Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

GRE vocab > P > Flashcards

P Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
GRE® Vocabulary flashcards GRE® Psychology flashcards
1
Q

Porous

A

Adj:

Permeable by water, air; not secure:

He ran through a porous defense to score easily.

Synonym: penetrable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Petulant

A

Adj

Childishly sulky or bad-tempered:

He was moody and petulant.

Synonym: irritable; disgruntled

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Pliant

A

Adj

Flexible; easily bent:

Pliant teenager mind

Synonym: yielding; susceptible

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Placid

A

Adj

Not easily upset or excited:

This horse has a placid nature.

Synonym: tranquil; mild

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Precarious

A

Adj

Dependent on chance; uncertain; dangerously likely to fall or collapse:

She made a precarious living by living.

Synonym: risky; dangerous

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Punctilious

A

Adj

Showing great attention to detail or correct behavior:

How was punctilious in providing every amenity for his guests.

Synonym: meticulous; scrupulous; methodical

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Panegyric

A

Noun

A public speech or published text in praise of someone or something:

Panegyrics and satires were his chief instruments.

Synonym: eulogy; tribute

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Phlegmatic

A

Adj

Having an unemotional and stolidly calm disposition:

He was phlegmatic when his dog died.

Synonym: composed; placid; imperturbable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Precursor

A

Noun

A person or thing that comes before another of the same kind; a forerunner:

So far he may be fairly called the precursor of later utilitarianism.

Synonym: ancestor

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Pejorative

A

Adj

having a disparaging, derogatory, or belittling effect or force:

Isn’t there a suggestion that “poetess” is slightly pejorative?

Synonym: derogatory; slighting

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Penchant

A

Noun

a strong or habitual liking for something or tendency to do something:

He has a penchant for adopting stray dogs.

Synonym: relish; preference

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Precocious

A

Adj

(of a child) having developed certain abilities or proclivities at an earlier age than usual:

He was a precocious for winning national chess champion at 9th grade.

Synonym: talented; gifted

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Palatial

A

Adj

Relating to a palace; magnificent:

After living in a cramped studio apartment for years, Lisa thought the modest one-bedroom looked downright palatial.

Synonym: grand; sublime

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Palliate

A

Verb

To make less serious; ease:

The alleged crime was so vicious that the defense lawyer could not palliate it for the jury.

Synonym: alleviate; assuage; extenuate; mitigate; mollify; placate; propitiate

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Pallid

A

Adj

Lacking color or liveliness:

The old drugstore’s pallid window could not compete with Wal-Mart’s extravagant display next door.

Synonym: ashen; blanched; pale; livid

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Panache

A

Noun

Flamboyance or dash in style and action; flair:

Leah has such a panache when planning parties, even when they’re last-minute affairs.

Synonym: flair

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Panoply

A

Noun

Impressive array:

Her resume indicates a panoply of skills and accomplishments:

Synonym: array; display; range

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Paradox

A

Noun

A contradiction or dilemma:

It is a paradox that those most in need of medical attention are often those least able to obtain it.

Synonym: ambiguity; incongruity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Paragon

A

Noun

Model of excellence or perfection:

He is the paragon of what a judge should be: honest, intelligent, hardworking, and just.

Synonym: apotheosis; ideal; quintessence; standard

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Pare

A

Verb

To trim off excess, reduce:

The cook’s hands were sore after she pared hundreds of potatoes.

Synonym: clip; peel

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Pariah

A

Noun

an outcast:

Once he betrayed those in his community, he was banished and lived the life of pariah.

Synonym: castaway; derelict;

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Parley

A

Noun

Discussion, usually between enemies:

The parley between the rival cheerleading teams resulted in neither side admitting that they copied the other’s dance moves.

Synonym: debate; dialogue; negotiations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Parry

A

Verb

To ward off or deflect, especially by a quick-witted answer:

Katty parried every question the army officers fired at her, much to their frustration.

Synonym: avoid; evade;repel

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Pastiche

A

Noun

Piece of literature or music imitating other works:

The singer’s clever pastiche of the well-known children’s story had the audience rolling in the aisles.

Synonym: medley; spoof

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Pathogenic

A

Adj

Causing disease:

Nina’s research on the origins of pathogenic microorganisms should help stop the spread of disease.

Synonym: infecting; noxious

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Peccadillo

A

Noun

Minor sin or offense:

Gabe tends to harp on his brother’s peccadillos and never lets him live them down.

Synonym: failing; fault; lapse; misstep

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

Pedant

A

Noun

Someone who shows off learning:

The graduate instructor’s tedious and excessive commentary on the subject soon gained her a reputation as a pedant.

Synonym: doctrinaire; nit-picker

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Penury

A

Noun

An oppressive ack of resources ( as money ); severe poverty:

Once a famous actor, he eventually died in penury and anonymity.

