Wednesday, May 17, 2006

GRE - Wordlist (Barron)

The Barron's wordlist is given below, click on the links below to see the words and their respective meanings.

Alphabet A

Alphabet B

Alphabet C

Alphabet D

Alphabet E

Alphabet F

Alphabet G

Alphabet H

Alphabet I

Alphabet J, K

Alphabet L

Alphabet M

Alphabet N

Alphabet O

Alphabet P

Alphabet Q

Alphabet R

Alphabet S

Alphabet T

Alphabet U

Alphabet V

Alphabet W, X, Y, Z

GRE -- Tips for Sentence Completion

SENTENCE COMPLETION

1). Before You Look At The Answer-Choices, Think Of A Word That "Fits" The Sentence.

Example: Crestfallen by having done poorly on the GRE, Susan began to question her abilities. Her self-confidence was ..........

(A) appeased
(B) destroyed
(C) placated
(D) elevated
(E) sustained

If somebody is crestfallen (despairing) and has begun to question herself, then her self-confidence would be destroyed. Hence, the answer is (B).

2). Be alert to transitional words.Transitional words tell you what is coming up. They indicate that the author is now going to draw a contrast with something stated previously, or support something stated previously.

i). Contrast Indicators - To contrast two things is to point out how they differ. In this type of sentence completion problem, we look for a word that has the opposite meaning (an antonym) of some key word or phrase in the sentence.

Following are some of the most common contrast indicators:

But
Yet
Despite
Although
However
Nevertheless

Example: Although the warring parties had settled a number of disputes, past experience made them .......... to express optimism that the talks would be a success.

(A) rash
(B) ambivalent
(C) scornful
(D) overjoyed
(E) reticent

"Although" sets up a contrast between what has occurred--success on some issues--and what can be expected to occur--success for the whole talks. Hence, the parties are reluctant to express optimism. The common word "reluctant" is not offered as an answer-choice, but a synonym--reticent--is. The answer is (E).

ii). Support Indicators - Supporting words support or further explain what has already been said. These words often introduce synonyms for words elsewhere in the sentence.

Following are some common supporting words:

And
Also
Furthermore
Likewise
In Addition
For

Example: Davis is an opprobrious and .......... speaker, equally caustic toward friend or foe--a true curmudgeon.

(A) lofty

(B) vituperative
(C) unstinting
(D) retiring
(E) laudatory

"And" in the sentence indicates that the missing adjective is similar in meaning to "opprobrious," which is very negative. Now, vituperative--the only negative word--means "abusive." Hence, the answer is (B).

iii). Cause And Effect Indicators - These words indicate that one thing causes another to occur.


Some of the most common cause and effect indicators are

Because
For
Thus
Hence
Therefore
If , Then .


Example: Because the House has the votes to override a presidential veto, the President has no choice but to ..........

(A) object
(B) abdicate
(C) abstain
(D) capitulate
(E) compromise

Since the House has the votes to pass the bill or motion, the President would be wise to compromise and make the best of the situation. The answer is (E).

3). Apposition - This rather advanced grammatical structure is very common on the GRE. (Don't confuse "apposition" with "opposition": they have opposite meanings.)

Words or phrases in apposition are placed next to each other, and the second word or phrase defines, clarifies, or gives evidence to the first word or phrase.

The second word or phrase will be set off from the first by a comma, semicolon, hyphen, or parentheses.

Note: If a comma is not followed by a linking word--such as and, for, yet--then the following phrase is probably appositional.

Identifying an appositional structure, can greatly simplify a sentence completion problem since the appositional word, phrase, or clause will define the missing word.

Example: His novels are .......... ; he uses a long circumlocution when a direct coupling of a simple subject and verb would be best.


(A) prolix
(B) pedestrian
(C) succinct
(D) vapid
(E) risque

The sentence has no linking words (such as because, although, etc.). Hence, the phrase following the semicolon is in apposition to the missing word--it defines or further clarifies the missing word. Now, writing filled with circumlocutions is aptly described as prolix. The answer is (A).

