GRE Word List 1 abase-adroit
Terms
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- abase
- V. lower; degrade; humiliate. Anna expected to have to curtsy to the King of Siam; when told to cast herself down on the ground before him, however, she refused to abase herself.
- abash
- V. embarrass. He was not at all abashed by her open admiration.
- â–‡ abate
- V. subside or moderate. Rather than leaving immediately, they waited for the storm to abate.
- abbreviate
- V. shorten. Because we were running out of time, the lecturer had to abbreviate her speech.
- abdicate
- V. renounce; give up. WHen Edward VII abdicated the British throne, he surprised the entire world.
- â–‡ aberrant
- ADJ. abnormal or deviant. Given the aberrant nature of the date, we came to doubt the validity of the entire experiment.
- aberration
- N. deviation from the expected or the normal; mental irregularity or disorder. Survivors of a major catastrophe are likely to exhibit aberrations of behavior because of the trauma they have experienced.
- abet
- V. assist, usually in doing something wrong; encourage. She was unwilling to abet him in the swindle he had planned.
- â–‡ abeyance
- N. suspended action. The deal was held in abeyance until her arrival.
- abhor
- V. detest; hate. She abhorred all forms of bigotry. abhorrence, N.
- abject
- ADJ. wretched; lacking pride. On the streets of New York the homeless live in abject poverty, huddling in doorways to find shelter from the wind.
- abjure
- V. renounce upon oath. He abjured his allegiance to the king. abjuration, N.
- ablution
- N. washing. His daily ablutions were accompanied by load noises that he humorously labeled "Opera in the Bath."
- abnegation
- N. renunication; self-sacrifice. Though Rudolph and Duchess Flavia loved one another, their love was doomed, for she had to wed the king; their act of abnegation was necessary to preserve the kingdom.
- abolish
- V. cancel; put an end to. The president of the college refused to abolish the physical eduation requirement. abolition, N.
- abominate
- V. loathe; hate. Moses scolded the idol worshippers in the tribe because he abominated the custom. abominable, ADJ.
- aboriginal
- ADJ., N. being the first of its kind in a region; primitive; hative. Her studies of the priminitive art forms of the aboriginal Indians were widely reported in the scientific journals. aborigine, N.
- abortive
- ADJ. unsuccessful; fruitless. We had to abandon our abortive attempts.
- abrasive
- ADJ. rubbing away; tending to grind down. Just as abrasive cleaning powders can wear away a shiny finish, abrasive remarks can wear away a listener's patience. abrade, V.
- abridge
- V. condense or shorten. Because the publishers felth the public wanted a shorter version of War and Peace, the proceeded to abridge the novel.
- abrogate
- V. abolish. He intended to abrogate the decree issued by his predecessor.
- â–‡ abscond
- V. depart secretly and hide. The teller absconded with the bonds and was not found.
- absolute
- ADJ. complete; totally unlimited; certain. Although the Kind of Siam was an absolute monarch, he did not want to behead his unfaithful wife without absolute evidence of her infidelity.
- absolve
- V. pardon (an offense). The father confessor absolved him of his sins. absolution, N.
- abstain
- V. refrain; withhold from participation. After considering the effect of alcohol on his athletic performance, he decided to abstain from drinking while he trained for the race.
- â–‡ abstemious
- ADJ. sparing in eating and drinking; temperate. The drunkards mocked him because of his abstemious habits.
- abstinence
- N. restraint from eating or drinking. The doctor recommended total abstinence from salted foods. abstain, V.
- abstract
- ADJ. theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational. To him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal.
- abstruse
- ADJ. obscure; profound; difficult to understand. Baffled by the abstruse philosophical texts assigned in class, Dave asked Lexy to explain Kant's Critique of Purse Reason.
- abusive
- ADJ. coarsely insulting; physically harmful. An abusive parent damages a child both mentally and physically.
- abut
- V. border upon; adjoin. Where our estates abut, we just build a fence.
- abysmal
- ADJ. bottomless. His arrogance is exceeded only by his abysmal ignorance.
- accede
- V. agree. If I accede to this demand for blackmail, I am afraid that I will be the victim of future demands.
- accelerate
- V. move faster. In our science class, we learn how falling bodies accelerate.
- accessible
- ADJ. easy to approach; obtainable. We asked our guide whther the ruins were accessible on foot.
- accessory
- N. additional object; useful but not essential thing. She bought an attractive handbag as an accessory for her dress. also ADJ.
- acclaim
- V. applaude; announce with great approval. The sportscasters acclaimed every American vicotry in the Olympics and decried every American defeat. acclamation, N.
- acclimate
- V. adjust to climate or environment; adapt. On of the difficulties of our present air age is the need of travelers to acclimate themselves to their new and often strange environments.
- acclivity
- N. sharp upslope of a hall. The car could not go up the acclivity in high gear.
