GRE Power Vocab - F

Question 1

Facetious

Answer 1

adj. playful; humorous; not serious

Question 2

Fallacy

Answer 2

n. an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief

Question 3

Fallow

Answer 3

adj. untilled, inactive, dormant

Question 4

Fanatical

Answer 4

adj. zealous; single-mindedly obsessed with one thing

Fanatic originated from the Latin word for temple, because possession by a god or demon could cause someone to behave fanatically. Fanatic is also the source of a very common word in today’s speech: fan

Question 5

Fastidious

Answer 5

adj. excessively particular, critical, or demanding; ahrd to please

Question 6

Fatuous

Answer 6

adj. silly, inanely foolish

Fastuous often has a connotation of smugness to go along with the foolishness

Question 7

Fawn

Answer 7

v. to flatter or praise excessively

Question 8

Feckless

Answer 8

adj. ineffectual; irresponsible

Question 9

Felicitous

Answer 9

adj. apt; suitable expressed, well chosen, apropos; delightful

Felicity is that state of or something that causes happiness. Infelicitous means unfortunate or inappropriate

Question 10

Fervent

Answer 10

adj. greatly emotional or zealous

Fervor is a related word that means passion or intense emotion

Question 11

Fetid

Answer 11

adj. stinking, having a heavy bad smell

Question 12

Fetter

Answer 12

v. to shackle, put in chains, restrain

Fetters are literally shackles that are used to bind someone’s feet or ankles together, but the word can also be used figuratively to mean anything that restrains

Unfettered means free or unhampered

Question 13

Fickle

Answer 13

adj. a likeliness to casually change one’s mind

Question 14

Filibuster

Answer 14

n. intentional obstruction, usually using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action

Filibuster can also be used as a verb

Question 15

Filigree

Answer 15

n. an ornamental work, especially of delicate lace-like patterns; resembling such a pattern

as a verb, to filigree means to adorn

Question 16

Flag

Answer 16

v. to sag or droop; to become spiritless, to decline

Question 17

Flip

Answer 17

adj. sarcastic, impertinent

Flippant and flippancy probably come from this word and have related meanings

Question 18

Florid

Answer 18

adj. flushed with color, ruddy, ornate

Question 19

Flout

Answer 19

v. to demonstrate contempt for

Question 20

Foment

Answer 20

v. to stir up, incite, rouse

Be careful not to confuse this with ferment. Both can mean to agitate, but ferment usually means to cause to undergo the chemical change of fermentation

Question 21

Forbearance

Answer 21

n. patience, willingness to wait

Forbearance can also be a legal term describing a creditor’s agreement not to demand payment of a debt when it is due. For instance, if a forbearance is granted, you might be able to pay your student loans over a longer period of time than originally allowed

Forbear means to refrain from and the past tense is forbore. The noun forbear is a variation of forebear, whch is an ancestor

Question 22

Ford

Answer 22

v. to wade across the shallow part of a river or stream

Question 23

Forestall

Answer 23

v. to act in a way to hinder, exclude or prevent an action; to circumvent or thwart

Question 24

Forswear

Answer 24

v. to renounce, disallow, repudiate

Question 25

Fortuitous

Answer 25

adj. happening by fortunate accident or chance

Question 26

Fracas

Answer 26

n. noisy fight or quarrel, brawl

Question 27

Fractious

Answer 27

adj. quarrelsome, rebellious, unruly, cranky

Question 28

Froward

Answer 28

adj. intractable; not willing to yield or comply; stubbornly disobedient

don’t confuse with forward

Question 29

Frugal

Answer 29

adj. prudent in saving; not wasteful

Question 30

Fulminate

Answer 30

v. to attack loudly or denounce

Question 31

Furtive

Answer 31

adj. marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious