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GRE Verbal Workbook > Word Groups > Flashcards

Word Groups Flashcards

1
Q

Oscillate

A

Swing back and forth

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2
Q

Impetuous

A

Done without thought or care

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3
Q

Apace

A

Swiftly, quickly

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4
Q

Headlong

A

With reckless haste

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5
Q

Credulous

A

Gullible

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6
Q

Novitiate

A

The period or state of being a novice

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7
Q

Tyro

A

A beginner

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8
Q

Bemused

A

Puzzled, confused

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9
Q

Turbid

A

Obscure in meaning or effect

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10
Q

Cogent

A

Clea, logical, convincing

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11
Q

Limpid

A

Clear of any darkness (clear sight or musicality)

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12
Q

Canny

A

Showing good judgement

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13
Q

Shrewd

A

Sharp powers of judgment

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14
Q

Berate

A

Scold or criticize angrily

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15
Q

Carousal

A

Drink plentiful amounts of alcohol

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16
Q

Bacchanalian

A

Characterized by drunken revelry

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17
Q

Libidinous

A

Showing excessive sexual drive

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18
Q

Turpitude

A

Wickedness

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19
Q

Depravity

A

Moral corruption

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20
Q

Debauchery

A

Excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures

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21
Q

Iniquity

A

Immoral or grossly unfair behavior

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22
Q

Licentious

A

Unprincipled in sexual matters

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23
Q

Salacious

A

Treating sexual matters in an indecent way (usually showing too much interest)

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24
Q

Depraved

A

Morally corrupt, wicked

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25
Q

Libertine

A

A person who behaves without moral principles (frequently in ways relating to sexual matters)

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26
Q

Reprobate

A

An unprincipled person (usually used in a humorous way)

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27
Q

Sordid

A

Involving ignoble actions

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28
Q

Squalid

A

Extremely dirty or unpleasant (usually because of poverty or neglect)

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29
Q

Fealty

A

A vassals sworn loyalty to a lord

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30
Q

Probity

A

The quality of having strong moral principles

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31
Q

Verity

A

A true principle or belief (usually one of fundamental importance)

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32
Q

Dither

A

Indecisive

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33
Q

Dissemble

A

Disguise one’s true motives

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34
Q

Equivocate

A

Use ambiguous language to conceal motives

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35
Q

Specious

A

Superficially possible but actually wrong

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36
Q

Asperity

A

Harsh in tone or manner

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37
Q

Mordant

A

Showing a sharp critical quality

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38
Q

Acidulous

A

Sharp, bitter/bitter-tasting

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39
Q

Trenchant

A

Vigorous incisive in decision or style

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40
Q

Acrimonious

A

Angry and bitter

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41
Q

Mordacious

A

Using bitter sarcasm, invective

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42
Q

Invective

A

Insulting, abusive, or highly critical language

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43
Q

Encomium

A

A speech of praise

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44
Q

Eulogize

A

Praise highly in speech or writing

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45
Q

Minatory

A

Expressing or conveying a threat

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46
Q

Perfidious

A

Deceitful or untrustworthy

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47
Q

Insidious

A

Proceeding in a gradual subtle way that nonetheless bring about harm

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48
Q

Craven

A

Cowardly

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49
Q

Recreant

A

Cowardly, unfaithful to a belief

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50
Q

Diffident

A

Modest or shy because of a lack of self confidence

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51
Q

Pusillanimous

A

Showing a lack of courage or determination

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52
Q

Banal

A

Lacking in originality to the point that it is boring

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53
Q

Insipid

A

Lacking flavor

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54
Q

Platitude

A

A statement (usually of moral content) that is overused

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55
Q

Trite

A

An overused remark or opinion

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56
Q

Fatuous

A

Silly or pointless

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57
Q

Prosaic

A

Lacking poetic beauty

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58
Q

Quotidian

A

Of or occurring everyday

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59
Q

Enervate

A

Cause someone to feel drained of energy, weaken

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60
Q

Obviate

A

Remove, avoid

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61
Q

Vitiate

A

Spoil or impair quality or efficiency of something

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62
Q

Stultify

A

Cause to lose enthusiasm or initiative

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63
Q

Abet

A

Encourage or assist someone in doing something wrong

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64
Q

Mainstay

A

Something that something else is based on

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65
Q

Stalwart

A

Loyal, reliable, hardworking

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66
Q

Ancillary

A

Providing necessary support to primary activities

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67
Q

Countenance

A

Support

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68
Q

Munificent

A

Very generous

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69
Q

Sustenance

A

The maintaining of someone or something in regards to overall existence

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70
Q

Churlish

A

Rude in a mean-spirited and surly way

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71
Q

Misanthropic

A

Disliking humanity or avoiding mankind

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72
Q

Intransigent

A

Unwilling to change ones views or agree on something

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73
Q

Recalcitrant

A

Being uncooperative to authority

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74
Q

Obstinate

A

Stubbornly refusing to change ones opinion

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75
Q

Untoward

A

Unexpected, inappropriate, inconvenient

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76
Q

Inexorable

A

Impossible to stop or prevent

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77
Q

Obdurate

A

Stubbornly refusing to change ones opinion of course of action

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78
Q

Refractory

A

Stubborn or unmanageable

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79
Q

Vexing

A

Make someone feel annoyed or frustrated

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80
Q

Intractable

A

Hard to control or deal with

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81
Q

Renitent

A

Resistant

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82
Q

Inchoate

A

Just beginning and thus not fully formed

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83
Q

Callow

A

Inexperienced, immature

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84
Q

Largess

A

Generosity in bestowing money or gifts

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85
Q

Philanthropic

A

Person or organization looking to promote others

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86
Q

Unstinting

A

Given or giving without restraint

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87
Q

Clement

A

Merciful

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88
Q

Rapacious

A

Aggressively greedy or grasping

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89
Q

Compendious

A

Presenting essential facts in a clear concise way

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90
Q

Pithy

A

Concise and forcefully expressed

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91
Q

Curt

A

Rudely brief

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92
Q

Grandiloquent

A

Pompous or extravagant in language

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93
Q

Prolix

A

Using or containing too many words

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94
Q

Circumlocution

A

Use of many words when fewer would do

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95
Q

Rhetoric

A

Artful or persuasive speaking, persuasive/impressive but also shallow

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96
Q

Garrulous

A

Excessively talkative

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97
Q

Periphrastic

A

Indirect

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98
Q

Turgid

A

Tediously pompous, swollen

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99
Q

Despotic

A

Tyrannical

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100
Q

Peremptory

A

Insisting on immediate attention, not open to appeal or challenge

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101
Q

Rancor

A

Bitterness or resentfulness

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102
Q

Anathema

A

Someone or something that is vehemently disliked

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103
Q

Enmity

A

State of being in opposition to or hostile toward something

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104
Q

Odium

A

Widespread hatred towards someone

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105
Q

Dilettante

A

Someone with an interest with an amateur background

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106
Q

Novitiate

A

Period or state of being a novice

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107
Q

Fledgling

A

A person or organization that is immature

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108
Q

Proselyte

A

Someone just converted from one opinion or party to another

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109
Q

Neophyte

A

A person new to a subject skill or belief

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110
Q

Tyro

A

A beginner or novice

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111
Q

Indolent

A

Wanting to avoid activity

112
Q

Inert

A

Lacking the ability or strength to move

113
Q

Lassitude

A

A state of physical or mental weariness

114
Q

Quiescent

A

A state or period of inactivity

115
Q

Slake

A

Quench or satisfy

116
Q

Redress

A

To remedy, to set up right again

117
Q

Expiate

A

To atone for guilt or sin

118
Q

Exculpate

A

To show someone is not guilty of wrong doing

119
Q

Palliate

A

To make something less severe without actually dealing with the problem

120
Q

Destitute

A

Without the basic necessities of life

121
Q

Indigent

122
Q

Esurient

A

Hungry or greedy

123
Q

Impecunious

A

Having little or no money

124
Q

Ardent

A

Enthusiastic or passionate

125
Q

Ardor

A

Enthusiasm or passion

126
Q

Doctrinaire

A

Someone who pretends to be a doctor

127
Q

Tendentious

A

Intended to promote a specific point of view

128
Q

Zealot

A

Someone fanatical and up compromising in his or her own ideals

129
Q

Spartan

A

Characterized by austerity or a lack of comfort and luxury

130
Q

Stoic

A

A person who can endure pain or hardship

131
Q

Temperate

A

Showing moderation or self restraint

132
Q

Ambulatory

A

Moveable, mobile

133
Q

Peripatetic

A

Traveling from place to place

134
Q

Ostensible

A

Stating or appearing to be true (but in fact not necessarily true)

