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GRE Vocabulary > Word List 50 > Flashcards

Word List 50 Flashcards

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1
Q

animadversion

A

a critical and usually censorious remark - often used with on
adverse criticism

e.g. make animadversions on someone’s conduct

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2
Q

arrant

A

being notorious without moderation; extreme

e.g. We are arrant knaves, all; believe none of us
That statement is complete and arrant nonsense.

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3
Q

besot

A

infatuate

to make dull or stupid; especially, to muddle with drunkenness

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4
Q

bide

A

to wait for (usually in bide one’s time)
to continue in a state, condition, or place

e.g. How long are you going to bide in this unhappy marriage?

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5
Q

blather

A

to talk foolishly at length (often used with on)
also
stir, commotion

e.g. retire quietly and without all the blather of a send-off

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6
Q

bleary

A

very tired and unable to see clearly
poorly outlined or defined; dim

e.g. bleary eyes/travelers

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7
Q

bullish

A

marked by, tending to cause, or hopeful or rising prices (as in a stock market)
optimistic about something’s or someone’s prospects

e.g. bullish markets/policies/investors
bullish on/about company’s future

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8
Q

bullyrag

A

to intimidate by bullying

to vex by teasing; badger

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9
Q

canorous

A

pleasantly sounding; melodious

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10
Q

chaff

A

jest, banter

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11
Q

cheeky

A

insolently bold; impudent

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12
Q

clamber

A

to climb awkwardly (as by scrambling)

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13
Q

countrified

A

rural, rustic
unsophisticated

e.g. a restaurant with a countrified atmosphere

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14
Q

crib

A

pilfer, steal; especially, plagiarize

e.g. She cribbed a line or two from her favorite poet.

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15
Q

crimp

A

to cause to become wavy, bent, or pinched
to be an inhibiting or restraining influence on; cramp

e.g. Sales had been crimped by credit controls.

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16
Q

cull

A

to select from a group; choose
to hunt or kill (animals) as a means of population control

e.g. culled the best passages from the poet’s work

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17
Q

desist

A

to cease to proceed or act

e.g. Despite orders from the police, the protesters would not desist.

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18
Q

dither

A

shiver, tremble
to act nervously or indecisively; vacillate

e.g. did not dither about what to do next

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19
Q

divers

A

various

e.g. The state fair offers divers amusement for the whole family.

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20
Q

drub

A

to beat severely; to defeat decisively

to berate critically

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21
Q

elysian

A

blissful, delightful

e.g. the dream of retiring to a tropical isle and enjoying a life of elysian ease

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22
Q

fatidic

A

of or relating to prophecy

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23
Q

finagle

A

to obtain by indirect or involved means
to obtain by trickery

e.g. finagle a ride home
finagle a visit to the museum

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24
Q

flatulent

A

pompously or portentously overblown

e.g. On election night TV’s self-important pundits let loose a fusillade of flatulent pontifications.

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25
Q

flimflam

A

deceptive nonsense
deception, fraud

e.g. The report is just a lot of corporate flimflam.
a flimflam to pique his romantic interest

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26
Q

flummox

A

confuse

e.g. an actor who’s easily flummoxed by any changes in the script

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27
Q

frumpy

A

dowdy, drab

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28
Q

gabby

A

talkative, garrulous

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29
Q

gawky

A

awkward, clumsy

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30
Q

gracile

A

slender, slight
graceful

e.g. Gracile as any pair of classically trained dancers, the bride and groom made their way around the dance floor.

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31
Q

hanker

A

yearn (often used with for or after)

e.g. hanker for a warm day

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32
Q

huffish

A

arrogant, sulky

e.g. huffish wealthy people who expected to receive top priority in the ship’s dining room

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33
Q

huffy

A

roused to indignation; irritated
easily offended; touchy

e.g. a huffy actress who loudly protests every perceived insult

34
Q

hunker

A

to crouch, squat
to settle in or dig in for a sustained period (used with down)

e.g. hunker down for a good long wait

35
Q

interlard

A

to vary by intermixture; intersperse, interlace

e.g. interlard one’s speech with oaths

36
Q

jounce

A

to move in an up-and-down manner; bounce

e.g. a rickety cart jouncing as it was being pulled over the cobblestoned streets

37
Q

lard

A

to augment or intersperse especially with something superfluous or excessive

e.g. a book larded with subplots

38
Q

leach

A

to dissolve out by the action of a percolating liquid
to draw out or remove by or as if by percolation

e.g. leach out alkali from ashes
Even a small amount of rain can leach the toxic material from the soil.

