面熟生词，顾名思义，就是这个单词你认识某些部分，或者每个部分你都认识，可是合起来就不知道什么意思了。这些单词是我们在背诵词汇时，最容易忽略的单词，为什么呢?因为你一眼看过去，以为自己认识，可是在考场上真的一较真就未必真的知道。这是一件很危险的事情，下面就跟随留学群一起来学习一下面熟生词系列，希望对你的GRE考试有所帮助。
1、backwater n. 一潭死水;沉寂不活跃;停滞
这个词总给人以后海的幻想，注意赶紧打消这个念头，这个叫做停滞或落后的意思。
If you refer to a place or institution as a backwater, you think it is not developing properly because it is isolated from ideas and events in other places and institutions.
例句：The destruction of the western Roman Empire led to a political and economic fragmentation that made western Europe an economic backwater for half a millennium.
2、moonshine n. 空谈;纸上谈兵
晚上的月光亮起来了，别幻想了，打住吧!快看英文解释。moonshine 就是empty talk 的意思。
If you say that someone's thoughts, ideas, or comments are moonshine, you think they are foolish and not based on reality.
例句：The lesson taught by the crash and the Great Depression was that the glorious dream of a self-regulating economy, free of government intervention and supervision, was moonshine.
3、brainchild n. 辛苦想出来的点子;想法
如果你的脑子生出了孩子，太可怕啦，没关系，不是脑残也不是脑瘤，而是你辛辛苦苦想出来的东西!
Someone's brainchild is an idea or invention that they have thought up or created.
例句：Facebook, the brainchild of Mark Zuckerberg while he was still studying at Harvard University, launched in February 2004.
4、deadpan adj. 面无表情的 n. 故意板脸搞笑
一个要死的平底锅?别逗了，这就是冰冰上课最常见的，板着脸!所以deadpan这个反义词，就是我们上课经常提到的demonstrative或者expressive。 demonstrative哪里见过?忘了小时代的经典片段了吗?undemonstrative panache!
而我们经常也会说deadpan humor。
Deadpan humor is when you appear to be serious and are hiding the fact that you are joking or teasing someone.
5、sidestep v. 回避，绕开
往边上迈一步?看来这个是意思最直接的一个词了。没错就是跟circumvent和bypass一样的意思。
If you sidestep a problem, you avoid discussing it or dealing with it.
例句：In ways large and small, millions of people are taking active steps tosidestep the medical mainstream, whether by taking herbal remedies for diseases or by placing their hopes for a cure in alternative treatment.，
6、upshot n. 结果，结局
有一种向上干了什么感觉对?不是啦，就是一个surprising result而已。
The upshot of a series of events or discussions is the final result of them, usually a surprising result.
7、upbeat adj. 乐观的;高兴的
到底往上打什么呢?其实就想你的心跳heartbeat一样，你可能真的不认识这些词。
If people or their opinions are upbeat, they are cheerful and hopeful about a situation.3. downsize
8、downsize v. 精简，缩小
感觉上尺寸有些变小，没错这个还是相对比较直观的。
To downsize something such as a business or industry means to make it smaller.4. impressionable
9、impressionable adj. 易受影响的，没有主见的
是不是被impress影响了，总有同学认为这个单词是印象深刻的!一定注意，表示的一个人，容易被其他人所impress。
Someone who is impressionable, usually a young person, is not very critical and is therefore easy to influence.5. personable
10、personable adj. 英俊的，风度翩翩的
难道是要幻化人形么?别搞笑了，这个词是外貌协会的最爱。
Someone who is personable has a pleasant appearance and character.
11、inviting
要邀请我去哪里呢?哈哈，中文我们常说引人入胜，就是这个词啦。像这样的词还有哪些?比方说，absorbing, engaging, engrossing, captivating, mesmerizing 等等都可以理解为吸引人。
12、liken v. 比拟，把…比作
是不是觉得好像进入了一种喜欢的状态?错!是进入了一种像……一样的状态。
If you liken one thing or person to another thing or person, you say that they are similar.8. wholesale
13、wholesale adj. 大规模的
甩卖啦!甩卖啦!全都卖吗?除了批发(与retail相对)之外，这个词考察的意思叫做大规模，大批的。
You use wholesale to describe the destruction, removal, or changing of something when it affects a very large number of things or people.9. wholesome
14、wholesome adj. 有益健康的
wow!这个单词曾经让我想入非非，三个人叫threesome， 两个人叫twosome，一个人是handsome，那1080p的大场面是不是才叫做wholesome呢?注意看清!这个词叫做有益健康的哦!
