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GRE Lesson 44
100 word chunks of Barron's data
Question | Answer |
---|---|
swelter | (of a person) suffer from oppressive heat; be oppressed by heat |
swerve | deviate; turn aside sharply from a straight course; Ex. swerve from the principle; Ex. The car swerved to the right. |
swill | drink greedily |
swindler | cheater |
swipe | hit with a sweeping motion; N. |
sybarite | lover of luxury; person devoted to pleasure and luxury; CF. Sybaris: an ancient Greek city in Italy |
sycophant | servile flatterer; bootlicker; yes man; ADJ. sycophantic |
syllogism | logical formula consisting of a major premise, a minor premise and a conclusion; deceptive or specious argument |
sylvan | pertaining to the woods or the country |
symbiosis | interdependent relationship (between groups, species) often mutually beneficial; ADJ. symbiotic; CF. together + life |
symmetry | arrangement of parts so that balance is obtained; congruity; ADJ. symmetrical |
synchronous | similarly timed; simultaneous with; occurring at the same time; V. synchronize |
synoptic | providing a general overview; summary; N. synopsis |
synthesis | combining parts or separate things into a whole; the whole so formed; PL. syntheses; V. synthesize |
synthetic | not natural; artificial; resulting from synthesis; Ex. synthetic fiber; N. |
tablet | small round piece of medicine; flat piece of stone or metal bearing an inscription; Ex. stone tablet on the wall |
tacit | understood (without actually being expressed); not put into words; Ex. tacit agreement |
taciturn | habitually silent; talking little |
tact | skill or sensitivity in dealing with people without causing offence |
tactful | careful no to cause offence; OP. tactless |
tactile | pertaining to the organs or sense of touch |
taint | contaminate; cause to lose purity; modify with a trace of something bad; Ex. tainted reputation; N: stain; touch of decay or bad influence; CF. touch |
takeoff | burlesque; act of leaving the ground |
talisman | charm; object believed to give supernatural powers to or protect its bearer |
talon | claw of bird |
tan | convert (hide) into leather; make brown by exposure to the sun |
tangential | only slightly connected; not central; peripheral; digressing; showing divergence; CF. tangent |
tangible | able to be touched; real; concrete; palpable; possible to realize or understand; Ex. tangible proof |
tanner | person who turns animal hides into leather |
tantalize | tease; excite by exposing something desirable while keeping it out of reach; torture with disappointment; CF. Tantalus: Greek mythological figure |
tantamount | equivalent in effect or value; Ex. This invasion is tantamount to a declaration of war; CF. amount |
tantrum | fit of bad temper; fit of petulance; caprice; Ex. The child went into tantrums. |
taper | very thin candle; gradual decrease in the width of a long object; V. make or become gradually narrower toward one end |
tarantula | venomous spider |
tardy | slow; sluggish; not on time; late; Ex. tardy arrival |
tarnish | make or become dull or discolored; N. |
tarry | linger; delay in starting or going; dawdle |
tart | sharp to the taste; acid-tasting; caustic; sarcastic; Ex. tart apple/reply |
tatter | torn piece of cloth; ADJ. tattered: (of clothes) old and torn; (of a person) dressed in old torn clothes |
taunt | deride or provoke; challenge in derision; N. |
taut | tight; strained; tense; ready; OP. slack |
tautological | needlessly repetitious; Ex. ``It was visible to the eye''; N. tautology: needless repetition of the same sense; statement that is always true |
tawdry | cheap and gaudy; Ex. tawdry jewelry |
tawny | brownish yellow |
taxonomist | specialist in classifying (animals, etc.); CF. taxonomy: science of classification |
tedium | boredom; weariness; ADJ. tedious |
teetotalism | practice of abstaining totally from alcoholic drinks; N. teetotaler;; ADJ. teetotal; CF. T + total |
temerity | boldness; nerve; rashness; Ex. temerity to ask for a pay increase after only three day's work |
temper | moderate; make less severe; tone down or restrain; toughen (steel) as by alternate heating and cooling |
