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More GRE Words Flashcards

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GRE® Vocabulary flashcards
1
Q

savor

A

enjoy, have a distinct flavor, smell or quality

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2
Q

caustic

A

burning, sarcastically biting

“the critic’s caustic remarks angered the hapless actors who were the subjects of his sarcasm.”

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3
Q

solicitous

A

worried, concerned

“the employer was very solicitous about the health of her employees”

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4
Q

perjury

A

false testimony while under oath

“Orange is the New Black committed perjury”

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5
Q

frugality

A

thrift, economy

“in hard times, anyone who doesn’t practice frugality risks bankruptcy”

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6
Q

tractable

A

docile, easily managed

“although Susan seemed a tractable young woman, she had a stubborn streak of independence”

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7
Q

mitigate

A

lessen in intensity, moderate, appease

“using solar power may help to mitigate global warming”

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8
Q

admonish

A

warn, reprove

“I admonish you not to go down there”

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9
Q

tangential

A

peripheral, only slightly connected, digressing

“the tangential ideas didn’t make much sense”

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10
Q

loquacious

A

talkative

“though our daughter barely speaks to us, she is very loquacious with her friends”

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11
Q

ephemeral

A

short-lived, fleeting

“the mayfly is an ephemeral creature, its adult life lasts little more than a day”

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12
Q

implicit

A

understood but not state

“Jack never told Jill he loved her, he believed his love was implicit”

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13
Q

distention/distend

A

the act of distending or state of being distended (expand, swell out)
“I can tell when he is under stress by the way the veins distend on his forehead”

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14
Q

amalgamate

A

combine, unite in one body

“the unions will attempt to amalgamate their groups into one national body”

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15
Q

nonplussed

A

to bring to a halt by confusion, perplex

“Jack’s uncharacteristic rudeness nonplussed Jill, leaving her uncertain how to react”

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16
Q

inured

A

accustomed, hardened

“she became inured to the Alaskan cold”

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17
Q

ostracism

A

ostracize, exclude from public favor, ban

“in those days, unmarried mothers suffered ostracism”

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18
Q

capricious

A

unpredictable, fickle

“the storm was capricious, it changed course constantly”

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19
Q

onerous

A

burdensome

“she asked for an assistant because her work load was too onerous”

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20
Q

stratagem

A

cleverly contrived, trick or scheme for gaining an end

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21
Q

euphemism

A

mild expression in place of an unpleasant one

“the expression ‘he passed away’ is a euphemism for ‘he died’”

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22
Q

enervate

A

weaken

“she was slow to recover from her illness, even a short walk enervated her”

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23
Q

pedantic

A

showing off learning, bookish, narrow focus on learning, ostentatiously learned
“the minor inaccuracies will stir only the pedantic”

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24
Q

eclectic (2)

A

(1) selective

(2) diverse

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25
Q

probity

A

uprightness, incorruptibility

“the defense attorney questioned the probity of the witness”

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26
Q

goad

A

urge on

“she was goaded by her friends until she yielded to their wishes”

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27
Q

vitiate

A

to make faulty of defective

“luxury vitiates even the most principled person”

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28
Q

approbation

A

approval

“wanting her parents’ regard, she looked for some sign of their approbation”

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29
Q

calibrate

A

to ascertain the caliber of, to determine, rectify, or mark the graduations of, to adjust precisely
“they carefully calibrated the dosage of the medicine”

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30
Q

porous

A

full of pores, like a sieve

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31
Q

membrane

A

a thin sheet or layer; especially : a thin sheet or layer of tissue that is part of a plant or an animal’s body

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32
Q

unfeigned

A

genuine, real

“she turned so pale that I am sure her surprise was unfeigned”

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33
Q

prone (2)

A

(1) inclined
“she was prone to sudden fits of anger during which she would lie prone on the floor screaming”
(2) prostrate

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34
Q

anomalous/anomaly

A

abnormal, irregular

“she was placed in the anomalous position of seeming to approve procedures that she despised”

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35
Q

secrete

A

hide away or cache, produce & release a substance into an organism
“the pancreas secretes insulin in the islets of Langerhans”

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36
Q

commensurate

A

corresponding in extent, degree, amount, etc. proportionate “commensurate with experience”
equal in measure or extent : coextensive
: corresponding in size, extent, amount, or degree : proportionate

