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MSU Flashcards

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1
Q

aberrant

A

deviating from normal or correct

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2
Q

abscond

A

to leave secretly and hide, often to avoid the law

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3
Q

aggrandize

A

to make greater, to increase, thus, to exaggerate

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4
Q

amalgamate

A

to unite or mix

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5
Q

ambrosial

A

extremely pleasing to the senses, divine or delicious

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6
Q

anomalous

A

peculiar; unique, contrary to the norm

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7
Q

antediuvian

A

ancient; outmoded

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8
Q

arbitrate

A

to settle a dispute by impulse

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9
Q

assuage

A

to make less severe; to appease or satisfy

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10
Q

attenuate

A

weaken

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11
Q

audacious

A

extremely bold; fearless, especially said of human behavior

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12
Q

aver

A

to declare

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13
Q

banal

A

commonplace or trite

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14
Q

blandishment

A

speech or action intended to coax someone into doing something

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15
Q

bombast

A

pompous speech

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16
Q

burgeon

A

to grow or flourish; a bud or new growth

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17
Q

buttress

A

to support

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18
Q

cadge

A

to get something by taking advantage of someone

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19
Q

caprice

A

impulse

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20
Q

castigate

A

to chastise or criticize severely

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21
Q

caustic

A

capable of dissolving by chemical action; highly critical

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22
Q

chicanery

A

deception by trickery

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23
Q

conflagration

A

a great fire

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24
Q

corporeal

A

of or having to do with material, as opposed to spiritual; tangible

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25
Q

craven

A

cowardly; a coward

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26
Q

dearth

A

lack, scarcity

The prosecutor complained about the dearth of concrete evidence against the suspect.

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27
Q

deference

A

submission or courteous yielding

He held his tongue in deference to his father.

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28
Q

descry

A

to make clear, to say

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29
Q

desiccate

A

to dry out thoroughly

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30
Q

diatribe

A

a bitter abusive denunciation

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31
Q

diffident

A

lacking self-confidence, modest

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32
Q

disabuse

A

to free a person from falsehood or error

We had to disabuse her of the notion that she was invited.

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33
Q

disparaging

A

belittling

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34
Q

dissemble

A

to conceal one’s real motive, to feign

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35
Q

dogged

A

stubborn or determined

Her dogged pursuit of the degree eventually paid off.

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36
Q

eclectic

A

selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources

Many modern decorator prefer an eclectic style.

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37
Q

effluent

A

the quality of flowing out; something that flows out, such as a stream from a river

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38
Q

emollient

A

softening; something that softens

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39
Q

emulate

A

to strive to equal or excel

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40
Q

encomium

A

a formal eulogy or speech of praise

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41
Q

endemic

A

prevalent in or native to a certain region, locality, or people

The disease was endemic to the region

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42
Q

enervate

A

to weaken or destroy the strength or vitality of

The heat enervated everyone.

43
Q

engender

A

to give rise to, to propagate, to cause

His slip of the tongue engendered much laughter.

44
Q

equivocal

A

ambiguous; unclear; subject to more than one interpretation, often intentionally so

Republicans complained that Bill Clinton’s answers were equivocal

45
Q

esoteric

A

intended for or understood by only a few

The esoteric discussion confused some people.

46
Q

exorbitant

A

exceeding customary or normal limits, especially in quantity or price

The cab fare was exorbitant.

47
Q

fawn

A

to seek favor or attention; to act subserviantly

48
Q

feign

A

to give false appearance or impression

He feigned illness to avoid going to school.

49
Q

floundering

A

struggling

We tried to save the floundering business.

50
Q

garrulous

A

verbose; talkative, rambling

51
Q

guile

A

skillful deceit

52
Q

impecunious

A

penniless, poor

53
Q

imperious

A

commanding

54
Q

improvidence

A

an absence of foresight; a failure to provide for future needs or events

Their improvidence resulted in the loss of their home.

55
Q

inchoate

A

in an initial or early stage; incomplete, disorganized

The act of writing forces one to clarify inchoate thoughts.

56
Q

incorrigible

A

not capable of being corrected

The school board finally decided James of incorrigible and expelled him from school.

