GRE General Set 32
Terms
undefined, object
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- juggernaut
- irresistible crushing force; overwhelming advancing force that crushes everything in its path
- vent
- small opening; outlet (as of fumes or a gas); Ex. He gave ~ to his anger by kicking the chair.
- vertebrate
- having a backbone or spinal column; N: group of animals having a segmented spinal column
- pulpit
- raised platform used in preaching (in a church)
- unanimity
- complete agreement; ADJ. unanimous
- passe
- old-fashioned; past the prime
- jabber
- chatter rapidly or unintelligibly
- asunder
- into parts; apart; V. sunder
- miserly
- stingy; mean
- stygian
- unpleasantly dark; gloomy; hellish; deathly; CF. Styx: the chief river in the subterranean land of the dead
- monochromatic
- having only one color
- squash
- crush; quash; suppress
- mitigate
- appease; moderate; make or become less in force or intensity
- seedy
- run-down; decrepit; disreputable; having many ~s; Ex. ~ downtown hotel
- impervious
- impenetrable; incapable of being damaged or distressed; incapable of being affected (in one's opinions); Ex. ~ to water/criticism
- hydrophobia
- fear of water; rabies
- lumen
- unit of light energy (one candle's worth)
- yeoman
- man or farmer owning small estate; middle-class farmer
- expertise
- specialized knowledge (in a particular field); expert skill
- scotch
- stamp out(put an end to); thwart; hinder; Ex. ~ the rumor; CF. cut
- dilatory
- delaying; tending to delay
- tan
- convert (hide) into leather; make brown by exposure to the sun; 2 [ trans. ] convert (animal skin) into leather by soaking in a liquid containing tannic acid, or by the use of other chemicals.; 3 [ trans. ] informal dated beat (someone) repeatedly, esp. as a punishment : "If Mickey touches a fishing net, I'll ~ his hide !"
- expatriate
- exile; someone who has withdrawn from his native land; V: exile; banish; leave one's country
- miscreant
- wretch; wrongdoer; villain; Ex. kindness to the ~; CF. believe
- sublime
- causing deep feelings of wonder, joy, respect, etc.; exalted; noble and uplifting; utter
- inexorable
- relentless; unyielding; implacable; not capable of being changed by entreaty or efforts; Ex. ~ price rises
- adage
- wise saying; proverb
- tedium
- boredom; weariness; ADJ. tedious
- implicit
- understood but not stated; implied; unquestioning and complete; Ex. ~ trust
- sedentary
- requiring sitting; done while sitting; not moving from one place to another; settled; Ex. ~ job/population
- grimace
- facial distortion to show feeling such as pain, disgust, etc; V.
- conceit
- vanity or self-love; too high opinion of one's own value; extravagant metaphor (in poetry)
- psychosis
- mental disorder; ADJ. N. psychotic
- interloper
- intruder; one who interferes
- agog
- highly excited; intensely curious
- thesis
- opinion put forward and supported by reasoned arguments
- insalubrious
- unwholesome; not healthful; Ex. ~ place
- cede
- yield (title or territory) to (esp. after losing a war); surrender formally; N. cession
- minutiae
- petty or trivial details; CF. ~
- tart
- sharp to the taste; acid-tasting; caustic; sarcastic; Ex. ~ apple/reply
- flux
- flowing; series of changes; fluctuation; Ex. in a state of ~
- splice
- join together end to end to make one continuous length; fasten together; unite; Ex. ~ two strips of tape; N.
- meddlesome
- interfering; V. meddle: interfere
- mincing
- affectedly dainty(delicate); V. mince: cut (esp. meat) into very small pieces; walk with exaggerated primness; walk in an unnatural way, taking little short steps; Ex. The actor minced across the stage; CF. mincemeat; CF. mincer
- anthropomorphic
- having human form or characteristics
- fiat
- command; arbitrary order; Ex. presidential ~; CF. let it be done
- impassioned
- (of speech) filled with passion; fervent
- optometrist
- one who fits glasses to remedy visual defects
- symbiosis
- interdependent relationship (between groups, species) often mutually beneficial; ADJ. symbiotic; CF. together + life
- nondescript
- undistinctive; ordinary; ordinary-looking; Ex. ~ fellow in a crowd
- crave
- desire; want intensely
- surrogate
- substitute; person or thing used in place of another; Ex. ~ mother; ADJ.
- maladroit
- clumsy; not skillful; awkward; bungling
- vise
- vice; tool for holding work in place; clamping device
- gorge
- stuff oneself (with food); glut; CF. ~ous: dazzlingly beautiful
- audit
- examination of accounts of a business; official examination; V.
