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GRE 2000
ALMOST 200O WORDS FOR GRE
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Abject | wretched; lacking pride |
| Abjure | renounce upon oath |
| Ablution | washing |
| Abnegation | renunciation; self-sacrifice |
| Abrogate | abolish |
| Abscission | cutting off; separation |
| Abstemious | sparing in eating and drinking; temporate |
| Abstruse | obscure; profound; difficult to understand |
| Abut | border upon; adjoin |
| Accede | agree |
| Acclivity | sharp upslope of a hill |
| Acme | peak; pinnacle; highest point |
| Actuarial | calculating; pertaining to insurance statistics |
| Addle | muddle; drive crazy; become rotten |
| Adjunct | something added or attached |
| Adjuration | solemn urging |
| Adjutant | staff officer assisting the commander; assistant |
| Adulation | flattery; admiration |
| Advent | arrival |
| Adventitious | accidental; casual |
| Advert | refer |
| Aegis | shield; defense |
| Aerie | nest of a large bird of prey |
| Affable | easily approachable; warmly friendly |
| Agog | highly excited; intensely curious |
| Alacrity | cheerful promptness; eagerness |
| Alimentary | supplying nourishment |
| Alloy | mix; make less pure; lessen or moderate |
| Alluvial | pertaining to soil deposits left by running water |
| Amalgamate | combine; unite in one body |
| Ameliorate | improve |
| Amenable | readily managed or willing to be led; accountable legally |
| Amity | friendship |
| Anachronism | something or someone misplaced in time |
| Anathema | solemn curse; someone or something regarded as a curse |
| Ancillary | serving as an aid or accessory; auxiliary |
| Animadversion | critical remark |
| Animus | hostile feeling or intent |
| Anneal | reduce brittleness and improve toughness by heating and cooling |
| Anodyne | drug that relieves pain; opiate |
| Antecede | precede |
| Antediluvian | antiquated; extremely ancient |
| Anthropoid | manlike |
| Anthropomorphic | having human form or characteristics |
| Aphasia | loss of speech due to injury or illness |
| Ape | imitate or mimic |
| Aplomb | poise; assurance |
| Apocryphal | untrue; made up |
| Apogee | highest point |
| Apologist | one who writes in defense of a cause or institution |
| Apostate | one who abandons his religious faith or political beliefs |
| Apothegm | pithy, compact saying |
| Apotheosis | elevation to godhood; an ideal example of something |
| Application | diligent attention |
| Apposite | appropriate; fitting |
| Arcane | secret; mysterious; known only to the initiated |
| Array | marshal; draw up in order |
| Arrears | being in debt |
| Arroyo | gully |
| Artifice | deception; trickery |
| Artless | without guile; open and honest |
| Ascendancy | controlling influence |
| Ascetic | practicing self-denial; austere |
| Asperity | sharpness (of temper) |
| Aspersion | slanderous remark |
| Aspirant | seeker after position or status |
| Assay | analyze; evaluate |
| Assiduous | diligent |
| Astute | wise; shrewd; keen |
| Atavism | resemblance to remote ancestors rather than to parents; throwback |
| Attenuate | make thin; weaken |
| Aureole | sun’s corona; halo |
| Auroral | pertaining to the aurora borealis |
| Austere | forbiddingly stern; severely simple and unornamented |
| Automaton | mechanism that imitates actions of humans |
| Aver | state confidently |
| Avocation | secondary or minor occupation |
| Avuncular | like an uncle |
| Badinage | teasing conversation |
| Baleful | deadly; having a malign influence; ominous |
| Banal | hackneyed; commonplace; trite; lacking originality |
| Bate | let down; restrain |
| Beatitude | blessedness; state of bliss |
| Bedizen | dress with vulgar finery |
| Bedraggle | wet thoroughly |
| Beleaguer | besiege or attack |
| Bellicose | warlike |
| Bemused | confused; lost in thought; preoccupied |
| Benison | blessing |
| Betoken | signify; indicate |
| Bifurcated | divided into two branches; forked |
| Bilious | suffering from indigestion; irritable |
| Bivouac | temporary encampment |
| Blandishment | flattery |
| Blighted | suffering from a disease; destroyed |
| Blithe | gay; joyous |
| Bluff | rough but good-natured |
| Bombastic | pompous; using inflated language |
| Bowdlerize | expurgate |
| Brackish | somewhat saline |
| Brindled | tawny or grayish with steaks or spots |
| Brocade | rich, figured fabric |
| Brook | tolerate; endure |
| Bucolic | rustic; pastoral |
| Buffet | slap; batter; knock about |
| Bugaboo | bugbear; object of baseless terror |
| Bulwark | earthwork or other strong defense; person who defends |
| Burnish | make shiny by rubbing; polish |
| Cabal | small group of persons secretly united to promote their interests |
| Cadence | rhythmic rise and fall; beat |
| Callow | youthful; immature; inexperienced |
| Calorific | heat-producing |
| Calumny | malicious misrepresentation; slander |
| Cameo | shell or jewel carved in relief |
| Canard | unfounded rumor; exaggerated report |
| Cant | insincere expressions of piety; jargon of thieves |
| Capitulate | surrender |
| Captious | fault finding |
| Carapace | shell covering the back |
| Carillon | a set of bells capable of being played |
| Cataclysm | deluge; upheaval |
| Cataract | great waterfall |
| Caulk | make watertight |
| Cavil | make frivolous objections |
| Celerity | speed; rapidity |
| Centripetal | tending toward the center |
| Chaffing | bantering; joking |
| Charlatan | quack; pretender of knowledge |
| Chary | cautious; sparing or restrained about giving |
| Chimerical | fantastically improbable; highly unrealistic; imaginative |
| Churlish | boorish; rude |
| Circuitous | roundabout |
| Circumlocution | indirect or roundabout expression |
| Clamber | climb by crawling |
| Clandestine | secret |
| Clarion | shrill, trumpetlike sound |
| Cleft | split |
| Clemency | disposition to be lenient; mildness (weather) |
| Cloying | distasteful (because excessive); excessively sweet or sentimental |
| Coalesce | combine; fuse |
| Coda | concluding section of a musical or literal composition |
| Codicil | supplement to the body of a will |
| Coeval | living at the same time as; contemporary |
| Cogent | convincing |
| Cogitate | think over |
| Cognate | similar or akin in nature; allied by blood; related linguistically |
| Collation | a light meal |
| Colloquy | informal discussion |
| Comestible | fit to be eaten |
| Comity | courtesy; civility |
| Complacency | self-satisfaction; smugness |
| Complaisant | trying to please; obliging |
| Complicity | participation; involvement |
| Compunction | remorse |
| Concatenate | link as in a chain |
| Concomitant | that which accompanies |
| Concord | harmony |
| Condign | adequate; deservedly severe |
| Conflagration | great fire |
| Confluence | flowing together; crowd |
| Congenital | existing at birth |
| Connubial | pertaining to marriage or the matrimonial state |
| Consanguinity | kinship |
| Consequential | pompous; self-important |
| Conservatory | school of fine arts (esp. drama) |
| Consign | deliver officially; entrust; set apart |
| Consonance | harmony; agreement |
| Consummate | complete |
| Contiguous | adjacent to; touching upon |
| Continence | self-restraint; sexual chastity |
| Contravene | contradict; oppose; infringe on or transgress |
| Contrite | penitent |
| Controvert | oppose with arguments; attempt to refute |
| Contumacious | disobedient; resisting authority |
| Conversant | familiar with |
| Convex | curving outward |
| Convivial | festive; gay; characterized by joviality |
| Convoke | call together |
| Cordon | extended line of men or fortifications to prevent access or egress |
| Cornice | projecting molding on building |
| Coterie | group that meets socially; select circle |
| Countenance | approve; tolerate |
| Countermand | cancel; revoke |
| Cow | terrorize; intimidate |
| Cozen | cheat; hoodwink; swindle |
| Credence | belief |
| Crotchety | eccentric; whimsical |
| Cull | pick out; reject |
| Culvert | artificial channel for water |
| Cupidity | greed |
| Cursive | flowing; running |
| Cynosure | object of general attention |
| Daub | smear |
| Debunk | expose as false, exaggerated, worthless, etc.; ridicule |
| Decant | pour off gently |
| Declivity | downward slope |
| Décolleté | having a low-cut neckline |
| Decrepitude | state of collapse caused by illness or old age |
| Decry | express strong disapproval of; disparage |
| Deference | courteous regard for another’s wish |
| Defray | provide for the payment of |
| Defrock | to strip a priest or minister of church authority |
| Deign | condescend; stoop |
| Deleterious | harmful |
| Delineate | portray; depict; sketch |
| Demur | object (because of doubts, scruples); hesitate |
| Demure | grave; serious; coy |
| Denigrate | blacken |
| Denizen | inhabitant or resident; regular visitor |
| Deprecate | express disapproval of; protest against; belittle |
| Depredation | plundering |
| Derelict | abandoned; negligent |
| Descry | catch sight of |
| Desiccate | dry up |
| Despoil | plunder |
| Despondent | depressed; gloomy |
| Despot | tyrant; harsh, authoritarian ruler |
| Desultory | aimless; haphazard; digressing at random |
| Detraction | slandering; aspersion |
| Devolve | deputize; pass to others |
| Dialectical | relating to the art of debate; mutual or reciprocal |
| Diaphanous | sheer; transparent |
| Diatribe | bitter scolding; invective |
| Dictum | authoritative or weighty statement; saying; maxim |
| Diffuse | wordy; rambling; spread out (like a gas) |
| Dilatory | delaying |
| Dilettante | aimless follower of the arts; amateur; dabbler |
| Diminution | lessening; reduction in size |
| Dint | means; effort |
| Disaffected | disloyal |
| Discomfit | put to rout; defeat; disconcert |
| Disconcert | confuse; upset; embarrass |
| Disconsolate | sad |
| Discursive | digressing; rambling |
| Disenfranchise | deprive of a civil right |
| Disgorge | surrender something; eject; vomit |
| Disingenuous | not naïve; sophisticated |
| Disinter | dig up; unearth |
| Disinterested | unprejudiced |
| Disjunction | act or state of separation; disunity |
| Disparate | basically different; unrelated |
| Disport | amuse |
| Disquisition | a formal systematic inquiry |
| Dissident | dissenting; rebellious |
| Dissolution | disintegration; looseness in morals |
| Dissonance | discord; opposite of harmony |
| Distend | expand; swell out |
| Distrait | absentminded |
| Divest | strip; deprive |
| Docket | program as for trial; book where such entries are made |
| Doctrinaire | unable to compromise about points of doctrine; dogmatic |
| Doff | take off |
| Doggerel | poor verse |
| Dormer | window projecting from a roof |
| Dotage | senility |
| Dour | sullen; stubborn |
| Dowdy | slovenly; untidy |
| Draconian | extremely severe |
| Droll | queer and amusing |
| Drone | idle person; male bee |
| Dross | waste matter |
| Ductile | malleable; flexible; pliable |
| Dyspeptic | suffering from indigestion |
| Ebullient | showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm |
| Eddy | swirling current of water, air, etc. |
| Edify | instruct; correct morally |
| Effectual | able to produce a desired effect; valid |
| Effete | worn out; exhausted; barren |
| Effluvium | noxious smell |
| Effusion | pouring forth |
| Effusive | pouring forth; gushing |
| Egregious | notorious; conspicuously bad or shocking |
| Egress | exit |
| Elysian | relating to paradise; blissful |
| Emend | correct, usually a text |
| Emendation | correction of errors; improvement |
| Emetic | substance causing vomiting |
| Eminent | high; lofty |
