GRE Power Vocab - O

Question 1

Obdurate

Answer 1

adj. unyielding, hard-hearted, inflexible

Question 2

Obeisance

Answer 2

n. gesture that expresses deference, such as a bow or curtsy

Obeisance shares a root with obey, and it is, in fact, a gesture that shows “obey-ance” to the recipient. An obeisance could also be called an obeisant gesture

Question 3

Obfuscate

Answer 3

v. to deliberately obscure, to make confusing

An obfuscation is something that causes confusion

Question 4

Objurgate

Answer 4

v. to reproach or vehemently denounce; to scold

Question 5

Obsequious

Answer 5

adj. exhibiting a fawning attentiveness; subservient

Question 6

Obstinate

Answer 6

adj. stubborn; hardheaded; uncompromising

Question 7

Obstreperous

Answer 7

adj. noisy, loudly stubborn; boisterous

Question 8

Obtain

Answer 8

v. to be established, accepted, or customary, prevail

Question 9

Obtuse

Answer 9

adj. lacking sharpness of intellect, not clear or precise in thought or expression

In geometry, obtuse angle is one that is more than 90 degrees and less than180 degrees, so it’s a pretty dull angle. Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that the definitions of obtuse used here also mean dull. For an opposite, see acumen.

Question 10

Obviate

Answer 10

v. to anticipate and make unnecessary

Question 11

Occlude

Answer 11

v. to obstruct or block

Question 12

Occult

Answer 12

adj. hidden,c oncealed, beyond comprehension

we generally think of the occult as having to do with the supernatural. However, it can also mean anything hidden or beyond comprehension

Occult can also be a verb, meaning to hide

Question 13

Odious

Answer 13

adj. hateful; arousing strong feelings of dislike

Question 14

Officious

Answer 14

adj. meddlesome, pushy in offering one’s services where they are unwanted

Question 15

Onerous

Answer 15

adj. troubling, burdensome

Question 16

Opaque

Answer 16

adj. impermeable by light; dense in mind

Literally, something opaque allows no light through it. Figuratively, opaque is similar in meaning to obtuse

the word comes from a latin word meaning darkened

Question 17

Opprobrium

Answer 17

n. disgrace, contempt, scorn

Question 18

Oscillation

Answer 18

n. the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm

the verb oscillate can both mean to literally move back and forth between two ideas or positions

Question 19

Ossified

Answer 19

adj. changed into bone; made rigidly conventional and unreceptive to change

Question 20

Ostensible

Answer 20

adj. seeming, appearing as such, professed

Question 21

Ostentatious

Answer 21

adj. characterized by or given to pretentiousness

Question 22

Overweening

Answer 22

adj. presumptuously arrogant, overbearing, immoderate