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GRE Studying > Deck 9 > Flashcards

Deck 9 Flashcards

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GRE® Vocabulary flashcards
1
Q

Vex

A

(verb): to annoy. Think: HEX. In Harry Potter, casting a HEX, or spell designed to cause pain, on someone will definitely VEX him.

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2
Q

Puffery

A

(noun): hype; exaggerated promotion. Think: PUFFED UP. My manager’s PUFFERY made me feel PUFFED up with pride as I began the press conference.

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3
Q

Wizened

A

(adjective): shrunken and wrinkled, usually due to age. Think: WIZARD. WIZARDS like Gandalf and Dumbledore are usually WIZENED since they’re really old.

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4
Q

Adroit

A

(adjective): skillful. Think: A DROID. A DROID is an ADROIT cell phone since it can do so much.

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5
Q

Partisan

A

(adjective): biased toward one side. Think: PARTY’S SON. The chairman of the Democratic PARTY’S SON was understandably PARTISAN about politics.

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6
Q

Interloper

A

(noun): one who intrudes. Think: INTERRUPT ELOPE. The INTERLOPER INTERRUPTED them from ELOPING when the priest said, “Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

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7
Q

Tumid

A

(adjective): swollen. Think: TUMOR. The cancer patient’s large TUMOR caused his abdomen to be TUMID.

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8
Q

Verbose

A

(adjective): wordy. Think: VERB BOSS. They call me a VERB BOSS since I am VERBOSE and know a zillion different words.

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9
Q

Prosaic

A

(adjective): dull or boring. Think: PROS SAY ICK. I was going to watch the new Adam Sandler movie, but the movie critic PROS SAY, “ICK - the film is PROSAIC”.

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10
Q

Eradicate

A

(verb): to wipe out. Think: RADIATE. You can RADIATE food to ERADICATE the bacteria in it.

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11
Q

Platitude

A

(noun): an overused expression. Think: BLAH ATTITUDE. Dude, she’s giving you that BLAH ATTITUDE cause your pickup line was a PLATITUDE.

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12
Q

Abridge

A

(verb): to shorten. Think: A BRIDGE. A BRIDGE would ABRIDGE my commute, which involves driving around the canyon.

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13
Q

Pusillanimous

A

(adjective): cowardly. Think: PUSSYCAT. The PUSSYCAT is an animal that is PUSILLANIMOUS when scared - hence the expression “scaredy-cat”.

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14
Q

Punctilious

A

(adjective): marked by following the rules strictly. Think: PUNCTUAL. The teacher’s pet was both PUNCTILIOUS and PUNCTUAL, but most wanted to punch him.

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15
Q

Paroxysm:

A

(noun): an attack, spasm, or outburst. Think: PARADOX SPASM. If you drink ocean water, you’ll have a PAROXYSM - it’s a PARADOX that it’s water but it causes SPASMS if you swallow it.

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16
Q

Repudiate

A

(verb): to refuse to accept; to reject. Think: REFUSE POO I ATE. If I ate shit, my stomach would REFUSE the POO I ATE and REPUDIATE it by vomiting uncontrollably.

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17
Q

Abeyance

A

(noun): temporary inactivity; suspension. Think: “OBEY” ENDS. When our lieutenant’s command to OBEY ENDS, our work plans are held in ABEYANCE because we’re lazy.

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18
Q

Morass

A

(noun): a situation that makes you stuck. Think: MOLASSES. Don’t tailgate a MOLASSES truck - if you run into it and it spills on you, you’ll be in a MORASS.

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19
Q

Estranged

A

(verb): separated in a negative way. Think: STRANGER. Gotye’s ESTRANGED girlfriend cut him out and treated him like a STRANGER and it felt so rough.

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20
Q

Painstaking

A

(adjective): very careful. Think: TAKING PAINS. TAKING PAINS to not infect the patient means being PAINSTAKING when you wash your hands before surgery.

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21
Q

Pathos

A

(noun): a quality that evokes feelings of sadness or pity. Think: SYMPATHY OHHHS. Your painting of a starving puppy has so much PATHOS that it always gets SYMPATHY “OHHHS” from viewers.

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22
Q

Picayune

A

(adjective): unimportant; small-minded. Think: PICKY ONE. The PICAYUNE bridezilla was quite the PICKY ONE, worrying about every single detail of her wedding.

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23
Q

Desecrate

A

(verb): to violate something sacred. Think: DE-SACRED. If you peed on an altar, you would DESECRATE it, or “DE-SACRED” it - it would no longer be sacred.

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24
Q

Provincial

A

(adjective): narrow-minded. Think: PROVINCE. If you never leave your Canadian PROVINCE, your worldview will probably be somewhat PROVINCIAL.

