Barron's Gre Vocab 7Th 40

Front 1

alchemy

Back 1

medieval chemical philosophy based on changing metal

into gold; a seemingly magical power or process of transmutation

Front 2

amenable

Back 2

agreeable; cooperative; suited

the young writer is amenable to suggestions for improving her prose style to make it more interesting.

Front 3

antediluvian

Back 3

prehistoric

Most of our knowledge of antediluvian times has been built up as a result of one of humanity's greatest collaborative endeavors.

Front 4

approbation

Back 4

praise; approval

The congressional metal of Honor s the highest approbation an American soldier can receive.

Front 5

artless

Back 5

guileless; natural

Such artless beauty lies in Shakespear's wit.

Front 6

blase

Back 6

bored because of frequent indulgence; unconcerned

We were amazed by John's blase attitude toward school.he seems to have made it a rule to never to open a book.

Front 7

captious

Back 7

Faultfinding; intend to entrap, as in an argument

The pedantic and captious critic seems incapable of appreciating the merits of even the most highly regarded books.

Front 8

convivial

Back 8

sociable

One of the jobs of an ambassador is to provide a convivial atmosphere for diplomats to meet.

Front 9

credence

Back 9

acceptance of something as true

People will be less likely to give credence to future alarms raised by that person.

Front 10

delineate

Back 10

the present or depict

Quantum theory led to the formulation of uncertainty principle, which was delineated in 1937 by Werner Heisenberg.

Front 11

desuetude

Back 11

state of disuse

NASA is considering a plan to refurbish booster rockets from the Apollo Program that have fallen into desuetude

Front 12

encomium

Back 12

Formal expression of praise

The prime minister asked her speechwriter to compose an encomium for the retiring general.

Front 13

equanimity

Back 13

Composure; calmness
Emergency room doctors and nurses are trained to maintain equanimity when treating patients.

Front 14

eugenics

Back 14

Study of factors that influence the hereditary qualities
of the human race to improve these qualities.

The science fiction novel describes a military eugenics program.

Front 15

execrable

Back 15

detestable; abhorrent

When fold artists like Bob Dylan began to use rock instruments, many folk music traditionalists considered it an execrable travesty.

Front 16

extant

Back 16

in existence; not lost

Unfortunately for Bible scholars, there are no extant writings of Jesus Christ.

Front 17

fallow

Back 17

plowed but not sowed; uncultivated

At the beginning of each school year the teacher looks out at the new students and thinks of a fallow field, ready to be cultivated.

Front 18

fidelity

Back 18

loyalty; exact correspondence

Monks joining the Franciscan Order pledge fidelity to the ideals and rules of the order

Front 19

flux

Back 19

flowing; a continuous moving

In some cultures time is considered as a flux moving in one direction.

Front 20

frieze

Back 20

ornamental band on a wall

One of the best-known friezes, on the outer wall of the Parthenon in Athens a depiction of the Panathenaic procession honoring Athena.

Front 21

Guileless

Back 21

free of cunning or deceit; artless

One of the charms of the novel is that the guileless hero manages to defeat the scheming villain.

Front 22

heterodox

Back 22

unorthodox; not widely accepted

Recently a competing, heterodox view
has arisen theorizing that they also may have evolved in Euroasia.

Front 23

igneous

Back 23

produced by fire; volcanic

The presence of igneous rocks on the beach suggests that there was a volcanic eruption in the area millions years ago.

Front 24

impinge

Back 24

to strike; encroach

Individuals that are not members of a group impinging on the territory of that group are normally met with aggression.