Synonym: destitution; impoverishment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

Peregrinate

A

Verb

To wander from place to place; to travel, especially on foot:

Lisa enjoyed peregrinating the expansive ground of Central Park.

Synonym: journey; traverse; trek

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

Perfidious

A

Adj

Willing to betray one’s trust:

The actress’s perfidious companion revealed all of her intimate secrets to the columnist.

Synonym: disloyal; faithless; traitorous

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

Perfunctory

A

Adj

Done in a routine way; indifferent:

The machine-like teller processed the transaction and gave the waiting customer a perfunctory smile.

Synonym: apathetic; automatic

32
Q

Peripatetic

A

Adj

Wandering from place to place, especially on foot:

Lisa’s peripatetic meanderings took her all over the countryside in the summer months.

Synonym: itinerant; nomadic; wayfaring

33
Q

Permeate

A

Verb

To penetrate

Synonym: imbue; pervade; suffuse

34
Q

Perspicacious

A

Adj

Shrewd, astute, keen-witted:

Inspector Pete used his perspicacious mind to solve mysteries.

Synonym: insightful; sagacious; circumspect; judicious

35
Q

Pervade

A

Verb

To be present throughout, to permeate:

Four spices pervade almost every indian dish, and give the cuisine its distinctive flavor.

Synonym: imbue; permeate

36
Q

Phalanx

A

Noun

A compact or close-knit body of people, animal, or things:

A phalanx of guards stood outside the prime minister’s home day and night.

Synonym: legion; mass

37
Q

Philanthropy

A

Noun

Charity; a desire or effort to promote goodness:

The MET owes much of its collection to the philanthropy of private collectors who willed their estates to the museum.

Synonym: altruism; humanitarianism.

38
Q

Philistine

A

Noun

A person who is guided by materialism and is disdainful of intellectual or artistic values:

The philistine never even glanced at the rare violin in his collection but instead kept an eye on its value and sold it at a profit.

Synonym: Boor; bourgeois; capitalist; vulgarian

39
Q

Pithy

A

Adj

Profound, substantial; concise, succinct, to the point:

Martha’s pithy comments during the interview must have been impressive because she got the job.

Synonym: brief; laconic; reticent; taciturn

40
Q

Placate

A

Verb

To soothe or pacify:

The burglar tried to placate the snarling dog by referring to it as a “Nice Doggy” and offering it a treat.

Synonym: appease; mollify

41
Q

Plastic

A

Adj

Able to be molded, altered, or bent

Synonym: adaptable; ductile; malleable; pliant

42
Q

Plebeian

A

Adj

Crude or coarse; characteristic of commoners:

After five weeks of rigorous studying, the graduate settled in for a weekend of plebeian socializing and television watching.

Synonym: conventional; unrefined

43
Q

Plethora

A

Noun

Excess

Synonym: glut; overabundance; surfeit; superfluity

44
Q

Plucky

A

Adj

Courageous, spunky:

The plucky young nurse dove into the foxhole, determined to help the wounded soldier.

Synonym: bold; grave; gutsy

45
Q

Polemic

A

Noun

Controversy, argument; verbal attack:

The candidate’s polemic against his opponent was vicious and small-minded rather than convincing and well-reasoned.

Synonym: denunciation; refutation

46
Q

Politic

A

Adj

Shrewd and practical in managing or dealing with things; diplomatic:

Synonym: tactful

47
Q

Polyglot

A

Noun

A speaker of many languages:

Ling’s extensive travels have helped her to become a true polyglot.

48
Q

Posit

A

Verb

To assume as real or conceded; propose as an explanation:

Before proving the math formula, we needed to posit that x and y were real numbers.

Synonym: suggest

49
Q

Potentate

A

Noun

A Monarch or ruler with great power:

Alex was much kinder before he assumed the role of potentate.

Synonym: dominator; leader; magnate

50
Q

Pragmatic

A

Adj

Practical, as opposed to idealistic:

While idealistic gamblers think they can get rich by requesting casinos, pragmatic gamblers realize that the odds are heavily stacked against them.

Synonym: rational; realistic

51
Q

Prattle

A

Noun

Meaningless, foolish talk:

Her husband’s mindless prattle drove Heidi insane; sometimes she wished he would just shut up.

Synonym: babble; blather; chatter; gibberish

52
Q

Precipitate

A

Verb

To throw violently or bring about abruptly; lacking deliberation:

Bob and Edna’s whirlwind courtship precipitated their hasty nuptials.

Synonym: hurl; rush; impetuous

53
Q

Precis

A

Noun

Short summary of facts:

Fara wrote a precis of her thesis on the epic poem to share with the class.

