GRE Common Words (A-M) Flashcards
to reduce in amount, degree, or severity
-As the hurricane’s force ________, the winds dropped and the sea became calm.
abate
to leave secretly
-The patron ________ from the restaurant without paying his bill by sneaking out the back door.
abscond
to choose not to do something
-She ________ from choosing a mouthwatering dessert from the tray.
abstain
an extremely deep hole
-The submarine dove into the ________ to chart the previously unseen depths.
abyss
to make impure
-The chef made his ketchup last longer by ________ it with water.
adulterate
to speak in favor of
-The vegetarian ________ a diet containing no meat.
advocate
concerning the appreciation of beauty
-Followers of the ________ movement regarded the pursuit of beauty as the only true purpose of art.
aesthetic
to increase in power, influence, and reputation
-The supervisor sought to ________ herself by claiming that the achievements of her staff were actually her own.
aggrandize
to make more bearable
-Taking aspirin helps to ________ a headache.
alleviate
to combine; to mix together
-Giant Industries ________ with Mega Products to form Giant-Mega Products Incorporated.
amalgamate
doubtful or uncertain; able to be interpreted many ways
-The directions she gave were so ________ that we disagreed on which way to turn.
ambiguous
to make better; to improve
-The doctor was able to ________ the patient’s suffering using painkillers.
ameliorate
something out of place in time
-The aged hippie used ________ phrases, like “groovy” and “far out”, that had not been popular for years.
anachronism
similar or alike in some way; equivalent to
-They saw the relationship between a ruler and his subjects as ________ to that of father and children.
analogous
deviation from what is normal
-The near-boiling river in Peru called Shanay-Timpishka is a geological ________: it is the only naturally heated body of water that is not heated by its proximity to a volcano.
anomaly
to annoy or provoke to anger
-The child discovered that he could ________ the cat by pulling its tail.
antagonize
extreme dislike
-The ________ between the French and the English regularly erupted into open warfare.
antipathy
lack of interest or emotion
-The ________ of voters is so great that less than half the people who are eligible to vote actually bother to do so.
apathy
to judge a dispute between two opposing parties
-Since the couple could not come to an agreement, a judge was forced to ________ their divorce proceedings.
arbitrate
ancient, old-fashioned
-Her ________ Commodore computer could not run the latest software.
archaic
intense and passionate feeling
-Bishop’s ________ for the landscape was evident when he passionately described the beauty of the scenic Hudson Valley.
ardor
able to speak clearly and expressively
-She is such an ________ defender of labor that unions are amongst her strongest supporters.
articulate
self-denying; austere
-Though he would not have to be completely ________, his physician did warn him to cut down on decadent confections.
ascetic
to make something unpleasant less severe
-Selena used aspirin to ________ her pounding headache.
assuage
to reduce in force or degree; to weaken
-The Bill of Rights ________ the traditional power of governments to change laws at will.
attenuate
fearless and daring
-Her ________ nature allowed her to fulfill her dream of skydiving.
audacious
severe or stern in appearance; undecorated
-The lack of decoration makes military barracks seem ________ to the civilian eye.
austere
predictable, cliched, boring
-He used ________ phrases like “have a nice day” and “another day, another dollar”.
banal
to support; to prop up
-The presence of giant footprints ________ the argument that Sasquatch was in the area.
bolster
pompous in speech and manner
-The ranting of the radio talk-show host was mostly ________; his boasting and outrageous claims had no basis in fact.
bombastic
harsh, jarring noise
-The junior high orchestra created an almost unbearable ________ as they tried to tune their instruments.
cacophony
impartial and honest in speech
-The observations of a child can be charming since they are ________ and unpretentious.
candid
changing one’s mind quickly and often
-Our boss is quite ________; we never know how he will react.
capricious
to punish or criticize harshly
-Many Americans are amazed at how harshly the authorities in other countries ________ their criminals.
castigate
something that brings about a change in something else
-The imposition of harsh taxes was the ________ that brought on the American Revolution.
catalyst
biting in wit
-Dorothy Parker gained her reputation for ________ wit from her cutting, yet clever, insults.
caustic
great disorder or confusion
-In many religious traditions, God created an ordered universe from ________.
chaos
someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he/she belongs
-The attitude that men are inherently superior to women and therefore must be obeyed is common amongst male ________.
chauvinist
deception by means of craft or guile
-Dishonest used car salespeople often use ________ to sell their beat-up old cars.
chicanery
mercy
-Many people on death row are granted ________ for their crimes by governing officials.
clemency
convincing and well-reasoned
-Swayed by the ________ argument of the defense, the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendant.
cogent
to overlook, pardon, or disregard
-Some theorists believe that failing to prosecute minor crimes is the same as ________ an air of lawlessness.
condone
intricate and complicated
-Although many people bought “A Brief History of Time”, few could follow its ________ ideas and theories.
convoluted
to provide supporting evidence
-Fingerprints ________ the witness’s testimony that he saw the defendant in the victim’s apartment.
corroborate
too trusting; gullible
-Although some 4 year olds believe in the Easter Bunny, only the most ________ 9 year olds still believe in him.
credulous
steadily increasing volume or force
-The ________ of tension became unbearable as Evel Knievel prepared to jump his motorcycle over the school buses.
crescendo
appropriateness of behavior or conduct; propriety
-The countess complained that the vulgar peasants lacked the ________ appropriate for a visit to the palace.
decorum
respect, courtesy
-The respectful young law clerk treated the Supreme Court justice with the utmost ________.
deference
to speak of or treat with contempt; to mock
-The awkward child was often ________ by his “cooler” peers.
deride
to dry out thoroughly
-After a few weeks of lying on the desert’s baking sands, the cow’s carcass became completely ________.
desiccate
jumping from one thing to another; disconnected
-Diane had a ________ academic record; she had changed majors 12 times in 3 years.
desultory
an abusive, condemnatory speech
-The trucker bellowed a ________ at the driver who had cut him off.
diatribe
lacking self-confidence
-Steve’s ________ manner during the job interview stemmed from his nervous nature and lack of experience in the field.
diffident
to make larger; to expand
-When you enter a darkened room, the pupils of your eyes ________ to let in more light.
dilate
intended to delay
-The congressman used ________ measures to delay the passage of the bill.
dilatory
someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic
-Jerry’s friends were such ________ that they seemed to have new jobs and hobbies every week.
dilettante
a funeral hymn or mournful speech
-Melville wrote the poem “a ________ for James McPherson” for the funeral of a Union general who was killed in 1864.
dirge
to set right; to free from error
-Galileo’s observations ________ scholars of the notion that the sun revolved around the Earth.
disabuse
to perceive; to recognize
-It is easy to ________ the difference between butter and butter-flavored topping.
discern
fundamentally different; entirely unlike
-Although the twins appear to be identical physically, their personalities are ________.
disparate
to present a false appearance; to disguise one’s real intentions or character
-The villain could ________ to the police no longer - he admitted the deed and tore up the floor to reveal the body of the old man.
dissemble
a harsh and disagreeable combination, often of sounds
-Cognitive ________ is the inner conflict produced when long-standing beliefs are contradicted by new evidence.
dissonance
a firmly held opinion, often a religious belief
-Linus’s central ________ was that children who believed in the Great Pumpkin would be rewarded.
dogma
dictatorial in one’s opinions
-The dictator was ________ - he, and only he, was right.
dogmatic
to deceive; a person who is easily deceived
-Bugs Bunny was able to ________ Elmer Fudd by dressing up as a lady rabbit.
dupe
selecting from or made up from a variety of sources
-Budapest’s architecture is an ________ mix of Eastern and Western styles.
