GRE Saad Vocab - New Words List (Part 2) Flashcards
beset
(of a problem or difficulty) troubling (someone or something) persistently; bother
e.g. “he’s been beset by a lack of self confidence virtually his entire life”
Synonym: bedevil, beleaguer, invade, overrun, perplex, agonize
allay
to make more bearable or less severe
e.g. “a gentle breeze would allay the heat”
Synonym: reduce, assuage, palliate, mitigate, mollify
ascertain
find out; establish
e.g. “I was immediately able to ascertain that the girl was uncomfortable talking about her life at home”
Synonym: confirm, determine, discover
ostentatious
flashy; showy
e.g. “wears an ostentatious diamond ring on his little finger”
Synonym: extravagant, gaudy, excessive, swank
ethos
moral character; sentiment
e.g. “rigorous self-discipline was central to the ethos of the ancient Spartans”
Synonym: code, culture, habits, ideology
multifarious
having or occurring in great variety
e.g. “the multifarious interests and activities in which Benjamin Franklin immersed himself”
Synonym: myriad, manifold, diverse, multitudinous
expiation
the act of atoning for sin or wrongdoing; reparation
e.g. “The attempted assassination was an act both of expiation and of restitution.”
Synonym: atonement, reparation, absolution, forgiveness, pardon, indemnity, restitution
ebullient
cheerful; enthusiastic
e.g. “she sounded ebullient and happy”
Synonym: exuberant, buoyant, sanguine, jovial, jubilant
adduce
to cite as evidence or proof
e.g. “a number of factors are adduced to explain the situation”
Synonym: cite, illustrate, prove
ingenuity
clever; inventive
e.g. “considerable ingenuity must be employed in writing software”
Synonym: brilliance, dexterity, flair, genius, gumption, adroit
scruple
a feeling of doubt or hesitation about the morality or propriety of a course of action
e.g. “the survey showed that many students had few scruples about cheating on papers or exams”
Synonym: doubt, compunction, qualm, objection, regret
aped
imitate (someone or something), especially in an absurd or unthinking way
e.g. “He was caught aping the substitute teacher’s thick accent”
Synonym: emulated, mimicked, mocked, burlesque, caricatured
postulate
suggest or assume the existence, fact, or truth of (something) as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or belief
e.g. “his theory postulated a rotatory movement for hurricanes”
Synonym: posit, predicate, put forward
ramifications
a complex or unwelcome consequence of an action or event
e.g. “any change is bound to have legal ramifications”
Synonym: consequence, result, aftermath, outcome
posthumous
occurring or appearing after the death of the originator
e.g. “he was awarded a posthumous Military Cross”
Synonym: post-mortem, belated
incendiary
tending to stir up conflict
e.g. “incendiary rhetoric”
Synonym: inflammatory, provocative, subversive, treacherous
conduit
convey goods, information, or ideas
e.g. “a religious leader might be seen as a conduit who brings divine messages to the people.”
Synonym: purveyor (this can be a synonym)
noxious
harmful, poisonous, or very unpleasant
e.g. “they were overcome by the noxious fumes”
Synonym: destructive, fetid, harmful, pernicious, poisonous, putrid, virulent
anodyne
not like to cause offense or disagreement/ dull
e.g. “the otherwise anodyne comments sounded quite inflammatory when taken out of context”
Synonym: harmless, benign, safe, innocent, innocuous
toothless
lacking genuine force or effectiveness
Synonym: harmless, benign, safe, innocent, innocuous, anodyne
premonition
a strong feeling that something is about to happen, especially something unpleasant
e.g. “she had a premonition that her cat would somehow get hurt that day”
Synonym: foreboding, hunch, portent, omen, apprehension
invocation
the action of invoking someone or something
e.g. “a Siberian shaman muttering mysterious invocations to ward off evil”
Synonym: spell, incantation, curse, enchantment, conjuration
contumacious
stubbornly or wilfully disobedient to authority
e.g. “the judge threatened to charge the contumacious witness with contempt of court”
Synonym: insurgent, obstreperous, recalcitrant
clannish
tending to exclude others outside the group
e.g. “they are a clannish lot with no time for foreigners”
Synonym: ostracize
solicitous
anxious or concerned
e.g. “she was always solicitous about the welfare of her students”
Synonym: concerned, caring, attentive, mindful
propound
put forward (an idea or theory) for consideration by others
e.g. “he began to propound the idea of a ‘social monarchy’ as an alternative to Franco”
Synonym: broach, proffer, set forth, postulate
circuitous
indirect or roundabout
e.g. “the canal followed a circuitous route”
Synonym: devious, labyrinthine, meandering, rambling, tortuous
