GRE General Set 20
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- freebooter
- pirate or plunderer who makes war in order to grow rich
- pucker
- gather into wrinkles or folds; N: wrinkle or fold; the baby stirred, ~ing up its tiny face.
- berserk
- mad with violent anger; frenzied; madly excited
- garrulous
- loquacious; wordy; talkative; N. -lity
- permissive
- allowing much freedom; lenient; Ex. ~ society
- dolt
- slow-thinking stupid person; CF. dull
- microcosm
- small representative world; world in miniature; Ex. ~ of English society; a community, place, or situation regarded as encapsulating in miniature the characteristic qualities or features of something much larger : Berlin is a ~ of Germany, in unity as in division.
- geniality
- cheerfulness; kindliness; sympathy; ADJ. genial: cheerful and good-tempered
- squeamish
- easily shocked or sickened by unpleasant things; fastidious; Ex. A nurse should not be squeamish.
- malefactor
- evildoer; criminal
- quaff
- drink with zest; drink with relish(zest; hearty enjoyment); CF. sip
- flair
- talent
- ennui
- boredom; listlessness and dissatisfaction resulting from lack of interest; CF. annoy
- muddle
- confuse; mix up confusedly; N: state of confusion
- hothead
- person who does things too quickly without thinking; ADJ. hotheaded
- volley
- simultaneous discharge of a number of shots; V.; (in sports, esp. tennis or soccer) a strike or kick of the ball made before it touches the ground.
- anthropoid
- manlike; resembling a human being; N.
- epicure
- a person who takes particular pleasure in fine food and drink; connoisseur of food and drink; gourmet; ADJ. epicurean; CF. Epicurus
- thrash
- beat with a whip or flail; defeat utterly; talk about thoroughly in order to find the answer; move wildly or violently; Ex. The fishes ~ed about in the net.
- somatic
- pertaining to the body; bodily; physical
- fluky
- obtained or achieved more by chance than skill : a ~ goal.
- stymie
- thwart; present an obstacle; stump; prevent or hinder the progress of : the changes must not be allowed to ~ new medical treatments.
- dilapidated
- falling to pieces; in a bad condition; ruined because of neglect; Ex. ~ old car/castle; N. -tion
- psychopathic
- pertaining to mental dearrangement; N. ~path: person with an antisocial personality disorder
- congruous
- in agreement or harmony : this explanation is ~ with earlier observations.
- dignitary
- person of high rank or position
- merit
- good quality deserving praise; -s: aspect of character or behavior deserving approval or disapproval; Ex. judge each plan on its own ~s; V: deserve; earn
- fallow
- (of land) plowed but not sowed (to improve the quality); uncultivated
- prosody
- art of versification; study of the metrical structure of verse
- chortle
- chuckle with delight; N.
- menace
- threat; V: threaten
- die
- metal block used for shaping metal or plastic; device for stamping or impressing; mold; a device for cutting or molding metal into a particular shape.; singular form of dice .
- carafe
- glass water bottle; decanter
- foppish
- vain about dress and appearance; N. fop: man who takes too much interest in his clothes and appearance
- disconcert
- confuse; upset; embarrass; perturb
- Occident
- the West
- animus
- hostile feeling or intent; animosity; hostility; disposition
- consecrate
- dedicate; sanctify; declare as sacred; Ex. consecrate one's life to helping the poor
- economy
- efficiency or conciseness in using something; thrifty management of resources
- impute
- attribute; ascribe; charge; epresent (something, esp. something undesirable) as being done, caused, or possessed by someone; attribute : the crimes ~ed to Richard.; • Finance assign (a value) to something by inference from the value of the products or processes to which it contributes : [as adj. ] ( ~ed) recovering the initial outlay plus ; N. -tation
- marsupial
- one of a family of mammals that nurse their offspring in a pouch(pocket of skin or leather); CF. kangaroo, opossum, wombat
- self-righteous
- sure of one's own righteousness; moralistic
- glimmer
- shine erratically; twinkle; N: dim or unsteady light; faint indication; Ex. ~ of hope
- bank
- heap; piled-up mass; embankment; lateral tilting (as of an aircraft in turning); V: pile up; protect with a ~; tilt in turning
- sanguinary
- bloody; with much bloodshed
- lace
- cord used to draw and tie together two opposite edges (as of a shoe); delicate fabric made of fine threads; V: draw together by tying a ~
- multiform
- having many forms
- unruly
- disobedient; lawless; difficult to control
- orient
- get one's bearings; adjust; make familiar with a situation; orientate
- asinine
- stupid; Ex. asinine remarks
- entail
- make necessary; require; necessitate; involve; limit the inheritance of (property) to a specified succession of heirs; Ex. ~ A on/upon B
- groom
- man employed to take care of horses; V: make neat and trim; clean and brush (an animal)
- abut
- border upon; adjoin; (of an area of land or a building) be next to or have a common boundary with : gardens abutting Great Prescott Street | [ intrans. ] a park ~ on an area of wasteland.; touch or lean upon : masonry may crumble where a roof ~s it.
- prophylactic
- used to prevent disease; N: something ~; condom; N. -laxis: prevention of disease
- impudence
- impertinence; insolence
- embroider
- decorate with needlework; ornament (a story) with fancy or fictitious details; embellish
- hireling
- one who serves for hire (usually used contemptuously); one who works solely for compensation; a person employed to undertake menial work, esp. on a casual basis. Ex. ~ politician
- prude
- excessively modest or proper person (who is easily shocked by improper things, esp. of a sexual nature); N. prudery; ADJ. prudish: excessively concerned with propriety
- entreat
- plead; ask earnestly
- descry
- catch sight of (something distant)
- crossbreed
- hybridize; N: hybrid; CF. interbreed; CF. inbreed
- ingenuous
- naive and trusting; young; unsophisticated; candid
- reprobate
- morally disapproved person; person hardened in sin, devoid of a sense of decency; CF. disapproved by God ?
- curmudgeon
- churlish, miserly individual; bad-tempered old person
- writhe
- twist in coils; contort in pain
- pummel
- pommel; beat or pound with fists; strike repeatedly, typically with the fists : Bob did not fight back for the fifteen minutes that the half-dozen men ~ed him.
- shade
- slight difference in degree; nuance; degree of color; Ex. ~s of meaning/grey
- lilliputian
- extremely small; CF. Lilliput in Gulliver's Travels
- satirical
- using satire; mocking
- languish
- lose animation or strength
- transmute
- transform; change; convert to something different
- fluke
- unlikely occurrence; stroke of fortune; accidental stroke of good luck; ADJ. fluky
- potion
- dose (of liquids); liquid dose
- canvass
- determine or seek opinions, votes, etc.; go through (a region) to solicit votes or orders; conduct a survey; N.
- repulsion
- distaste; disgust; act of driving back; ADJ. repulsive: causing disgust; tending to drive away; V. repel (not `repulse')
- geriatrics
- medical treatment and care of old age
- sacrilegious
- desecrating; profane; N. sacrilege: desecration, misuse, or theft of something sacred
- victuals
- food; provisions; V. victual: provide with food
- jaundiced
- yellowed; prejudiced (envious, hostile, or resentful) from long and disappointing experience of human affairs; Ex. with a ~ eye
- replete
- fully filled; filled to the brim or to the point of being stuffed; abundantly supplied; Ex. report ~ with errors
- romp
- play or frolic boisterously; gambol; N.
- abrogate
- abolish
- grill
- question severely; cook on a grill; broil; N: cooking surface of parallel metal bars
- stasis
- a period or state of inactivity or equilibrium.; • Medicine a stoppage of flow of a body fluid. adj static
- confound
- confuse; puzzle
- pallid
- pale; wan; Ex. ~ complexion
- statute
- law enacted by the legislature
- debunk
- expose as false, exaggerated, worthless, etc.; ridicule
- defect
- shortcoming; V: desert (in order to join the opposite one)
- tureen
- deep dish for serving soup
- prosaic
- lacking in imagination; dull and unimaginative; matter-of-fact(concerned with facts, not imagination or feelings); factual; CF. prose
- serpentine
- winding; twisting; of or like a serpent; Ex. serpentine course of the river; N. serpent: snake
- dictum
- authoritative and weighty statement (made by a judge in court); saying; maxim; CF. obiter ~: incidental, nonbinding remark (something said in passing)
- ignite
- kindle; light; catch fire or set fire to
- infinitesimal
- very small
- porridge
- soft food made by boiling oatmeal
- ornithologist
- scientific student of birds; N. ornithology: scientific study of birds
- conifer
- pine tree (usu. evergreen); cone-bearing tree; ADJ. -ous; CF. deciduous; CF. evergreen
- suture
- stitches sewn to hold the cut edges of a wound or incision; material used in sewing; V: sew together a wound
- acme
- peak; pinnacle; highest point
- stupefy
- stun; make numb (as with a drug); amaze
- well-bred
- of good upbringing; well-mannered and refined
- sectarian
- of a sect; narrow-minded; parochial; N: member of a sect; narrow-minded person
- gavel
- hammerlike tool; mallet(wooden hammer) used by a presiding officer or an auctioneer; V.
