Shared Flashcard Set

Details

GMAT words
GMAT words
45
Language - English
Graduate
04/25/2009

Additional Language - English Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
ABAFT
Definition
(adv.) on or toward the rear of a ship

The passengers moved abaft of the ship so as to escape the fire in the
front of the ship.
Term
ABANDON
Definition
(v.; n) to leave behind; to give something up; freedom; enthusiasm;
impetuosity
After failing for several years, he abandoned his dream of starting a
grocery business.
Lucy embarked on her new adventure with abandon.
Term
ABASE
Definition
(v.) to degrade; humiliate; disgrace

The mother's public reprimand abased the girl.
The insecure father, after failing to achieve his own life-long goals,
abased his children whenever they failed.
Term
ABBREVIATE
Definition
(v.) to shorten; compress; diminish
His vacation to Japan was abbreviated when he acquired an illness
treatable only in the United States.
Term
ABDICATE
Definition
(v.) to reject, renounce, or abandon
Due to his poor payment record, it may be necessary to abdicate our
relationship with the client.
Term
BALEFUL
Definition
(adj.) harmful, malign, detrimental
After she was fired, she realized it was a baleful move to point the blame
at her superior.
The strange liquid could be baleful if ingested.
Term
BANAL
Definition
(adj.) trite; without freshness or originality
Attending parties became trite after a few weeks.
It was a banal suggestion to have the annual picnic in the park, since that
was where it had been for the past five years.
Term
BANEFUL
Definition
(adj.) deadly or causing distress, death
Not wearing a seat belt could be baneful.
Term
BAROQUE
Definition
(adj.) extravagant; ornate; embellished

The baroque artwork was made up of intricate details which kept the
museum-goers enthralled.
The baroque furnishings did not fit in the plain, modest home.
Term
BASTION
Definition
(n.) a fortified place or strong defense
The strength of the bastion saved the soldiers inside of it.
Term
CABAL
Definition
(n.) a group of persons joined by a secret
The very idea that there could be a cabal cast suspicion on the whole
operation.
Term
CACHE
Definition
(n.) stockpile; store; heap; hiding place for goods
The town kept a cache of salt on hand to melt winter's snow off the
roads.
Extra food is kept in the cache under the pantry.
The cache for his jewelry was hidden under the bed.
Term
CACOPHONOUS
Definition
(adj.) sounding jarring
The cacophonous sound from the bending metal sent shivers up our
spines.
Term
CACOPHONY
Definition
(n.) a harsh, inharmonious collection of sounds; dissonance
The beautiful harmony of the symphony was well enjoyed after the
cacophony coming from the stage as the orchestra warmed up.
The amateur band created more cacophony than beautiful sound.
Term
CAJOLE
Definition
(v.) to coax with insincere talk
To cajole the disgruntled employee, the manager coaxed him with lies
and sweet talk.
The salesman will cajole the couple into buying the stereo.
Term
ABERRANT
Definition
(adj.) abnormal; straying from the normal or usual path
The aberrant flight pattern of the airplane alarmed the air traffic
controllers.
His aberrant behavior led his friends to worry the divorce had taken its
toll.
Term
ABEYANCE
Definition
(n.) a state of temporary suspension or inactivity
Since the power failure, the town has been in abeyance.
Term
ABHOR
Definition
(v.) to hate
By the way her jaw tensed when he walked in, it is easy to see that she
abhors him.
Term
ABJECT
Definition
(adj.) of the worst or lowest degree
The Haldemans lived in abject poverty, with barely a roof over their
heads.
Term
ABJURE
Definition
(v.) to give up
The losing team may abjure to the team that is winning.
Term
BATTEN
Definition
(v.) to gain
The team could only batten by drafting the top player.
Term
BAUBLE
Definition
(n.) a showy yet useless thing
The woman had many baubles on her bookshelf.
Term
BEGET
Definition
(v.) to bring into being
The king wished to beget a new heir.
Term
BEHOLDEN
Definition
(adj.) indebted to
The children were beholden to their parents for the car loan.
Term
BEHOOVE
Definition
(v.) to be advantageous; to be necessary
It will behoove the students to buy their textbooks early.
Term
CALAMITY
Definition
(n.) disaster
The fire in the apartment building was a great calamity.
Term
CALIBER
Definition
(n.) quality
The caliber of talent at the show was excellent.
Term
CALLOW
Definition
(adj.) being young or immature
With the callow remark the young man demonstrated his age.
Although the girl could be considered an adult, the action was very
callow.
Term
CALUMNY
Definition
(n.) slander
I felt it necessary to speak against the calumny of the man's good
reputation.
Term
CANARD
Definition
(n.) a false statement or rumor
The canard was reported in a scandalous tabloid.
Term
ABNEGATION
[,æbni'geiSn]
Definition
(n.) a denial
The woman's abnegation of her loss was apparent when she began to
laugh.
Term
ABOMINATE
[±'bÎmineit]
Definition
(v.) to loathe; to hate
Randall abominated all the traffic he encountered on every morning
commute.
Please do not abominate the guilty person until you hear the complete
explanation.
Term
ABRIDGE
[±'bridZ]
Definition
(v.) to shorten; to limit
The editor abridged the story to make the book easier to digest.
Term
ABROGATE
['æbr±Ugeit]
Definition
(v.) to cancel by authority
The judge would not abrogate the law.
Term
ABRUPT
[±'brÝpt]
Definition
(adj.) happening or ending unexpectedly
The abrupt end to their marriage was a shock to everyone.
Term
BELITTLE
[bi'litl]
Definition
(v.) to make small; to think lightly of
The unsympathetic friend belittled her friend's problems and spoke of
her own as the most important.
Term
BELLICOSE
['belik±Us]
Definition
(adj.) quarrelsome; warlike
The bellicose guest would not be invited back again.
Term
BEMUSE
[bi'mju:z]
Definition
(v.) to preoccupy in thought
The girl was bemused by her troubles.
Term
BENEFACTOR
['benifækt±]
Definition
(n.) one who helps others; a donor
An anonymous benefactor donated $10,000 to the children's hospital.
Term
BENEFICENT
[bi'nefisnt]
Definition
(adj.) conferring benefits; kindly; doing good
He is a beneficent person, always taking in stray animals and talking to
people who need someone to listen.
A beneficent donation helped the organization meet its goal.
Term
CANDID
['kændid]
Definition
(adj.) honest; truthful; sincere
People trust her because she's so candid.
Term
CANT
[kænt]
Definition
(n.) insincere or hypocritical statements of high ideals; the jargon of a
particular group or occupations
The theater majors had difficulty understanding the cant of the computer
scientists.
The remarks by the doctor were cant and meant only for his associates.
Term
CAPRICE
[k±'pri:s]
Definition
(n.) a sudden, unpredictable or whimsical change
The caprice with which the couple approached the change of plans was
evidence to their young age.
The king ruled by caprice as much as law.
Term
CAPRICIOUS
[k±'priS±s]
Definition
(adj.) changeable; fickle
The capricious bride-to-be has a different church in mind for her
wedding every few days.
Term
CAPTIOUS
['kæpS±s]
Definition
(adj.) disposed to find fault
A captious attitude often causes difficulties in a relationship.
Supporting users have an ad free experience!