GRE Flashcards
Jibe
To be in agreement
Assuage
To make less severe
Bawdy
Obscene
Quail
To Cower/Lose Heart
Fissure
Breakage made from splitting/cracking
Denouement
Outcome; unraveling of the plot of a play/literature
Indeterminate
Uncertain/Indefinite
Austere
Stern, Simple
Prehensile
Capable of Grasping
Pique
Fleeting feeling, hurt pride
Carping
To Find Fault, to complain
Syllogism
Deductive reasoning where a conclusion is derived
Hermetic
Tightly sealed; magical
Allay
To Ease, Lessen, Soothe
Itinerant
To wander from place to place
Oppobrium
Public Disgrace; Contempt
Vendetta
Prolonged feud marked by bitter hostility
Perigee
A point in orbit where the satellite is closest to earth
Imperturbable
Not easily disturbed
Forestall
To prevent/delay
Irresolute
Unsure how to act; weak
Mettle
Courage; Endurance
Subsume
To include, incorporate
Denizen
An inhabitant, regular visitor
Aspersion
False rumor, slander
Soliloquy
Literary or dramatic speech by one character, not addressed to others
Execrable
Extremely bad, abhorrent
Pungent
Having strong smell; Having sharp and caustic quality
Stricture
Negative Criticism
Latent
Dormant, not easily apparent
Sextant
Navigation device
Desultory
Random, disconnected
Tenuous
Weak, insubstantial
Premonition
Forewarning
Insuperable
Insurmountable, inconquerable
Carnal
Relating to physical or sexual needs
Machinations
Plots or Schemes
Obseqious
Overly submissive
Supplicant
One who asks respectfully and earnestly
Salacious
Pornographic, lustful
Disabuse
Free from misconception
Impinge
To invade; to influence
Continence
To abstain from sex; self-restraint
Prattle
Meaningless, foolish talk
Peremptory
Imperative; leaving no choice; insisting on immediate attention
Covetous
Desiring something owned by someone else
Maelstrom
Turmoil
Sentient
Aware, concious
Quiescent
Inactive, still
Neophyte
Novice, beginner
Salutory
Producing good effects, beneficial
Assiduous
Diligent, Hard working
Histrionic
Theatrically emotional, melodramatic
Internecine
Deadly to both sides
Fiat
A decree; arbitrary order
Explicate
To explain, clarify
Stultify
To impair or reduce in usefullness
Sardonic
Cynical, sarcastically mocking
Lucre
Profits or money
Bedizen
To dress up or decorate in vulgar or showy manner
Ardor
Great emotion or passion
Literati
Well educated people who are interested in literature
Saturnine
Slow and Gloomy
Canard
False; deliberately misleading story
Apposite
Strikingly appropriate and relevant
Punctilious
Careful in observing rules
Libertine
One without moral restraint
Effrontery
Shameless boldness; presumptuous
Appellation
Name
Perturb
To disturb greatly
Extant
In existence
Impecunious
Poor
Cozen
To trick or disturb
Mendacious
Dishonest
Abeyance
A state of temporary disuse or suspension
Pusillanimous
Showing lack of courage; cowardly
Nostrum
Medicine of doubtful effectiveness
Abjure
To reject
Compendium
Brief comprehensive summary
Valedictory
Pertaining to a farewell
Ascetic
One who practices sell denial
Aggrandize
To make larger or greater
Sedition
Speech or behavior prompting a rebellion
Diaphanous
Light, delicate, translucent
Stentorian
Extremely loud
Bifurcate
To divide in two parts
Argot
Specialize vocabulary used by a group, jargon
Dirge
Funeral hymn
Ebullient
Exhilarated, overly enthusiastic
Gossamer
Something very light, thin, insubstantial
Ineluctable
Not to be avoided or escaped; inevitable
Obviate
To remove (a need or difficulty); to avoid or prevent
Regale
To entertain
Proscribe
To condemn, outlaw, forbit
Apogee
The highest point in the development of something; the climax or culimation
Thespian
An actor or actress
Essay
An attempt; to attempt
Rue
Regret
Sidereal
Relating to the stars
Pellucid
Transparent; easily understood
Glib
Fluent and voluble, but shallow and insecure; slick
Extirpate
To destroy
Prodigal
Wasteful, extravagant
Pervasive
Spread throughout every part (negative); extensive
Dissonance
Discord, lack of harmony
Antediluvian
Prehistoric; before the Biblical flood
Multivarious
Diverse
Broach
To mention for the first time
Blase
Bored because of frequent indulgence; Unconcerned
Microcosm
Small system having analogies to a larger system
Attenuate
To weaken
Suppliant
To plea, beseech
Coquette
Woman who flirts
Doctinaire
Dogmatic, rigid
Inveigh
To vehemently disapprove
Reprise
Repetition, usually in music
Frieze
Ornamental band on a wall
Travail
painful laborious work; to work
Imbroglio
A complicated situation, entanglement
Rail
To scorn with bitter or abusive language
Commensurate
In proportion
Dissemble
To pretend; disguise one’s move
Astringent
Harsh, severe
Distend
To expand, swell out
Labile
Likely to change
Impassive
Showing no emotion
Specious
Seeming to be logical and sound, but really not
Pallid
Lacking color or liveness
Redoubtable
Formidable, arousing fear
Equanamity
Composure, calmness
Phoenix
Anything that is restored after suffering great destruction
Recondite
Abstruse; little known
Axiomatic
Taken for granted; self-evident truth
Overweening
Presumptuous, arrogant
Asperity
Severity; harshness; irritability
Fulminate
To attack loudly, denounce
Penchant
A strong inclination to do something
Talisman
Charm to bring good luck and avert misfortune
Disjointed
Lacking order or coherence; dislocated
Dross
Waste; worthless manner
Bacchanalian
Pertaining to riotous or drunk behavior
Zealot
One who is fanatically devoted to a cause
Limn
To draw, describe
Quagmire
Marsh, difficult decision
Irascribe
Easily angered
Insouciant
Indifferent; lacking concern or care
Militate
To work against
Striated
Marked with thin narrow grooves
Presage
To foretell, indicate in advance
Desuetude
State of Disuse
Fauna
Animals of a time or region
Tryst
A private romantic rendezvous
Vogue
Prevailing fashion or practice
Vitiate
To impair the quality of; to corrupt morally
Plumb
To examine deeply; to determine the depth
Aberrent
Deviating from the normal
Sartorial
Relating to tailoring, clothes, tailors
Necromancy
Black magic
Reprobate
Morally unprincipled person
Complaisant
Overly polite; willing to comply with the wishes of others
Explository
Explanatory
Megalomania
Delusions of power or importantance
Burgeon
To grow or flourish
Junta
A military or political group that rules a country after taking it over; faction, cabal
Inert
Unable to move; sluggish
Epistemology
A branch of philosophy that concerns the nature of knowledge
Sylvan
Related to woods or the forest
Veracious
Truthful, accurate
Travesty
A false or distorted representation of something; parody; to parody
Intractable
Not easily managed; difficult or stubborn
Forbearance
Patient self-control; Restraint and Tolerance
Partisan
One sided; committed to a party or a cause
Peregrination
A journey, especially a long or meandering one
Belie
To contradict, misrepresent; give a false representation
Distill
To extract the essential elements; to purify
Effete
Affected, ineffectual; no longer capable of effective action
Mettlesome
Full of courage and fortitude
Truculance
Aggressivenes, ferocity
Endemic
Belonging to a group of people or area
Confound
To baffle; to perplex; to mix up
Artless
Without guile or deception
Foment
To arouse, incite
Sensous
Relating to the senses
Perennial
Present throughout the ages; persistent
Fallow
Uncultivated (plowed and harvested but not sown)
Minatory
Threatening, menacing
Fulsome
So excessive as to be disgusting
Timbre
The character quality of sound different in tone (?)
Interregnum
Interval between reigns; gaps in continuity
Abscission
The act of cutting; the natural detachment of parts of plant
Esoteric
Hard to understand; known to only a few
Burnish
To polish
Salubrious
Healthful
Precept
Principle, Law
Anomalous
Irregular; deviating from the norm
Incursion
A sudden invasion
Preempt
Take action to prevent an anticipated event from happening; to acquire or appropriate something in advance
Vexation
Irritation or annoyance
Refulgent
Brightly shining
Recalcitrant
Resisting authority or control
Eiology
Causes or set of causes; origin
Vacuous
Empty, void, lacking intelligence
Gainsay
To deny; dispute, oppose
Amulet
Ornament worn as a charm
Churlish
Rude, boorish
Concomitant
Existing concurrently
Nexus
A means of connection; a center
Recant
Retract a statement of opinion
Paean
A fervent expression of joy; song of joy or triumph
Fetid
Having bad smell
Abstemious
Non-self indulgent, especially in food or drink
Credence
Acceptance of something as true
Unfeigned
Not false; true
Venal
Motivated by bribery; corrupt
Platitude
Stale; overused expression; cliche
Tome
Book, usually large and academic
Contrite
Very sorrowful for a wrong; seeking forgiveness
Nugatory
Trifling, invalid
Transgression
Act of trespassing or breaking a law
Turgid
Swollen or congested; pompous/bombastic
Encomium
A formal expression of praise
Chicanery
Trickery; fraud
Heterodox
Not widely accepted
Levity
Light manner or attitude
Stolid
Having or showing little emotion
Factotum
A person who does all sorts of jobs; handyman
Capricious
Easily being changed (usually mood or emotion); fickle
Exorcise
To free from all evils; to expel evil spirits
Toady
Flatterer, yes-man
Geniality
Cheerfulness, kindness, sociability
Motley
Many colored, made up of many parts
Blandishment
Flattery
Piquant
Pleasently pungent, attractive
Expiate
To attone for
Cloister
To confine, seclude
Mendicant
Beggar
Meretricious
Gaudy, Specious; falsely attractive
Lilliputian
Extremely small
Incarnate
Having bodily form
Founder
To sink, fail, collapse
Metaphysics
The branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of reality
Delineate
To represent, to depict
Strident
Loud, harsh, unpleasant noises
Penury
Extreme povery
Implode
To collapse inward violently
Remonstrate
To object or protest
Imprecation
Curse; damnation
Inveigle
To win over by coaxing or flattery
Coalesce
To come together to form one mass
Provident
Making timely and indicative decisions for the future; farsighted
Tractable
Obedient
Lassitude
Lethargy, sluggishness
Panegyric
Elaborate praise, formal hymn of praise
Tutelary
Serving as a guardian or a protector
Perfidious
Faithless, disloyal
Purport
To profess, claim
Hallowed
Holy, sacred
Diffidence
Shyness, lack of confidence
Vapid
Tastless, dull
Evocative
Bringing strong images, memories, or emotions to mind; reminiscent, redolent, suggestive
Fatuous
Foolishly self-satisfied
Brazen
Bold, shameless
Occult
Relating to the practices connected to supernatural phenomena
Impervious
Incapable of being affected, inpenetrable
Morose
Ill-humored, sullen, bad tempered
Foswear
Renounce, repudiate
Grouse
To complain
Deference
Respect, especially to one’s wish
Doggeral
A comic verse with irregular rhythm; poor verse
Prate
To talk idly or chatter
Emollient
Smoothing, mollifying
Repine
Fret, complain
Racounteur
Witty, skillful storyteller
Efficacy
Effectiveness, efficiency
Insensible
Unconscious, unresponsive; unaware of
Spendthrift
Someone who spends money recklessly
Stint
To be sparing
Emaciated
Thin and weak, especially because of disease or lack of food
Chasten
Having a restraining or a moderating effect (due to an event or misfortune); to humble
Vindictive
Vengeful, unforgiving
Raiment
Clothing
Jaundiced
Yellowish discoloration of the skin; bitter, envy, resentment
Amenable
Agreeable, cooperative
Clairvoyant
One who can predict the future, psychic
Expatiate
To write or speak at length
Congenial
Pleasant because of qualities or characteristics similar to one’s own
Harange
Long pompous speech; tirade
Contumacious
Disobedient, rebellious
Craven
Cowardly
Fracas
A loud quarrel, brawl
Qualm
An uneasy feeling of doubt, worry, or fear
Discordant
Not in tune
Codify
To arrange in systematic code; organize
Elysian
Delightful, blissful
Fetter
To restrict unfairly; slave chains
Admonish
To caution or reprimand
Visage
Appearance, aspect
Plaintive
Sounding sad and mournful; melancholy
Officious
Authoritatively domineering; too eager to help in an intrusive way
Canon
General law, rule, or principle by which something is judged; literature seen as true
