Barron's Gre Vocab 1-5

Front 1

astral

Back 1

adj. relating to the stars

Front 2

astringent

Back 2

adj., n.
binding, causing contraction, harsh or severe.
The astringent quality of the unsweetened lemon made swallowing it difficult.

Front 3

asunder

Back 3

adv.
into parts, apart

Front 4

atavism

Back 4

n.
resemblance to remote ancestors rather than to parents, reversion to an earlier type, throwback.
In his love for gardening, Martin seemed an atavism to his Tuscan ancestors.

Front 5

attribute

Back 5

n.
essential quality
v.
ascribe, explain

Front 6

audit

Back 6

n.
examination of accounts

Front 7

august

Back 7

adj.
impressive; majestic

Front 8

aureole

Back 8

n.
sun's corona, halo
Many medieval paintings depicted the saints with aureoles around their heads.

Front 9

auroral

Back 9

adj.
pertaining to the aurora borealis.

Front 10

auxiliary

Back 10

adj., n.
offering to provide help, additional or subsidiary.

Front 11

avarice

Back 11

n.
greediness for wealth

Front 12

*aver

Back 12

v.
assert confidently or declare; as used in law, state formally as a fact.
The self-proclaimed psychic averred that, because he had esp on which to base his predictions, he needed no seismographs or other gadgets to predict an earthquake.

Front 13

averse

Back 13

adj.
reluctant; disinclined

Front 14

avocation

Back 14

n.
secondary or minor occupation. ~hobby

Front 15

avow

Back 15

v.
declare openly

Front 16

awry

Back 16

adv., adj
distorted, crooked

Front 17

badinage

Back 17

n.
teasing conversation
her friends at work greeted the news of her engagement with cheerful badinage.

Front 18

bait

Back 18

v.
harass, tease

Front 19

baleful

Back 19

adj.
threatening, meanacing, sinister, foreshadowing evil

Front 20

balk

Back 20

v.
to stop short
the police balked at sending more officers...

v.
to foil
...he took steps to balk their attempt

Front 21

balmy

Back 21

adj.
mild, fragrant

Front 22

bandy

Back 22

v.
discuss lightly or glibly; exchange words heatedly
While the president was happy to bandy patriotic generalizations with anyone who would listen to him, he refused to bandy words with unfriendly reporters at a press conference

Front 23

bane

Back 23

n.
curse, cause of ruin

Front 24

baneful

Back 24

adj.
destructive

Front 25

bantering

Back 25

adj.
good-naturedly ridiculing

Front 26

abase

Back 26

v.
lower, degrade, humiliate

Front 27

abash

Back 27

v.
embarass

Front 28

abet

Back 28

v.
assist

Front 29

abeyance

Back 29

n.
suspended action
the deal was held in abeyance until her arrival

Front 30

abject

Back 30

adj.
wretched, lacking pride

Front 31

abjure

Back 31

v.
renounce upon oath, disavow

Front 32

ablution

Back 32

n.
washing
his daily ablutions were accompanied with...

Front 33

abominate

Back 33

v.
loathe, hate

Front 34

aboriginal

Back 34

adj., n.
being the first of its kind in a region, primitive

Front 35

abortive

Back 35

adj.
unsuccessful; fruitless

Front 36

abrogate

Back 36

v.
abolish
the kind intended to abrogate the decree issued by his predecessor

Front 37

abcission

Back 37

n.
removal by cutting off, as in surgery, separation

Front 38

*abstemious

Back 38

adj.
sparing in eating and drinking, temperate

Front 39

abstruse

Back 39

adj.
obscure, profound

Front 40

abysmal

Back 40

adj.
bottomless

Front 41

accede

Back 41

v.
agree

Front 42

acclivity

Back 42

n.
sharp upslope of a hill

Front 43

accolade

Back 43

n.
award of merit

Front 44

accoutre

Back 44

v.
equip
the fisherman was accoutred with the best that the store could supply...

Front 45

accretion

Back 45

n.
growth, increase
because of his accretion of flesh, bob went from an x to an xxl

Front 46

acetic

Back 46

adj.
vinegary

Front 47

acidulous

Back 47

adj.
slightly sour, sharp, caustic
...acidulous remarks...

Front 48

acquiesce

Back 48

v.
assent; agree passively

Front 49

acrimonious

Back 49

adj.
bitter in words or manner
...attacked his opponent in acrimonious terms...

Front 50

actuarial

Back 50

adj.
calculating; pertaining to insurance statistics
...actuarial tables say that...

Front 51

acuity

Back 51

n.
sharpness

Front 52

acumen

Back 52

n.
mental keenness

Front 53

adage

Back 53

n.
wise saying; proverb

Front 54

adamant

Back 54

adj.
hard; inflexible

Front 55

addle

Back 55

v., adj.
muddle; drive crazy; become rotten

Front 56

adjunct

Back 56

n.
something (generally nonessential or inferior) added to or attached

Front 57

adjuration

Back 57

n.
solemn urging
...her adjuration to tell the truth...

Front 58

adjutant

Back 58

n.
staff officer assisting the commander; assistant

Front 59

*admonish

Back 59

v.
warn, reprove

Front 60

adroit

Back 60

adj.
skillful

Front 61

adulation

Back 61

n.
flattery; admiration
...the adulation of his groupies...

Front 62

advent

Back 62

n.
arrival
...the advent of the nuclear age...

Front 63

adventitious

Back 63

adj.
accidental; casual
...the adventitious meeting with her friend was fortunate...

