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gre vocabulary s

Terms

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skimp
provide scantily; live very economically. They were forced to skimp on necessities in order to make their limited supplies last the winter.
skiff
small, light sailboat or rowboat. Tom dreamed of owning an ocean-going yacht but had to settle for a skiff he could sail in the bay.
skeptic
doubter; person who suspens judgment until having examined the evidence supporting a point of view. I am a skeptic about the new health plan; I want some proof that it can work.
sinuous
winding; bending in and out; not morally honest. The snake moved in a sinuous manner.
singular
unique; extraordinary, odd. Though the young man tried to understand Father William's singular behavior, he sit will found it odd that the old man incessantly stood on his head.
sinister
evil. we must defeat the sinister forces tht seek our downfall.
sinewy
tough; strong and firm. The steak was too sinewy to chew.
sinecure
well-paid position with little responsibility. My job is no sinecure; i work long hours and have much responsibility.
simulate
feign. She simulated insanity in order to avoid punishment for her crime.
simplistic
oversimplified. Though Jack's solution dealt adequately with one aspect of the problem, it was simplistic in failing to consider various complicating factors that might arise.
simper
smirk; smile affectedly. Complimented on her appearance, simpered.
simile
comparison of one thing with another. Using word like or as.
simian
monkeylike. (Tommy) Lemurs are nocturnal mamals and have many simian characteristics, although they are less itnelligent than monkeys.
silt
sediment deposited by running water. The harbor channel must be dredged annually to remove the silt
sidereal
relating to the stars. Although hampered by optical and mechanical flaws, the orbiting Hubble space telescope has relayed extraordinary images of distant sidereal bodies.
sibylline
prophetic; oracular. Until their destruction by fire in 83 B.C., the sibylline book were often consulted by the Romans.
sibling
brother or sister. We may not enjoy being siblings, but we cannot forget that we still belong to the sam family.
shyster
lawyer using questionabl methods. On L.A. law, respectable attorney Brackman was horrified to learn that his newly discovered half brother was a cheap shyster.
shunt
turn aside; diver; sidetrack. If the switchman failed to shunt the Silver Streak onto a side track, the train would low right into union station.
shun
keep away from. Cherishing his solitude, the recluse shunned the company of other human beings
shrewd
cleve; astute. A shrewd investor, she took clever advantage of the cluctuations of the stock market.
shirk
avoid (responsibility, work); malinger. Brian has a strong sense of duty; he would never shirk any responsibility.
shimmer
glimmer intermittently. The moonlight shimmered on the water as the moon broke through the clouds for a moment.
sherbet
flavored dessert ice. I prfer raspberry sherbet to ice cream since it is less fattening.
sheathe
place into a case. As soon as he recognized the approaching men, he sheathed his dagger and hailed them as friends.
sheaf
bundle of stalks of grain; any bundle of things tied together. The lawyer picked up a sheaf of papers as she rose to question the witness.
shaving
very thin piece, usuall of wood. As the carpenter pared away the edge of the board with his plane, a small pile of shavings began to accumulate on the floor.
shard
fragment, generally of pottery. The archaeologist assigned several students the task of reassembling earthenware vessels from the shards he had brought back from the expedition.
sham
pretent. She shammed sickenss to get out of going to school
shrew
scolding woman. No one wanted to marry Shakespeare's Kate because she was a shrew.
shambles
wreck; mess. After the hurricane, the Carolina coast was a shambles. After the New Year's Eve party, the host's apartment was a shamble
shackle
chain; fetter. The criminal's ankles were shackled to prevent his escape
sextant
navigation tool used to determine a ship's latitude and longitude. Given a clear night, with the aid of his sextant and compass he could keep the ship safely on course.
severity
harshness; intensity; sternness; austerity. The severtiy of Jane's migraine attack was so great that she took to her bed for a week.
sever
cut, separate. Dr. Guillotin invented a machine that could neatly sever an aristocratic head from its equally aristocratic body. Unfortunately, he couldn't collect any severance pay.
servitude
slavery; compulsory labor. Born a slave, Douglass resented his life os servitude and plotted to escape to the North.
servile
slavish; cringing. Constantly fawning on his employer, humble Uriah Heep was a servile creature
serrated
having a sawtoothed edge. The beech tree is one of many plants that have serrated leaves.
