GRE Vocab Flashcards
Memorize GRE words
Abate
v. to lessen in intensity or degree
Aberrant
adj. deviating from the norm
Abjure
v. to renounce of reject solemnly; to recant; to avoid
Abrogate
v. to abolish or annul by authority; put down
Abscission
n. act of cutting off or removing
Abscond
v. to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide
Abstain
v. to refrain from an activity
Abstruse
adj. hard to understand
Accolade
n. an expression of praise; an award
Accretion
n. growth, increase by successive addition, build up
Acerbic
adj. having a sour or bitter taste or character
Acumen
n. quick, keen, or accurate knowledge or insight
Admonish
v. to reprove; to express warning or disapproval
Adroit
adj. adept, dexterous
Adulation
n. excessive praise; intense adoration
Adulterate
v. to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients
Adumbrate
v. to foreshadow vaguely, intimate, suggest, or outlibe sketchily
Advocate
v. to argue for or support a cause
Aesthetic
adj. dealing with, appreciative of , or responsive to art or the beautiful
Aggrandize
v. To increase in intensity, power, or prestige; to make appear greater
Alacrity
n. eager and enthusiastic willingness
Alchemy
n. a magical or wonderful transformation
Alloy
v. to commingle; to debase by mixing with something inferior
Amalgamate
v. to combine several elements into a whole
Ambiguity
n. uncertainty in meaning
Ambivalence
n. the quality of having opposing ideas or feelings
Ameliorate
v. to make better or more tolerable
Amenable
adj. agreeable; responsive to suggestion
Anachronism
n. something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context
Anathema
n. a solemn or ecclesiastical curse; accused or thoroughly loathed person or thing
Anodyne
adj. soothing
Anomaly
n. deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality
Antagonize
v. to irritate or cause hostility
Antipathy
n. aversion, dislike
Antithetical
adj. diametrically opposed, as in antithesis
Apathy
n. lack of interest or feeling
Apocryphal
adj. of dubious authenticity or origin; spurious
Apogee
n. farthest or highest point; culmination; zenith
Apostate
n. one who abandons long-held religious or political convictions, a betrayer of a cause
Apotheosis
n. deification, glorification to godliness, the perfect example
Apposite
adj. appropriate, pertinent, relevant, apropos
Apprise
v. give notice to, inform
Approbation
n. an expression of approval or praise
Appropriate
v. to take for one’s own use, confiscate
Arabesque
n. complex, ornate design
Arcane
adj. mysterious, abstruse, esoteric, knowable only to initiates
Archaic
adj. outdated; associated with an earlier, perhaps more primitive time
Arduous
adj. strenuous, taxing, requiring significant effort
Arrant
adj. impudent; in every way, being completely such, bare-faced, utter
Arrest
v. to suspend; to engage
Articulate
v. to enunciate or pronounce clearly; to express oneself clearly
Artless
adj. completely without guile; natural, without artificiality
Ascetic
n. one who practices rigid self-denial, especially as an act of religious devotion
Asperity
n. severity, rigor; roughness, harshness; acrimony, irritability
Aspersion
n. an act of defamation or maligning
Assiduous
adj. diligent, hardworking
Assuage
v. to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify
Astringent
adj. having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe
Attenuate
v. to rarefy, weaken or make thinner, lessen
Audacious
adj. daring and fearless; recklessly bold
Augury
n. omen, portent, the reading of omens
August
adj. majestic, venerable
Auspice
n. protection or support, patronage
Auspicious
adj. favorable, propitious, successful, prosperous
Austere
adj. without adornment; bare; severely simple’ ascetic
Avarice
n. greed, especially for wealth
Aver
v. to state as a fact; to confirm or support
Axiom
n. a universally recognized principle; a generally accepted or common saying
Baleful
adj. sinister, pernicious, ominous
Bane
n. cause of injury, source of harm; source or persistent frustration
Beatify
v. to bless, make happy, or ascribe a virtue to; to regard as saintly
Bedizen
v. to adorn, especially in a cheap, showy manner; festoon, caparison
Beguile
v. to influence by trickery, flattery, ect; to mislead
Belie
v. to give false impression of, to misrepresent
Bellicose
adj. belligerent, pugnacious, warlike
Benign
adj. favorable, harmless
Bent
n. leaning, inclination, proclivity, tendency
Blandish
v. to coax with flattery, toady or fawn
Blithe
adj. carefree, merry
Boisterous
adj. loud , noisy, rough, lacking restraint
Bolster
v. to provide support or reinforcement
Bombastic
adj. pompous; grandiloquent
Boor
n. rude of insensitive person; lout; yokel
Bridling
v. to control or hold back, restrain
Broach
v. to bring up, announce, begin to talk about
Brook
v. to tolerate, endure, countenance
Bucolic
adj. rustic and pastoral; characteristics of rural areas and their inhabitants
Burgeon
v. to grow rapidly or flourish
Burnish
v. to polish, rub to a shine
Byzantine