39
Q

lymphatic

A

lacking physical or mental energy; sluggish

40
Q

maunder

A

to wander slowly and idly
to speak indistinctly or disconnectedly

e.g. maundered all over town on his day off

41
Q

mull

A

to grind or mix thoroughly; pulverize
to consider at length; ponder (often used with over)
meditate, ponder

e.g. mull over an idea

42
Q

oleaginous

A

resembling oil; oily
producing or containing oil
marked by an offensive ingratiating manner or quality

e.g. The office manager greeted the corporate bigwigs with an oleaginous welcome that should have embarrassed him.

43
Q

ornery

A

cantankerous

44
Q

pavid

A

timid; afraid; fearful; frightened

45
Q

peckish

A

hungry
irritated or annoyed

e.g. a peckish tone of voice

46
Q

pelagic

A

of, relating to, or living or occurring in the open sea; oceanic

e.g. At one time pelagic whaling was the cornerstone of the island’s economy.

47
Q

pendulous

A

suspended so as to swing freely
marked by vacillation, indecision, or uncertainty

e.g. branches hung with pendulous vines

48
Q

picayunish

A

of little value or account; small, trifling

49
Q

piteous

A

deserving or causing feelings of sympathy or pity

50
Q

putter

A

to move or act aimlessly or idly

to work at random; tinker

51
Q

quicksilver

A

changing quickly and often; mercurial

52
Q

quondam

A

former, sometime

e.g. a quondam oil baron now living comfortably in retirement

53
Q

raptorial

A

predatory

54
Q

raven

A 
to feed greedily
to prowl for food; prey 
plunder 
to devour greedily 
despoil

e.g. The rat ravened the poisoned bait just as we had hoped.
Men raven the earth, destroying its resources.

55
Q

recusant

A

one who refuses to accept or obey established authority
also

e.g. Its object is not the moral education of the recusant individuals.

56
Q

ritzy

A

snobbish

impressively or ostentatiously fancy or stylish; fashionable, posh

57
Q

saucy

A

impertinently bold and impudent
amusingly forward and flippant; irrepressible
smart, trim

e.g. irritate his fellow travelers with saucy questions and comments

58
Q

scraggly

A

irregular in form or growth

e.g. a scraggly beard

59
Q

scruffy

A

unkempt, slovenly, shaggy

e.g. The neighborhood is full of dilapidated houses with scruffy backyards.

60
Q

shilly-shally

A

in an irresolute, undecided, or hesitating manner

61
Q

slog

A 
beat 
to plod (one's way) perseveringly especially against difficulty

e.g. slogged through the snow / through her work

62
Q

smite

A

to strike sharply or heavily
captivate, take

e.g. He vowed that he would smite his enemy.
smitten with her beauty

63
Q

smut

A

to stain or taint with smut
matter that soils or blackens
obscene language or matter

64
Q

snivel

A

to run at the nose

to cry or whine with snuffling

65
Q

soigne

A

well-groomed, sleek
elegantly maintained or designed

e.g. a soigne restaurant/black dress

66
Q

stately

A

marked by lofty or imposing dignity
haughty, unapproachable
impressive in size or proportions

e.g. The governor watched with stately aloofness as his wife charmed the party guests.
a stately dowager in an evening gown

67
Q

straiten

A

to hem in; confine
to subject to distress, privation, or deficiency

e.g. in straitened circumstances

68
Q

swathe

A

to bind, wrap, or swaddle with or as if with a bandage
envelop

e.g. a mountain swathed by clouds

69
Q

tony

A

marked by an aristocratic or high-toned manner or style

e.g. tony private schools

70
Q

trounce

A

to defeat decisively

71
Q

unbosom

A

to give expression to; disclose, reveal
to disclose the thoughts or feelings of

e.g. unbosomed his fear of dying only to his closest friends

72
Q

verboten

A

forbidden; especially, prohibited by dictate

e.g. a college campus on which any form of hate speech was strictly verboten

73
Q

versant

A

the general slope of a region

having knowledge or experience; conversant

74
Q

wend

A

to direct one’s course; travel
to proceed on (one’s way); direct

e.g. We wended (our way) through the narrow streets.

75
Q

wile

A

a trick or stratagem intended to ensnare or deceive; also, a beguiling or playful trick
skill in outwitting; trickery, guile

e.g. use all of her wiles to convince everyone to stay

76
Q

wroth

A

intensely angry; highly incensed; wrathful

77
Q

yen

A

a strong desire or propensity; also, urge, craving

e.g. a yen for the sea / ice cream

78
Q

yowl

A

wail

e.g. a yowling cat outside the building

79
Q

zany

A

a slavish follower; toady
one who acts the buffoon to amuse others
very strange and silly

e.g. One of the challenges of hosting a radio call-in program is preventing the zanies from taking over the discussion.
a zany plane to drive cross-country on a motorized scooter

80
Q

zoom

A

to go speedily; zip
to increase sharply

e.g. cars zooming by on the highway
Retail sales zoomed.

GRE Vocabulary (50 decks)

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