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GRE Wordlist: Meanings - Complete Sentences

Subjects : english, vocabulary
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Beginning; forming of a idea At the first ________ of the work - he was consulted.






2. Idealistic but impractical His head is in the clouds; he is constantly presenting these ________ schemes.






3. Trifling gaiety Your ________ at this serious moment is offensive.






4. A place where bees are kept Although he spent many hours daily in the ________ - he was very seldom stung by a bee.






5. Someone who wastes money Easy access to credit encourages people to turn into ________s who shop till they drop.






6. Blame; censure I want my work to be above ________ and without error






7. Weak; ineffective Although he wished to break the nicotine habit - he found himself ________ in resisisting the craving for a cigarette.






8. Stupid Your ________ remarks prove that you have not given this problem any serious consideration.






9. Moderation (especially regarding indulgence in alcohol); seriousness Neither drunkards nor comics are noted for ________.






10. Renunciation; self-sacrifice Though Rudolph and Duchess Flavia loved one another - their love was doomed - for she had to wed the king; their act of ________ was necessary to preserve the kingdom.






11. Purify; refine; concentrate A moonshiner distills mash into whiskey; an epigrammatist ________ thoughts into quips.






12. Calculating; pertaining to insurance statistics According to recent ________ tables - life expectancy is greater today than it was a century ago.






13. Like-size - three-dimensional scene from nature or history Because they dramatically pose actual stuffed animals against realistic painted landscapes - the ________s at the Museum of Natural History particularly impress high school biology students.






14. Elastic; having the power of springing back Highly ________ - steel makes excellent bedsprings.






15. Self-governing This island is a colony; however - in most matters - it is ________ and receives no orders from the mother country.






16. Book for religious instruction; instruction by question and answer - He taught by engaging his pupils in a ________ until they gave him the correct answer.






17. A small allowance or wage He could not live on the ________ he received as a pension and had to look for an additional source of revenue.






18. Small planet ________s have become commonplace to the readers of interstellar travel stories in science fiction magazines.






19. Trifles; unimportant matters Too many magazines ignore newsworthy subjects and feature ________.






20. Mental keenness His business ________ helped him to succeed where others had failed.






21. Excessive interest in one's self; belief that one should be interested in one's self rather than in others His ________ prevented him from seeing the needs of his colleagues.






22. Amends; compensation At the peace conference - the defeated country promised to pay ________s to the victors.






23. Clamorous; noisy The crowd grew vociferous in its anger and threatened to take the law into its own hands.






24. Hang about; wait nearby The police helicopter ________ed above the accident.






25. Having many languages Because they are bordered by so many countries - the Swiss people are ________.






26. Flabby His sedentary life had left him with ________ muscles.






27. Ward off a blow He was content to wage a defensive battle and tried to ________ his opponent's thrusts.






28. Yielding to another; ceding - The ________ of Alaska to the United States is discussed in this chapter.






29. Harmonious; in harmony with They were ________ neighbors - never quarreling over unimportant matters.






30. Supporter The congressman received hundreds of letters from angry ________s after the Equal Rights Amendment failed to pass.






31. Deceiving This is only a mirage; let us not be fooled by its ________ effect.






32. Scarcity They closed the restaurant because the ________ of customers made it uneconomical to operate.






33. Steadiness of effort; persisten hard work Her employers were greatly impressed by her ________ and offered her a partnership in the firm.






34. Keep; employ Fighting to retain his seat in Congress - Senator Foghorn ________ed a new manager to head his reelection campaign.






35. Motivated solely by money or gain "I'm not in this war because I get my kicks waving flags -" said the ________ soldier. "I'm in it for the dough."






36. Apt; suitably expressed; well chosen He was famous for his ________ remarks and was called upon to serve as master-of-ceremonies at many banquet.






37. Based on experience; useful He was a ________ man - opposed to theory






38. Foretell; presage The king did not know what these omens might ________ and asked his soothsayers to interpret them.






39. Misleading Your reasoning must be ________ because it leads to a ridiculous answer.






40. Persuade to act unlawfully (especially to commit perjury) In the Godfather - the mobsters used bribery and threats to ________ the witnesses against Don Michael Corleone.






41. Obscure; puzzling Many have sought to fathom the ________ smile of the Mona Lisa.






42. Amendment or clause added to a legislative bill Senator Foghorn said he would support Senator Filibuster's tax reform bill only if Filibuster agreed to add an antipollution ________ to the bill.






43. Scold; rant You may ________ at him all you want; you will never change him.






44. Adjust; endanger the interests or reputation of Your presence at the scene of the dispute ________s our claim to neutrality in this matter.






45. Learned Hindu; any learned person; authority on a subject Even though he discourses on the matter like a ________ - he is actually rather ignorant about this topic.






46. Ruined because of neglect We felt that the ________ building needed several coats of paint.






47. Beginner Even a ________ can do good work if he follows these simple directions.






48. Break up ground after plowing; torture I don't want to ________ you at this time by asking you to recall the details of your unpleasant experience.






49. Be excessively fond of; show signs of mental decline Not only grandmothers bore you with stories about their brilliant grandchildren; grandfathers ________ on the littel rascals - too.






50. Playful Such a ________ attitude is surprising in a person as serious as you usually are.