- diurnal
- daily; occurring during the daytime
- mire
- entangle; stick in swampy ground; stick or sink in ~; N: bog; deep mud; Ex. sucked deeper into the ~
- languid
- lacking energy or vitality; weary; sluggish; listless
- infirmity
- weakness
- concomitant
- naturally accompanying or associated : she loved travel, with all its concomitant worries | concomitant with his obsession with dirt was a desire for order.; that which accompanies; Ex. Deafnes is a frequent concommitant of old age; ADJ: existing or happening together with something else
- perpetuate
- make perpetual; make something last for a long time; preserve from extinction; N. perpetuity
- incredulous
- withholding belief; skeptical; showing disbelief
- rectify
- set right; correct; CF. rect-: right
- sever
- separate; cut off (a part) from a whole; break up (a relationship); N. ~ance; CF. ~ance pay: extra pay given an employee upon leaving a position
- hoary
- white with age
- anguish
- acute pain; extreme suffering
- frolic
- play and jump about happily; frisk; Ex. ~king young lambs
- remediable
- reparable
- skimp
- provide or use scantily; live very economically; Ex. ~ on necessities; ADJ. ~y: inadequate in amount; scanty; stingy; niggardly
- squalor
- condition of being squalid; filth; degradation; dirty neglected state; a state of being extremely dirty and unpleasant, esp. as a result of poverty or neglect : they lived in ~ and disease. ADJ. squalid: dirty; sordid; morally repulsive; Ex. squalid story
- peruse
- read through with care; N. ~al
- lurid
- wild; sensational; graphic; gruesome; horrible; Ex. ~ details of the murder
- skinflint
- miser; stingy person
- savant
- scholar; learned person; CF. savoir: know
- litotes
- understatement for emphasis; Ex. ``not bad(=pretty good)''
- condone
- overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse; we cannot ~ such dreadful behavior disregard, accept, allow, let pass, turn a blind eye to, overlook, forget; forgive, pardon, excuse, let go. antonym condemn.
- equipoise
- balance; balancing force; equilibrium
- glitter
- shine brightly with flashing points of light; Ex. ~ing diamond ring; N: sparkling light; attractiveness; glamor; Ex. ~ of the sun on the waves
- revoke
- cancel; retract; CF. irrevocable
- pass off
- present falsely; represent falsely to be; 2. Be completed or carried out, take place, as in The meeting ~ without incident.
- eddy
- swirling current of water, air, etc.; V.
- grouch
- bad-tempered complaint; person who keeps complaining; V: complain; grumble
- hortatory
- encouraging; exhortive; marked by exhortation; CF. exhort
- wade
- walk through a substance, such as water, that impedes movement
- fraught
- filled (with something unpleasant); full; Ex. ~ with danger and difficulties; CF. freight
- propriety
- fitness; quality of being proper; correct conduct; conformity to prevailing customs and usages; CF. ~or, ~ary
- motility
- ability to move spontaneously; ADJ. motile: moving spontaneously
- replica
- copy
- partisan
- one-sided; prejudiced; committed to a party (with dislike of any others); N: strong supporter of a party; guerrilla
- omnivorous
- eating both plant and animal food; devouring everything
- obsidian
- black volcanic rock
- vacillate
- waver (in opinion); fluctuate; sway to and fro; N. ~ion
- epitaph
- inscription in memory of a dead person (as on a tombstone)
- imposture
- assuming a false identity; masquerade; CF. impostor
- doggerel
- poor verse
- cascade
- small waterfall; 2 a process whereby something, typically information or knowledge, is successively passed on : [as adj. ] the greater the number of people who are well briefed, the wider the ~ effect.
- purgatory
- place of spiritual expiation; temporary state or place in which the souls must expiate their sins; his internship was purgatory torment, torture, misery, suffering, affliction, anguish, agony, woe, hell; an ordeal, a nightmare. antonym paradise.
- puissant
- powerful; strong; potent; N. puissance: power
- dissipate
- squander; waste foolishly; scatter
- carcinogenic
- causing cancer; N. carcinogen
- slag
- glassy residue from smelting metal; dross; waste matter
- prognosticate
- predict (according to present indications); foretell or prophesy (an event in the future) : the economists were ~ing financial Armageddon. See note at predict .
- irate
- angry; CF. ire: anger; wrath
- arroyo
- gully; narrow channel formed by rainwater
- construe
- explain; interpret; Ex. ~ her silence as meaning that she agreed; CF. mis~
- sleazy
- shabby and dirty; flimsy; insubstantial; Ex. ~ back-street hotel/fabric
- suckle
- give or take milk at the breast or udder
- cadet
- student at a military school
- cameo
- shell or jewel carved in relief; star's special appearance in a minor role in a film
- low
- moo; make the sound of a cow
- delusion
- false belief; hallucination; deluding; Ex. ~s of grandeur; Ex. under the ~ that
- application
- diligent attention; diligence; V. apply oneself
- effective
- effectual; producing a strong response; striking; in operation; in effect; Ex. ~ speech/photograph
- whit
- small amount; smallest speck; Ex. not a ~ of
- reprimand
- reprove severely; rebuke; N.
- pachyderm
- thick-skinned animal
- dissent
- disagree
- jumble
- mix in a confused way
- rationalize
- make rational; devise false reasons for (one's behavior); offer an excuse; give a plausible reason for an action in place of a true, less admirable ones; N. ~ation
- apparent
- evident; easily seen or understood; appearing as such; Ex. ~ improvement
- bivouac
- temporary encampment; camp without tents; V.
- indigent
- poor; destitute
- spruce
- neat and trim in appearance; smart; Ex. Be ~ for your job interview; V.
- martinet
- strict disciplinarian; person who demands total obedience to rules and orders; CF. Jean Martinet
- nadir
- lowest point; point on the celestial sphere diametrically opposite the zenith
- medium
- element that is a creature's natural environment; nutrient setting in which microorganisms are cultivated; appropriate occupation or means of expression; channel of communication; compromise; middle position between extremes; intervening substance through which something else is transmitted
- penance
- self-imposed punishment for sin; Ex. do ~ for one's sins; CF. penitent
- niggle
- spend too much time on minor points (esp. when finding fault); find fault; Ex. ~ over details; ADJ. ~ing
- jaunt
- trip; short journey
- emblazon
- ornament richly (a shield or flag); N. ~ment; conspicuously inscribe or display (a design) on something : T-shirts ~ed with the names of baseball teams.; • depict (a heraldic device) : the Cardinal's coat of arms is emblazoned on the door panel.
- uninhibited
- having no inhibitions; free in behavior and feelings
- surge
- powerful movement of or like a wave; V.
- bulwark
- strong wall built for defense; earthwork or other strong defense; person who defends
- solemnity
- seriousness; gravity
- centigrade
- denoting a widely used temperature scale (basically same as Celsius)
- shrewd
- clever; astute
- luxuriate
- take pleasure in great comfort
- concord
- harmony; accord
- shoot
- new growth from a plant
- sensitization
- process of being made sensitive or acutely responsive to an external agent or substance; V. sensitize: make or become sensitive
- vanguard
- forerunners; foremost position of an army; advance forces; foremost position in a trend or movement; CF. rearguard
- implement
- put into effect; enforce; carry out; supply with tools; Ex. ~ the plan/suggestion; noun a tool, utensil, or other piece of equipment, esp. as used for a particular purpose : agricultural ~s. See note at tool .
- urchin
- mischievous child (usually a boy); CF. ~: hedgehog; CF. porcupine: pig with spikes ?; CF. sea ~
- hue and cry
- outcry; loud cry or clamor; strong protest; Ex. ~ against the new rule
- unwieldy
- awkward (to carry or move); cumbersome; unmanageable
- inept
- unsuited; inappropriate; lacking skill; incompetent; CF. inapt: (of statements or ideas) inappropriate
- strut
- pompous walk; V: walk in a self-important manner
- petrify
- turn to stone; cause to become stonelike; stun or paralyze
- pastiche
- imitation of another's style in musical composition or in writing; work of art openly imitating the works of other artists; an artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist, or period : the operetta is a ~ of 18th century styles | the songs amount to much more than blatant ~.
- frolicsome
- prankish; gay; playful; merry; frisky
- arcade
- a covered passageway usually lined with shops
- insurgent
- rebellious; N.
- emetic
- substance causing vomiting; ADJ.• informal nauseating or revolting : that ~ music in department stores.
- vestige
- trace; remains; Ex. ~s of some ancient religion; a trace of something that is disappearing or no longer exists : the last ~s of colonialism. See note at trace.; • [usu. with negative ] the smallest amount (used to emphasize the absence of something) : he waited patiently, but without a ~ of sympathy.
- recuperate
- recover; return to health; regain; Ex. ~ losses