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25
Q

Pragmatic

A

(adjective): practical. Think: PRACTICAL AUTOMATIC. To be PRACTICAL, buy an AUTOMATIC car instead of a stick shift - it’s more PRAGMATIC for city driving.

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26
Q

Affable

A

(adjective): friendly. Think: LAUGHABLE GIRAFFE. Since they want tourists to feed them, zoo GIRAFFES are so AFFABLE that it’s LAUGHABLE.

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27
Q

Gaudy

A

(adjective): flashy in a tasteless way. Think: GAWD UGLY. The rapper’s inch-thick gold chain was so GAUDY that even his fans said, “GAWD that’s UGLY!”

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28
Q

Synoptic

A

(adjective): giving a summary. Think: SYNOPSIS. The SYNOPTIC nature of Spark Notes provides a SYNOPSIS of a novel’s plot at the expense of its beauty.

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29
Q

Scintillating

A

(adjective): sparkling; brilliant. Think: SQUINT. Her sequined shirt was so SCINTILLATING that I had to SQUINT to see it.

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30
Q

Idyllic

A

(adjective): pleasingly, naturally simple. Think: IDEAL. The IDYLLIC forest grove, with its sunbeams, babbling brook, and butterflies, seemed an IDEAL campsite.

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31
Q

Juvenescence

A

(noun): the state of being youthful or growing young. Think: JUVENILE ADOLESCENT. Creating JUVENESCENCE by partying in Vegas for his 0th birthday made the man feel like a JUVENILE ADOLESCENT again.

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32
Q

Farce

A

(noun): a comical, unrealistic, mocking display or show. Think: FARTS. I know your play is a FARCE because of how many times the characters FART.

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33
Q

Renowned

A

(adjective): famous in a good way. Think: RE-KNOWN. RENOWNED celebrities are often KNOWN in their era then RE-KNOWN on reality T.V. shows several years later.

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34
Q

Equivocal

A

(adjective): intentionally unclear. Think: EQUALLY VOCAL. The EQUIVOCAL politician was EQUALLY VOCAL about both sides of the issue.

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35
Q

Magnate

A

(noun): a powerful or influential person. Think: chick MAGNET. You’d be a chick MAGNET, too, if you were an oil MAGNATE like me.

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36
Q

Propitious

A

(adjective): favorable; promising. Think: PROP IT UP. In “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, Linus thought the little tree was PROPITIOUS, so he decided to PROP IT UP.

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37
Q

Vitiate

A

(verb): to impair or degrade. Think: WISH YOU ATE. If you eat Taco Bell, it will VITIATE your stomach and make you WISH YOU ATE something else.

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38
Q

Bucolic

A

(adjective): rustic; rural. Think: BLUE COLLAR. I’m just a BUCOLIC broccoli farmer - a BLUE COLLAR worker - I don’t understand what those suits are talking about!

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39
Q

Workmanlike

A

(adjective): good but not great. Think: WORKMAN’s DESIGN. A WORKMAN will produce a WORKMANLIKE house design, but hire an architect if you want originality.

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40
Q

Impetuous

A

(adjective): impulsive; spontaneous. Think: IMPATIENT US. IMPATIENT people like US make IMPETUOUS decisions like betting on horses with cool names without researching them first.

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41
Q

Didactic

A

(adjective): designed to teach. Think: DICTIONARY TACTIC. The definitions in a DICTIONARY use the TACTIC of explaining words clearly in order to be DIDACTIC.

42
Q

Jocose

A

(adjective): given to joking. Think: JOKE COACH. It was no surprise that the JOCOSE high school student grew up to be a JOKE COACH.

43
Q

Mores

A

(noun): customary rules and standards. Think: MORALS. Our society’s MORES include MORALS like helping others who are less fortunate.

44
Q

Devoid

A

(adjective): completely lacking. Think: THE VOID. THE VOID of deep space is DEVOID of air, warmth, and life.

45
Q

Besmirch

A

(verb): to damage the reputation of. Think: SMEAR. SMEARING a scarlet letter on her forehead to show the village she committed adultery will BESMIRCH her reputation.

46
Q

Unruly

A

(adjective): difficult to discipline or manage. Think: UN-RULE-ABLE. My two-year-old is UNRULY; he is UN-RULE-ABLE and says “No!” to me every time I tell him to do something.

47
Q

Abstruse

A

(adjective): hard to comprehend. Think: ABSTRACT and CONFUSING. The ABSTRACT strudel directions will CONFUSE the new cook because they are ABSTRUSE.

48
Q

Refulgent

A

(adjective): brightly shining. Think: REFUELS IT. The campfire gets REFULGENT after he REFUELS IT.

49
Q

Inundated

A

(adjective): flooded. Think: NUNS DATE. After the church allowed NUNS to DATE, they INUNDATED Match.com.

