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GRE Words > 6/29 > Flashcards

6/29 Flashcards

1
Q

Nebulous

A

adj.

vague; cloudy; lacking clearly defined form

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2
Q

Neologism

A

n.

a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses

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3
Q

Obtuse

A

adj.
lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear or precise in thought or expression

Latin
obtundere: beat against

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4
Q

Obviate

A

v.
to anticipate and make unnecessary

Latin
via: way
obviat-: prevented

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5
Q

Onerous

A

adj.
troubling; burdensome

onus, oner-: burden

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6
Q

Paean

A

n.

a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving

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7
Q

Perennial

A

adj.
recurrent through the year or many years; happening repeatedly

perennis: lasting the year through

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8
Q

Perfidy

A

n.
deceitfulness; untrustworthiness

adj. perfidious

Latin
per-: to ill effect
fides: faith

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9
Q

Perfunctory

A

adj.

cursory; done without care or interest (desultory, hasty)

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10
Q

Perspicacious

A

adj.
acutely perceptive; having keen discernment

n. perspicacity

Latin
perspicax: seeing clearly

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11
Q

Prattle

A

v.

to babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idle manner

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12
Q

Precipitate

A

adj.
acting with excessive haste or impulse

v.
to cause or happen before anticipated or required

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13
Q

Prescience

A

n.
foreknowledge of events; knowing of events prior to their occurring

adj. prescient

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14
Q

Prevaricate

A

v.
to deliberately avoid the truth; to mislead

Latin

prae: before
varicari: straddle

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15
Q

Qualms

A

n.
misgivings; reservations; causes for hesitancy

Old English
cwealm: pain

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16
Q

Recant

A

v.
to retract, especially a previously held belief

Latin
re-
cantare: sing, chant
recantare: revoke

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17
Q

Reticent

A

adj.

quiet; reserved; reluctant to express thoughts and feelings

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18
Q

Solicitous

A

adj.

concerned and attentive; eager

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19
Q

Sordid

A

adj.
characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul

Latin
sordere: be dirty

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20
Q

Squander

A

v.

to waste by spending or using irresponsibly

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21
Q

Stupefy

A

v.
to stun, baffle, or amaze

stupere: be struck senseless

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22
Q

Torque

A

n.

a force that causes rotation

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23
Q

Tortuous

A

adj.
winding, twisting; excessively complicated

torquere: to twist

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24
Q

Truculent

A

adj.
fierce and cruel; eager to fight

trux, truc-: fierce

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25
Q

Veracity

A

n.
truthfulness, honesty

verax: speaking truly

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26
Q

Virulent

A

adj.
extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic

virus: poison

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27
Q

Voracious

A

adj.
having an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit; ravenous

vorare: devour

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28
Q

Abscond

A

v.
to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide

Latin
ab-: away, from
condere: stow

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29
Q

Abberrant

A

adj.
deviating from the norm

n. abberation

Latin
ab-: away, from
errare: to stray

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30
Q

Alacrity

A

n.
eager and enthusiastic willingness

Latin
alacer: brisk

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31
Q

Anomaly

A

n.
deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality

adj. anomalous

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32
Q

Approbation

A

n.

an expression of approval or praise

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33
Q

Arduous

A

adj.
strenuous, taxing; requiring significant effort

Latin
arduus: steep, difficult

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34
Q

Assuage

A

v.
to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify

Latin

ad: to
suavis: sweet

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35
Q

Audacious

A

adj.
daring and fearless; recklessly bold

n. audacity

Latin
audere: dare

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36
Q

Austere

A

adj.
without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic

n. austerity

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37
Q

Axiomatic

A

adj.
taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth

n. axiom

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38
Q

Canonical

A

adj.
following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards

n. canon

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39
Q

Capricious

A

adj.

inclined to change one’s mind impulsively; erratic, unpredictable

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40
Q

Censure

A

v.

to criticize severely; to officially rebuke

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41
Q

Chicanery

A

n.

trickery or subterfuge

42
Q

Connoisseur

A

n.

an informed and astute judge in matters of taste; expert

43
Q

Convoluted

A

adj.

complex or complicated

44
Q

Disabuse

A

v.

to undeceive; to set right

45
Q

Discordant

A

adj.

conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound

46
Q

Disparate

A

adj.

fundamentally distinct or dissimilar

47
Q

Effrontery

A

n.

extreme boldness; presumptuousness

48
Q

Eloquent

A

adj.
well-spoken, expressive, articulate

n. eloquence

49
Q

Enervate

A

v.

to weaken; to reduce in vitality

50
Q

Ennui

A

n.

dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy

51
Q

Equivocate

A

v.
to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent

adj. equivocal

52
Q

Erudite

A

adj.
very learned; scholarly

n. erudition

53
Q

Exculpate

A

v.

exonerate; to clear of blame

54
Q

Exigent

A

adj.

urgent, pressing; requiring immediate action or attention

55
Q

Extemporaneous

A

adj.

improvised; done without preparation

56
Q

Filibuster

A

n.

intentional obstruction, esp. using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action

57
Q

Fulminate

A

v.

to loudly attack or denounce

58
Q

Ingenuous

A

adj.

artless; frank and candid; lacking in sophistication

59
Q

Inured

A

adj.

accustomed to accepting something undesirable

60
Q

Irascible

A

adj.

easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts

61
Q

Laud

A

v.
to praise highly

adj. laudatory

62
Q

Lucid

A

adj.

clear; easily understood

63
Q

Magnanimity

A

n.
the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, esp. in forgiving

adj. magnanimous

64
Q

Martial

A

adj.

associated with war and the armed forces

65
Q

Mundane

A

adj.

of the world; typical of or concerned with the ordinary

66
Q

Nascent

A

adj.

coming into being; in early developmental stages

67
Q

Abate

A

v.
to lessen in intensity or degree

Latin

ad: to, at
battere: to beat

68
Q

Accolade

A

n.
an expression of praise

Latin
ad: to, at
collum: neck
Provencal
acolada: embrace around the neck (when bestowing knighthood)
69
Q

Adulation

A

n.
excessive praise; intense adoration

Latin
adulari: fawn on

70
Q

Ameliorate

A

v.
to make better or more tolerable

French
meilleur: better

71
Q

Ascetic

A

n.
one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion

Greek
askein: to exercise

72
Q

Avarice

A

n.
greed, esp. for wealth

adj. avaricious

Latin
avarius: greedy

73
Q

Axiom

A

n.
a universally recognized principle

adj. axiomatic

Greek
axioma: what is thought fitting

74
Q

Burgeon

A

v.
to grow rapidly or flourish

Latin
burra: wool

75
Q

Bucolic

A

adj.
rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants

Greek

bous: ox
boukolos: herdsman

76
Q

Cacophony

A

n.
harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance

adj. cacophonous

Greek

kakos: bad
phone: sound

77
Q

Canon

A

n.
an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature

adj. canonical

78
Q

Castigation

A

n.
severe criticism or punishment

v. castigate

Latin
castus: pure, chaste

79
Q

Caustic

A

adj.
burning or stinging; causing corrosion

Greek
kaiein: to burn

80
Q

Chary

A

adj.

wary; cautious; sparing

81
Q

Cogent

A

adj.
appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing

Latin
co-: together
agere: drive

82
Q

Complaisance

A

n.
the willingness to comply with the wishes of others

adj. complaisant

83
Q

Contrite

A

adj.
argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement

Latin
co-: together
terere: rub

84
Q

Culpable

A

adj.
deserving blame

n. culpability

Latin
culpa: fault, blame

85
Q

Dearth

A

n.

smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack

86
Q

Demur

A

v.
to question or oppose

Latin
de-: away, completely
morari: delay

87
Q

Didactic

A

adj.
intended to teach or instruct

Greek
didaskein: teach

88
Q

Discretion

A

n.
cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions

adj. discreet

Latin
discretio: separation

89
Q

Disinterested

A

adj.

free of bias or self-interest; impartial

90
Q

Dogmatic

A

adj.
expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or improvable principles

n. dogma

Greek
dogma: that which one thinks is true

91
Q

Ebullience

A

n.
the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings

adj. ebullient

Latin
ex-: out, out of
bullire: to bubble

92
Q

Eclectic

A

adj.
composed of elements drawn from various sources

Greek

ek: out
legein: choose

93
Q

Emollient

A

adj. n.
soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smooths the skin

Latin
ex-: out
mollire: soften

94
Q

Empirical

A

adj.

based on observation or experiment

95
Q

Enigmatic

A

adj.
mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand

n. enigma

Greek
ainigma: riddle

96
Q

Ephemeral

A

adj.
brief; fleeting

Latin/Greek

epi: on
hemerai: day

97
Q

Esoteric

A

adj.
intended for or understood by a small, specific group

Greek
es: into

98
Q

Exonerate

A

v.
to remove blame

Latin
ex-: from
oner-: a burden

99
Q

Facetious

A

adj.
playful; humorous

Latin
facetus: witty

100
Q

Fallacy

A

n.
an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief

adj. fallacious

Latin
fallere: deceive

GRE Words (5 decks)

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