GRE Flashcards
Abate
to reduce or lessen
Aberration
a deviation or departure from the norm
Abeyance
temporary inactivity or suspension
Abjure
to forswear or abstain from; to give up
Abrade
to wear down or rub away the surface of somthing
Abridge
to reduce the length of or diminish in scope
Abrogate
to end or do away with something
Abscond
to withdraw and hide, typically to avoid arrest
Absurd
extremely ridiculous or completely lacking reason
Abysmal
very profound or deep; very bad
Accretion
a gradual increase in the amount or size of something
Acquisitive
characterized by a strong desire to gain or retain information or objects
Acrid
harsh or bitter taste or smell
Acute
quick and precise, intense, sharp, keen
Adhere
to stick fast; to remain in support of
Adroit
showing skill and experience
Aesthetic
appealing to the senses because it is beautiful
Affinity
natural attraction; inherent similarity
Alienate
to isolate oneself from others or another person from oneself
Ambiguous
unclear or capable of having more than one meaning
Ambivalent
characterized by uncertainty; unable to decide between opposites
Amenable
responsive to suggestion; willing
Amiable
friendly and pleasant
Anachronism
something existing or happening out of its time in historical order
Annotate
to provide with extra notes or comments
Anomaly
something that is different from the norm
Apathy
a lack of any emotion or concern
Ardor
intense feelings; passion
Articulate
to clearly explain, the quality of being able to speak clearly
Ascribe
to attribute to a specific source; to assign a characteristic
Asperity
roughness or severity
Assay
an analysis or examination; to examine
Assert
to demonstrate power; to defend a statement as true
Assiduous
characteristic of careful and persistent effort
Assimilate
to make similar to incorporate into
Assuage
to lessen or ease
Aver
to declare as true; to maintain
Aversion
strong dislike
Banish
to force to leave
Benevolence
an inclination to be kind or charitable
Bequest
the act of passion on; something that is passed on
Bereft
deprived or despndent
Blithe
carefree or joyous; casual
Bolster
a narrow cushion; to support or strengthen
Brazen
bold or shameless
Burgeoning
thriving or growing rapidly
Cadge
to beg
Capricious
impulsive; prone to sudden change
Castigate
to punish or criticize severely
Censure
a formal criticism or intense disproval
Chronicle
a detailed narrative
Circumspect
mindful of potential consequences
Coalesce
to unite or come together
Coerce
to force or threaten someone into acting a certain way
Cogent
convincing and reasonable
Coherence
the quality of being logical and clear
Coincidental
occurring by chance
Commensurate
corresponding in size, degree, or duration
Complaisant
showing a willingness to please
Conducive
contributive, favorable
Consternation
alarm or fear
Convivaial
festive and sociable
Cordial
friendly
Corroborate
to confirm, to substantiate with evidence
Countenance
facial features or epcression
Credulous
easily deceived; believing too readily
Culmination
completion or climax
Culpable
deserving of blame; guilty
Debilitate
to weaken or impair
Decry
to denounce or criticize
Defamation
a malicious or abusive attack on one’s character
Delve
to deeply search through
Demise
to end of existance
Denigrate
to speak ill of
Depict
to represent or describe
Deplore
to condemn; disapprove of or regret
Derision
use of ridicule to show contempt (disrespect)
Desultory
inconsistent and irregular
Diatribe
an abusive, insulting verbal attack
Didactic
intended for the purposes of moral teaching or instructing, even when such instruction is not necessary or welcome
Dilate
to make larger
Diligent
continuously putting in great effort
Disabuse
to free someone of believing something that is untrue
Discern
to differentiate or distinguis; to perceive
Disconcerting
unsettling
Dislodge
to remove
Disparity
the state of being different or unequal
Dissemble
to disguise or conceal
Dissident
one who disagrees; disagreeable
Dissipate
to drive away
Dissonance
lack of harmony
Divest
to get rid of
Docile
easy to train or teach
Dubious
unsure, skeptical
Eccentic
one who deviates from the norm
Eclectic
combing elements from many different sources or styles
Effrontery
rude and presumptuous behavior
Egregious
noticeably bad or offenscive
Eloquent
very clear and precise
Elucidate
to clarify
Emanicpation
the act of freeing
Emollient
softening or soothing
Emulate
to follow an admirable example; imitate
Endorse
to support or sign
Engender
to give rise to; originate
Enigmatic
puzzling
Entity
a discrete unit or being
Enumerate
to state things in a list
Ephemeral
temporary
Equivoval
uncertain or ambiguous
Erudite
leaned; having great knowledge
Esoteric
understood by few; mysterious
Espouse
to choose to follow or support something
Estimable
admirable; deserving of esteem
Euphemism
an inoffensive expression substituted for one that is deemed offensive.
