Barron`s Gre Word List 4

Front 1

apothegm

Back 1

n. pithy, compact saying. Proverbs are apothegms that have become familiar sayings.

Front 2

apotheosis

Back 2

n. elevation to godhood; an ideal example of something. The Roman empress Livia envied the late emperor Augustus his apotheosis, she hoped that on her death she, too, would be exalted to the ranks of the gods. The hero of the novel Generation X was the apotheosis of a slacker, the quitessential example of a member of his generation.

Front 3

appall

Back 3

v. dismay; shock. We were appalled by the horrifying conditions in the city`s jails.

Front 4

apparition

Back 4

n. ghost; phantom. On the castle battlements, an apparition materialized and spoke to Hamlet, warning him of his uncle`s treachery. In Ghostbusters, hordes of apparitions materialized, only to be dematerialized by the specialized apparatus wielded by Bill Murray.

Front 5

appease

Back 5

v. pacify or soothe; relieve. Tom and Jody tried to appease the crying baby by offering him one toy after another. However, he would not calm down until they appeased his hunger by giving him a bottle. appeasement, n.

Front 6

appellation

Back 6

n. name; title. Macbeth was startled when the witches greeted him with an incorrect appellation. Whey did they call him Thane of Cawdor, he wondered, when the holder of that title still lived?

Front 7

append

Back 7

v. attach. Whenyou append a bibliography to a text, you have created an appendix.

Front 8

application

Back 8

n. diligent attention. Pleased with how well Tom had whitewashed the fence, Aunt Polly praised him for his application (Tom had applied himself to applying the paint.) (secondary meaning) apply, v.

Front 9

apposite

Back 9

adj. appropriate; fitting. She was always able to find the apposite phrase, the correct expression for every occasion.

Front 10

appraise

Back 10

v. estimate value of. It is difficult to appraise old paintings; it is easier to call them priceless. appraisal, n.

Front 11

appreciate

Back 11

v. be thankful for; increase in worth; be thoroughly conscious of. Little Orphan Annie truly appreciated the stocks Daddy Warbucks gave her, whose value appreciated considerably over the years.

Front 12

apprehend

Back 12

v. arrest (a criminal); dread; perceive. The police will apprehend the culprit and convict him before long.

Front 13

apprehensive

Back 13

adj. fearful; discerning. His apprehensive glances at the people who were walking in the street revealed his nervousness.

Front 14

apprise

Back 14

v. inform. When NASA was apprised of the dangerous weather conditions, the head of the space agency decided to postpone the shuttle launch.

Front 15

apporbation

Back 15

n. approval. Wanting her parents` regard, she looked for some sign of their approbation. Benjamin Franklin, that shrewd observer of mankind, once wrote, "We must not in the course of public life expect immediate approbation and immediate grateful acknowledgement of our services."

Front 16

appropriate

Back 16

v. acquire; take possession of for one`s own use. The ranch owners appropriated the lands that had originally been set aside for the Indians` use.

Front 17

appurtenances

Back 17

n. subordinate possessions. He bought the estate and all its appurtenances.

Front 18

apropos

Back 18

adj. to the point and timely. When Bob spoke out against drunk driving, some of our crowd called him a spoilsport, but the rest of us found his comments extremely apropos.

Front 19

aptitude

Back 19

n. fitness; talent. The American aviator Bessie Coleman grew up in Waxahatchie, Texas, where her mathematical aptitude freed her from working in the cotton fields with her twelve brothers and sisters.

Front 20

aquiline

Back 20

adj. curved, hooked. He can be recognized by his aquiline nose, curved like the beak of the eagle.

Front 21

arabesque

Back 21

n. style of decoration involving intertwined plants and abstract curves; ballet position with one leg supporting the weight of the body, while the other leg is extended in back. Because the Koran prohibits the creation of human and animial images, Moorish aragesques depict plants but no people. The statue of winged Mercury stands poised on one foot, frozen in an eternal arabesque.

Front 22

arable

Back 22

adj. fit for growing crops. The first settlers wrote home glowing reports of the New World, praising its vast acres of arable land ready for the plow.

Front 23

arbiter

Back 23

n. person with power to decide a matter in dispute; judge. As an arbiter in labor disputes, she has won the confidence of the workers and the employers.

Front 24

arbitrary

Back 24

adj. unreasonable or capricious; tyrannical. The coach claimed the team lost because the umpire made some arbitrary calls.

Front 25

arbitrate

Back 25

v. act as judge. She was called upon to arbitrate the dispute between the union and the management.

Front 26

arboretum

Back 26

n. place where different varieties of trees and shurbs are studied and exhibited. Walking along the treelined paths of the arboretum, Rita noted poplars, firs, and some particularly fine sycamores.

Front 27

arcade

Back 27

n. a covered passageway, usually lined with shops. The arcade was popular with shoppers because it gave them protection from the summer sun and the winter rain.

Front 28

arcane

Back 28

adj. secret; mysterious; known only to the initiated. Secret brotherhoods surround themselves with arcane rituals and trapping to mystify outsiders. So do doctors. Consider the arcane terminology they use and the impression they try to give that what is arcane to us is obvious to them.

Front 29

archaeology

Back 29

n. study of artifacts and relics of early mankind. The professor of archaeology headed an expedition to the Gobi Desert in search of ancient ruins.

Front 30

archaic

Back 30

adj. antiquated. "Methink," "thee," and "thou" are archaic words that are no longer part of our normal vocabulary.