Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

GRE vocab > A > Flashcards

A Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
GRE® Vocabulary flashcards GRE® Psychology flashcards
0
Q

Abate

A

Verb: To reduce in amount, degree, or severity As the Hurricane’s force abated, the winds dropped and sea became calm. Synonyms: ebb; lapse; let up; moderate; relent; slacken: subside

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
1
Q

Abase

A

Verb: To humble; disgrace My intention was not to abase the comedian. Synonym: demean, humiliate

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Abdicate

A

Verb: To give up a position, right or power With the angry mob clamoring outside the palace, the king abdicated his throne and fled. Synonym: cede: relinquish; resign; quit; yield

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Aberrant

A

Adj: Deviating from what is normal or expected: Since he had been a steady, cheerful worker for many years, his fellow postal workers did not expect his aberrant burst of rage. Synonym: abnormal; anomalous; deviant

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Abeyance

A

Noun: Temporary suppression or suspension: The baseball game was held in abeyance while it continued to rain. Synonym: deferral; delay

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Abjure

A

Verb: To reject; abandon formally The spy abjured his allegiance to the United States when he defected to Russia.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Abscond

A

Verb: To leave secretly: The patron absconded from the restaurant without paying his bill. Synonym: decamp; flee; escape

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Abstain

A

Verb: To choose not to do something: Before the medical procedure, you must abstain from eating. Synonym: refrain; withhold

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Abstemious

A

Adj: Moderate in appetite : Because Alice is a vegetarian, she was only able to eat an abstemious meal at the Texas steakhouse. Synonym: abstinent; sober; self-restraining

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Abyss

A

Noun: An extremely deep hole

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Accretion

A

Noun: A growth in size; an increase in amount : The committees strong fund-raising efforts resulted in an accretion in scholarship money. Synonym: accumulation; buildup

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Acidulous

A

Adj: Sour in taste or manner: The acidulous taste of the spoiler milk made the young boy’s lips pucker. Synonym: acerbic; acetose; pigquant; tart

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Acme

A

Noun: Highest point; summit; the highest level or degree attainable: Just when he reached the acme of his power, the dictator was overthrown. Synonym: apex; peak

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Adulterate

A

Verb: To make impure The restaurant made his ketchup last longer by adulterating it with water. Synonym: decade; load; doctor

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Advocate

A

Verb: To speak In favor of: The vegetarian advocated a dirt containing no meat. Synonym: support; bolster

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Aerie

A

Noun: A nest built high in the air; an elevated, often secluded dwelling: Perched high among the trees, the eagle’s aerie was filled with eggs. Synonym: perch; stronghold

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Aesthetic

A

Adj: Concerning the appreciation of beauty

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Affected

A

Adj: Phony; artificial: The affected hairdresser spouted french phrases, though she had never been to France. Synonym: insincere; pretentious; put-on

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Aggrandize

A

Verb: To increase in power, influence and reputation: The supervisor sought to aggrandize himself by claiming that the achievements of his staff were actually his own. Synonym: amplify; augment; elevate

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Alacrity

A

Noun: Promptness, cheerful readiness: The restaurant won a reputation for fine service since the wait staff responded to their clients requests with alacrity. Synonym: eagerness; swiftness

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Alleviate

A

Verb: To ease, to make more bearable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Amalgamation

A

Noun: A merger, a uniting of element: The amalgamation of the two giant companies worried the small mom and pop stores. Synonym: compound; fusing

22
Q

Ambiguous

A

Adj: Doubtful or uncertain

23
Q

Ameliorate

A

Verb: To make better; to improve: The doctor was able to ameliorate the patient’s suffering using painkillers. Synonym: pacify; upgrade; make more tolerable

24
Q

Amortize

A

Verb: To diminish by installment payment: While college students are notorious for accumulating credit card debt, they are not as well for amortizing it.

25
Q

Amulet

A

Noun: Ornament worn as charm against evil spirits

26
Q

Anachronism

A

Noun Something out of place in time: The aging hippie used anachronistic phrases like ‘groovy’ and ‘far out’ that had not been popular for years. Synonym: archaism, incongruity

27
Q

Analgesia

A

Noun A lessening of pain without loss of consciousness: After having her appendix removed, Lisa welcomed the analgesia that the painkiller provided.

