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.