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Barron's GRE Verbal Workbook > T > Flashcards

T Flashcards

(116 cards)

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1
Q

tableau

A

n. vivid description, striking incident or scene

The dancers formed a tableau in the shape of a diamond.

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2
Q

taboo

A

n. a ban as a result of a social custom

That society has a taboo against men and women displaying affection for each other in public.

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3
Q

tabula rasa

A

n. condition of mind free from ideas or impressions; something that is new and not marked by external influence

The professor regards each new class of students as a tabula rasa.

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4
Q

tacit

A

adj. silently understood or implied

There was a tacit agreement between the couple not to bring up the subject.

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5
Q

taciturn

A

adj. uncommunicative, not inclined to speak much

Vermonters have a reputation for being taciturn.

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6
Q

tactile

A

adj. relating to the sense of touch

The soldier’s burned hands had lost their tactile sensitivity.

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7
Q

talisman

A

n. charm to bring good luck and avert misfortune

Chase’s talisman is a rabbit’s foot that he brings to exams.

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8
Q

talon

A

n. claw of an animal, esp. a bird of prey

The eagle held a chicken with its talon.

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9
Q

tandem

A

adj. one behind the other

The cyclists rode around the track in tandem.

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10
Q

tangent

A

n. digression, diversion

The speaker keeps going off on tangents.

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11
Q

tangential

A

adj. digressing, diverting

Try to avoid discussing tangential issues in your essay.

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12
Q

tangible

A

adj. able to be touched

The judge asked for tangible evidence to be produced.

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13
Q

tantamount

A

adj. equivalent in value of significance; amounting to

Offering him five dollars for the watch is tantamount to saying the watch is a fake.

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14
Q

tattoo

A

n. a signal sounded on a drum or a bugle to summon soldiers to their quarters at night; a continuous even drumming

The tattoo sounded at 9:00 P.M.

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15
Q

tautological

A

adj. needlessly repetitious

Try to avoid tautological expressions in your writing.

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16
Q

tautology

A

n. unnecessary repetition

The phrase “repeat again” is often a tautology.

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17
Q

tawdry

A

adj. gaudy, cheap, showy

Mandy loves to wear tawdry jewelry.

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18
Q

taxonomy

A

n. science of classification; in biology, the process of classifying organisms in categories

The Swedish scientist Carolus Linnaeus developed the system of taxonomy used by scientists today.

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19
Q

technocracy

A

n. government by scientists and engineers

Some observers believe that the United States is becoming a technocracy.

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20
Q

technocrat

A

n. a scientist or technical expert who has a lot of power in politics or industry

The Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has been described as a technocrat.

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21
Q

technophile

A

n. person who is enthusiastic about technology

The technophile always buys the most advanced cell phone available.

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22
Q

tectonic

A

adj. related to structural deformation of the Earth’s crust

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge tectonic plate boundary runs down the center of the Atlantic Ocean.

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23
Q

teleology

A

n. belief in a purposeful development toward an end

Teleology is a recurring issue in biology.

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24
Q

temerity

A

n. oldness; rashness

The professor had the temerity to suggest that sports have little place at a university.

