Test your basic knowledge |

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. Ornament worn on the shoulder (of a uniform - etc.) The shoulder loops on Sam Spade's trench coat are the nonmilitary counterparts of the fringed ________s on George Washington's uniform.






2. Beastlike; brutal; inhuman The Red Cross sought to put an end to the ________ treatment of prisoners of war.






3. Causing sadness - compassion - pity; touching Everyone in the auditorium was weeping by the time he finished his ________ tale about the orphaned boy.






4. Inlaid; mosaic I recall seeing a table with a ________ top of bits of stone and glass in a very interesting pattern.






5. Ability to be molded When clay dries out - it loses its ________ and becomes less malleable.






6. Infringe; touch; collide with How could they be married without ________ing on one another's freedom?






7. Conceited smile Wipe that ________ off your face!






8. Poverty Neither the economists nor the political scientists have found a way to wipe out the inequities of wealth and eliminate ________ from our society.






9. Token of disgrace; brand I do not attach any ________ to the fact that you were accused of this crime; the fact that you were acquitted clears you completely.






10. Extremely small The twins resembled one another closely; only ________ differences set them apart.






11. Deny; go back on He ________d on paying off his debt.






12. Quarrelsome Whenever he had too much to drink - he became________and tried to pick fights with strangers.






13. Quality of being unsophisticated I cannot believe that such ________ is unassumed in a person of her age and experience.






14. Living at the same time as; contemporary ________ with the dinosaur - the pterodactyl flourished during the Mesozoic era.






15. Division; partition; separation The ________ of church and state is a basic principle of our government.






16. Express disapproval of; protest against; belittle A firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy - Miss Post ________d the modern tendency to address new acquaintances by their first names.






17. Kind His ________ and considerate treatment of the unfortunate endeared him to all.






18. Showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm His ________ nature could not be repressed.






19. Exalted; noble; uplifting Mother Teresa has been honored for her ________ deeds.






20. Assent; agree passively Although she appeared to ________ to her employer's suggestions - I could tell she had reservations about the changes he wanted made.






21. Steep; overhasty This hill is difficult to climb because it is so ________; one slip - and our descent will be precipitous as well.






22. Harmless substance prescribed as a dummy pill In a controlled experiment - fifty volunteers were given erythromycin tablets; the control group received only ________s.






23. Put into effect; supply with tools The mayor was unwilling to ________ the plan until she was sure it had the governor's backing.






24. Express sympathetic sorrow His friends gathered to ________ with him over his loss.






25. Pertaining to the woods; rustic His paintings of nymphs in ________ backgrounds were criticized as oversentimental.






26. Trinket; trifle The child was delighted with the ________ she had won in the grab bag.






27. Foretell The vultures flying overhead ________d the discovery of the corpse in the desert.






28. Tending toward the center - Does ________force or the force of gravity bring orbiting bodies to the earth's surface?






29. Repetition of beginning sound in poetry "The furrow followed free" is an example of ________.






30. Food I am very happy to be able to provide you with these ________; I know you are hungry.






31. Lacking in flavor; dull Flat prose and flat ginger ale are equally ________: both lack sparkle.






32. Open for the public to read; obvious It was ________ to everyone that the witness spoke the truth.






33. Trespass; enter as an uninvited person She hesitated to ________ on their conversation.






34. Pertaining to the art of removing metals from ores During the course of his ________ research - the scientist developed a steel alloy of tremendous strength.






35. Approving; applauding The theatrical company reprinted the ________ comments of the critics in its advertisement.






36. Combination (of two business corporations) When the firm's president married the director of financial planning - the office joke was that it wasn't a marriage - it was a ________.






37. Distorted; crooked He held his head ________ - giving the impression that he had caught cold in his neck during the night.






38. Assist - usually in doing something wrong - She was unwilling to ________ him in the swindle he had planned.






39. Urge; plead for The abolitionists ________d freedom for the slaves.






40. Sediment; worthless residue David poured the wine carefully to avoid stirring up the ________.






41. Insignificant; unimportant Brushing off Ali's apologies for having broken the wine glass - Tamara said - "Don't worry about it; it's ________."






42. Unreal; grotesque; whimsical Your fears are ________ because no such animal as you have described exists.






43. Adherence to established rules or procedures Signing this petition is a mere ________; it does not obligate you in any way.






44. Not easily satisfied; greedy Welty's thirst for knowledge was ________; she was in the library day and night.






45. Light-hearted; dizzy He felt his ________ youth was past.






46. Begin; originate; receive into a group The college is about to ________ a program for reducing math anxiety among students.






47. Make discontented The passengers were ________d by the numerous delays.






48. Dirty; neglected; poor It is easy to see how crime can breed in such a ________ neighborhood.






49. Distortion; burlesque - The caricatures he drew always emphasized personal weaknesses of the people he burlesqued.






50. Place where different varieties of trees and shrubs are studied and exhibited Walking along the treelined paths of the ________ - Rita noted poplars - firs - and some particularly fine sycamores.