Manhattan Advanced GRE Word Flashcards
Manhattan GRE Advanced GRE Wordlist
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abase
Degrade or humble; to lower in rank, status, or esteem
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abeyance
Temporary suspension, inactivity
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abreast
Side-by-side. The more common “abreast of” means keeping up with, staying aware of, or remaining equal in progress with.
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abscission
Cutting off; sudden termination; the separation of leaves, petals, or other parts from a plant or animal
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abscond
Depart suddenly and secretively
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abyss
A deep and vast space or cavity; anything profound or infinite
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accede
Agree, give consent; assume power (usually as “accede to”)
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accretion
Gradual increase; an added part or addition
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acerbic
Sour; harsh or severe
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acidulous
Slightly acid or sour; sharp or caustic
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acumen
Keen, quick, accurate insight or judgment
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adulterate
Make impure by adding inappropriate or inferior ingredients
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adumbrate
Give a rough outline of; foreshadow; reveal only partially; obscure
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aerie
Dwelling or fortress built on a high place; the nest of a bird of prey, such as an eagle or hawk, built on a mountain or cliff
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albeit
Although, even though
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aloof
Distant physically or emotionally; reserved; indifferent
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amalgamate
Blend, merge, or unite
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ameliorate
Improve; make better or more bearable
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amortize
Gradually pay off a debt, or gradually write off an asset
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anachronism
Something that is not in its correct historical time; a mistake in chronology, such as by assigning a person or event to the wrong time period
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analgesia
Pain relief; inability to feel pain
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annul
Make void or null, cancel, abolish (usually of laws or other established rules)
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anodyne
Medicine that relieves pain (noun); soothing, relieving pain (adj)
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antedate
Be older than, precede in time; assign to an earlier date
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antithetical
Directly opposed, opposite; involving antithesis (the rhetorical act of placing two phrases opposite one another for contrast, as in love me or hate me)
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apostate
Person who deserts a party, cause, religion, etc.
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apostle
Pioneer of a reform movement (originally, an early follower of Jesus)
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apposite
Highly appropriate, suitable, or relevant
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apprise
Inform, give notice to
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approbation
Praise or approval, especially formal approval
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appropriate
Set aside or authorize (such as money) for a particular purpose; take for one’s own use
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arbiter
Judge, umpire, person empowered to decide matters at hand
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ardent
Very passionate, devoted, or enthusiastic
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arrogate
Claim or take presumptuously or without the right to do so
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ascribe
Assign or credit to a certain cause or source
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aseptic
Free from germs
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asperity
Rigor, severity; harshness or sharpness of tone; roughness of surface
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aspersions
Damaging remarks, defamation, slander
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assail
Attack violently, assault
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assiduous
Persevering, diligent, constant
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attenuate
Weaken or thin out
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attuned
In harmony; in sympathetic relationship
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augury
Telling the future, such as through supernatural means
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august
Venerable, majestic; inspiring admiration
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avarice
Insatiable greed; a miserly desire to hoard wealth
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axiom
Self-evident truth requiring no proof; universally or generally accepted principle
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balloon
Swell or puff out; increase rapidly
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banal
Lacking freshness and originality; clich¨¦
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bane
Something that ruins or spoils
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baying
Howling in a deep way, like a dog or wolf
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beneficent
Doing good
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bent
Personal inclination or tendency
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besiege
Attack, overwhelm, crowd in on or surround
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bevy
Group of birds or other animals that stay close together; any large group
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bifurcate
To fork into two branches or divide into two halves
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bilk
Cheat or defraud
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blight
Disease that kills plants rapidly, or any cause of decay or destruction (noun); ruin or cause to wither (verb)
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blithe
Joyous, merry; excessively carefree (so as to ignore more important concerns)
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bombastic
(Of speech or writing) far too showy or dramatic than is appropriate; pretentious
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bonhomie
Friendliness, open and simple good heartedness
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brandish
Shake, wave, or flourish, as a weapon
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brook
Suffer or tolerate
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bucolic
Pertaining to shepherds; suggesting a peaceful and pleasant view of rural life
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burnish
Polish, make smooth and lustrous
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calumny
Malicious lie intended to hurt someone’s reputation; the act of telling such lies
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canard
Rumor, a false or baseless story
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cardinal
Chief, most important
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catholic
Universal, broad-minded
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chicanery
Trickery, deception by knowingly false arguments
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circumscribe
Strictly limit a role, range of activity, or area; in math, to be constructed around so as to touch as many points as possible
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circumspect
Cautious, prudent; careful to consider the circumstances and consequences
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clamber
Climb awkwardly or with difficulty, scramble
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cloying
Disgustingly or distastefully sweet
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coagulate
Cause a liquid to become solid or semisolid
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coda
Final part of a musical composition; an ending, esp. one that sums up what has come before
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coffer
Chest for storing valuables; financial resources, a treasury
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collude
Conspire; cooperate for illegal or fraudulent purposes
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compendium
Concise but complete summary; a list or collection
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complaisant
Eager to please; cheerfully complying
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confound
Confuse, frustrate; mix up or make worse
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connote
Suggest or imply in addition to the precise, literal meaning
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contraries
Things that are opposing; either of two opposite things
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contrite
Remorseful; feeling sorry for one’s offenses or sins
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contumacious
Rebellious; stubbornly disobedient
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convoke
Call together, as to a meeting
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cosset
Treat as a pet, pamper
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coterie
Close or exclusive group, clique
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cupidity
Greed, great or excessive desire
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curmudgeon
Bad-tempered, difficult person; grouch
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declaim
Speak in an impassioned, pompous, or oratorical manner; give a formal speech
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declivity
Downward slope
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delimit
Fix, mark, or define the boundaries of
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demagogue
A leader who lies and gains power by arousing the passions and especially prejudices of the people
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demur
Show reluctance or object, especially for moral reasons
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desultory
Lacking consistency or order, disconnected, sporadic; going off topic
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diaphanous
Very sheer, fine, translucent
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dichotomy
Division into two parts or into two contradictory groups
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dictum
Formal or authoritative pronouncement; saying or proverb
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diffident
Lacking confidence, shy
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diffuse
Spread widely, disseminate (verb); dispersed, widely spread out, or wordy and going off-topic (adj)
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dilate
To become wider or make wider, cause to expand; to speak or write at length, elaborate upon
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dilatory
Slow, late; procrastinating or stalling for time
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dilettante
Person who takes up an art or activity for amusement only or in a superficial way
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dirge
A funeral or mourning song or poem
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discomfiting
Disconcerting, confusing, frustrating
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discordant
Harsh or inharmonious in sound; disagreeing, incongruous
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discrete
Separate, distinct, detached, existing as individual parts
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disparage
Belittle, put down; bring shame upon, discredit
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disparate
Distinct, different
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dissemble
Mislead, conceal the truth, put on a false appearance of
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dissolution
Dissolving, the state of having been dissolved; breaking bonds or breaking up of a group of people; death, disintegration; sinking into extreme hedonism, vice, and degradation
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distaff
Female, esp. relating to the maternal side of the family; women or women’s work; a staff that holds wool or flax for spinning
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distend
Swell, expand, stretch, bloat
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dither
Act indecisively (verb); a state of fear or trembling excitement
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diurnal
Occurring every day; happening in the daytime (rather than at night)
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doctrinaire
Person who applies doctrine in an impractical or rigid and close-minded way (noun); merely theoretical, impractical, or fanatical about other people accepting one’s ideas (adj)
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doff
Take off (such as clothes), put aside; remove one’s hat as a gesture
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dovetail
Join or fit together
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droll
Funny in an odd way
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dupe
Person who is easily fooled or used (noun); to fool or exploit (verb)
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duplicity
Deceit, double-dealing, acting in two different ways for the purpose of deception
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dyspeptic
Grumpy, pessimistic, irritable; suffering from dyspepsia (indigestion)
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ebullient
Very enthusiastic, lively, excited; bubbling as though being boiled
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echelon
A level, rank or grade; the people at that level
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edify
Uplift, enlighten, instruct or improve in a spiritual or moral way
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effigy
Representation or image of a person, esp. a crude facsimile used to mock a hated person
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effrontery
Shameless boldness
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egress
An exit or the action of exiting
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elegy
Song or poem of sorrow, esp. for a deceased person
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emaciate
Make abnormally thin, cause to physically waste away
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encomium
Warm, glowing praise, esp. a formal expression of praise
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endemic
Native, local; natural, specific to, or confined to a particular place
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engender
Produce, give rise to, cause to exist; procreate
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epicure
Person with cultivated, refined tastes, esp. in food and wine
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equanimity
Composure, evenness of mind; mental or emotional stability, esp. under stress
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equivocate
Use unclear language to deceive or avoid committing to a position
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ersatz
Artificial, synthetic; being an inferior substitute
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erstwhile
Former, previous (adj); in the past, formerly (adv)
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ethos
The character, personality, or moral values specific to a person, group, time period, etc.