50
Q

Debilitate

A

(verb): to weaken. Think: DECREASE ABILITY. Cancer will often DEBILITATE its victims and can DECREASE their ABILITY to be active.

51
Q

Miserly

A

(adjective): stingy or cheap with money. Think: MISERABLE Scrooge. Scrooge was MISERABLE at making friends because he was too MISERLY to ever chip in for the dinner tab.

52
Q

Sequacious

A

(adjective): something that imitates another’s idea. Think: SEQUEL. Your movie is so SEQUACIOUS of mine that it feels like a SEQUEL.

53
Q

Expatriate

A

(noun): one who has moved to a foreign country. Think: EX-PATRIOT. We said our EXPATRIATE friend was an anti-American EX-PATRIOT since he moved to France.

54
Q

Extirpate

A

(verb): to get rid of completely. Think: EXTERMINATE. If you have pests in your house that you want to EXTIRPATE, call someone who will EXTERMINATE them.

55
Q

Platonic

A

(adjective): not related to romance or sex. Think: PLATO DATE. If you only talk to your date about the philosopher PLATO, you’ll end up as her PLATONIC friend.

56
Q

Pretext

A

(noun): a fake excuse. Think: PEE TEXT. She pretends to have to PEE and leaves on the PRETEXT of using the restroom so she can TEXT without getting caught.

57
Q

Perspicacious

A

(adjective): sharp; clever. Think: PERSPECTIVE for the ACES. A PERSPICACIOUS poker player uses her clear PERSPECTIVE to know who has the ACES.

58
Q

Audacious

A

(adjective): fearlessly bold; arrogantly bold. Think: AWED US. Walking up to Obama and swiping his pen as he was about to sign the bill was so AUDACIOUS that it AWED US.

59
Q

Finicky

A

(adjective): difficult to please. Think: NIT-PICKY. The princess was NIT-PICKY - she was so FINICKY that she refused to sleep on the mattress with a pea under it.

60
Q

Surreptitious

A

(adjective): sneaky or stealthy. Think: REPTILES. REPTILES like snakes are good at camouflage because they’re SURREPTITIOUS.

61
Q

Hapless

A

(adjective): unlucky. Think: HAPPY LESS. The HAPLESS are often HAPPY LESS because of their rotten luck.

62
Q

Predilection

A

(noun): a preference. Think: PREDICTED DIRECTION. Google PREDICTED the DIRECTION of my search when I typed “how to find” by showing “how to find love”, because it knows people have a PREDILECTION to seek romance.

63
Q

Impromptu

A

(adjective): without preparation. Think: IMPROVISE. If you forget your lines, I’m not going to prompt you, so just IMPROVISE and make some IMPROMPTU remarks.

64
Q

Covert

A

(adjective): not openly shown. Think: COVERED. The CIA agent was on a COVERT mission, so he COVERED his true identity.

65
Q

Estimable

A

(adjective): worthy. Think: ESTEEM-able. If someone is ESTIMABLE they are “ESTEEM-ABLE”, i.e., they’re deserving of your positive regard.

66
Q

Pluck

A

(noun): courage; spirit. Think: PLUCK a feather. You showed PLUCK by attempting to PLUCK a feather from a live ostrich; too bad it decided to peck you in the eye.

67
Q

Impassive

A

(adjective): unemotional. Think: I’M PASSIVE. I’M PASSIVE, and I remained IMPASSIVE so the bully who stole my Dippin’ Dots wouldn’t hit me.

68
Q

Apocryphal

A

(adjective): of doubtful truthfulness. Think: APOCALYPSE predictions. The prediction that the APOCALYPSE would happen in 0 turned out to be APOCRYPHAL.

69
Q

Acrid

A

(adjective): bitter and unpleasant. Think: ACID. Lemon juice tastes ACRID because it contains a lot of citric ACID.

70
Q

Dispatch

A

(noun): speed; efficiency. Think: DISPATCHER. If you want a job as a DISPATCHER - using the radio to direct police - you’d better have DISPATCH.

71
Q

Nepotism

A

(noun): unfairly hiring family members. Think: NEPHEW FAVORITISM. They said I practiced NEPHEW FAVORITISM and accused me of NEPOTISM when I promoted my -year-old nephew to vice president of the company.

72
Q

Slipshod

A

(adjective): careless; sloppy. Think: SLIP SHODDY. I SLIP when I walk on your SHODDY living room floor because its construction is really SLIPSHOD.

73
Q

Vaunted

A

(adjective): widely praised. Think: VAULTED well. The gymnast VAULTED so well that she was VAUNTED by the judges.

74
Q

Demotic

A

(adjective): popular; common. Think: DEMOCRATIC. Obama uses DEMOTIC language in his speeches to seem more DEMOCRATIC.

75
Q

Malleable

A

(adjective): able to be shaped. Think: MALLET-ABLE. -karat gold is so MALLEABLE that you can dent it with a wooden hammer - it’s “MALLET-ABLE.”

