Kaplan Top Gre Words In Context

Front 1

abate

Back 1

to reduce in amount, degree, or severity

Hint 1

As the hurricane's force ABATED, the winds dropped and the sea became calm.

Front 2

abscond

Back 2

to leave secretly

Hint 2

The patron ABSCONDED from the restaurant without paying his bill by sneaking out the back door.

Front 3

abstain

Back 3

to choose not to do something

Hint 3

She ABSTAINED from choosing a mouthwatering dessert from the tray.

Front 4

abyss

Back 4

an extremely deep hole

Hint 4

The submarine dove into the ABYSS to chart the previously unseen depths.

Front 5

adulterate

Back 5

to make impure

Hint 5

The restaurateur made his ketchup last longer by ADULTERATING it with water.

Front 6

advocate

Back 6

to speak in favor of

Hint 6

The vegetarian ADVOCATED a diet containing no meat.

Front 7

aesthetic

Back 7

concerning the appreciation of beauty

Hint 7

Followers of the AESTHETIC Movement regarded the pursuit of beauty as the only true purpose of art.

Front 8

aggrandize

Back 8

to increase in power, influence, and reputation

Hint 8

The supervisor sought to AGGRANDIZE himself by claiming that the achievements of his staff were actually his own.

Front 9

alleviate

Back 9

to make more bearable

Hint 9

Taking aspirin helps to ALLEVIATE a headache.

Front 10

amalgamate

Back 10

to combine; to mix together

Hint 10

Giant Industries AMALGAMATED with Mega Products to form Giant-Mega Products Incorporated.

Front 11

ambiguous

Back 11

doubtful or uncertain; able to be interpreted several ways

Hint 11

The directions he gave were so AMBIGUOUS that we disagreed on which way to turn.

Front 12

ameliorate

Back 12

to make better; to improve

Hint 12

The doctor was able to AMELIORATE the patient's suffering using painkillers.

Front 13

anachronism

Back 13

something out of place in time

Hint 13

The aged hippie used ANACHRONISTIC phrases like groovy and far out that had not been popular for years.

Front 14

analogous

Back 14

similar or alike in some way; equivalent to

Hint 14

In a famous argument for the existence of God, the universe is ANALOGOUS to a mechanical timepiece, the creation of a divinely intelligent "clockmaker".

Front 15

anomaly

Back 15

deviation from what is normal

Hint 15

Albino animals may display too great an ANOMALY in their coloring to attract normally colored mates.

Front 16

antagonize

Back 16

to annoy or provoke to anger

Hint 16

The child discovered that he could ANTAGONIZE the cat by pulling its tail.

Front 17

antipathy

Back 17

extreme dislike

Hint 17

The ANTIPATHY between the French and the English regularly erupted into open warfare.

Front 18

apathy

Back 18

lack of interest or emotion

Hint 18

The APATHY of voters is so great that less than half the people who are eligible to vote actually bother to do so.

Front 19

arbitrate

Back 19

to judge a dispute between two opposing parties

Hint 19

Since the couple could not come to agreement, a judge was forced to ARBITRATE their divorce proceedings.

Front 20

archaic

Back 20

ancient, old-fashioned

Hint 20

Her ARCHAIC Commodore computer could not run the latest software.

Front 21

ardor

Back 21

intense and passionate feeling

Hint 21

Bishop's ARDOR for landscape was evident when he passionately described the beauty of the scenic Hudson Valley.

Front 22

articulate

Back 22

able to speak clearly and expressively

Hint 22

She is such an ARTICULATE defender of labor that unions are among her strongest supporters.

Front 23

assuage

Back 23

to make something unpleasant less severe

Hint 23

Serena used aspirin to ASSUAGE her pounding headache.

Front 24

attenuate

Back 24

to reduce in force or degree; to weaken

Hint 24

The Bill of Rights ATTENUATED the traditional power of government to change laws at will.

Front 25

audacious

Back 25

fearless and daring

Hint 25

Her AUDACIOUS nature allowed her to fulfill her dream of skydiving.

Front 26

austere

Back 26

severe or stern in appearance; undecorated

Hint 26

The lack of decoration makes Zen temples seem AUSTERE to the untrained eye.