Exacerbate
to intensify bitterness or violence
Excoriate
to denounce
Exculpate
to remove blame
Exhort
to urge or try to persuade
Exigent
demanding immediate attention; urgent
Expliacte
to explain or make comprehensible
Expunge
to get rid of or erase
Extant
currently existing
Extenuating
partially justifiable
Extol
to praise or glorify
Extricate
to free or disentangle
Exultant
gleeful because of success
Fallacy
an error in reasoning
Fathom
to come to understand the meaing of something
Fatuous
foolish or delusice
Feckless
lacking in purpose; careless
Feign
to fabricate or decieve
Feint
deceptive, diversionary action
Fidelity
faithfulness or allegiance
Florid
flushed with color
Foil
to keep from being successful
Foment
to incite or agitate
Forage
to search for food or provisions
Fortuitous
happening by accident or chance
Fracas
a noisy fight; a brawl
Gainsay
to deny or contradict
Garrison
a military post
Garrulous
talkatice
Genre
type, category
Glib
seemingly slick and clever
Gratuitous
for no reason or at no cost
Gregarious
sociable; enjoying the company of others
Grievous
causing grief or pain
Guile
cunning; shrewdness
Hackneyes
unoriginal, overused
Harrow
to torment or cause suffering and agony
Idiosyncrasy
a peculiar characteristic
Immutable
not subject to change
Impending
threatening to occur
Imperturable
hard to excite or upset, very calm
Impetus
a stimulus encouraging a particular activity
Implosion
a violent, inward cllapse
Inadvertent
unintentional, often related to carelessness
Inchoate
poorly formed or formless
Incongruous
inconsistent, lacking in harmony
Incorrigible
impossible to change or reform
Ingenuity
cleverness or imagination
Inimical
harmful or unfriendly
Innate
a natural charcteristic
Inscrutable
difficult to understand
Insinuate
to imply
Insipid
dull
Insular
isolated, narrow-minded
Integral
necessary or essential
Intercede
to mediate
Interpolate
introduce between
Intractable
stubborn; difficult to manage
Inundate
to quickly overwhelm or exceed capacity
Inure
to cause to accept something that is undesirable
Irascible
easily angered
Jovial
full of joy; happiness
Judicious
sensible, having good judgment
Juxtapose
to place things next to each other in order to compare or contrast
Keen
sharp
Kudos
praise for achievements
Lambasate
to scold or criticize sharply
Languish
to exist in a dreadful or gloomy situation; to become weak
Latter
the second of two things mentioned; nearer to the end
Laudable
deserving praise; favorable
Lavish
elaborate and luxurious
Listless
characterized by a lack of energy
Loathsome
offensive, disgusting
Loquacious
very talkative or rambling
Lucid
easily understood; clear
Ludicrous
laughable or foolish
Magnanimous
courageous, generous
Mar
to inflict damage or blemishes on
Mercurial
prone to sudden unpredictable change; volitile
Meticulous
devoting a high amount of attention to detail
Mettle
courage
Miscreant
villain; evildoer
Mitigate
causing something to be less intense, forceful, or harmful
Mollify
to calm down or alleviate; to soften
Munificence
the act of liberally giving
Nascent
just beginning to exist
Noxious
unwholesome or harmful
Obdurate
firm, stubborn
Obscurity
the condition of being unknown
Onsolete
no longer in use
Obtuse
blunt; slow-witted
Obviate
to render unnecessary
Odious
arousing or deserving strong hatred
Onerous
very troublesome or oppressively difficult
Ostracize
to eliminate from a group
Paragon
an example of excellence
Parse
to break down into components
Pedantic
characterized by a narrow concern for detail
Penchant
a tendency or fondness
Perceive
