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General GRE Word List 2

Terms

undefined, object
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Amenities
Noun: convenient feature; courtesies.
In addition to the customary amenities for the business traveler- fax machines, modems, a health club- the hotel offers the services of a butler versed in the social amenities.
Amiable
Adjective: agreeable; lovable; warmly friendly.
In Little Women, Beth is the amiable daughter whose loving disposition endears her to all who know her.
Amicable
Adjective: politely friendly; not quarrelsome.
Beth's sister Jo is the hot-tempered tomboy who has a hard time maintaining amicable relationships with those around her. Jo's quarrel with her friend Laurie finally reaches an amicable settlement, but not because Jo turns amiable overnight.
Amiss
Adjective (also Adverb): wrong; faulty.
Seeing her frown, he wondered if anything were amiss.
Amity
Noun: friendship.
Student exchange programs such as the Experiment in International Living were established to promote international amity.
Amnesia
Noun: loss of memory.
Because she was suffering from amnesia, the police could nto get the young girl to identify herself.
Amnesty
Noun: pardon.
When his first child was born, the king granted amnesty to all in prison.
Amoral
Adjective: nonmoral.
The amoral individual lacks a code of ethics; he cannot tell right from wrong. The immoral person can tell right from wrong; he chooses to do something he knows is wrong.
Amorous
Adjective: moved by sexual love; loving.
"Love them and leave them" was the motto of the amorous Don Juan.
Amorphous
Adjective: formless; lacking shape or definiton.
As soon as we have decided on our itinterary, we shall send you a copy; right now, our plans are still amorphous.
Amphibian
Adjective: able to live both on land and in water.
Frogs are classified as amphibian.
Amphitheater
Noun: oval building with tiers of seats.
The spectators in the amphitheater cheered the gladiators.
Ample
Adjective: abundant.
Bond had ample opportunity to escape. Why, then, did he let us capture him?
Amplify
Verb: broaden or clarify by expanding; intensify; make stronger.
Charlie Brown tried to amplify his remarks, but he was drowned out by jeers from the audience. Lucy was smarter: she used a loudspeaker to amplify her voice.
Amputate
Verb: cut off part of body; prune.
When the doctors had to amputate Ted Kennedy's leg to prevent the spread of cancer, he did not let the loss of his leg keep him from participating in sports.
Amok (also Amuck)
Adverb: in a state of rage.
The police had to be called in to restrain him after he ran amok in the department store.
Amulet
Noun: charm; talisman.
Around her neck she wore the amulet that the witch doctor had given her.
Anachronism
(frequent word)
Noun: something or someone misplaced in time.
Shakespeare's reference to clocks in Julius Caesar is an anachronism; no clocks existed in Caesar's time.
Adjective: Anachronistic
Analgesic
Adjective: causing insensitivity to pain.
The analgesic qualities of this lotion will provide temporary relief.
Analogous
(frequent word)
Adjective: comparable.
She called our attention to the things that had been done in an analogous situation and recommended that we do the same.
Analogy
Noun: similarity; parallelism.
A well-known analogy compares the body's immune system with an army whose defending troops are the lymphocytes or white blood cells.
Anarchist
Noun: person who seeks to overturn the established government; advocate of abolishing authority.
Denying she was an anarchist, Katya maintained she wished only to make changes in our government, not to destroy it entirely.
Anarchy
(frequent word)
Noun: absence of governing body; state of disorder.
The assassination of the leaders let to a period of anarchy.
Anathema
Noun: solemn curse; someone or something regarded as a curse.
The Ayatolla Khomeini heaped anathema upon "the Great Satan," that is, the United States. To the Ayatolla, America and the West were anathema; he loathed the democratic nations, cursing them in his dying words.
Verb: Anathematize.
Ancestry
Noun: family descent.
David can trace his ancestry as far back as the seventeenth century, when one of his ancestors was a court trumpeter somewhere in Germany.
Adjective: ancestral.
Anchor
Verb: secure of fasten firmly; be fixed in place.
We set the post in concrete to anchor it in place.
Noun: Anchorage.
Ancillary
Adjective (also Noun): serving as an aid or accessory; auxiliary.
In an ancillary capacity Doctor Watson was helpful; however, Holmes could not trust the good doctor to solve a perplexing case on his own.
Anecdote
Noun: short account of an amusing or interesting event.
Rather than make concrete proposals for welfare reform, President Reagan told anecdotes about poor people who became wealthy despite their impoverished backgrounds.
Anemia
Noun: condition in which blood lacks red corpuscles.
The doctor ascribes her tiredness to anemia.
Adjective: anemic.
Anesthetic
Noun: substance that removes sensation with or without loss of consciousness.
His monotonous voice acted like an anesthetic; his audience was soon asleep.
Noun: anesthesia.
Anguish
Noun: acute pain; extreme suffering.
Visiting the site of the explosion, the president wept to see the anguish of the victims and their families.
Angular
Adjective: sharp cornered; stiff in manner.
Mr. Spock's features, though angular, were curiously attractive, in a Vulcan way.
Animadversion
Noun: critical remark.
He resented the animadversions of his critics, particularly because he realized they were true.
Animated
Adjective: lively; spirited.
Jim Carrey's facial expressions are highly animated: when he played Ace Ventura, he was practically rubber-faced.
Animosity
Noun: active enmity.
He incurred the animosity of the ruling class because he advocated limitations of their power.
Animus
Noun: hostile feeling or intent.
The animus of the speaker became obvious to all when he began to indulge in sarcastic and insulting remarks.
Annals
Noun: records; history.
In the annals of this period, we find no mention of democratic movements.
Anneal
Verb: reduce brittleness and improve toughness by heating and cooling.
After the glass is annealed, it will be less subject to chipping and cracking.
Annex
Verb: attach; take possession of.
Mexico objected to the United States' attempts to annex the territory that later became the state of Texas.
Annihilate
Verb: destroy.
The enemy in its revenge tried to annihilate the entire population.
Annotate
Verb: comment; make explanatory notes.
In the appendix to the novel, the critic sought to annotate many of the more esoteric references.
Annuity
Noun: yearly allowance.
The annuity she set up with the insurance company supplements her social security benefits so that she can live very comfortable without working.
Annul
Verb: make void.
The parents of the eloped couple tried to annul the marriage.
Anodyne
Noun: drug that relieves pain; opiate.
His pain was so great that no anodyne could relieve it.
Anoint
Verb: consecrate.
The prophet Samuel anointed David with oil, crowning him king of Israel.

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