| Emolument | salary; compensation |
| Empirical | based on experience |
| Enclave | territory enclosed within an alien land |
| Encomiastic | praising; eulogistic |
| Encomium | high praise; eulogy |
| Endemic | prevailing among a specific group or in a specific area |
| Endue | provide with some quality; endow |
| Enervate | weaken |
| Enfranchise | admit to the rights of a citizen (especially the right to |
| Engender | cause; produce |
| Enjoin | command; order; forbid |
| Ennui | boredom |
| Ensconced | settle comfortably |
| Environ | enclose; surround |
| Epaulet | ornament worn on the shoulder (of a uniform, etc.) |
| Ephemeral | short-lived; fleeting |
| Epicure | connoisseur of food and drink |
| Episodic | loosely connected |
| Epistemologist | philosopher who studies the nature of knowledge |
| Equable | steady; tranquil; uniform |
| Equanimity | calmness of temperament; composure |
| Equipoise | balance; balancing force; equilibrium |
| Equity | fairness; justice |
| Equivocal | ambiguous; intentionally misleading |
| Equivocate | lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the truth |
| Errant | wandering |
| Erudite | learned; scholarly |
| Eschew | avoid |
| Esoteric | hard to understand; known only to a chosen few |
| Ethereal | light; heavenly; unusually refined |
| Ethos | underlying character of a culture, group, etc. |
| Eugenic | pertaining to the improvement of a race |
| Evanescent | fleeting; vanishing |
| Evince | show clearly |
| Exacerbate | worsen; embitter |
| Excoriate | scold with bitter sharpness; strip off the skin |
| Execrable | very bad |
| Execrate | curse; express abhorrence for |
| Exegesis | explanation, especially of a biblical passage |
| Exigency | urgent situation |
| Exiguous | small; minute |
| Expatiate | talk at length |
| Expiate | make amends for (a sin) |
| Expostulation | protest; remonstrance |
| Expropriate | take possession of |
| Expurgate | clean; remove offensive parts of a book |
| Extant | still in existence |
| Extemporaneous | not planned; impromptu |
| Extirpate | root up |
| Extol | praise; glorify |
| Extrinsic | external; not essential; extraneous |
| Extrude | force or push out |
| Factitious | artificial; sham |
| Factotum | handyman; person who does all kinds of work |
| Fallow | plowed but not sowed; uncultivated |
| Fancier | breeder or dealer of animals |
| Fastidious | difficult to please; squeamish |
| Fatuous | foolish; inane |
| Febrile | feverish |
| Fecundity | fertility; fruitfulness |
| Feint | trick; shift; sham blow |
| Felicitous | apt; suitable expressed; well chosen |
| Fell | cruel; deadly |
| Fell | cut or knock down; bring down (with a missile) |
| Feral | domestic; wild |
| Ferment | agitation; commotion |
| Fete | honor at a festival |
| Fetid | malodorous |
| Fetter | shackle |
| Fiat | command |
| Filch | steal |
| Filial | pertaining to a son or daughter |
| Filibuster | block legislation by making long speeches |
| Filigree | delicate, lacelike metalwork |
| Firebrand | hothead; troublemaker |
| Flay | strip off one’s skin; plunder |
| Fleece | rob; plunder |
| Floe | mass of floating ice |
| Flotsam | drifting wreckage |
| Fluted | having vertical parallel grooves (as in a pillar) |
| Foment | stir up; instigate |
| Foppish | vain about dress and appearance |
| Foray | raid |
| Forebears | ancestors |
| Forensic | suitable to debate or courts of law |
| Forestall | prevent by taking action in advance |
| Forswear | renounce; abandon |
| Fortuitous | accidental; by chance |
| Fractious | unruly |
| Frenetic | frenzied; frantic |
| Fulminate | thunder; explode |
| Fulsome | disgustingly excessive |
| Functionary | official |
| Furtive | stealthy; sneaky |
| Gadfly | animal-biting fly; an irritating person |
| Gaffe | social blunder |
| Gainsay | deny |
| Galvanize | stimulate by shock; stir up; revitalize |
| Gambit | opening in chess in which a piece is sacrificed |
| Garish | overbright in color; gaudy |
| Garrulous | loquacious; wordy; talkative |
| Gastronomy | science of preparing and serving good food |
| Gauche | clumsy; coarse and uncouth |
| Gentry | people of standing; class of people just below nobility |
| Genuflect | bend the knee as in worship |
| Germane | pertinent; bearing upon the case at hand |
| Germinal | pertaining to a germ; creative |
| Gerontocracy | government ruled by old people |
| Gerrymander | change voting district lines in order to favor a political party |
| Glower | scowl |
| Glutinous | sticky; viscous |
| Gossamer | sheer; like cobwebs |
| Gourmand | epicure; person who takes excessive pleasure in food and drink |
| Grandiloquent | pompous; bombastic; using high-sounding language |
| Gregarious | sociable |
| Grouse | complain; fuss |
| Gull | hoodwink; trick |
| Gustatory | affecting the sense of taste |
| Guy | cable or chain attached to something that needs to be steadied |
| Hackles | hairs on back and neck, especially of a dog |
| Hackneyed | commonplace; trite |
| Halcyon | calm; peaceful |
| Hale | healthy |
| Harangue | long, passionate, and vehement speech |
| Harry | harass, annoy, torment; raid |
| Hedonist | one who believes that pleasure is the sole aim in life |
| Hegemony | dominance, especially one nation over another |
| Hermetic | obscure and mysterious; occult |
| Herpetologist | one who studies reptiles |
| Hibernal | wintry |
| Hinterlands | back country |
| Homeostasis | tendency of a system to maintain relative stability |
| Homilies | sermon; serious warning |
| Hortatory | encouraging; exhortive |
| Hummock | small hill |
| Humus | substance formed by decaying vegetable matter |
| Husbandry | frugality; thrift; agriculture |
| Iconoclastic | attacking cherished traditions |
| Idyllic | charmingly carefree; simple |
| Illusory | deceptive; not real |
| Imbroglio | complicated situation; painful misunderstanding, entanglement |
| Imbue | saturate, fill |
| Immolate | offer as a sacrifice |
| Immure | imprison; shut up in confinement |
| Impassive | without feeling; impeturbable; stoical |
| Impecunious | without money |
| Imperious | domineering; haughty |
| Impervious | impenetrable; incapable of being damaged or distressed |
| Impinge | infringe; touch; collide with |
| Impious | irreverent |
| Imponderable | weightless |
| Importunate | urging; demanding |
| Importune | beg persistently |
| Imprecation | curse |
| Improvident | thriftless |
| Impudence | impertinence; insolence |
| Impugn | dispute or contradict (often in an insulting way); challenge |
| Impuissance | powerlessness; feebleness |
| Impute | attribute; ascribe |
| Inchoate | recently begun; rudimentary; elementary |
| Incipient | beginning; at an early stage |
| Inclement | stormy; unkind |
| Incontinent | lacking self-restraint; licentious |
| Incorporeal | lacking a material body; insubstantial |
| Incorrigible | uncorrectable |
| Incredulous | withholding belief; skeptical |
| Incubus | burden; mental care; nightmare |
| Inculcate | teach |
| Incursion | temporary evasion |
| Indelible | not able to be erased |
| Indemnify | make secure against loss; compensate for loss |
| Indigent | poor; destitute |
| Indite | write; compose |
| Inductive | proceeding from the specific to the general |
| Ineffable | unutterable; cannot be expressed in speech |
| Ineluctable | irresistible; not to be escaped |
| Inequity | unfairness |
| Inerrancy | infallibility |
| Inexorable | relentless; unyielding; implacable |
| Infidel | unbeliever |
| Ingenuous | naïve and trusting; young; unsophisticated |
| Ingrate | ungrateful person |
| Inimical | unfriendly; hostile; harmful; detrimental |
| Iniquitous | wicked; immoral; unrighteous |
| Insalubrious | unwholesome; not healthful |
| Inscrutable | impenetrable; not readily understood |
| Insensate | without feeling |
| Insidious | treacherous; stealthy; sly |
| Insipid | lacking in flavor; dull |
| Insouciant | indifferent; without concern or care |
| Insularity | narrow-mindedness; isolation |
| Insuperable | insurmountable; unbeatable |
| Insurgent | rebellious |
| Insurrection | rebellion |
| Interdict | prohibit; forbid |
| Interloper | intruder |
| Internecine | mutually destructive |
| Interregnum | period between two reigns |
| Intractable | unruly; stubborn; unyielding |
| Intransigence | refusal to any compromise; stubbornness |
| Intrepid | fearless |
| Invective | abuse |
| Inveigh | denounce; utter censure or invective |
| Inveterate | deep-rooted; habitual |
| Invidious | designed to create ill will or envy |
| Irascible | irritable; easily angered |
| Irremediable | incurable; uncorrectable |
| Isotope | varying form of an element |
| Itinerant | wandering; traveling |
| Jaundiced | prejudiced (envious, hostile, or resentful) |
| Jaunty | lighthearted; animated; easy and carefree |
| Jingoist | extremely militant patriot; warlike chauvinist |
| Juggernaut | irresistible crushing force |
| Junket | trip, especially for pleasure by an official at public expense |
| Jurisprudence | science of law |
| Ken | range of knowledge |
| Kernel | central or vital part |
| Kinetic | producing motion |
| Knotty | intricate; difficult; tangled |
| Labile | likely to change; unstable |
| Laconic | brief and to the point |
| Laity | laypersons; persons not connected with the clergy |
| Lancet | small surgical tool for making incisions |
| Languish | lose animation or strength |
| Languor | lassitude; depression |
| Larder | pantry; place where food is kept |
| Largess | generous gift |
| Lassitude | languor; weariness |
| Leaven | cause to rise or grow; enliven |
| Lectern | reading desk |
| Legerdemain | slight of hand |
| Leonine | like a lion |
| Lexicographer | compiler of a dictionary |
| Lexicon | dictionary |
| Libertine | debauched person; roue |
| Libretto | text of an opera |
| Licentious | lewd; amoral; unrestrained |
| Ligneous | like wood |
| Limn | draw; outline; describe |
| Limpid | clear |
| Lineaments | features, especially the face |
| Lionize | treat as a celebrity |
| Litany | supplicatory prayer |
| Lithe | flexible; supple |
| Litotes | understatement for emphasis |
| Livid | lead-colored; black and blue; ashen; enraged |
| Lode | metal-bearing vein |
| Loom | appear or take shape (usually in an enlarged, distorted form) |
| Lope | gallop slowly |
| Low | moo |
| Lucre | money |
| Lugubrious | mournful |
| Luminary | celebrity; dignitary |
| Lurid | wild; sensational; graphic; gruesome |
| Macerate | soften by soaking in liquid; waste away |
| Machiavellian | crafty; double-dealing |
| Maculated | spotted; stained |
| Madrigal | pastoral song |
| Magnanimity | generosity |
| Magnate | person of influence or prominence |
| Magniloquent | boastful, pompous |
| Maladroit | clumsy; bungling |
| Malaise | uneasiness; vague feeling of ill health |
| Malediction | curse |
| Malefactor | evildoer; criminal |
| Malfeasance | wrongdoing |
| Malingerer | one who feigns illness to escape duty |
| Manacle | restrain; handcuff |
| Manifest | evident; visible; obvious |
| Mannered | affected; not actual |
| Manumit | emancipate; free from bondage |
| Marsupial | mammals that nurse their offspring in a pouch |
| Martinet | one who observes all rules |
| Matrix | point of origin; array of numbers or algebraic symbols; mold or |
| Maudlin | effusively sentimental |
| Mauve | pale purple |
| Maverick | rebel; nonconformist |
| Mawkish | mushy and gushy; icky-sticky sentimental; maudlin |
| Mealymouthed | indirect in speech; hypocritical; evasive |
| Meek | submissive; patient and long-suffering |
| Megalomania | mania for doing grandiose things |
| Mellifluous | sweetly or smoothly flowing; melodious |
| Mendacious | lying; habitually dishonest |
| Mendicant | beggar |
| Mercenary | motivated solely by money or gain |
| Mercurial | capricious; changing; fickle |
| Meretricious | flashy; tawdry |
| Metaphysical | pertaining to speculative philosophy |
| Mete | measure; distribute |
| Meteoric | swift; momentarily brilliant |
| Miasma | swamp gas; heavy, vaporous atmosphere |
| Milieu | environment; means of expression |
| Militate | work against |
| Minatory | menacing; threatening |
| Mincing | affectedly dainty |
| Minion | a servile dependent |
| Minutiae | petty details |
| Misanthrope | one who hates mankind |
| Misapprehension | error; misunderstanding |
| Miscreant | wretch; villain |
| Misogamy | hatred of marriage |
| Misogynist | hater of women |
| Missive | letter |
| Mitigate | appease; moderate |
| Modicum | limited quantity |
| Mollify | soothe |
| Mollycoddle | pamper; indulge excessively |
| Monolithic | solidly uniform; unyielding |
| Moratorium | legal delay of payment |
| Mordant | biting; sarcastic; stinging |
| Moribund | dying |
| Mote | small speck |
| Mountebank | charlatan; boastful pretender |
| Mulct | defraud a person of something |
| Multifarious | varied; greatly diversified |
| Munificent | very generous |
| Mutability | ability to change in form; fickleness |
| Nadir | lowest point |
| Nascent | incipient; coming into being |
| Natation | swimming |
| Natty | neatly or smartly dressed |
| Necromancy | black magic; dealings with the dead |
| Nefarious | very wicked |
| Neologism | new or newly coined word or phrase |
| Neophyte | recent convert; beginner |
| Nether | lower |
| Nettle | annoy; vex |
| Nexus | connection |
| Nib | beak; pen point |
| Nicety | precision; minute distinction |
| Niggardly | meanly stingy; parsimonious |
| Niggle | spend too much time on minor points; carp |
| Nihilist | one who considers traditional beliefs to be groundless |
| Noisome | foul-smelling; unwholesome |
| Nominal | in name only; trifling |
| Nonplus | bring to a halt by confusion; perplex |
| Nostrum | questionable medicine |
| Nubile | marriageable |
| Nugatory | futile; worthless |
| Numismatist | person who collects coins |
| Obdurate | stubborn |
| Obeisance | bow |
| Obelisk | tall column tapering and ending in a pyramid |
| Obfuscate | confuse; muddle; cause confusion; make needlessly complex |
| Oblique | indirect; slanting |
| Obloquy | slander; disgrace; infamy |
| Obsequious | slavishly attentive; servile; sycophantic |
| Obsequy | funeral ceremony |
| Obstreperous | boisterous; noisy |
| Obtrude | push (oneself or one’s ideas) forward or intrude; butt in |
| Obviate | make unnecessary; get rid of |
| Occident | the West |
| Occlude | shut; close |
| Odium | detestation; hatefulness; disrepute |
| Officious | meddlesome; excessively pushy in offering one’s services |
| Oligarchy | government by a privileged few |
| Onerous | burdensome |
| Opalescent | iridescent; lustrous |
| Opaque | dark; not transparent |
| Opprobrium | infamy; vilification |
| Opulence | extreme wealth; luxuriousness; abundance |
| Opus | work |
| Oratorio | dramatic poem set to music |
| Ordination | ceremony conferring holy orders |
| Orthography | correct spelling |
| Osseous | made of bone; bony |
| Ossify | change or harden into bone |
| Ostensible | apparent; professed; pretended |
| Overweening | presumptuous; arrogant |
| Overwrought | extremely agitated; hysterical |
| Ovoid | egg-shaped |
| Pachyderm | thick-skinned animal |
| Paean | song of praise or joy |
| Palimpsest | parchment used for second time after original has been erased |
| Pall | grow tiresome |
| Pallet | small, poor bed |
| Palliate | ease pain; make less severe or offensive |
| Pan | criticize harshly |
| Panacea | cure-all; remedy for all diseases |
| Pandemic | widespread; affecting the majority of people |
| Pander | cater to the low desires of others |
| Panegyric | formal praise |
| Paragon | model of perfection |
| Pariah | social outcast |
| Parity | equality; close resemblance |
| Parlance | language; idiom |
| Parochial | narrow in outlook; provincial; related to parishes |
| Paroxysm | fit or attack of pain, laughter, rage |
| Parquet | floor made of wood strips inlaid in a mosaic-like pattern |
| Parry | ward off a blow; deflect |
| Parsimony | stinginess; excessive frugality |
| Pastiche | imitation of another’s style in musical composition or writing |
| Pastoral | rural |
| Pathos | tender sorrow; pity; quality in art or lit that produces these |
| Patina | green crust on old bronze works; tone taken by varnished painting |
| Patois | local or provincial dialect |
| Patrician | noble; aristocratic |
| Paucity | scarcity |
| Peccadillo | slight offense |
| Pecuniary | pertaining to money |
| Pedagogue | teacher |
| Pedagogy | teaching; art of education |
| Pedant | scholar who overemphasizes book learning or technicalities |
| Pedantic | showing off learning; bookish |
| Pellucid | transparent; limpid; easy to understand |
| Penchant | strong inclination; liking |
| Penumbra | partial shadow (in an eclipse) |
| Penury | severe poverty; stinginess |
| Peon | landless agricultural worker; bond servant |
| Perdition | damnation; complete ruin |
| Peregrination | journey |
| Peremptory | demanding and leaving no choice |
| Perennial | something long-lasting |
| Perfidious | treacherous; disloyal |
| Perfunctory | superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care or enthusiasm |
| Perigee | point of moon’s orbit when it is nearest the earth |
| Peripatetic | walking about; moving |
| Pernicious | very destructive |
| Peroration | conclusion in an oration |
| Perquisite | any gain above stipulated salary |
| Perspicacious | having insight; penetrating; astute |
| Perspicuity | clearness of expression; freedom from ambiguity |
| Perspicuous | plainly expressed |
| Pert | impertinent; forward |
| Pertinacious | stubborn; persistent |
| Pestle | tool for mashing or grinding substances in a hard bowl |
| Petulant | touchy; peevish |
| Pharisaical | pertaining to the Pharisees; attention to tradition; hypocritical |
| Philatelist | stamp-collector |
| Philistine | narrow-minded person, uncultured and interested in material gain |
| Philology | study of language |
| Phlegmatic | calm; not easily disturbed |
| Physiognomy | face |
| Piebald | of different colors; mottled; spotted |
| Pied | variegated; multicolored |
| Pillory | punish by placing in a wooden frame; subject to ridicule |
| Pinion | restraint |
| Piquant | pleasantly tart-tasting; stimulating |
| Pique | irritation; resentment |
| Pique | provoke or arouse; annoy |
| Piscatorial | pertaining to fishing |
| Pith | core or marrow; essence; substance |
| Plaintive | mournful |
| Platitude | trite remark; commonplace statement |
| Plaudit | enthusiastic approval; round of applause |
| Plenary | complete; full |
| Plumb | examine critically to understand; measure depth (by sounding) |
| Plumb | vertical |
| Plutocracy | society ruled by the wealthy |
| Polemic | controversy; argument in support of point of view |
| Polemical | aggressive in verbal attack; disputatious |
| Polity | form of government of a nation or state |
| Polyglot | speaking several languages |
| Poseur | person who pretends to be sophisticated, elegant, etc. |
| Potentate | monarch; sovereign |
| Prate | speak foolishly; boast idly |
| Precept | practical rule guiding conduct |
| Precipitant | something causing a substance in a solution to separate to solid |
| Precipitate | throw headlong; hasten |
| Précis | concise summing up of main points |
| Preclude | make impossible; eliminate |
| Precocious | advanced in development |
| Preen | make oneself tidy in appearance; feel self-satisfaction |
| Prehensile | capable of grasping or holding |
| Prelate | church dignitary |
| Premonitory | serving to warn |
| Presage | foretell |
| Prescience | ability to foretell the future |
| Presentiment | feeling something will happen; anticipatory fear; premonition |
| Pretentious | ostentatious; pompous; making unjustified claims; overambitious |
| Preternatural | beyond that which is normal in nature |
| Pretext | excuse |
| Prevaricate | lie |
| Primogeniture | seniority by birth |
| Privation | hardship; want |
| Probity | uprightness; incorruptibility |
| Profligate | dissipated; wasteful; wildly immoral |
| Profusion | overabundance; lavish expenditure; excess |
| Progenitor | ancestor |
| Progeny | children; offspring |
| Prolixity | tedious wordiness; verbosity |
| Promulgate | proclaim a doctrine or law; make known by official publication |
| Propagate | multiply; spread |
| Propinquity | nearness; kinship |
| Propitiate | appease |
| Propitious | favorable; fortunate; advantageous |
| Propound | put forth for analysis |
| Propriety | fitness; correct conduct |
| Proscribe | ostracize; banish; outlaw |
| Proselytize | induce someone to convert to a religion or belief |
| Prosody | the art of versification |
| Protean | versatile; able to take on many forms |
| Protégé | person receiving protection and support from a patron |
| Protract | prolong |
| Protuberance | protrusion; bulge |
| Provenance | origin or source of something |
| Provender | dry food; fodder |
| Provident | displaying foresight; thrifty; preparing for emergencies |
| Proviso | stipulation |
| Proxy | authorized agent |
| Prurient | having or causing lustful thoughts and desires |
| Puerile | childish |
| Pugilist | boxer |
| Pugnacity | combativeness; disposition to fight |
| Puissant | powerful; strong; potent |
| Pulchritude | beauty; comeliness |
| Punctilious | stressing niceties of conduct or form; minutely attentive to fine pts |
| Pundit | authority on a subject; learned person; expert |
| Purport | intention; meaning |
| Purported | alleged; claimed; reputed or rumored |
| Purveyor | furnisher of foodstuffs; caterer |
| Pusillanimous | cowardly; fainthearted |
| Putative | supposed; reputed |
| Quaff | drink with relish |
| Quagmire | soft, wet, boggy land; complex situation difficult to escape |
| Quail | cower; lose heart |
| Quarry | victim; object of a hunt |
| Quarry | dig into |
| Quay | dock; landing place |
| Quell | extinguish; put down; quiet |
| Querulous | fretful; whining |
| Quiescent | at rest; dormant; temporarily inactive |
| Quip | taunt |
| Quisling | traitor who aids invaders |
| Quotidian | commonplace; customary; daily |
| Raconteur | story-teller |
| Raiment | clothing |
| Rakish | stylish; sporty |
| Ramify | divide into branches or subdivisions |
| Rampart | defensive mound of earth |
| Rankle | irritate; fester |
| Rapacious | excessively grasping; plundering |
| Rarefied | made less dense (of a gas) |
| Ratiocination | reasoning; act of drawing conclusions from premises |
| Raucous | harsh and shrill; disorderly and boisterous |
| Ravel | fall apart into tangles; unravel or untwist; entangle |
| Rebus | puzzle in which pictures stand for words |
| Recalcitrant | obstinately stubborn determined to resist authority; unruly |
| Recapitulate | summarize |
| Recast | reconstruct (a sentence, story, etc.); fashion again |
| Recidivism | habitual return to crime |
| Recondite | abstruse; profound; secret |
| Recourse | resorting to help when in trouble |
| Recrimination | countercharges |
| Recumbent | reclining; lying down completely or in part |
| Redolent | fragrant; odorous; suggestive of an odor |
| Redoubtable | formidable; causing fear |
| Redress | remedy; compensation |
| Refectory | dining hall |
