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GRE BARRONS - 46

Gre Barron's wordlist - 46

Terms

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66. titular
ADJ. 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.
46. thrall
N. slave; bondage. The captured soldier was held in thrall by the conquering army.
41. theocracy
N. government run by religious leaders. Though some Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower favored the establishment of a theocracy in New England, many of their fellow voyagers preferred a nonreligious form of government.
31. terminology
N. terms used in a science or art; The special terminology developed by some authorities in the field has done more to confuse laypersons than to enlighten them.
28. tenure
N. holding of an office; time during which such an office is held; A special recall election put an end to Gray Davis's tenure in office as governor of California.
36. tesselated
ADJ. inlaid; mosaic. I recall seeing a table with a tesselated top of bits of stone and glass in a very interesting pattern.
58. timorous
ADJ. fearful; demonstrating fear. Her timorous manner betrayed the anxiety she felt at the moment.
29. tepid
N. lukewarm; To avoid scalding the baby, make sure the bath water is tepid, not hot.
64. title
N. right or claim to possession; mark of rank; name (of a book, film, etc.). Though the penniless Duke of Ragwort no longer held title to the family estate, he still retained his title as head of one of England's oldest families.
61. titanic
ADJ. gigantic. Titanic waves beat against the majestic S.S. Titanic, driving it against the concealed iceberg. titan, N.
51. throng
N. crowd. Throngs of shoppers jammed the aisles. also V.
32. terminus
N. last stop of railroad; After we reached the railroad terminus, we continued our journey into the wilderness on saddle horses.
62. tithe
N. tax of one-tenth. Because he was an agnostic, he refused to pay his tithes to the clergy. also V.
68. toga
N. Roman outer robe. Marc Antony pointed to the slashes in Caesar's toga.
67. toady
N. 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. also V.
9. taxonomist
N. specialist in classifying (animals, etc.). Dental patterns often enable the taxonomist to distinguish members of one rodent species from those of another.
45. thespian
ADJ. pertaining to drama. Her success in the school play convinced her she was destined for a thespian career, also N.
26. tentative
ADJ. hesitant; not fully worked out or developed; experimental; not definite or positive. Unsure of his welcome at the Christmas party, Scrooge took a tentative step into his nephew's drawing room.
6. taut
ADJ. tight; ready. The captain maintained that he ran a taut ship.
10 tedium
N. boredom; weariness. We hope this new Game Boy will help you overcome the tedium of your stay in the hospital. tedious, ADJ.
55. tiller
N. handle used to move boat's rudder (to steer). Fearing the wind might shift suddenly and capsize the skiff, Tom kept one hand on the tiller at all times.
52. throttle
V. strangle. The criminal tried to throttle the old man with his bare hands.
50. throes
N. violent anguish. The throes of despair can be as devastating as the spasms accompanying physical pain.
40. thematic
ADJ. relating to a unifying motif or idea. Those who think of Moby Dick as a simple adventure story about haling miss its underlying thematic import.
12. temerity
N. boldness; rashness. Do you have the temerity to argue with me?
25. tensile
ADJ. capable of being stretched. Mountain climbers must know the tensile strength of their ropes.
48. thrifty
ADJ. careful about money; economical. A thrifty shopper compares prices before m
2. taper
N. candle. She lit the taper on the windowsill.
42. theoretical
ADJ. not practical or applied; hypothetical. Bob was better at applied engineering and computer programming than he was at theoretical physics and math. While I can still think of some theoretical objections to your plan, you've convinced me of its basic soundness.
37. testator
N. maker of a will. The attorney called in his secretary and his partner to witness the signature of the testator.
14. temperament
N. characteristic frame of mind; disposition; emotional excess. Although the twins look alike, they differ markedly in temperament; Tod is calm, but Rod is excitable.
1. tantrum
N. fit of petulance; caprice. The child learned that he could have almost anything if he went into tantrums.
3. tarantula
N. venomous spider. We need an antitoxin to counteract the bite of the tarantula.
54. tightwad
N. excessively frugal person; miser. Jill called Jack a tightwad because he never picked up the check.
20. tenacious
ADJ. holding fast. I had struggle to break his tenacious hold on my arm.
16. tempestuous
ADJ. stormy; impassioned; violent. Racketthrowing tennis star John McEnroe was famed for his displays of tempestuous temperament.
27. tenuous