Front 27

banal

Back 27

predictable, cliched, boring

Hint 27

He used BANAL phrases like Have a nice day, or Another day, another dollar.

Front 28

bolster

Back 28

to support; to prop up

Hint 28

The presence of giant footprints BOLSTERED the arguments that Sasquatch was in the area.

Front 29

bombastic

Back 29

pompous in speech and manner

Hint 29

The dictator's speeches were mostly BOMBASTIC; his boasting and outrageous claims had no basis in fact.

Front 30

cacophony

Back 30

harsh, jarring noise

Hint 30

The junior high orchestra created an almost unbearable CACOPHONY as they tried to tune their instruments.

Front 31

candid

Back 31

impartial and honest in speech

Hint 31

The observations of a child can be charming since they are CANDID and unpretentious.

Front 32

capricious

Back 32

changing one's mind quickly and often

Hint 32

Queen Elizabeth I was quite CAPRICIOUS; her courtiers could never be sure which of their number would catch her fancy.

Front 33

castigate

Back 33

to punish or criticize

Hint 33

Americans are amazed at how harshly the authorities in Singapore CASTIGATE perpetrators of what would be considered minor crimes in the United States.

Front 34

catalyst

Back 34

something that brings about a change in something else

Hint 34

The imposition of harsh taxes was the CATALYST that finally brought on the revolution.

Front 35

caustic

Back 35

biting in wit; "hapliv, qzvitelen, sarkastichen"

Hint 35

Dorothy Parker gained her reputation for CAUSTIC wit from her cunning, yet clever, insults.

Front 36

chaos

Back 36

great disorder or confusion

Hint 36

In most religious traditions, God created an ordered universe from CHAOS.

Front 37

chauvinist

Back 37

someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs

Hint 37

The attitude that men are inherently superior to women and therefore must be obeyed is common among male CHAUVINISTS.

Front 38

chicanery

Back 38

deception by means of craft or guile

Hint 38

Dishonest used car salesmen often use CHICANERY to sell their beat-up old cars.

Front 39

cogent

Back 39

convincing and well reasoned

Hint 39

Swayed by the COGENT argument of the defense, the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendant.

Front 40

condone

Back 40

to overlook, pardon, or disregard

Hint 40

Some theorists believe that failing to prosecute minor crimes is the same as CONDONING an air of lawlessness.

Front 41

convoluted

Back 41

intricate and complicated

Hint 41

Although many people bought A brief History of Time, few could follow its CONVOLUTED ideas and theories.

Front 42

corroborate

Back 42

to provide supporting evidence

Hint 42

Fingerprints CORROBORATED the witness's testimony that he saw the defendant in the victim's apartment.

Front 43

credulous

Back 43

too trusting; gullible

Hint 43

Although some four-year-olds believe in the Easter Bunny, only the most CREDULOUS nine-year-olds also believe in him.

Front 44

crescendo

Back 44

steadily increasing volume or force

Hint 44

The CRESCENDO of tension became unbearable as Evel Knievel prepared to jump his motorcycle over the school buses.

Front 45

decorum

Back 45

appropriateness of behavior or conduct; propriety

Hint 45

The countess complained that the vulgar peasants lacked the DECORUM appropriate for a visit to the palace.

Front 46

deference

Back 46

respect, courtesy

Hint 46

The respectful young law clerk treated the Supreme Court justice with the utmost DEFERENCE.

Front 47

deride

Back 47

to speak of or treat with contempt; to mock

Hint 47

The awkward child was often DERIDED by his "cooler" peers.

Front 48

desiccate

Back 48

to dry out thoroughly

Hint 48

After a few weeks of lying on the desert's baking sands, the cow's carcass became completely DESICCATED.

Front 49

desultory

Back 49

jumping from one thing to another; disconnected

Hint 49

Diane had a DESULTORY academic record; she had changed majors 12 times in three years.

Front 50

diatribe

Back 50

an abusive, condemnatory speech

Hint 50

The trucker bellowed a DIATRIBE at the driver who had cut him off.

Front 51

diffident

Back 51

lacking self-confidence

Hint 51

Steve's DIFFIDENT manner during the job interview stemmed from his nervous nature and lack of experience in the field.