76
Q

Cohesive

A

(adjective): holding together well. Think: ADHESIVE. A COHESIVE argument holds together even when attacked - as if it’s strengthened by an ADHESIVE.

77
Q

Torpid

A

(adjective): sluggish. Think: TAR PIT. Once I walked into the sticky TAR PIT, my pace became TORPID.

78
Q

Conversant

A

(adjective): familiar with. Think: CONVERSE IT. If you’re CONVERSANT with something, you can CONVERSE about it intelligently.

79
Q

Vainglorious

A

(adjective): boastful. Think: VAIN. The evil queen in Snow White is VAINGLORIOUS - because she’s VAIN and thinks she’s GLORIOUS.

80
Q

Wry

A

(adjective): cleverly and/or ironically humorous. Think: PB&J on RYE. Surprising me by serving a PB&J sandwich on RYE bread is a good example of my mother’s WRY humor.

81
Q

Parody

A

(noun): a mocking or satirical imitation. Think: PARROT-Y. Pro tip: a good way to make fun of someone is to repeat what he just said in a squawky PARROT-Y voice, to PARODY him.

82
Q

Antedate

A

(verb): to come before. Think: AUNTIE DATE. Chances are that your AUNTIE has a birth DATE that ANTEDATES yours.

83
Q

Obeisance

A

(noun): a gesture to show respect. Think: OBEY STANCE. When the natives bowed to the conqueror in OBEISANCE, it was like an “OBEY STANCE”.

84
Q

Condign

A

(adjective): deserved; appropriate. Think: CAN DIG. I CAN DIG the murderer’s conviction because it was CONDIGN.

85
Q

Aggrandized

A

(verb): made greater; enhanced. Think: GRAND-SIZED. I AGGRANDIZED my social status by throwing a lavish party - it gave me A GRAND-SIZED reputation.

86
Q

Flummoxed

A

(adjective): confused. Think: FLUME OX. At the water park, I was completely FLUMMOXED when, in the FLUME ride, I saw an OX swimming along.

87
Q

Doggedness

A

(noun): stubborn determination. Think: DOG-NESS. The fighter’s DOGGEDNESS, even after he was knocked down, was like that of a fearless BULLDOG.

88
Q

Demur

A

(verb): to object. Think: MURMUR. THE MURMUR from the class suggests they DEMUR to my idea that they do more homework.

89
Q

Homogeneous

A

(adjective): having the same composition throughout. Think: HOMOGENIZED milk. Milk is HOMOGENIZED to mix in the cream and make a HOMOGENEOUS liquid.

90
Q

Subvert

A

(verb): to weaken or ruin. Think: SUB HURT. Captain - the torpedo from that SUB HURT our ship and SUBVERTED our morale.

91
Q

Ennui

A

(noun): dissatisfaction resulting from boredom. Think: ENNUI THERE YET? Take a seven-year-old on a long car ride, and you’ll hear the ENNUI in his voice when he repeatedly asks, “ENNUI THERE YET?”

92
Q

Bravado

A

(noun): a false show of bravery; swagger. Think: BRAVE AVOCADO. Though its trash-talking seemed BRAVE, the AVOCADO and its BRAVADO didn’t scare me, since I knew it was just a piece of fruit.

93
Q

Cumbersome

A

(adjective): awkward due to large size. Think: CUCUMBER. It felt CUMBERSOME to walk down the beach with a gigantic CUCUMBER down the front of my Speedo.

94
Q

Diffident

A

(adjective): timid. Think: DIFFICULT DENTURES. I’m DIFFIDENT when in public because I’m self-conscious about how weird my DIFFICULT DENTURES look.

95
Q

Implicit

A

(adjective): suggested but not directly expressed. Think: IMPLIED. It became IMPLICIT that the evening was over when my date IMPLIED that if she didn’t leave now she would be too tired to work the next day.

96
Q

Pristine

A

(adjective): pure. Think: LISTERINE. LISTERINE mouthwash tastes bad but it kills bacteria and makes your mouth PRISTINE.

97
Q

Denigrate

A

(verb): to attack the reputation of or to put down. Think: DENY I’M GREAT. If you DENY I’m GREAT, you DENIGRATE me.

98
Q

Sovereign

A

(adjective): independent. Think: REIGN. If you’re SOVEREIGN, you REIGN over your world and no one else does.

99
Q

Perennial

A

(adjective): constant; persistent; recurring. Think: PER ANNUAL. PER the ANNUAL tradition, it’s time to start the PERENNIAL search for the next American Idol.

100
Q

Plaintive

A

(adjective): melancholy. Think: COMPLAINT. When I hear the PLAINTIVE cry of a seagull, it always sounds like a COMPLAINT about the bird’s woes or travails.

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