135
Q

Dissemble

A

Conceal ones true motives

136
Q

Fulsome

A

Flattering to an excessive degree

137
Q

Discomfit

A

To make someone feel uneasy or embarrassed

138
Q

Forfend

A

Avert, keep away, prevent

139
Q

Occlude

A

Stop, close up, obstruct

140
Q

Fetter

A

Restrict or restrain

141
Q

Anachronism

A

A thing appropriate for a period where it actually doesn’t exist

142
Q

Riposte

A

A quick clever reply to an insult

143
Q

Droll

A

Unusual in a way that provokes dry amusement

144
Q

Gibe

145
Q

Coquettish

A

Playful flirtatious mannerisms

146
Q

Simper

A

Smile or gesture in a coquettish way, coy

147
Q

Coy

A

Pretense of shyness to be alluring, reluctant to give details

148
Q

Jocular

A

Characterized by joking

149
Q

Raillery

A

Good humored teasing

150
Q

Elegiac

A

Having a mournful quality

151
Q

Lugubrious

A

Looking or sounding sad or dismal

152
Q

Plaintive

A

Sounding sad or mournful

153
Q

Doleful

A

Expressing sorrow, mournful

154
Q

Threnody

155
Q

Lament

A

A passionate expression of grief and sorrow

156
Q

Noisome

A

Having an extremely offensive smell

157
Q

Rebarbative

A

Unattractive or objectionable

158
Q

Fetid

A

Smelling extremely unpleasant

159
Q

Odious

160
Q

Invidious

A

Likely to arouse anger or resentment

161
Q

Abeyance

A

A state of disuse or suspension

162
Q

Disuse

A

The state of not being used

163
Q

Abrogate

A

Repeal or do away with

164
Q

Renege

A

Go back on a promise

165
Q

Decamp

A

Depart suddenly or secretly

166
Q

Recidivism

A

Decoding a person who repeatedly offends

167
Q

Dolorous

A

Feeling or expressing great sorrow

168
Q

Elegy

A

A poem or serious reflection

169
Q

Knell

A

A bell rung for a funeral

170
Q

Moribund

A

In terminal decline, at the point of death

171
Q

Wraith

A

A ghost or ghostlike image of someone

172
Q

Obsequies

A

Funeral rites

173
Q

Macabre

A

Disturbing or horrifying because of death or injury

174
Q

Sepulchral

A

Relating to a tomb

175
Q

Fictitious

A

Not real or true

176
Q

Facsimile

A

An exact copy

177
Q

Vicarious

A

Experienced in imagination based on the actions of someone else

178
Q

Discursive

A

Digressing from subject to subject

179
Q

Digressing

A

Leave the main subject temporarily

180
Q

Sojourn

A

A temporary stay

181
Q

Expatiate

A

To speak or write at length or in detail

182
Q

Peregrination

A

Tavel or wander around from place to place

183
Q

Peripatetic

A

Traveling from place to place

184
Q

Abatement

A

Reduction or lessening of something

185
Q

Hiatus

A

A pause or gap in a sequence or series

186
Q

Lull

A

Calm or send to sleep

187
Q

Respite

A

A short period of rest or relief

188
Q

Aperture

A

An opening, hole, or gap

189
Q

Interregnum

A

An interval or pause (sometimes related to government)

190
Q

Orifice

A

An opening (pipe or tube or something in the body)

191
Q

Interstice

A

An intervening space (especially a very small one)

192
Q

Rent

A

An opening or gap resembling a tear in piece of fabric

193
Q

Salutary

A

Health-giving (producing good effects)