57
Q

indelible

A

permanent; un-erasable; strong

The Queen made an indelible impression on her subjects

58
Q

ineffable

A

indescribable; inexpressible in words; unspeakable

59
Q

ingenuous

A

unsophisticated, artless; straightforward, candid

Wilson’s ingenuous response to the controversial calmed the suspicious listeners.

60
Q

insipid

A

lacking zest or excitement; dull

61
Q

insular

A

of or pertaining to an island, thus, excessively exclusive

Newcomers found it difficult to make friends in the insular community.

62
Q

intransigent

A

stubborn; immovable; unwilling to change

She was so intransigent that we finally gave up trying to convince her.

63
Q

irascible

A

prone to outbursts of temper, easily angered

64
Q

laconic

A

using few words; terse

65
Q

latent

A

present or potential but not evident or active

66
Q

leviathan

A

giant whale; something very large

67
Q

loquacious

A

talkative

68
Q

lugubrious

A

weighty, mournful, or gloomy, especially to an excessive degree

Jake’s lugubrious monologues depressed his friends.

69
Q

nefarous

A

wicked, evil

70
Q

noisome

A

harmful, offensive, destructive

The noisome odor of the dump carried for miles.

71
Q

obdurate

A

hardened against influence or feeling; intractable

72
Q

obviate

A

to prevent by anticipatory measures; to make unnecessary

73
Q

occlude

A

to close or shut off; to obstruct

74
Q

ossified

A

turned to bone; hardened like bone; inflexible

The ossified culture failed to adapt to new economic conditions and died out.

75
Q

panegyric

A

a writing or speech in praise of person or thing

76
Q

peccadillo

A

a small sin or fault

77
Q

pedantic

A

showing a narrow concern for rules or formal book learning; making excessive display of one’s learning

We quickly tired of his pedantic conversation.

78
Q

perfidious

A

deliberately treacherous; dishonest

79
Q

petulant

A

easily or frequently annoyed, especially over trivial matters; childishly irritable

80
Q

phlegmatic

A

not easily excited; cool; slugglish

81
Q

plethora

A

excessively large quantity; overabundance

We received a plethora of applications for this position.

82
Q

ponderous

A

heavy; massive; awkward; dull

A ponderous book is better than a sleeping pill.

83
Q

precipice

A

cliff with a vertical or nearly vertical face; a dangerous place from which one is likely to fall; metaphorically, a very risky circumstance

84
Q

prevaricate

A

to stray away from or evade the truth

When we asked him what his intentions were, he prevaricated.

85
Q

prodigal

A

rashly wasteful

Americans’ prodigal devotion to the automobile is unique.

86
Q

propitiate

A

to conciliate; to appease

They made sacrifices to propitiate the angry gods.

87
Q

pulchritudinous

A

beautiful

88
Q

pusillanimous

A

cowardly, timid; petty

The pusillanimous leader soon lost the respect of his people.

89
Q

quiescence

A

inactivity, stillness, dormancy

90
Q

rarefy

A

to make or become thin; to purify or refine

91
Q

reproof

A

the act of censuring, scolding, or rebuking

92
Q

rescind

A

to repeal or annul

93
Q

sagacious

A

having a sharp or powerful intellect of discernment

94
Q

saturnine

A

having a gloomy or morose temperament

95
Q

savant

A

a very knowledgeable person; a genious

96
Q

sedulous

A

diligent; persevering; persistent

her sedulous devotion to overcoming her background impressed many.

97
Q

specious

A

seemingly true by really false; deceptively convincing or attractive

her argument, thought specious, was readily accepted by many.

98
Q

tirade

A

an angry speech

99
Q

turpitude

A

depravity; baseness

Mr. Castor was fired for moral turpitude.

100
Q

tyro

A

beginner; person lacking experience in a specific endeavor

101
Q

vacuous

A

empty, without contents; without ideas or intelligence

102
Q

viscous

A

slow moving; highly resistant to flow

103
Q

voracious

A

craving or devouring large quantities of food, drinks, or other things

GRE Vocabulary (11 decks)

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