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37
Q

belie

A

contradict, give a false impression

“his coarse, hard-bitten exterior belied his innate sensitivity”

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38
Q

ebullient

A

showing liveliness and enthusiasm

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39
Q

candor

A

frankness, open honestly

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40
Q

diffuse

A

“if you pay authors by the word you tempt them to produce diffuse manuscripts”

wordy, rambling, spread out (like gas)

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41
Q

ingenuity

A

“she showed amazing ingenuity in finding ways to cut costs”

a skill or cleverness in devising or combining, inventiveness

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42
Q

unfettered

A

“chained to the wall for months, the hostage despaired he would never be unfettered”

liberated, freed from chains

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43
Q

magnanimity

A

“noted for his magnanimity, he donated millions to charity”

generosity

44
Q

soliloquy

A

“the soliloquy is a device used by the dramatist to reveal a character’s innermost thoughts and emotions”

talking to oneself

45
Q

imperturbable

A

calm, placid

“wellington remained imperturbable and in full command of the situation”

46
Q

beneficent

A

kindly, doing good

“the overgenerous philanthropist had to curb his beneficent impulses before he gave all of his money away”

47
Q

extemporaneous

A

not planned, impromptu

“because her extemporaneous remarks were misunderstood, she decided to write all speeches in advanced”

48
Q

opprobrium

A

infamy, vilification

“he refused to defend himself against the slander and opprobrium hurled against him by the press”

49
Q

repudiated

A

disown, disavow

On divorce, Tina said she would repudiate all debts incurred by her ex-husband”

50
Q

spurious

A

false, counterfeit, forged, illogical

“a spurious work of art”

51
Q

intemperance

A

lack of moderation, especially habitual/excessive drinking of intoxicants
“there’s a wearisome intemperance in his verbal attacks against anyone who disagrees with him”

52
Q

restitution

A

reparation, indemnification

“he offered to make restitution for the window broken by his son”

53
Q

marginal

A

“the poor are forced to cultivate marginal lands higher up the mountain”

written/printed in the margin, at the border, not of central important

54
Q

derision

A

the use of ridicule or scorn to show contempt

“one of the students laughed in derision at my error”

55
Q

engender

A

cause, produce

“to receive praise for real accomplishments engenders self-confidence in a child”

56
Q

deference

A

courteous regard for another’s wish

“in deference to the minister’s request, please do not take pictures during the wedding service”

57
Q

craven

A

cowardly

“the craven fellow turned and ran”

58
Q

penchant

A

strong inclination, liking

“Dave has a penchant for taking risks, he loves cliff jumping”

59
Q

temper

A

moderate, tone down or restrain, toughen steel

“not even her supervisor’s grumpiness could temper Nancy’s enthusiasm for her new job”

60
Q

discomfit

A

put to rout, defeat, disconcert

“this ruse will discomfit the enemy”

61
Q

circumspect

A

prudent, cautious

“investigating before acting, she tried always to be circumspect”

62
Q

fatuous

A

brainless, inane, foolish, yet smug

“fatheads are by definition fatuous”

63
Q

glib

A

fluent, facile, silk, marked by ease and informality, superficial, lacking intellectual depth
“the kitchen gadget salesman was a glib speaker, never at a loss for words”

64
Q

stint

A

be thrifty, set limits, supply, allotted amount

“the brides father refused to stint on the wedding arrangements”

65
Q

convoluted

A

coiled around, involved, intricate

“his argument was so convoluted that few of us could follow it intelligently”

66
Q

tortuous

A

“because this road is so tortuous, it is unwise to go any faster”

winding, full of curves

67
Q

penury

A

severe poverty, stinginess

“he became such a penny-pincher that he turned into a closefisted, penurious miser”

68
Q

miser

A

a mean, grasping person, especially one who is extremely stingy with money
“even old Scrooge ceased being miserly on Christmas Eve”

69
Q

tacit

A

understood, not put into words

“we have a tacit agreement based only on a handshake”

70
Q

discordant

A

not harmonious, conflicting

“nothing is quite so discordant as the sound of a junior high school orchestra tuning up”

