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GRE Vocabulary > Deck 8 > Flashcards

Deck 8 Flashcards

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1
Q

slough

A

verb: to discard; to ignore
noun: a swamp

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2
Q

monolithic

A

adjective: massive and uniform

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3
Q

truculent

A

adjective: aggressively defiant or hostile

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4
Q

bromidic

A

adjective: dull, unoriginal

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5
Q

philander

A

verb: to have amorous affairs

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6
Q

litigate

A

verb: to engage in legal proceedings

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7
Q

arrogate

A

verb: to claim or take without right

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8
Q

turbid

A

adjective: muddy, cloudy

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9
Q

expurgation

A

noun: the removal of indecent passages from a text

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10
Q

cavil

A

verb: to raise trivial objections, to bicker

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11
Q

nullify

A

verb: to declare invalid

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12
Q

cajole

A

verb: to persuade someone to do something they might not want to do, by pleasant talk and (sometimes false) promises

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13
Q

adept

A

adjective: very skilled or proficient at something

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14
Q

agog

A

adjective: very eager or curious to hear or see something

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15
Q

annul

A

verb: declare invalid

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16
Q

arbiter

A

noun: a person who settles a dispute or has ultimate authority in a matter

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17
Q

artless

A

adjective: without guile or deception

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18
Q

blight

A

noun: a thing that spoils or damages something

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19
Q

blithe

A

adjective: showing a casual and cheerful indifference considered to be callous or improper

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20
Q

blowhard

A

noun: person who blusters and boasts in an unpleasant way

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21
Q

deign

A

verb: do something that one considers to be beneath one’s dignity

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22
Q

docile

A

adjective: ready to accept control or instruction; submissive

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23
Q

doff

A

verb: remove (an item of clothing)

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24
Q

dote

A

adjective: be extremely and uncritically fond of, adore, love dearly, be devoted to

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25
Q

facetious

A

adjective: treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor

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26
Q

faction

A

noun: a small, organized, dissenting group within a larger one, especially in politics

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27
Q

fallow

A

adjective: iactive, dormant, quiet, slack

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28
Q

flail

A

verb: flounder; struggle uselessly

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29
Q

fortuitous

A

adjective: happening by a lucky chance, fortunate, advantageous, opportune

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30
Q

fringe

A

noun: the unconventional, extreme, or marginal wing of a group or sphere of activity

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31
Q

ingrate

A

noun: an ungrateful person

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32
Q

lax

A

adjective: not sufficiently strict, severe, or careful

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33
Q

listless

A

adjective: (of a person) lacking energy or enthusiasm; lethargic, enervated, lackadaisical

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34
Q

livid

A

adjective: furiously angry

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35
Q

lurid

A

adjective: presented in vividly shocking or sensational terms; melodramatic, exaggerated, overdramatized

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36
Q

mar

A

verb: impair the quality or appearance of; spoil, ruin, damage

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37
Q

mince

A

verb: use polite or moderate expressions to indicate disapproval

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38
Q

minion

A

noun: a follower or underling of a powerful person

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39
Q

mirth

A

noun: amusement, especially as expressed in laughter
Synonyms: merriment, high spirits

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40
Q

overwrought

A

adjective: (of a piece of writing or a work of art) too elaborate or complicated in design or construction; overblown, contrived, exaggerated

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41
Q

pyre

A

noun: a heap of combustible material, especially one for burning a corpse as part of a funeral ceremony

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42
Q

quack

A

noun: a person who dishonestly claims to have special knowledge in some field; swindler, fraud, charlatan

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43
Q

rue

A

verb: bitterly regret (something one has done or allowed to happen)

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44
Q

ruminate

A

verb: think deeply about something; contemplate, consider, mull over

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45
Q

strut

A

verb: walk with a stiff, erect, and apparently arrogant or conceited gait; swagger, prance, parade

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46
Q

syncopation

A

noun: a displacement of the beat or accents in (music or a rhythm) so that strong beats become weak and vice versa

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47
Q

taunt

A

noun: a remark made in order to anger, wound, or provoke someone; jeer, gibe, sneer

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48
Q

terse

A

adjective: sparing in the use of words; curt, brusque, abrupt

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49
Q

tome

A

noun: a book, especially a large, heavy, scholarly one; volume, work, opus

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50
Q

torrid

A

adjective: full of difficulty or tribulation

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51
Q

vapid

A

adjective: offering nothing that is stimulating or challenging; bland; insipid, uninspired, uninteresting

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52
Q

vestige

A

noun: a trace of something that is disappearing or no longer exists; remnant, remainder, fragment

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53
Q

waffle

A

noun: lengthy but trivial or useless talk or writing
Synonyms: prattle, hot air, drivel

54
Q

wanton

A

adjective: (of a cruel or violent action) deliberate and unprovoked; malicious, malevolent, spiteful

55
Q

whitewash

A

verb: deliberately attempt to conceal unpleasant facts about (a person or organization); cover up, sweep under the carpet

56
Q

whittle

A

verb: reduce something in size, amount, or extent by a gradual series of steps; erode, wear away, diminish

57
Q

wry

A

adjective: using or expressing dry, especially mocking, humor; ironic, sardonic, satirical

58
Q

abasement

A

noun: the action or fact of abasing or being abased; humiliation or degradation; belittlement, disgrace

59
Q

accession

A

noun: the action or process of formally joining an association or institution; joining, signing up, enrollment

60
Q

acolyte

A

noun: a person assisting the celebrant in a religious service or procession; assistant, helper, follower

61
Q

apostle

A

noun: a vigorous and pioneering advocate or supporter of a particular cause; proponent, promoter, propagandist

62
Q

barrage

A

noun: a concentrated outpouring, as of questions or blows; abundance, mass, profusion

63
Q

bevy

A

noun: a large group of people or things of a particular kind; group, crowd, cluster

64
Q

boor

A

noun: an unrefined, ill-mannered person; lout, oaf, ruffian

65
Q

canonical

A

adjective: established, authoritative

66
Q

circumspect

A

adjective: wary and unwilling to take risks; cautious, wary, careful

67
Q

coffer

A

noun: the funds or financial reserves of a group or institution; resources, money, finances

68
Q

diatribe

A

noun: a forceful and bitter verbal attack against someone or something; tirade, harangue, onslaught

69
Q

dictum

A

noun: a short statement that expresses a general truth or principle; saying, maxim, axiom

70
Q

discordant

A

adjective: disagreeing or incongruous; divergent, opposing, clashing

71
Q

divest

A

verb: rid oneself of something that one no longer wants or requires, such as a business interest or investment

72
Q

droll

A

adjective: curious or unusual in a way that provokes dry amusement; funny, humorous, amusing

73
Q

eddy

A

verb: (of water, air, or smoke) move in a circular way; swirl, whirl, spiral

74
Q

errant

A

adjective: erring or straying from the proper course or standards; offending, guilty, culpable

75
Q

extol

A

verb: praise enthusiastically; go wild about, wax lyrical about

76
Q

fetid

A

adjective: smelling extremely unpleasant; stinking, smelly, foul-smelling

77
Q

florid

A

adjective: adjective, using unusual words or complicated rhetorical constructions; extravagant, grandiloquent

78
Q

forestall

A

verb: prevent or obstruct (an anticipated event or action) by taking action ahead of time; pre-empt, get in before, get ahead of

79
Q

gambit

A

noun: a device, action, or opening remark, typically one entailing a degree of risk, that is calculated to gain an advantage; plan, scheme, strategy

80
Q

gouge

A

verb: overcharge; swindle

81
Q

grandiloquent

A

adjective: pompous or extravagant in language, style, or manner; pompous, bombastic, magniloquent

82
Q

grouse

A

verb: complain pettily; grumble; moan, groan, protest

83
Q

imbue

A

verb: inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality; saturate, fill, suffuse

84
Q

impasse

A

noun: a situation in which no progress is possible, especially because of disagreement; deadlock, dead end, stalemate

85
Q

leery

A

adjective: cautious or wary due to realistic suspicions
Synonyms: careful, circumspect, on one’s guard

86
Q

limpid

A

adjective: (especially of writing or music) clear and accessible or melodious; lucid, plain, understandable

87
Q

mire

A

verb: involve someone or something in (a difficult situation); entangle, tangle up, embroil

88
Q

natty

A

adjective: (of a person or an article of clothing) smart and fashionable; stylish, dapper, debonair

89
Q

nexus

A

noun: a connection or series of connections linking two or more things; union, link

90
Q

opine

A

verb: hold and state as one’s opinion; suggest, say, declare

91
Q

parry

A

verb: answer (a question or accusation) evasively; evade, sidestep, avoid

92
Q

stipulate

A

verb: demand or specify (a requirement), typically as part of a bargain or agreement; set down, set out, lay down

93
Q

subpoena

A

noun: a writ ordering a person to attend a court; summons, mandate, court order

94
Q

tenet

A

noun: a principle or belief; doctrine, precept, creed

95
Q

verbose

A

adjective: using or expressed in more words than are needed; wordy, loquacious, long-winded

96
Q

catharsis

A

noun: the process of releasing and providing relief from strong or repressed emotions; emotional release, relief
etymology: katharsis “purging, cleansing,” from stem of kathairein “to purify, purge,” from katharos “pure, clear of dirt, clean, spotless; open, free; clear of shame or guilt; purified”

97
Q

cloture

A

noun: (in a legislative assembly) a procedure for ending a debate and taking a vote

98
Q

conscript

A

verb: enlist (someone) compulsorily; draft, recruit, call up

99
Q

cosset

A

verb: Care for and protect in an overindulgent way; indulge, pander to

100
Q

daguerreotype

A

noun: a photograph taken by an early photographic process employing an iodine-sensitized silvered plate and mercury vapor

101
Q

diurnal

A

adjective: (of animals) active in the daytime; daily, everyday

102
Q

dyspeptic

A

adjective: of or having indigestion or consequent irritability or depression; bad-tempered, short-tempered, irritable

103
Q

ebullient

A

adjective: cheerful and full of energy; exuberant, buoyant, joyful

104
Q

egress

A

noun: the action of going out of or leaving a place; departure, exit, withdrawal

105
Q

euphony

A

noun: the quality of being pleasing to the ear; melodiousness, musicality

106
Q

expiate

A

verb: atone for (guilt or sin); make amends for, make up for

107
Q

fussilade

A

noun: a series of shots fired or missiles thrown all at the same time or in quick succession; salvo, volley, bombardment

108
Q

gerontocracy

A

noun: a state, society, or group governed by old people

109
Q

incubus

A

noun: a cause of distress or anxiety

110
Q

lacuna

A

noun: an unfilled space or interval; a gap; interval, gap

111
Q

larceny

A

noun: theft of personal property; stealing, robbery, pilfering

112
Q

lugubrious

A

adjective: looking or sounding sad and dismal; mournful, gloomy, sad

113
Q

malapropism

A

noun: the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often with unintentionally amusing effect; misuse, solecism, blunder

114
Q

noisome

A

adjective: having an extremely offensive smell; irritating, disagreeable, unpleasant

115
Q

paean

A

noun: a song of praise or triumph; song of praise, hymn, alleluia

116
Q

panoply

A

noun: a complete or impressive collection of things; array, range, collection

117
Q

pastiche

A

noun: an artistic work consisting of a medley of pieces taken from various sources; mixture, blend, medley

118
Q

phalanx

A

noun: a body of troops or police officers standing or moving in close formation

119
Q

précis

A

noun: a summary or abstract of a text or speech; synopsis, summation

120
Q

prosaic

A

adjective: commonplace; unromantic; ordinary, everyday

121
Q

puerile

A

adjective: childishly silly and trivial; immature, babyish, infantile

122
Q

quiescence

A

noun: a state or period of inactivity or dormancy; inactivity, inertia, latency

123
Q

repast

A

noun: a meal; feast, banquet

124
Q

ribald

A

adjective: Referring to sexual matters in an amusingly rude or irreverent way; bawdy, indecent, risqué

125
Q

scintilla

A

noun: a tiny trace or spark of a specified quality or feeling; particle, iota, smidgen

126
Q

supine

A

adjective: Failing to act as a result of moral weakness or indolence; weak, spineless

127
Q

truculent

A

adjective: eager or quick to argue or fight; defiant, aggressive

128
Q

tyro

A

noun: a beginner or novice; learner, neophyte, newcomer

129
Q

umbrage

A

noun: offense or annoyance; insult, affront

130
Q

virulent

A

adjective: extremely severe or harmful in its effects; toxic, deadly, destructive

related words: virus

GRE Vocabulary (11 decks)

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