Synonym: summation

54
Q

Prescient

A

Adj

Having foresight:

Jonah’s decision to sell the apartment seemed to be a prescient one, as its value soon dropped by half.

Synonym: augural; divinatory; mantic; oracular; premonitory

55
Q

Prevaricate

A

Verb

To lie or deviate from the truth, beat around the bush:

Rather than admit that he had overslept again, the employee prevaricated and claimed that heavy traffic had prevented him from arriving at work on time.

Synonym: equivocate; lie; perjure

56
Q

Pristine

A

Adj

Fresh and clean, uncorrupted:

Since concerted measures had been taken to prevent looting, the archeological she was still pristine when researchers arrived.

Synonym: innocent; undamaged

57
Q

Probity

A

Noun

Complete honesty and integrity:

George Washington’s reputation for probity is illustrated in the legend about his inability to lie after he chopped down the cherry tree.

Synonym: integrity; morality; rectitude; uprightness; virtue

58
Q

Proclivity

A

Noun

A natural inclination or predisposition:

Her childhood love of acting, singing, and adoration indicted a proclivity for the theater in later life.

Synonym: bias; leaning; partiality; penchant

59
Q

Prodigal

A

Adj

Lavish, wasteful:

The prodigal son quickly wasted all of his inheritance on a lavish lifestyle devoted to pleasure.

Synonym: extravagant; lavish; profligate; spendthrift

60
Q

Profligate

A

Adj

Corrupt, degenerate:

Some historians claim that it was the Romans decadent, profligate behavior that led to the decline of the Roman Empire.

Synonym: dissolute; extravagant; improvident; prodigal; wasteful

61
Q

Proliferate

A

Verb

to increase in number quickly:

Although he only kept two guinea pigs initially, they proliferated to such an extent that he soon had dozens.

Synonym: breed; multiply; procreate; engender;

62
Q

Prolix

A

Adjective

(of speech or writing) using or containing too many words; tediously lengthy.

“he found the narrative too prolix and discursive”

synonyms: long-winded, verbose, wordy

63
Q

Provincial

A

Adj

of or concerning a province of a country or empire:

“provincial elections”

Synonyms: nonmetropolitan, small-town

64
Q

perturb

A

Verb

make (someone) anxious or unsettled:

They were perturbed by her capricious behavior.

Synonyms: worry, upset,disturb

65
Q

pastoral

A

Noun

a work of literature portraying an idealized version of country life.

The story, though a pastoral, has a actual connection with the life of agriculture labor.

66
Q

Paroxysm

A

Noun

A sudden attack or violent expression of a particular emotion or activity:

After each paroxysm, he paced, hands behind his back.

Synonym: spasm, burst

67
Q

Promulgate

A

Verb

promote or make widely known (an idea or cause):

These objectives have to be promulgated within the organization.

Synonym: make public

68
Q

Pernicious

A

Adj

having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way:

A portion of the population still disregards warnings about the pernicious effects of nicotine.

Synonym: deleterious

69
Q

Plucky

A

Adj

Having or showing determined courage in the face of difficulties:

This story featured a plucky heroine.

Synonym: brave, courageous

70
Q

Propitiate

A

Verb

To conciliate, to appease:

Because their gods were angry and vengeful, the Vikings propitiated them with many sacrifices.

Synonym: appease; conciliate; mollify; pacify; placate

71
Q

Propriety

A

Noun

the quality of behaving in a proper manner, obeying rules and customs:

The aristocracy maintained a high level of propriety, adhering to even the most minor social rules.

Synonym: decency; decorum

72
Q

Prudence

A

Noun

Wisdom, caution or restraint:

The college student exhibited prudence by obtaining practical experience along with her studies, which greatly strengthened her resume.

Synonym: astuteness; circumspection; sagaciousness; judiciousness

73
Q

Puerile

A

Adj

Childish, immature, silly:

Olivia’s boyfriend’s puerile antics are really annoying; sometimes he acts like a five-year-old.

Synonym: infantile; jejune; juvenile

74
Q

Pugilism

A

Noun

boxing:

Pugilism has been defended as a positive outlet for aggressive impulses.

Synonym: fighting; sparring

75
Q

Pulchritude

A

Noun

Beauty:

The mortals gazed in admiration at Venus, stunned by her incredible pulchritude.

Synonym: comeliness; loveliness

76
Q

Pungent

A

Adj

Sharp and irritating to the senses:

The smoke from the burning tires was extremely pungent.

Synonym: acrid; caustic; piquant; acidulous; poignant

77
Q

Pusillanimous

A

Adj

Cowardly, without courage:

The pusillanimous man would not enter the yard where the miniature poodles was barking.

Synonym: timid, craven

GRE vocab (27 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions