incorrect cards (0)
correct cards (0)
remaining cards (0)
retry
restart
shuffle
help
0:01
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
GRE vocab #4
Princeton Review-2008 ed. #4
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| acerbic | having a sour or bitter taste or character; sharp; biting |
| aggrandize | to increase in intensity, power, influence or prestige |
| alchemy | a medieval science aimed as the transmutation of metals, esp. base metals into gold |
| amenable | agreeable; responsive to suggestion |
| anachronism | something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context |
| astringent | having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe; something with a tightening effect on tissue |
| contiguous | sharing a border; touching; adjacent |
| convention | a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude |
| credulous | tending to believe too readily; gullible |
| cynicism | an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness |
| decorum | polite or appropriate conduct or behavior |
| derision | scorn, ridicule, contemptuous treatment |
| desiccate | to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull |
| dilettante | one with an amateurish or superticial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge |
| disparage | to slight or belittle |
| divulge | to disclose something secret |
| fawn | to flatter or praise excessively |
| flout | to show contempt for, as in a rule or convention |
| garrulous | pointelessly talkative, talking too much |
| glib | marked by ease or informality; nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial |
| hubris | overbearing presumption or pride; arrogance |
| imminent | about to happen; impending |
| immutable | not capable of change |
| impetuous | hastily or rashly energetic' impulsive and vehement |
| indifferent | having no interest or concern; showing no bias or prejudice |
| inimical | damaging; harmful; injurious |
| intractable | not easily managed or directed; stubborn; obstinate |
| interpid | steadfast and courageous |
| laconic | using few words; terse |
| maverick | an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party |
| mercurial | characterized by rapid and unpredictable change in mood |
| mollify | to calm or soothe; to reduce in emotional intensity |
| neophyte | a recent convert; a beginner; novice |
| 0bfuscate | to deliberately obscure; to make confusing |
| obstinate | stubborn; hardheaded; uncompromising |
| ostentatious | characterized by or given to pretentious display; showy |
| pervade | to permeate throughout |
| phlegmatic | calm; sluggish; unemotional |
| plethora | an overabundance; a surplus |
| pragmatic | practical rather than idealistic |
| presumptuous | overstepping due bounds; taking liberties |
| pristine | pure; uncorrupted; clean |
| probity | adherence to highest principles; complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness |
| proclivity | a natural predisposition or inclination |
| profligate | excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant |
| propensity | a natural inclination or tendency, penchant |
| prosaic | dull; lacking in spirit or imagination |
| pungent | characterized by a strong, sharp smell or taste |
| quixotic | foolishly impractical; marked by loft romantic ideals |
| quotidian | ocurring or recurring daily; commonplace |
| rarefy | to make or become thin, less dense; to refine |
| recondite | hidden; concealed; difficult to understand; obscure |
| refulgent | radiant; shiny; brilliant |
| renege | to fail to honor a commitment; to fo back on a promise |
| sedulous | diligent; persistent; hard-working |
| shard | a piece of broken pottery or glass |
| soporific | causing drowsiness; tending to induce sleep |
| sparse | thin; not dense; arranged at widely spaced intervals |
| spendthrift | one who spends money wastefully |
| subtle | not obvious; elusive; difficult to discern |
| tacit | implied; not explicitly stated |
| terse | brief and concise in wording |
| tout | to publicly praise or promote |
| trenchant | sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating |
| unfeigned | genuine; not false or hypocritical |
| untenable | indefensible; not viable; uninhabitable |
| vacillate | to waver indecisively between one course of action or opinion and another; waver |
| variegated | multicolores; characterized by a variety of parches of different color |
| vexation | annoyance; irritation |
| vigilant | alertly watchful |
| vituperate | to use harsh, condemnatory language; to abuse or censure severely or abusively; berate |
| volatile | readily changing to a vapor; changeable; fickle; explosive |
Created by:
hholly
on 2008-09-07