GRE Flashcards
Aberration
Noun
Definition: a departure from what is normal
Synonyms: anomaly, divergence, peculiarity, quirk
Sentence: Her claim of seeing an apparition was an aberration from her normal behavior, as she did not believe in ghosts
Antipathy
Noun
Definition: extreme dislike
Synonyms: animosity, antagonism, enmity, loathing, repugnance
Sentence: I feel antipathy for Kate
Lucid
Noun
Definition: clear and easily understood
Synonyms: clear, coherent, explicit, intelligible, limpid
Sentence: The old lady with dementia had a moment of lucidity in which she was able to remember her son
Panacea
Noun
Definition: a remedy for disease; a cure-all
Synonyms: universal cure
Sentence: The couple hoped that having a child would be a panacea for all their problems
Veracity
Noun
Definition: truth or accuracy
Synonyms: honesty, reliability
Sentence: He defended the veracity of his argument with such ferocity
Abate
Verb
Definition: to reduce in amount, degree, or severity
Synonyms: ebb, wane, slacken, subside
Sentence: Until her heartbreak abates, she will not go on a date
Augment
Verb
Definition: to add to something; to increase
Synonyms: amplify, enlarge, supplement
Sentence: I augment my vitamin intake with supplements
Disparage
Verb
Definition: to criticize or discredit
Synonyms: belittle, deprecate, deride, excoriate, impugn
Sentence: You should not disparage the art merely because it is unfamiliar
Fetter
Verb
Definition: to restrict or restrain
Synonyms: constrain, hinder, hamper, impede
Sentence: HIPPA fetters healthcare by making it harder to see medical records
Vacillate
Verb
Definition: to be indecisive
Synonyms: waver, dither, oscillate. fluctuate
Sentence: When buying a necklace, I vacillated between black and white
Apocryphal
Adjective
Definition: of doubtful authorship or authenticity
Synonyms: specious, spurious, ersatz, fallacious
Sentence: The rumors about the Beast being a monster were apocryphal, as it was later proved that Gaston was the real monster
Erudite
Adjective
Definition: learned, scholarly, bookish
Synonyms: sage, sagacious, wise, scholastic, astute, perspicacious
Sentence: In Divergent, the Erudite faction is full of intelligent people
Insipid
Adjective
Definition: lacking interest or flavor; boring
Synonyms: hackneyed, banal, quotidian, pedestrian, trite, stale
Sentence: He almost fell asleep during the insipid meeting
Laconic
Adjective
Definition: using few words
Synonyms: taciturn, reticent, terse, curt
Sentence: Elizabeth Bennet would describe Mr. Darcy as laconic
Loquacious
Adjective
Definition: talking freely; chatty; talkative
Synonyms: garrulous, voluble, verbose, prolix, effusive
Sentence: Mom always seems very loquacious with cashiers
Alacrity
Noun
Definition: promptness; cheerful readiness
Synonyms: willingness, fervor, eagerness, swiftness
Sentence: She choregraphed the dance to tomorrow’s show with alacrity, as she loved dancing
Caprice
Noun
Definition: a sudden change of mood or behavior
Synonyms: unpredictability, volatility, fickleness
Sentence: Kate constantly showed caprice, it was hard to tell how she would react
Obduracy
Noun
Definition: stubbornness
Synonyms: intransigence, doggedness, obstinacy
Sentence: His obduracy persisted, as he refused to admit that he was wrong
Prescience
Noun
Definition: foreknowledge
Synonyms: foresight, clairvoyance, intuition
Sentence: Professor Trelawney had prescience of Harry Potter’s danger
Quandary
Noun
Definition: a state of uncertainty over what to do in a difficult situation
Synonyms: predicament, dilemma
Sentence: Harry Potter had a quandary in which he was unsure if he should tell Dumbledore about hearing voices
Belie
Verb
Definition: to show to be false; to misrepresent
Synonyms: contradict, disprove, discredit
Sentence: The scientist’s results belied his hypothesis that grass is not green
Condone
Verb
Definition: to overlook, pardon, or disregard
Synonyms: exculpate, excuse, pardon, remit
Sentence: The teacher did not condone the behavior of the disrespectful students
