GRE Vocab List A (Prep Scholar) (30 words)

Question 1

aberrant

Answer 1

adj. diverging from the STANDARD type
ex. “In complex organisms such as humans, protection comes in part from having an immune system to destroy aberrant cells.”
syn. deviant, anomalous

Question 2

belie

Answer 2

v. give a false impression (intentional or unintentional) in word, appearance, or deed

Ex. “The evidence belies their claims of innocence”

Syn. Contradict

Question 3

calumny

Answer 3

n. lie or slander

Question 4

capricious

Answer 4

adj. mercurial, unpredictable, whimsical

Ex. “a capricious and often brutal administration”

Question 5

caustic

Answer 5

adj. corrosive

adj. bitterly sarcastic

Question 6

desultory

Answer 6

adj. halfhearted
adj. inconsistent or random

Syn. perfunctory, cursory

Question 7

diffident

Answer 7

adj. shy, timid, or reserved due to a lack of confidence

Ex. “Laura Linney and Cynthia Nixon trade off the lead female roles, playing the ambitious Regina and her diffident sister-in-law, Birdie.”

Syn. bashful, coy, modest

Question 8

dirge

Answer 8

n. funeral or mourning lament

n. any sad, slow song

Question 9

disabuse

Answer 9

v. to dispel someone’s illusions or false impressions about something

Question 10

ebullient

Answer 10

adj. cheerful, enthusiastic, excited

Question 11

equivocate

Answer 11

v. to use ambiguous language in order to mislead or deceive

ex. ““Not that we are aware of,” she equivocated”

Question 12

facetious

Answer 12

adj. glib or flippant

adj. treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor

Question 13

hackneyed

Answer 13

adj. cliché, trite, banal

Question 14

irascible

Answer 14

adj. irritable, testy, touchy

Ex. “He has an irascible disposition.”

Syn. Tetchy

Question 15

irresolute

Answer 15

adj. wishy-washy, hesitant
exp. Irresolute describes someone who feels stuck. A decision must be made, a plan acted on, but the irresolute person just doesn’t know what to do.
syn. indecisive

Question 16

laconic

Answer 16

adj. taciturn, reserved, succinct

Question 17

loquacious

Answer 17

adj. talkative

Question 18

mendacity

Answer 18

n. untruthfulness, dishonesty

syn. duplicity, perfidy

Question 19

opprobrium

Answer 19

n. criticism or condemnation
ex. “They’re going ahead with the plan despite public opprobrium”
syn. censure

Question 20

pedantic

Answer 20

adj. overly concerned with irrelevant detail, fussy

Ex. “many of the essays are long, dense, and too pedantic to hold great appeal”

Syn. Overscrupulous, punctilious, meticulous, fastidious

Question 21

perfidy

Answer 21

n. treachery or deceit
ex. “But Iranian hardliners have always opposed it and will argue, with some justice, that their warnings of American perfidy have been borne out.”

Question 22

peruse

Answer 22

v. to read something carefully and closely
v. to read something informally or quickly
(context is critical for this word!)

Question 23

pith

Answer 23

n. the essential substance of something

Question 24

quotidian

Answer 24

adj. relating to the everyday or mundane

Question 25

salubrious

Answer 25

adj. health-promoting

Question 26

satiate

Answer 26

v. to completely satisfy (with respect to hunger or appetite)

Question 27

sedulous

Answer 27

adj. dedicated and careful

syn. diligent, meticulous, assiduous, punctilious

Question 28

spurious

Answer 28

adj. fake or false

syn. specious, factitious,

Question 29

tortuous

Answer 29

adj. winding or twisty

adj. complicated

Question 30

tractable

Answer 30

adj. can be easily influenced or managed