serpentine
winding, twisting. The car swervved at every curve in the serpentine road
serenity
calmness, placidity. The serentiy of the sleepy town was shattered by a tremendous explosion.
sere
parched; dry. After the unseasonably dry winter the Berkely hills looked dusty and sere.
sequester
isolate; retire from public life; segregate; seclude. To prevent the jurors from hearing news barodcasts about the case, the judge decided to sequester the jury.
sepulcher
tomb. Annabel Lee was buried in a sepulcher by the sea.
septic
putrid; producing putrefaction. The hospital was in such a filthy state that we were afraid that many of the patients would suffer from the septic poisoning.
sentinel
sentry; lookout. Though camped in enemy territory, Bledosoe ignored the elementary precaution of posting sentinels around the encampment.
sentient
capable of sensation; aware; sensitive. In the science fiction story, the hero had to discover a way to prove that the rocklike extraterrestral creature was actually a sentient, intelligent creature.
setentious
terse; concise; aphoristic, simplistic but effective quote, maxim. After reading so mnay reducndant speeches, I find his sententious style particularly pleasing.
sensuous
pertaining to the physical sense; operating through the sense. She was stimulated by the sights, sounds, and smells baout her; se was enjoyin her sensuous experience.
sententious
terse, concise; aphoristic. After reading so many redundant speeches, I find his sententious style particularly pleasing.
sensual
pertaining to the physical sense; carnal; voluptuous. I cannot understand what caused him to drop his sensual way of life and become so ascetic.
senility
old age; feeblemindedness of old age. Most of the decisions are being made by the junior members of the company because of the senility of the president.
seminary
school for training future minister; secondary school, especially for young women. Sure of his priestly vocation, Terrence planned to pursue his theologifal training at the local Roman Catholic seminary.
seminal
germinal; influencing future development; related to seed or semen. Although Freud has generally been regarded as a seminal thinker who shaped the course of psychology, his psychoanalytic methods have come under attack recently.
semblance
outward appearance; guise. Although this book has a semblance of wisdom and scholarship, a careful examination will reveal many errors and omissions.
seismic
pertaining to earthquakes. The Richter scale is a measurement of seismic disturbances.
seine
net for catching fish. When the shad run during the spring, you may see fishermen with seines along the banks of our coastal river.
seethe
disturbed; boil. The nation was seething with discontent as the noblemen continued their arrogant ways.
seep
ooze; trickle. During the rainstorm, water seeped through the crack in the basement wall and damanaged the floor boards.
seemly
proper; appropriate. Lady Bracknell did not think it was seemly for Ernest to lack a proper family: no baby abandoned on a doorstep could grow up to mayy her daughter.
seedy
run-down; decrepit; disreputatble. I would rather stay in dormitory lodgings in a decent youth hostel than have a room of my own in a seedy downtown hotel.
sedulous
diligent. The young woman was so sedulous that she received a commedation for her hard work.
sedition
resistance to authority; insubordination. her words, though not treasonous in themselve, were calculated to arouse thoughts of sedition.
sedentary
requiring sitting. Sitting all day at the computer, Sharon grew to resent the esdentary nature of her job.
sedate
composed; grave. The parens were worried because they felt their son was too quiet and sedate.
secular
worldly; not pertaining to church matters. temporal. The church leaders decided not to interfere in secular matters.
sect
separate religious body; faction. As university chaplain, she sought to address universal religious issues and not limit herself to the concerns of any one.
secrete
hide away or cache; produce and release a substance into an organism. The pack rat secretes odds and ends in its nest; the pancrease secretes insulin in the islets of Langerhans.
secession
withdrawal. The secession of the Southern states provided Lincoln with his first major problem after the inauguration.
seasoned
experienced. Though pleased with her new batch of rookies, the basketball coach wished she had a few more seasoned players on the team.
sear
char or burn; brand. Accidentally brushing against the hot grill, she seared her hand badly.
seamy
sordid; unwholesome. In the Godfather, Michael Corleone is unwilling to expose his wife and children to the seamy side of his life as the son of a Mafia don.
scuffle
struglle confusedly; move off in a confused hurry. The twins briefly scuffled, wrestling to see which of them would get the toy. When their big brother yelled, "Let ogo of my Gameboy!" They scuffled off down the hall.
scrutinize
examine closely and critically. Searching for floawas, the sergeant scrutinzied every detail of the private's uniform.