ADJ. thin; rare; slim; The allegiance of our allies is held by such tenuous ties that we have little hope they will remain loyal.
57. timidity
N. lack of self-confidence or courage. If you are to succeed as a salesperson, you must first lose your timidity and fear of failure.
49. thrive
V. prosper; flourish. Despite the impact of the recession on the restaurant trade, Philip's cafe thrived.
30. termination
N. end; Though the time for termination of the project was near, er still had a lot of work to finish before we shut up shop. terminate, V.
60. tirade
N. extended scolding; denunciation; harangue. Every time the boss holds a meeting, he goes into a lengthy tirade, scolding us for everything from tardiness to padding our expenses.
18. temporal
ADJ. not lasting forever; limited by time; secular. At one time in our history, temporal rulers assumed that they had been given their thrones by divine right.
34. terse
ADJ. concise; abrupt; pithy. There is a fine line between speech that is terse and to the point and speech that is too abrupt.
23. tender
V. offer; extend; Although no formal charges had been made against him, in the wake of the recent scandal the mayor felt he should tender his resignation.
17. tempo
N. speed of music. I find the band's tempo too slow for such a lively dance.
56. timbre
N. quality of a musical tone produced by a musical instrument. We identify the instrument producing a musical sound by its timbre.
43. therapeutic
ADJ. curative. New better known for its racetrack, Saratoga Springs first gained attention for the therap0eutic qualities of its famous "healing waters."
63. titillate
V. tickle. I am here not to titillate my audience but to enlighten it.
38. testy
ADJ. irritable; short-tempered. My advice is to avoid discussing this problem with her today as she is rather testy and may shout at you testiness, N.
13. temper
V. moderate; tone down or restrain; toughen (steel). Not even her supervisor's grumpiness could temper Nancy's enthusiasm for her new job.
15. temperate
ADJ. restrained; self-controlled; moderate in respect to temperature. Try to be temperate in your eating this ho9liday season; if you control your appetite, you won't gain too much weight. Goldilocks found San Francisco's temperate climate neither too hot nor too cold but just right.
69. tome
N. large volume. She spent much time in the libraries poring over ancient tomes.
21. tenacity
N. firmness; persistence. Jean Valjean could not believe the tenacity of lnspector Javert. Here all Valjean had done was to steal a loaf of bread, and the inspector had pursued him doggedly for 20 years!
24. tenet
N. doctrine; dogma; The agnostic did not accept the tenets of their faith.
44. thermal
ADJ. pertaining to heat. The natives discovered that the hot springs gave excellent thermal baths and began to develop their community as a health resort. also N.
8. tawdry
ADJ. cheap and gaudy. He won a few tawdry trinkets at Coney lsland.
53. thwart
V. baffle; frustrate. He felt that everyone was trying to thwart his plans and prevent his success.
5. tatty
ADJ. worn and shabby; bedraggled. Cinderella's stepsisters sneered at her in her frayed apron and tatty old gown.
4. tarry
V. delay; dawdle. We can't tarry if we want to get to the airport on time.
7. tautological
ADJ. needlessly repetitious. In the sentence "It was visible to the eye," the phrase "to the eye" is tautological. tautology, N.
39. tether
V. tie with a rope. Before we went to sleep, we tethered the horses to prevent their wandering off during the night.
22. tendentious
ADJ. having an aim; biased; designed to further a cause. The editorials in this periodical are tendentious rather than truth-seeking.
33. terrestrial
ADJ. on or relating to the earth. We have been able to explore the terrestrial regions mush more thoroughly than the aquatic or celestial regions.
65. titter
N. nervous laugh. Her aunt's constant titter nearly drove her mad. also V.
19. temporize
V. act evasively to gain time; avoid committing oneself. Ordered by King John to drive Robin Hood out of Sherwood Forest, the sheriff temporized, hoping to put off any confrontation with the outlaw band.
11. teetotalism
N. practice of abstaining totally from alcoholic drinks. Though the doctor warned Bert to cut down his booze intake, she didn't insist that he practice teetotalism. teetotaler, N.
35. tertiary
ADJ. third; He is so thorough that he analyzes tertiary causes where other writers are content with primary and secondary reasons.
59. tipple
V. drink (alcoholic beverages) frequently. He found that his most enjoyable evenings occurred when he tippled with his friends at the local pub, N.
47. threadbare
ADJ. worn through till the threads show shabby and poor. The poorly paid adjunct professor hid the threadbare spots on his jacket by sewing leather patches on his sleeves.

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