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GRE Vocab - Group 4
Princeton Review 2012
Question | Answer |
---|---|
Acerbic (adj) | having a sour or bitter taste of character; sharp; biting |
Aggrandize (verb) | to increase in intensity, power, influence, or prestige |
Alchemy (noun) | a medieval science aimed at the transmutation of metals, especially base metals into gold (an alchemist is one who practices alchemy) |
Amenable (adj) | agreeable; responsive to suggestion |
Anachronism (noun) | something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context |
Astringent (adj) | having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe; something with a tightening effect on tissue |
Contiguous (adj) | sharing a border; touching; adjacent |
Convention (noun) | a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude |
Credulous (adj) | tending to believe too readily; gullible (noun form: credulity) |
Cynicism (noun) | an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness (adj form: cynical) |
Decorum (noun) | polite or appropriate conduct or behavior (adj form: decorous) |
Derision (noun) | scorn, ridicule, contemptuous treatment (adj form: derisive; verb form: deride) |
Desiccate (verb) | to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull |
Dilettante (noun) | one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge |
Disparage (verb) | to slight or belittle |
Divulge (verb) | to disclose something secret |
Fawn (verb) | to flatter or praise excessively |
Flout (verb) | to show contempt for, as in a rule or convention |
Garrulous (adj) | pointlessly talkative; talking too much |
Glib (adj) | marked by ease or informality’ nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial |
Hubris (noun) | overbearing presumption or pride; arrogance |
Imminent (adj) | about to happen’ impending |
Immutable (adj) | not capable of change |
Impetuous (adj) | hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement |
Indifferent (adj) | having no interest or concern; showing no bias or prejudice |
Inimical (adj) | damaging; harmful; injurious |
Intractable (adj) | not easily managed or directed; stubborn; obstinate |
Intrepid (adj) | steadfast and courageous |
Laconic (adj) | using few words; terse |
Maverick (noun) | an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party |
Mercurial (adj) | characterized by rapid and unpredictable change in mood |
Mollify (verb) | to calm or soothe; to reduce in emotional intensity |
Neophyte (noun) | a recent convert; a beginner; novice |
Obfuscate (verb) | to deliberately obscure; to make confusing |
Obstinate (adj) | stubborn; hard headed; uncompromising |
Ostentatious (adj) | characterized by or given to pretentious display; showy |
Pervade (verb) | to permeate throughout (adj form: pervasive) |
Phlegmatic (adj) | calm, sluggish, unemotional |
Plethora (noun) | an overabundance; a surplus |
Pragmatic (adj) | practical rather than idealistic |
Presumptuous (adj) | overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy); taking liberties |
Pristine (adj) | pure; uncorrupted; clean |
Probity (noun) | adherence to the highest principles; complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness |
Proclivity (noun) | a natural predisposition or inclination |
Profligate (noun) | excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant (noun form: profligacy) |
Propensity (noun) | a natural inclination or tendency: penchant |
Prosaic (adj) | dull; lacking in spirit or imagination |
Pungent (adj) | characterized by a strong, sharp smell or taste |
Quixotic (adj) | foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals |
Quotidian (adj) | occurring or recurring daily; commonplace |
Rarefy (verb) | to make or become thin, less dense; to refine |
Recondite (adj) | hidden; concealed; difficult to understand; obscure |
Refulgent (adj) | radiant; shiny; brilliant |
Renege (verb) | to fail to honor a commitment; to go back on a promise |
Sedulous (adj) | diligent; persistent; hard-working |
Shard (noun) | a piece of broken pottery or glass |
Soporific (adj) | causing drowsiness; tending to induce sleep |
Sparse (adj) | thin; not dense; arranged at widely spaces intervals |
Spendthrift (noun) | one who spends money wastefully |
Subtle (adj) | not obvious; elusive; difficult to discern |
Tacit (adj) | implied; not explicitly stated |
Terse (adj) | brief and concise in wording |
Tout (verb) | to publicly praise or promote |
Trenchant (adj) | sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating |
Unfeigned (adj) | genuine; not false or hypocritical |
Untenable (adj) | indefensible; not viable; uninhabitable |
Vacillate (verb) | to waver indecisively between one course of action or opinion and another |
Variegated (adj) | multicolored; characterized by a variety or patches of different color |
Vexation (noun) | annoyance; irritation (noun form: vex) |
Vigilant (adj) | alertly watchful (noun form: vigilance) |
Vituperate (verb) | to use harsh condemnatory language; to abuse or censure severely or abusively; to berate |
Volatile (adj) | readily changing to a vapor; changeable; fickle; explosive (noun form: volatility) |