unpropitious
unfavorable
e.g. “his reports were submitted at a financially unpropitious time”
Synonym: unfavorable, sombre, hopeless, cheerless, dismal, gloomy, morbid, morose, forlorn
anathema
someone or something intensely disliked or loathed
e.g. “racial hatred was anathema to her”
Synonym: bane, pariah, abomination, bugbear, detestation
meretricious
deceptively attractive, but having no real value (judging a book by cover)
e.g. “meretricious souvenirs for the tourist trade”
Synonym: flashy, pretentious, gaudy, tawdry, garish
captious
tending to find fault or raise petty objection
e.g. “a captious and cranky eater who’s never met a vegetable he didn’t hate”
Synonym: hypercritical, fault-finding, quibbling, niggling
jubilant
feeling or expressing great happiness and triumph
e.g. “the nominee’s jubilant acceptance speech before the cheering crowd”
Synonym: elated, euphoric, excited, exuberant, exultant, jovial
forbearing
patient and restrained
e.g. “she was inspired by the forbearing patients of the intensive care unit”
Synonym: patient, enduring, tolerate
delimited
having fixed boundaries or limits
e.g. “they made agreements delimiting fishing zones”
Synonym: demarcate
fraught
filled with or likely to result in (something undesirable)
e.g. “marketing any new product is fraught with danger”
Synonym: charged, filled, replete, abound
waggish
humorous in a playful, mischievous, or facetious manner
e.g. “a waggish disposition that often got him into trouble as a child”
Synonym: frivolous, flippant, jocular, facetious, whimsical
reclusive
avoiding the company of other people; solitary
e.g. “he led a reclusive life”
Synonym: cloistered, isolated, sequestered
implicate
show (someone) to be involved in a crime
e.g. “he was implicated in a price-fixing scandal”
Synonym: incriminate, compromise, involve, connect, embroil, enmesh
belabouring
attack (someone) physically or verbally
e.g. “Bernard was belabouring Jed with his fists”
Synonym: batter, pummel, pound, denigrate, lambast
preponderance
the quality or fact of being greater in number, quantity, or importance; predominance
e.g. “the preponderance of women among older people”
Synonym: predominance, prevalence, extensiveness, superiority
parlous
precarious; full of danger or uncertainty
e.g. “the parlous state of the economy”
Synonym: treacherous, menacing, threatening
meddling
tampering; intrude in others affair
e.g. “the bride’s parents promised that they would never be meddling in-laws”
Synonym: officious, intrusive, annoying, obtrusive, prying
subterfuge
something intended to misrepresent the true nature of an activity
e.g. “he had to use subterfuge and bluff on many occasions”
Synonym: bluff, ploy, stratagem, artifice, hoax, trick
prolixity
long and wordy
e.g. “prolixity is one of the worst offenses that a writer of any age can commit”
Synonym: verbosity, repetitiveness, diffuseness, verbiage
patent
clearly visible; manifest; plain
e.g. “unfortunately, the patent stupidity of the proposal did not deter the city council from putting it up for a vote”
Synonym: flagrant, manifest, conspicuous, plain
untrammeled
free; unrestricted
e.g. “a mind untrammelled by convention”
Synonym: unfettered, unrestricted
offset
counteract or balance something by having an equal and opposite force or effect
e.g. “widow’s bereavement allowance is an offset against income”
Synonym: counteract, counterpoise, neutralize
recapitulate
summarize
e.g. “he began to recapitulate his argument with care”
Synonym: recap, rehash, epitomize, outline, restate
inexorable
not to be persuaded, moved or stopped
e.g. “the seemingly inexorable march of new technology”
Synonym: implacable, inescapable, merciless, relentless, adamant
exorable
susceptible of being persuaded or moved
Synonym: gullible, susceptible, impressionable
entreaty
earnest or humble request
e.g. “his supervisors have ignored his entreaties”
Synonym: imprecation, petition, supplication, obsecration, imploration
imperious
commanding or overbearing (imperial)
e.g. “an imperious little boy who liked to tell the other scouts what to do”
Synonym: authoritarian, domineering, arrogant, authoritative, autocratic, dictatorial, imperial
encumber
to weigh someone down with burden or restriction
e.g. “the claim that all of these regulations encumber doctors, taking time away from the actual practice of medicine”
Synonym: impede, hinder, hamper, obstruct, inhibit
buttress
support or reinforce
e.g. “the mother had always been the buttress of our family in trying times”
Synonym: reinforce, strengthen, uphold, fortify
temper
to lessen or soften
e.g. “their idealism is tempered with realism”
Synonym: abate, allay, alleviate, assuage, pacify, palliate, mitigate
outdo
beat or surpass
e.g. ““the men tried to outdo each other in their generosity””
Synonym: eclipse, excel, outclass
improbable
not likely to be true
e.g. “this account of events was seen by the jury as most improbable”
Synonym: doubtful, questionable, dubious, implausible
propagate
multiply; continue to increase
e.g. “the various ways in which churches can propagate the faith”
Synonym: disseminate, spread, circulate, transmit, broadcast
undergird
to strengthen or secure
e.g. “the theory of evolution undergirds virtually all of modern biology”
Synonym: bolster, hold, reinforce, uphold
voracious
very hungry; wolflike appetite
e.g. “it seemed like the voracious kitten was eating her weight in food every day”
Synonym: ravenous, hungry, gluttonous, rapacious, edacious, esurient
salacious
lusty; raunchy; having or conveying undue or inappropriate interest in sexual matters
e.g. “The American people were inundated on a daily basis with new and ever more salacious bits of gossip about the occupant of the Oval Office.”
Synonym:
sophomoric
conceited and overconfident of knowledge but poorly informed and immature
e.g. “sophomoric humor”
Synonym: brash, naive
balkanization
divide into smaller territories
e.g. “We can’t accept the fragmentation or balkanization of the country.”
Synonym: fractionated, divided
shouldering
taking responsibility
e.g. “He agreed to shouldering the burden of caring for their elderly father”
Synonym: embracing, taking over, adopting, upholding
checking
stop or slow the progress of something (usually undesirable)
e.g. “a tree finally checked the skidding car”
Synonym: impeding, stemming, hindering
remit
to forgive or pardon
e.g. “there are plans to remit the foreign debt of poorer countries”
Synonym: pardon, forgive
bifurcation
split into two
e.g. “a divisive issue that caused the bifurcation of the political party”
Synonym: dissolution, division, breakup, partition, fractionalization
sidestep
to avoid
e.g. “the eager enlistee sidestepped the regulations by lying about his age”
Synonym: circumvent, avoid, evade, bypass, eschew
concur
agree in opinion; happen together
e.g. “I concur with your assessment of the political situation”
Synonym: accede, accord, acquiesce
animate
bring to life
e.g. “Prometheus stole fire from heaven to animate his clay men”
Synonym: live, breathing, sentient, conscious
rouse
excite; stir up; galvanize
e.g. “she failed to rouse any enthusiasm in them whatsoever”
Synonym: electrify, stimulate, galvanize
proselytize
persuade someone to switch to your beliefs or your way of life
e.g. “the efforts of early missionaries to proselytize the Native Americans of Minnesota were largely unproductive”
Synonym: convert, propagate
despair of
no hope
e.g. “the other team’s temporary lead caused some momentary despair”
Synonym: dismay, discouragement, depression, defeatism, despondency, dreary, morose
assay
evaluate; assess
e.g. “a metallurgist did an assay on the metal and determined it contained nickel”
Synonym: appraisal, assessment, estimation, evaluation, scrutiny
posterity
future generations
e.g. “the victims’ names are recorded for posterity”
Synonym: progeny, fruit, seed, spawn
contention
conflict; debate
e.g. “my contention is that today’s lower batting averages are the result of better pitching”
Synonym: altercation, dissidence, dissension, belligerency
upends
turn on its side; capsize
e.g. “the airplanes upended”
Synonym: overturn, capsize
regimented
strictly controlled
e.g. “the regimented life of a long-term prisoner”
Synonym: controlled, governed, ordered
raconteur
a person skilled in telling anecdotes/stories
e.g. “a colourful raconteur”
Synonym: anecdotist, narrator
renegade
someone who rebels and becomes an outlaw
e.g. “a band of renegades who had deserted their infantry units and were making their way to Mexico”
Synonym: deserter, traitor, rebel, insurgent, defector, revolutionary, apostate, turncoat
disaffection
the feeling of being alienated from other people; estranged; feeling of being disliked and alone
e.g. “widespread disaffection with the governor’s administration in its final year”
Synonym: estrangement, alienation, schism
unflagging
persistent; untiring
e.g. “being rewarded for the unflagging zeal with which she led the fund-raising campaign”
Synonym: indefatigable, inexhaustible, staunch, tireless, relentless
obstinate
unwilling to yield or give in; stubborn
e.g. “the child was obstinate about wanting that specific toy, despite being offered several others”
Synonym: stubborn, headstrong refractory, adamant
unstinting
not restricting or holding back; generous; munificent
e.g. “he was unstinting in his praise”
Synonym: magnanimous, philanthropic, unselfish, unsparing
inductive
reasoning drawn from patterns observed
e.g. “And this, I think, is true in general of inductive inferences.”