Front 64

adverse

Back 64

adj.
unfavorable; hostile

Front 65

adversity

Back 65

n.
poverty; misfortune

Front 66

advert

Back 66

v.
refer (to)
since you advert to this matter so frequently, you must regard it as important

Front 67

advocate

Back 67

v.
urge; plead for

Front 68

aerie

Back 68

n.
nest of a large bird of prey

Front 69

affected

Back 69

adj.
artificial; pretended; assuming in order to impress

Front 70

affidavit

Back 70

n.
written statement made under oath

Front 71

affinity

Back 71

n.
kinship

Front 72

agglomeration

Back 72

n.
collection, heap

Front 73

aggrandize

Back 73

v.
increase or intensify; raise in honor, power, rank

Front 74

agnostic

Back 74

n.
one who is skeptical of the existence of god

Front 75

agog

Back 75

adj.
highly excited; intensely curious

Front 76

alacrity

Back 76

n.
cheerful promptness; eagerness

Front 77

alimony

Back 77

n.
payments made to an ex-spouse after divorce

Front 78

allay

Back 78

v.
calm, pacify

Front 79

alluvial

Back 79

adj.
pertaining to soil deposits left by running water

Front 80

altercation

Back 80

n.
noisy quarrel; heated dispute

Front 81

*amalgamate

Back 81

v.
to combine; unite in a single body

Front 82

amass

Back 82

v.
collect

Front 83

*ambivalence

Back 83

n.
the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes

Front 84

ambulatory

Back 84

adj.
able to walk

Front 85

*ameliorate

Back 85

v.
improve
...ameliorate the conditions of the people working...

Front 86

amenable

Back 86

adj.
readily managed or willing to be led; answerable or accountable legally

Front 87

amenities

Back 87

n.
convenient features; courtesies

Front 88

amity

Back 88

n.
friendship

Front 89

amnesty

Back 89

n.
pardon

Front 90

amoral

Back 90

adj.
non-moral
The amoral person lacks a code of ethics, the immoral person can tell right from wrong and chooses to do something he knows is wrong.

Front 91

amok

Back 91

adv.
in a state of rage

Front 92

analgesic

Back 92

adj.
causing insensitivity to pain

Front 93

anathema

Back 93

n.
solemn curse; something or someone regarded as a curse

Front 94

ancillary

Back 94

adj.
serving as an aid or an accessory; auxilliary

Front 95

anesthetic

Back 95

n.
substance that removes sensation with or without loss of consciousness

Front 96

animadversion

Back 96

n.
critical remark.
...the animadversions of his critics...

Front 97

animus

Back 97

n.
hostile feeling or intent

Front 98

anneal

Back 98

v.
reduce brittleness and improve toughness by heating and cooling

Front 99

annuity

Back 99

n.
yearly allowance

Front 100

anodyne

Back 100

n.
drug that relieves pain; opiate

Front 101

anoint

Back 101

v.
consecrate

Front 102

*anomalous

Back 102

adj.
abnormal, irregular

Front 103

antediluvian

Back 103

adj.
ancient, extremely ancient

Front 104

anthropoid

Back 104

adj.
man-like

Front 105

antic

Back 105

adj.
extravagantly odd
...an antic disposition...

Front 106

apiary

Back 106

n.
a place where bees are kept

Front 107

aplomb

Back 107

n.
poise; assurance
....her aplomb in handling potentially embarrasing moments...

Front 108

apolitical

Back 108

adj.
having a lack of concern or aversion to political affairs

Front 109

apostate

Back 109

n.
one who has abandoned his religious faith or beliefs

Front 110

apothecary

Back 110

n.
druggist

Front 111

apothegm

Back 111

n.
pithy, compact saying

Front 112

apotheosis

Back 112

n.
elevation to godhood; an ideal example of something
...emperor Augustus's apotheosis...
...someone was the apotheosis of a particular character type...

Front 113

application

Back 113

n.
diligent attention

Front 114

apposite

Back 114

adj.
appropriate, fitting

Front 115

appreciate

Back 115

v.
to be thankful for; to increase in worth; to be thoroughly conscious of

Front 116

apprehend

Back 116

v.
to arrest (a criminal); dread; perceive

Front 117

*apprise

Back 117

v.
inform
...when NASA was apprised of the bad weather...

Front 118

*approbration

Back 118

n.
approval

Front 119

*appropriate

Back 119

v.
acquire, take possession of for one's own use

Front 120

appurtenances

Back 120

n.
subordinate possessions

Front 121

apropos

Back 121

adj.
to the point and timely

prep.
with reference to; regarding

Front 122

aquiline

Back 122

adj.
curved, hooked

Front 123

arabesque

Back 123

n.
style of decoration involving intertwined plants and abstract curves

Front 124

arcade

Back 124

n.
a covered passageway, usually lined with shops

Front 125

aria

Back 125

n.
operatic solo

Front 126

arraign

Back 126

v.
charge in court; indict

Front 127

array

Back 127

v.
marshall; draw up in order
...the accused man was arraigned in the county court...

v.
clothe, adorn

Front 128

arrears

Back 128

n.
being in debt
...because he was in arrears with his car payments...

Front 129

artifice

Back 129

n.
deception, trickery

Front 130

*artless

Back 130

adj.
without guile; open and honest

Front 131

ascendancy

Back 131

n.
controlling influence

Front 132

aseptic

Back 132

adj.
preventing infection

Front 133

ashen

Back 133

adj.
ash colored; deadly pale

Front 134

asperity

Back 134

n.
sharpness (of temper)
...those remarks, spoken with asperity, stung the boys...

Front 135

aspersion

Back 135

n.
slanderous remark

Front 136

assay

Back 136

v.
analyze; evaluate
...when they assayed the ore...

Front 137

*assiduous

Back 137

adj.
diligent