GRE Advanced Words

Question 1

indigent

Answer 1

adjective: poor; having very little

In the so-called Third World, many are indigent and only a privileged few have the resources to enjoy material luxuries.

noun: a poor or needy person

The indigents, huddled under the overpass, tried to start a small bonfire in the hope of staying warm.

Question 2

alacrity

Answer 2

noun: an eager willingness to do something

The first three weeks at his new job, Mark worked with such alacrity that upper management knew it would be giving him a promotion.

Question 3

untoward

Answer 3

adjective: unfavorable; inconvenient

Some professors find teaching untoward as having to prepare for lectures and conduct office hours prevents them from focusing on their research.

Question 4

expansive

Answer 4

adjective: communicative, and prone to talking in a sociable manner

After a few sips of cognac, the octogenarian shed his irascible demeanor and became expansive, speaking fondly of the “good old days”.

Question 5

expunge

Answer 5

verb: to eliminate completely

When I turned 18, all of the shoplifting and jaywalking charges were expunged from my criminal record.

Question 6

lascivious

Answer 6

adjective: lecherous; sexually perverted

Lolita is a challenging novel for many, not necessarily because of the elevated prose style but because of the depravity of the main character, Humbert Humbert, who, as an old, lascivious man, lusts after a girl.

Question 7

sedulous

Answer 7

adjective: done diligently and carefully

An avid numismatist, Harold sedulously amassed a collection of coins from over 100 countries—an endeavor that took over fifteen years across five continents.

Question 8

exegesis

Answer 8

noun: critical explanation or analysis, especially of a text

The Bible is fertile ground for exegesis—over the past five centuries there have been as many interpretations as there are pages in the Old Testament.

Question 9

penurious

Answer 9

adjective: lacking money; poor

Truly penurious, Mary had nothing more than a jar full of pennies.

adjective: miserly

Warren Buffett, famous multi-billionaire, still drives a cheap sedan, not because he is penurious, but because luxury cars are gaudy and impractical.

Question 10

arrant

Answer 10

adjective: complete and wholly (usually modifying a noun with negative connotation)

An arrant fool, Lawrence surprised nobody when he lost all his money in a pyramid scheme that was every bit as transparent as it was corrupt.

Question 11

fractious

Answer 11

adjective: irritable and is likely to cause disruption

We rarely invite my fractious Uncle over for dinner; he always complains about the food, and usually launches into a tirade on some touchy subject.

Question 12

byzantine

Answer 12

adjective: intricate and complex

Getting a driver’s license is not simply a matter of taking a test; the regulations and procedures are so byzantine that many have found themselves at the mercy of the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Question 13

diatribe

Answer 13

noun: a strong verbal attack against a person or institution

Steve’s mom launched into a diatribe during the PTA meeting, contending that the school was little more than a daycare in which students stare at the wall and teachers stare at the chalkboard.

Question 14

cow

Answer 14

verb: to intimidate

Do not be cowed by a 3,000-word vocabulary list: turn that list into a deck of flashcards!

Question 15

nadir

Answer 15

noun: the lowest point

For many pop music fans, the rap– and alternative-rock–dominated 90s were the nadir of musical expression

Question 16

supercilious

Answer 16

adjective: haughty and disdainful; looking down on others

Nelly felt the Quiz Bowl director acted superciliously towards the underclassmen; really, she fumed, must he act so preternaturally omniscient each time he intones some obscure fact—as though everybody knows that Mt. Aconcagua is the highest peak in South America.

Question 17

artless

Answer 17

adjective: without cunning or deceit

Despite the president’s seemingly artless speeches, he was a skilled and ruthless negotiator.

Question 18

overweening

Answer 18

adjective: arrogant; presumptuous

Mark was so convinced of his basketball skills that in his overweening pride he could not fathom that his name was not on the varsity list; he walked up to the basketball coach and told her she had forgotten to add his name.

Question 19

contentious

Answer 19

adjective: likely to argue

Since old grandpa Harry became very contentious during the summer when only reruns were on T.V., the grandkids learned to hide from him at every opportunity.

Question 20

vicissitude

Answer 20

noun: change in one’s circumstances, usually for the worse

Even great rulers have their vicissitudes—massive kingdoms have diminished overnight, and once beloved kings have faced the scorn of angry masses.