194
Q

Compendium

A

A collection of precise but detailed information

195
Q

Cursory

A

Hast and therefore not thorough or detailed

196
Q

Adage

A

A short statement conveying a general truth

197
Q

Axiom

A

Statement or proposition established to be true

198
Q

Epigram

A

A pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever way

199
Q

Truism

A

A statement obviously true that therefore provides no wisdom

200
Q

Aphorism

A

A pithy observation that contains a general truth

201
Q

Pithy

A

Concise or forcefully expressed

202
Q

Bromide

A

A trite and/or unoriginal idea or remark

203
Q

Platitude

A

An overused statement regarding moral content

204
Q

Apothegm

A

A concise saying or maxim

205
Q

Maxim

A

A short pithy statement expressing a general truth

206
Q

Dictum

A

A shirt statement that expresses a general truth or principle

207
Q

Sententious

A

Having a strong opinion on what someone should of should not do

208
Q

Conjugal

A

Relating to marriage or the relationship between husband and wife

209
Q

Endogamous

A

Custom of marrying within the local community only

210
Q

Progenitor

A

A place where a living thing originates

211
Q

Consanguineous

A

Relating to people descending from the same ancestry

212
Q

Filial

A

Of or due from a son or daughter

213
Q

Scion

A

A decadent of a notable family

214
Q

Distaff

A

Of or concerning women

215
Q

Fratricide

A

The killing of ones brother or sister

216
Q

Askance

A

With attitude or a form of disapproval and/or suspicion

217
Q

Carom

A

Strike and rebound

218
Q

Oblique

A

Neither parallel nor at a right angle

219
Q

Sinuous

A

Having many curves and turns

220
Q

Serrated

A

Having or denoting a jagged angle

221
Q

Denoting

A

Being an indication of

222
Q

Undulating

A

Move with a smooth or wavelike motion

223
Q

Careen

A

Turn on its side, tilt

224
Q

Sidle

A

Walk in a timid and/or unobtrusive way (often sideways)

225
Q

Unobtrusive

A

Not conspicuous or attracting attention

226
Q

Descry

A

Catch sight of

227
Q

Assay

A

To determine the content or quality of

228
Q

Anachronism

A

A thing that is appropriate for a time that is actually out of its original period of time

229
Q

Anterior

A

Nearer the front, earlier

230
Q

Synchronous

A

Existing or happening at the same time

231
Q

Antecede

A

To come before something (in time)

232
Q

Archaic

A

Very old or old-fashioned

233
Q

Temporal

A

Relating row worldly as appose to spiritual affairs

234
Q

Antedate

A

Precede in time, come before

235
Q

Diurnal

A

Of or during the day

236
Q

Epoch

A

A period of time marked by a noticeable event or particular characteristic

237
Q

Penultimate

A

Second to last

238
Q

Bilious

A

Associated with nausea

239
Q

Pettish

A

Childishly bad-tempered and petulant

240
Q

Dudgeon

A

A feeling of deep resentment or offense

241
Q

Umbrage

A

Offense or annoyance

242
Q

Pique

A

A feeling of irritation from a slight ones pride

243
Q

Slight

A

An insult due to the failure of showing proper respect

244
Q

Waspish

A

Readily expressing anger or irritation

245
Q

Foible

A

A minor weakness or eccentricity in someone’s character

246
Q

Eccentric

A

Unconventional and slightly strange

247
Q

Chagrin

A

Distress or embarrassment

248
Q

Diffidence

A

Modesty or shyness resulting from a lack of self confidence

249
Q

Gaucherie

A

Awkward embarrassing or unsophisticated

250
Q

Compunction

A

Feeling of guilt following an unjust action

251
Q

Expiate

A

Atone for guilt or sin

252
Q

Rue

A

Bitterly regret

253
Q

Asperity

A

Harshness of tone or manner

254
Q

Fell

A

A terrible evil or ferocity

255
Q

Vitriolic

A

Filled with bitter criticism or malice

256
Q

Vituperation

A

Bitter or abusive language

257
Q

Dour

A

Relentlessly severe or gloomy

258
Q

Mordant

A

A sharp critical quality (often in relation to humor)

259
Q

Enjoin

A

Instruct or urge someone to do something

260
Q

Hector

A

Talk to someone in a bullying way

261
Q

Belabor

A

Argue or elaborate in an excessive way

262
Q

Exhort

A

Strongly urge someone to do something

263
Q

Martinet

A

A strict disciplinarian

264
Q

Cavil

A

Make petty or unnecessary objections

265
Q

Augur

A

Portend a good or bad outcome

266
Q

Portend

A

Be a sign or warning that something is about to happen (usually something momentous)

267
Q

Adventitious

A

Happening by chance

268
Q

Portent

A

A sign that something momentous is about to happen

269
Q

Kismet

A

Destiny, fate

270
Q

Propitiate

A

Win or re-gain favor of

271
Q

Serendipity

A

The occurrence or development of events by chance

272
Q

Talisman

A

A ring thought to have magic powers

273
Q

Raucous

A

Making or having very harsh noises

274
Q

Din

A

A loud or prolonged noise

275
Q

Strident

A

Loud harsh, grating

276
Q

Grating

A

Sounding harsh or unpleasant

277
Q

Dissonant

A

Lacking harmony

GRE Verbal Workbook (2 decks)

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