GRE Vocab 1 Flashcards
Abscond
(V.) To leave secretly and hide, often to avoid the law
Abberant
(Adj.) Deviating from normal or correct
Aggrandize
(V.) To make greater, to increase. Thus, to exaggerate
Amalgamate
(V.) To unite or to mix
Ambrosial
(Adj.) Extremely pleasing to the senses, divine (as related to the gods) or delicious (n: ambrosia)
Anachronism
(N.) A person or an artifact appearing after it’s own time or out of chronological order (adj: anachronistic)
Antediluvian
(Adj.) ancient, outmoded (literally; before the flood)
Arbitrate
(V.) To settle a dispute by impulse (N: arbitration)
Assuage
(V.) to make less severe; to appease/satisfy
Attenuate
(V.) weaken (adj: attenuated)
Audacious
(Adj.) extremely bold, fearless. Especially said of human behavior (n: audacity)
Aver
(V.) to declare
Banal
(Adj.) commonplace or trite (n: banality)
Barefaced
(Adj.) unconcealed, shameless or brazen
Blandishment
(N.) speech or action intended to coax someone into doing something
Bombast
(N.) pompous speech (Adj: bombastic)
Burgeon
(V., N) to grow or flourish; a bud or a new growth (adj: burgeoning)
Buttress
(V., N) To support/ a support
Cadge
(V.) to get something by taking advantage of someone
Caprice
(N.) impulse (adj: capricious)
Caustic
(Adj.) capable of dissolving by chemical action; highly critical
Chicanery
(N.) deception by trickery
Conflagration
(N.) a great fire
Corporeal
(Adj.) of or having to do with material as opposed to spiritual/tangible
Corporal
(Adj.) of the body: “corporal punishment”; a non commissioned officer ranked between a sergeant and a private
Corroborate
(V.) to strengthen or support (N: corroboration)
Craven
(Adj., N) cowardly/ a coward
Dearth
(N.) lack or scarcity
Depredation
(V.) the act of preying upon or plundering
Desiccate
(V.) to dry out thoroughly
Diatribe
(N.) a bitter abusive denunciation
Credulous
Too trusting/gullible
“Although some four year olds believe in the Easter bunny, only the most credulous nine year olds believe in him”
Deference
Respect/courtesy
“The law clerk treated the Supreme Court justice with the utmost deference”
Deride
To mock
“The awkward child was often derided by his peers”
Desultory
Jumping from one thing to another/disconnected
“Diane had a desultory academic record she had changed her major 12 times in three years”
Diatribe
An abusive, condemnatory speech
“The trucker yelled a diatribe at the driver who cut me off”
Diffident
Lacking self confidence
“Steve’s diffident manner during the job interview stemmed from his nervous nature and lack of experience in the field”
Dilatory
Intended to delay
“The congressman used dilatory measures to delay the passage of the bill”
Dilettante
Someone with an amateurish/superficial interest in something
“She’s a dilettante, she has a new hobby or interest every week”
Dirge
A funeral hymn or mournful speech
“I wrote a dirge for my recently passed friend. I will perform it at their funeral”
Disabuse
To set right; to free from error
“Galileo’s observations disabused scholars of their notion that the sun revolved around the earth”
Discern
To perceive or recognize
“It’s easy to discern the difference between butter and butter flavored topping”
Disparate
Fundamentally different: entirely unalike
“Although the twins appear to be identical physically, their personalities are disparate”
Dissemble
To present a false appearance; to disguise one’s real intentions or character
“The villain could dissemble to the police no longer - he admitted to the deed and showed them the evidence”
Dissonance
Harsh and disagreeable combination, often of sounds
“Cognitive dissonance is the inner conflict produced when long-standings beliefs are contradicted by new evidence”
Dogma
A firmly held belief or opinion
Dogmatic
Dictatorial in one’s opinions
“The dictator was dogmatic - he and only he was right”
Dupe
To deceive; a person who is easily deceived
“Bugs bunny duped Elmer Fudd by dressing up as a lady rabbit”
Eclectic
Selecting from or made up from a variety of sources
“Budapest’s architecture is an eclectic mix of eastern and western styles”
Efficacy
Effectiveness
“The efficacy of penicillin was unsurpassed when it was first introduced; the drug completely eliminated almost all bacterial infections”
Elegy
A sorrowful poem or speech
“Even though his elegy is about loss, it urges people to endure life and trust on spirituality”
Eloquent
Persuasive and moving, esp in speech
“The Gettysburg address is moving not only because of it’s lofty sentiments but also because of it’s eloquent words”
Enervate
To reduce in strength
“The guerrillas hoped that a series of surprise attacks would enervate the regular army”
Engender
To produce, cause or bring about
“His fear of clowns was engendered when he witnessed the death of his father at the hands of a clown”
Enigma
A puzzle/mystery
“Speaking in riddles and dressed in old robes, the artist gained a reputation as something of an enigma”
Enumerate
To count/list/itemize
“Moses returns from the mountain with tablets on which the commandments were enumerated”
Ephemeral
Lasting a short time
“The lives of mayflies seem ephemeral to us, since the flies’ average life span is a matter of house”
Equivocate
To use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead
“When faced with criticism of her policies, the politician equivocated a left all parties think she agreed with them”
Erratic
Wandering and unpredictable
“The plot seemed predictable until it suddenly took a series of erratic turns that surprised the audience”
Erudite
Learned, scholarly, bookish
“Nan is an erudite woman, she is a well read, intelligent scholar”
Esoteric
Known or understood by only a few
“only a handful of experts are knowledgable about the esoteric world of particle physics”
Estimable
Admirable
“Most people consider it estimable that Mother Theresa spent her life helping the poor of India”
Eulogy
Speech in praise of someone
“His best friend gave the eulogy,
Outlining his many achievements and talents”
Euphemism
Use of an inoffensive word or phrase in place if a more distasteful one
“The funeral director preferred to use the euphemism ‘sleeping’ instead of the word ‘dead’”
Exacerbate
To make worse
“It is unwise to take an aspirin to try and relieve heartburn; instead of providing relief, the drug will only exacerbate the problem”
Exculpate
To clear from blame/prove innocent
“The legal system is intended to convict those who are guilty and exculpate those who are innocent”
Exigent
Urgent; requiring immediate action
“The patient was losing blood so rapidly that it was exigent to stop the source of the bleeding”
Exonerate
To clear of blame
“The fugitive was exonerated when another criminal confessed to committing to the crime”
Fanatical
Acting excessively enthusiastic; filled with unquestioned
“The stormtroopers were fanatical in their devotion to the emperor, readily sacrificing their lives for him”
Fawn
To grovel
“The understudy fawned over the director in hopes of being cast in the part on a permanent basis”
Fervid
Intensely emotional; feverish
“The fans of One Direction were always fervid, doing anything to catch a glimpse of the band”
Florid
Excessively decorated or embellished
“The palace had been decorated in a florid style; every surface had been carved and gilded”
Foment
To arouse/incite
“The protesters tried to foment feeling against the war through their speeches and demonstrations”
Frugality
A tendency to be thrifty or cheap
“He was known for his frugality. He could fill a giant storehouse with the money he had accumulated”
Garrulous
Tending to talk a lot
“The garrulous parakeet distracted it’s owner with it’s continuous talking”
Gregarious
Outgoing/sociable
“She was so gregarious that when she found herself alone she felt quite sad”
Guile
Deceit or trickery
“Since he was not fast enough to catch the roadrunner on foot, the coyote resorted to guile in an effort to trap his enemy”
Iconoclast
One who opposes established beliefs, customs and institutions
Imperturbable
Not capable of being disturbed
“The counselor had so much experience dealing with distraught children that she seemed imperturbable, even when faced with the worst tantrums”
Impervious
Impossible to penetrate; incapable of being affected
“A good raincoat will be impervious to moisture”
Impetuous
Quick to act without thinking
“It is not good for an investment broker to be impetuous, b/c much thought must be put into each investment”
Implacable
Unable to be calmed down or made peaceful
“His rage at the betrayal was so great that he remained implacable for weeks”
Inchoate
Not fully formed; disorganized
“The ideas expressed in his mature writing also appear in an inchoate form in his earlier writing”
Ingenuous
Showing innocence or childlike simplicity
“She was so ingenuous that her friends feared that her innocence and trustfulness would be exploited when she visited the big city”
Inimical
Hostile/unfriendly
“Even tho the children had grown up together, they were inimical to each other at school”
Insipid
Lacking interest or flavor
“The critic claimed that the painting was insipid, containing no interesting qualities at all”
Innocuous
Harmless
“Some snakes are poisonous, but the majority are innocuous and pose no danger to humans”
Intransigent
Uncompromising; refusing to be reconciled
“The professor was intransigent on the deadline, insisting that everyone turn in the assignment at the same time”
Inundate
To overwhelm or cover with
“The tidal wave inundated Atlantis, which was lost beneath the water”
Irascible
Easily made angry
“The hulk’s irascible and violent nature made all who dealt with him fear for their lives”
Laconic
Using few words
“She was a laconic poet who built her reputation on using words as sparingly as possible”
Lament
To express sorrow; to grieve
“The children continued to lament the death of the goldfish weeks after it’s demise”
Laud
To give praise; to glorify
“Parades and fireworks were staged to laud the success of the rebels”
Lavish
To give unsparingly (v.); extremely generous or extravagant (adj).
“She lavished the puppy with so many treats that it soon became overweight and spoiled”
Loquacious
Talkative
“She was naturally loquacious, which was a problem in situations in which listening was more important than talking”
Lucid
Clear and easily understood
“The answers were written in a simple and lucid manner so that the students easily grasped them”
Malinger
To evade responsibility by pretending to be ill
“A common way to avoid the draft was by malingering - pretending to be mentally or physically I’ll so as to avoid being taken by the Army”
Metaphor
Figure of speech comparing two different things; a symbol
“The metaphor ‘a sea of trouble’ suggests a lot of troubles by comparing their number to the vastness of the sea”
Misanthrope
A person who dislikes others
“The character Scrooge is such a misanthrope that even the sight of children singing makes him angry”
Mitigate
To soften/lessen
“A judge may mitigate a sentence if she decides that a person committed a crime out of need”
Mollify
To calm or make less severe
“Their argument was so intense that it was difficult to believe any compromise would mollify them”
Monotony
Lack of variation
“The monotony of the sound of the dropping faucet almost drove the research assistant crazy”
Obdurate
Hardened in feeling; resistant to persuasion
“The president was completely obdurate on the issue, and no amount of persuasion would change his mind”
Obsequious
Overly submissive and eager to please
“The obsequious new associate made sure to compliment her supervisor’s tie and agree with him on every issue.”
Obstinate
Stubborn; unyielding
“Peter is so obstinate when it comes
to healthy eating, he refuses to eat any and all vegetables”
Obviate
To prevent or make unnecessary
“The river was shallow enough to walk across which obviated the need for a bridge”
Occlude
To stop up; to prevent the passage of
“A shadow is thrown across the earth’s surface during a solar eclipse, when the light from the sun is occluded by the moon”
Onerous
Troublesome and oppressive; burdensome
“The assignment was so extensive and difficult to manage that it proved onerous to the team in charge of it”
Opaque
Impossible to see through; preventing the passage of light
Opprobrium
Public disgrace
“After the schisms to embezzle the elderly was made public, the treasurer resigned in utter opprobrium”
Ostentation
Excessive showiness
“The ostentation of the sun king’s court is evident in the lavish decoration and luxuriousness of his palace at Versailles”
