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Kaplan GRE Word List > 180 Most Common Words > Flashcards

180 Most Common Words Flashcards

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1
Q

Abate

A

To reduce in amount, degree or severity

“As the hurricane’s force ABATED, the winds dropped and the sea became calm

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2
Q

Abscond

A

To leave secretly

“The patron ABSCONDED from the restaurant without paying the bill by sneaking out the back door”

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3
Q

Abstain

A

to choose not to do something

“She ABSTAINED from choosing a mouthwatering dessert from the tray”

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4
Q

Abyss

A

an extremely deep hole

The submarine dove into the ABYSS to chart the previously unseen depths

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5
Q

Adulterate

A

to make impure

“The chef made his ketchup last longer by ADULTERATING it with water

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6
Q

Advocate

A

to speak in favor of

“The vegetarian ADVOCATED a diet containing no meat

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7
Q

Aesthetic

A

concerning the appreciation of beauty

” Followers of the AESTHETIC movement regarded the pursuit of beauty as the only true purpose of art”

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8
Q

Aggrandize

A

to increase in power, influence, and reputation

” The supervisor sought to AGGRANDIZE herself by claiming that the achievements of her staff were actually her own”.

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9
Q

Alleviate

A

to make more bearable

“Taking aspirin helps alleviate a headache”

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10
Q

Amalgamate

A

to combine, to mix together

“Giant Industries amalgamated with Mega Products to form Giant-Mega Products”

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11
Q

Ambiguous

A

doubtful or uncertain, able to be interpreted in multiple ways

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12
Q

Ameliorate

A

to make better; to improve

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13
Q

Anachronism

A

something out of place in time

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14
Q

Analagous

A

similar or alike in some way; equivalent to

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15
Q

Anomaly

A

deviation from the norm

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16
Q

Antagonize

A

to annoy or provoke anger

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17
Q

Antipathy

A

Extreme dislike

“The antipathy between the French and the English regularly erupted into open warfare,”

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18
Q

Apathy

A

lack of interest or emotion

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19
Q

Arbitrate

A

to judge a dispute between two opposing parties

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20
Q

Archaic

A

ancient, old fashioned

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21
Q

Ardor

A

Intense an passionate feeling

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22
Q

Articulate

A

able to speak clearly and expressively

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23
Q

Assuage

A

to make something unpleasant less severe

“Serena used aspirin to assuage her headache”

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24
Q

Attenuate

A

to reduce in force or degree, to weaken

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25
Q

Audacious

A

Fearless and daring

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26
Q

Austere

A

Severe or stern in appearance

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27
Q

Banal

A

predictable, cliched, boring

“He used banal phrases like ….”

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28
Q

Bolster

A

to support; to prop up

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29
Q

Bombastic

A

pompous in speech and manner

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30
Q

Cacophony

A

harsh, jarring noise

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31
Q

Candid

A

impartial and honest in speech

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32
Q

Capricious

A

changing one’s mind quickly and often

“Queen Elizabeth was quite capricious…”

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33
Q

Castigate

A

to punish or criticize harshly

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34
Q

Catalyst

A

something that brings about a change in something else

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35
Q

Caustic

A

biting in wit

“Dorothy Parker gained her reputation for Caustic wit from her cutting, yet clever, insults”

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36
Q

Chaos

A

great disorder or confusion

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37
Q

Chauvinist

A

someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs

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38
Q

Chicanery

A

deception by means of craft or guile

“Dishonest used car salesmen often use chicanery to sell their beat up old cars”

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39
Q

Cogent

A

convincing and well reasoned

“Swayed by the cogent argument of the defense, the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendant”

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40
Q

Condone

A

To overlook, pardon, or disregard

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41
Q

Convoluted

A

intricate and complicated

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42
Q

Corroborate

A

to provide supporting evidence

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43
Q

Credulous

A

too trusting, gullible

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44
Q

Crescendo

A

steadily increasing in volume or force

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45
Q

Decorum

A

appropriateness of behavior or conduct; propriety

“The countess complained that the vulgar peasants lacked the decorum appropriate for a visit to the palace”

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46
Q

Deference

A

respect, courtesy

The respectful young law clerk treated the supreme court justice with the utmost Deference”

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47
Q

Deride

A

to speak of or treat with contempt; to mock

“The awkward child was often derided by his cooler peers”

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48
Q

Dessicate

A

To dry out thoroughly

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49
Q

Desultory

A

jumping from one thing to another; disconnected

“Dianne had a desultory academic record; she had changed majors 12 times in 3 years”