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Wordlist apart from Barron's wordlist - 3

1.tarn...small mountain lake
2.tatterdemalion...ragged fellow
3.taurine...like a bull
4.teleology...doctrine of final causes
5.tenebrous...dasrk;gloomy
6.tergiversation...evasion;fickleness
7.theosophy...wisdom in diveine things
8.tocsin...alarm bell
9.trencherman...good eater
10.triolet... line stanza
11.troglodyte...cave dweller
12.trope...figure of speech
13.truckle...curry favour,act in a obsequious way
14.trumpery...objects that are showy,valueless,deceptive
15.turnkey...jailer

16.usufruct...right of enjoying things belonging to others

17.valance...short drapery hanging above window frame
18.valetudinarian...invalid
19.vellum...parchment
20.vituperate...spread negative information about
21.votary...follower of a cult

22.welkin...sky

Wordlist apart from Barron's wordlist - 2

1.idyll...a musical composition that evokes rural life.
2.imbrue...drench,stain especially with blood
3.imprimatur...permission to print a book
4.incarnadine...stain crimson or blood...colour
5.ingenue...an artless girl;an actress who plays such parts
6.integument...outer covering or skin
7.interlocutory...intermediate;not final
8.interstices...chinks;crevices
9.irrefragable...indisputable


10.jejune...lacking interest;barren;meager
11.jeremiad...lament;complain

12.kiosk...summerhouse;open pavilion

13.lackey...footman;yes...man;toady
14.lagniappe...trifling present given to a customer
15.lambent...flickering;softly radiant
16.lapidary...worker in precious stones
17.lave...wash
18.lesion...injury,unhealthy change in structure
19.libation...drink
20.lieu...instead of
21.lissom...agile,lithe
22.lupine...like a wolf


23.marauder...raider,intruder
24.maunder...talk incoherently;utter drivel
25.melange...medley
26.mesa...high flat...topped hill
27.mews...group of stables buil around a courtyard
28.moiety...half;part
29.moot...debataable
30.morganatic...marriage between a royal and a common
31.mugwump...defector from a party
32.murrain...plague;cattle disease


33.natal...pertaining to birth
34.nave...main body of a church
35.neap...lowest
36.necrology...list of teh dead
37.non sequitor...conclusion that doesn't follow from facts

stated
38.nonage...immaturity
39.nosegay...fragrant bouquet


40.objurgation...severe rebuke;scolding
41.oblation...the eucharist;pious donation
42.obliquity...departure from right principle;perversity
43.offal...waste;garbage
44.offertory...collection of money at relegious ceremony
45.orison...prayer
46.ovine...like a sheep


47.palaver...misleading speech;chatter
48.palliation...act of making less severe or violent
49.panoply...complete suit of armour
50.paregoric...medicine tha eases pain
51.parlous...dangerous;perilous
52.parturiotion...delivery;child...birth
53.parvenu...upstart,newly rich person
54.patrimony...inheritance from father
55.peculate...steal;embezzle
56.pelf...stolen property
57.pennate...having wings or feathers
58.perforce...of necessity
59.persiflage...flippant conversation;banter
60.picaresque...pertaining to rogues in literature
61.plebiscite...expression of will of people by direct election
62.plenipotentiary...fully empowered
63.poltroon...coward
64.postprandial...after dinner
65.purloin...steal


66.qui vive...wide awake;expectant
67.quibble...escape of main point of an argument
68.prorogue...dismiss parliament


69.recherche...choice;sought after
70.recreant...coward;betrayer of faith
71.recrudescence...reopening of a wound or sore
72.recusant...person who refuses to comply
73.refection...slight refreshment
74.renascence...revival of learning and culture
75.reticulated...covered with a network;having a
mesh like appearence
76.rheumy...pertaining to discharge from nose and eyes
77.rime...white frosts
78.risible...inclined to laugh;ludicrous
79.risque...verging on the improper;off...colour
80.roan...brown mixed with gray or white
81.rood...crucifix


82.sacerdotal...priestly
83.saltatory...relating to leaping
84.salutatory...opening oration at commencement in american colleges
85.salver...tray
86.sangfroid...coolness in a trying situation
87.sapid...savory;tasty;relishable
88.sapient...wise;shrewd
89.sarcophagus...highly decorated stone coffin
90.savoir faire...poise;sophistication
91.scarify...make slight incisions in;scratch
92.sciolism...quackery;superficial information
93.screed...long tiresome harangue
94.scullion...menial kitchen worker
95.senescence...state of growing old
96.sequacious...eager to follow;ductile
97.serried...standing shoulder to shoulder;crowded
98.shibboleth...slogan;watchword
99.shoal...shallow place
100.slattern...untidy person
101.soupcon...suggestion;hint;taste
102.splenetic...peevish
103.spoliation...pillaging;plunder
104.spume...froth;foam
105.stertorous...having a snoring sound
106.sub rosa...in strict confidence
107.sudorific...pertaining to perspiration
108.sumptuary...limiting or regulating expenditures
109.supernal...heavenly;celestial
110.suppurate...create pulse
111.surcease...cessation