scrupulous
conscientious; extremely thorough. Though Alfred is scrupulous in fulfilling his duties at work, he is less conscientious about his obligations to his family and friends.
seclusion
isolation; solitude. One moment she loved crowds, the next, she sought seclusion.
surrilous
obscene; indecent. Your scurrilous remarks are especially offensive because they are untrue.
scruple
fret about; hesitate, for ethical reasons. Fearing thta her husband had become involved in an affair, she did not scruple to read his dairy.
scourge
lash; whip; sever punishment. Thy feared the plague and regarded it as a deadly scourge
scotch
stamp out; thwart; hinder. Heather tried to scotch the rumor that she had stolen her best friend's fiance.
scoff
mock; ridicule. He scoffed at dentists until he had his first toothache.
scintillate
sparkle; flash. I enjoy her dinner parties because the food is excellent and the converstaion scintillates.
scintilla
shred; least bit. You have not produced a scintilla of evidence to support your argument.
schism
division; split. Let us not widen the schism by further bickering
schematic
relating to an outline or diagram; using a system of symbols. In working out the solution to an anltical logic question, you may find it helpful to construct a simple schematic diagram illustrating the relationshps between the items of information given in the question.
scenario
plot, outline; screenplay; opera libretto. Scaramouche startled the other actors in the commedia troupe when he suddenly departed from their customary scenario and began to improvise
scavenge
hunt through discarded materials for usable items; search, especially for food. If you need car parts that the dealers no longer stock, try scavenging for odd bits and pieces at the auto wrechers' yards.
scapegoat
someone who bears the blame for others. After the Challenger disaster, NASA searched for scapegoats on whom they could cast the blame.
scanty
meager; insufficient. Thinking hihs helping of food was scanty, Oliver Twist asked for more
scale
climb up; ascend. To locate a book on the top shelf of the stacks, Lee had to scale an execptionally rickety ladder
scaffold
temporary platform for workers; bracing framework; platform for execution. Before painting the house, the workers put up a scaffold to allow them to work on the second story.
scad
a great quantity. Refusing Dave's offer to lend him a shirt, hil replied, "No thanks; I've got scads of clothes."
scabbard
case for a sword blade; sheath. The drill master told the recruit to wipe the blood from his sword before slipping it back into the scabbard.
savory
tasty; pleasing, attractve, or agreeable. Julia Child's recipes enable amateur chefs to create savory delicacies for their guests.
savor
enjoy; have a distinctive flavor, smell, or quality. Relishing his triumph, Costner especially savored the chagrin of the fcritics who had predicted his failure.
savant
scholar. Our faculty includes many world-famous savants
saunter
stroll, slowly. As we sauntered through the park, we stopped freqeutnly to admire the spring flowers.
satry
half-human, half-bestial being in the cour of Dionysus, portrayed as wanton and cunning. He was like a satyr in his lustful conduct
saturnine
gloomy. Do not be misled by his saturnine countenance, he is not as gloomy as he looks.
saturate
soak thoroughly. Thorough watering is the key to lawn care; you must saturate your new lawn well to encourage its growth.
satrical
mocking. The humor of cartoonist Gary Trudeau often is satirical; throuh the comments of the Doonesbury characters, Trudeau ridicules political corruption and folly.
satire
form of literature in which irony, sarcasm, and ridicule are employed to attack vice and folly. Gulliver's travels which is regarded by many as a tale for children, is actually a bitter satire attacking human soly.
satiate
satisfy fully. Having stuffed themselves with goodies until they were satiated, the guests were so full they were ready for a nap
satellite
small body revolving around a large one. During the first few years of the Space Age, hundreds of satellites were launched by Russia and the United States.
sate
satisfy to the full; cloy. Its hunger sated, the lion dozed
sartorial
pertaining to tailors. He was as famous for the sartorial splendor of his attire as he was for his acting.
sardonic
disdainful; sarcastic; cynical. The sardonic humor of nightclub comedians who satirize or ridicule patrons in the audience strikes some people as ausing and others as rude.
sarcasm
scornful remark; stinging rebuke. Though Raplh pretended to ignore the mocking comments of his supposed friends. their sarcasm wounded him deeply.
sap
diminish; undermine. The element kryptonite had an unhealthy effect on Superman: it sapped his strength.