- paroxysm
- fit or attack of pain, laughter, rage; sudden outburst
- bludgeon
- a thick stick with a heavy end, used as a weapon figurative : a rhetorical ~ in the war against liberalism.
- derelict
- negligent; (of someone) neglectful of duty; (of something) deserted by an owner; abandoned; N: abandoned property; homeless or vagrant person
- bigot
- one who is intolerant (in matters of religion or politics)
- peerless
- having no equal; incomparable
- rakish
- jaunty; stylish; sporty; morally corrupt; dissolute; Ex. He wore his hat at a ~ and jaunty angle.
- coup
- highly successful action or sudden attack; coup(s) d'\'etat; CF. ~ de grace: deathblow or shot which kills
- maxim
- proverb; truth pithily stated
- suffuse
- spread through or over (with a color or liquid); charge; Ex. A blush ~ed her cheeks.
- stoop
- bend forward and down; lower or debase oneself; fall to a lower standard of behavior by doing something; condescend; Ex. ~ to lying
- banal
- hackneyed; commonplace; trite; lacking originality; cliched
- unction
- the act of anointing with oil; Ex. extreme ~
- matrimony
- state of being married
- aromatic
- fragrant; having a sweet smell; N. aroma: strong pleasant smell
- disheveled
- untidy (of hair or clothing); V. dishevel
- prehensile
- capable of grasping or holding (esp. by wrapping around); Ex. ~ tails
- submerge
- place under water; dip; go under water; cover completely (as with water); Ex. ~ed in work
- bilk
- swindle; cheat
- palatial
- of or suitable for a palace; magnificent
- litigation
- lawsuit; N. litigant: one party in a lawsuit; V. litigate
- sultry
- (of weather) hot; sweltering; sensual; voluptuous; 2 (of a person, esp. a woman) attractive in a way that suggests a passionate nature.; 1 (of the air or weather) hot and humid.
- raiment
- clothing; garments; Ex. I have no ~ fit to wear.
- monochrome
- painting in only one color; ADJ.
- nauseate
- cause to become sick; fill with disgust; fill nausea
- acerbity
- bitterness of speech and temper; ADJ. -bic: bitter; acrid (in taste, manner, or tone)
- sleeper
- one that achieves unexpected success; something originally of little value or importance that in time becomes very valuable
- knack
- special talent; art
- conciliatory
- reconciling; soothing; V. conciliate: reconcile; soothe; win the friendly feelings (by removing anger)
- cataract
- great waterfall; eye abnormality (causing a gradual loss of eyesight); a medical condition in which the lens of the eye becomes progressively opaque, resulting in blurred vision : she had ~s in both eyes.
- prelate
- church dignitary; priest of high position in the church (esp. bishop)
- inerrancy
- infallibility
- cauterize
- burn (a wound or snakebite, etc.) with hot iron or caustic substance to stop bleeding and prevent infection
- cursive
- (of writing) flowing; running; having the successive letters joined
- kleptomaniac
- person who has a compulsive desire to steal
- centripetal
- tending toward the center
- provisional
- tentative; temporary
- execrate
- curse; express abhorrence for; detest
- masquerade
- wear a mask or disguise; pretend; N: costume party or ball at which masks are worn; pretense; disguise
- varnish
- paint used to coat a surface with a glossy film; glossy coating produced by using this substance; Ex. nail ~; V.; resin dissolved in a liquid for applying on wood, metal, or other materials to form a hard, clear, shiny surface when dry.
- deliberate
- consider; ponder; ADJ: done on purpose; slow
- impediment
- hindrance; stumbling-block; speech defect preventing clear articulation; Ex. speech ~
- pauper
- very poor person
- dilate
- expand; ~ on/upon: speak or write at length on (a subject)
- silt
- sediment deposited by running water (at the entrance to a harbor or by a bend in a river)
- Bacchanalia
- the ancient Roman festival in honor of Bacchus
- sedition
- conduct or language inciting rebellion; rebellion; resistance to authority; insubordination; ADJ. seditious
- resignation
- patiently submissiveness; statement that one is quitting a job; ADJ. resigned: acquiescent
- layman
- man who is not a cleric; man who is nonprofessional
- usury
- lending money at illegal high rates of interest
- levee
- earthen or stone embankment to prevent flooding; CF. raise
- synchronous
- similarly timed; simultaneous with; occurring at the same time; V. synchronize
- catcall
- shout of disapproval or displeasure (made at the theater or a sports match); boo; V. a loud whistle or a comment of a sexual nature made by a man to a passing woman.