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GRE vocab sal
pratice
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| abdicate | to give up a position, right, or power |
| abject | to reject, abandon formally |
| ablution | act of cleansing |
| abnegate | to deny, renounce |
| abrogate | to abolish or invalidate by authority |
| abstemious | consuming moderately |
| abstruse | difficult to comprehend |
| abut | to touch, be in contact with |
| acerbic | bitter, sharp in taste or temper |
| acme | highest point |
| acquiesce | to agree or comply in silence |
| adroit | skillful, accomplished, highly competent |
| adumbrate | to sketch, outline in a shadowy way |
| aerie | nook or nest built high in the air |
| altruism | unselfish concern for others welfare |
| amortize | to diminish by installment payments |
| ancillary | accessory, subordinate; helping |
| antediluvian | prehistoric |
| aplomb | poise, confidence |
| apostate | one who renounces a religious faith |
| apothegm | a short, instructive saying |
| apotheosis | glorified ideal |
| assidious | diligent, persistent, hardworking |
| balk | to refuse, prevent |
| beatific | saintly, angelic |
| belie | to misrepresent; expose as false |
| benison | blessing |
| bilious | easily irritated |
| bonhomie | good natured geniality; atmosphere of good cheer |
| bulwark | defensive wall |
| cajole | to flatter, coax, persuade |
| calamitous | disastrous, catastrophic |
| calumny | false and malicious accusation |
| canard | a lie |
| carom | to strike and rebound |
| cavalcade | a procession |
| chagrin | shame, embarassment, humiliation |
| charlatan | fake |
| chattel | piece of personal property |
| chimerical | fanciful, imaginary; impossible |
| choleric | easily angered |
| churlish | rude |
| cistern | tank for rainwater |
| coalesce | to grow together |
| coffer | strongbox, large chest for money |
| cognomen | family name |
| comeliness | physical grace and beauty |
| commodious | roomy, spacious |
| compunctious | feeling guilty, or having misgivings |
| conciliatory | overcoming distrust or hostility |
| conflagration | big, destructive fire |
| congenial | similar in tastes and habits |
| consanguineous | of the same origin |
| contentious | quarrelsome |
| contumacious | rebellious |
| corpulence | obesity |
| corrugate | to mold in a shape with parallel grooves and ridges |
| cosset | to pamper, treat with great care |
| coterie | small group of persons with a similar purpose |
| coven | group of witches |
| declivity | downward slope |
| deluge | flood |
| demagogue | leader or rabble rouser who usually uses appeals to emotion or prejudice |
| denigrate | to slur or blacken someones reputation |
| descry | to discover or reaveal |
| diaphanous | allowing light to show through |
| dictum | authoritative statement, popular saying |
| didactic | excessively instructive |
| diluvial | relating to a flood |
| discomfit | to cause perplexity and embarrassment |
| distaff | the female branch of a family |
| dither | to move or act confusedly or without clear purpose |
| diurnal | daily |
| doctrinaire | rigidly devoted to thoeries |
| dolor | sadness |
| doughty | courageous |
| droll | amusing in a wry, subtle way |
| dyspeptic | suffering from indigestion; gloomy and irritable |
| ebullient | exhilarated, full of enthusiasm and high spirit |
| effluvia | outpouring of gases or vapors |
| effulgent | brilliantly shining |
| egregious | conspicuously bad |
| emollient | having soothing qualities, esp for skin |
| encomium | warm praise |
| endemic | belonging to a particular area, inherent |
| ennui | boredom |
| epicure | person with refined taste in food and wine |
| ersatz | fake |
| eschew | to abstain from, to avoid |
| evince | to show clearly, display, signify |
| exorcise | to expel evil spirits |
| expatiate | to wander; to discuss or describe at length |
| expiate | to atone for, make amends for |
| expunge | to erase, eliminate completely |
| expurgate | to censor |
| extemporaneous | unrehearsed, on the spur of the moment |
| extol | to praise |
| extrapolate | to estimate |
| facetious | witty in an inappropriate way |
| fatuous | stupid, smugly foolish |
| fealty | intense loyalty |
| fecund | fertile, fruitful, productive |
| fetid | foul smelling, putrid |
| fey | doomed |
| filch | to steal |
| filial | appropriate for a child |
| foliate | to grow |
| forswear | to repudiate, renounce, disclaim, reject |
| fracas | noisy dispute |
| fractious | unruly, rebellious |
| frenetic | wildly frantic, frenzied, hectic |
| fulminate | to explode with anger |
| fulsome | excessive, overdone, sickeningly abundant |
| furtive | secret, stealthy |
| gainsay | to deny |
| gambol | to dance or skip around playfully |
| gauche | crude, socially awkward |
| gibe | to make heckling, taunting remarks |
| glib | fluent in an insincere manner; offhand, casual |
| gnostic | having to do with knowledge |
| grandiloquence | pompous talk, fancy but meaningless language |
| gustatory | relating to a sense of taste |
| hackneyed | worn out by overuse |
| harangue | a pompous speech |
| hegemony | leadership, domination, usually by a country |
| heretical | opposed to an established religious orthodoxy |
| hermetic | tightly sealed |
| hoary | very old, whitish or gray from age |
| husband | to farm, manage carefully and thriftily |
| idiosyncrasy | peculiarity of temperament, eccentricity |
| ignominious | disgraceful and dishonorable |
| ilk | type or kind |
| illusory | unreal, deceptive |
| imbue | to infuse, dye, wet, moisten |
| impecunious | poor, having no money |
| imperious | arrogantly self assured, domineering, overbearing |
| impolitic | unwise |
| impugn | to call into question, attack verbally |
| incarnate | having bodily form |
| inculcate | to teach, impress in the mind |
| inculpate | to blame, charge with a crime |
| indefatigable | never tired |
| indigent | very poor |
| indolent | habitually lazy, idle |
| indubitable | unquestionable |
| inert | unable to move |
| infallible | incapable of making a mistake |
| ingratiate | to bring oneself purposely into another's good graces |
| ingress | entrance |
| insidious | sly, treacherous, devious |
| insuperable | unconquerable |
| interdict | to forbid, prohibit |
| interlocutor | someone taking part in a dialogue |
| internecine | deadly to both sides |
| interpolate | to insert; change by adding new words |
| interstice | a space between things |
| intimation | clue, suggestion |
| intrepid | fearless |
| inure | to harden; become used to |
| inveterate | confirmed, long standing, deeply rooted |
| invidious | likely to provoke ill-will, offensive |
| itinerant | wandering from place to place |
| jibe | to shift suddenly from one side to the other |
| jingoism | belligerent support of ones country |
| jocular | playful, humorous |
| juggernaut | huge force destroying everything in its path |
| jurisprudence | philosophy of law |
| kismet | fate |
| knell | sound of a funeral bell; omen of death or failure |
| lachrymose | tearful |
| lambaste | disapprove angrily |
| lapidary | relating to precious stones |
| largess | generosity |
| lassitude | lethargy, sluggishness |
| legerdemain | trickery |
| levity | humor |
| libidinous | lustful |
| licentious | immoral, unrestrained by society |
| limpid | clear and simple in style |
| liniment | medicinal liquid used externally to ease pain |
| lionize | to treat as a celebrity |
| lissome | easily flexed, limber, agile |
| lugubrious | sorrowful, mournful |
| macabre | gruesome, producing horror |
| machination | plot or scheme |
| malapropism | humorous misuse of a word |
| malevolent | ill-willed, causing evil or harm to others |
| manifold | diverse, varied |
| martinet | strict disciplinarian |
| maudlin | overly sentimental |
| mawkish | sickeningly sentimental |
| megalomania | mental state with delusions of wealth and power |
| mendacious | dishonest |
| mendicant | beggar |
| mercurial | quick, shrewd, and unpredictable |
| minatory | menacing, threatening |
| molt | to shed an outer layer periodically |
| mordacious | caustic, biting |
| mote | small particle, speck |
| multifarious | diverse |
| munificent | generous |
| nadir | lowest point |
| nascent | starting to develop |
| nebulous | vague, cloudy |
| necromancy | black magic |
| nefarious | vicious, evil |
| neologism | new word or expression |
| neophyte | novice, beginner |
| nihilism | belief that existence and all traditional values are meaningless |
| noisome | stinking, putrid |
| numismatics | coin collecting |
| obfuscate | to confuse, obscure |
| obstreperous | troublesome, unruly |
| omnipotent | having unlimited power |
| omniscient | having infinite knowledge |
| ouster | expulsion, ejection |
| paean | a song of praise |
| palliate | to make less serious, erase |
| panacea | cure-all |
| panegyric | elaborate praise; formal hymn of praise |
| panoply | impressive array |
| parley | discussion, usually between enemies |
| parochial | of limited scope or outlook; provincial |
| parsimony | stinginess |
| pastiche | piece of literature or music imitating other works |
| paucity | scarcity, lack |
| peccadillo | minor sin or offense |
| peculation | theft of money or goods |
| penchant | inclination |
| penultimate | next to last |
| penumbra | partial shadow |
| perambulate | walk about |
| periphrastic | using circumlocution |
| pernicious | very harmful |
| perspicacious | shrewd, astute, keen-witted |
| pertinacious | persistent, stubborn |
| phalanx | massed group of soldiers, people, or things |
| philistine | narrow-minded person |