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50
Q

Diatribe

A

an abusive, condemnatory speech

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51
Q

Diffident

A

lacking self control

“Steve’s diffident manner cost him his job”

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52
Q

Dilate

A

to make larger; expand

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53
Q

Dilatory

A

intended to delay

“Boehner used dilatory measures to delay the passage of the bill”

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54
Q

Dilettante

A

someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic

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55
Q

Dirge

A

a funeral hymn or mournful speech

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56
Q

Disabuse

A

to set right; to free from error

Galileo’s observations disabused scholars of the notion that the sun revolved around the earth

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57
Q

Discern

A

to perceive; recognize

“It’s easy to discern between butter and butter flavoring”

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58
Q

Disparate

A

fundamentally different

“Although they were twins, their personalities were DISPARATE”

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59
Q

Dissemble

A

To present a false appearance; to disguise one’s real intentions or character

“The villian could dissemble to the cops no longer- he admitted the deed and tore up the floor to reveal the body of the victim”

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60
Q

Dissonance

A

A harsh and disagreeable combination, often of sounds

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61
Q

Dogma

A

a firmly held opinion, often a religious belief

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62
Q

Dogmatic

A

dictatorial in one’s opinions

“The dictator was dogmatic – he and only he was correct”

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63
Q

Dupe

A

to deceive; a person who is easily deceived

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64
Q

Eclectic

A

selecting from or made from a variety of sources

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65
Q

Efficacy

A

effectiveness

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66
Q

Elegy

A

a sorrowful poem or speech

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67
Q

Eloquent

A

persuasive and moving, especially in speech

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68
Q

Emulate

A

to copy, to try to equal or excel

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69
Q

Enervate

A

to reduce in strength

“the guerrillas hoped the attacks would ENERVATE the regular army”

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70
Q

Engender

A

to produce, cause, or bring about

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71
Q

Enigma

A

a puzzle, a mystery

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72
Q

Enumerate

A

to count, list, or itemize

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73
Q

Ephemeral

A

lasting a short time

74
Q

Equivocate

A

to use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead

“When faced with criticism of her policies, the politician equivocated and left all the parties thinking that she agreed with them

75
Q

Erratic

A

wandering and unpredicatable

76
Q

Erudite

A

learned, scholarly, bookish

The book club was a gathering of the most ERUDITE professors in the field

77
Q

Esoteric

A

Known or understood by only a few

78
Q

Estimable

A

admirable

79
Q

Eulogy

A

speech in praise of someone

80
Q

Euphemism

A

use of an inoffensive word or phrase in place of a more distasteful one

81
Q

Exacerbate

A

to make worse

82
Q

Exculpate

A

to clear from blame; prove innocent

83
Q

Exigent

A

urgent, requiring immediate action

“The patient was losing blood so rapidly that it was EXIGENT to stop the source of the bleeding”

84
Q

Exonerate

A

to clear of blame

85
Q

Explicit

A

clearly stated or shown; forthright in expression

86
Q

Fanatical

A

acting excessively enthusiastic, filled with extreme unquestioned devotion

87
Q

Fawn

A

to grovel

88
Q

Fervid

A

intensely emotional, feverish

89
Q

Florid

A

excessively decorated or embellished

90
Q

Foment

A

to arouse or incite

91
Q

Frugality

A

a tendency to be thrifty or cheap

92
Q

Garralous

A

tending to talk a lot

93
Q

Gregarious

A

outgoing, sociable

94
Q

Guile

A

deceit or trickery

95
Q

Gullible

A

easily deceived

96
Q

Homogeneous

A

of a similar kind

97
Q

Iconoclast

A

one who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions

98
Q

Imperturable

A

Not capable of being disturbed

99
Q

Impervious

A

impenetrable

100
Q

Impetuous

A

quick to act without thinking

101
Q

Implacable

A

unable to be calmed down or made peaceful

102
Q

Inchoate

A

not fully formed, disorganized

“the ideas expressed in Nietzsche’s mature work also appear in an INCHOATE form of his earliest writing”

103
Q

Ingenuous

A

showing innocence or childlike simplicity

“she was so ingenuous that her friend’s feared she would be exploited”

104
Q

Inimical

A

hostile, unfriendly

105
Q

innocuous

A

harmless

106
Q

Insipid

A

lacking flavor or interest

107
Q

Intransigent

A

uncompromising, refusing to be reconciled

“the prof was intransigent on the deadline insisting that all must turn in the assignment at the same time”

108
Q

Inundate

A

to overwhelm, to cover with water

109
Q

Irascable

A

easily made angry

110
Q

Laconic

A

using few words

111
Q

Lament

A

To express sorrow

112
Q

Laud

A

to give praise, to glorify

113
Q

Lavish

A

to give unsparingly (v); extremely generous or extravagant

114
Q

Lethargic

A

acting in an indifferent or slow sluggish manner

115
Q

Loquacious

A

talkative

116
Q

Lucid

A

clear and easily understood

117
Q

Luminous

A

bright, brilliant

118
Q

Malinger

A

to evade responsibility by pretending to be ill

119
Q

Malleable

A

capable of being shaped

120
Q

Metaphor

A

a figure of speech comparing two different things

121
Q

Meticulous

A

extremely careful about details

122
Q

Misanthrope

A

a person who dislikes others

123
Q

Mitigate

A

to soften, to lessen

124
Q

Mollify

A

to calm or make less severe

125
Q

Monotony

A

lack of variation

126
Q

Naive

A

lacking sophistication or experience

127
Q

Obdurate

A

hardened in feeling; resistant to persuasion

“The president was completely OBDURATE on the issue of gun control”

128
Q

Obsequious

A

overly submissive and eager to please

129
Q

Obstinate

A

stubborn, unyielding

130
Q

Obviate

A

to prevent, to make unnecessary

131
Q

Occlude

A

to stop up

132
Q

Onerous

A

troublesome and oppressive; burdensome

133
Q

Opaque

A

impossible to see through; preventing the passage of light

134
Q

Opproborium

A

public disgrace

135
Q

Ostentation

A

excessive showiness

136
Q

Paradox

A

a contradiction or dilemma

137
Q

Paragon

A

model of excellence or perfection

138
Q

Pedant

A

Someone who shows off learning

139
Q

Perfidious

A

willing to betray one’s trust

140
Q

Perfunctory

A

done in a routine way

141
Q

Permeate

A

to penetrate

142
Q

Philanthropy

A

charity, a desire or effort to promote goodness

143
Q

Placate

A

to soothe or pacify

144
Q

Plastic

A

able to be molded, altered, or bent

145
Q

Plethora

A

excess

146
Q

Pragmatic

A

practical as opposed to idealistic

147
Q

Precipitate

A

to throw violently or bring about abruptly; lacking deliberation

148
Q

Prevaricate

A

to lie or deviate from the truth

149
Q

Pristine

A

fresh and clean

150
Q

Prodigal

A

lavish, wasteful

151
Q

Proliferate

A

to increase in number quickly

152
Q

Propitiate

A

to conciliate; to appease

153
Q

Propriety

A

correct behavior; obedience to the rules and customs

154
Q

Prudence

A

wisdom, caution, or restraint

155
Q

Pungent

A

sharp and irritating to the senses

156
Q

Quiescent

A

motionless

157
Q

Rarefy

A

to make thinner or sparce

158
Q

Repudiate

A

to reject the validity of

159
Q

Reticent

A

silent or reserved

160
Q

Rhetoric

A

effective writing or speaking

161
Q

Satiate

A

to satisfy fully or overindulge

162
Q

Soporific

A

causing sleep or lethargy

163
Q

Specious

A

deceptively attractive; seemingly plausible but fallacious

164
Q

Stigma

A

a mark of shame or discredit

165
Q

Stolid

A

unemotional; lacking sensitivity

166
Q

Sublime

A

Lofty of Grand

167
Q

Tacit

A

done without using words

168
Q

Taciturn

A

silent, not talkative

169
Q

Tirade

A

long, harsh speech or verbal attack

170
Q

Torpor

A

extreme mental and physical sluggishness

171
Q

Transitory

A

temporary; lasting a brief time

172
Q

Vacillate

A

to sway physically, to be indecisive

173
Q

Venerate

A

to respect deeply

174
Q

Veracity

A

filled with truth and accuracy

175
Q

Verbose

A

wordy

176
Q

Vex

A

To annoy

177
Q

Volatile

A

easily aroused or changeable; lively or explosive

178
Q

Waver

A

to fluctuate between choices

179
Q

Whimsical

A

acting in a fanciful or capricious manner; unpredicatable

180
Q

Zeal

A

passion; excitement

Kaplan GRE Word List (3 decks)

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