GRE vocabulary t
Terms
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- truculence
- aggressiveness; ferocity. Tynan's reviews were noted for their caustic attacks and general tone of truculence
- trough
- container for feeding farm animals; lowest point of a wave, business cycle, etc). The hungry pigs struggled to get at the fresh swill in the trough. The sufer rode her board, coasting along in the trough between two waves.
- troth
- pledge of good faith especially in betrothal. He gave her his troth and vowed to cherish her always.
- trivia
- trifles; unimportant matters. Too many magazines ignore newsorthy subjects and feature
- trite
- hackneyed; commonplace. The trite and predicatble situations in many television programs turn off many viewers, who, in turn, turn off heir sets
- trinket
- knickknack; bauble. Whenever she travelled abroad, Ethel would pick up costume jewelry and other trinkets as souvenirs.
- trilogy
- group of grhee works. Having read the first two volumes of Philip Pullman's trilogy, Alison could hardly wait to read volume three.
- trigger
- to set off. John is touchy today; say one word wrong and you'll trigger an explosion.
- trifling
- trivial; unimportant. Why bother going to see a doctor for such a trifling, everyday cold?
- trident
- three-pronged spear. Neptune is uaully depicted as rising from the sea, carring his trident on his shoulder
- tribute
- tax levied by a ruler; mark of respect. The colonists refused to pay tribute to a foreign despot.
- tribunal
- court of justice. The decision of the tribunal was final and the pirsoner was sentenced to death.
- tribulation
- distress; suffering. After all the trials and tribulations we have gone through, we need this rest.
- trepidation
- fear; nervous apprehension. As she entered the office of the dean of admissions, Sharon felt some trepidation about how she would do in her interview.
- trenchant
- forceful and vigorous; cutting. With his trenchant wit, reviwer Frank Rich cut straight to the heart of the matter, panning a truly dreadful play
- tremulous
- trembling; wavering. She was tremulous more from excitement than from fear
- tremor
- trembling; slight quiver. She had a nervous tremor in her right hand
- trek
- travel; journey. The tribe made their trek further north that summer in search of game
- treatise
- article treating a subject systematically and thoroughly. He is preparing a treatise on the Elizabethan playwrights for his graduate degree.
- travesty
- harshly distorted imitation; parody; debased likeness. PHilips's translation of Don Quixote is so inadequate and clumsy tat it seems a travesty of the original.
- traverse
- go through or across. When you traverse this field, be careful of the bull.
- travail
- painful physical or mental labor; drudgery; lorment. Like every other recent law school graduate she knew, Shelby hated the seemingly endless travail or cramming for the bar exam.
- traumatic
- pertaining to an injury caused by violence. In his nightmares, he kept on recalling the traumatic experience of being wounded in battle.
- trappings
- outward decorations; ornaments. He loved the trappings of success: the limousines, the stock options, the company jet.
- transport
- strong emotion. Margo was a creature of extremes, at one moment in transports of joy over a vivid sunset, at another moment in transports of grief over a dying bird.
- transpire
- be revealed; happen. When Austen writes the sentence, 'It had just transpired that he had left gaming debts behind him,' her meaning is not that the debts had just been incurred, but that the shocking news had just leadked out.
- transparent
- easily detected; permitting light to pass through feely. John's pride in his son is transparent; no one who sees the two of them together can miss it.
- transmute
- change; convert to something different. He was unable to transmute his dreams into actualities.
- translucent
- partially transparent. We could not recognize the people in the next room because of the translucent curtains that separated us.
- transitory
- impermanent; fleeting. Fame is transitory: today's rising star is all too soon tomorrow's washed up has been.
- transition
- going from one state of action to another. During the period of transition from oil heat to gas heat, the furnace will have to be shut off.
- transient
- momentary; temporary, staying for a short time. Lexy's joy at finding the perfect Christmas gift for Phil was transient; she still had to find presents for the cousins and Uncle Bob. Located near the airport, this hotel caters to the largely transient trade.
- transgression
- violation of a law; sin. Although Widow Douglass was willing to overlook Huck's minro transgressions, Miss Watson refused to forgive and forget
- transfigure
- transform outwardly, usually for the better, change in form or aspect. Elizatbeth Barrett's love for Robert Browning transfigured her poetry as well as transforing her life. Bely's poetic novel, Peterburg, is a travel fantasy set within a city that is both real and transfigured into a myth.
- transcribe
- copy. When you transcribe your notes, please send a copy to Mr. Smith and keep the original for our files.
