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GRE Verbal > Vocab > Flashcards

Vocab Flashcards

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1
Q

to lionize

A

To treat as important

“The lionization of Vladmir Nabokov as one of North America’s literary giants has thrown the spotlight on his peripheral activities and has thus served to foreground his efforts as an amateur entomologist.”

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2
Q

sartorial

A

Relating to tailoring, clothes, or style of dress

“The novelist devotes so much time to avid descriptions of his characters’ clothes that the reader soon feels that such sartorial concerns, although worthy of attention, have superseded any more directly literary aims.”

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3
Q

synoptic

A

of or forming a general summary or synopsis

“A synoptic outline of the contents”

Matthew, Mark, and Luke (but not John) are the Synoptic Gospels because they summarize the same key events.

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4
Q

intransigent

A

uncompromising

unwilling or refusing to change one’s views or agree about something

“Always circumspect, she was reluctant to make judgments, but once arriving at a conclusion, she was intransigent in its defense.”

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5
Q

probity

A

The quality of having strong moral principles; honesty and decency

“Financial probity”
“The committee feels that he has demonstrated little probity in this matter and therefore cannot be trusted.”

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6
Q

tendentious

A

biased

expressing or intending to promote a particular cause or point of view, especially a controversial one

“A tendentious reading of history”

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7
Q

inimical

A

antagonistic, contrary

tending to obstruct or harm

“Actions inimical to our interests”

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8
Q

pellucid

A

translucently clear; easily understood

“Mountains reflected in the pellucid waters”

“He writes, as always, in pellucid prose”

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9
Q

abscond

A

to leave secretly

allow the intruder to abscond with the cash

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10
Q

adulterate

A

to make impure

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11
Q

amalgamate

A

to combine, mix together

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12
Q

assuage

A

to make something unpleasant less severe

assuage guilt, fear, concerns

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13
Q

attenuate

A

weaken

to reduce in force or degree; to weaken

attenuate poverty, distress, this response

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14
Q

bombastic

A

pompous in speech and manner

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15
Q

castigate

A

to punish or criticize harshly

an effort to demonize and castigate a whole broad base of human beings

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16
Q

cogent

A

convincing and well-reasoned

cogent or compelling case or argument

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17
Q

corroborate

A

to provide supporting evidence

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18
Q

credulous

A

too trusting; gullible

The con man promised the credulous women a fairy tale ending.

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19
Q

desultory

A

jumping from one thing to another; disconnected, lacking a plan or purpose

desultory existence, conversation, reading

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20
Q

dilettante

A

someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic

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21
Q

dirge

A

a funeral hymn or mournful speech

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22
Q

disabuse

A

to set right; to free from error; persuade someone that an idea or belief is mistaken

Disabuse someone of that notion or theory

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23
Q

dissemble

A

to present a false appearance; to disguise one’s real intentions or character

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24
Q

dogma

A

a firmly held opinion, often a religious belief

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25
Q

elegy

A

a sorrowful poem or speech

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26
Q

enervate

A

to reduce in strength; to feel drained of energy or vitality

bleeding might enervate but would not kill him

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27
Q

equivocal

A

open to more than one interpretation; misleading

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28
Q

equivocate

A

to use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead

29
Q

erudite

A

learned, scholarly, bookish

30
Q

estimable

A

admirable

estimable qualities and talents

31
Q

exculpate

A

to clear from blame; prove innocent

32
Q

exigent

A

urgent; requiring immediate attention

33
Q

foment

A

to arouse or incite

34
Q

iconoclast

A

one who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions

35
Q

inchoate

A

not fully formed; disorganized

an inchoate democracy

36
Q

ingenuous

A

showing innocence or childlike simplicity

37
Q

inimical

A

hostile, unfriendly

actions inimical to our interests

38
Q

intransigent

A

uncompromising; refusing to be reconciled

39
Q

laconic

A

using few words

his laconic reply suggested his lack of interest in the topic

40
Q

malinger

A

to evade responsibility by pretending to be ill

41
Q

misanthrope

A

a person who dislikes others

42
Q

mitigate

A

to soften; to lessen

43
Q

mollify

A

to calm or make less severe

44
Q

obdurate

A

hardened in feeling; resistant to persuasion

45
Q

obviate

A

to prevent; to make unnecessary

the blinds obviated the need for curtains

46
Q

occlude

A

to stop up; to prevent the passage of

thick makeup can occlude the pores

47
Q

onerous

A

troublesome and oppressive; burdensome

48
Q

opprobrium

A

public disgrace

the opprobrium of being associated with criminals

49
Q

histronic

A

overly theatrical or melodramatic in character or style

a histrionic outburst

50
Q

scurrilous

A

slanderous, obscene

making or spreading scandalous claims about someone with the intention of damaging their reputation

a scurrilous attack on his integrity

51
Q

panned

A

to criticize severely

The movie was panned by the critic.

52
Q

abstruse

A

difficult to understand; obscure

an abstruse philosophical inquiry

53
Q

extirpate

A

to root out and destroy completely; to eradicate

use every legal measure to extirpate the evil from the land

54
Q

recondite

A

mysterious, obscure

a little-known subject, abstruse

The book is full of recondite information.

55
Q

punctilious

A

showing great attention to detail or correct behavior

He was punctilious in providing every amenity for his guests.

56
Q

vociferous

A

vehement or clamorous

He was a vociferous opponent of the shutdown.

57
Q

vituperated

A

to blame or insult someone with strong or violent language

58
Q

orotund

A

full, round, and imposing (i.e. an orotund voice)

pompous, pretentious (of writing, style, expression)

59
Q

obtuse

A

annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand

He wondered if the doctor was being deliberately obtuse.

60
Q

pedant

A

person excessively concerned with minor details or with displaying academic learning

61
Q

perfidious

A

deceitful and untrustworthy

a perfidious lover

62
Q

precipitate

A

to bring about an event unexpectedly or prematurely

the incident precipitated a political crisis

63
Q

prevaricate

A

to speak or act in an evasive way

he prevaricated when the journalists asked pointed questions

64
Q

propitiate

A

to regain the favor of someone by doing something that pleases them

the pagans propitiated the gods with sacrifices

(opposite: provoke)

65
Q

quiescent

A

inactive, dormant

a period of dormancy or inactivity

strikes were led by workers who had once been quiescent

66
Q

rarefy

A

thin (esp. air); distant from the lives and concerns of ordinary people

rarefied air in the mountains
debates about the nature of knowledge can seem rarefied (esoteric)

67
Q

specious

A

misleading

seemingly plausible, but actually wrong

a specious argument

68
Q

tacit

A

understood or implied without being stated

a tacit agreement

69
Q

torpor

A

a state of physical or mental inactivity; lethargy

they veered between apathetic torpor and hysterical fanaticism

GRE Verbal (2 decks)

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