Shared Flashcard Set

Details

GRE vocab
N/A
38
Language - English
Graduate
08/29/2009

Additional Language - English Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
aberrant
Definition

deviating from what is normal

 

When a person's behavior becomes aberrant, his or her peers may become conerned that the individual is becoming a deviant.

Term
abeyance
Definition

temporary suppression or suspension

 

A good judge must hold his or her judgment in abeyance until all the facts in a case have been presented.

Term
abscond
Definition

to depart secretly

 

A warrant is out for the arrest of a person believed to have absconded with three million dollars.

Term
abstemious
Definition

moderate in appetite

 

Some research suggests that people with an abstemious lifestyle tend to live longer than people who indulge their appetites.

Term
admonish
Definition

to caution or reprimand

 

The judge admonished the jury to discount testimony that had been ruled inadmissible.

Term
aesthetic
Definition

relating to beauty or art

 

Members of the English aesthetic movement were proponents of the doctrine of art for art's sake.

Term
aggregate
Definition

amounting to a whole; total

 

The aggregate wealth of a country includes private as weel as public resources and possessions.

Term
alacrity
Definition

cheerful willingness; eagerness; speed

 

The football coach was pleased to see the team get on the task of imporving its tackling skills with alacrity.

Term
amalgamate
Definition

to combine into a unified whole

 

In early 1999, six municipalities were amalgamated into an enlarged city of Toronto, Canada.

Term
ambiguous
Definition

unclear or doubtful in meaning

 

 

Term
ambivalence
Definition

the state of having conflicint emotioanl attitudes

 

John felt some ambivalence about getting married before finishing college.

Term
ameliorate
Definition

to improve

 

They tried to ameliorate the flu spread by issuing warnings to the public.

Term
anachronism
Definition

something out of the proper time

 

SOme experts regard the retirement age of 65 as an anachronism at a time when people in the developed world have much longer life expectancies than previously.

Term
analogous
Definition

comparable

 

THe psychology researcher's experiment postulates that the brain is analogous to a digital computer.

Term
anomalous
Definition

irregular; deviating from the norm

 

The psychologist discounted the anomalous behavior of the soldier, saying it was merely a short-term effect of the stress of battle.

Term
antipathy
Definition

dislike; hostility

 

He feels great antipathy for his ex.

Term
apprise
Definition

to inform

 

The author keeps the reader apprised of the issues.

Term
approbatoin
Definition

praise; approval

 

The Congressional Medal of Honor is the highest approbation an American soldier can receive.

Term
appropriate
Definition

to take possesion for one's own use; confiscate

 

The invading ary appropriated supplies from the houses fo the local people.

Term
artless
Definition

guileless; natural

 

Such artless beauty lies in Shakespeare's wit.

Term
ascetic
Definition

one who practices self-denial

 

Muslim ascetics consider the internal battle against human passions a greater jihad than the struggle against infidels.

Term
assiduous
Definition

diligent; hard-working

 

The assiduous people of Hong Kong live in a territory with one of the highest per capita incomes in the world.

Term
assuage
Definition

to make less severe

 

I hope I can assuage your bereavement.

Term
attenuate
Definition

to weaken

 

Modern digital radio equipment allows even signals that have been greately attenuated to be transmitted by one station adn received by another.

Term
audacious
Definition

bold; daring

 

The German commander was know for his audacious surprise attacks on Allied forces in WW2.

Term
austere
Definition

stern; unadorned

 

Deism is an austere belief that reflects the predominant philosophy of the Age of Enlightenment: a universe symmetrical nad governmened by rationality.

Term
autonomous
Definition
self-governing; independent
Term
aver
Definition

to affirm; to declare to be true

 

Yogis aver that everyone has a guru.

Term
banal
Definition

commonplace; trite

 

The writer has a gift for making even the most banal observation seem important and original.

Term
belie
Definition

to contradict; misrepresent; give a false impression

 

The boxer's childlike face belies the ferocity with which he can attack opponents in the ring.

Term
beneficent
Definition

kindly; doing good

 

The theologian discussed the question of why a beneficent and omnipotent God allows bad things to happen to good people.

Term
bombastic
Definition

pompous; using inflated language

 

Nearly lost in the senator's long, bombastic speech were several sensible ideas.

Term
boorish
Definition

rude; insensitive

 

Bob apologized for his boorish behavior at the party, saying he hadn't realized that it was such a formal occassion.

Term
burgeon
Definition

to flourish

 

The increased speed of industrialization and the burgeoning world population resulted in an increase in pollution.

Term
burnish
Definition

to polish

 

The poet T.S. Elliot burnished his reputation as one of the master poets of the twentieth century.

Term
buttress
Definition

to reinforce; support

 

They tried to buttress their cause with more evidence.

Term
cacophonous
Definition

unpleasant or harsh-sounding

 

The dissonant harmonies of the great jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk might seem cacophonous to some listeners.

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