adj. labyrinthine, complex
Cacophony
n. harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance
Cadge
v. to sponge, beg, or mooch
Cajole
v. inveigle, coax, wheedle, sweet talk
Calumniate
v. to slander, make a false accusation
Canny
adj. careful, cautious, knowing
Canon
n. an established set of principles or code of laws often religious in nature
Capricious
adj. inclined to change one’s mind impulsively; erratic; unpredictable
Cardinal
adj. of basic importance or consequences; primary
Carnality
n. something relating to the body or flesh
Castigation
n. severe criticism or punishment
Catalyst
n. substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thin that causes change
Causality
n. the relationship between cause and effect
Caustic
adj. burning or stinging; caused corrosion
Censure
v. to criticize severely; to officially rebuke
Chaos
n. condition of confusion or unpredictability
Chary
adj. wary; cautious; sparing
Chasten
v. to chastise or correct; subdue
Chauvinist
n. one blindly devoted to a group of which one is a member
Chic
adj. stylish and fashionable; sophistication in dress
Chicanery
n. trickery or subterfuge
Chimera
n. an illusion
Choleric
adj. tending toward anger
Churlish
adj. boorish, vulgar, loutish, difficult and intractable
Circumscribe
v. enclose within bounds; limit or confine, especially narrow
Clangorous
adj. making a loud, resonant sound
Coalesce
v. to come together; to fuse or unite
Coda
n. concluding section to a musical or literary piece; something that concludes or completes
Cogent
adj. appealing forcible to the mind or reason; convincing
Color
v. to change as if by dyeing, influence, distort, or gloss over
Commensurate
adj. matching, corresponding, or proportionate in degree, size, amount, or other property
Complaisance
n. the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
Confound
v. to cause to the confused; to frustrate
Connoisseur
n. an informed and astute judge in matters of taste;
expert
Contrite
adj. regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness
Convention
n. a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude
Convoluted
adj. complex or complicated
Corrigible
adj. capable of being set right, correctable, reparable
Countenance
v. to approve of or tolerate
Cozen
v. to deceive, beguile, hoodwink
Craven
adj. contemptibly fainthearted, pusillanimous, lacking any courage
Credulous
adj. tending to believe too readily; gullible
Crescendo
n. a gradual increase in intensity, particular in music
Culpable
adj. deserving blame
Cynicism
n. an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness
Damp
v. to diminish the intensity or check something, such as a sound or feeling
Daunt
v. to intimidate or dismay
Dearth
n. smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; lack
Debacle
n. rout, fiasco, complete failure
Debunk
v. to expose as being pretentious, false, or
exaggerated
Decorum
n. politeness or appropriateness of conduct or behavior
Deleterious
adj. injurious; harmful
Demur
v. to question or oppose
Denigrate
v. blacken, belittle, sully, defame, disparage
Denouement
n. an outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot
Deprecate
v. to disparage or belittle
Depredate
v. to plunder, pillage, ravage or destroy; to exploit in a predatory manner
Derision
n. scorn, ridicule, contemptuous treatment
Derivative
adj. unoriginal, obtained from another source
Desiccate
v. to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull
Desuetude
n. disuse
Desultory
adj. random; thoughtless; marked by a lack of plan or purpose
Detraction
n. slandering, verbal attack, aspersion
Diaphanous
adj. transparent, gauzy
Diatribe
n. harsh denunciation
Didactic
adj. intending to teach or instruct
Diffident
adj. reserved, shy, unassuming; lacking in self
confidence
Digress
v. to stray from the point; to go off on a tangent
Dilate
v. to become wider or more open
Dilatory
adj. causing delay, procrastinating
Dilettante
n. one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge
Din
n. loud sustained noise
Dirge
n. a mournful song or poem for the dead
Disabuse
v. to undeceive; to set right
Discomfit
v. to defeat, put down
Discordant
adj. conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound
Discretion
n. cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions
Disinterested
adj. free from self-interest unbiased
Disparage
v. to slight or belittle
Disparate
adj. fundamentally distinct or dissimilar
Dissemble
v. to disguise or conceal; to mislead
Dissolution
n. disintegration, looseness in morals
Dissonance
n. lack of harmony; conflict
Distrait
adj. distracted; absentminded, especially due to anxiety
Divulge
v. to disclose something secret
Doctrinaire
adj. fanatical; merely theoretical impractical
Doggerel
n. trivial, poorly constructed verse
Dogmatic
adj. authoritatively and or arrogantly assertive of principles, which often cannot be proved; stubbornly opinionated
Dross
n. slag, waste or foreign matter, impurity, surface scum
Dulcet
adj. melodious, harmonious, mellifluous
Dupe
n. one who is deceived
Dynamo
n. generator; forceful, energetic person
Ebullience
adj. the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
Eccentric
adj. departing from norms or conventions
Eclectic
adj. composed of elements drawn from various sources
Edifying
adj. enlightening, informative
Efficacy
n. the ability to produce an intended result
Efflorescence
n. the state or a period of flowering; an example or result of growth and development
Effrontery
n. extreme boldness; presumptuousness
Effusive
adj. gushing; excessively demonstrative
Egress
n. exit
Elegy
n. a mournful poem, especially one lamenting the dead; any mournful writing or piece of music
Eloquent
adj. well-spoken; expressive; articulate
Emollient
adj. soothing, especially to the skin making less harsh; mollifying
Empirical
adj. based on observation or experiment
Encomium
n. glowing and enthusiastic praise; panegyric, tribute, eulogy
Endemic
adj. characteristic off or often found in a particular locality, region, or people; restricted to or peculiar to that region; indigenous
Enervate
v. to weaken; to reduce in vitality
Engender
v. to cause, produce, give rise to
Enigmatic
adj. mysterious, obscure, difficult to understand
Ennui
n. dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy
Enormity
n. excessive wickedness, evilness
Ephemeral
adj. brief; fleeting, short-lived
Epicure
n. one devoted to sensual pleasure, particularly in food and drink; gourmand, sybarite
Episodic
adj. loosely connected, not flowing logically, occurring at intervals
Epithet
n. disparaging word or phrase
Epitome
. embodiment; quintessence
Equanimity
n. composure, self-possession
Equable
adj. not able to be easily disturbed
Equivocate
v. to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent
Errant
adj. traveling, itinerant, peripatetic
Erratic
adj. without consistency
Erudite
Adj. very learned; scholarly
Eschew
v. to shun or avoid
Esoteric
adj. intended for or understood by a small, specific group
Essay
v. to test or try; attempt, experiment
Estimable
adj. worthy, formidable
Eulogy
n. a speech honoring the dead
Evanescent
adj. tending to disappear like vapor; vanishing
Evince
v. to show clearly, to indicate
Exacerbate
v. to make worse or more severe
Exact
v. to demand, call for, require, take
Excoriate
v. to censure scathingly , to upbraid
Exculpate
v. exonerate; to clear of blame
Exemplar
n. typical or standard specimen; paradigm, model
Exhort
v. to incite, to make urgent appeals
Exigent
adj. urgent; pressing; requiring immediate action or attention
Exonerate
v. to remove blame
Expatiate
v. discuss or write about at length; to range freely
Expiate
v. to atone or make amends for
Expurgate
v. to remove obscenity, purify, censor
Extant
adj. existing, not destroyed or lost
Extemporaneous
adj. improvised; done without preparation
Extirpate
v. to destroy, exterminate, cut out, pull out by the roots
Facetious
adj. playful; humorous; not serious
Fallacy
n. an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief
Fallow
adj. untilled, inactive, dormant
Fanatical
adj. zealous; single-mindedly obsessed with one thing
Fastidious
adj. excessively particular, critical, or demanding; hard to please
Fatuous
adj. silly, inanely foolish
Fawn
v. flatter or praise excessively
Feckless
adj. ineffectual; irresponsible
Felicitous
adj. suitable expressed, well chosen, apropos; delightful
Fervent
adj. greatly emotional or zealous
Fetid
adj. stinking, having a heavy bad smell
Fetter
v. to shackle, put in chains, restrain
Fickle
adj. a likeliness to casually change one’s mind
Filibuster
n. intentional obstruction, usually using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action
Filigree
n. an ornamental work, especially of delicate lace-like patterns. resembling such a pattern
Flag
v. to sag or droop; to become spiritless, to decline
Flip
adj. sarcastic, impertinent
Florid
adj. flushed with color, ruddy, ornate
Flout
v. to demonstrate contempt for
Foment
v. to stir up, incite, rouse
Forbearance
n. patience, willingness to wait
Ford
v. to wade across the shallow part of a river or stream
Forestall
v. to act in a way to hinder, exclude or prevent an action; to circumvent or thwart
Forswear
v. to renounce, disallow, repudiate
Fortuitous
adj. happening by fortunate accident or chance
Fracas
n. noisy fight or quarrel, brawl
Fractious
adj. quarrelsome, rebellious, unruly, cranky
Froward
adj. intractable; not willing to yield or comply; stubbornly disobedient
Frugal
adj. prudent in saving; not wasteful
Fulminate
v. to attack loudly or denounce
Furtive
adj. marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious
Gainsay
v. to deny, dispute, contradict, oppose
Galvanize
v. to startle into sudden action, stimulate
Gambol
v. to skip about playfully, frolic
Garner
v. to gather and save, store up, acquire
Garrulous
adj. pointlessly talkative, talking too much
Gauche
adj. crude, awkward, tasteless
Germane
adj. relevant to the subject at hand; appropriate in subject matter
Glib
adj. marked by ease for informality; nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial
Gossamer
adj. delicate, insubstantial or tenuous; insincere
Grandiloquence
n. pompous speech or expression
Gregarious
adj. sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people
Grouse
v. to complain or grumble
Guile
n. trickery, duplicity, cunning
Hackneyed
adj. rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage
Halcyon
adj. calm and peaceful, prosperous
Hallow
v. to set apart as holy
Happenstance
n. a chance happening or event
Harangue
v. to deliver a loud, pompous speech or tirade
Harbinger
n. anything that foreshadows a future event; an omen ‘ a sign
Harrow
v. to distress, create stress or torment
Hedonism
n. devotion to pleasurable pursuits, especially to the pleasures of the senses
Hegemony
n. the consistent dominance or influence of one group, state, or ideology over others
Heretical
adj. violating accepted dogma or convention, unorthodox
Hermetic
adj. airtight, impervious to outside influence
Heterodox
adj. unorthodox, heretical, iconoclastic
Hidebound
adj. narrow or rigid in opinion, inflexible; oriented toward or confined to the past; extremely conservative
Hirsute
adj. hairy, shaggy
Homily
n. a sermon or morally instructive lecture, a platitude
Homogeneous
adj. same throughout
Hortatory
adj. Urging to come course of conduct or action; encouraging
Hubris
n. arrogant presumption
Hyperbole
n. an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech
Iconoclast
n. one who attacks of undermines traditional conventions or institutions
Idolatrous
adj. given to intense or excessive devotion to something
Idyll
n. a carefree, lighthearted pastoral or romantic episode or experience, a literary or musical piece describing such
Ignominious
adj. shameful, dishonorable, ignoble, undignified, disgraceful
Illiberality
n. quality of being narrow-minded, bigoted
Imbroglio
n. difficult or embarrassing situation
Imminent
adj. about to happen; impending
Immutable
adj. capable of change
Impassive
adj. revealing no emotion or sensibility
Impecunious
adj. lacking fund; without money
imperious
adj. commanding, masterful, arrogant, domineering, haughty
Imperturbable
adj. marked by extreme calm, impassivity and steadiness
Impetuous
aid. hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement
Implacable
adj. not capable of being appeased or significantly changed
Importune
v. to ask incessantly, beg, nag
Impudent
adj. shamelessly bold; insolent, impertinent
Impugn
v. attack or assail verbally, censure, execrate, deny
Impunity
n. immunity from punishment, penalty or harm
Impute
v. to attribute to a cause to source, ascribe, assign as a characteristic
Inalienable
adj. cannot be transferred
Inchoate
adj. in a initial stage, not fully formed
Incipient
adj. beginning to come into being or to become apparent
Indecorous
adj. violating generally accepted standards of good taste or propriety, unseemly
Indefatigable
adj. not easily exhaustible, tireless, dogged
indemnify
adj. to guard to secure against anticipated loss
Indifferent
adj. having no interest or concern, apathetic; showing no bias or prejudice
Indolent
adj. lazy, listless, torpid
Ineluctable
adj. certain, inevitable
Inert
adj. unmoving, lethargic, sluggish, not reactive chemically
Ingenuous
adj. artless, frank and candid, lacking in sophistication
Inherent
adj. ingrained with one’s nature, intrinsic, firmly established, essential
Inimical
adj. damaging, harmful, injurious, hostile, unfriendly
Inimitable
adj. one of a kind, peerless
Iniquity
n. wickedness, gross injustice
Injudicious
adj. showing lack of judgment, unwise, imprudent, indiscreet
Innervate
v. to supply with nerves, energize
Innocuous
adj. harmless; causing no damage
Inscrutable
adj. incapable of being discovered or understood, mysterious
insensible
adj. unconscious, unresponsive, unaware, unaffected, numb
Insipid
adj. without taste of flavor, lacking in spirit, dull
insouciant
adj. unconcerned, carefreee, nonchalant
Insular
adj. parochial, narrow-minded, like an island
Interdict
v. prohibit, forbid, bad, halt
Intimate
v. to imply, suggest or insinuate
intractable
adj. not easily managed or directed, stubborn, obstinate
Intransigent
adj. refusing to compromise
Intrepid
adj. steadfast, courageous
Inundate
v. to cover or overwhelm, to flood
Inured
adj. accustomed to accepting something undesirable
Inveigh
v. to attack verbally, denounce, deprecate
Inveigle
v. to obtain by deception or flattery
Inveterate
adj. deep routed, ingrained, habitual
Invidious
adj. tending to arouse envy or ill will in others
Irascible
adj. easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts
Itinerate
v. to travel from place to place
Jejune
adj. vapid, uninteresting; childish, immature;lacking nutrition
Jibe
v. to agree, to be in accord
Jocose
adj. giving to joking; humorous
Kinetic
adj. having to do with motion; lively; active
Labile
adj. readily open to change, unstable
Lachrymose
adj. causing tears, tearful, showing sorrow
Laconic
adj. using few words; terse
Lassitude
n. listlessness, languor, weariness
Laud
v. to praise highly
Lavish
adj. extravagant
Lethargic
adj. characterized by lethargy or sluggishness
Libertine
n. someone unrestrained by morality or convention or leading a dissolute life
Limn
v. to draw, outline in detail
Limpid
adj. transparent, serene, clear and simple in style, untroubled
Lionize
v. to treat something as an object of great interest or importance; to treat a person as a celebrity
List
v. to tilt or lean to one side
Loquacious
adj. extremely talkative
Lucid
adj. intelligible, sound, clear
Lumber
v. to move heavily and clumsily or with a rumbling sound
Luminous
adj. characterized by a brightness and the emission of light, enlightened, clear
Magnanimity
n. the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, especially in forgiving
Malevolent
adj. having or showing often vicious ill will, spite, or hatred
Malfeasance
n. the performance of a public official of an act that is harmful or illegal
Malinger
v. to feign illness so as to avoid work
Malleable
adj. capable of being shaped of formed, easily influenced
Martial
adj. associated with war and the armed forces
Martinet
n. a rigid disciplinarian
Maunder
v. to talk or move aimlessly mutter
Maverick
n. independent individual who does not go along with a group or party
Melancholy
adj. tending toward sadness
Mellifluous
adj. sweetly flowing, usually used to describe words or sounds
Mendacity
n. the condition of being untruthful, dishonesty
Mendicant
n. a beggar, supplicant
Mercurial
adj. character by rapid and unpredictable change in mood
Meretricious
adj. tawdry, pretentious, attractive but false, showy, having to do with prostitution
Meticulous
adj. characterized by extreme care and precision, attentive to details
Mettlesome
adj. courageous, high-spirited
Militate
v. to have weight or bearing on, to argue (against)
Milk
v. to exploit, to squeeze every last ounce of
Minatory
adj. menacing, threatening
Mince
v. pronounce rt speak affectedly or too carefully, euphemized, take tiny steps, tiptoe
Misanthrope
n. one who hates humankind
Misogynist
n. one who hates women
Mitigate
v. to make or become less severe or intense, moderate
Mollify
v. to calm or soothe, reduce in emotional intensity
Monotony
n. tedious lack of variety or change
Morose
adj. sad, sullen, melancholy
Multifaceted
adj. having many aspects
Multifarious
adj. varied, motley, greatly diversified
Mundane
adj. of the world. typical or concerned with the ordinary
Nadir
n. low point, perigee
Nascent
adj. coming into being; in early developmental stages
Natty
adj. trimly neat and tidy, dapper
Nebulous
adj. vague, cloudy, lacking clearly defined form
Neologism
n. a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses
Neophyte
n. a recent convert; a beginner; novice
Nettle
v. to irritate, annoy,or provoke
Nexus
n. a connection, tie, or link; center or focus
Nice
adj. exacting, extremely or even excessively precise; done with delicacy or skill
Noisome
adj. offensive, especially to one’s sense of smell, fetid
Nonplussed
adj. baffled, in a quandary, at a loss for what to say, do or think
Normative
adj. of or pertaining to an assumed norm regarded as the standard of correctness in behavior, speech, writing
Nostrum
n. cure-all, placebo, questionable remedy
Noxious
adj. harmful; injurious
Obdurate
adj. unyielding, hard-hearted, inflexible
Obeisance
n. gesture that expresses deference, such as a bow or curtsy
Obfuscate
v. to deliberately obscure, to make confusing
Objurgate
v. to reproach or vehemently denounce; to scold
Obsequious
adj. exhibiting a fawning attentiveness; subservient
Obstinate
adj. stubborn; hardheaded; uncompromising
Obstreperous
adj. noisy, loudly stubborn, boisterous
Obtain
v. to be established, accepted, or customary, prevail
Obtuse
adj. lacking sharpness of intellect, not clear or precise in thought or expression
Obviate
v. to anticipate and make unnecessary
Occlude
v. to obstruct or block
Occult
adj. hidden, concealed, beyond comprehension
Odious
adj. hateful; arousing strong feeling of dislike
Officious
adj. meddlesome, pushy in offering one’s services where they are unwanted
Onerous
adj. troubling, burdensome
Opaque
adj. impermeable by light; dense in mind
Opprobrium
n. disgrace, contempt, scorn
Oscillation
n. the at of state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm
Ossified
adj. changed into bone; made rigidly conventional and unreceptive to change
Ostensible
adj. seeming, appearing as such, professed
Ostentatious
adj. characterized by or given to pretentiousness
Overweening
adj. presumptuously arrogant, overbearing, immoderate
Paean
n. a song or expression of praise and thanksgiving
Palliate
v. to make something appear less serious, gloss over, mitigate
Panacea
n. a remedy for all diseases of ills; an answer or solution for all problems or difficulties
Panache
adj. a grand or flamboyant manner
Pandemic
adj. widespread; occurring over a large area of affecting an unusually large percentage of the population
Panegyric
n. formal expression of praise
Paradigm
n. something that serves as a model, example, or pattern; the framework of assumptions and understandings shared by a group or discipline that shapes its world view
Paradox
n. a contradiction; a seemingly self-contradictory statement that seems true nonetheless
Paragon
n. something regarded as a model of excellence or perfection in some way
Pariah
n. an outcast, a rejected and despised person
Parody
n. humorous imitation intended for ridicule or comic effect, especially in literature and art, also something so bad as to be potentially mistaken for an intentional mockery
Parry
v. to block, evade or ward off, as a blow
Parsimonious
adj. cheap, miserly
Partisan
adj. one-sided, committed to a party, biased or prejudiced
Pastoral
adj. having the simplicity, charm serenity, or other characteristics generally attributed to rural areas; pertaining to life in the country
Paucity
adj. scarcity, a lacking of
Peccadillo
n. a slight offense; literally, a minor sin
Pedagogy
n. the art or profession of training, teaching, or instructing
Pedantic
adj. ostentatious display of learning, excessive attention to minutiae and formal rules, unimaginative
Pedestrian
adj. commonplace, trite, unremarkable
Pellucid
adj. clear in meaning, expression, or style’ translucent
Penchant
n. strong inclination, a liking
Penitential
adj. expressive of regret for one’s wrong doing
Penurious
adj. penny-pinching, excessively thrifty; ungenerous
Peremptory
adj. admitting of no contradiction, putting an end to further debate, haughty, imperious
Perennial
adj. recurrent through the year or many years, happening repeatedly
Perfidy
n. intentional breach of faith, treachery
Perfunctory
adj. cursory, done without care of interest
Peripatetic
adj. itinerant, traveling, nomadic
Pernicious
adj. extremely harmful, potentially causing death
Personable
adj. pleasing in appearance, attractive
Perspicacious
adj. acutely perceptive, having keen discernment
Peruse
v. to examine with great care
Pervade
v. to permeate throughout
Petrous
adj. like a rock; hard, stony
Petulant
adj. impatient, irritable
Philanthropic
adj. humanitarian; benevolent
Philistine
n. a crass individual guided by material rather than intellectual or artistic values
Phlegmatic
adj. calm, sluggish, unemotional, stoic
Pillory
v. to punish, hold up to public scorn
Pine
v. to yearn intensely, to languish, to lose vigor
Pious
adj. extremely reverent or devout
Piquant
adj. agreeable pungent, spicy, stimulating
Pique
n. resentment, feeling of irritation due to hurt pride
Pirate
v. to use or reproduce illegally
Pith
n. the essential or central part
Placate
v. to appease, to calm by making concessions
Plaintive
adj. mournful, melancholy, sorrowful
Plangent
adj. pounding, thundering, resounding
Plastic
adj. moldable, pliable, not rigid
Platitude
n. a superficial or trite remark, especially one offered as meaningful
Plethora
n. an overabundance, a surplus
Pluck
n. courage, spunk, fortitude
Plumb
v. to measure the depth (as with a plumb line), to examine critically
Plummet
v. to plunge to drop straight down
Poignant
adj. distressing, pertinent, touching, stimulating, emotional
Polemical
adj. controversial, argumentative
Portentous
adj. ominously significant or indicative
Pragmatic
adj. practical rather than idealistic
Prate
v. chatter, babble
Prattle
v. to babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idle manner
Precarious
adj. uncertain, risky, dangerous
Precept
n. rule establishing standard of conduct, a doctrine that is taught
Precipitate
adj. acting with excessive haste or impulse
Precursor
n. something that precedes and indicates or announces another
Predilection
n. a disposition in favor of something, preference
Preeminent
adj. superior to others; surpassing
Preempt
v. to replace, to supersede, to appropriate
Preen
v. to dress up, primp, groom oneself with elaborate care; in animals, to clean fur or feathers
Premonitory
adj. serving to warn beforehand
Prescience
n. knowing of events prior to their occurring
Presumptuous
adj. overstepping bounds, as of propriety or courtesy taking liberties
Prevaricate
v. to deliberately avoid the truth, mislead
Pristine
adj. pure, uncorrupted, clean
Prize
v. to pry, press or force with a lever
Probity
adj. adherence to highest principles, uprightness
Proclivity
n. a natural predisposition or inclination
Prodigal
adj. recklessly wasteful, extravagant, profuse, lavish
Prodigious
adj. abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary
Profligate
adj. excessively wasteful, recklessly extravagant
Profuse
adj. giving or coming forth abundantly, extravagant
Prolific
adj. producing large volumes or amounts, productive
Prolix
adj. long-winded, verbose
Promulgate
v. to make known by open declaration, proclaim formally, or put into operation
Propensity
n. a natural inclination or tendency, penchant
Propinquity
adj. nearness in time or place, affinity of nature, kinship
Propitiate
v. to appease or pacify
Propitious
adj. auspicious, favorable
Propriety
n. appropriateness, conformity with standards of acceptable behavior
Prosaic
adj. dull unimaginative
Proscribe
v. to outlaw or prohibit
Provident
adj. frugal, looking to the future
Puerile
adj. childish, immature
Pugnacious
adj. contentious, quarrelsome, giving to fighting, belligerent
Punctilious
adj. precise, paying attention to trivialities, especially in regard to etiquette
Pundit
n. an authority on a subject, one who gives opinions
Pusillanimous
adj. cowardly, craven
Putrefy
v. to rot, decay, and give off a foul odor, become gangrenous
Quaff
v. to drink deeply
Quail
v. to shrink back in fear, lose courage
Qualify
v. to limit
Qualms
n. misgivings, reservation, causing for hesitancy
Queries
n. question, inquiries, reservation
Querulous
adj. prone to complaining or grumbling, quarrelsome
Quiescence
n. still, motionlessness, quality of being at rest
Quotidian
adj. occurring or recurring daily, commonplace
Rail
v. to complain about bitterly
Ramify
v. to be divided or subdivided, branch out
Rancorous
adj. characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment
Rapacious
adj. voracious, greedy, plundering, subsisting on prey
Rarefy
v. to make or become thin, less dense, refine
Recalcitrant
adj. obstinately defiant of authority or guidance, difficult to manage
Recant
v. to retract, especially a previously held belief
Recapitulate
v. to summarizes, to repeat concisely
Recondite
adj. hidden, concealed, difficult to understand, obscure
Reconnoiter
v. to engage in reconnaissance, make a preliminary inspection of
Recumbent
adj. leaning, resting, prone
Redolent
adj. fragrant, suggestive or evocative
Redoubtable
adj. awe-inspiring, worthy of honor
Refulgent
adj. radiant, shiny, brilliant
Refute
v. to disprove, successfully argue against
Regale
v. to delight or entertain, feast
Relegate
v. to forcibly assign, especially to a lower place or position
Remonstrate
v. to protest, object
Renege
v. to fail honor a commitment, go back on a promise
Rent
v. torn, split apart, pierced as by a sound
Repine
v. to feel or express dejection or discontent, long for
Repudiate
v. to refuse to have anything to do with, disown
Rescind
v. to invalidate, repeal, retract
Resolute
adj. adamant, steadfast, determined
Restive
adj. impatient of control, restraint, or delay; restless; uneasy
Reticent
adj. quiet, reserved reluctant to express thoughts and feelings
Reverent
adj. marked by, feeling, or expressing a feeling of profound awe and respect
Rhetoric
n. the art or study of effective use of language for communication and persuasion
Risible
adj. hilarious, provoking laughter
Rubric
n. authoritative rule, heading, title, or category
Rue
v. regret, feel remorse
Sagacious
adj. having sound judgment, perceptive, wise
Salacious
adj. appealing to or causing sexual desire, bawdy
Salient
adj. prominent, protruding, conspicuous, highly relevant
Salubrious
adj. promoting health or well-being
Salutary
adj. remedial, wholesome, causing improvement
Sanctimony
n. self-righteousness, pretended piety
Sanction
n. authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance
Sanguine
adj. cheerful, confident, optimistic
Sap
v. to enervate or weaken the vitality of
Sartorial
adj. of or pertaining to clothing or style
Satiate
v. to overindulge, satisfy to excess
Satire
n. a literary work that ridicules or criticizes human vice through humor or derision
Saturnine
adj. gloomy, dark, sullen, morose
Scintillating
adj. animated, witty, brilliantly clever
Scurvy
adj. contemptible, despicable
Sedulous
adj. diligent, persistent, hardworking
Seine
n. a large net hung out and dragged in to catch fish
Sere
adj. withered, arid
Seminal
adj. like a seed, constituting a source, originative
Serendipitous
adj. come upon or found by accident; fortuitous
Shard
n. a piece of broken pottery or glass, any small piece or part
Simper
v. to smirk; to say something with a silly, coy smile
Sinecure
n. position requiring little or no work and usually providing an income
Singular
adj. exceptional, unusual, odd
Sinuous
adj. winding, curving, moving lithely, devious
Slake
v. to satisfy, quench, lessen the intensity of
Sodden
adj. soaked or drenched, unimaginative, dull
Solder
v. weld, fuse or join, as with a soldering gun
Solicitous
adj. concerned and attentive, eager
Solvent
adj. able to meet financial obligations
Sophistry
n. fallacious reasoning; plausible but faulty logic
Sophomoric
adj. exhibiting immaturity, lack of judgment, pretentious
Soporific
adj. causing drowsiness, tending to induce sleep
Sordid
adj. characterized by filth, grime, or squalor, foul
Sparse
adj. thin, not dense, arranged at widely spaced intervals
Specious
adj. seeming true, but actually false, misleadingly attractive
Spendthrift
n. one who spends money wastefully
Splenetic
adj. bad-tempered, irritable
Sporadic
adj. occurring only occasionally, or in scattered instances
Spurious
adj. lacking authenticity or validity, false, counterfeit
Squalid
adj. sordid, wretched and dirty as from neglect
Squander
v. to wastes by spending or using irresponsibly
Stanch
v. to stop the flow of a fluid
Static
adj. not moving, active or in motion; at rest
Steep
v. to saturate or completely soak
Stentorian
adj. extremely loud and powerful
Stint
v. to restrain, be sparing or frugal
Stoic
adj. indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain, steadfast
Stolid
adj. calm, impassive
Striated
adj. striped, grooved, or banded
Strut
n. a structural support used to brace framework
Stupefy
v. to shun, baffle, or amaze
Stymie
v. to block, thwart
Subpoena
n. a court order requiring appearance and/or testimony
Subtle
adj. not obvious, elusive,difficult to discern, crafty or sly
Succinct
adj. brief, concise
Succor
n. assistance, relief in time of distress
Sundry
adj. various, miscellaneous, separate
Supercilious
adj. disdainful, arrogant, haughty, characterized by haughty scorn
Superfluous
adj. exceeding what is sufficient or necessary
Supine
adj. inactive, lying on one’s back, apathetic, mentally or morally slack
Supplant
v. to take the place of , supersede
Suppliant
adj. asking humbly, beseeching
Supplicant
n. beggar, one who prays or begs for something
Surfeit
v. to feed or supply in excess
Sycophant
n. someone who tries to flatter or please for personal gain, parasite
Synthesis
n. the combination of parts to make a whole
Table
v. to remove (as a parliamentary motion) from consideration
Taciturn
adj. not talkative, silent
Talisman
n. something believed to have magic power or bestow good luck
Tamp
v. to drive in or down by a series of blows
Tautology
n. repetition, a redundancy a circular argument
Tawdry
adj. cheap, gaudy, showy, tacky, indecent
Temperance
n. moderation of self-restraint; self-control
Tenacity
n. the quality of adherence or persistence to something valued
Tendentious
adj. biased, showing marked tendencies
Tender
v. to offer formally
Tenuous
adj. having little substance or strength, flimsy, weak
Tepid
adj. characterized by a lack of force or enthusiasm; lukewarm
Terse
adj. brief and concise in wording
Timorous
adj. timid, fearful, diffident
Tirade
n. a long and extremely critical speech, harsh denunciation
Toady
n. sycophant, flatterer, yes-man
Torpid
adj. lethargic, sluggish, dormant
Torque
n. a force that causes rotation
Torrid
adj. scorching, ardent, passionate, hurried
Tortuous
adj. winding, twisting, excessively complicated
Tout
v. to publicly praise or promote
Tractable
adj. docile, obedient, easily led
Transient
adj. fleeting, passing quickly, brief
Travesty
n. mockery, caricature, parody
Trenchant
adj. sharply perceptive, keen, penetrating, biting, clear-cut
Trite
adj. lacking in freshness or effectiveness because of constant use of excessive repetition
Truculent
adj. fierce, scathing, eager to fight
Tumid
adj. swollen
Turbid
adj. muddy, having sediment stirred up, clouded to the point of being opaque, in a state of turmoil
Turgid
adj. swollen, bloated, pompous, excessively ornate
Turpitude
n. depravity, baseness
Tyro
n. novice, beginner in learning
Ubiquitous
adj. existing everywhere at the same time, constantly encountered, widespread
Umbrage
n. offense, resentment
Undulate
v. to move in a wave-like fashion, fluctuate
Unfeigned
adj. genuine, not false or hypothetical
Untenable
adj. indefensible, not viable, uninhabitable
Untoward
adj. troublesome, unruly, unseemly, adverse
Upbraid
v. to scold, censure, rebuke, chastise
Urbane
adj. sophisticated, refine, elegant
Usury
n. charging an exorbitant or illegal rate of interest
Vacillate
v. to waver indecisively between one course of action or opinion and another, sway from one side to the other
Variegated
adj. multicolored, characterized by a variety of patches of different color
Vaunt
v. to brag or boast
Venal
adj. capable of being brought or bribed, mercenary
Venerate
v. to revere
Veracity
n. truthfulness, honesty
Verisimilitude
n. appearing true or real
Veritable
adj. authentic, real, genuine
Vestigial
adj. possessing a mark or visible evidence of something that is no longer present or in existence; a very slight trance of amount of something
Vexation
n. annoyance, irritation
Vigilant
adj. alertly watchful
Vilify
v. to defame, characterize harshly
Virulent
adj. extremely harmful or poisonous, bitterly hostile or antagonistic
Viscous
adj. think, sticky
Vitiate
v. to reduce the value of debase, spoil, make ineffective
Vituperate
v. to use harsh condemnatory language; abuse or censure severely
Vociferous
adj. crying out noisily
Volatile
adj. readily changing to a vapor; changeable; fickle, explosive
Voluble
adj. characterized by a ready and continuous flow of words; fluent; talkative
Voracious
adj. having an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit, ravenous
Waft
n. a light breeze, a puff
Waver
v. to move to and fro, to be unsettled in opinion
Welter
v. to write, to toss about, to be in turmoil
Wend
v. to go, proceed, walk
Whet
n. to sharpen or stimulate
Whimsical
adj.imaginative; unpredictable
Zealous
adj. fervent, ardent, impassioned