Question 21

base

Answer 21

adjective: the lowest, without any moral principles

She was not so base as to begrudge the beggar the unwanted crumbs from her dinner plate.

Question 22

apostate

Answer 22

noun: a person who has abandoned a religious faith or cause

An apostate of the Republican Party, Sheldon has yet to become affiliated with any party and dubs himself an independent.

Question 23

defray

Answer 23

verb: to help pay the cost of, either in part or full

In order for Sean to attend the prestigious college, his generous uncle helped defray the excessive tuition with a monthly donation.

Question 24

turpitude

Answer 24

noun: depravity; a depraved act

During his reign, Caligula indulged in unspeakable sexual practices, so it is not surprising that he will forever be remembered for his turpitude.

Question 25

malfeasance

Answer 25

noun: misconduct or wrongdoing (especially by a public official) Not even the mayor’s trademark pearly-toothed grin could save him from charges of malfeasance: while in power, he’d been running an illegal gambling rink in the room behind his office.

Question 26

jingoist

Answer 26

noun: a person who thinks their country is always right and who is in favor of aggressive acts against other countries In the days leading up to war, a nation typically breaks up into the two opposing camps: doves, who do their best to avoid war, and jingoists, who are only too eager to wave national flags from their vehicles and vehemently denounce those who do not do the same.

Question 27

saturnine

Answer 27

adjective: morose or gloomy Deprived of sunlight, humans become saturnine; that’s why in very northerly territories people are encouraged to sit under an extremely powerful lamp, lest they become morose.

Question 28

churlish

Answer 28

adjective: lacking manners or refinement The manager was unnecessarily churlish to his subordinates, rarely deigning to say hello, but always quick with a sartorial jab if someone happened to be wearing anything even slightly mismatching.

Question 29

truculent

Answer 29

adjective: having a fierce, savage nature Standing in line for six hours, she became progressively truculent, yelling at DMV employees and elbowing other people waiting in line.

Question 30

kowtow

Answer 30

verb: to bow or act in a subservient manner Paul kowtowed to his boss so often the boss herself became nauseated by his sycophancy.

Question 31

ponderous

Answer 31

adjective: weighed-down; moving slowly Laden with 20 kilograms of college text books, the freshman moved ponderously across the campus.

Question 32

conciliate

Answer 32

verb: to make peace with His opponents believed his gesture to be conciliatory, yet as soon as they put down their weapons, he unsheathed a hidden sword.

Question 33

prosaic

Answer 33

adjective: dull and lacking imagination Unlike the talented artists in his workshop, Paul had no such bent for the visual medium, so when it was time for him to make a stained glass painting, he ended up with a prosaic mosaic.

Question 34

catholic

Answer 34

adjective: of broad scope; universal Jonah’s friends said that Jonah’s taste in music was eclectic; Jonah was quick to point out that not only was his taste eclectic but it was also catholic: he enjoyed music from countries as far-flung as Mali and Mongolia.

Question 35

chary

Answer 35

adjective: cautious, suspiciously reluctant to do something Having received three speeding tickets in the last two months, Jack was chary of driving at all above the speed limit, even on a straight stretch of highway that looked empty for miles ahead.

Question 36

beg

Answer 36

verb: assume something is true (usu. followed by "the question", meaning that you ask a question in which you assume something that hasn't been proven true) By assuming that Charlie was headed to college—which he was not—Maggie begged the question when she asked him to which school he was headed in the Fall.

Question 37

anathema

Answer 37

noun: a detested person; the source of somebody's hate Hundreds of years ago, Galileo was anathema to the church; today the church is anathema to some on the left side of the political spectrum.

Question 38

attenuate

Answer 38

verb: to weaken (in terms of intensity); to taper off/become thinner. Her animosity towards Bob attenuated over the years, and she even went so far as to invite him to her party.

Question 39

insufferable

Answer 39

adjective: intolerable, difficult to endure Chester always tried to find some area in which he excelled above others; unsurprisingly, his co-workers found him insufferable and chose to exclude him from daily luncheons out.

Question 40

imbibe

Answer 40

verb: to drink or absorb as if drinking Plato imbibed Socrates’ teachings to such an extent that he was able to write volumes of work that he directly attributed, sometimes word for word, to Socrates.

Question 41

precipitate

Answer 41

adjective: hasty or rash Instead of conducting a thorough investigation after the city hall break-in, the governor acted precipitately, accusing his staff of aiding and abetting the criminals. verb: to cause to happen The government's mishandling of the hurricane's aftermath precipitated a widespread outbreak of looting and other criminal activity.

Question 42

choleric

Answer 42

adjective: prone to outbursts of temper; easily angered While a brilliant lecturer, Mr. Dawson came across as choleric and unapproachable—very rarely did students come to his office hours.

Question 43

hector

Answer 43

verb: to bully or intimidate The boss’s hectoring manner put off many employees, some of whom quit as soon as they found new jobs.

Question 44

perfunctory

Answer 44

adjective: done routinely and with little interest or care The short film examines modern perfunctory cleaning rituals such as washing dishes, doing laundry and tooth-brushing.

Question 45

pariah

Answer 45

noun: an outcast The once eminent scientist, upon being found guilty of faking his data, has become a pariah in the research community.

Question 46

equivocate

Answer 46

verb: to speak vaguely, usually with the intention to mislead or deceive After Sharon brought the car home an hour after her curfew, she equivocated when her parents pointedly asked her where she had been.

Question 47

factious

Answer 47

adjective: produced by, or characterized by internal dissension The controversial bill proved factious, as dissension even within parties resulted

Question 48

apogee

Answer 48

noun: the highest point The apogee of the Viennese style of music, Mozart’s music continues to mesmerize audiences well into the 21st century.

Question 49

zeitgeist

Answer 49

noun: spirit of the times Each decade has its own zeitgeist—the 1990’s was a prosperous time in which the promise of the American Dream never seemed more palpable.

Question 50

feckless

Answer 50

adjective: lazy and irresponsible Two years after graduation, Charlie still lived with his parents and had no job, becoming more feckless with each passing day.

Question 51

limpid

Answer 51

adjective: having clarity in terms of expression Her limpid prose made even the most recondite subjects accessible to all.

Question 52

curmudgeon

Answer 52

noun: a grouchy, surly person Since Uncle Mike was the family curmudgeon, each Thanksgiving he was plied with copious amounts of wine, in the hope that he would become less grouchy.

Question 53

quisling

Answer 53

noun: a traitor History looks unfavorably upon quislings; indeed they are accorded about the same fondness as Nero—who watched his city burn down while playing the violin.

Question 54

benighted

Answer 54

adjective: fallen into a state of ignorance Far from being a period of utter benightedness, The Medieval Ages produced some great works of theological speculation.

Question 55

excoriate

Answer 55

verb: to criticize very harshly Entrusted with the prototype to his company’s latest smartphone, Larry, during a late night karaoke bout, let the prototype slip into the hands of a rival company—the next day Larry was excoriated, and then fired.

Question 56

protean

Answer 56

adjective: readily taking on different roles; versatile Peter Sellers was truly a protean actor—in Doctor Strangelove he played three very different roles: a jingoist general, a sedate President and a deranged scientist.

Question 57

picayune

Answer 57

adjective: trifling or petty (a person) English teachers are notorious for being picayune; however, the English language is so nuanced and sophisticated that often such teachers are not being contrary but are only adhering to the rules.

Question 58

histrionic

Answer 58

adjective: to be overly theatrical Though she received a B- on the test, she had such a histrionic outburst that one would have thought that she’d been handed a death sentence.

Question 59

martinet

Answer 59

noun: a strict disciplinarian The job seemed perfect to Rebecca, until she found out that her boss was a total martinet; after each project the boss would come by to scrutinize—and inevitably criticize—every little detail of the work Rebecca had done.

Question 60

imbroglio

Answer 60

noun: a confusing and potentially embarrassing situation The chef cook-off featured one gourmand who had the unfortunate distinction of mixing the wrong broths, creating an imbroglio that diners would not soon forget.

Question 61

venial

Answer 61

adjective: easily excused or forgiven; pardonable His traffic violations ran the gamut from the venial to the egregious—on one occasion he simply did not come to a complete stop; another time he tried to escape across state lines at speeds in excess of 140 mph.

Question 62

tendentious

Answer 62

adjective: likely to lean towards a controversial view Because political mudslinging has become a staple of the 24-hour media cycle, most of us, despite protestations to the contrary, are tendentious on many of today’s pressing issues.

Question 63

arch

Answer 63

adjective: to be deliberately teasing The baroness was arch, making playful asides to the townspeople; yet because they couldn't pick up on her dry humor, they thought her supercilious.

Question 64

vituperate

Answer 64

verb: to criticize harshly; to berate Jason had dealt with disciplinarians before, but nothing prepared him for the first week of boot camp, as drill sergeants vituperated him for petty oversights such as forgetting to double knot the laces on his boots.

Question 65

maudling

Answer 65

adjective: overly emotional and sad Just as those who were alive during the 70’s are mortified that they once cavorted about in bellbottoms, many who lived during the 80’s are now aghast at the maudlin pop songs they used to enjoy—really, just what exactly is a total eclipse of the heart?

Question 66

sartorial

Answer 66

adjective: related to fashion or clothes Monte was astute at navigating the world of finance; sartorially, however, he was found wanting—he typically would attempt to complement his beige tie with a gray suit and white pants.

Question 67

sangfroid

Answer 67

noun: calmness or poise in difficult situations The hostage negotiator exhibited a sangfroid that oftentimes was more menacing than the sword at his throat, or the gun at his head.

Question 68

malapropism

Answer 68

noun: the confusion of a word with another word that sounds similar Whenever I looked glum, my mother would offer to share "an amusing antidote" with me—an endearing malapropism of "anecdote" that never failed to cheer me up.

Question 69

execrate

Answer 69

verb: to curse and hiss at Though the new sitcom did decently in the ratings, Nelson railed against the show, saying that it was nothing more than an execrable pastiche of tired clichés and canned laughter.

Question 70

peremptory

Answer 70

adjective: bossy and domineering My sister used to peremptorily tell me to do the dishes, a chore I would either do perfunctorily or avoid doing altogether.

Question 71

sententious

Answer 71

adjective: to be moralizing, usually in a pompous sense The old man, casting his nose up in the air at the group of adolescents, intoned sententiously, “Youth is wasted on the young.”

Question 72

schadenfraude

Answer 72

noun: joy from watching the suffering of others From his warm apartment window, Stanley reveled in schadenfreude as he laughed at the figures below, huddled together in the arctic chill.

Question 73

gerrymander

Answer 73

verb: to manipulate voting districts in order to favor a particular political party Years ago, savvy politicians had gerrymandered the city center to ensure their re-election.

Question 74

remonstrate

Answer 74

verb: to make objections while pleading The mothers of the kidnapped victims remonstrated to the rogue government to release their children, claiming that the detention violated human rights.

Question 75

palimpsest

Answer 75

noun: something that has been changed numerous times but on which traces of former iterations can still be seen The downtown was a palimpsest of the city’s checkered past: a new Starbucks had opened up next to an abandoned, shuttered building, and a freshly asphalted road was inches away from a pothole large enough to swallow a small dog.

Question 76

expurgate

Answer 76

verb: to remove objectionable material The censor expurgated every reference to sex and drugs, converting the rapper's raunchy flow into a series of bleeps.

Question 77

pyrrhic

Answer 77

adjective: describing a victory that comes at such a great cost that the victory is not worthwhile George W. Bush’s win in the 2000 election was in many ways a pyrrhic victory: the circumstances of his win alienated half of the U.S. population.

Question 78

billious

Answer 78

adjective: irritable; always angry Rex was bilious all morning, and his face would only take on a look of contentedness when he’d had his morning cup of coffee.

Question 79

invective

Answer 79

noun: abusive or denunciatory language The Internet has unleashed the invectives in many of us; many people post stinging criticism on the comments section underneath newspaper articles or YouTube videos.

Question 80

mulct

Answer 80

verb: to defraud or swindle The so-called magical diet cure simply ended up mulcting Maria out of hundreds of dollars, but did nothing for her weight

Question 81

propitiate

Answer 81

verb: to placate or appease The two sons, plying their angry father with cheesy neckties for Christmas, were hardly able to propitiate him – the father already had a drawer full of ones he had never worn before or ever planned to.

