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GRE Vocab > A > Flashcards

A Flashcards

1
Q

Amalgam

A

Mixture of different elements

Eg. The crowd was an amalgam of young and old.

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2
Q

Aberration

A

Deviating from what is normal, usual or expected

Eg. They described the outbreak of violence in the area as in aberration.

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3
Q

Acerbic

A

Sharply or bitingly critical, sarcastic or ironic in temper, mood and tone

Eg. His acerbic wit.

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4
Q

Agog

A

Very eager or curious to hear or see something

Eg. We are now agog to know when the bank will push up the interest rates.

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5
Q

Altruism

A

Belief or practice of selfless concern for the well-being of others

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6
Q

Ambivalent

A

Having mixed feelings/contradictory ideas about something or someone

EG. Yahoo was ambivalent about whether it should be a media or technology company.

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7
Q

Arbitrary

A

Based on random choice or chance, rather than any reason or system

Eg. It was an arbitrary decision.

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8
Q

Arbiter

A

Person who settles a dispute or has ultimate authority in a matter

Eg. The mayor will act as the final arbiter in any dispute between board members.

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9
Q

Abase

A

Behaves in a way that belittles or degrades (someone)

Eg. I watched my colleagues abasing themselves before the board of trustees.

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10
Q

Abate

A

Become less intense or widespread

Eg. The storm suddenly abated.

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11
Q

Abeyance

A

A state of temporary inactivity

Eg. Matters were held in abeyance pending further enquiries.

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12
Q

Abject

A

Wretched or miserable

Sunk to or existing in a low state/condition: very bad or severe

Eg. His letter plunged her into abject misery.

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13
Q

Abnegate

A

Renounce, reject

Eg. He attempts to abnegate personal responsibility.

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14
Q

Abomination

A

Something regarded with disgust or hatred

Eg. He considered war an abomination.

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15
Q

Abound

A

Exists in large no or amounts

Eg. A business in which opportunities abound.

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16
Q

Abridge

A

Shorten without losing sense (a piece of writing)

Eg. The introduction is abridged from the author’s afterword to the novel.

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17
Q

Abrogate

A

Annul

To abolish; do away with (a law, right, or formal agreement)

EG. To abrogate a treaty

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18
Q

Absolve

A

Exonerate, discharge, acquit

Declare someone free from guilt, obligation or punishment

EG. The pardon absolved them of any crimes.

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19
Q

Abstemious

A

Moderate, sparing (as in eating and drinking)

EG. We only had a bottle of alcohol. That’s very abstemious of you.

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20
Q

Abstruse

A

Difficult to comprehend

EG. The abstruse calculations of mathematicians.

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21
Q

Abysmal

A

Awful, terrible

Extremely bad; appalling

EG. The quality of her work is abysmal.

22
Q

Accolade

A

Award

A mark of acknowledgement; an expression of praise

EG. He received the highest accolade of his profession.

23
Q

Accretion

A

A growth in size; an increase in amount

EG. The city had a historic core surrounded by recent accretions.

24
Q

Acerbic

A

Sardonic

Sharp or critical; sarcastic; ironic in temple, mood or tone

EG. Jill became extremely acerbic and began to cruelly make fun of all her friends.

25
Q

Acme

A

The highest point of stage

EG. Physics is the acme of scientific knowledge.

26
Q

Acrimonious

A

Angry and bitter

EG. An acrimonious dispute about wages

27
Q

Admonish

A

Warn or reprimand someone firmly

EG. She admonished me for appearing at breakfast unshaven.

28
Q

Adroit

A

Clever or skillful

EG. He was adroit at tax avoidance.

29
Q

Adulation

A

Excessive admiration or praise

EG. He found it difficult to cope with the adulation of the fans.

30
Q

Adversary

A

An enemy or opponent

David best his old adversary in the quarter-finals.

31
Q

Aegis

A

Protection, backing, or support of a particular person or organization

The negotiations were conducted under the aegis of the UN.

32
Q

Affable

A

Amiable, friendly

She’s an affable and agreeable companion.

33
Q

Affectation

A

Speech or conduct not natural to oneself

His French accent is just an affectation.

34
Q

Affront

A

An action or remark that causes outrage or offense

He was affronted by her rudeness.

35
Q

Aggrandize

A

To make great or greater

He exploited the situation to aggrandize himself.

36
Q

Alacrity

A

Brisk and cheerful readiness

She accepted the invitation with alacrity.

37
Q

Allusion

A

An implied or indirect reference esp. in literature

Eg. A poem that makes allusions to classical literature.

38
Q

Amalgamate

A

To unite
merge into a single body

They amalgamated the hospital with the university.

39
Q

Ambivalence

A

Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone

40
Q

Ameliorate

A

To make better or tolerable

EG. Medicine to ameliorate the pain

41
Q

Amenable

A

Compliant, susceptible

Willing to follow advice/authority

42
Q

Amortize

A

To pay off gradually

80% of the proceeds has been used to amortize the public debt.

43
Q

Anachronism

A

Something out of place in time or history

The iPad is an anachronism in the 1920s movie.

44
Q

Analogue

A

Similar or comparable in certain aspects

The gill of a fish is the analogue if the lung of a cat.

45
Q

Anathema

A

Abhorrent

Something or someone that one vehemently dislikes

Racial hatred was anathema to her.

46
Q

Anodyne

A

Inoffensive

Not likely to cause offense and someone full

47
Q

Antedate

A

A date assigned to an event or document earlier than the actual date of the event or document

48
Q

Antipode

A

Exact opposite

49
Q

Antithesis

A

Direct opposite

Her temperament is the very antithesis of mine.

50
Q

Apocryphal

A

Fictitious

Of doubtful authenticity

An apocryphal story about a former president.

51
Q

Apoplectic

A

Overcome with anger; furious

Mark was apoplectic with rage at the decision.

52
Q

Apotheosis

A

The perfect form or eg. of something

His appearance as hamlet was the apotheosis of his career.

GRE Vocab (3 decks)

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