GRE General Set 8
Terms
undefined, object
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- deposition
- testimony under oath; deposing; dethroning
- lexicon
- dictionary; A stock of terms used in a particular profession, subject, or style; a vocabulary: the ~ of surrealist art.
- sibylline
- prophetic; oracular; N. sibyl: woman prophet (in the ancient world)
- rift
- narrow opening in a large mass; break in a friendly relation; Ex. through a rift in the clouds; OP. reconcilation
- ethereal
- like a spirit or fairy; unearthly light; heavenly; unusually refined; Ex. She has an ~ beauty; CF. ether: upper air
- patent
- obvious; easily seen; open for the public to read; of or protected by a ~; Ex. ~ to everyone; N.[from Latin patēns, patent-, open, present participle of patēre, to be open.]
- perspicuous
- (of something) plainly expressed; easy to understand; Ex. ~ comments
- pedagogy
- teaching; art of education
- reparation
- compensation (for loss or wrong); amends; Ex. make ~ for the damage; CF. repair
- overwrought
- nervous or excited; extremely agitated; hysterical; wrought-up; CF. wrought: made or done
- denigrate
- blacken; defame; [Latin dēnigrāre, dēnigrāt-, to blacken, defame : dē-, de- + niger, nigr-, black.]
- regeneration
- spiritual rebirth; Ex. ~ of the prisoners; V. regenerate: give or obtain new life; reform spiritually
- longevity
- long life; long duration
- distinctive
- clearly different from others of the same kind
- transpose
- reverse the order or position of; # To reverse or transfer the order or place of; interchange. To put into a different place or order: transpose the words of a sentence. See synonyms at reverse.
- industrious
- diligent; hard-working; N. -try
- traverse
- go through or across
- bar
- railing in a courtroom; legal profession; vertical line dividing a staff into equal measures; Ex. prisoner at the ~; V: shut in or out with ~s; forbid; exclude; CF. barrister
- cohere
- stick together
- bode
- foreshadow; portend; # To be an ome# Archaic. To predict; foretell.n of: heavy seas that boded trouble for small craft.; # Archaic. To predict; foretell.; [Middle English boden, from Old English bodian, to announce.]
- spurn
- reject disdainfully; scorn; Ex. She ~ed all offers of help.
- mete
- measure; distribute; administer; Ex. ~ out justice/punishment
- cherubic
- angelic; innocent-looking; N. cherub; CF. seraph: winged angel of the highest order
- scholarly
- full of learning; erudite; like a scholar; Ex. ~ journal
- metallurgical
- pertaining to the art of removing metals from ores; N. -gy : science that deals with extracting metals from ores; [New Latin metallūrgia, from Greek metallourgos, miner, worker in metals : metallon, a mine, metal + -ourgos, -worker (from ergon, work).]
- exonerate
- acquit; exculpate; free from blame or guilt; [from Latin exonerāre, exonerāt-, to free from a burden : ex-, ex- + onus, oner-, burden.]
- ceremonious
- marked by formality; extremely formal and polite; CF. ceremony: conventional social courtesy
- canny
- shrewd in money matters; thrifty
- decomposition
- decay; V. decompose: decay; break and separate into simple parts
- scanty
- meager; insufficient
- bifurcated
- divided into two branches; forked; from Latin bifurcus, two-pronged : bi-, two; see bi-1 + furca, fork.]
- farce
- broad comedy; mockery; humorous play full of silly things happening; ADJ. farcical
- meager
- scanty; inadequate
- indicative
- suggestive; implying; serving to indicate
- disband
- dissolve; disperse; (of a group) break up and separate; Ex. The club has ~ed.
- phalanx
- formation of infantry carrying overlapping shields and long spears; group of men packed together (for attack or defense)
- serrated
- having a sawtoothed edge; Ex. ~ leaf; [Latin serrātus, saw-shaped, from serra, saw.]
- pan
- criticize harshly
- vapid
- lacking liveliness; dull and unimaginative; insipid and flavorless; Ex. ~ lecture
- commensurate
- equal in extent; of the same size; Corresponding in size or degree; proportionate: a salary ~ with my performance. Measurable by a common standard; commensurable.; [Late Latin commēnsūrātus : Latin com-, com- + mēnsūrātus (from past participle of mēnsūrāre, to measure, from Latin mēnsūra, measure; see measure).]
- raconteur
- story-teller; one who tells stories with wit and skill; One who tells stories and anecdotes with skill and wit.
- rebuff
- reject bluntly; snub; beat back; Ex. She -ed his invitation; N.
