Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

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


See full index

GRE 2014 > Top GRE Vocab Words > Flashcards

Top GRE Vocab Words Flashcards

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

Abate

A

to reduce in amount, degree, or severity;

[Venemous’ force storm ABATED as he realized Plageuis’ power far exceeded his.]

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

Abscond

A

to leave secretly

[The patron ABSCONDED from the restaurant without paying his bill by sneaking out the back door.]

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

Abstain

A

to choose not to do something;

[Palpatine ABSTAINED from the vote to show his system’s dissatisfaction with the Senate’s actions.]

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

Abyss

A

An extremely deep hole;

[The submarine dove into the ABYSS to chart the previously unseen depths.]

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

Adulterate

A

to make impure;

[The chef made his ketchup last longer by ADULTERATING it with water.]

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

Advocate

A

to speak in favor of;

[David ADVOCATED running and vegetarian meals.]

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

Aesthetic

A

concerning the appreciation of beauty;

[Followers of the AESTHETIC Movement regarded the the pursuit of beauty as the only true purpose of art.]

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

Aggrandize

A

to increase in power, influence, and reputation;

[The supervisor sought to AGGRANDIZE herself by claiming that the achievements of her staff were her own.]

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

Alleviate

A

to make more bearable;

[Taking Ibuprofen helps to ALLEVIATE pain.]

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

Amalgamate

A

to combine or mix together;

[Giant Industries AMALGAMATED with Mega Products to form Giant-Mega Products Incorporated.

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

Ambiguous

A

doubtful or uncertain, able to be interpreted several ways;

[The character Hrothgar is portrayed in an AMBIGUOUS manner in Beowulf.]

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

Ameliorate

A

to make better, to improve;

[The doctor was able to AMELIORATE the patient’s suffering using painkillers.]

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

Anachronism

A

something out of place in time;

[The aged hippie used ANACHRONISTIC phrases, like groovy and far out, that had not been popular for years.]

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

Analogous

A

similar or alike in some way, equivalent to;

[For Bane, being saved only to be in Jedi custody was ANALOGOUS to a living hell.]

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

Anomaly

A

deviation from what is normal;

[Albino animals may display too great an ANOMALY in their coloring to attract normally colored mates.]

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

Antagonize

A

to annoy or provoke to anger;

[The child discovered he could ANTAGONIZE the cat by pulling its tail.]

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

Antipathy

A

extreme dislike;

[The ANTIPATHY between the French and the English regularly erupted into open warfare.]

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

Apathy

A

lack of interest or emotion;

[The APATHY of the voters is so great that less than half the people who are eligible to vote actually bother to do so.]

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

Arbitrate

A

to judge a dispute between two opposing parties;

[Since the people could not come to an agreement, a judge was forced to ARBITRATE their divorce proceedings.]

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

Archaic

A

ancient, old fashioned;

[Her ARCHAIC computer could not run the latest software.]

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

Ardor

A

intense and passionate feeling;

[Bishop’s ARDOR for the landscape was evident she he passionately described the beauty of the scenic Hudson Valley.]

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

Articulate

A

able to speak clearly and expressively;

[She is such an ARTICULATE defender of labor that unions are among her strongest supporters.]

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

Assuage

A

to make something unpleasant less severe;

[Lupin gave Harry some chocolate to ASSUAGE the sickness he felt after the dementor.]

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

Attenuate

A

to reduce in force or degree, to weaken;

[The Bill of Rights ATTENUATED the traditional power of governments to change laws at will.]

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

Audacious

A

fearless and daring;

[Her AUDACIOUS nature allowed her to fulfill her dream of skydiving.]

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

Dogma

A

A firmly held opinion, often a religious belief

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

Dogmatic

A

Dictorial in one’s opinions

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

Dupe

A

To deceive; a person who is easily deceived

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

Eclectic

A

Selecting from or made up from a variety of sources

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

Efficacy

A

Effectiveness

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

Elegy

A

A sorrowful poem or speech

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

Eloquent

A

Persuasive and moving, especially in speech

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

Emulate

A

To copy; to try to equal or excel

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

Enervate

A

To reduce in strength

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

Engender

A

To produce, cause, or bring about

36
Q

Enigma

A

A puzzle; a mystery

37
Q

Enumerate

A

To count, list, or itemize

38
Q

Ephemeral

A

Lasting a short time

39
Q

Equivocate

A

To use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead

40
Q

Erratic

A

Wandering and unpredictable

41
Q

Erudite

A

Learned, scholarly, bookish

42
Q

Esoteric

A

Known or understood by only a few

43
Q

Estimable

A

Admirable

44
Q

Eulogy

A

Speech in praise of someone

45
Q

Euphemism

A

Use of an inoffensive work or phrase in place of a more distasteful one

46
Q

Exacerbate

A

To make worse

47
Q

Exculpate

A

To clear from blame; prove innocent

48
Q

Exigent

A

Urgent; requiring immediate action

49
Q

Exonerate

A

To clear blame

50
Q

Explicit

A

Clearly stated or shown; forthright in expression

51
Q

Austere

A

severe or stern in appearance, undecorated;

[The lack of decoration makes military barracks seem AUSTERE to the civilian eye.]

52
Q

Banal

A

predictable, clichéd, boring;

[He used BANAL phrases like, “Have a nice day” or “Another day, another dollar.”]