- transcendent
- surpassing; exceeding ordinary limits, superior
- tranquillity
- calmness; peace. After the commotion and excitement of the city, I appreciate the tranquility of these fields and forests.
- traduce
- expose to slander. His opponents tried to traduce the candidate's reputation by spreading rumors about his past.
- tractable
- docile, easily managed. Although susan seemed a tractable young woman, she had a stubborn streak of independence that occasionally led h to defy the powers-that-be when she felt they were in the wrong.
- tract
- pamphlet; a region of indefinte size. The King granted William Penn a tract of land in the New World.
- toxic
- poisonous
- tout
- publicize; praise excessively. I lost confidence in my broker after he touted some junk bonds that turned out to be a bad investment.
- touchy
- sensitive; irascible. Do not discuss his acne with Archy; he is very touchy about it.
- touchstone
- stone used to test the fineness of gold alloys; criterion. What touchstone can be used to measure the character of a person?
- totter
- move unsteadily; sway, as if about to fall. On unsteady feet, the drunk tottered down the hill to the nearest bar.
- tortuous
- winding; full of curves. Because this road is so tortuous, it is unwise to go faster than twenty miles an hour on it.
- torso
- trunk of statue with head and limbs missng; human trunk. This torso, found iin the ruins of Pompeii, is now on exhibition in the museum in Naples.
- torrid
- passionate; hot or scorching. The novels published by Harlequin Romances feature torrid love affairs, some set in torrid climates.
- torque
- twisting force; force producing rotation. With her wrench she applied sufficient torque to the nut to loosen it.
- torpor
- lethargy; sluggishness; dormancy. Throughout the winter, nothing aroused the bear from his torpor: He would not emerge from hibernation until spring.
- topography
- physical features of a region. Before the generals gave the order to attack, they attack, they ordered a complete study of the topography of the region.
- tonsure
- shaving of the head, especially by person entering religious orders. His tonsure, even more than his monastic garb, indicated that he was a member of the religous order.
- titular
- having the title of an office without the obligations. Although he was the titular head of the company, the real decisions were made by his general manager.
- titter
- nervous laugh. her ant's constant titter nearly drove her mad.
- title
- right or claim to possession; mark of rank; name (of a book, film, etc). Though the penniless Duke of Ragwort no longer held title to the family estate, he still retained his title as head of one of England's oldest families.
- titillate
- tickle. I am here not to titillate my audience but to enlighten it.
- tithe
- tax of one-tenth. Because he was an agnostic, he refused to pay his tithes to the clergy.
- titanic
- giganic. Titanic waves beat against the majestic S.S.
- tirade
- extended scolding; denuciation; harangue. Every time the boss holds a meeting, he goes into a lengthy tirade scolding us for everything from tardiness to padding our expenses.
- tipple
- drink (alcoholic beverages) frequently. He found that his most enjoyable evings occurred when he tippled with his friends at the local pub.
- timorous
- fearful; demonstrating fear. Her timorous manner betrayed the anxiety she felt at the moment.
- timidity
- lack of self-confidence or courage. If you are to succeed as a salesperson, you must first lose your timidity and fear of failure
- timbre
- quality of a musical tone produced by a musical instrument. We identify the instrument producing a musical sound by its timbre.
- tiller
- handle used to move boat's rudder (to steer). Fearing the wind might shift suddenly and capsize the skiff, Tom kept on hand on the tiller at all times.
- tightward
- excessively frugal person; miser. Jill called Jack a tightward because he never picked up the check.
- thwart
- baffle; frustrate. He felt that everyone was tring to thrwart his plans and prevent his success.
- throttle
- strangle. The criminal tried to throttle the old man wiht his bare hands
- throng
- crowd. Throngs of shoppers jammed the aisles
- throes
- violent anguish. The throes of despair can be as devastating a the spasms accompanying physical pain
- thrive
- prosper; flourish. Despite the impact of the recesion n the restaurant trade, Philip's cafe thrived.
- thrifty
- careful about ommney; econmical. A thrifty shopper compares prices before making major purchases
- threadbare
- worn through till the threads show. Shabby and poor. The poorly paid adjunt professor hid the threadbare spots on his jacket by sewing leather patches on his sleeves.
- thrall
- slave; bondage. The captured soldier was held in thrall by the conquering army
- thespian
- pertaining to drama. Her success in the school play convinced h she was destined for a thespian career.
- thermal
- pertaining to heat. The natives discovered that the hot springs gave excellent thermal baths and began tod evelop their community as a health resort