If you describe food as wholesome, you approve of it because you think it is good for your health and If you describe something as wholesome, you approve of it because you think it is likely to have a positive influence on people's behaviour or mental state, especially because it does not involve anything sexually immoral.10. defining
15、defining adj. 非常重要的
好像定义了什么?到底定义了什么?其实是critically important的意思。
例句： Taking a course in architecture was a defining turn in her life.
16、backfire v. 事与愿违;适得其反
怎么样?有一种你们家后院着火的感觉吗?backfire表示的是事与愿违，跟你的期待截然相反的意思。而什么表示车辆或者发动机回火这种意思是不会在GRE考试当中考察的
If a plan or project backfires, it has the opposite result to the one that was intended.22. redoubtable
17、redoubtable adj. 可怕的;可敬的
很多同学第一眼看到这个词第一个反应就是又一次怀疑，注意这个词的意思是也是一种双重的感觉。既可以表示可怕的(causing fear or alarm)也可以表示可敬的(worthy of respect)。但是这并不矛盾，因为一般我们敬佩的人物我们都有一点怕怕的感觉，比方说你们一定很敬佩冰冰吧。其实冰冰内心骄阳似火，只是不太愿意跟别人自来熟罢了!
If you describe someone as redoubtable, you respect them because they have a very strong character, even though you are slightly afraid of them.
18、gridlock n. 交通堵色;僵局
这个词有一种锁上的感觉，与之相同的词还有deadlock / standstill / impasse，这三个词在之前的GRE考试中都出现过，不要轻视哦!这些都表示的是僵局或者停滞不前这样一个意思。
You can use gridlock to refer to a situation in an argument or dispute when neither side is prepared to give in, so no agreement can be reached.24. bookish
19、bookish adj. 书生气的，书呆子气的
很卡哇伊的一个词对不对!有一种好多书的感觉，没错就是形容像宁采臣这样的人。-ish是一个动词或形容词尾缀，冰冰开篇课程就会讲的一个后缀。
Someone who is bookish spends a lot of time reading serious books.25. wanting
20、wanting adj. 欠缺的，不够格的
怎么样?为什么总会觉得这个词有一种欲火焚身的感觉?错了，这个词来自于want，却不是需求，但如果理解为需求也行，就是一个东西急需的东西，那就是他没有的呗。因此我们可以解释为欠缺的( not present or in evidence) 或者 不够格的(not being up to standards or expectations) .
If you find something or someone wanting, they are not of as high a standard as you think they should be.
21、pronounced adj. 明显的
什么东西被说出来了?想错了吧!pronounced表示的是一个东西很明显。
Something that is pronounced is very noticeable.
22、airtight adj. 不透气的;无懈可击的
air + tight的组合，有一种空气很紧的感觉。没错，这个词本意表示是不透气的，密闭的。而引申为什么意思呢?如果一个东西不透气我们就钻不进去，就没有办法击破它，所以引申义为无懈可击的，没有漏洞的。
An airtight alibi, case, argument, or agreement is one that has been so carefully put together that nobody will be able to find a fault in it.28. lest
23、lest conj. 唯恐;生怕
这个词简直是不认识要了你老命的节奏，让你有一种强迫症的错觉，到底是less还是least!不，都不是就是lest，这个词翻译过来就是for fear that 这样一个意思。
If you do something lest something unpleasant should happen, you do it to try to prevent the unpleasant thing from happening.29. streamline
24、streamline v. 通过精简使…高效
有一种流成一条线的感觉。而其实当你吧把一个东西做成了流线时，不就是让它变的更快了么?
To streamline an organization or process means to make it more efficient by removing unnecessary parts of it.
