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GRE 500 essential words > essential 1 > Flashcards

essential 1 Flashcards

1
Q

abate

A

(v) reduce, diminish

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2
Q

abdicate

A

(v) formally give up the throne (or some other power or responsibility)

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3
Q

aberrant

A

(adj) abnormal, deviant

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4
Q

abhor

A

(v) detest, regard with disgust

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5
Q

abjure

A

(v) give up, renounce; repudiate, recant, or shun (especially formally or under oath)

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6
Q

abrasive

A

(adj) rough, suitable for grinding or polishing (such as sandpaper); causing irritation or annoyance

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7
Q

abridge

A

(v) reduce or lessen; shorten by omitting parts throughout while retaining the main idea

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8
Q

abstain

A

(v) hold back, refrain (especially from something bad or unhealthy); decline to vote

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9
Q

acme

A

(n) summit, peak, highest point

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10
Q

activism

A

(n) the practice of pursuing political or other goals through vigorous action, often including protests and demonstrations

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11
Q

adhere

A

(v) stick (to), such as with glue, or to a plan or belief

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12
Q

admonish

A

(v) mildly scold; caution, advise, or remind to do something

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13
Q

adverse

A

(adj) opposing, harmful

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14
Q

advocate

A

(v, n) speak or argue in favor of (verb); a person who pleads for a cause or on behalf of another person (noun)

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15
Q

aesthetic

A

(adj, n) concerning the appreciation of beauty or good taste, pertaining to the science of what is beautiful (adj); a sense of beauty and taste of a particular time and place (noun)

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16
Q

affable

A

(adj) warm and friendly, pleasant, approachable

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17
Q

affectation

A

(n) fake behavior (such as in speech or dress) adopted to give a certain impression

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18
Q

aggrandize

A

(v) make greater; exaggerate

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19
Q

aggregate

A

(v, adj) gather together, amount to (verb); constituting a whole made up of constituent parts (adj)

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20
Q

alacrity

A

(n) cheerful or speedy willingness

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21
Q

alienate

A

(v) cause to become unfriendly, hostile, or distant

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22
Q

alleviate

A

(v) lessen, make easier to endure

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23
Q

ambiguous

A

(adj) not clear, hard to understand, open to having several meanings or interpretations

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24
Q

ambivalent

A

(adj) uncertain; unable to decide, or wanting to do two contradictory things at once

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25
Q

analogous

A

(adj) comparable, corresponding in some particular way (making a good analogy)

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26
Q

anarchy

A

(n) absence of law or government; chaos, disorder

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27
Q

anoint

A

(v) rub or sprinkle oil on; make sacred, such as by ceremony that includes applying oil to someone

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28
Q

anomaly

A

(n) deviation from what is common; inconsistency

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29
Q

antagonize

A

(v) make hostile or unfriendly

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30
Q

antipathy (n.)

A

deep dislike, aversion, or repugnance, somtimes without reason

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31
Q

apathy

A

(n) not caring; absence of feeling; lack of interest or concern

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32
Q

apocryphal

A

(adj) of questionable authenticity; false

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33
Q

appease (v.)

A

pacify, satisfy, relieve; concede to be belligerent demands, sometimes at the expense of principles

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34
Q

appreciable (adj.)

A

enough to be perceived, considerable

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35
Q

arbitrary (adj.)

A

based entirely on one’s discretion; capricious, unreasonable, or having no basis

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36
Q

arcane

A

(adj) known or understood by only a few; obscure, secret

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37
Q

archaic

A

(adj) characteristic of an earlier period, ancient, primitive

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38
Q

arduous

A

(adj) very difficult, strenuous; severe, hard to endure

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39
Q

articulate

A

(adj, verb) using language in a clear, fluent way (adj); speak distinctly or give clarity to an idea (verb)

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40
Q

artifact

A

(n) any object made by humans, especially those from an earlier time, such as those excavated by archaeologists

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41
Q

artless

A

(adj) free of deceit or craftiness, natural, genuine; lacking skill or knowledge, crude, uncultured

42
Q

ascertain

A

(v) find out with certainty

43
Q

ascetic

A

(adj, n) abstinent or austere in lifestyle (adj); a person who leads an austere and simple like without material pleasures, esp. someone who does this for religious reasons

44
Q

assuage

A

(v) make milder, relieve; soothe, pacify, or calm

45
Q

audacious

A

(adj) very bold or brave, often in a rude or reckless way; extremely original

46
Q

augment

A

(v) make larger

47
Q

austere

A

(adj) severe in manner or appearance; very self-disciplined, ascetic; without luxury or ease; sober or serious

48
Q

autonomous

A

(adj) self-governing, independent

49
Q

aver

A

(v) declare or affirm with confidence

50
Q

avid

A

(adj) enthusiastic, dedicated, passionate; excessively desirous

51
Q

balk

A

(v) refuse to proceed or to do something

52
Q

base

A

(adj) morally low, mean, dishonorable; of little or no value; crude and unrefined; counterfeit

53
Q

belie

A

(v) contradict or misrepresent

54
Q

benign

A

(adj) harmless; favorable; kindly, gentle, or beneficial; not cancerous

55
Q

bogus

A

(adj) fake, fraudulent

56
Q

bolster

A

(v) strengthen or support

57
Q

boor

A

(n) rude, ill-mannered, or insensitive person; a peasant or country bumpkin

58
Q

buffer

A

(n) something that shields, protects, absorbs shock, or cushions

59
Q

bureaucracy

A

(n) government characterized by many bureaus and petty administrators or by excessive, seemingly meaningless requirements

60
Q

burgeon

A

(v) grow or flourish rapidly; put forth buds or shoots (of a plant)

61
Q

buttress

A

(v, n) support or encourage (verb); a support or prop, esp. projecting from and supporting the wall of a building (noun)

62
Q

bygone

A

(adj, n) past, former (adj); that which is in the past (usually plural noun)

63
Q

cacophony

A

(n) harsh, discordant, or meaningless mixture of sounds

64
Q

candid

A

(adj) open, sincere, honest

65
Q

canonical

A

(adj) authorized, recognized; pertaining to the canon, or body of accepted rules, standards or artistic works

66
Q

capricious

A

(adj) acting on impulse, erratic

67
Q

cartography

A

(n) mapmaking

68
Q

castigate

A

(v) criticize severely; punish in order to correct

69
Q

catalyst

A

(n) causer of change

70
Q

caustic

A

(adj) capable of corroding metal or burning the skin; very critical or sarcastic

71
Q

censure

A

(n, v) strong disapproval or official reprimand (noun); to issue such disapproval or reprimand (verb)

72
Q

chauvinism

A

(n) fanatical patriotism or blind enthusiasm for military glory; undue or biased devotion to any group, cause, etc.

73
Q

chronological

A

(adj) arranged in or relating to time order

74
Q

clamor

A

(v) noisy uproar or protest, as from a crowd; a loud, continuous noise

75
Q

clinch

A

(v) make final or settle conclusively; to fasten or hold together

76
Q

coalesce

A

(v) come together, unite; fuse together

77
Q

cogent

A

(adj) very convincing, logical

78
Q

commensurate

A

(adj) the same in size, extent, etc., equivalent; proportional

79
Q

complacent

A

(adj) self-satisfied, smug; overly content (and therefore lazy, neglectful, or some other bad quality)

80
Q

complementary

A

(adj) completing; fitting together well; filling mutual needs

81
Q

compliant

A

(adj) obeying, submissive; following the requirements

82
Q

concede

A

(v) give in, admit, yield; acknowledge reluctantly; grant or give up (such as giving up land after losing a war)

83
Q

conciliatory

A

(adj) reconciling, appeasing, attempting to make the peace

84
Q

concur

A

(v) approve, agree

85
Q

condone

A

(v) overlook, tolerate, regard as harmless

86
Q

confer

A

(v) consult, compare views; bestow or give

87
Q

connoisseur

A

(n) expert, especially in the fine arts; person of educated, refined tastes

88
Q

console

A

(v, n) lessen the suffering or grief of (verb); a control panel, or small table or cabinet (noun)

89
Q

consolidate

A

(v) unite, combine, solidify, make coherent

90
Q

constrict

A

(v) squeeze, compress; restrict the freedom of

91
Q

construe

A

(v) interpret or translate

92
Q

contentious

A

(adj) controversial; prone to causing arguments, especially gratuitous or petty ones

93
Q

contextualize

A

(v) place in context, such as by giving the background or circumstances

94
Q

conundrum

A

(n) riddle, the answer to which involves a play on words; any mystery

95
Q

converge

A

(v) move towards one another or towards a point; unite

96
Q

conversant

A

(adj) knowledgeable about or experienced with

97
Q

conversely

A

(adv) in an opposite way; on the other hand

98
Q

convoluted

A

(adj) twisted; very complicated

99
Q

copious

A

(adj) plentiful, bountiful

100
Q

corroborate

A

(v) support, add evidence to

GRE 500 essential words (10 decks)

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