GRE BARRONS - 43

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BARRONS WORDLIST

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46. skirmish: N. minor flight. Custer's troops expected they might run into a skirmish or two on maneuvers; they did not expect to face a major battle. also V.
70. slur: V. speak indistinctly; mumble. When sol has too much to drink, he starts to slur his words; "Washamatter? Cansh you understand what I shay?"
14. shambles: N. wreck; mess. After the hurricane, the Carolina coast was a shambles. After the New Year's Eve party, the host's apartment was a shambles.
8. servitude: N. slavery; compulsory labor. Born a slave, Douglass resented his life of servitude and plotted to escape to the North.
15. shard: N. 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.
25. shun: V. keep away from. Cherishing his solitude, the recluse shunned the company of other human beings.
37. sinecure: N. well-paid position with little responsibility. My job is no sinecure; I work long hours and have much responsibility.
13. sham: V. pretend. She shamed sickness to get out of going to school. also N.
71. smattering: N. slight knowledge. I don't know whether it is better to be ignorant of a subject or to have a mere smattering of information about it.
45. skinflint: N. stingy person; miser. Scrooge was an ungenerous old skinflint until he reformed his ways and became a notable philanthropist.
26. shunt: V. turn aside; divert; sidetrack. If the switchman failed to shunt the Silver streak onto a side track, the train would plow right into Union Station.
69. slur: N. insult to one's character and reputation; slander. Polls revealed that the front-runner's standing had been damaged by the slurs and innuendoes circulated by his opponent's staff. (secondary meaning) also V.
53. slander: N. defamation; utterance of false and malicious statements. Considering the nagative comments politicians make about each other, it's a wonder that more of them aren't sued for slander. also V. slanderous, ADJ.
48. skulduggery: N. dishonest behavior. The investigation into municipal corruption turned up now instances of skulduggery daily.
7. servile: ADJ. slavish; cringing. Constantly fawning on his employer, humble Uriah Heep was a servile creature. servility, N.
39. singular: ADJ. unique; extraordinary; odd. Though the young man tried to understand Father William's singular behavior, he still found it odd that the old man incessantly stood on his head.
1. sequester: V. isolate; retire from public life; segregate; seclude. To prevent the jurors from hearing news broadcasts about the case, the judge decided to sequester the jury.
80. solace: ADJ. comfort in trouble. I have you will find solace in the thought that all of us share your loss.
35. simplistic: ADJ. oversimplified. Though Jack's solution dealt adequately with one aspect of the problem, it was simplistic in failing to consider various complication factors that might arise.
57. sleight: N. dexterity. The magician amazed the audience with his sleight of hand.
23. shrew: N. scolding woman. No one wanted to marry Shakespeare's Kate because she was a shrew.
85. solicitous: ADJ. worried; concerned. The employer was very solicitous about the health fo her employees as replacements were difficult to get. solicitude, N.
58. slew: N. large quantity of number. Although Ellen had checked off a number of items on her "To Do" list, she still had a whole slew of errands left.
59. slight: N. insult to one's dignity; snub. Hypersensitive and ready to take offense at any discourtesy, Bertha was always on the lookout for real or imaginary slights. also V.
51. slag: N. residue from smelting metal; dross; waste matter. The blast furnace had a special opening at the bottom to allow the workers to remove the worthless slag.
33. simile: N. comparison of one thing with another, using the word 'like' or 'as'. "My love is like a red, red rose" is a simile.
83. solemnity: N. seriousness; gravity. The minister was concerned that nothing should disturb the solemnity of the marriage service.
19. sherbet: N. flavored dessert ice. I prefer raspberry sherbet to ice cream since it is less fattening.
82. solecism: N. construction that is flagrantly incorrect grammatically. I must give this paper a failing mark because it contains many solecisms.
78. sodden: ADJ. soaked; dull, as if from drink. He set his sodden overcoat near the radiator to dry.
88. solstice: N. point at which the sun is farthest from the equator. The winter solstice usually occurs on December 21.
12. shackle: V. chain; fetter. The criminal's ankles were shackled to prevent his escape. also N.
18. sheathe: V. place into a case. As soon as he recognized the approaching men, he sheathed his dagger and hailed them as friends.
60. slipshod: ADJ. untidy or slovenly; shabby. As a ms\aster craftsman, the carpenter prided himself on never doing slipshod work.
21. shirk: V. avoid (responsibility, work, etc); malinger. Brian has a strong sense of duty; he would never shirk any responsibility.
55. sleazy: ADJ. flimsy; unsubstantial. This is a sleazy fabric; it will not wear well.
64. slough: V. cast off. Each spring, the snake sloughs off its skin. also N.
40. sinister: ADJ. evil. We must defeat the sinister forces that seek our downfall.
5. serpentine: ADJ. winding; twisting. The car swerved at every curve in the serpentine road.
92. somatic: ADJ. pertaining to the body; physical. Why do you ignore the body; physical. Why do you ignore the spiritual aspects and emphasize only the corporeal and the somatic ones?
84. solicit: V. request earnestly; seek. Knowing she needed to have a solid majority for the budget to pass, the mayor telephoned all the members of the city council to solicit their votes.
65. slovenly: ADJ. untidy; careless in work habits. Unshaven, sitting around in his bathrobe all afternoon, Gus didn't care about the slovenly appearance he presented. sloven, N.
32. simian: ADJ. monkeylike. Lemurs are nocturnal mammals and have many simian characteristics, although they are less intelligent than monkeys.
74. smolder: V. burn without flame; be liable to breakout at any moment. The rags smoldered for hours before they burst into flame.
67. sluggish: ADJ. slow; lazy; lethargic. After two nights without sleep, she felt sluggish and incapable of exertion.