Synonym: intuitive, instinctive, definite, express, nondeductive
milquetoast
timid/unassertive
e.g. “I wasn’t going to be a milquetoast and let him steamroller me.”
Synonym: milksop, mollycoddle, pushover, coward
martinet
strict disciplinarian
e.g. “The prison’s warden was a cruel martinet.”
Synonym: authoritarian, enforcer, stickler, taskmaster
boor
bad mannered; rude
e.g. “a loudmouthed boor who embarrassed his family at every social event they attended”
Synonym: barbarian, brute, oaf
grumbling
complain (low tone)
e.g. “his father was grumbling that he hadn’t heard from him”
Synonym: dissatisfied, irked, moaning, quibbling, whining
virtuosity
skill; brilliance
e.g. “Her virtuosity on the piano is amazing.”
Synonym: adroitness, aptitude, artistry, craftsmanship, dexterity, craft
allure
to attract or charm
e.g. “the nostalgic allure of America’s Wild West still attracts vacationers to ghost towns”
Synonym: attraction, charisma, enticement, glamor, magnetism, temptation, lure
unassailable
- indisputable; unable to be defeated or attacked
- not to be violated, criticized, or tampered with
e.g. “one of the unassailable beliefs of that political party”
Synonym: indisputable, infallible, irrefutable, undeniable, unequivocal
assailable
not defendable; vulnerable to attack
e.g. “But he soon found that the position extended too far southward to be assailable by his limited forces.”
Synonym: unprotected, susceptible, liable
evince
to make obvious; to show
e.g. “he evinced an interest in art from an early age”
Synonym: attest, declare, demonstrate, manifest, bespeak
vitiate
impair; spoil; make imperfect
e.g. “He believed that luxury vitiates even the most principled person”
Synonym: debase, defile, pervert, sully, taint, contaminate
unencumbered
not burdened, or troubled
e.g. “he needed to travel light and unencumbered”
Synonym: free, unburdened, open, unrestricted
avant-garde
advanced; innovative
e.g. “she was a member of a group of avant-garde artists”
Synonym: innovative, advanced, inventive
aspersions
a criticism or remark that damages another person’s reputation
e.g. “I don’t think anyone is casting aspersions on you”
Synonym: vilification, disparagement, denigration, vituperation
slurs
insulting remark
e.g. “To say that shoppers feel intimidated by them is a slur on their characters.”
Synonym: affront, animadversion, aspersion
neutralized
to stop something or someone from having an effect
e.g. “His orders to find the renegade colonel and to neutralize him”
Synonym: counteract, offset, counterbalance, counterpoise
distinguished
respected; successful
e.g. “a distinguished astronomer who is widely respected in the field”
Synonym: acclaimed, brilliant, dignified, eminent, esteemed, venerated
grandiloquence
extravagant language
e.g. “a heavyweight champion who was famous for his entertaining grandiloquence prior to every match”
Synonym: rhetoric, magniloquence, bombast, brag
exhort
to strongly urge on, encourage
e.g. “the speaker exhorted the graduating students to go forth and try to make a difference in the world”
Synonym: encourage, nudge, prompt, goad, spur
abjure
renounce
e.g. “She abjured some long-held beliefs when she converted to another religion”
Synonym: withdraw, retract, deny, forswear, contradict, abandon, recant, relinquish
shoddy
poor materials or quality; careless
e.g. “shoddy merchandise that soon fell to pieces”
Synonym: inferior, run down, shabby, shameful
inapposite
inappropriate
e.g. “that comparison is completely inapposite; there are no parallels between the two books at all”
Synonym: inappropriate, unsuitable, improper, infelicitous, incongruous, unseemly, indecorous, perverse
fad
short-lived craze; trend; infatuation
e.g. “once the fad for that kind of music had passed, nobody would have been caught dead listening to it”
Synonym: craze, vogue, trend
hermetic
airtight; isolated from outside influence
e.g. “a hermetic seal that ensures perfect waterproofing”
Synonym: airtight, tight, sealed, shut
abate
to lessen or reduce
e.g. “the storm suddenly abated”
Synonym: diminish, dwindle, ebb, recede
pithy
terse and concise language (very few but effective words)
e.g. “a fairly pithy criticism about a notably lengthy novel”
Synonym: succinct, terse, aphoristic, laconic
coy
making a pretense of shyness or modesty
e.g. “not wanting him to know that she was interested in him, she acted very coy at the dance”
Synonym: coquettish, kittenish, flirtatious, demure
replete
filled with
e.g. “a gym that is replete with the very latest in home exercise equipment”
Synonym: filled, crammed, jammed, rife
purged of
rid of; cleansed
e.g. “a day on which the faithful are expected to purge themselves of their sins through prayer and fasting”
Synonym: cleanse, dismiss, eradicate
unctuous
greasy or oily; smooth
e.g. “an unctuous appraisal of the musical talent shown by the boss’s daughter”
Synonym: oily, oleaginous, sickening
germ
seed; a portion of something capable of developing into a new one
e.g. “this hastily scribbled equation on a cocktail napkin became the germ of a new scientific theory”
Synonym: origin, root, seed, beginning, genesis
maudlin
dramatically or insincerely emotional
e.g. “a bout of maudlin self-pity”
Synonym: mawkish, schmaltzy, cloying, saccharine
diminish
lessen the seriousness or effect of
e.g. “the new law is expected to diminish the government’s chances”
Synonym: wane, subside, plummet
protean
varying; changing
e.g. “it is difficult to comprehend the whole of this protean subject”
Synonym: vacillating, mercurial, volatile
discordant
lacking in harmony (from discord)
e.g. “the singers continued their discordant chanting”
Synonym: unmelodic, unmusical, tuneless, off-key, dissonant, harsh, jarring
declension
decline
e.g. “a declension in her acting career from leading roles to cameos eventually”
Synonym: decadence, downfall, ebb
accretive
gradual increase
e.g. “despite the accretive sediment measured, there is a clear shoreline erosion”
Synonym: cumulative, incremental
propitious
auspicious; pleasant
e.g. “the success of the first big movie in May was a propitious start for the summer season of blockbusters”
Synonym: auspicious, pleasant, roseate
fumble
handle clumsily
e.g. “She played the entire piano piece without a single fumble”
Synonym: botch, flub, mishandle, flounder, err, gaffe
gullible
easily persuaded to believe something
e.g. “wished that his brother weren’t so gullible as to believe he could win the fixed carnival game if he kept playing it”
Synonym: naive, credulous, innocent, unwary
ineluctable
inevitable
e.g. “the ineluctable approach of winter had many worried about the cost of heating their homes”
Synonym: inescapable, unavoidable
slight
to treat as of little value or as unworthy of notice; disregard intentionally
e.g. “a slight comedy that did nothing to further her career”
Synonym: trifling, nugatory, minute
foolish, frivolous, inconsequential
imminent
about to occur
e.g. “a storm is imminent, so you should seek shelter now”
Synonym: impending, looming
indistinct from
not sharply outlined or separable; blurred
e.g. “managed to discern a blurry, indistinct shadow through the downpour”
Synonym: nebulous, indistinguishable, obscure, murky, opaque
broach
to bring up or introduce a sensitive issue
e.g. “He broached the topic of plans for next year’s parade”
Synonym: introduce, raise, discuss
vital
absolutely necessary; essential
e.g. “I forgot one vital ingredient, and now the biscuits taste strange”
Synonym: necessary, integral, required, requisite
screed
long speech or piece of writing, typically one regarded as tedious
e.g. “her criticism appeared in the form of screeds in a local film magazine”
Synonym: sermon, monologue, soliloquy, expatiation