sanguine
cheerful; hopeful. let us not be too sanguine about the outcome; something could go wrong.
sanguinary
bloody. The battle of Iwo Jima was unexpectedly sanguinary, with many casualties.
sanctuary
refuge; shelter; shrin; holy place. The tiny attic was Helen's sanctury to which she fled when she had to get away from her bickering parents and brothers.
sanction
approve; ratify. Nothing will convince me to sanction the engagement of my daughter to such a worthless young man.
sanctimonious
displaying ostentatious or hypocritical devoutness. You do not have to be so sanctimonious to prove that you are devout.
salvage
rescue from loss. All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.
salutary
tending to improve; beneficial; wholemsome. The punishment had a salutary effect on thboy, as he became a model student.
salubrious
healthful. Many people with hay fever move to more salubrious sections of the country during the months of August and September
sallow
yellowish; sickly in color. We were disturbed by her sallow complexion, which was due to jaundice.
saline
salty. THe slightly saline taste of this mineral water is pleasant
salient
prominent, highlight. One of the salient features of that newspaper is its excellent editorial page.
salacious
lascivious; lustful. Chaucer's monk is not pious but salacious, a teller of lewd tales and ribald jests.
sage
person celebrated for wisdom. Hearing tales of a mysterious Master of All Knowledge who lived in the hils of Tibet, Sandy was possessed with a burning desire to consult the legendary sage.
sagacious
perceptive; shrewd; having insight. My father was a sagacious judge of character; he cold spot a phony a mile away.
saga
Scandinavian myth; any legend. This is a saga of the sea and the men who risk their lives on it.
sadistic
inclined to cruelty. If we are to improve condition in this prison, we must first ge rid of the sadistic warden.
sacrosanct
most sacred; inviolable. The brash insurance salesman invaded the sacrosanct privacy of the office of the president of the company.
sacacrilegious
desecrating; profane. His stealing of the altar cloth was a very sacrilegious act.
saccharine
cloyingly sweet. She tried to ingratiate herself, speaking sweetly and smiling a saccharine smile.
saboteur
one who commits sabotage; destroyer of property. Members of the Resistance acted as saboteurs, blowing up train lines to prevent supplies from reaching the Nazi army.
ruthless
pitiless; cruel. Captain Hook was a dangerous, ruthless villain who would stop at nothing to destroy Peter Pan.
rusticate
banish to the country; dwell in the country. I like city life so much that I can never understand how people can rrusticate in the suburbs.
rustic
pertaining to country people; uncouth. The backwoodsman looked out of place in his rustic attire.
ruse
trick; stategem. You will not be able to fool your friends with such an obvious ruse.
runic
mysterious; set down i an ancient alphabet. Tolkien's use of Old English words and inscriptios in the runic alphabet give The Lord of the Rings its atmosphere of antiquity.
rummage
ransack; thoroughly search. When we rummaged through the trunks in the attic, we found many souvenirs of our childhood days.
ruminate
chew over and over (mentally or like coward physically); mull over; ponder. Unable to digest quick the baffling events of the day, Reuben ruminated and them till four in the morning.
ruffian
bully; scoundrel. The ruffians threw stones at the police
rue
regret; lament; mourn. Tina rued the night she met Tony and wondered how she ever fell for such a jerk.
rudimentary
not developed; elementary; crude. Although my grandmother's English vocabulary was limited to a few rudimentary phrases, she always could make herself understood.
ruddy
reddish; healthy-looking. santa Claus's ruddy cheeks nicely complement Rudolph the Reindeer's bright red nose.
rubric
title or heading (in red print); directions for religious ceremony; protocol. In ordaining the new priests, the bishop carefully obvserved all the rubrics for the oridnation service.
rubble
fragments. Ten years after WWII, some of the rubble left by enemy bombings could still be seen.
rout
stampede; drive out, scare. The reinforcements were able to rout the enemy
rousing
lively; stirrin. 'And now, let's have a rousing welcome for TV's own Rosie O'Donnell, who'll lead us in a rousing rendition of 'The Star-Spangled Banner.'
rotundity
roundness; sonorousness of speech. Washington Irving emphasized the routunidity of the governor by describing his heidght and circumference.
rotunda
circular building or hall covered with a dome. His body lay in state in the rotunda of the Capitol.