86. soliloquy: N. talking to oneself. The soliloquy is a device used by the dramatist to reveal a character's innermost thoughts and emotions.
42. skeptic: ADJ. doubter; person who suspends 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 if can work. skeptical, ADJ. skepticism, N.
2. sere: ADJ. parched; dry. After the unseasonably dry winter the Berkeley hills looked dusty and sere.
73. smirk: N. conceited smile. Wipe that smirk off your face! also V.
68. sluice: N. artificial channel for directing or controlling the flow of water. In times of drought, this sluice enables farmers to obtain water for irrigation.
31. silt: N. sediment deposited by running water. The harbor channel must be dredged annually to remove the silt.
44. skimp: V. provide scantily; live very economically. They were forced to skimp on necessities in order to make limited supplies last the winter.
3. serendipity: N. gift for finding valuable or desirable things by accident; accidental good fortune or luck. Many scientific discoveries are a matter of serendipity; Newton was not sitting there thinking about gravity when the apple dropped on his head.
20. shimmer: V. glimmer intermittently. The moonlight shimmered on the water as the moon broke through the clouds for a moment. also N.
52. slake: V. quench; sate. When we reached the oasis, we were able to slake our thirst.
77. sobriety: N. moderation (especially regarding indulgence in alcohol); seriousness. Neither falling-down drunks nor stand-up comics are noted for sobriety. sober, ADJ.
61. slither: V. slip or slide. During the recent ice storm, many people slithered down this hill as they walked to the station.
27. shyster: N. lawyer using questionable methods. On L.A. Law, respectable attorney Brackman was horrified to learn that his newly discovered half brother was a cheap shyster.
75. snicker: N. half-stifled laugh. The boy could not suppress a snicker when the teacher at on the tack. also V.
66. sluggard: N. lazy person. "You are a sluggard, a drone, a parasite," the angry father shouted at his lazy son.
54. slapdash: ADJ. haphazard; careless; sloppy. From the number of typos and misspellings I've found in it, it's clear that Mario proofread the report in a remarkably slapdash fashion.
4. serenity: N. calmness, placidity. The serenity of the sleepy town was shattered by a tremendous explosion.
90. solvent: ADJ. able to pay all debts. By dint of very frugal living, he was finally able to become solvent and avoid bankruptcy proceedings. solvency, N.
34. simper: V. smirk; smile affectedly. Complimented on her appearance, Stella self-consciously simpered.
76. snivel: V. run at the nose; snuffle; whine. Don't you come sniveling to me complaining about your big brother.
72. smelt: V. melt or blend ores, changing their chemical or composition. The furnaceman smelts tin with copper to create a special alloy used in making bells.
50. slacken: V. slow up; loosen. As they passed the finish line., the runners slackened their pace.
43. skiff: N. 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.
9. sever: V. 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.
41. sinuous: ADJ. winding; bending in and out; not morally honest. The snake moved in a sinuous manner.
81. solder: V. repair or make whole by using a metal alloy. The plumber foxed the leak in the pipes by soldering a couple of joints from which water had been oozing.
6. serrated: ADJ. having a sawtoothed edge. The beech tree is one of many plants that have serrated leaves.
47. skittish: ADJ. lively; frisky. She is as skittish as a kitten playing with a piece of string.
17. sheaf: N. bundle of stalks of grain; any bundles of things tied together. The lawyer picked up a sheaf of papers as she rose to question the witness.
11. sextant: N. 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.
30. sidereal: ADJ. relating to the stars. Although hampered by optical and mechanical flaws, the orbiting Hubble space telescope has relayed extraordinary images of distant sidereal bodies.
24. shrewd: ADJ clever; astute. A shrewd investor, she took clever advantage of the fluctuations of the stock market.
49. skulk: V. move furtively and secretly. He skulked through the less fashionable sections of the city tin order to avoid meeting any of his former friends.
79. sojourn: N. temporary-stay. After his sojoum in Florida, he began to long for the colder climate of his native New England home.
36. simulate: V. feign. She simulated insanity in order to avoid punishment for her crime.
63. slothful: ADJ. lazy. The British word "layabout" sis a splendid descriptive term for someone slothful. What did the lazy bum do? He lay about the house all day. sloth, N.
29. sibylline: ADJ. prophetic; oracular. Until their destruction by fire in 83 B.C., the sibylline books were often consulted by the Romans.
10. severity: N. harshness; intensity; sternness; austerity. The severity of Jane's migraine attack was so great that she took to her bed for a week, severe, ADJ.
87. solitude: N. state of being alone; seclusion. Much depends on how much you like your own company. What to one person seems fearful isolation to another is blessed solitude. solitary, ADJ.
89. soluble: ADJ. able to be dissolved; able to be worked out. Sugar is soluble in water; put a sugar cube in water and it will quickly dissolve. Because the test-maker had left out some necessary data, the problem was not soluble.
91. solvent: N. substance that dissolves another. Dip a cube of sugar into a cup of water; note how the water acts as a solvent, causing the cube to break down.
38. sinewy: ADJ. tough; strong and firm. The steak was too sinewy to chew.
16. shaving: N. very thin piece, usually 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.
62. sloth: N. slow-moving tree-dwelling mammal. Note how well the somewhat greenish coat of the sloth enables it to blend in with its arboreal surroundings. (secondary meaning)
28. sibling: N. brother or sister. We may not enjoy being siblings, but we cannot forget that we still belong to the same family.
56. sleeper: N. something originally of little value or importance that in time becomes very valuable. Unnoticed by the critics at its publication, the eventual Pulizer Prize winner was a classic sleeper.

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Deck Info

Number of cards 91