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






2. Cater to the low desires of others The reviewer accused the makers of Lethal Weapon of ________ing to the masses' taste of violence.






3. Diligent attention; (secondary meaning) apply Pleased with how well Tom had whitewashed the fence - Aunt Polly praised him for his ________.






4. Hard - inflexible He was ________ in his determination to punish the wrongdoer.






5. Use of force They forced him to obey - but only by great ________.






6. Critical - ________ people delight in casting blame.






7. Sudden flood I am worried about the possibility of a ________ if the rains do not diminish soon.






8. Flashy; tawdry; falsely attractive Her jewels were inexpensive but not ________.






9. Not literal - but metaphorical; using a figure of speech "To lose one's marbles" is a ________ expression; if you're told Jack has lost his marbles - no one expects you to rush out to buy him a replacement set.






10. Soothe; make calm or quiet; subdue Dentists criticize the practice of giving fussy children sweets to ________ them.






11. Lying on back The defeated pugilist lay ________ on the canvas.






12. Irritation; resentment She showed her ________ by her refusal to appear with the other contestants at the end of the contest.






13. Damnation; complete ruin Praying for salvation - young Daedalus feared he was damned to eternal ________.






14. Attach I shall ________ this chart to my report.






15. Sorcery; magic. Merlin amazed the knights with his _________.






16. Fame For many years an unheralded researcher - Barbara McClintock gained international ________ when she won the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.






17. Division of a poem Do you know the last ________ of "The Star-Spangled Banner"?






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






19. Features - especially of the face She quickly sketched the ________ of his face.






20. Doctrine; dogma The agnostic did not accept the ________s of their faith.






21. Yielding; timid Crushed by his authoritarian father - Will had no defiance left in him; he was totally ________ in the face of authority.






22. Pertaining to the improvement of race It is easier to apply ________ principles to the raising of racehorses or prize cattle than t the development of human beings.






23. Settle down; descend; grow quiet The doctor assured us that the fever would eventually ________.






24. Flimsy; unsubstantial This is a ________ fabric; it will not wear well.






25. Breaking up; downfall This ________ in the government can only result in anarchy.






26. Turn into a god; idolize Admire the rock star all you want; just don't ________ him.






27. Person who enjoys his own pain The ________ begs - "Hit me." The sadist smiles and says - "I won't."






28. Persuade; bring about After the quarrel - Tina said nothing could ________ her to talk to Tony again.






29. Change or harden into bone When he called his opponent a "bonehead -" he implied that his adversary's brain had ________(ied) and that he was not capable of clear thinking.






30. Heat-producing - Coal is much more ________ than green wood.






31. Someone who can make his or her voice seem to come from another person or thing This ________ does an act in which she has a conversation with a wooden dummy.






32. Pretense; evasion As soon as we realized that you had won our support by a ________ we withdrew our endorsement of your candidacy.






33. Divided into two branches; forked With a ________ branch and a piece of elastic rubber - he made a crude but effective slingshot.






34. Wool coat of a sheep They shear sheep of their ________ - which they then comb into separate strands of wool.






35. Swift; momentarily brilliant We all wondered at his ________ rise to fame.






36. Animals of a period or region The scientist could visualize the ________ of the period by examining the skeletal remains and the fossils.






37. Hatch; scheme Inasmuch as our supply of electricity is cut off - we shall have to rely on the hens to ________ these eggs.






38. Take apart When the show closed - they ________d the scenery before restoring it.






39. Dominance - especially of one nation over others As one Eastern European nation after another declared its independence - commentators marveled at the sudden breakdown of the once monolithic Soviet ________.






40. Laypersons; persons not connected with the clergy The ________ does not always understand the clergy's problems.






41. Block; obstacle Stalled cars along the highway are a ________ to traffic that tow trucks should remove without delay.






42. Powerful; persuasive; greatly influential The jury was swayed by the highly ________ testimony of the crime's sole eyewitness.






43. Muddle; drive crazy This idiotic plan is confusing enough to ________ anyone.






44. Firmness; persistency; adhesiveness It is extremely difficult to overcome the ________ of a habit such as smoking.






45. Burdensome He asked for an assistant because his work load was too ________.






46. Near at hand; impending Rosa was such a last-minute worker that she could never start writing a paper till the deadline was ________.






47. Abandon I will ________ my claims to this property if you promise to retain my employees.






48. Bow She made an ________ as the king and queen entered the room.






49. Descent; ancestry He traced his ________ back to Mayflower days.






50. Unwilingness Some mornings I feel a great ________ to get out of bed.