GRE Vocab List B (Prep Scholar) (50 words)

Question 1

abjure

Answer 1

v. to reject or renounce
v. solemnly renounce (a belief, cause, or claim)

ex. “Nobody is forcing him to abjure press conferences or any other interaction with journalists where he may be asked tough questions.”
syn. abnegate, forswear, renege, repudiate

Question 2

abscond

Answer 2

v. to leave secretly, evading detection

ex. “One night in 2002, three interns absconded with a 600-pound safe full of moon rocks from Apollo missions.”

Question 3

alacrity

Answer 3

n. promptness and eagerness
n. brisk and cheerful readiness

ex. “She accepted the invitation with alacrity”
syn. amenability, obligingness, gameness

Question 4

ascetic

Answer 4

adj. austere or self-denying
ex. He converted to Catholicism and became a Trappist monk at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, which, at the time, was as ascetic and demanding as any monastery of the Middle Ages.
syn. monkish, monastic, exacting, ramrod

Question 5

assuage

Answer 5

v. to provide relief from an unpleasant feeling
v. to satisfy a need or appetite

ex. Life contains sorrows that cannot be assuaged, and it is important to be honest in acknowledging this.
syn. allay, alleviate, mitigate, mollify, palliate

Question 6

brazen

Answer 6

adj. bold or open to the point of shocking
adj. shameless

ex. “He went about his illegal business with a brazen assurance”
syn. impertinent, impudent, insolent, audacious

Question 7

censure

Answer 7

v. to express intense condemnation

Question 8

chicanery

Answer 8

n. trickery or deception

Question 9

cogent

Answer 9

adj. clearly laid out and persuasive

Question 10

desiccate

Answer 10

v. to dry out completely

v. to suck out the vitality and passion

Question 11

didactic

Answer 11

adj. designed or intended to teach
adj. educational or with an instructive purpose; often includes an element of moralizing

ex. “a didactic novel that set out to expose social injustice”
syn. homiletic (preachy), sententious, moralistic, sermonic

Question 12

dilettante

Answer 12

n. someone with an amateur, nonserious interest in something
ex. “In terms of practice and playing, Curry is a golf dilettante.”
syn. jackleg (neg)

Question 13

equable

Answer 13

adj. even-tempered
adj. not given to much change or variation (climate or personality)

ex. genial, clement, balmy

Question 14

exigent

Answer 14

adj. urgent or pressing
ex. “the exigent demands of the music took a toll on her voice”
syn. clamant

Question 15

fastidious

Answer 15

adj. meticulous

adj. invested in cleanliness

Question 16

garrulous

Answer 16

adj. talkative

Question 17

glib

Answer 17

adj. talking volubly, but carelessly or insincerely

Question 18

harangue

Answer 18

n. diatribe or rant
ex. “He delivered a long harangue about the evils of popular culture.”
syn. jeremaid, phillipic

Question 19

impudent

Answer 19

adj. disrespectful

Question 20

inadvertent

Answer 20

adj. by accident or unintentional

Question 21

inimical

Answer 21

adj. harmful or hostile

Question 22

intractable

Answer 22

adj. unmanageable

adj. stubborn or obstinate

Question 23

maladroit

Answer 23

adj. clumsy, awkward, inept

Question 24

mercurial

Answer 24

adj. easily changeable, fickle

Question 25

misanthrope

Answer 25

n. person who hates humanity

Question 26

mollify

Answer 26

v. o soothe in temper or disposition
v. placate

ex. “Nature reserves were set up to mollify local conservationists.”
syn. appease, pacify, propitiate, conciliate

Question 27

nascent

Answer 27

adj. just beginning or in the early stages

Question 28

nonplussed

Answer 28

adj. confused and baffled
ex. “he would be completely nonplussed and embarrassed at the idea”
syn. bewildered, stupified,

Question 29

obdurate

Answer 29

adj. stubborn, obstinate

Question 30

obsequious

Answer 30

adj. overly fawning and helpful in a way that is disingenuous
ex. “they were served by obsequious waiters”
syn. kowtowing, obeisant, servile, acquiescent, tractable

Question 31

obviate

Answer 31

v. to forestall the need for something

v. to prevent

Question 32

paucity

Answer 32

n. scarcity, poverty

Question 33

perfunctory

Answer 33

adj. done without much effort, care, or thought

Question 34

phlegmatic

Answer 34

adj. cool and unruffled
ex. “Some people are phlegmatic, some highly strung.”
syn. stolid, dispassionate, placid

Question 35

placate

Answer 35

v. to calm, esp. an angry or upset person

Question 36

polemical

Answer 36

adj. angry, hostile, harshly critical

Question 37

prescient

Answer 37

adj. knowing things before they happen, prophetic

Question 38

prevaricate

Answer 38

v. to evade or deceive without outright lying

Question 39

probity

Answer 39

n. integrity and honor

Question 40

propitiate

Answer 40

v. to obtain special favor from someone, esp. a powerful person or deity, by performing a pleasing action
v. to appease someone who is angry

Question 41

recondite

Answer 41

adj. arcane or obscure

Question 42

reticent

Answer 42

adj. hesitant to speak

adj. introverted or silent

Question 43

solicitous

Answer 43

adj. considerate, attentive

Question 44

soporific

Answer 44

adj. makes sleepy
ex. “the soporific heat of summer”
syn. drowsy, hypnotic, narcotic, opiate, somniferous, somnolent

Question 45

sparse

Answer 45

adj. scattered or scarce

adj. austere and unadorned

Question 46

specious

Answer 46

adj. spurious; appearing true but actually false

ex. “He justified his actions with specious reasoning.”

Question 47

supine

Answer 47

adj. laying back with the face upward (opposite position to prone)

Question 48

sycophant

Answer 48

n. a fawning, insincere admirer

Question 49

tacit

Answer 49

adj. unspoken; implicit

Question 50

taciturn

Answer 50

adj. reticent or reserved; tending towards silence