GRE flash cards

Set: GRE

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All 56 terms

Term	Definition
Bolster	Support, prop up
banal	very ordinary and containing nothing that is interesting or important
Burgeon	grow and flourish
Bombastic	words which sound important but have little meaning, used to impress people
Cacophony	a mixture of loud unpleasant sounds
burnish	to polish metal until it is smooth and shiny
capricious	showing sudden changes in attitude or behaviour
candid	saying what you think openly and honestly; not hiding your thoughts:
dupe	to trick or cheat sb; to deceive or a person who is easily deceived
dogmatic	dictatorial in one's opinion's; being certain that your beliefs are right and that others should accept them, without paying attention to evidence or other opinions:
eclectic	not following one style or set of ideas but choosing from or using a wide variety:
eloquent	well-spoken, expressive, articulate
elegy	a sorrowful poem or speech
embellish	to make sth more beautiful by adding decorations to it; to add ornamental or fictitious details
implacable	unable to be calmed down or made peaceful
disparate	made up of parts or people that are very different from each other:
effrontery	behaviour that is confident and very rude, without any feeling of shame
enervate	to make sb feel weak and tired: an __ disease / climate
ennui	feelings of being bored and not satisfied because nothing interesting is happening
erudite	very learned; scholarly
exculpate	to prove or state officially that sb is not guilty of sth; out of blame;
exigency	an urgent need or demand that you must deal with
extemporaneous	improvised; done without preparation
filibuster	a long speech made in a parliament in order to delay a vote
fulminate	to criticize sb/sth angrily
outrageous	very shocking and unacceptable
catalyst	a person or thing that causes a change:
castigate	to criticize sb/sth severely:
caustic	critical in a bitter or sarcastic way; _ comments
chauvinist	a person who has an aggressive and unreasonable belief that their own country is better than all others
coalesce	amalgamate
circumspect	cautious
engender	generate; his fear and hatred of clowns was engendered when he witnessed the death of his father at the hands of clown
enigma	a puzzle; a mystery
equivocate	to talk about sth in a way that is deliberately not clear in order to avoid or hide the truth
worship	[U] the practice of showing respect for God or a god, by saying prayers, singing with others, etc.; a ceremony for this:
piety	a deep respect for sb/sth
quotidian	day-to-day
thicket	a group of bushes or small trees growing closely together
shrub	bush
pond	a small area of still water, especially one that is artificial:
boulder	a very large rock which has been shaped by water or the weather
frond	a long leaf of some plants or trees, especially palms or ferns. Fronds are often divided into parts along the edge.
chaff	the outer covering of the seeds of grain such as wheat, which is separated from the grain before it is eaten
spore	one of the very small cells that are produced by some plants and that develop into new plants:
incorrigible	having bad habits which cannot be changed or improved; incurable
desultory	going from one thing to another, without a definite plan and without enthusiasm: a _ fashion. Ç a _conversation
ramble	(on) (about sb/sth) to talk about sb/sth in a confused way, especially for a long time: He had lost track of what he was saying and began to _.
casual	[usually before noun] without paying attention to detail:a _ glance Ç It's obvious even to the _ observer.
digress	to start to talk about sth that is not connected with the main point of what you are saying: After several _s, he finally got to the point.
discursive	(of a style of writing or speaking) moving from one point to another without any strict structure: the discursive style of the novel
maunder	(on) (about sth) (BrE) to talk or complain about sth in a boring and/or annoying way
haphazard	with no particular order or plan; not organized well:
desiccate	dried in order to preserve it: desiccated coconut
parch	[vn] (especially of hot weather) to make an area of land very dry
dehydrate	to remove the water from sth, especially food, in order to preserve it; to lose too much water from your body; to make a person's body lose too much water: [v] Runners can _ very quickly in this heat. Ç ; to suffer from _; Drink lots of water to avoid becoming _.