rote
repitition. He recited the passage by rote and gave no indication he understood what he was saying also
rostrum
platform for speech-making; pulpit. The crowd murmured angrily and indicate that they did not care to listen to the speaker who was approaching the rostrum.
roster
list. They print the roster of players in the season's program.
roseate
rosy; optimistic. I am afraid you will have to alter your roseate views in the light of the distressing news that has just arrived.
roil
to make liquids murky y stirring up sediment; to disturb. Be careful when you pour not to rol the wine; if you stir up the sediment you'll destroy the flavor.
rococo
ornate; highly decorated. The rococo style in furniture and architecture, marked by scrollwork and execssive decoration, flourished during the middle of the 18th Century.
robust
vigorous; strong. After pumping iron and taking karate for 6 months, the little old lady was far more robust in health and could break a plank with her fist.
rivulet
small stream. As the rains continued, the trickle of water running down the hillside grew into a rivulet that threatened to wash away a portion of the slope.
riveting
absorbing; engrossing. The reviewer described Byatt's novel Possession as a riveting tale' absorbed in the story, she had finished it in a single evening.
rigor
severity. Many settlers could not stand the rigots of the New England winters.
rigid
stiff and unyielding; strict, hard and unbending. By living with a man to whom she was not married, George Eliot broke Victorian society's most rigid rule of respectable behavior.
rig
fix or manipulate. The ward boss was able to rig the election by bribing people to stuff the ballot boxes with ballots marked in his candidate's favor.
rift
opening; break. The plane was lost in the stormy sky until te pilot saw the city through a rift in the clouds.
rifle
abundant; current. iN the face of the many rumors of scandal, whicn are rife at the moment, it is beset to remain silent
rider
amendment of clause added to a legistlative bill, Senator Foghorm said he would support Senator Fillibuster's tax reform bill only if Fillibuster agreed to add an antipollution rider to the bill.
riddle
pierce with holds; permeate or spread throughout. With his machine gun, Tracy riddled the car with bullets till it looked like a slice of Swss cheese. During the proofreaders' strike, the newspaper was riddled with typos.
ribald
wanton; profane. Dixie chicks sang a ribald song that offended the bush administration.
rhetoric
art of effective communication; insincere or grandiloquent language. All writers, by necessity, msust be skilled in rhetoric.
rhapsodize
to speak or write in an exaggeratedly enthusiastic manner. She greatly enjoyed her Hawaiian vacation and rhapsodzed about it for weeks.
revulsion
sudden violent change of feeling; negative reaction. Many people in this country who admired dictatorships underwent a revulsion when they realized what Hitler and Mussolini were trying to do.
revoke
cancel; retracct. Repeat offenders who continue to drive under the incluence of alcohol face having their driver's licenses permanently revoked.
revile
attack with abusive language; vilify. Though most of his contemporaries reviled Captain Kidd as a notorious, bloody-handed pirate, some of his efllow merchant-captains believed him innocent of his alleged crimes.
revert
relapse; backslide; turn back to. Most of the time ANdy seemed sensitive and mature, but occasionally he would revert to his smart-alecky, macho, adolescnet self.
reverie
daydream; musing. She was awakened from her reverie by the teacher's question.
reverent
respectful; worshipful. Though I bow my head in church and ecite the prayers, sometimes I don't feel properly reverent.
reverberate
echo; restound. The tnire valley verberated with the sound of the church bells.
revelry
boisterous merrymaking. New Year's Eve is a night of reverlry
retrospective
looking back on the past. The Museum of Graphic Arts is holding a retrospective showing of the paintings of Michael Whelan over the past two decades.
retrograde
backwards; degenerate. Instead of advancing our civilization seems to have retrograded in ethics and culture
retroactive
taking effect before its enactment (as a law) or imposition (as a tax). Because the new pension law was retroactive to the first of the year, even though martha had retire in febryary she was eligible for the pension
retrieve
recover; find and bring in. the dog was intelligent and quickly learned to retrieve the game killed by the hunter.
retribution
vengeance; compensation; punishment for offenses. The evangelist maintained that an angry deity would exact retribution from the siners.
retrench
cut down; economize. If they were to be able to send their children to college, they would have to retrench.
retract
withdraw; take back. When i saw how Fred and his faternity brothers had trashed the frat house, I decided to retract my offer to let them use our summer cottage for the weekend.

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