Diverge
Verb
Definition: to turn from a set course or standard
Synonyms: deviate, digress, veer
Sentence: Elizabeth Bennet diverged from Mr. Collin’s plans for marriage
Exacerbate
Verb
Definition: to make worse
Synonyms: compound, aggravate, worsen
Sentence: The patient’s lack of sleep exacerbated her symptoms of mania
Mitigate
Verb
Definition: to soften; to lessen
Synonyms: allay, alleviate, assuage, palliate, mollify
Sentence: The ibuprofen mitigated the pain from her headache
Arduous
Adjective
Definition: difficult, requiring strenuous effort
Synonyms: onerous, taxing, laborious, strenuous, formidable
Sentence: Working in a lab is strenuous as there is a lot of physical labor
Crestfallen
Adjective
Definition: disappointed, sad
Synonyms: despondent, disconsolate, desolate, dejected, doleful
Sentence: Hermione felt crestfallen when she saw that Ron was dating Lavender
Didactic
Adjective
Definition: intended to teach, especially to teach a moral lesson; in the manner of a teacher, especially in a patronizing way
Synonyms: instructive, educational, moralistic
Sentence: Dumbledore’s lessons were didactic, as they always had a moral lesson for Harry to learn
Impetuous
Adjective
Definition: quick to act without thinking
Synonyms: heedless, reckless, injudicious, impulsive, precipitate
Sentence: The teenager make an impetuous decision to get a tattoo
Mercurial
Adjective
Definition: subject to sudden and unpredictable changes of mood
Synonyms: capricious, volatile, temperamental, erratic
Sentence: People may feel mercurial when Mercury is in retrograde
Anodyne
Noun
Definition: something that calms or soothes pain
Synonyms: narcotic, nepenthe, opiate
Sentence: The heating pad was an anodyne that helped his sore back
Approbation
Noun
Definition: approval and praise
Synonyms: acclaim, adulation, applause, commendation, compliments, exaltation, extolment, hail, kudos, praise
Sentence: She received an approbation which included a Nobel Prize for her work in science
Boor
Noun
Definition: a crude person; one lacking manners or taste
Synonyms: cold, lout, oaf, vulgarian, yahoo
Sentence: The boors at the orchestra would not stop talking during the performances
Coffer
Noun
Definition: a strongbox; a large chest for money
Synonyms: chest, exchequer, treasury, war chest
Sentence: The man was on the hunt to steal the coffer which contained the crown jewels
Cloying
Adjective
Definition: sickly sweet; excessive
Synonyms: excessive, fulsome
Sentence: That one couple from APO always had cloying affection for each other
Aggrandize
Verb
Definition: to increase in power, influence, and reputation
Synonyms: amplify, apotheosize, augment, dignify, elevate, enlarge, ennoble, exalt, glorify, magnify, swell, uplift
Sentence: The girl aggrandized herself by taking credit for everyone else’s work
Amulet
Noun
Definition: an ornament worn as a charm against evil spirits
Synonyms: talisman
Sentence: The witch wore an amulet to protect her from dark spirits
Bilk
Verb
Definition: to cheat; to defraud
Synonyms: beat, defraud, overreach
Sentence: Realizing I was a foreigner, the greedy man bilked me out of a lot of money
Contrite
Adjective
Definition: deeply sorrowful and repentant for a wrong
Synonyms: apologetic, regretful, remorseful
Sentence: The boy felt contrite that his playful remark had hurt his friend’s feelings
Chauvinist
Noun
Definition: someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which they belong
Synonyms: bigot, jingoist, partisan
Sentence: The book, Men Who Hate Women, talks about male chauvinists who believe that are superior to women
Adulterate
Verb
Definition: to make impure
Synonyms: debase, doctor, load
Sentence: The girl adulterated her university degree as she had never been to school and needed a job
Corroborate
Verb
Definition: to support with evidence
Synonyms: authenticate, back, buttress, confirm, substantiate, validate, verify
Sentence: President Kirkman needed evidence to corroborate the claims that Secretary Moss committed a crime
Austere
Adjective
Definition: severe or stern in appearance; undecorated
Synonyms: bleak, dour, grim, hard, harsh, severe
Sentence: Professor Snape had an austere appearance with his simple black attire and frowning face
Cogent
Adjective
Definition: convincing and well-reasoned
Synonyms: convincing, persuasive, solid, sound, telling, valid
Sentence: President Kirkman gave a cogent speech to Congress so that they would not remove him from office
Burgeon
Verb
Definition: to grow and flourish
Synonyms: bloom, flourish, prosper, thrive
Sentence: The surgeon burgeoned at his job as he was talented and loved his work
Arbitrate
Verb
Definition: to judge a dispute between two opposing sides
Synonyms: adjudge, adjudicate, determine, intermediate, intervene, judge, moderate, referee, rule
Sentence: When the FBI accused President Kirkman’s wife of committing a crime, a judge had to arbitrate the matter
Archaic
Adjective
Definition: ancient; old-fashioned
Synonyms: ancient, antediluvian, antique, bygone, dated, dowdy, fusty, obsolete, old-fashioned, outdated, outmode, passe, prehistoric, stale, superannuated, superseded, vintage
Sentence: Allison asked Lydia to translate archaic Latin, as Allison did not know the old language
Collusion
Noun
Definition: a collaboration; complicity; conspiracy
Synonyms: connivance, intrigue, machination
Sentence: The Golden Trio had a collusion to create Dumbledore’s Army
Aberrant
Adjective
Definition: deviating from what is normal or expected
Synonyms: abnormal, anomalous, deviant, divergent, errant, irregular
Sentence: Her claim that she had seen an apparition was aberrant as she did not believe in ghosts
Attenuate
Verb
Definition: to reduce in force or degree; to weaken
Synonyms: debilitate, devitalize, dilute, enervate, enfeeble, rarely, sap, thin, undermine, undo, unnerve, weaken
Sentence: Harry stabbing Tom Riddle’s journal with the Basilisk tooth attenuated Voldemort’s power
Ambiguous
Adjective
Definition: doubtful or uncertain; can be interpreted in several ways
Synonyms: cloudy, doubtful, dubious, equivocal, intermediate, nebulous, obscure, unclear, vague
Sentence: The clues given to the champions in the Tri-Wizard Tournament were very ambiguous, it was hard to tell what exactly they meant
Calumny
Noun
Definition: a false and malicious accusation; misrepresentation
Synonyms: defamation, libel, slander
Sentence: Secretary Moss used calumny to try and take down President Kirkman
Convoluted
Adjective
Definition: intricate and complicated
Synonyms: Byzantine, complex, elaborate, intricate, knotty, labyrinthine, perplexing, tangled
Sentence: Sarah had to solve the convoluted labyrinth in order to rescue her baby brother
Bolster
Verb
Definition: to support; to prop up
Synonyms: brace, buttress, crutch, prop, stay, support, sustain, underpin, uphold
Sentence: The extra credit of finding the dragon mosaic helped to bolster my grade
Credulous
Adjective
Definition: too trusting; gullible
Synonyms: naive, susceptible, trusting
Sentence: Throughout The Secret History, Richard is credulous as he believes much of what the others said
Arrogate
Verb
Definition: to claim without justification; to claim for oneself without right
Synonyms: appropriate, presume, take
Sentence: June arrogated the credit for The Last Front from Athena
Contumacious
Adjective
Definition: rebellious
Synonyms: factitious, insubordinat6e, insurgent, mutinous, rebellious, seditious
Sentence: The teenagers from World’s Strictest Parents are often contumacious
Anomaly
Noun
Definition: deviation from what is normal
Synonyms: aberrancy, aberration, abnormality, deviance, irregularity, preternaturalness
Sentence: There was an anomaly in the results of the experiment which led to the scientist repeating it
Craven
Adjective
Definition: lacking courage
Synonyms: fainthearted, spineless, timid
Sentence: the cowardly lion was craven
Demagogue
Noun
Definition: a leader or rabble-rouser, usually one appealing to emotion or prejudice