- juncture
- crisis; point in time; joining point; joint; act of joining
- maraud
- move in search of plunder; Ex. -ing army
- conservatoire
- school of the fine arts (especially music or drama); glass-enclosed area; CF. conservancy
- acrid
- bitter (to the taste or smell); sharp; bitterly pungent
- apprise
- inform; To give notice to; inform: ~ed us of our rights.
- pulmonary
- pertaining to the lungs; [Latin pulmōnārius, from pulmō, pulmōn-, lung.]
- reduce
- diminish; bring to a weaker or more difficult condition; demote; lower in rank; separate into components by analysis; Ex. ~ed to the ranks; Ex. ~ the house to rubble; N. reduction
- pulverize
- crush or grind into very small particles; from Late Latin pulverizāre, from Latin pulvis, pulver-, dust
- malcontent
- person dissatisfied with existing state of affairs; discontented person; ADJ: discontented
- lineaments
- features especially of the face; distinctive shape or contour of the face; CF. line; A distinctive shape, contour, or line, especially of the face.; A definitive or characteristic feature. Often used in the plural: "the gross and subtle folds of corruption on the average senatorial face are hardly the ~ s of virtue" (Norman Mailer).
- toss
- throw lightly; move or lift (the head) with a sudden motion; flip (a coin) to decide something
- fetter
- shackle; restrict the freedom of; N. chain or ~ for the foot of a prisoner; CF. foot
- cohesion
- tendency to keep together
- devoid
- empty; lacking
- optician
- maker and seller of eyeglasses
- topple
- become unsteady and fall down
- aseptic
- preventing infection; having a cleansing effect; Free of pathogenic microorganisms: aseptic surgical instruments. # Using methods to protect against infection by pathogenic microorganisms: aseptic surgical techniques.
- wane
- decrease in size or strength (after being full); grow gradually to an end; Ex. The moon waxes and ~ every month; N.
- clarion
- shrill, trumpetlike sound; kind of trumpet used in former times; Loud and clear: a ~ call to resistance.
- quintessence
- purest and highest embodiment; perfect example; apotheosis; most essential element; Ex. ~ of wit; ADJ. quintessential; CF. fifth essence [Latin quīnta, feminine of quīntus, fifth + Latin essentia, essence; see essence.]
- qualms
- uneasy feelings; misgivings; uneasy fears especially about matters of conscience; Ex. I have no ~ about giving this assignment to Helen.
- sober
- serious; solemn; not drunken; abstemious or temperate; V: make or become sober
- canard
- unfounded false rumor; exaggerated false report
- odious
- arousing strong dislike; hateful(causing hatred); vile; N. -dium
- validate
- make valid; confirm; ratify
- archaic
- antiquated; no longer used; belonging to the past; N.
- prefigure
- be a sign of; foreshadow
- influx
- flowing into
- immaculate
- spotless; flawless; absolutely clean; [from Latin immaculātus : in-, not; see in-1 + maculātus, past participle of maculāre, to blemish (from macula, spot).]
- gamely
- in a spirited manner; with courage; Ex. fight ~ against a superior boxer; ADJ. game; In a plucky manner; spiritedly.
- despot
- tyrant; harsh, authoritarian ruler; CF. despotism
- ramp
- slope; inclined plane or roadway (connecting two levels)
- indices
- signs; indications; Ex. ~ of a student's potential; CF. index: something that reveals or indicates; sign; Ex. cost-of-living index
- fledgling
- inexperienced; N: young bird that has acquired wing feathers and is learning to fly; inexperienced person
- epoch
- period of time
- tardy
- slow; sluggish; not on time; late; Ex. ~ arrival
- unseemly
- unbecoming; not proper in behavior; indecent; Ex. leave with ~ haste
- propitiate
- appease; conciliate; make peaceful; ADJ. -tory; Latin propitiāre, propitiāt-, from propitius, propitious.
- fusion
- union; coalition; V. fuse
- discourse
- serious speech, writing, or conversation; formal discussion (either written or spoken); conversation; V.
- momentum
- quantity of motion of a moving body; impetus; moving force
- supposititious
- assumed; counterfeit; hypothetical; Substituted with fraudulent intent; spurious.
- killjoy
- grouch; spoilsport; one who intentionally spoils the pleasure of others; One who spoils the enthusiasm or fun of others.
- dutiful
- (duteous) (of people or their behavior) respectful; obedient (filled with a sense of duty)
- wistful
- sadly thoughtful (because of desires or memories); sadly pensive; vaguely longing; [From obsolete wistly, intently.]
- untoward
- unexpected and adverse; unfortunate or unlucky; Ex. ~ encounter; adv. -ly; n. -ness
- clientele
- body of customers; The clients of a professional person or practice considered as a group.; A body of customers or patrons: a restaurant's clientele.
- jubilation
- rejoicing; great joy
- sheer
- pure; thin and transparent; very steep