| Refractory | stubborn; unmanageable |
| Refulgent | brightly shining; gleaming |
| Regale | entertain |
| Rejoinder | retort; comeback; reply |
| Relegate | banish to an inferior position; delegate; assign |
| Remediable | reparable |
| Remission | cancellation of a debt; forgiveness or pardon; disease letting up |
| Remonstrance | protest; objection |
| Remunerative | compensating; rewarding |
| Render | deliver; provide; represent |
| Rent | rip; split |
| Repast | meal; feast; banquet |
| Repine | fret; complain |
| Replete | filled to the brim or to the point of being stuffed |
| Reprisal | retaliation |
| Reproach | express disapproval or disappointment |
| Reprobate | person hardened in sin, devoid of a sense of decency |
| Reprobation | severe disapproval |
| Reprove | censure; rebuke |
| Repudiate | disown; disavow |
| Requite | repay; revenge |
| Respite | interval of relief; time of rest; delay in punishment |
| Restitution | reparation; indemnification |
| Restive | restlessly impatient; obstinately resisting control |
| Retentive | holding; having a good memory |
| Reticent | reserved; uncommunicative; inclined to silence |
| Retinue | following; attendants |
| Retiring | modest; shy |
| Retrench | cut down; economize |
| Retrograde | go backwards; degenerate |
| Reverie | daydream; musing |
| Revulsion | sudden violent change of feeling; negative reaction |
| Rhapsodize | to speak or write in an exaggeratedly enthusiastic manner |
| Ribald | wanton; profane |
| Rider | an amendment or clause added to a legislative bill |
| Rife | abundant; current |
| Rile | vex; irritate; muddy |
| Roil | to make liquids murky by stirring up sediment; to disturb |
| Roseate | rosy; optimistic |
| Rostrum | platform for speech-making; pulpit |
| Rubric | title or heading (in red ink); directions for religious ceremony |
| Ruddy | reddish; healthy-looking |
| Runic | mysterious; set down in an ancient alphabet |
| Rusticate | banish to the country; dwell in the country |
| Sacrosanct | most sacred; inviolable |
| Sagacious | perceptive; shrewd; having insight |
| Salacious | lascivious; lustful |
| Salient | prominent |
| Salubrious | healthful |
| Salutary | tending to improve; beneficial; wholesome |
| Sanguinary | bloody |
| Sardonic | disdainful; sarcastic; cynical |
| Sartorial | pertaining to tailors |
| Sate | satisfy to the full; cloy |
| Saturnine | gloomy |
| Savant | scholar |
| Schism | division; split |
| Scintilla | shred; least bit |
| Scotch | stamp out; thwart; hinder |
| Scourge | lash; whip; severe punishment |
| Scruple | fret about; hesitate, for ethical reasons |
| Scurrilous | obscene; indecent |
| Scuttle | sink |
| Sedition | resistance to authority; insubordination |
| Sedulous | diligent |
| Seemly | proper; appropriate |
| Seethe | be disturbed; boil |
| Seine | net for catching fish |
| Sententious | terse; concise; aphoristic |
| Sentient | capable of sensation; aware; sensitive |
| Septic | putrid; producing putrefaction |
| Sere | parched; dry |
| Serendipity | gift for finding valuable or desirable things by accident; luck |
| Serpentine | winding; twisting |
| Sextant | navigational tool used to determine a ship’s latitude and longitude |
| Shard | fragment, generally of pottery |
| Sheaf | bundle of stalks of grain; any bundle of tied things |
| Shunt | turn aside; divert; sidetrack |
| Sibylline | prophetic; oracular |
| Sidereal | relating to the stars |
| Simper | smirk; smile affectedly |
| Sinecure | well-paid position with little responsibility |
| Sinuous | winding; bending in and out; not morally honest |
| Skinflint | stingy person; miser |
| Skittish | lively; frisky |
| Skulduggery | dishonest behavior |
| Skulk | move furtively and secretly |
| Slag | residue from smelting metal; dross; waste matter |
| Slake | quench; sate |
| Slapdash | haphazard; careless; sloppy |
| Slipshod | untidy or slovenly; shabby |
| Sluice | artificial channel for directing or controlling the flow of water |
| Smattering | slight knowledge |
| Sodden | soaked; dull, as if from drink |
| Solecism | construction that is flagrantly incorrect grammatically |
| Solicitous | worried, concerned |
| Solvent | able to pay all debts |
| Somatic | pertaining to the body; physical |
| Somnolent | half asleep |
| Sophist | teacher of philosophy; quibbler; employer of fallacious reasoning |
| Sophistry | seemingly plausible but fallacious reasoning |
| Soporific | sleep-causing; marked by sleepiness |
| Spangle | small metallic piece sewn to clothing for ornamentation |
| Spartan | lacking luxury and comfort; sternly disciplined |
| Spate | sudden flood |
| Specious | seemingly reasonable but incorrect |
| Spectral | ghostly |
| Spoonerism | accidental transposition of sounds in successive words |
| Spurious | false; counterfeit; forged; illogical |
| Squalor | filth; degradation; dirty, neglected state |
| Staid | sober; sedate |
| Stalwart | strong, brawny; steadfast |
| Stanch | check the flow of blood |
| Statutory | created by statute or legislative action |
| Steep | soak; saturate |
| Stentorian | extremely loud |
| Stint | be thrifty; set limits; supply; allotted amount (of work) |
| Stipple | paint or draw with dots |
| Stolid | dull; impassive |
| Stratagem | clever trick; deceptive scheme |
| Stratum | layer of earth’s surface; layer of society |
| Stricture | critical comments; severe and adverse criticism |
| Strident | loud and harsh; insistent |
| Stringent | binding; rigid |
| Strut | supporting bar |
| Stultify | cause to appear or become stupid or inconsistent; frustrate; hinder |
| Stygian | gloomy; hellish; deathly (Styx) |
| Subaltern | subordinate |
| Sublimate | refine; purify |
| Sublime | exalted; noble and uplifting; utter |
| Suborn | persuade to act unlawfully (especially to commit perjury) |
| Subsidiary | subordinate; secondary |
| Subsistence | existence; means of support; livelihood |
| Substantive | essential; pertaining to the substance |
| Subsume | include; encompass |
| Succor | aid; assist; comfort |
| Suffuse | spread over |
| Sunder | separate; part |
| Sundry | various; several |
| Superannuated | retired or disqualified because of age |
| Supercilious | arrogant; condescending; patronizing |
| Supererogatory | superfluous; more than needed or demanded |
| Supernumerary | person or thing in excess of what is necessary; extra |
| Supplant | replace; usurp |
| Suppliant | entreating; beseeching |
| Supplicate | petition humbly; pray to grant a favor |
| Suppositious | assumed; counterfeit; hypothetical |
| Surfeit | satiate; stuff; indulge to excess in anything |
| Surly | rude; cross |
| Surreptitious | secret; furtive; sneaky; hidden |
| Swathe | wrap around; bandage |
| Swill | drink greedily |
| Sybarite | lover of luxury |
| Sycophant | servile flatterer; bootlicker; yes man |
| Syllogism | logical formula consisting of premises; deceptive argument |
| Sylvan | pertaining to the woods; rustic |
| Synoptic | providing a general overview; summary |
| Tantamount | equivalent in effect or value |
| Tarry | delay; dawdle |
| Tautological | needlessly repetitious |
| Teetotalism | practice of abstaining totally from alcoholic drinks |
| Temerity | boldness; rashness |
| Temporize | avoid committing oneself; gain time |
| Tendentious | having an aim; biased; designed to further a cause |
| Tenet | doctrine; dogma |
| Tensile | capable of being stretched |
| Tenuous | thin; rare; slim |
| Terminus | last stop of a railroad |
| Terrestrial | on or relating to the earth |
| Tesselated | inlaid; mosaic |
| Testator | maker of a will |
| Theocracy | government run by religious leaders |
| Thrall | slave; bondage |
| Threadbare | worn through till the threads show; shabby and poor |
| Tiller | handle used to move boat’s rudder |
| Timorous | fearful; demonstrating fear |
| Tipple | drink (alcoholic beverages) frequently |
| Titular | having the title of an office without the obligations |
| Toady | servile flatterer; yes man |
| Tome | large volume |
| Tonsure | shaving of the head, especially by person entering religious orders |
| Torpor | lethargy; sluggishness; dormancy |
| Tortuous | winding; full of curves |
| Touchstone | stone used to test the fineness of gold alloys; criterion |
| Tout | publicize; praise excessively |
| Tract | pamphlet; a region of indefinite size |
| Tractable | docile; easily managed |
| Traduce | expose to slander |
| Transmute | change; convert to something different |
| Transport | strong emotion |
| Travail | painful labor |
| Travesty | comical parody; treatment making something appear ridiculous |
| Trenchant | cutting; keen |
| Trepidation | fear; nervous apprehension |
| Tribute | tax levied by a ruler; mark of respect |
| Troth | pledge of good faith especially in betrothal |
| Truculence | aggressiveness; ferocity |
| Tryst | meeting |
| Tumid | swollen; pompous; bombastic |
| Turbid | muddy; having the sediment disturbed |
| Turgid | swollen; distended |
| Turpitude | depravity |
| Tutelary | protective; pertaining to a guardianship |
| Tyro | beginner; novice |
| Ubiquitous | being everywhere; omnipresent |
| Umbrage | resentment; anger; sense of injury or insult |
| Unction | the act of anointing with oil |
| Unctuous | oily; bland; insincerely suave |
| Unfledged | immature |
| Unguent | ointment |
| Unmitigated | unrelieved or immoderate; absolute |
| Unprepossessing | unattractive |
| Untenable | indefensible; not able to be maintained |
| Untoward | unfortunate or unlucky; adverse; unexpected |
| Unwitting | unintentional; not knowing |
| Unwonted | unaccustomed |
| Upbraid | severely scold; reprimand |
| Urbane | suave; refined; elegant |
| Urchin | mischievous child (usually a boy) |
| Ursine | bearlike; pertaining to a bear |
| Usury | lending money at illegal rates of interest |
| Uxorious | excessively devoted to one’s wife |
| Vagary | caprice; whim |
| Vagrant | stray; random |
| Vainglorious | boastful; excessively conceited |
| Valedictory | pertaining to farewell |
| Vanguard | forerunners; advance forces |
| Vapid | dull and unimaginative; insipid and flavorless |
| Variegated | many-colored |
| Vaunted | boasted; bragged; highly publicized |
| Vegetate | live in a monotonous way |
| Venal | capable of being bribed |
| Veneer | thin layer or cover |
| Venerable | deserving high respect |
| Venerate | revere |
| Venial | forgivable; trivial |
| Ventral | abdominal |
| Venue | location |
| Veracious | truthful |
| Veracity | truthfulness |
| Verbiage | pompous array of words |
| Verdant | green; lush in vegetation |
| Verdigris | green coating on copper which has been exposed to the weather |
| Verisimilar | probable or likely; having the appearance of truth |
| Verisimilitude | appearance of truth; likelihood |
| Veritable | actual; being truly so; not FALSE or imaginary |
| Verity | quality of being true; lasting truth or principle |
| Vernacular | living language; natural style |
| Vernal | pertaining to spring |
| Verve | enthusiasm; liveliness |
| Vestige | trace; remains |
| Viand | food |
| Vicissitude | change of fortune |
| Victuals | food |
| Vignette | picture; short literary sketch |
| Vilify | slander |
| Vintner | winemaker; seller of wine |
| Virulent | extremely poisonous; hostile; bitter |
| Visceral | felt in one’s inner organs |
| Viscid | adhesive; gluey |
| Vital | vibrant and lively; critical; living, breathing |
| Vitiate | spoil the effect of; make inoperative |
| Vitreous | pertaining to or resembling glass |
| Vitriolic | corrosive; sarcastic |
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