GRE vocabulary

(used in) everyday speech

"The French I learnt in school is very different from the local vernacular of the village I'm now living in."

move back, retreat

"As the boat picked up speed, the coastline receded into the distance until finally it became invisible."

payment sent to a party in another place

"He worked as a builder in Chicago and received remittances from his bank in Chicago."

express a negative opinion of

"The actor's work for charity has recently been disparaged in the press as an attempt to get publicity."

of motives or facts that are apparent but not necessarily real or true

"Their ostensible goal was to clean up government corruption, but their real aim was to unseat the government.

elaborate, eloquent but logically invalid arguments inteded to deceive

"Her argument that she wasn't being selfish was pure sophistry."

command against

"The Broadcasting Act allows ministers to proscribe any channel that offends against good taste and decency."

artificial and inferior

"I'm allowed to eat ersatz chocolate made from carob beans, but its a poor substitute for the real thing."

contain the essential truths in

"It was very difficult to encapsulate the story of the revolution in a single one-hour documentary."

deceptive outward appearance

"the men who arrived in the guise of drug dealers were actually undercover police officers."

practical

"In business, the pragmatic approach to problems is often more successful than an idealistic one."

expression of a general truth in a short witty saying

"Oscar Wilde was famous for such aphorisms as 'Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes'."

appearance of things that are deceptive

"The city has now returned to some semblance of normality after last night's celebrations."

not genuine

"Some of the arguments in favour of shutting the factory are questionable and others downright spurious."

wicked

"The director of the company seems to have been involved in some nefarious practices/activities.

force that keeps something moving

"The recent publicity surrounding homelessness has given (a) fresh impetus to the cause."

sharp, spiteful speech; a highly corrosive acid

"He is a writer who has often been criticized by the press but never before with such vitriol."

able to be continue living ore being used

"In order to make the company viable, it will unfortunately be necessary to reduce staffing levels."

future generations of people

"Every attempt is being made to ensure that these works of art are preserved for posterity."

rewrite a text using the same language but a different writing system

"On the road signs, the Greek place names have been transliterated into the Latin alphabet."

vastly different

"The two cultures were so utterly disparate that she found it hard to adapt from one to the other."

name that misrepresents its meaning

"It was the scruffiest place I've ever stayed in, so 'Hotel Royal' was a bit of a misnomer."

implicit meaning in a piece of writing

"The political subtext of her novel is a criticism of government interference in individual lives."

event seen as a sign of thing come

"The company's sales figures for the first six months are a good augury for the rest of the year."

shown to be correct or innocent

"The decision to include Morris in the team was completely vindicated when he scored three goals."

abusive language used to express blame

"A stream of invective from some sectors of the press continues to assail the government."

not easily shocked

"She's totally unflappable-you have to be when working in such a highly-pressured environment."

very poisonous or infectious

"A particulary virulent strain of flu has recently claimed a number of lives in the US."

composure under strain

"Rosalind conducted the meeting with characteristic aplomb/with her usual aplomb

of events where nothing similar has happened in the past.

"This century has witnessed environmental destruction on an unprecedented scale."

break up the flow of something

"the documentary intersperses graphical animations with film clips of the actual event."

seen to show good luck

"They won their first match of the season 5-1 which was an auspicious start/beginning."

return to previous state

"the new procedures are being seen as a reversion to old, inefficient ways of working."

unable to be believed

"If three people in four no longer support the government, isn't this an untenable situation."

disagreement within an organization

"When the time came to approve the proposal, there were one or two voices of dissent

put an offender on probation by suspending his sentence

"Before probate can be granted, all business assts have to be identified and valued."

flowing in

"Turkey is expecting an influx of several thousands refugees over the next few days."

without having made a will

"Many people die intestate because they thought they were too young to make a will."

(seeming to be) present everywhere

"Leather is very much in fashion this season, as of course is the ubiquitous denim."

standard example

"Some of these educators are hoping to produce a change in the current cultural paradigm."

bandage that stops flow of blood by applying pressure

"If it continues to bleed, you may have to apply a tourniquet to the limb."

of the countryside

"the paintings show a typically bucolic scene with peasants harvesting crops in a field."

damage to

"Are you sure that I can follow this diet without detriment to my health."

comedy that makes a mockery of something

"Their production of "Macbeth" was quite the worst I've ever seen-it was a travesty."

bitter or sour

"The letters show the acerbic wit for which Parker was both admired and feared."

rude or irritable

"they invited me to dinner and I thought it would be churlish to refuse."

fraud

"the investigation revealed political chicanery and corruption at the highest levels."

make a situation worse or more severe

"This attack will exacerbate the already tense relations between the two communities."

not based on fact

"I'm pleased to see that ours fears about the weather proved totally unfounded."

true (often used to intensify a noun)

"My garden had become a veritable jungle by the time I came back from the holiday."

someone who is excessively eager to please in order to get something

"Ther was sycophantic laughter from the audience at every one of his terrible jokes."

individual maneuver in a game

"Her stratagem for dealing with her husband's infidelities was to ignore them."

covered with green plants

"Much of the region's verdant countryside has been destroyed in the hurricane."

surrentder under agreed conditions

"Their forces capitulated five hours after the Allied bombardment of the city began."

two dots occurring above a vowel to indicate it is pronouced differently

"The German language uses many umlauts."

(the power to) reject a proposed action

"The Ministry of Defence has the power to veto over all British arms exports."

have the essential qualities of

"Her dishonesty typifiies the untrustworthiness of theh police."

be relevant to

"We are only interested in the parts of the proposals that pertain to local issues."

cause to be less angry or fearful

"Outraged minority groups will not be placated by promises of future improvements."

troops arranged in a line

"these salary increases will affect only the highest echelons of local government."