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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 |