Wordlist apart from Barron's wordlist - 1

These are the words apart from barron's list for GRE verbal preparation

1.acephalous.....headless

2.adduce.......present as evidence
3.adumbration...foreshadowing,outlining
4.afferent...carrying towards the center
5.afflatus...inspiration
6.affray...public brawl
7.amortization...act of reducing debt thro partial payments
8.andirons...metal supports in a fireplace for cooking utensils or logs
9.apologue...fable,a short allegorical story with a moral
10.apoplexy...sudden loss of consciousness,a stroke
11.arrogate...claim or seize without right,attribute unjustly
12.asseverate...assert solemnly
13.atelier...workshop,studio
14.athwart...across,in opposition
15.auscultation...act of listening to heart/lungs to find abnormalities


16.bagatelle...trifle
17.bassoon...reed instrument of the woodwind family
18.batten...grow fat,thrive upon others
19.benighted...overcame by darkness
20.bete noire...aversion,person/thing strongly disliked
21.bibulous...inclined to drink,affected by alcohol.
22.bilge...where the sides of the vessel curve in to form the bottom cause to leak(as of vessels),take in water at the bilge
23.billingsgate...vituperation,abusive language
24.blazon...decorate with a heraldic coat of arms.
25.bootless...useless
26.brazier...open pans in which live coals are burned.
27.breviary...book containing daily prayers
28.bruit...tell or spread rumours
29.bumptious...self assertive
30.buskin...thick soled half boot worn by actors of greek tragedy


31.cadge...ask for and get free;be a parasite
32.calk...a metal cleat on the bottom front of a horseshoe to prevent
slipping;seal with calking;injure with a calk.
33.caparison...put showy ornamentation on a horse.
34.carmine...rich red
35.carte blanche...unlimited authority or freedom.
36.caryatid...sculptured column of a female figure.
37.casuistry...subtle/sophisticated reasoning resulting in minute

distinction
38.champ...chew noisily
39.chattel...personal property
40.chiromancy...palmistry
41.cloven...split
42.coadjutor...assistant;colleague
43.cockade...decoration worn on hat
44.cognomen...family name
45.collier...worker in a coal mine;ship carrying coal.
46.coltish...given to merry frolicking
47.conch...large seashell
48.concordat...agreement,usually between papal authority and the

secular
49.conjoin...to unite
50.contumely...scornful insolence;insult
51.cormorant...greedy rapacious bird
52.corsair...pirate ship
53.cortege...procession
54.corusate...glitter,scintillate
55.crepuscular...pertaining to twilight
56.cruet...small glass bottle for vinegar,oil etc


57.debenture...bond issued to secure a loan
58.defalcate...misuse money held in trust
59.demesne...domain;land over which one has full sovereignty
60.depilate...remove hair
61.descant...discuss fully
62.desideratum...that which is desired.
63.desuetude...disused condition.
64.dipsomaniac...one who has srong craving for liquor.
65.dishabille...in a state of undress
66.distaff...female
67.divers...several;differing
68.divestiture...an order to an offending party to rid itelf of property.
69.doughty...courageous.
70.durance...restraint;imprisonment


71.eclat...brilliance;glory
72.educe...draw forth;elicit
73.efflorescent...flowering
74.empyreal...celestial;fiery
75.epiphany...any apperance or bodily manifestation of a

deity
76.equipage...horse drawn carriage
77.esprit de corps...comradeship;spirit
78.eviscerate...disembowel,remove entrails
79.ewer...water pitcher
80.ex officio...by virtue of one's office


81.fain...gladly
82.fealty...loyalty;faithfulness
83.fester...generate pus
84.fiduciary...pertaining to a position of trust
85.flagellate...flog;whip
86.flotilla...small fleet
87.freebooter...buccaneer
88.freshet...sudden flood
89.froward...disobedient;perverse;stubborn
90.frowzy...slovenly;untidy
91.fulgent...beaming;radiant
92.fustian...pompous;bombastic


93.gaff...hook;barbed fishing spear
94.gamester...gambler
95.gasconade...boastfulness.
96.gauntlet...leather glove
97.gibbet...gallows
98.gig...2 wheeled carriage


99.hawser...large rope
100.hogshead...large barrel
101.hostelry...inn
102.hoyden...boisterous girl
103.hustings...meetings particularly to choose candidates
104.hypothecate...mortgage;pledge as security