GMAT Vocabulary: Description
Words for how things look, sound, and feel, each in a short sentence.
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Brief lab report
The lab report was clipped: it named the dye result and then stopped.
Clear ferry manual
Numbered steps made the ferry manual lucid, so a new deckhand could follow every check.
January stone plaza
In January the plaza looked stark, only open stone, with no trees or banners.
Gilded clock case
Gold vines and tiny carved birds left the clock case ornate from base to crown.
Plain gallery bench
With white walls, a gray floor, and a single bench, the gallery felt austere.
Neon tent costumes
Neon pink set against a fierce yellow made the tent costumes garish in the overhead lights.
Dull blue runner
A dull blue that nearly matched the wall left the hallway runner muted.
Harsh sunset poster
Violent orange against a sickly green made the sunset poster lurid.
Pale after rehearsal
Stage light after the long rehearsal left the dancer's face pallid.
Yellow clinic light
Under the clinic lamps the patient's cheeks looked sallow, with a yellow cast.
Oven warmed cheeks
Heat from the bread oven left the baker's cheeks ruddy.
Spotted trout side
Dark spots broken by pale patches made the trout's side mottled.
Sun on orchard grass
Sun through the leaves left the orchard grass dappled.
Cream edged hostas
Cream edges around green centers made the hosta leaves variegated.
Beetle shell colors
As the beetle turned, its shell looked iridescent, flashing from green to copper.
Milky sea glass
Held up to the window, the sea glass was opalescent, milky white with a faint blue sheen.
Glowing paper screen
With the lamp behind it, the rice-paper screen turned translucent, glowing while shapes beyond stayed blurred.
Thin stage scarf
Footlights showed through the stage scarf, which was diaphanous.
Fence spider silk
Spider silk on the fence was gossamer, threads so light they barely held a shape in the morning air.
Soft piano sheen
A soft sheen, not a hard glare, left the black piano lustrous in the window light.
Flat black camera
No lamp reflected off the flat black camera body, which had a matte finish.
Rubbed copper pot
Rubbed until it threw back the kitchen light, the copper pot was burnished.
Cloudy parade trumpet
Dark cloudy spots left the parade trumpet tarnished.
Gray dock boards
Salt air over many years had weathered the dock boards until they were gray and split.
Unmarked dawn snow
No track marked the dawn snowfield, which lay pristine.
Sagging old boathouse
A sagging roof and loose boards showed how dilapidated the boathouse had become.
Wobbly fruit stand
Wind made the crooked fruit stand wobble, a ramshackle frame of thin slats.
Elm lined avenue
Tall elms and a broad quiet roadway made the avenue stately.
High library steps
Visitors looked small on the wide stone rise, an imposing approach to the library.
Vast train hall
Three platforms fit beneath one high empty roof in the cavernous train hall.
Tiny island chapel
The island chapel was lilliputian, scarcely larger than a garden shed.
Towering loading crane
Stacked containers sat in the shadow of the gigantic loading crane.
Speck of a seed
The seed was a pinpoint, no bigger than a grain of sand on the palm.
Wide lawn campus
Low buildings scattered over a wide lawn left the campus sprawling.
Folding travel stove
Folded into a case about the size of a book, the travel stove was compact.
Sharp edged chairs
Pointed corners and straight edges made the new chairs angular.
Curving garden path
Smooth bends between the hedges made the garden path sinuous.
Broken tile edge
Sharp points ran along the crack, a jagged edge in the broken tile.
Shining otter coat
Wet fur lay flat and shining, and the otter's coat was sleek.
Tangled pony mane
A thick tangle hung over the pony's eyes, and the mane was shaggy.
Balanced chapel window
Matching arches and panes on each side of the center made the chapel window symmetrical.
Uneven ceramic jug
A high handle on one side and a low handle on the other left the ceramic jug asymmetrical.
Crowded painted ceiling
Painted clouds, gilt scrolls, and angels covered the baroque ceiling.
Fancy dedication speech
Fancy phrases and long praises made the dedication speech florid.
Puffed memorial address
Little meaning sat inside the grand phrases, and the memorial address sounded turgid.
Three line field note
Nothing beyond three short lines appeared in the terse field note.
One word reply
After one word she went silent, and the reply was laconic.
One sentence comment
The editor captured the whole problem in one pithy sentence.
Two line abstract
The result appeared in two clear lines, and the abstract was succinct.
Long committee memo
Page after page added no new point, so the committee memo was prolix.
Repetitive tour script
Sentence after sentence repeated the same dock history in the verbose written tour script.
Clear tide pool
Every pebble showed through the noon light in the pellucid tide pool.
Twisted footnote chain
Clauses twisted back on themselves in the convoluted footnote.
