GRE Vocab List 5 Flashcards
Quixotic
Unrealistic and impractical
Eg- My final year project turned out to be wildly quixotic.
Maudlin
Self pitying or highly sentimental
Eg- That song always manages to trigger a bout of maudlin emotions.
Panglossian
Blind optimism
Eg- As a child, he had a panglossian outlook towards life. But the cruelties of life took that away.
Malapropism
Incorrect usage of a similar sounding word instead of the correct one
Quisling
Traitor
Eg- Vibhishan, if you think about it, was actually a quisling.
Bulbous
bulging or round
Eg- He had a bulbous nose.
Byzantine
Too intricate or complex
Eg- This insurance scheme is too byzantine.
Supercilious
behaving as if one is superior to others
Eg- She was a supercilious lady who mistreated her servants.
Preternatural
Extraordinary
Eg- The climate is changing with preternatural speed.
Protean
versatile or everchanging
Eg- To be a master of this subject is difficult because of its protean nature. There are new discoveries very often.
Sartorial
related to clothes or style
Eg- She possessed sartorial elegance while walking on the red carpet.
Saturnine
gloomy
Eg- Her countenance was always saturnine as if his face was stuck that way.
Jaundice
being biased due to envy or resentment
Eg- Shyam failed his interview since the interviewer was jaundice against people from advertising backgrounds.
Jejune
- Dull or insipid
Eg- His taste in movies was jejune. - Childish or immature
Eg- His ideas were not taken seriously due to their jejune nature.
Bilious
irritable or bad-tempered
Eg- He was banned from the local bar since his bilious temperament kept getting him into fights,
Choleric
Irritable
Eg- It was hard getting a new job after he was fired due to his choleric temperament.
Curmudgeon
An old person that is very grouchy
Eg- The old curmudgeon down the street refuses to return my football.
Reprobate
An unprincipled person
Eg- His character on the show was that of a loveable reprobate that was witty and funny.
Virago
Violent, bad-tempered woman
Eg- An FIR was registered against the virago who tried to break in my house.
Parochial
Narrow minded views
Eg- Having a parochial outlook towards life will guarantee failure.
Catholic
Wide ranging and all embracing
Eg- Shyams taste in music is catholic; he listens to almost every genre.
Anathema
Source of someones hate or dislike
Eg- His sexist jokes were her anathema.
Desecrate
Disrespecting or destroying a sacred place.
Eg- Wearing shoes in a temple is to desecrate it.
Apostasy
abandoning religious or political beliefs
Eg- The UP govt changed leaders due to apostasy of one of its higher ranked politicians.
