GRE Vocab Set 2 (Princeton Review)

Question 1

Abate

Answer 1

To lessen in intensity

Question 2

Accolade

Answer 2

An expression of praise

Question 3

Adulation

Answer 3

Excessive praise; intense adoration

Question 4

Aesthetic

Answer 4

Dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful

Question 5

Ameliorate

Answer 5

To make better or more tolerable

Question 6

Ascetic

Answer 6

One who practices rigid self-denial

Question 7

Avarice

Answer 7

Greed, especially for wealth

Question 8

Burgeon

Answer 8

To grow rapidly or flourish

Question 9

Bucolic

Answer 9

Rustic and pastoral, characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants

Question 10

Cacophany

Answer 10

Harsh, jarring, discordant sound

Question 11

Canon

Answer 11

An established set or principles or code of laws

Question 12

Castigation

Answer 12

Severe criticism or punishment

Question 13

Catalyst

Answer 13

A substance that accelerates the rate of chemical reaction without itself changing

Question 14

Caustic

Answer 14

Burning or stinging

Question 15

Chary

Answer 15

Wary, cautious, sparing

Question 16

Cogent

Answer 16

Appealing forcibly to the mind or reason

Question 17

Complaisance

Answer 17

Willingness to comply with the wishes of others

Question 18

Contentious

Answer 18

Argumentative

Question 19

Contrite

Answer 19

Regretful

Question 20

Culpable

Answer 20

Deserving blame

Question 21

Dearth

Answer 21

Smallness of quantity or number

Question 22

Demur

Answer 22

To question or oppose

Question 23

Didactict

Answer 23

Intended to teach or instruct

Question 24

Discretion

Answer 24

Cautious reserve in speech, ability to make reasonable decisions

Question 25

Disinterested

Answer 25

Free of bias or self-interest

Question 26

Dogmatic

Answer 26

Expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or improvable principles

Question 27

Ebullience

Answer 27

The quality of lively or enthusiastic expression

Question 28

Eclectic

Answer 28

Composed of elements drawn from various sources

Question 29

Elegy

Answer 29

Mournful poem

Question 30

Emollient

Answer 30

Soothing, especially to the skin

Question 31

Empirical

Answer 31

Based on observation or experiment

Question 32

Enigmatic

Answer 32

Mysterious, obscure, difficult to understand

Question 33

Ephemeral

Answer 33

Brief and fleeting

Question 34

Esoteric

Answer 34

Intended for a small, specific group

Question 35

Eulogy

Answer 35

A speech honoring the dead

Question 36

Exonerate

Answer 36

To remove blame

Question 37

Facetious

Answer 37

Playful and humerous

Question 38

Fallacy

Answer 38

Invalid or incorrect notion

Question 39

Furtive

Answer 39

Marked by stealth

Question 40

Gregarious

Answer 40

Sociable, outgoing, enjoying the company of other people

Question 41

Harangue

Answer 41

To delivery a forceful or angry speech

Question 42

Heretical

Answer 42

Violating accepted dogma

Question 43

Hyperbole

Answer 43

An exaggerated statement

Question 44

Impecunious

Answer 44

Lacking funds

Question 45

Incipient

Answer 45

Beginning to come into being

Question 46

Inert

Answer 46

Unmoving, lethargic

Question 47

Innocuous

Answer 47

Harmless, causing no damage

Question 48

Intransigent

Answer 48

Refusing to compromise

Question 49

Inveigle

Answer 49

To obtain by deception or flattery

Question 50

Morose

Answer 50

Sad, sullen, melancholy

Question 51

Odious

Answer 51

Evoking intense aversion or dislike

Question 52

Opaque

Answer 52

Impenetrable by light

Question 53

Oscillation

Answer 53

The act or state of swinging back and forth

Question 54

Penurious

Answer 54

Excessively thrifty

Question 55

Pernicious

Answer 55

Harmful in a way that is not easily seen

Question 56

Peruse

Answer 56

To examine with great care

Question 57

Pious

Answer 57

Extremely reverent or devout

Question 58

Precursor

Answer 58

One that precedes and indicates or announces another

Question 59

Preen

Answer 59

To dress up with elaborate care

Question 60

Prodigious

Answer 60

Abundant in size, force, or extent

Question 61

Prolific

Answer 61

Large volumes, productive

Question 62

Putrefy

Answer 62

To rot or decay

Question 63

Quaff

Answer 63

To drink deeply

Question 64

Quiescence

Answer 64

Stillness

Question 65

Redoubtable

Answer 65

Awe-inspring

Question 66

Sanction

Answer 66

Authoritative permission or approval

Question 67

Satire

Answer 67

Literary work that ridicules human vices through humor

Question 68

Squalid

Answer 68

Sordid, wretched and dirty

Question 69

Stoic

Answer 69

Indifferent to pleasure or pain

Question 70

Supplant

Answer 70

To take the place of

Question 71

Torpid

Answer 71

Lethargic, sluggish, and dormant

Question 72

Ubiquitous

Answer 72

Existing everywhere, widepsread

Question 73

Urbane

Answer 73

Sophisticated and refined

Question 74

Vilify

Answer 74

To defame or characterize harshly

Question 75

Viscous

Answer 75

Thick and sticky