Gre Vocab A Flashcards
Abase
Degrade or humiliate someone or oneself
Abeyance
In a state of disuse or suspension
Abreast
- Up to date with last news, ideas, or information (adjective)
- Side by side and facing forward (adverb)
Abscission
The natural detachment of parts of a plant. Typically fruits, leaves, etc
Abscond
To leave secretely and hurriedly, typically to avoid detection or arrest
Abyss
- Adeep or seemingly bottomless chasm
- A catastrophic situation seen as likely to occur
Accede
- To agree to a demand, request or treaty
- To assume a position of power or responsibility
Normally under some sort of pressure
Accretion
The process of gradual growth or increase, typocally by accumulation of additional layers of matter
Acerbic
- Sharp and forthright, espzcially in speech or tone
(Normally quite critical)
Acidulous
- Slightly sour in taste or manner, sharp or cutting in tone
Acumen
- Ability to make good judgements and quick decisions, typically in a particular domain
Adulterate
To render something poorer in quality by adding another substance, typically an inferior one
Adumbrate
To foreshadow or suggest smth in a vague or partial manner
Often used in political writings as “the social unrest that adumbrated the french revolution”
Aerie
- A large nest of a bird of prey, especially an eagle, built high in a tree or on a cliff
- A high or secluded place, often referring to a dwelling
Albeit
Although
Aloof
Cool and distant
Amalgamate
To combine or unite to form one structure or organization (like to.merge)
Ameliorate
Improve something
Anachronism
Something that is not in its correct historical or chronological time
Analgesia
The inability to feel pain while still conscious
Annul
To declare invalid, especially in legal or formal contexts
Anodyne
- A medicine or drug that relieves pain
- Something inoffensive or unlikely to provoke strong reactions
Antedate
To come before something in time
Antithetical
Directly opposed or contrasted, mutually incompatible
Apostate
A person who renounces a remigious or political belief or principle
Appropriate
- To take something for one’s own use, typicammy without permission
- Suitable or proper in the circumstances
Arbiter
A person who has the authority to settle disputes or decide matters
Ardent
Enthusiastic or passionate
Arrogate
To take or claim something without justification
Ascribe
To attribute something to a cause, person or source
Aseptic
Free from contamination or infection, sterile (adjective)
Asperity
- Harshness or severity in tone or manner
- Roughness or unevenness of a surface
Asperity
- Harshness or severity in tone or manner
- Roughness or unevenness of a surface
Aspersions
An attack on the reputation or intergrity of someone or something
(Often false or misleading)
Assail
To attack violently, either physically or verbally
Assiduous
Showing great care, attention and efforr, diligent
Assiduous
Showing great care, attention and effort; diligent
Attenuate
- To reduce the force, effect, or value of something
- To make something weaker or thinner
Attuned
Being receptive or responsive to something ; in harmony with
Augury
- A sign or omen of what will happen in the future
August
- Respected and impressive; marked by dignity and grandeur
Avarice
Extreme greed for wealth and material gain
Axiom
A statement or proposition regarded as self-evidently true