53
Q

Bolster

A

to support, to prop up;

[THe presence of giant footprints BOLSTERED the argument that Sasquatch was in the area.]

54
Q

Bombastic

A

pompous in speech and manner;

[The ranting of the radio talk-show host was mostly BOMBASTIC; his boasting and outrageous claims had no basis in fact.]

55
Q

Cacophony

A

harsh, jarring noise;

[The junior high orchestra created an almost unbearable CACOPHONY as they tried to tune their instruments.]

56
Q

Candid

A

impartial and honest in speech;

[The observations of a hold can be charming since they are candid and unpretentious.]

57
Q

Capricious

A

changing one’s mind quickly and often;

[Queen Elizabeth I was quite CAPRICIOUS; her courtiers could never be sure which of their number would catch her fancy.]

58
Q

Castigate

A

to punish or criticize harshly;
[Many Americans are amazed at how harshly the authorities in Singapore CASTIGATE perpetrators of what would be considered minor crimes in the United States.]

59
Q

Catalyst

A

something that brings about a change in something else;

[The imposition of harsh taxes was the CATALYST that finally brought on the revolution.]

60
Q

Caustic

A

biting in wit;

[Dorothy Parker gained her reputation for CAUSTIC wit from her cutting, yet cleaver, insults.]

61
Q

Chaos

A

great disorder or confusion;

[In many religious traditions, God created an ordered universe from CHAOS.]

62
Q

Chauvinist

A

someone who is prejudiced in favor of a group to which her or she belongs;
[The attitude that men are inherently superior to women and therefore must be obeyed is common among male CHAUVINISTS.]

63
Q

Chicanery

A

deception by means of craft or guile;

[Dishonest used car sales people often use CHICANERY to sell their beat-up old cars.]

64
Q

Cogent

A

convincing and well reasoned;

[Swayed by the COGENT argument of the defense, the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendant.]

65
Q

Condone

A

to overlook, pardon, or disregard;

[Some theorists believe that failing to prosecute minor crimes is the same as CONDONING an air of lawlessness.]

66
Q

Convoluted

A

intricate and complicated;

[Although many people bought ‘A Brief History of Time,’ few could follow its CONVOLUTED ideas and theories.]

67
Q

Corroborate

A

to provide supporting evidence;

[Fingerprints CORROBORATED the witness’s testimony that he say the defendant in the victim’s apartment.]

68
Q

Credulous

A

too trusting, gullible;

[Although some four-year-olds believe in the Easter Bunny, only the most CREDULOUS nine-year-olds also believe in him.

69
Q

Crescendo

A

steadily increasing volume or force;

[The CRESCENDO of tension became unbearable as Evel Knievel prepared to jump his motorcycle over the school buses.]

70
Q

Decorum

A

appropriateness of behavior or conduct, propriety

[The countess complained that the vulgar peasants lacked the DECORUM appropriate for a visit to the palace.]

71
Q

Deference

A

respect, courtesy;

[The respectful young law clerk treated the Supreme Court justice with the utmost DEFERENCE.]

72
Q

Deride

A

to speak of or treat with contempt, to mock;

[The awkward child was often DERIDED by his “cooler” peers.]

73
Q

Desiccate

A

to dry out thoroughly;

[After a few weeks of lying on the desert’s baking sands, the cow’s carcass became completely DESICCATED.]

74
Q

Desultory

A

jumping from one thing to another, disconnected

[Diane had a DESULTORY academic record; she had changed majors 12 times in three years]

75
Q

Diatribe

A

an abusive, condemnatory speech;

[The trucker bellowed a DIATRIBE at the driver who had cut him off].

76
Q

Diffident

A

lacking self-confidence;

[Steve’s DIFFIDENT manner during the job interview stemmed from his nervous nature and lack of experience in the field.]

77
Q

DILATE

A

to make larger, to expand;

[When you enter a darkened room, the pupils of your eyes DILATE to let in more light.]

78
Q

Dilatory

A

intended to delay;

[The congressman used DILATORY measures to delay the passage of the bill.]

79
Q

Dilettante

A

someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic;
[Jerry’s friends were such DILETTANTES that they seemed to have new jobs and hobbies each week.]

80
Q

Dirge

A

a funeral hymn or mournful speech;

[Melville wrote the poem “The DIRGE for James McPherson” for the funeral of a Union general who was killed in 1864.]

81
Q

Disabuse

A

to set right, to free from error;

[Galileo’s observations DISABUSED scholars of the notion that the sun revolved around the earth.]

82
Q

Discern

A

to perceive, to recognize;

[It is easy to DISCERN the difference between butter and butter-flavored topping.]

83
Q

Disparate

A

fundamentally different, entirely unlike;

[Although the twins appear to be identical physically, their personalities are DISPARATE.]

84
Q

Dissemble

A

to present false appearance, to disguise one’s real intentions or character;
[The villain could DISSEMBLE to the police no longer—he admitted the deed and tore up the floor to reveal the body of the old man.]

85
Q

Dissonance

A

a hard and disagreeable combination, often of sounds;

[Cognitive DISSONANCE is the inner conflict produced when long-standing beliefs are contradicted by new evidence.]

GRE 2014 (9 decks)

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