Synonyms: agitator, inciter, instigator
Sentence: Trump was a demagogue when he incited the Capitol riots
Emulate
Verb
Definition: to copy; to try to equal or excel
Synonyms: imitate, simulate
Sentence: People often try to emulate those they look up to in order to be more like them
Dupe
Verb
Definition: to deceive
Synonyms: beguile, betray, bluff, deceive, fool, hoodwink, humbug, mislead, take in, trick
Sentence: The golden trio duped the executer who was about to kill buckbeak
Gestation
Noun
Definition: the growth process from conception to birth
Synonyms: development, gravidity, pregnancy
Sentence: The longer gestation, the more developed the baby is at birth
Dictum
Noun
Definition: an authoritative statement
Synonyms: adage, aphorism, apothegm, decree, edict
Sentence: “Do not enter the forbidden forest” was the dictum Dumbledore made to the students
Forestall
Verb
Definition: to prevent or delay; to anticipate
Synonyms: avert, deter, hinder, obviate, preclude
Sentence:
Enervate
Verb
Definition: to reduce in strength
Synonyms: debilitate, enfeeble, sap, weaken
Sentence: Kadie knew that making turning Regina George’s friends against her would enervate her power
Dissonance
Noun
Definition: a harsh and disagreeabe combination, especially of sounds
Synonyms: clash, contention, discord, dissension, dissent, dissidence, friction, strife, variance
Sentence: Cognitive dissonance happens when you have a belief but your actions go against it
Euphemism
Noun
Definition: use of an inoffensive word or phrase in place of a more distasteful one
Synonyms: circumlocution, delicacy
Sentence: Sleeping together is sometimes used as a euphemism for hooking up
Restive
Adjective
Definition: impatient, uneasy, or restless
Synonyms: agitated, anxious, fretful
Sentence: The group became restive after waiting in line for two hours
Upbraid
Verb
Definition: to scold sharply
Synonyms: berate, chide, rebuke, reproach, tax
Sentence: The teenager was upbraided after graffitiing the school
Soporific
Adjective
Definition: causing sleep or lethargy
Synonyms: hypnotic, narcotic, slumberous, somnolent
Sentence: After a night of no sleep, the meeting was particularly soporific
Trenchant
Adjective
Definition: acute, sharp, or incisive; forceful; effective
Synonyms: biting, caustic, cutting, keen
Sentence:
Fractious
Adjective
Definition: unruly; rebellious
Synonyms: contentious, cranky, peevish, quarrelsome
Sentence: The teacher had a hard time managing the fractious middle schoolers
Dogmatic
Adjective
Definition: dictatorial in one’s opinions
Synonyms: authoritarian, bossy, dictatorial, doctrinaire, domineering, imperious, magisterial, masterful, overbearing, peremptory
Sentence: Dictators are often dogmatic, claiming that they, and only they, are right
Exponent
Noun
Definition: one who champions or advocates
Synonyms: representative, supporter
Sentence: Malala is an exponent of women’s rights to education
Gregarious
Adjective
Definition: outgoing; sociable
Synonyms: affable, communicative, congenial, sociable
Sentence: Dad is quite gregarious, finding it easy to talk to strangers in social situations
Dyspeptic
Adjective
Definition: suffering from indigestion; gloomy and irritable
Synonyms: acerbic, melancholy, morose, solemn, sour
Sentence: The dyspeptic girl cast a gloom over her friends while hanging out, as she was upset
Ford
Verb
Definition: to cross a body of water by wading
Synonyms: traverse, wade
Sentence: Rather than taking his Ford car across the water, he decided to ford across the water himself
Doctrinaire
Adjective
Definition: rigidly devoted to theories without regard for practicality; dogmatic
Synonyms: dictatorial, inflexible
Sentence: Snape was a doctrinaire headmaster, with strict rules of what students could do
Edify
Verb
Definition: to instruct morally and spiritually
Synonyms: educate, enlighten, guide, teach
Sentence: In many adventure-type movies, there is a mentor who helps to edify the character in morals and spirituality