GRE - Magoosh

entrenched

(adj) ____ ideas are so fixed or have existed for so long that they are difficult to be changed; Sexism is deeply entrenched in our society.

disinterested

(adj) free from selfish motive or interest: unbiased a ___ observer

didactic

(adj) intended to teach people a moral lesson; telling people things rather than letting them find out for themselves a ___ drama, overly ___, The didactic teacher-led approach is no longer fashionable.

impertinent

(adj) not showing respect, given to or characterized by insolent rudeness Her ___ interference in a matter which did not concern her. Synonyms rude cheeky insolent disrespectful impolite impertinent discourteous

aesthetic

(adj)An ___ object or a work of art is one that shows great beauty, furniture that is both ___ and functional (I love static since it is beautiful and can create many beautiful objects too.)

wanting

(adj)lacking She is a little ___ in charm.

bucolic

(adj)relating to the countryside ; ___ poetry

apathetic

(adj)showing no interest or energy and unwilling to take action, especially over something important ; Young people today are so ___ about politics.

extant

(adj)still in existence ;___ manuscript ,extinct or ____ species, extant remains of the ancient wall

restive

(adj)unwilling to be controlled or be patient ; The audience was becoming ___ as they waited for the performance to begin.

parochial

(disapproving) showing interest only in a narrow range of matters, especially those that directly affect yourself, your town, or your country; They need to be better informed and less parochial in their thinking.

eschew

(formal) to deliberately avoid or keep away from something; to shun, to avoid He had eschewed politics in favor of a life practicing law.

culminate in

(in/with something) (formal) to end with a particular result, or at a particular point Months of hard work culminated in success.

mutation

(n) the way in which genes change and produce permanent differences,

monopoly

(n)(an organization or group that has) complete control of something, especially an area of business, so that others have no share; is Microsoft a ___?

aesthete

(n)a person who understands and enjoys beauty,

bottleneck

(n)a problem that delays progress, is there anyway of getting around this ___.

assertion

(n)a statement that you strongly believe is true; He was correct in his assertion that the minister had been lying.

acrimony(n) acrimonious(adj)

(n)bitterness or ill feelings between people (adj)involving bad feelings an ___dispute

inexorable

(of a process) that cannot be stopped or changed synonym relentless the inexorable rise of crime

frivolous

(of people or their behavior) silly or amusing, especially when such behavior is not suitable frivolous comments/suggestions Her words seemed utterly frivolous.

fortuitous

(of something that is to your advantage) not planned, happening by chance ; a ___ event.

venerate

(v) to respect deeply somebody/something, especially somebody/something that is considered to be holy or very important; The monk was subsequently venerated as a saint.

qualify

(v)qualify something | qualify what... to add something to a previous statement to make the meaning less strong or less general; I want to qualify what I said earlier—I didn't mean he couldn't do the job, only that he would need supervision.

chortle

(v)to laugh, showing pleasure and satisfaction, often at someone else's bad luck,

vindicate

(v)to prove that what someone said or did was right or true, especially when other people had a different opinion; I have every confidence that this decision will be fully vindicated.

intimate

1. personal 2. special relationship with someone 3.a very good understanding of something. an ___ understanding of the subject (He had a great understanding of his body he ate all the nutritions in time of need.)

amalgam

1.a mixture of multiple things that create a complete whole.+ of 2. Any alloy of mercury specially the one used by dentists.

auspicious

: showing or suggesting that future success is likely ;made an -- beginning (They told us about all the possible failures but we believed our idea was going to be successful.)

impudent

=impertinent ; an ___ request

venal(n) venality(adj)

A ___ person is willing to behave in a way that is not honest or moral in exchange for money; a ___ journalists

dogmatic

If you are dogmatic, you are certain that you are right and that everyone else is wrong. in a ___ and thoughtless manner.

germane

[not usually before noun] germane (to something) (formal) (of ideas, remarks, etc.) connected with something in an important or appropriate way synonym relevant remarks that are germane to the discussion

platitude

a comment or statement that has been made very often before and is therefore not interesting; a political speech full of platitudes and empty promises

curator

a person in charge of a museum, library, etc

lawsuit

a problem taken to a law court by an ordinary person or an organization rather than the police in order to obtain a legal decision, They filed/brought a ___ against the government.

culpability

a state of being guilty; The company refused to accept ___.

glut

a supply of something that is much greater than can be sold or is needed or wanted; synonym surfeit a glut of cheap DVDs on the market

aberration

a temporary change from what is normal or expected the one that is not welcomed; For her, such a low grade on an exam was an aberration.

concede

admit (to a wrongdoing); acknowledge defeat; The government has ___ed the new tax policy is a disaster.

gossamer

any very light delicate material a gown of gossamer silk The ___ of youth's dreams

decorous

behaving politely and in a controlled way; polite and appropriate in a particular social situation; not shocking synonym proper His manner, as ever, was ___.

banal

boring, ordinary, and not original; ___ examples; a banal conversation about the weather

mercurial

changing suddenly and often ; mercurial temperament, mercurial business

querulous

complaining; showing that you are annoyed synonym peevish He complained in a querulous voice about having been woken up.

involved

complicated, and difficult to comprehend a long and ___ story (I went to the lecture and the professor made us so involved in the subject that it got really complicated and difficult.)

gregarious

enjoy being with other people; a___ animal.

dictatorial

expecting unquestioning obedience; characteristic of an absolute ruler ; a __ ruler

mawkish

expressing or sharing emotion in a way that is exaggerated or embarrassing synonym sentimental a mawkish poem

egregious

extremely bad or shocking in an obvious way; an egregious error, an egregious example of political bias

forsake

forsake something (for somebody/something) to stop doing something, or leave something, especially something that you enjoy synonym renounce She forsook the glamour of the city and went to live in the wilds of Scotland.

gainsay

gainsay something (formal) (often used in negative sentences) to say that something is not true; to disagree with or deny something synonym deny Nobody can gainsay his claims.

harangue

harangue somebody; to speak loudly and angrily in a way that criticizes somebody/something or tries to persuade people to do something He walked to the front of the stage and began to harangue the audience.

innocuous

harmless and doesn't produce any ill effects, the thread felt ___

ambiguous

having more than one possible meaning ; an -- reply

commensurate

in a correct and suitable amount compared to something else; a salary that is ___ with skills.

preclude

keep from happening or arising; make impossible; We cannot have a system that precludes people from seeking independent legal advice.

lambaste

lambast(e) somebody/something (formal) to attack or criticize somebody/something very severely, especially in public synonym lay into somebody/something

mitigate

make less severe or harsh; synonym alleviate ___ the inconveniences

exacerbate

make worse ; ___ the pain, ___ the mess

calumny

making of a false statement meant to injure a person's reputation ; receive a ___ denounced his opponent for his defamatory insinuations and calumny

ambivalent

mixed or conflicting emotions about something , feel __ about (Sarah had mixed emotions and she said I am bi valentine and don't know who to go out with.)

cryptic

mysterious and difficult to understand; a ___ message (My best friend is very creepy and she sends me vague messages, which I have to call her and clarify. )

equivocal

not clear and seeming to have two opposing meanings, She gave an ___ response. (The locals were trying to guide us but they all seem to have opposite opinions.)

obscure

not known to many people; an __ island in the pacific

anomalous(adj) anomaly(n)

not normal ; ___ verb different from usual and therefore not satisfactory. Statistical ___ makes it difficult to compare the data

frugal

not spending much money (but spending wisely)

parsimonious

not willing to spend money or give something; she is too ___ to heat the house properly. Synonym; mean

predilection

predilection (for something) (formal) if you have a predilection for something, you like it very much synonym liking, preference

gall

rude behavior showing a lack of respect that is surprising because the person behaving badly is not embarrassed synonym impudence Then they had the gall to complain!

amorphous

shapeless ; ___ silicon ___ non-thought

artful(adj)

showing artistic skill; clever in a cunning way ; -- prose (Her paintings were truly full of art and skill.)

incisive

showing clear thought and good understanding of what is important, and the ability to express this incisive comments/criticism/analysis an incisive mind See related entries: Clever

ingenuous

showing innocent or childlike simplicity and candidness: her ingenuous thirst for experience

deferential

showing respect, She is always extremely ___ towards anyone in authority.

diffident

shy and not confident of your abilities, You shouldn't be so ___ about your achievements, you've done really well.

iconoclast

somebody who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions, an ___ in architecture

locus

the place where something happens or the central area of interest in something being discussed; an area of the Southwest that has been the locus of a number of New Age movements

prescience

the quality of knowing or appearing to know about things before they happen; a man of remarkable business ___

prevaricate

to avoid giving a direct answer to a question in order to hide the truth; Stop prevaricating and come to the point. Synonym beat about/around the bush

censure

to criticize someone formally for something that they have done, ___ by the medical board for revealing her patient's information.

castigate

to criticize someone severely The judge castigated the lawyers for their lack of preparation.

galvanize (into)

to excite or inspire (someone) to action suddenly, ____ people INTO marching

belie

to give a false representation to; misrepresent a tree whose delicate beauty belies its real toughness

maintain

to keep stating that something is true, even though other people do not agree or do not believe it He has always ___ed that he is innocent.

engender

to make people have a particular feeling or make a situation start to exist, Her latest book has ___ed a lot of controversy.

enervate

to make someone feel weak and without energy (a lifetime of working in dreary jobs had enervated his very soul)

chastise

to reprimand harshly The coach chastised the players for their mistakes.

demur

to say that you do not agree with something or that you refuse to do something; At first she demurred, but then finally agreed.

betray

to show an emotion you were trying to hide(emotion) ; -- one's weakness

undermine

to weaken something gradually; Criticism ____ their confidence.

prodigal

too willing to spend money or waste time, energy or materials ; a prodigal administration synonym extravagant

veracious

truthful and honest; He has a reputation for being veracious, so people generally take his word for things

perfidy

unfair treatment of somebody who trusts you; synonym treachery They are guilty of perfidy.

upbraid

upbraid somebody (for something/for doing something) (formal) to criticize somebody or speak angrily to them because you do not approve of something that they have said or done synonym reproach She consistently ___ those in authority who overstepped their limits.

laconic

using very few words to express yourself ; a ___ reply, His laconic comment was, 'Too bad!'

meticulous

very careful and with great attention to every detail; Many hours of ___ preparation have gone into writing the book.

conspicuous

very noticeable or attracting attention, often in a way that is not wanted; Mary's red hair always made her conspicuous at school.

amenable

willing to do or accept something(people) agreeable to being tested(terms) ___ to compromise

audacious

willing to take risks or to do something shocking; an ___ decision/move/plan