例句： They're making efforts to streamline their normally cumbersome bureaucracy .
他们正努力精简本来繁冗复杂的官僚体制。
25、grandstand v. 博取观众喝彩的说话或做事
这个单词在中文当中并没有特别好对应的单词，他的英文解释所描绘的图片是一个人为了获取公众的支持并打动人们所采用的说话方式。有时我们翻译成哗众取宠。
英文解释为seek to attract applause or favorable attention from spectators or the media:
26、smother v. 窒息;
s+mother感觉是不是要窒息了?对了说到这里突然想起了原来我的同事朱汉祺老师记忆assassin这个单词，就是刺客(刺客聂隐娘)的刺客，他说assassin就是ass+ass+in，嗯是不是有一种chrysanthemum不保的感觉。
To smother someone means to kill them by covering their face with something so that they cannot breathe.\
27、effortless adj. 不费力的;与生俱来的
这个单词大家总容易理解为不努力的意思，其实是不需要你任何effort的意思啦。这个词还有另外一个意思叫做与生具来，天生就有的。 很多年前曾经有一句话，我只有不懈努力，才能衬托别人毫不费力。有些人生来就含有金汤匙，没办法，不过你也不必上火，因为你还有GRE。
Something that is effortless is done easily and well.or You use effortless to describe a quality that someone has naturally and does not have to learn.
28、discerning adj. 有洞察力的
这个单词来自于discern，表示的是察觉，一定要跟discernible区分开，discernible表示的是可以感知的。
If you describe someone as discerning, you mean that they are able to judge which things of a particular kind are good and which are bad.
29、rife adj. 流行的普遍的
这个词大家很容易个wife搞混淆。注意我们经常说be rife with表示充斥着什么东西的感觉。但是一般用rife这个词所体现出的应该是一些不太好的东西。这个词还跟pervasive考过同义词呢哦!
If you say that something, usually something bad, is rife in a place or that the place is rife with it, you mean that it is very common.
30、girth n. 周长;
这个词大家很容易跟mirth相混淆，mirth表示欢笑的意思，在考试中mirthful还曾经跟jovial考过同义词。girth表示一个东西的周长。比方说女生很在意男生的girth，嗯你懂的!
The girth of an object, for example a person's or an animal's body, is its width or thickness, considered as the measurement around its circumference.
31、hard-boiled adj. 不动感情的; 强硬的
这个东西总有一种煮的感觉，则形容人的时候表示一个人像是被煮过了一样，那是什么感觉已经没有感情了的一个人。就是不懂感情的，强硬的。
You use hard-boiled to describe someone who is tough and does not show much emotion.
32、spiteful adj. 恶意的，怀恨在心的
这个单词大家总容易受到spite的影响，感觉像是尽管。其实spite这个词本身表示恶意或者怨恨。关于spite这个短语我们还可以掌握另一个叫做in spite of oneself 表示不由自主的，情不自禁的，英文解释就是Although one did not want or expect to do so。比方说我们说He smiled in spite of himself.
Someone who is spiteful does cruel things to hurt people they dislike.
33、forbear v. 克制容忍
这个词有种为了一条狗熊的感觉对不对? 其实不是，表示的是克制忍耐。这个词还容易跟forebear混淆，注意forebear表示前方的狗熊，那是什么呢?表示祖先(ancestor)的意思。当然关于bear还有很多小事儿，比方说bear out (证明证实) have no bearing on (与......无关)当然了组基金故事进入了bear market，你对股市也是bearish吧。
If you forbear to do something, you do not do it although you have the opportunity or the right to do it.
34、wont adj. 经常的，习惯于
很多同学看到这个词第一个反应就是是不是少了一个’，不是won’t啦，这个事形容词，就表示的是经常的习惯于。
If someone is wont to do something, they often or regularly do it.
35、enjoin v. 命令;禁止
这两个词都有join总给人一种加入的感觉。这个词很有意思，如果你说enjoin sb. to do 就表示你命令他们做事情，但如果你enjoin sb. from doing something 就表示你禁止他们做什么。跟persuade的用法差不多。
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