thwart his plans and prevent his success.
44
tightward
excessively frugal person; miser
Jill called Jack a tightwad because he never picked up the check.
45
tilter
handle used to move the boat's rudder (to steer)
Fearing the wind might shift suddenly and capsize the skiff, Tom kept one hand on the tilter at all times.
46
timidity
ack of self-confidence or courage
If you are to succeed as a salesperson, you must first lose your timidity and fear of failure.
47
timorous
fearful; demonstrating fear
His timorous manner betrayed the fear he felt at the moment.
48
tipple
drink (alcoholic beverages) frequently
He found that his most enjoyable evenings occurred when he tippled with his friends at the local pub.
49
tirade
extended scolding; denunciation
Long before he had finished his tirade, we were sufficiently aware of the seriousness of our misconduct.
50
tithe
tax of one-tenth
Because he was an agnostic, he refused to pay his tithes to the clergy.
51
titillate
tickle
I am here not to titillate my audience but to enlighten it.
52
titter
nervous laugh
Her aunt's constant titter nearly drove her mad.
53
titular
having the title of an office without the obligations
Although he was the titular head of the company, the real decisions were made by his general manager.
54
toady
servile flatterer; yes man
Never tell the boss anything he doesn't wish to hear: he doesn't want an independent adviser, he just wants a toady.
55
toga
Roman outer robe
Marc Antony pointed to the slashes in Caesar's toga.
56
tome
large volume
He spent much time in the libraries poring over ancient tomes.
57
tonsure
shaving of the head, especially by person entering religious orders
His tonsure, even more than his monastic garb, indicated that he was a member of the religious order.
58
torpor
lethargy; sluggishness; dormancy
Nothing seemed to arouse him from his torpor; he had wholly surrendered himself to lethargy.
59
torque
twisting force; force producing rotation
With her wrench she applied sufficient torque to the nut the loosen it.
60
torrent
rushing stream; flood
Day after day of heavy rain saturated the hillside until the water ran downhill in torrents.
61
tortuous
winding; full of curves
Because this road is so tortuous, it is unwise to go faster than twenty miles an hour on it.
62
touchstone
stone used to test the fineness of gold alloys; criterion
What touchstone can be used to measure the character of a person?
63
touchy
sensitive; irascible
Do not discuss this phase of the problem as he is very touchy about it.
64
tout
publicize; praise excessively
I lost confidence in my broker after he touted some junk bonds that turned out to be a bad investment.
65
tractable
docile
You will find the children in this school very tractable and willing to learn.
66
traduce
expose to slander
His opponents tried to traduce the candidate's reputation by spreading rumors about his past.
67
transcend
exceed; surpass
This accomplishment transcends all our previous efforts.
68
transcribe
copy
When you transcribe your notes, please send a copy to Mr.Smith and keep the original for our files.
69
translucent
partly transparent
We could not recognize the people in the next room because of the translucent curtains that separated us.
70
transmute
change; convert to something different
He was unable to transmute his dreams into actualities.
71
transpire
be revealed; happen
When Austen writes the sentence "It had just transpired that he had left gaming debts behind him," her meaning is not that the debts had just been incurred, but the the shocking news had just leaked out.
72
transport
strong emotion
Margo was a creature of extremes, at one moment in transports of joy over a vivid sunset, at another moment in transports of grief over a dying bird.
73
trappings
outward decorations; ornaments
He loved the trappings of success: the limousines, the stock options, the company jet.
74
travail
painful labor
How long do you think a man can endure such travail and degradation without rebelling?
75
traverse
go through or across
When you traverse this field, be careful of the bull.
76
travesty
comical parody; treatment aimed at making something appear ridiculous
The ridiculous decision the jury has arrived at is a travesty of justice.
77
treatise
article treating a subject systematically and thoroughly
He is preparing a treatise on the Elizabethan playwrights for his graduate degree.
78
trek
travel; journey
The tribe made their trek further north that summer in search of game.
79
tremor
trembling; slight quiver
She had a nervous tremor in her right hand.
80
tremulous
trembling; wavering
She was tremulous more from excitement than from fear.
81
trenchant
cutting; keen
I am afraid of his trenchant wit for it is so often sarcastic.
82
trepidation
fear; trembling agitation
We must face the enemy without trepidation if we are to win this battle.
83
tribulation
distress; suffering
After all the trials and tribulations we have gone through, we need this rest.
84
tribute
tax levied by a ruler; mark of respect
The colonists refused to pay tribute to a foreign despot.
85
trident
three-pronged spear
Neptune is usually depicted as rising from the sea, carrying his trident on his shoulder.
86
trigger
set off
John is touchy today; say one word wrong and you'll trigger an explosion.
87
trinket
knickknack; bauble
Whenever she traveled abroad, Ethel would pick up costume jewelry and other trinkets as souvenirs.
88
trite
hackneyed; commonplace
Thr trite and predictable situations in many television programs alienate many viewers.
89
trivia
trifles; unimportant matters
Too many magazines ignore newsworthy subjects and feature trivia.
90
troth
pledge of good faith especially in betrothal
He gave her his troth and vowed to cherish her always.
91
trough
container for feeding farm animals; lowest point (of a wave, business cycle, etc.)
The hungry pigs struggled to get at the fresh swill in the trough. The surfer rode her board, coasting along in the trough between two waves.
92
truculence
agressiveness; ferocity
Tynan's reviews were noted for their caustic attacks and general tone of truculence.
93
truism
self-evident truth
Many a truism is well expressed in a proverb.
94
truncate
cut the top off
The top of the cone that has been truncated in a plane parallel to its base is a circle.
95
tryst
meeting
The lovers kept their tryst even though they realized their danger.
96
tumid
swollen; pompous; bombastic
I especially dislike his tumid style; I prefer writing which is less swollen and bombastic.
97
tumult
commotion; riot; noise
She could not make herself heard over the tumult of the mob.
98
tundra
rolling, treeless plain in Siberia and arctic North America
Despite the cold, many geologists are trying to discover valuable mineral deposits in the tundra.
99
turbid
muddy; having the sediment disturbed
The water was turbid after the children had waded through it.
100
tureen
deep dish for serving soup
The waiters brought the soup to the tables in silver tureens.
101
turgid
swollen; distended
The turgid river threatened to overflow the levees and flood the contryside.
102
turncoat
traitor
The British considered Benedict Arnold a loyalist; the Americans considered him a turncoat.
103
turpitude
depravity
A visitor may be denied admittance to this country if she has been guilty of moral turpitude.
104
tutelage
guardianship; training
Under the tutelage of such masters of the instrument, she made rapid progress as a virtuoso.
105
tutelary
protective; pertaining to a guardianship
I am acting in my tutelary capacity when I refuse to grant you permission to leave the campus.
106
tyro
beginner; novice
For a mere tyro, you have produced some marvelous results.
107
tonic
invigorating medicine
The tonic water invigorated her, contrary to the enervating effect of the alcohol.
108
toil
work laboriously; make slow painful progress
You must toil through 3500 words list in order to achieve a high score on GRE.
109
