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GRE Vocabulary Set 4
Frequently tested words on the GRE Set 4
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Acerbic (adj.) | having a sour or bitter taste or character; sharp; biting |
Aggrandize (verb) | to increase in intensity, power, influence, or prestige |
Alchemy (noun) | a medieval science aimed at the transmutation of metals, esp. base metals into gold |
Amenable (adj.) | agreeable; responsive to suggestion |
Anachronism (noun) | something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological contact |
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 |
Cynicism (noun) | an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness |
Decorum (noun) | polite or appropriate conduct or behavior |
Derision (noun) | scorn; ridicule, contemptuous treatment |
Desiccate (verb) | to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull |
Dilettante (noun) | one with an amateurish to 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 to 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 activity |
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.) | to deliberately obscure; to make confusing |
Ostentatious (adj.) | characterized by or given to pretentious display; showy |
Pervade (verb) | to permeate throughout |
Phlegmatic (adj.) | calm; sluggish; unemotional |
Plethora (noun) | an overabundance; a surplus |
Pragmatic (adj.) | practice rather than idealistic |
Presumptuous (adj.) | overstepping due bounds |
Pristine (adj.) | pure; uncorrupted; clean |
Probity (noun) | adherence to highest principles; complete and confirmed integrity; uprighting |
Proclivity (noun) | a natural predisposition or inclination |
Profligate (adj.) | excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant |
Propensity (noun) | a natural inclination or tendency; penchant |
Prosaic (adj.) | dull; lacking in spirit or imagination |
Pungent (adj.) | characterized by a string, sharp smell or taste |
Quixotic (adj.) | foolishly impractical; marked by a lofty romantic ideals |
Quotidian (adj.) | occurring or reassuring 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 spaced intervals |
Spendthrift (noun) | one who spends money wistfully |
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 of patches of different color |
Vexation (noun) | annoyance; irritation |
Vigilant (adj.) | alertly watchful |
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 |