to become aware of something
Percolate
to slowly pass through
Peripatetic
moving or traveling from place to place
Periphery
outermost boundary of an area
Perpetuate
to prolong the existence or idea of
Pertinent
relevant or appropriate
Peruse
to examine or review something
Pervasive
capable of spreading or flowing througout
Pith
significance, importance
Placate
to calm
Placid
calm or quiet
Poignant
profoundly moving, incisive
Postulate
to put forth or assert
Pragmatic
practical
Pracrious
in a dangerous state
Precendent
an example or event that is used to justify similar occurrences at a later time
Precept
a guiding rule or principle
Precipitate
to cause something to happen very suddenly or prematurely
Preclude
to prevent or make impossible
Presage
an omen or other warning sign
Prescience
foresight; the power to see the future
Prevaricate
to lie
Probity
integrity and uprightness
Prodigal
wasteful; extravagent
Profuse
plentiful or abundant
Progeny
offspring or product
Promulgate
to proclaim
Propagate
to cause to multiply or spread
Discombobulate
to confuse
Protract
to lengthen or prolong
Prowess
great skill or ability in something
Prudish
exaggeratedly proper
Quaff
to drink heartily
Querulous
characterized by constant complaining or whining
Quixotic
unpredictable and impractical
Quotidian
ordinary
Rancor
bitter resentment
Recalcitrant
stubbornly resistant; defiant
Recluse
someone who is withdrawn from society
Recompense
payment in return for something
Recondite
difficult to understand
Refute
to prove to be false; to deny the truth of
Relegate
to refer or assign to a particular place or category
Renounce
break; reject
Reparation
compensation given to make amends
Reproach
to express disapproval
Repudiate
to reject or refuse as valid
Resolute
definite, determined
Resonant
strong and deep; lasting
Resplendent
dazzling or brillant in appearance
Resurrect
to bring back to life
Rhetoric
effective use of language
Sage
one revered for experience and wisdom
Sanctimonious
feigning piety or righteousness
Sanction
authoritative permission
Satirize
to insult using witty language
Sedulous
persevering, industrious
Solace
comfort, safety
Solicitous
concerned; thoughtful
Specious
appearing to be true or genuine but actually deceptive
Squelch
to crush or silence
Stanch
to stop or check the flow of
Stint
a length of time spent in a particular way
Stoic
indifferent or unaffected
Subsume
to contain or include
Subvert
to undermine, ruin, overthrow
Surfeit
an overabundance or excess
Tacit
using no words
Temperance
moderation and self-restaint
Tenusous
very thin or consisting of little substance
Torport
state of physical or mental sluggishness
Tout
to promote or solicit
Tractable
easy to control or work with
Transgress
to exceed or violate
Transpose
to reverse the order of; interchange
Unalloyed
pure; complete
Unstinting
very generous; bestowed liberally
Urbanity
refinement and elegance
Vacillate
to swing or waver
Variegated
having a variety of colors or marks
Vehement
forceful; displaying extreme emotion
Venal
corruptible, open to bribery
Venerable
highly esteemed or respected
Varacity
truthfulness
Verbose
wordy
Verisimilitude
the quality of appearing to be true or real
Veritable
genuine or aithentic
Vilify
to make negative statements about
Vindicate
to clear someone or something from blame
Vituperate
to criticize in an abusive way
Voracious
excessively greedy; revenous
Wane
to gradually decrease
Whet
to sharpen or stimulate
Wily
very sly, deceptive
Xenophobic
distrust of strangers or foreign people
Zealous
very passionate or enthusiastic
Zenith
the peak point