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25
temper
v. to moderate; restrain; tone down or toughen The critic tempered her negative remarks about the book by saying that it showed some promise.
26
temperament
n. disposition; characteristic frame of mind By temperament Steve is not the type of person likely to become a writer.
27
temperance
n. restraint, self-control, moderation Hardship taught the family the value of temperance.
28
temperate
adj. marked by moderate temperatures, weather, or climate; moderate in degree or quality Tired of the hard winter, Mr. Smith moved to a temperate climate.
29
tempered
adj. moderated, restrained His tempered support for the war is due to the fact that his son is in that army.
30
tempestuous
adj. stormy, raging, furious The movie portrays the couple's tempestuous relationship.
31
template
n. pattern for making a copy This template has produced 10,000 copies of the product.
32
temporal
adj. related to time; not eternal The monastery is organized so that temporal matters occupy little of the monk's time.
33
temporize
v. to act evasively to gain time, avoid an argument, or postpone a decision The board of governors temporized so long that our company lost the contract.
34
tenable
adj. defensible, reasonable This is tenable if we proceed cautiously.
35
tenacious
adj. stubborn, holding firm Our team's tenacious defense is allowing less than seven points a game.
36
tendentious
adj. biased; designed to further a cause; having an aim The columnist's tendentious article sparked a debate on the issue.
37
tenet
n. belief, doctrine The philosophy has three basic tenets.
38
tensile
adj. capable of withstanding physical stress The engineer designed a test to check the product's tensile strength.
39
tenuous
adj. weak, insubstantial Scientists have established a tenuous connection between achievement and IQ.
40
tepid
adj. lukewarm; showing little enthusiasm The suggestion received a tepid response.
41
terra firma
n. solid ground After the fourteen-hour flight we were glad to be back on terra firma.
42
terra incognita
n. an unexplored region or area of knowledge Modern researchers are steadily exploring the terra incognita of the brain.
43
terrestrial
adj. earthly; down-to-earth, commonplace The terrestrial tracking station monitors the space probe.
44
terse
adj. concise, brief, free of extra words The terse reply to our question simply said, "No."
45
tête-à-tête
n. a private conversation between two people Lawyers for each of the parties met for a tête-à-tête.
46
theism
n. belief in the existence of a god Surveys show that most Americans believe in some form of theism.
47
theocracy
n. government by priests representing a god Some European settlers wanted to establish a theocracy.
48
theological
adj. concerned with the study of religion The book discusses theological issues such as whether God is all-powerful.
49
theoretical
adj. abstract; not verified; not practical So far the plan is only theoretical.
50
therapeutic
adj. having healing powers Many doctors consider swimming to be therapeutic.
51
thermal
adj. pertaining to heat The generator runs on thermal energy from the sun.
52
thesaurus
n. book of synonyms and antonyms The thesaurus groups similar words around a single shared meaning.
53
thesis
n. a proposition put forward for consideration The thesis of the book is that women should have the duty as well as the right to serve in the military.
54
thespian
n. an actor or actress Our school's thespians will perform the musical South Pacific next month.
55
timbre
n. the characteristic quality of sound produced by a particular experiment or voice The guitar maker uses a special type of wood to give the instruments he makes a particular timbre.
56
timorous
adj. timid, shy, full of apprehension The timorous girl became more confident and outgoing when she went to college.
57
tirade
n. long violent speech; verbal assault The principal's tirade lasted over an hour.
58
titan
n. person of colossal stature, strength, or achievement The play depicts a titanic struggle between good and bad.
59
titillate
v. to excite pleasurably Several scenes in the movie are designed to titillate viewers.
60
titular
adj. holding of title without obligations; nominal The country's titular ruler hosted a dinner for foreign guests.
61
toady
n. flatterer, hanger-on, yes-man The toady agrees with everything her boss says.
62
tome
n. book, usually large and academic The tome contains twenty long essays on Shakespeare's play.
63
topography
n. art of making maps or charts; physical features of a place The country's rugged topography makes land travel difficult.
64
torpid
adj. lethargic; unable to move; dormant The snakes are torpid in the winter.
65
torpor
n. lethargy; dormancy; sluggishness The bear slowly recovered from the torpor caused by its long hibernation.
66
torque
n. a turning or twisting force The engine generates a lot of torque, making it excellent for use in vehicles designed to tow heavy loads.
67
torrid
adj. burning hot; passionate The actor's torrid affair is the subject of a popular movie.
68
torsion
n. act of twisting and turning The race car uses a bar that provides torsion to stabilize when it corners.
69
tortuous
adj. having many twists and turns; highly complex The road takes a tortuous path through the mountains.
70
totalitarianism
n. a system of government in which one political group maintains complete control Communism and Fascism were the two major forms of totalitarianism during the twentieth century.