eclectic
effectiveness
-The ________ of penicillin was unsurpassed when it was first introduced; the drug completely eliminated almost all bacterial infections for which it was administered.
efficacy
a sorrowful poem or speech
-Although Thomas Gray’s “________ Written in a Country Churchyard” is about death and loss, it urges its readers to endure this life and to trust in spirituality.
elegy
persuasive and moving, especially in speech
-The Gettysburg Address is moving not only because of its lofty sentiments but also because of its ________ words.
eloquent
to copy; to try to equal or excel
-The graduate student sought to ________ his professor in every way, copying not only how she taught but also how she conducted herself outside of class.
emulate
to reduce in strength
-The guerrillas hoped that a series of surprise attacks would ________ the regular army.
enervate
to produce, cause, or bring about
-His fear and hatred of clowns was ________ when he witnessed the death of his father at the hands of a clown.
engender
a puzzle; a mystery
-By speaking in riddles and dressing in old robes, the artist gained a reputation as something of an ________.
enigma
to count, list, or itemize
-Moses returned from the mountain with tablets on which the commandments were ________.
enumerate
lasting a short time
-The lives of mayflies seem ________ to us, since the flies’ average life span is a matter of hours.
ephemeral
open to more than one interpretation; misleading
-Asked a pointed question, the politician nevertheless gave an ________ answer.
equivocal
to use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead
-When faced with criticism of her policies, the politician ________ and left all parties thinking she agreed with them.
equivocate
wandering and unpredictable
-The plot seemed predictable until it suddenly took a series of ________ turns that surprised the audience.
erratic
learned, scholarly, bookish
-The annual meeting of philosophy professors was a gathering of the most ________, well-published individuals in the field.
erudite
avoided
-String theory is usually ________ by lower level physics teachers since the theory is often too confusing for students.
eschewed
known or understood by only a few
-Only a handful of experts are knowledgeable about the ________ world of particle physics.
esoteric
admirable
-Most people consider it ________ that Mother Teresa spent her life helping the poor of India.
estimable
speech in praise of someone
-His best friend gave the ________, outlining his many talents and achievements.
eulogy
the use of an inoffensive word or phrase in place of a more distasteful one
-The funeral director preferred to use the ________ “sleeping” instead of the word “dead”.
euphemism
to make worse
-It is unwise to take aspirin to try to relieve heartburn; instead of providing relief, the drug will only ________ the problem.
exacerbate
to clear from blame; prove innocent
-The adversarial legal system is intended to convict those who are guilty and to ________ those who are innocent.
exculpate
urgent; requiring immediate action
-The patient was losing blood so rapidly that it was ________ to stop the source of the bleeding.
exigent
to clear of blame
-The fugitive was ________ when another criminal confessed to committing the crime.
exonerate
clearly stated or shown; forthright in expression
-The owners of the house left a list of ________ instructions detailing their house sitter’s duties, including a schedule for watering the house plants.
explicit
acting excessively enthusiastic; filled with extreme, unquestioned devotion
-The stormtroopers were ________ in their devotion to the emperor, readily sacrificing their lives for him.
fanatical
to grovel
-The understudy ________ over the director in hopes of being cast in the part on a permanent basis.
fawn
intensely emotional; feverish
-The fans of Maria Callas were unusually ________, doing anything to catch a glimpse of the great opera singer.
fervid
excessively decorated or embellished
-The palace has been decorated in a ________ style; every surface had been carved and gilded.
florid
to arouse or incite
-The protesters tried to ________ feeling against the war through their speeches and demonstrations.
foment
a tendency to be thrifty or cheap
-Scrooge McDuck’s ________ was so great that he accumulated enough wealth to fill a giant storehouse with money.
frugality
tending to talk a lot
-The ________ parakeet distracted its owner with its continuous talking.
garrulous
outgoing, sociable
-She was so ________ that when she found herself alone, she felt quite sad.