- accolade
- N. award of merit. In Hollywood, an "Oscar" is the highest accolade.
- accomodate
- V. oblige or help someone; adjust or bring into harmony; adapt. Mitch always did everything possible to accommodate his elderly relatives, from driving them to their medical appoitnments to helping them with paperwork. (secondary meaning)
- accomplice
- N. parner in crime. Because he had provided the criminal with the lethal weapon, he was arrested as an accomplice in the murder.
- accord
- N. agreement. She was in complete accord with the verdict.
- accost
- V. approach and speak first to a person. When the two young men accosted me, I was frightened because I thought they were going to attack me.
- accoutre
- V. equip. The fisherman was accoutred with the best that the sporting goods store could supply. accoutrement, N.
- accretion
- N. growth; increase. The accretion of wealth marked the family's rise in power.
- accrue
- V. come about by addition. You must pay the interst that has accrused on your debt as well as the principal sum. accrual, N.
- acerbity
- N. bitterness of speech and temper. THe meeting of the uNited Nations Assembly was marked with such acerbity that little hope of reaching any useful settlement of th eproblem could be held. acerbic, ADJ.
- acetic
- ADJ. vinegary. THe slaad has an exceedingly acetic flavor.
- acidulous
- ADJ. slightly sour; sharp; caustic. James was unpopular because of his sarcastic and acidulous remarks.
- acknowledge
- V. recognize; admit. When pressed for an answer, she acknowledged the existence of another motive for the crime.
- acme
- N. peak; pinnacle; highest point. Welles's success in Citizen Kane marked the acme of his career as an actor; never again did he achieve such popular acclaim.
- accoustics
- N. science of sound; quality that makes a room easy or hard to ehar in. Carnegie Hall is like by music lovers becuase of its fine acoustics.
- acquiesce
- V. assent; agree passivley. Although she appeared to acquiesce to her employer's suggestions, I could tell she had reservations about the changes he wanted made. acquiescnece, N; acquiescent, ADJ.
- acquittal
- N. deliverance from a charge. His acquittal by the jury surprised those who ahd thought him guilty. acquit, V.
- acrid
- ADJ. sharp; bitterly pungent. The acrid odor of burnt gunpowder filled the room after the pistol had been fired.
- acrimonious
- ADJ. stinging; caustic. His tendency to utter acrimonious remarks alienated his audience. acrimony, N.
- actuarial
- ADJ. calculating; pertaining to insurance statistics. According to recent actuarial tables, life expectancy is greater today than it was a century ago.
- actuate
- V. motivate. I fail to understand what actuated you to reply to this letter so nastily.
- acuity
- N. sharpness. In time his youthful acuity of vision failed him, and he needed glasses.
- acumen
- N. mental keenness. His business acumen helped him to succeed where others had failed.
- acute
- ADJ. quickly perceptive; keen; brief and sever. THe acute young doctor realized immediately that the gradual deterioration of her patient's once-acute hearing was due to a chronic illness, not an acute one.
- adage
- N. wise saying; proverb. There is much truth in the old adage about fools and their money.
- â–‡ adamant
- ADJ. hard; inflexible. He was adamant in his determination to punish the wrongdoer. adamancy, N.
- adapt
- V. alter; modify. Some species of animals have become extinct becuase they could not adapt to a changing environment.
- addendum
- N. addition; appendix to book. Jane's editor approved her new comparative literature text but thought it would be even better iwth an addendum on recent developments in literary criticism.
- addiction
- N. compusive, habitual need. His addition to drugs caused his firends much grief.
- addle
- V. muddle; drive crazy; become rotten. This idiotic plan is confusing enough to addle anyone. addled, ADJ.
- address
- V. direct speech to; deal with or discuss. Due to address the confention in July, Brown planned to address the issue of low-income housing in his speech.
- adept
- ADJ. expert at. She was adept at the fine art of irritating people. also N.
- adhere
- V. stick fast. I will adhere to this opinion until proof that I am wrong is presented. adhesion, N.; adherence, N.
- adherent
- N. supporter; follower. In the wake of the scandal, the senator's on-time adherents quietly deserted him.
- adjunct
- N. something attached to but holding an inferior posiiton. I will entertain this concept as an adjunct to the main proposal.
- adjuration
- N. solemn urging. Her adjuration to tell the truth did not change the witnesses' testimony. adjure, V.
- adjutant
- N. staff officer assiting the commander; assistant. THough Wellington delegated many tasks to his chief adjutant, Lord Fitzroy Somerset, Somerset was in no doubt as to who made all major decisions.
- admonish
- V. warn; reprove. He admonished his listeners to change their wicked ways. admonition, N.
- adorn
- V. decorate. Wall paintings and carved statues adorned the temple. adornment, N.
- adroit
- ADJ. skillful. His adroit handling of the delicate situation pleased his employers.