GRE Vocab Flashcards Deck 2
Misanthrope
a person who dislikes others
Mitigate
to soften; to lessen
Mollify
to calm or make less severe
Monotony
lack of variation
Nadir
low point, perigee
Na?ve
lacking sophistication or experience
Nascent
coming into being; in early development stage
Natty
trimly neat & tidy; dapper
Nebulous
vague, cloudy, lacking clearly defined form
Neologism
new word, expression, or usage
Neophyte
a recent convert; a beginner; novice
Nexus
a connection, tie, or link; center or focus
Nice
exacting, extremely precise
Noisome
offensive, especially to one?s sense of smell; fetid
Obdurate
hardened in feeling; resistant to persuasion
Obeisance
gesture that expresses deference (bow, curtsy)
Obfuscate
to deliberately obscure, to make confusing
Obsequious
overly submissive and eager to please
Obstinate
stubborn, unyielding
Obstreperous
noisy, loudly stubborn
Obtuse
lacking sharpness of intellect
Obviate
to prevent; to make unnecessary
Occlude
to stop up; to prevent the passage of
Onerous
troublesome and oppressive
Opaque
impossible to see through; preventing the passage of light
Opprobrium
public disgrace
Ostentation
excessive showiness
Paean
a song or expression of praise & thanksgiving
Palliate
to make something appear less serious, gloss over, mitigate
Panegyric
formal expression of praise
Paradigm
something that serve as a model, example
Paradox
contradiction or dilemma
Paragon
model of excellence or perfection
Pariah
an outcast, a rejected person
Parody
humorous imitation intended for ridicule or comic effect
Pedant
someone who show off learning
Perfidious
willing to betray one?s trust
Perfunctory
done in a routine way; indifferent
Permeate
to penetrate
Philanthropy
charity; a desire or effort to promote goodness
Placate
to soothe or pacify
Plastic
able to be molded, altered, or bent
Plethora
excess
Pragmatic
practical as opposed to idealistic
Precipitate
to throw violently or bring about abruptly; lacking deliberation
Prevaricate
to lie or deviate from the truth
Pristine
fresh and clean; uncorrupted
Prodigal
lavish, wasteful
Proliferate
to increase in number quickly
Propitiate
to conciliate; to appease
Propriety
correct behavior; obedience to rules and customs
Prudence
wisdom, caution, or restraint
Pungent
sharp and irritating to the senses
Quaff
to drink deeply
Quail
to shrink back in fear, lose courage
Qualify
to limit
Qualms
misgivings, reservations, causes for hesitancy
Queries
questions, inquires, reservations
Querulous
prone to complaining or grumbling, quarrelsome
Quiescent
motionless
Quotidian
occurring or recurring daily
Rail
to complain about bitterly
Ramify
to be divided, to branch out
Rancorous
characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment
Rapacious
voracious, greedy, plundering, subsisting on prey
Rarefy
to make thinner or sparser
Rebus
riddle
Recalcitrant
obstinately defiant of authority or guidance, difficult to manage
Recant
to retract previously held belief
Recapitulate
to summarize, to repeat concisely
Repudiate
to reject the validity of
Reticent
silent, reserved
Rhetoric
effective writing and speaking
Sagacious
having sound judgment, perspective, wise
Salacious
appealing to or causing sexual desire
Salient
prominent, protruding, conspicuous, highly relevant
Salubrious
promoting health or well-being
Salutary
remedial, wholesome, causing improvement
Sanctimony
self-righteousness, pretended piety
Sanguine
cheerful, confident, optimistic
Sap
to weaken the vitality of
Satiate
to satisfy fully or overindulge
Soporific
causing sleep or lethargy
Specious
deceptively attractive; seemingly plausible but fallacious
Stigma
a mark of shame or discredit
Stolid
unemotional; lacking sensitivity
Sublime
lofty or grand
Table
to remove from consideration
Tacit
done without using words
Taciturn
silent, not talkative
Talisman
something believed to have magic power or bestowed good luck
Tamp
to plug, to drive in or down by a series of blows
Tautology
repetition, a redundancy, a circular argument
Tawdry
cheap, gaudy, showy, tacky, indecent
Tenacity
stubborn; persistent to something
Tender
to offer formally
Tirade
long, harsh speech or verbal attack
Torpor
long, harsh speech or verbal attack
Transitory
temporary, lasting a brief time
Ubiquitous
existing everywhere at same time; widespread
Umbrage
offense, resentment
Undulate
to move in wavelike fashion, fluctuate
Unfeigned
genuine, not false or hypocritical
Untenable
indefensible, not viable, uninhabitable
Untoward
troublesome, unruly, unseemly, adverse
Upbraid
to scold, reprimand, chastise, blame
Urbane
sophisticated, refined, elegant
Usury
charging an exorbitant or illegal rate of interest
Vacillate
to sway physically, to be indecisive
Variegated
multicolored, characterized by a variety of patches of different color
Vaunt
to brag or boast
Venal
capable or being bought or bribed
Venerate
to revere, respect
Veracity
filled with truth and accuracy
Verbose
wordy
Verisimilitude
appearing true or unreal
Veritable
authentic, real, genuine
Vex
to annoy
Volatile
easily aroused or changeable; lively or explosive
Waft
light breeze, a puff
Waver
to fluctuate between choices
Welter
to writher, to toss about, to be in turmoil
Wend
to go, proceed, walk
Whet
to sharpen or stimulate
Whimsical
acting in a fanciful or capricious manner; unpredictable
Zeal
passion, excitement