temperament | characteristic frame of mind; disposition; emotional excess; ADJ. temperamental: of temperament; having frequent changes of temper; Ex. temperamental dislike of sports; Ex. temperamental actress |
temperate | moderate; restrained; self-controlled; moderate in respect to temperature; CF. temperance: moderation and self-restraint; abstinence of alcoholic drinks; Ex. temperance society |
tempestuous | stormy; violent; impassioned; N. tempest: violent storm |
tempo | speed of music |
temporal | of time; not lasting forever; limited by time; temporary; secular; worldly |
temporize | gain time as by postponing an action; avoid committing oneself |
tenacious | holding fast (as to a belief); persistent |
tenacity | firmness; persistence |
tenancy | possession of land or building by rent; period of a tenant's occupancy |
tenant | one that pays rent to use property owned by another |
tend | have a tendency; take care of; minister; serve at; apply one's attention; attend |
tendentious | promoting a particular point of view; biased; having an aim; designed to further a cause; Ex. tendentious rather than truth-seeking; CF. tend: move in a certain direction |
tender | offer formally; extend; Ex. tender one's resignation/the exact fare; N: formal offer; money; Ex. legal tender; ADJ: young and vulnerable; sensitive to the touch; sore; soft; delicate; Ex. child of tender years; Ex. tender wound |
tenet | doctrine; dogma |
tensile | capable of being stretched; of tension; Ex. tensile rubber |
tension | stretching; condition of being stretched; mental strain; strained relationship between groups or people |
tentative | not fully worked out or developed; provisional; experimental; uncertain; hesitant; not definite or positive; Ex. tentative agreement/reply |
tenuous | thin; slim; rare |
tenure | holding of an office or real estate; time during which such an office is held |
tepid | lukewarm; slightly warm; half-hearted; not eager; Ex. tepid reaction to the new film; Ex. tepid supporter |
terminal | part that forms the end; railroad or bus station; ADJ. forming an end; ending in death; fatal; Ex. terminal cancer |
termination | end; V. terminate |
terminology | terms used in a science or art; study of nomenclature |
terminus | last stop of railroad; end |
terrestrial | on or relating to the earth |
terse | concise; abrupt; pithy |
tertiary | third in order or rank |
tessellated | mosaic; inlaid; Ex. tessellated pattern |
testator | maker of a will; CF. testatrix |
testy | irritable; impatient and bad-tempered; short-tempered; N. testiness |
tether | tie (an animal) with a rope or tether; N: rope or chain to which an animal is tied; limit of one's endurance; Ex. the end of one's tether |
thematic | of a theme; relating to a unifying motif or idea |
theocracy | government run by religious leaders |
theoretical | based on theory; not practical or applied; hypothetical |
therapeutic | curative; N. therapy |
thermal | pertaining to heat; producing heat; warm; Ex. thermal bath; N: rising current of warm air |
thesis | opinion put forward and supported by reasoned arguments |
thespian | pertaining to drama; N: actor or actress |
thrall | slave; bondage; slavery; Ex. Her beauty held him in thrall; CF. enthrall |
thrash | beat with a whip or flail; defeat utterly; talk about thoroughly in order to find the answer; move wildly or violently; Ex. The fishes thrashed about in the net. |
threadbare | worn through till the threads show; shabby and poor; hackneyed; Ex. threadbare excuses |
threat | sign or warning (of coming danger); Ex. threat of rain; V: express a threat; give warning of (something bad); Ex. The cloud threatens rain. |
thresh | beat (cereal plants) with a machine or flail to separate the grains from the straw |
thrifty | careful about money; economical; N. thrift |
thrive | prosper; flourish |
throb | (of a heart or machine) beat rapidly or violently; N. Ex. hearthrob: heartbeat; sweetheart |
throes | violent anguish |
throng | crowd (of people or things); V. |
throttle | strangle; regulate the speed of with a throttle; N: valve that regulates the flow; CF. throat ? |
thwart | block or hinder; baffle; frustrate |
tickle | touch (the body) lightly so as to cause laughter; please |