GRE Power Vocab - I

Question 1

Iconoclast

Answer 1

n. one who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institutions

Iconoclastic means attacking cherished beliefs, heretical

Question 2

Idolatrious

Answer 2

adj. given to intense or excessive devotion to something

Idolatry is the worship of idols and images or blind devotion to something

Question 3

Idyll

Answer 3

n. a carefree, lighthearted pastoral or romantic episode or experience, a literary or musical piece describing such

Idyllic means simple or carefree

Question 4

Ignominious

Answer 4

adj. shameful, dishonorable, ignoble, undignified, disgraceful

Ignominy is dishonor or humiliation

Question 5

Illiberality

Answer 5

n. quality of being narrow-minded, bigoted

Question 6

Imbroglio

Answer 6

n. difficult or embarrassing situation

Question 7

Imminent

Answer 7

adj. about to happen; impending

don’t confuse this with eminnent, which means prominent or distinguished

Question 8

Immutable

Answer 8

adj. not capable of change

Question 9

Impassive

Answer 9

adj. revealing no emotion or sensibility

Question 10

Impecunious

Answer 10

adj. lacking funds; without money

Question 11

Imperious

Answer 11

adj. commanding, masterful, arrogant, domineering, haughty

Question 12

Imperturbable

Answer 12

adj. marked by extreme calm, impassivity and steadiness

Question 13

Impetuous

Answer 13

adj. hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement

Question 14

Implacable

Answer 14

adj. not capable of being appeased or significantly changed

Question 15

Importune

Answer 15

v. to ask incessantly, beg, nag

Importunate means persistent in asking

Question 16

Impudent

Answer 16

adj shamelessly bold, insolent, impertinent

the characteristic of being impudent is called impudence

Question 17

Impugn

Answer 17

v. to attack or assail verbally, censure, execrate, deny

Question 18

Impunity

Answer 18

n. immunity from punishment, penalty, or harm

Question 19

Impute

Answer 19

v. to attribute to a cause or source, ascribe, assign as a characteristic

Question 20

Inalienable

Answer 20

adj. cannot be transferred

generally, we hear this word with the word “rights” as in inalienable rights

Question 21

Inchoate

Answer 21

Adj. in an initial stage, not fully formed

for a word with a similar definition, see nascent

Question 22

Incipient

Answer 22

adj. beginning to come into being or to become apparent

Question 23

Indecorous

Answer 23

adj. violating generally accepted standards of good taste or propriety, unseemly

Question 24

Indefatigable

Answer 24

adj. not easily exhaustible, tireless, dogged

Question 25

Indemnity

Answer 25

adj. to guard or secure against anticipated loss

Question 26

Indifferent

Answer 26

adj. having no interest or concern, apathetic; showing no bias or prejudice Indifferent is a multifunctional word. It can mean having no interest in something, but it can also mean having no bias, which should remind you of all that confusion around disinterested and uninterested. It can also mean not good or bad, not too much or too little, and neither right nor wrong

Question 27

Indolent

Answer 27

adj. lazy, listless, torpid the noun form of indolent

Question 28

Ineluctable

Answer 28

adj. certain, inevitable

Question 29

Inert

Answer 29

adj. unmoving, lethargic, not reactive chemically

Question 30

Ingenuous

Answer 30

adf. artless, frank and candid, lacking in sophistication Disingenuous means lacking in candor, calculating, duplicitous Be careful not to confuse ingenuous with ingenious, which means characterized by skill and imagination

Question 31

Inherent

Answer 31

adj. ingrained within one's naute, intrinsic, firmly established, essential Inhere means to be inherent or innate to something

Question 32

Inimical

Answer 32

adj. damaging, harmful, injurious, hostile, unfriendly For a synonym for inimical, look ahead to pernicious

Question 33

Inimitable

Answer 33

adj. one of a kind, peerless

Question 34

Iniquity

Answer 34

n. wickedness, gross injustice Iniquitous means characterized by wickedness

Question 35

Injudicious

Answer 35

adj. ahowing lack of judgment, unwise, imprudent, indiscreet

Question 36

Innervate

Answer 36

v. to supply with nerves, energize Innervate is usually used to describe a physiological process, as in the fibers that innervate the facial muscles, but it can also be used metaphorically DOn't confuse with enervate, which is also in this book; definitions and pronunciations are very different

Question 37

Innocuous

Answer 37

Adj. harmless; cuasing no damage

Question 38

Inscrutable

Answer 38

adj. incapable of being discovered or understood, mysterious

Question 39

Insensible

Answer 39

Adj. unconscious, unresponsive, unaware, unaffected, numb

Question 40

Insipid

Answer 40

adj. without taste or flavor, lacking in spirit, dull

Question 41

Insouciant

Answer 41

adj. unconcerned, carefree, nonchalant

Question 42

Insular

Answer 42

adj. parochial, narrow-minded, like an island the primary definition of insular means relating to an island, and insulate, meaning to set off in a detached position, comes from the same root

Question 43

Interdict

Answer 43

v. prohibit, forbid, ban, halt An interdiction is a prohibition against something

Question 44

Intimate

Answer 44

v. to imply, suggest or insinuate an intimation is a hint

Question 45

Intractable

Answer 45

adj. not easily managed or directed, stubborn, obstinate

Question 46

Intransigent

Answer 46

adj. refusing to compromise

Question 47

Intrepid

Answer 47

adj. steadfast, courageous

Question 48

Inundate

Answer 48

v. to cover or overwhelm, to flood Inundation is the noun formof inundate

Question 49

Inured

Answer 49

adj. accustomed to accepting something undesirable

Question 50

Inveigh

Answer 50

v. to attack verbally, denounce, deprecate

Question 51

Inveigle

Answer 51

v. to obtain by deception or flattery

Question 52

Inveterate

Answer 52

adj. deep routed, ingrained, habitual Inherent is a close synonym for inveterate

Question 53

Invidious

Answer 53

adj. tending to arouse envy or ill will in others when invidious is used to describe a distinction or comparison, it means discriminatory

Question 54

Irascible

Answer 54

adj. easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts

Question 55

Itinerate

Answer 55

v. to travel from place to place Itinerant is an adjective that means traveling from place to place