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euphemism
Substitution of a mild, inoffensive, or indirect expression for one that is considered offensive or too direct
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euphony
Pleasing or sweet sound, especially as formed by a harmonious use of words
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exigent
Requiring immediate attention, action, or aid; excessively demanding
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exonerate
Clear from blame or accusation; free from a responsibility
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expedient
Suitable, proper; effective, often at the expense of ethics or other considerations
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expurgate
Censor; remove objectionable or offensive parts
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extemporaneous
Done without preparation (esp. of a speech), or with some preparation but no notes; improvised, done on the spur of the moment
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faction
Group or clique within a larger organization; party strife and dissension
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fallow
Left unplanted (of land); not in use
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fastidious
Excessively particular, difficult to please; painstaking, meticulous, requiring excessive attention to detail
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fatuous
Foolish, silly, esp. in a smug or complacent manner
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fawn
Show affection or try to please in the manner of a dog; try to win favor through flattery and submissive behavior
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fecund
Fruitful, fertile; capable of abundantly producing offspring, vegetation, or creative or intellectual work
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felicitous
Admirably appropriate, very well-suited for the occasion; pleasant, fortunate, marked by happiness
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fervid
Very hot; heated in passion or enthusiasm
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fetid
Stinking; having an offensive smell
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fledgling
A young bird that has just recently gotten its feathers, an inexperienced person (noun); new or inexperienced (adj)
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florid
Reddish or rosy; flowery, showy, or excessively fancy
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flout
Treat with disdain, contempt, or scorn (usually of rules)
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fluke
Stroke of luck, something accidentally successful
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forage
Wander in search of; rummage, hunt, make a raid
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ford
Place where a river or similar body of water is shallow enough to walk or ride a vehicle across (noun); to cross at such a place (verb)
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forestall
Delay, hinder, prevent by taking action beforehand
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fortuitous
Happening by chance; lucky
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fracas
Noisy disturbance or fight; brawl
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fractious
Unruly, troublemaking; irritable
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frenetic
Wildly excited, frantic, distracted
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fulminate
Explode, detonate; attack verbally in a vehement, thunderous way
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furtive
Done secretly; stealthy, sly, shifty
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gambol
Frolic; skip or leap playfully
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garner
Gather and store; amass, collect
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gestation
Pregnancy; the period from conception until birth of an animal or (metaphorically) of an idea or plan
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glacial
Pertaining to glaciers; cold, icy, slow, unsympathetic
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glower
Stare in an angry, sullen way
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goad
Urge on (as cattle) with a pointed or electrically charged stick; spur on, stimulate, encourage
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gouge
Scooping or digging tool, like a chisel, or a hole made with such a tool (noun); cut or scoop out; force out a person’s eye with one’s thumb; swindle, extort money from (verb)
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graft
Insert part of a plant into another plant, where it continues to grow; join living tissue (such as skin) to part of the body where it will continue to live and grow; attach as if by grafting (verb); the part so grafted (as in a graft of skin); the act of acquiring money or other benefits through illegal means, esp. by abusing one’s power (noun)
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grandiloquent
Relating to lofty speech, esp. to the point of being pompous, overblown, bombastic
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grandstand
Perform showily in an attempt to impress onlookers
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grating
Irritating; harsh or discordant (of a noise); scraping
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grievous
Causing grief or suffering; very serious, grave; flagrant, outrageous
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grouse
Complain or grumble (verb); a reason for complaint (noun)
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grovel
Creep or crawl with one’s face to the ground, prostrate oneself as a token of subservience, degrade or abase oneself
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halcyon
Calm and peaceful, carefree; prosperous, successful, happy
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hallmark
A mark indicating quality, purity, genuineness, etc.; any distinguishing characteristic
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hand-wringing
Grasping, squeezing, etc. of the hands as an expression of nervousness, guilt, etc.; extend debate over what to do about an issue
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hapless
Unlucky, unfortunate
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harangue
Long, intense verbal attack, esp. when delivered publicly
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harrow
Farming tool that breaks up soil (noun); painfully disturb or distress (verb)
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hedge
Avoid commitment by leaving provisions for withdrawal or changing one’s mind; protect a bet by also betting on the other side
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hegemony
Domination, authority; influence by one country over others socially, culturally, economically, etc.
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hermetic
Airtight, sealed, isolated; reclusive; pertaining to alchemy, occult
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hew
Strike, chop, or hack (as with an axe, sword. etc.); make or shape something (such as a statue) with a cutting tool
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hoary
Very old, gray or white as from old age
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homage
Honor or respect demonstrated publicly
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hoodwink
Trick, deceive
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hotly
In an intense, fiery, or heated way
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husband
Manage prudently, sparingly, or economically; conserve
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iconoclast
Attacker of cherished beliefs or institutions
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idolatry
Idol worship; excessive or unthinking devotion or adoration
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idyllic
Presenting a positive, peaceful view of rural life (as poetry or prose); pleasant in a natural, simple way