gregarious
deceit or trickery
-Since he was not fast enough to catch the roadrunner on foot, the coyote resorted to ________ in an effort to trap his enemy.
guile
easily deceived
-The con man pretended to be a bank officer so as to fool ________ bank customers into giving him their account information.
gullible
of a similar kind
-The class was fairly ________, since almost all of the students were senior journalism majors.
homogeneous (or homogenous)
one who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions
-His lack of regard for traditional beliefs soon established him as an ________.
iconoclast
not capable of being disturbed
-The counselor had so much experience dealing with distraught children that she seemed ________, even when faced with the wildest tantrum.
imperturbable
impossible to penetrate; incapable of being affected
-A good raincoat will be ________ to moisture.
impervious
quick to act without thinking
-It is not good for an investment broker to be ________, since much thought should be given to all the possible options.
impetuous
unable to be calmed down or made peaceful
-His rage at the betrayal was so great that he remained ________ for weeks.
implacable
not fully formed; disorganized
-The ideas expressed in Nietzsche’s mature work also appear in an ________ form in his earliest writing.
inchoate
showing innocence or childlike simplicity
-She was so ________ that her friends feared that her innocence and trustfulness would be exploited when she visited the big city.
ingenuous
hostile, unfriendly
-Even though the children had grown up together, they were ________ to each other at school.
inimical
harmless
-Some snakes are poisonous, but most species are ________ and pose no danger to humans.
innocuous
lacking interest or flavor
-The critic claimed that the painting was ________, containing no interesting qualities at all.
insipid
uncompromising; refusing to be reconciled
-The professor was ________ on the deadline, insisting that everyone turn in the assignment at the same time.
intransigent
to overwhelm; to cover with water
-The tidal wave ________ Atlantis, which was lost beneath the water.
inundate
easily made angry
-Attila the Hun’s ________ and violent nature made all who dealt with him fear for their lives.
irascible
using few words
-She was a ________ poet who built her reputation on using words as sparingly as possible.
laconic
to express sorrow; to grieve
-The children continued to ________ the death of the goldfish weeks after its demise.
lament
to give praise; to glorify
-Parades and fireworks were staged to ________ the success of the rebels.
laud
to give unsparingly (v); extremely generous or extravagant (adj)
-She ________ the puppy with so many treats that it soon became overweight and spoiled.
lavish
acting in an indifferent, slow, or sluggish manner
-The clerk was so ________ that, even when the store was slow, he always had a long line in front of him.
lethargic
talkative
-She was naturally ________, which was a problem in situations in which listening was more important than talking.
loquacious
clear and easily understood
-The explanations were written in a simple and ________ manner so that the students were immediately able to apply what they learned.
lucid
bright, brilliant, glowing
-The park was bathed in ________ sunshine, which warmed the bodies and the souls of the visitors.
luminous
to evade responsibility by pretending to be ill
-A common way to avoid the draft was by ________ - pretending to be mentally or physically ill so as to avoid being enlisted by the army.
malinger
capable of being shaped
-Gold is the most ________ of precious metals; it can easily be formed into almost any shape.
malleable
a figure of speech comparing two different things; a symbol
-The ________ “a sea of troubles” suggests a lot of troubles by comparing their number to the vastness of the sea.
metaphor
extremely careful about details
-To find all the clues at the crime scene, the investigators ________ examined every inch of the area.
meticulous
a person who dislikes others
-The character Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol” is such a ________ that even the sight of children singing makes him angry.
misanthrope
threatening or menacing
-The headmaster’s frightening, almost violent lectures had a ________ effect on most of the students.
minatory
to soften; to lessen
-A judge may ________ a sentence if she decides that a person committed a crime out of need.
mitigate
to calm or make less severe
-Their argument was so intense that it was difficult to believe any compromise would ________ them.
mollify
lack of variation
-The ________ of the sound of the dripping faucet almost drove the research assistant crazy.
monotony