71
totem
n. a natural object or animal believed to have spiritual significance The clan keep s a wooden pole on which totems are carved.
72
touchstone
n. a quality or example used to test the genuineness or excellence of others The touchstone I use in judging a poem is a Shakespearean sonnet.
73
tout
v. to promote or praise energetically The salesperson touted this product as the best of its type.
74
toxin
n. poison The toxins were stored safely away from children.
75
tract
n. region of land; pamphlet The 100-acre tract was sold for ten million dollars.
76
tractable
adj. obedient, yielding The children became more tractable as the year progressed.
77
transcendent
adj. rising above, going beyond; superior; beyond the material Many people believe that human beings possess a soul that is transcendent.
78
transcription
n. copy, reproduction; record The transcription of the speech will be available next week.
79
transfix
v. to render motionless, as with awe, terror, or amazement The crowd watched, transfixed, as the gigantic UFO landed.
80
transgress
v. to trespass, violate a law Be careful not to transgress against the local laws.
81
transient
adj. temporary, short-lived, fleeting Each individual life seems to be transient.
82
transitory
adj. short-lived, existing only briefly Rainbows are normally trnasitory.
83
translucent
adj. partially transparent We could see the fish quite well through the translucent glass.
84
transmogrification
n. change from one shape or form to another The story describes Joe's transmogrification into a werewolf.
85
transmutation
n. change in appearance, shape, or nature At involves the transmutation of the ordinary into the extraordinary.
86
trappings
n. outward decorations; ornaments The president enjoyed the trappings of office, such as flying in a special jet plane.
87
travail
n. work, especially arduous work; tribulation; anguish The book tells the story of the travail of a slave in America.
88
travesty
n. parody, exaggerated imitation, caricature The new play is a deliberate travesty of Hamlet.
89
treatise
n. article treating a subject systematically and thoroughly The treatise argues that countries most often go to war for economic reasons.
90
tremulous
adj. trembling, quivering; fearful, timid Gail was tremulous as she waited to get her GRE score.
91
trenchant
adj. acute, sharp, incisive; forceful, effective The student took her teacher's trenchant criticism of her writing to heart.
92
trepidation
n., fear and anxiety The soldier looked forward to the battle with trepidation.
93
trifling
adj. of slight worth, trivial, insignificant Don't worry about this trifling matter.
94
trite
adj. unoriginal Try to avoid trite language when you write.
95
trivial
adj. unimportant Things that seemed important before the war now seem trivial.
96
trope
n. a figure of speech using words in a nonliteral way The writer uses the two Americas trope to highlight the difference between rich and poor.
97
trophic
adj. related to nutrition The trophic level of an organism is the position it occupies on the food chain.
98
tropism
n. the movement of an organism or part of an organism toward or away from a external stimulus In one type of tropism, gravitropism, plant movement occurs in response to gravity.
99
troupe
n. group of actors The troupe has performed three Shakespearean comedies.
100
truculence
n. state of violent agitation The child's truculence began when his mother took away his favorite toy.
101
truism
n. a statement that is obviously true and that says nothing new The salesperson often utters the truism to customers "You get what you pay for."
102
truncate
v. to cut off, shorten by cutting The editor truncated the long novel by eliminating long descriptions.
103
tryst
n. agreement between lovers to meet; rendezvous The lovers arranged a tryst.
104
tsunami
n. a very large wave caused by a seismic disturbance of the ocean floor With coastal area around the world becoming increasingly populated, tsunamis are posing a great risk to human life.
105
tumid
adj. swollen; distended Images of starving children with tumid bellies captured the world's attention.
106
tumult
n. state of confusion; agitation There was tumult in the streets when the enemy invasion began.
107
tundra
n. treeless plain found in arctic or subarctic regions The explorers walked across the frozen tundra, searching for oil.
108
turbid
adj. muddy; opaque; in a state of confusion They rowed down the silty, turbid wasters of the Congo River.
109
turbulence
n. commotion, disorder; agitation The 1960s was a period of turbulence in American history.
110
turgid
adj. swollen, bloated The publisher rejected the book because it was written in turgid prose.
111
turmoil
n. great commotion; confusion There was turmoil in the city when invaders reached the edge of town.
112
turpitude
n. inherent vileness, foulness, depravity The novelist portrays the turpitude human beings are capable of.
113
tutelary
adj. serving as a guardian or protector The ancient Romans believed that everyone has a tutelary spirit.
114
typology
n. a theory of types The linguist's typology of language classifies language by grammatical features rather than common ancestyr.
115
tyrannical
adj. oppressive; dictatorial The men took up arms to end the dictator's tyrannical rule.
116
tyro
n. beginner, novice The students tried to take advantage of the teacher because she was a tyro.

Barron's GRE Verbal Workbook (26 decks)

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