Verbs left out
Verbs dropped out and only nouns remained in the elliptical stage direction.
Drifting lecture hour
Bridge design gave way to birdsong and then returned, in a discursive lecture.
Bending meadow creek
Back and forth across the flat meadow, the creek kept meandering.
Rain on tin
Separate taps, each with a gap before the next, made the rain on the tin roof staccato.
Honey sweet narration
Smooth and honey-sweet, the narrator's voice was mellifluous over the quiet scene.
Noisy loading dock
Horns, chains, and shouted orders collided, and the loading dock turned cacophonous.
Clashing harbor bells
Their tones ground against each other, so the two harbor bells were dissonant.
Harsh gull cries
Harsh cries from the gulls carried over the pier and were raucous.
Hard platform whistle
The platform whistle gave a hard blast, strident enough to cut across every conversation.
Deep bronze bell
Filling the square, the bronze bell's deep tone was sonorous.
Ringing stairwell step
A single footstep rang up three flights in the resonant stairwell.
Rattling market lane
Calling vendors and rattling carts made the market lane clamorous.
Hissing kettle steam
Steam escaping under the lid gave a sibilant hiss.
Rough engine idle
A low rough sound from deep in the housing made the idling engine guttural.
Soft radio lullaby
Soft and sweet in the dim room, the radio lullaby was dulcet.
Rasping gate hinge
People winced at the rasp, a grating noise each time the gate swung.
Sad violin line
Like a long sad cry, the violin line over the slow dance was woeful.
Sad foghorn note
Over the gray water the foghorn's long note sounded mournful.
Swinging folk melody
Rising and falling with an easy swing, the folk melody was lilting.
Unchanging fan hum
The same flat tone, hour after hour, made the fan hum monotonous.
Offbeat drum pattern
Drum accents landed away from the main beat in the syncopated pattern.
Keyless practice piece
The notes never settled on a home key, and the practice piece was atonal.
Warm final chord
Warm and easy on the ear, the choir's last chord was euphonious.
Scratchy sandpaper block
Her palm was scratched when she gripped the block, whose surface was abrasive.
Soft polished stone
Cool and soft under the hand, the polished stone felt silky.
Slow ribbon of honey
The honey moved in a slow ribbon over the spoon because it was viscous.
Quivering pond algae
A quivering mass that held together, the pond algae looked gelatinous.
Snapping old ribbon
The old ribbon snapped at a light pull, the cloth having gone brittle.
Bent willow strip
Bent into a hoop without a crack, the willow strip was limber.
Flexing leather sole
At each step the leather sole flexed, supple rather than stiff.
Straight tent pole
The wind pushed, but the tent pole stayed rigid and straight.
Limp forgotten balloon
A soft limp skin on the table, the forgotten balloon was flaccid.
Humming clothesline
Pulled tight, the clothesline was taut and hummed in the breeze.
Scratchy canvas sack
The weave scratched his wrist, and the canvas sack was coarse.
Crunching path salt
Crystals, not fine dust, made the path salt granular underfoot.
Soft peach skin
Against her palm the peach skin felt velvety, soft and smooth.
Damp cellar wall
Damp and cool under her hand, the cellar wall was clammy.
Slippery wet deck
Shoes slid because the wet deck boards were slick.
Sandy spinach leaves
Sand crunched between the teeth, and the spinach was gritty.
Fluffy duckling down
Fine fluff bent under a finger on the downy duckling.
Springy fence grass
Thin stalks sprang back when bent, and the fence grass was wiry.
See through curtains
The streetlight showed through the sheer curtains.
Snapping lettuce leaves
Leaves snapped when folded, and the lettuce was crisp.
Hairy kiwi peel
Fine hairs stood off the brown peel, leaving the kiwi fuzzy.
Shiny magazine cover
Shop lights slid across the glossy magazine cover.
Gray waiting room
No pictures and gray walls left the waiting room drab.
Glowing color mural
So bright they seemed to glow, the mural's reds and blues were vivid.
Empty salt flat
No plants broke the empty gray stretch of the bleak salt flat.
Glowing cabin dial
A soft green glow came from the luminous dial in the dark cabin.
Dark brown pond
The bottom stayed hidden in the murky, dark brown pond.
Blurred far hills
Soft and blurred behind a thin mist, the far hills were hazy.
Gold parade banner
Gold thread flashed in the noon sun on the resplendent parade banner.
Dark chapel interior
Little color, dark wood, and low light made the chapel interior somber.
Thin iron railing
No extra curve or thickness softened the gaunt iron railing, only thin bars.
Sharp mint smell
The sharp smell of crushed mint was pungent and filled the kitchen.