28
Q

Analogous

A

Adj: Similar or alike in some way; equivalent to: His mother argued that not going to college was analogous to throwing his life away. Synonym: alike; comparable

29
Q

Anodyne

A

Noun Something that calms and soothes pain: The anodyne massage helper remove the knots from the lawyer’s tense shoulders. Synonym: opiate

30
Q

Anomaly

A

Noun Deviation from what is normal: Albino animals may display too great an anomaly in their coloring to attract normally colored mates. Synonym: aberration

31
Q

Antagonize

A

Verb To annoy or provoke to anger: This child discovered that he could antagonize the cat by pulling its tail. Synonym: vex, incite, irritate

32
Q

Antipathy

A

Noun Extreme dislike: The antipathy between fans of rival soccer teams made the game even more electrifying to watch. Synonym: animosity, antagonism, aversion, enmity

33
Q

Apathy

A

Noun Lack of interest or emotion

34
Q

Apocryphal

A

Adj Of questionable authority or authenticity: There’s no hard or authoritative evidence to support the apocryphal tales that link Roswell, New Mexico incident to a downed UFO. Synonym: disputed, fictitious, doubtful

35
Q

Apostate

A

Noun One who renounced a religious faith: So that he could divorce his wife, the king scoffed at the church doctrines and declared himself an apostate. Synonym: defector, deserter, traitor

36
Q

Approbation

A

Noun Approval and praise The approbation that comedian jerry Lewis received in France included a metal from the ministry of culture. Synonym: acclaim, applause

37
Q

Arbitrary

A

Adj Determined by chance or impulse

38
Q

Arbitrate

A

Verb To judge a dispute between two opposing parties: Since the couple could not come to an agreement, a judge was forced to arbitrate their divorce proceedings. Synonym: referee

39
Q

Archaic

A

Adj Ancient, old fashioned: Her archaic Commodores computer could not run the latest software. Synonym: obsolete, outdated, vintage, anachronistic

40
Q

Ardor

A

Noun Intense and passionate feeling Bishop’s ardor for landscape was evident when he passionately described the beauty of the scenic Hudson valley. Synonym: fervor; fervidity; zeal

41
Q

Arrogate

A

Verb To claim without justification; to claim for oneself without right: Gretchen watched in astonishment as he boss arrogated the credit for her brilliant work on the project. Synonym: take, presume

42
Q

Articulate

A

Verb Able to speak clearly and expressively

43
Q

Assail

A

Verb To attack, assault : The foreign army will try to assail our bases, but thy will not be successful in their attack. Synonym: strike, beset

44
Q

Assuage

A

Verb To make something unpleasant less severe: Like many people, Philip used food to assuage his sense of loneliness. Synonym: alleviate, appease, ease

45
Q

Attenuate

A

Verb To reduce in force or degree; to weaken The bill of right attenuated the traditional power of government to change law at will. Synonym: devitalize; enervate; rarefy

46
Q

Audacious

A

Adj Fearless and daring: The audacious peasant dared to insult the king’s mother. Synonym: bold, daring

47
Q

Augury

A

Noun Prophecy; prediction of events: Troy hoped the rainbow was an augury of good things to come. Synonym: auspices; omen

48
Q

August

A

Adj Dignified; grandiose: The August view of the grand Teton summit took my breath away. Synonym: admirable; grand; majestic

49
Q

Austere

A

Adj Severe or stern in appearance; undecorated: The lack of decoration makes Zen temples seem austere to the untrained eye. Synonym: bleak; harsh

50
Q

Axiom

A

Noun Premise; postulate; self-evident truth : Lisa lived her life based on the axioms her grandmother had passed on to her. Synonym: adage; apothegm; aphorism; rule

51
Q

acrimony

A

noun

Bitterness or ill feeling.
“a quagmire of lawsuits, acrimony, and finger-pointing”

Synonyms: bitterness, anger, rancor, resentment,

52
Q

Adroit

A

Adj

clever or skillful in using the hands or mind.

“he was adroit at tax avoidance”

synonyms:skillful, adept, dexterous, deft, nimble

GRE vocab (27 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions