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GRE 100 Flashcards

1
Q

Alacrity

(uh-lak-ri-tee)

A

Adj. liveliness, cheerful, readiness

We accepted the invitation with alacrity.

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2
Q

Hubris

(hyoo-bris)

A

N. Excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance

His failure was brought on by his hubris.

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3
Q

Loquaciousness

(loh-kwey-shuhs)

A

Adj. Talkative, babbling

A loquacious dinner guest

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4
Q

Quiesence

(kwee-es-uhnt)

A

N. inactive or motionless; at rest, dormant

A quiescent mind.

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5
Q

Torpid

(tawr-pid)

A

Adj. inactive, sluggish, slow, lethargic

A mind grown torpid in old age

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6
Q

Discordant

(dis-kawr-dnt)

A

Adj. Disagreeable in sound; not in accord conflicting.

Discordant opinions

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7
Q

Obsequious

(uhb-see-kwee-uhs)

A

Adj. Submissive or compliant; obedient An obsequious bow. Obsequious servants.

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8
Q

Undulate

(UN dyoo layt)

A

V. to move in wavelike motion. to give wave like appearance; fluctuate

Adj. having a wavy or rippled appearance: leaves with undulate margins.

  • Undulations* are the mostion something akes when it undulates.
  • The audience was hypnotized by the belly dancer’s undulations.
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9
Q

Upbraid

(up BRAYD)

A

V. to scold, censure, rebuke, chastise

Nathan was thoroughly upbraided for having gone over his boss’s head with a proposal.

An upbraiding is a severe scolding.

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10
Q

Toady

(TOH dee)

A

N. A person who flatters or defers to others for self-serving reasons

flatterer, yes-man, sycophant

Lewis could always rely on his trusty toady to tell him what he wanted to hear.

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11
Q

Sycophant

(SIK uh funt)

A

N. someone who tries to flatter or please for personal gain, parasite

She hs been surrounded by sycophants her whole life, so she had never received any honest criticism of her behavior.

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12
Q

Quail

(kwayl)

A

V, to shrink back in fear, lose courage

The puppy quailed at the angry tone in Alicia’s voice.

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13
Q

Profligate

(PRAH fli get)

A

Adj. excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant

The profligate ruler emptied the country’s treasury to build his many mansions.

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14
Q

Prodigious

(pro DI jus)

A

Adj. abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary

The prodigious weight of my backpack made me fall over backwards.

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15
Q

Odious

(OH dee us)

A

adj. hateful; arousing strong feelings of dislike

As a vegetarian, there are few things more odious to Mari than the smell of beef cooking.

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16
Q

Officious

(uh FISH us)

A

adj. meddlesome, pushy in offering on’es serivices where they are unwanted

The offisious busybody was constantly popping up to offer help when everyone just wished he would go away.

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17
Q

Nostrum

(NAH strum)

A

N. cure-all, placebo, questionable remedy

Any nostrum that clains to sure both a hangover and bunions is either americal or a fraud.

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18
Q

Noxious

(NAHK shus)

A

adj. harmful, injurious

That particularly noxious shade of pink is making my eye hurt.

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19
Q

Inveterate

(in VET ur ut)

A

adj. deep rooted, ingrained, habitual

Syn.inherent

Tim was such an inveterate lair that he lied even when he thought he was telling the truth.

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20
Q

Inveigh

(in VAY)

A

V. to attack verablly, denounce, deprecate

Inveighing against the government’s policies will do you no good it you don’t bother to vote as well.

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21
Q

Inimical

(i NIM i kul)

A

adj. damaging, harmful, injurious, hostile, unfriendly

Syn. pernicious

While the Anatarctic is inimical to most animal and plant life, some oraganism nevertheless manage to survive there.

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22
Q

Ingenuous

(in JEN yoo us)

A

adj. artless, frank and candid, lacking sophistication

Syn, naive

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23
Q

Heretical

(huh RET i kul)

A

adj. violating accepted conversion

unorthodox, heresy

The once heretical notion that computers would become more than calculating machines or toys is now so obvious that it’s hard to remeber when we ever thought differently.

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24
Q

Hackneyed

(HAK need)

A

adj. rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage.

Despite the often hackneyed writing, some pulp fiction can still be fun to read.

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25
**Halcyon** | (HAL see un)
adj. calm and peaceful, prosperous I always hated when the halycon days of summer were interrupted by the start of school in the fall.
26
**Prevarication** [prih-var-i-key-shuhn]
N. a false or deliberate misstatement; lie: Her many *prevarications* had apparently paid off; she was free to go.
27
Deleterious [del-i-teer-ee-uhs]
Adj. harmful; injurious to health The deleterious effects of smoking.
28
**Innocuous** [ih-nok-yoo-uhs]
Adj. 1) not harmful or injurious; harmless -- 2) not interesting, stimulating, or significant; - Syn: pallid; insipid: An *innocuous* novel.
29
**Intrepid** [in-trep-id]
Adj. fearless; daring; bold Syn: Brave An *intrepid* explorer.
30
**Bellicose** [bel-i-kohs]
Adj. Warlike or hostile, aggressive; ready to fight Syn. belligerent A bellicose nation.
31
**Spurious** [spyoor-ee-uhs]
Adj. not genuine, authentic, or true; not from the claimed, pretended, or proper source; counterfeit. Synonyms 1. false, sham, bogus, mock, feigned, phony; meretricious, deceitful.
32
**Scant** [skant]
Adj. barely sufficient, not abundant; limited; meager; not large: a scant amount.
33
Laconic [luh-kon-ik]
Adj. using few words; expressing much in few words; Syn. concise A *laconic* message to viewers.
34
Engender [en-jen-der]
Adj. to produce, cause, or give rise to to beget; procreate. Hatred *engenders* violence.
35
Ennui [ahn-wee]
N. dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy. The endless lecture produced an unbearable *ennui*.
36
Apathy [ap-uh-thee]
N. absence of emotion
37
Canon | (KA nun)
N. an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature Adhering to the dictates of his religion's *canon* meant the he couldn't eat pork.
38
Chicanery [shi-key-nuh-ree, chi-]
Adj. trickery or deception He resorted to the worst flattery and *chicanery* to win the job. I refuse to let such *chicanery* fo unpuchished!
39
Chary [CHAR ee]
Adj. wary; cautious; sparing She was *chary* with her praise for Dan lest it go to his head.
40
Desiccate | (DES u kayt)
V. to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull His skin was so *desiccated* by the cold, dry air.
41
Blithe | (blahyth)
Adj. carefree, merry Everyone loved her for her *blithe* spirit.
42
Asperity | (uh SPER uh tee)
N. roughness, harshness, acrimony, irritability The cause of her anger did not warrant such *asperity*.
43
Aspersion | (uh SPER zhun)
N. a damaging or derogatory remark or criticism; slander: Syn. defamtion or maligning Casting aspersions on a campaign rival. Such vehement aspersions cannot be ignored.
44
Assuage | (uh SWAYJ)
V. to ease or lessen; relieve; ease; to appease Syn. pacify To *assuage* one's grief. To *assuage* one's pain.
45
Bedizen | (bi DY zun)
V. tto dress or adorn in a showy, gaudy, or tasteless manner. The speakeasy was *bedizened* with every manner of tawdry decoration.
46
Tawdry [taw-dree]
Adj. gaudy; showy and cheap; - low or mean; base: *tawdry motives.*
47
Benign | (buh NYN)
Adj. favorable, harmless The tumor was *benign.* She is cancer free.
48
Blandish | (BLAND ish)
V. coax with flatery, toady or fawn They *blandished* the guard into letting them through the gate. *Blandishment* is flattery intenede to cajole or coax
49
Axiom | (AK see um)
N. a universally accepted principle or rule.; a self-evident truth that requires no proof; a generally accepted or common saying. It is an *axiom* of the American legal system that one is innocent until proven guilty.
50
Choleric | (KAHL er ik)
Adj. tending toward anger Choleric by nature, the boxer had no trouble mentally preparing to face his opponent.
51
**Captious** [kap-shuhs]
Adj. disposed to point out trivial faults; to confuse or entrap in argument Syn. Calculated He could never praise without adding a *captious* remark.
52
**Celerity** [suh-ler-i-tee]
N. speed, alacrity, swiftness
53
**Desultory** | (des-uhl-tawr-ee)
Adj. random, aimless; maked by a lack of plan or purpose Even *desultory* presidential years bring more voters to the polls.
54
**Diffident** [dif-i-duhnt]
Adj. reserved, shy , unassuming; lacking in self-confidence
55
**Encomium** [en-koh-mee-uhm]
N. a formal expression of high praise; eulogy An *encomium* by the President greeted the returning hero.
56
**Excoriate** | (ik-skawr-ee-eyt)
V. to denounce or berate severely, to upbraid He was *excoriated* for his mistakes.
57
**Nonplussed** | (non-pluhs)
Adj. baffled, bewildered, at a loss for what to do or think They seemed *nonplussed* by their temporary homelessness.
58
**Lubricious** [loo-brish-uhs]
Adj. lewd, wanton, greasy, slippery
59
**Obstreperous** [uhb-strep-er-uhs]
Adj. noisily and stubbornly, resisting control or restraint in a difficult manner; unruly.
60
**Ossified** [os-uh-fahyd]
Adj. hardened like or into bone.
61
**Palliate** [pal-ee-eyt]
V. to relieve or lessen without curing; mitigate; alleviate. Medicine's goal is not only to cure or *palliate* disease.
62
**Parsimonious** [pahr-suh-moh-nee-uhs]
Adj. cheap, frugal or stingy.
63
**Pellucid** [puh-loo-sid]
Adj. transparent, easy to understand, limpid a *pellucid* way of writing. *pellucid* waters.
64
**Peroration** [per-uh-rey-shuhn]
N. a long speech characterized by lofty and often pompous language. And the long-awaited *peroration* of the finale is overwhelming.
65
**Prolix** | (proh-liks)
Adj. long-winded, verbose Though frequently *prolix* and rhetorical, he is never tedious or irrelevant.
66
**Propitiate** [pruh-pish-ee-eyt]
V. to appease; to conciliate prositious means asuspricious; favorable
67
**Puissance** | (pyoo-uh-suhns)
N. power, strength; Pussiant means powerful, strong
68
**Hegemony** | (hi-jem-uh-nee)
N. The predominant influence, as of a state, region, or group, over another or others.
69
**Aghast** | (uh-gast)
Adj. Struck by overwhelming shock, terror, or amazement. They stood *aghast* at the sight of the plane crashing.
70
**Incipient** [in-sip-ee-uhnt]
Adj. beginning to exist or appear; in an initial stage: An incipient cold.
71
Flippant [flip-uhnt]
Adj. frivolously disrespectful, shallow, or lacking in seriousness or sincerity Syn: glib, levity The audience was shocked by his *flippant* remarks about patriotism.
72
**Pastoral** | (pas-ter-uhl)
Adj. Charmingly simple and serene; idyllic -- pertaining to the country Syn. Placid pastoral poetry; a pastoral symphony.
73
**Inclement** [in-klem-uhnt]
Adj. severe, rough, or harsh; stormy. not kind or merciful. inclement weather.
74
**Placate** | (pley-keyt)
V. to appease or pacify, especially by concessions to *placate* an outraged citizenry.
75
Convoluted [kon-vuh-loo-tid]
Adj. Intricate; complicated a *convoluted* way of describing a simple device.
76
Nominal [nom-uh-nl]
Adj. 1) Existing in name only. a nominal treaty; the nominal head of the country. 2) Insignificantly small; trifling a nominal sum.
77
**Intemperate** | (in-tem-per-it)
Adj. unrestrained; unbridled.
78
**Elucidate** [ih-loo-si-deyt]
V. To make clear or plain, especially by explanation; clarify. an explanation that elucidated his recent strange behavior.
79
Euphemism | (Yoo-fuh-MIZ-um)
N. a nice way to say something offensive
80
**Reprieve** | (re-PREEV)
N. a temporary rest or relief (from trouble), a pardon
81
Tyro | (TY roh)
N. novice, beginner in learning Syn. Neophyte It became clear that he was a *tryo* when he showed the whole table hs cards.
82
**Torrid** | ( TOR id)
Adj. scorching, ardent, passionate, hurried Syn. feiry, sweltering Chris was so engrossed in the *torrid* love affair unfolding in the novel that he didn't event notice that he had missed his bus stop. Everyone escaped the *torrid* heat of mid-afternoon by taking a siesta.
83
**Tautology** | (taw TAHL uh gee)
N. needless repetition of an idea, statement, or word Syn. redundancy or pleonasm
84
Surfeit | (SUR fut)
V. to feed or supply in excess *Surfeit* is also a noun, meanind excess, overindulgence The girls surfeited themselves with candy.
85
**Insouciant** | (in-soo-see-uhnt)
Adj. free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree; nonchalant.
86
**Superfluous** | (soo PUR floo us)
Adj. unnecessary or needless. He may have felt any extra knowledge was *superfluous*.
87
Sundry | (SUN dree)
Adj. various or diverse a purse containing keys, wallet, and *sundry* items.
88
Splenetic | (spli NET ik)
Adj. bad-tempered, irratible Syn. Petulent Her boss became *splentic* whenever anyone asked him about a raise.
89
**Sinecure** | (sahy-ni-kyoor)
N. A position or office that requires little or no work but provides a salary. Being bumped out of such a *sinecure* is cruel punishment.
90
**Seminal** [sem-uh-nl]
Adj. highly original and influencing the development of future events: a seminal artist; seminal ideas.

GRE Vocab Words (3 decks)

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