Question 82

phantasmagorical

Answer 82

adjective: illusive; unreal Those suffering from malaria fall into a feverish sleep, their world a whirligig of phantasmagoria; if they recover, they are unsure of what actually took place and what was simply a product of their febrile imaginations.

Question 83

impecunious

Answer 83

adjective: lacking money; poor In extremely trying times, even the moderately wealthy, after a few turns of ill-fortune, can become impecunious.

Question 84

disabused

Answer 84

verb: to persuade somebody that his/her belief is not valid As a child, I was quickly disabused of the notion that Santa Claus was a rotund benefactor of infinite largess—one night I saw my mother diligently wrapping presents and storing them under our Christmas tree.

Question 85

juggernaut

Answer 85

noun: a force that cannot be stopped Napoleon was considered a juggernaut until he decided to invade Russia in winter; after which, his once indomitable army was decimated by cold and famine.`

Question 86

hedge

Answer 86

verb: to limit or qualify a statement; to avoid making a direct statement When asked why he had decided to buy millions of shares at the very moment the tech company's stock soared, the CEO hedged, mentioning something vague about gut instinct

Question 87

jejune

Answer 87

adjective: dull; lacking flavor Although many top chefs have secured culinary foam's popularity in haute cuisine, Waters criticizes it for being jejune and unfilling. adjective: immature; childish Her boss further cemented his reputation for being jejune after throwing a fit when the water cooler wasn't refilled.

Question 88

vituperate

Answer 88

verb: to criticize harshly; to berate Jason had dealt with disciplinarians before, but nothing prepared him for the first week of boot camp, as drill sergeants vituperated him for petty oversights such as forgetting to double knot the laces on his boots.

Question 89

quixotic

Answer 89

adjective: wildly idealistic; impractical For every thousand startups with quixotic plans to be the next big name in e-commerce, only a handful ever become profitable

Question 90

mellifluous

Answer 90

adjective: smooth and sweet-sounding Chelsea’s grandmother thought Franz Schubert’s music to be the most mellifluous ever written; Chelsea demurred, and to her grandmother’s chagrin, would blast Rihanna on the home stereo speakers.

Question 91

blinkered

Answer 91

adjective: to have a limited outlook or understanding In gambling, the blinkered addict is easily influenced by past successes and/or past failures, forgetting that the outcome of any one game is independent of the games that preceded it.

Question 92

parvenu

Answer 92

noun: a person who has suddenly become wealthy, but not socially accepted as part of a higher class The theater was full of parvenus who each thought that they were surrounded by true aristocrats.

Question 93

cupidity

Answer 93

noun: greed for money Some people believe that amassing as much wealth as possible is the meaning to life—yet they often realize that cupidity brings anything but happiness.

Question 94

factitious

Answer 94

adjective: artificial; not natural The defendant’s story was largely factitious and did not accord with eyewitness testimonies

Question 95

arriviste

Answer 95

noun: a person who has recently reached a position of power; a social climber The city center was aflutter with arrivistes who tried to outdo one another with their ostentatious sports cars and chic evening dress.

Question 96

jaundiced

Answer 96

adjective: to be biased against due to envy or prejudice Shelly was jaundiced towards Olivia; though the two had once been best friends, Olivia had become class president, prom queen, and, to make matters worse, the girlfriend of the one boy Shelly liked.

Question 97

apotheosis

Answer 97

noun: exaltation to divine status; the highest point of development As difficult as it is to imagine, the apotheosis of Mark Zuckerberg’s career, many believe, is yet to come.

Question 98

mettlesome

Answer 98

adjective: filled with courage or valor For its raid on the Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Seal Team Six has become, for many Americans, the embodiment of mettle.

Question 99

Pollyannaish

Answer 99

adjective: extremely optimistic Even in the midst of a lousy sales quarter, Debbie remained Pollyannaish, never losing her shrill voice and wide smile, even when prospective customers hung up on her.

Question 100

fell

Answer 100

adjective: terribly evil For fans of the Harry Potter series, the fell Lord Voldemort, who terrorized poor Harry for seven lengthy installments, has finally been vanquished by the forces of good—unless, that is, JK Rowling decides to come out of retirement.