| plait | to braid |
| plangent | resounding; plaintive |
| plaudit | applause |
| pneumatic | relating to air; worked by compressed air |
| polemic | controversy, argument |
| polyglot | speaker of many languages |
| posit | to put into position; to suggest an idea |
| precept | principle; law |
| predilection | preference; liking |
| prescient | having foresight |
| privation | lack of usual necessities |
| probity | honesty |
| prognosticate | to predict |
| prolix | tedious, wordy |
| promulgate | to make known publicly |
| propinquity | nearness |
| propitious | favorable |
| proselytize | to induce someone to convert to a particular belief or religion |
| prostrate | lying faced downward |
| provident | prudent, frugal |
| provincial | rustic, unsophisticated, limitid in scope |
| prurient | lustful, exhibiting lewd desires |
| puerile | childish immature silly |
| pulchritude | beauty |
| pundit | an authority or critic |
| pusillanimous | cowardly |
| querulous | inclined to complain |
| quotidian | occurring daily |
| raconteur | a witty, skillful storyteller |
| raillery | lighthearted jesting |
| rancor | bitter hatred |
| rapacious | greedy; predatory |
| rapprochement | reestablishing a cordial relationship |
| raze | to tear down, demolish |
| recalcitrant | resisting authority or control |
| recidivism | tendency to repeat previous behavior |
| recondite | relating to obscure learning |
| recreant | disloyal; cowardly |
| redress | relief from wrong or injury |
| rejoinder | response |
| renege | to go back on one's word |
| renitent | resisting pressure, obstinate |
| repast | meal |
| reprobate | morally unprincipled person |
| requite | to return or repay |
| respite | interval of relief |
| restive | impatient, restless |
| retinue | group of attendants with an important person |
| revelry | boisterous festivity |
| ribald | humorous in a vulgar way |
| riposte | a retort |
| rococo | very highly ornamented |
| rotund | round in shape |
| ruminate | to contemplate ` |
| sacrosanct | extremely sacred |
| sagacious | shrewd, wise |
| salacious | lustful |
| salubrious | healthful |
| sanguine | cheerfully optimistic |
| sapient | wise |
| scabbard | sheath for sword or dagger |
| scintilla | very small amount |
| scintillate | to sparkle |
| scurrilous | vulgar, low, indecent |
| sedition | behavior promoting rebellion |
| senescent | aging; growing old |
| sentient | aware, conscious |
| sepulchral | typical of a place of burial |
| seraphic | angelic, pure, sublime |
| shirk | to avoid a task due to laziness or fear |
| simper | to smirk, smile foolishly |
| sinecure | well paying job that requires little or no work |
| sinuous | winding, intricate, complex |
| slake | to quench or moderate |
| slovenly | untidy, messy |
| sojourn | visit, stay |
| solecism | grammatical mistake |
| solipsism | belief that the self is the only reality |
| somnambulist | sleepwalker |
| sophist | person good at arguing deviously |
| sportive | frolicsome, playful |
| squalid | filthy |
| staid | self restrained, strait laced |
| stentorian | extremely loud |
| stringent | imposing sever, rigorous standards |
| stymie | to block or thwart |
| subterfuge | trick or tactic used to avoid something |
| sully | to soil, stain, tarnish |
| supercilious | arrogant, haughty |
| surly | rude and bad tempered |
| surreptitious | characterized by secrecy |
| sybarite | person devoted to pleasure and luxury |
| syncopation | temporary irregularity in musical rhythm |
| tableau | vivid description, striking incident or scene |
| talisman | something producing a magical effect |
| tantamount | equivalent in value or significance |
| temerity | recklessness |
| temporal | relating to time |
| tenable | defensible,reasonable |
| tenet | belief, doctrine |
| tenuous | weak |
| threnody | a sad poem or song |
| trammel | to impede or hamper |
| trenchant | acute, sharp, incisive |
| trite | shallow, superficial |
| truculent | savage and cruel |
| turgid | swollen and bloated |
| turpitude | inherent vileness, foulness |
| tyro | beginner, novice |
| umbrage | offense, resentment |
| unctuous | greasy, oily; smug and falsely earnest |
| unfettered | free, unrestrained |
| unsullied | clean |
| untoward | not favorable |
| urbane | courteous |
| usury | lending money at exorbitant rates |
| vacuous | empty, void |
| variegated | varied |
| virile | manly |
| vitiate | reduce in effectiveness or value |
| vitriolic | burning, caustic; sharp, bitter |
| vituperative | to abuse verbally |
| voluble | talkative |
| waspish | easily irritated |
| wizened | withered, shriveled |
| wraith | a ghost |
| xenophobia | fear or hatred of strangers |
| zenith | highest point |
Created by:
orattob42
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