71
Q

antipathy

A

aversion, dislike

“Tom’s extreme antipathy for disputes keeps him from getting into any arguments”

72
Q

recalcitrant

A

“Which animal do you think is more recalcitrant, a pig or a mule”

obstinately stubborn, determined to resist authority, unruly

73
Q

solvent

A

able to pay all debts

“by dint of very frugal living, he was finally able to become solvent & avoid bankruptcy”

74
Q

derivative

A

unoriginal, obtained from another source

“although her early poetry was clearly derivative in nature, the critics thought she would soon find her own voice”

75
Q

pristine

A

“the area has been preserved in all its pristine wilderness”

characteristic of earlier times, primitive, unspoiled

76
Q

banal

A

hackneyed, commonplace, trite, lacking originality

“the writer’s worn out cliche’s made his comic sketch seem banal”

77
Q

tout

A

publicize, praise, excessively

“I lost confidence in my broker after he touted some junk bonds”

78
Q

preempt

A

head off, forestall by acting first, appropriate for oneself, supplant
“The President’s speech preempted regular programming.”

79
Q

corroborate

A

confirm, support

“though Huck was willing to corroborate Tom’s story, Aunt Polly knew better”

80
Q

blithe

A

“she was loved for her blithe spirit”

carefree and concerned (foolishly so), cheerful, gay

81
Q

quiescence

A

at rest, dormant, temporarily inactive

“it was a surprise that the volcano erupted, it had been quiescent for 100 years”

82
Q

denigrate

A

blacken

“all attempts to denigrate the character of the president have failed, the people still love him”

83
Q

aberrant

A

abnormal or deviant

“given the aberrant nature of the data, we came to doubt the validity of the experiment”

84
Q

discrete

A

separate, unconnected, consisting of distinct parts

85
Q

consternation

A

amazement of dismay that hinders or throws into confusion

“the candidate cause consternation among his supporters by changing positions on a key issue”

86
Q

rectify

A

set right, correct

“you had better send a check to rectify your account before they cancel your credit card”

87
Q

intransigent

A

characterized by refusal to compromise or to abandon an extreme position or attitude
“He remained intransigent in his opposition to the proposal”

88
Q

sardonic

A

disdainfully or skeptically humorous, derisively mocking

89
Q

mundane

A

worldly as opposed to spiritual; everyday

“Tom talked of only mundane matters such as the weather”

90
Q

divest

A

strip, deprive

“he was divested of his power to act and could no longer govern”

91
Q

burnish

A

make shinny by rubbing, polish

“the maid burnished the brass fixtures until they reflected the light”

92
Q

arbitrary

A

“the coach claimed the team lost because the umpire made some arbitrary calls”

unreasonable, or capricious, tyrannical, unpredictable

93
Q

apprise

A

“When NASA was apprised of dangerous weather conditions, the shuttle launch was postponed”

to be informed

94
Q

propitiate

A

“The natives offered sacrifices to propitiate the gods”

appease

95
Q

surfeit

A

satiate, stuff, indulge to excess in anything

“every thanksgiving we are surfeited with an overabundance of food”

96
Q

obdurate

A

“He was obdurate in his refusal to listen to our complaints”

stubborn

97
Q

condone

A

overlook, forgive, give tacit approval, excuse

“she would not condone her husband’s infidelity”

98
Q

superfluous

A

excessive, over-abundant, unnecessary

“Try not to include so many superfluous details in your report”

99
Q

wheedle

A

cajole, coax, deceive by flattery

“she knows she can wheedle almost anything she wants from her father”

100
Q

veneration

A

venerate, revere, religious zeal

“In Tibet today, the common people still venerate their traditional spiritual leader, the Dalia Lama”

101
Q

warranted

A

justified, authorized

“before the judge issues the injunction, you must convince her this action is warranted”

102
Q

propagate

A

multiply, spread

“bacteria propagate more quickly in high blood sugar”

103
Q

epitome

A

perfect example of embodiment

“John is the epitome of a good student, he studies frequently and pays attention in class”

104
Q

prudent

A

cautious, careful

“A miser hoards money not because he is prudent but because he is greedy”

105
Q

succinct

A

brief, tense, compact

“don’t bore your audience with excess verbiage, but succinct”

GRE Vocab Words (11 decks)

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