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gre study stuff
first vocab set
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| abscond | to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hind |
| aberrant | deviating from the norm |
| alacrity | eager and enthusiastic williness |
| anomaly | deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality |
| approbation | an expression of approval or praise |
| arduous | strenuous,taxing; requiring significant effort |
| assuage | to ease or lesson; to appease or pacify |
| audacious | daring and fearless; recklessly bold |
| austere | without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic |
| axiomatic | taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth |
| canonical | following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards |
| capricious | inclined to change one's mind impulsively; erratic, unpredictable |
| censure | to criticize severly; to officially rebuke |
| chicanery | trickery or subterfuge |
| connoisseur | an informed and astute judge in matters of taste; expert |
| convoluted | complex or complicated |
| disabuse | to undeceive; to set straight |
| discordant | conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound |
| disparate | fundamentally distinct or dissimilar |
| effrontery | extrem boldness, presumptuousness |
| eloquent | well-spoken, expressive, articulate |
| enervate | to weaken; to reduce in vitality |
| ennui | dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy |
| equivocate | to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent |
| erudite | very learned; scholarly |
| exculpate | exonerate; to clear of blame |
| exigent | urgent, pressing; requiring immediate action or attention |
| extemporaneous | improvised; done without preparation |
| filibuster | intentional obstruction, esp. using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action |
| fulminate | to loudly attack or denounce |
| ingenuous | artless; frank and candis; lacking in sophistication |
| inured | accustomed to accepting something undesirable |
| irascible | easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts |
| laud | to praise highly |
| lucid | clear; easily understood |
| magnanimity | the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, esp. in forgiving |
| martial | associated with war and the armed forces |
| mundane | of the world; typical of or concerned with the ordinary |
| nascent | coming into being; in early developmental stages |
| nebulous | vague; cloudy; lacking clearly defined form |
| neologism | a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses |
| noxious | harmful, injurious |
| obtuse | lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear or precise in thought or exprssion |
| obviate | to anticipate and make unnecessary |
| onerous | troubling; burdensome |
| paean | a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving |
| parody | a humorous imitation intended for ridicule or comic effect, ex. in literature and art |
| perennial | recurrent through the year or many years; happening repeatedly |
| perfidy | intentional breach of faith; treachery |
| perfunctory | cursory; done without care or interest |
| perspicacious | acutely perceptive; having keen discernment |
| prattle | to babble meaninglessly; to talk in and empty and idel manner |
| precipitate | to cause or happen before anticipated or required |
| precipitate | to cause or happen before anticipated or required |
| predilection | a disposition in favor of something; preference |
| prescience | foreknowledge of events; knowing of events prior to thir occurring |
| prevaricate | to deliberately avoid the truth; to mislead |
| qualms | misgivings; reservation; causes for hesitancy |
| recant | to retract; ex. a previously held belief |
| refute | to disprove; to successfully argue against |
| relegate | to forcibly assign, ex. to a lower place or position |
| reticent | quiet; reserved; reluctant to express thoughts and feelings |
| solicitous | concerned and attentive; eager |
| sordid | characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul |
| sporadic | occurring only occasionally, or in scattered instances |
| squandor | to waste by spending or using irresponsibly |
| static | not moving, active, or in motion |
| stupefy | to stun, baffle, or amaze |
| stymie | to block; thwart |
| synthesis | the combination of parts to make a whole |
| torque | a force that causes rotation |
| tortous | winding, twisting, excessively complicated |
| truculent | fierce and cruel; eager to fight |
| veracity | truthfulness, honesty |
| virulent | extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic |
| voracious | having an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit; ravenous |
| waver | to move to and fro; to sway; to be unsettled in opinion. |