New GRE Words Flashcards
(175 cards)
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>diatribe</p>
<p>a bitter abusive denunciation.</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>encomium</p>
<p>a formal eulogy or speech of praise</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>conflagration</p>
<p>a great fire</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>breach</p>
<p>a lapse, gap or break, as in a fortress wall. To break or break through.ex: Unfortunately, the club members never forgot his breach of etiquette.</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>fathom</p>
<p>a measure of length (six feet) used in nautical settings. to penetrate to the depths of something in order to understand it: “I couldn’t fathom her reasoning on that issue.”</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>anachronism</p>
<p>a person or artifact appearing after its own time or out of chronological order (adj: anachronistic)</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>peccadillo</p>
<p>a small sin or fault</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>eulogy</p>
<p>a spoken or written tribute to the deceased (v. eulogize)</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>savant</p>
<p>a very knowledgeable person; a genius</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>panegyric</p>
<p>a writing or speech in praise of a person or thing</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>tractable</p>
<p>ability to be easily managed or controlled: “Her mother wished she were more tractable.” (n: tractability)</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>equivocal</p>
<p>ambiguous; unclear; subject to more than one interpretation — often intentionally so: “Republicans complained that Bill Clinton’s answers were equivocal.” (v. equivocate)</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>improvidence</p>
<p>an absence of foresight; a failure to provide for future needs or events: “Their improvidence resulted in the loss of their home.”</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>catalyst</p>
<p>an agent of change (adj: catalytic; v. catalyze)</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>tirade (diatribe)</p>
<p>an angry speech: “His tirade had gone on long enough.”</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>antediluvian</p>
<p>ancient; outmoded; (literally,before the flood)</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>Pulchritudinous</p>
<p>beautiful (n: pulchritude)</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>tyro</p>
<p>beginner; person lacking experience in a specific endeavor: “They easily took advantage of the tyro.”</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p class=”large” style=”text-align:center”;>deprecation</p>
<p class=”large” style=”text-align:center”;>belittlement. (v. deprecate)</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>disparaging</p>
<p>belittling (n: disparagement. v. disparage)</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p class=”large” style=”text-align:center”;>dispassionate</p>
<p class=”large” style=”text-align:center”;>calm; objective; unbiased</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>caustic</p>
<p>capable of dissolving by chemical action; highly critical: “His caustic remarks spoiled the mood of the party.”</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p>sanguine</p>
<p>cheerful; confident: “Her sanguine attitude put everyone at ease.”(Sangfroid (noun) is a related French word meaning unflappability. Literally, it means cold blood)</p>
Definition Sentence Ex.
<p class=”large” style=”text-align:center”;>lucid</p>
<p class=”large” style=”text-align:center”;>clear; translucent: “He made a lucid argument to support his theory.”</p>
ingenious
clever: “She developed an ingenious method for testing her hypothesis.”(n: ingenuity)
precipice
cliff with a vertical or nearly vertical face; a dangerous place from which one is likely to fall; metaphorically, a very risky circumstance
imperious
commanding
banal
commonplace or trite (n: banality)
pragmatic
concerned with facts; practical, as opposed to highly principled or traditional: “His pragmatic approach often offended idealists.” (n: pragmatism)
pusillanimous
cowardly, timid, or irresolute; petty: “The pusillanimous leader soon lost the respect of his people.”
craven
cowardly; a coward
voracious
craving or devouring large quantities of food, drink, or other things. She is a voracious reader.
chicanery
deception by trickery
Word
Definitions, Other Forms, and Examples
perfidious
deliberately treacherous; dishonest (n: perfidy)
turpitude
depravity; baseness: “Mr. Castor was fired for moral turpitude.”
culpable
deserving of blame (n: culpability)
aberrant
deviating from normal or correct.
sedulous
diligent; persevering; persistent: “Her sedulous devotion to overcoming her background impressed many.” (n: sedulous; sedulousness; adv. sedulously)
petulant
easily or frequently annoyed, especially over trivial matters; childishly irritable
efficacy
effectiveness; capability to produce a desired effect
vacuous
empty; without contents; without ideas or intelligence:: “She flashed a vacuous smile.”
zeal
enthusiastic devotion to a cause, ideal, or goal (n: zealot; zealotry. adj: zealous)
exorbitant
exceeding customary or normal limits, esp. in quantity or price: “The cab fare was exorbitant.”
plethora
excessively large quantity; overabundance: “We received a plethora of applications for the position.”
temperate
exercising moderation and self-denial; calm or mild (n: temperance)
volatile
explosive; fickle (n: volatility).
audacious
extremely bold; fearless, especially said of human behavior (n: audacity)
wretched
extremely pitiful or unfortunate (n: wretch)
ambrosial
extremely pleasing to the senses, divine (as related to the gods) or delicious (n: ambrosia)
gossamer
fine cobweb on foliage; fine gauzy fabric; very fine: “She wore a gossamer robe.”
florid
flushed with a rosy color, as in complexion; very ornate and flowery: “florid prose.”
explicit
fully and clearly expressed
magnanimity
generosity and nobility. (adj: magnanimous)
leviathan
giant whale, therefore, something very large
venerate
great respect or reverence: “The Chinese traditionally venerated their ancestors; ancestor worship is merely a popular misnomer for this tradition.” (n: veneration, adj: venerable)
taciturn
habitually untalkative or silent (n: taciturnity)
obdurate
hardened against influence or feeling; intractable.
noisome
harmful, offensive, destructive: “The noisome odor of the dump carried for miles.”
innocuous
harmless; having no adverse affect; not likely to provoke strong emotion
saturnine
having a gloomy or morose temperament
sagacious
having a sharp or powerful intellect or discernment. (n: sagacity).
headlong
headfirst; impulsive; hasty. impulsively; hastily; without forethought: “They rushed headlong into marriage.”
ponderous
heavy; massive; awkward; dull: “A ponderous book is better than a sleeping pill.”
fervid, fervent
highly emotional; hot: “The partisans displayed a fervent patriotism.” (n: fervor)
guileless
honest; straightforward (n: guilelessness)
antipathy
hostility toward, objection, or aversion to
caprice
impulse (adj: capricious)
inchoate
in an initial or early stage; incomplete; disorganized: “The act of writing forces one to clarify inchoate thoughts.”
extant
in existence, still existing: The only extant representative of that species.”
quiescence
inactivity; stillness; dormancy (adj: quiescent)
misnomer
incorrect name or word for something
implication
insinuation or connotation (v. implicate)
esoteric
intended for or understood by only a few: “The esoteric discussion confused some people.” (n: esoterica)
dearth
lack, scarcity: “The prosecutor complained about the dearth of concrete evidence against the suspect.”
diffident
lacking self-confidence, modest (n: diffidence)
insipid
lacking zest or excitement; dull
ephemeral
lasting for only a brief time, fleeting (n: ephemera)
malevolent
malicious; evil; having or showing ill will: “Some early American colonists saw the wilderness as malevolent and sought to control it.”
incorrigible
not capable of being corrected: “The school board finally decided the James was incorrigible and expelled him from school.”
phlegmatic
not easily excited; cool; sluggish
opaque
not transparent or transluscent; dense; difficult to comprehend, as inopaque reasoning
insensible
numb; unconscious: “Wayne was rendered insensible by a blow to the head.” unfeeling; insensitive: “They were insensible to the suffering of others.:
corporeal
of or having to do with material, as opposed to spiritual; tangible. (In older writings, corporeal could be a synonym for corporal. This usage is no longer common)
insular
of or pertaining to an island, thus, excessively exclusive: “Newcomers found it difficult to make friends in the insular community.”
corporal
of the body: “corporal punishment.” a non-commissioned officer ranked between a sergeant and a private.
iconoclast
one who attacks traditional ideas or institutions or one who destroys sacred images (adj: iconoclastic)
misanthrope
one who hates people: “He was a true misanthrope and hated even himself.”
misogynist
one who hates women
superficial
only covering the surface: “A superficial treatment of the topic was all they wanted.”
anomalous
peculiar; unique, contrary to the norm (n: anomaly)
impecunious
penniless; poor
indelible
permanent; unerasable; strong: “The Queen made an indelible impression on her subjects.”
bombast
pompous speech (adj: bombastic)
laudable
praiseworthy; commendable (v. laud)
latent
present or potential but not evident or active (n: latency)
endemic
prevalent in or native to a certain region, locality, or people: “The disease was endemic to the region.” Don’t confuse this word with epidemic.
irascible
prone to outbursts of temper, easily angered
enigma
puzzle; mystery: “Math is an enigma to me.” (adj: enigmatic)
prodigal
rashly wasteful: “Americans’ prodigal devotion to the automobile is unique.”
plastic
related to being shaped or molded; capable of being molded. (n: plasticity n: plastic)
dogmatic
relying upon doctrine or dogma, as opposed to evidence
erudite
scholarly; displaying deep intensive learning. (n: erudition)
specious
seemingly true but really false; deceptively convincing or attractive: “Her argument, though specious, was readily accepted by many.”
eclectic
selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources: “Many modern decorators prefer an eclectic style.” (n: eclecticism)
pedantic
showing a narrow concern for rules or formal book learning; making an excessive display of one’s own learning: “We quickly tired of his pedantic conversation.” (n: pedant, pedantry).
homogenous
similar in nature or kind; uniform: “a homogeneous society.”
guile
skillful deceit: “He was well known for his guile.” (v. bequile; adj: beguiling. Note, however, that these two words have an additional meaning: to charm (v.) or charming (adj:), while the word guile does not generally have any such positive connotations)
viscous
slow moving; highly resistant to flow: “Heintz commercials imply that their catsup is more viscous than others’.” (n: viscosity)
emollient
softening; something that softens
precursor
something (or someone) that precedes another: “The assassination of the Archduke was a precursor to the war.”
blandishment
speech or action intended to coax someone into doing something
floundering
struggling: “We tried to save the floundering business.”
dogged
stubborn or determined: “Her dogged pursuit of the degree eventually paid off.”
intransigent
stubborn; immovable; unwilling to change: “She was so intransigent we finally gave up trying to convince her.” (n: intransigence)
deference
submission or courteous yielding: “He held his tongue in deference to his father.” (n: deferential. v. defer)
loquacious
talkative
philanthropy
tendency or action for the benefit of others, as in donating money or property to a charitable organization
reproof
the act of censuring, scolding, or rebuking. (v. reprove).
depredation
the act of preying upon or plundering: “The depredations of the invaders demoralized the population.”
effluent
the quality of flowing out. something that flows out, such as a stream from a river (n: effluence)
vex
to annoy; to bother; to perplex; to puzzle; to debate at length: “Franklin vexed his brother with his controversial writings.”
placate
to calm or reduce anger by making concessions: “The professor tried to placate his students by postponing the exam.”
castigate
to chastise or criticize severely
occlude
to close or shut off; to obstruct (n: occlusion)
dissemble
to conceal one’s real motive, to feign
propitiate
to conciliate; to appease: “They made sacrifices to propitiate angry gods.”
aver
to declare
infer
to deduce: “New genetic evidence led some zoologists to infer that the red wolf is actually a hybrid of the coyote and the gray wolf.”
exculpate
to demonstrate or prove to be blameless: “The evidence tended to exculpate the defendant.”(adj: exculpatory)
desiccate
to dry out thoroughly (adj: desiccated)
precipitate
to fall; to fall downward suddenly and dramatically; to bring about or hasten the occurrence of something: “Old World diseases precipitated a massive decline in the American Indian population.”
disabuse
to free a person from falsehood or error: “We had to disabuse her of the notion that she was invited.”
cadge
to get something by taking advantage of someone
feign
to give false appearance or impression: “He feigned illness to avoid going to school.” (adj: feigned)
engender
to give rise to, to propagate, to cause: “His slip of the tounge engendered much laughter.”
burgeon
to grow or flourish; a bud or new growth (adj: burgeoning )
waver
to hesitate or to tremble
inhibit
to hold back, prohibit, forbid, or restrain (n: inhibition, adj: inhibited)
exacerbate
to increase the bitterness or violence of; to aggravate: “The decision to fortify the border exacerbated tensions.”
abscond
to leave secretly and hide, often to avoid the law.
descry
to make clear, to say
aggrandize
to make greater, to increase, thus, to exaggerate.
mitigate
to make less forceful; to become more moderate; to make less harsh or undesirable: “He was trying to mitigate the damage he had done.” (n: mitigation)
assuage
to make less severe; to appease or satisfy
rarefy
to make or become thin; to purify or refine (n: rarefaction, adj: rarefied)
obviate
to prevent by anticipatory measures; to make unnecessary:
rescind
to repeal or annul
sate
to satisfy fully or to excess
fawn
to seek favor or attention; to act subserviently (n, adj: fawning)
arbitrate
to settle a dispute by impulse (n: arbitration)
depict
to show, create a picture of.
advocate
to speak, plead, or argue for a cause, or in another’s behalf. (n) — one who advocates.
prevaricate
to stray away from or evade the truth: “When we asked him what his intentions were, he prevaricated.”(n: prevarication; prevaricator)
corroborate
to strengthen or support: “The witness corroborted his story.” (n: corroboration)
emulate
to strive to equal or excel (n: emulation)
imply
to suggest indirectly; to entail: “She implied she didn’t believe his story.” (n: implication)
buttress
to support. a support
amalgamate
to unite or mix. (n) — amalgamation.
enervate
to weaken or destroy the strength or vitality of: “The heatenervated everyone.”
ossified
turned to bone; hardened like bone; Inflexible: “The ossified culture failed to adapt to new economic conditions and died out.”
tortuous
twisted; excessively complicated: “Despite public complaints, tax laws and forms have become increasingly tortuous.” Note: Don’t confuse this with torturous.
barefaced
unconcealed, shameless, or brazen
ineffable
inexpressible in words; unspeakable
hapless
unfortunate
ingenuous
unsophisticated; artless; straightforward; candid: “Wilson’s ingenuous response to the controversial calmed the suspicious listeners.”
tacit
unspoken: “Katie and carmella had a tacit agreement that they would not mention the dented fender to their parents.”
laconic
using few words; terse: “a laconic reply.”
ambiguous
vague; subject to more than one interpretation
garrulous
verbose; talkative; rambling: “We tried to avoid our garrulous neighbor.”
attenuate
weaken (adj: attenuated)
lugubrious
weighty, mournful, or gloomy, especially to an excessive degree: “Jake’s lugubrious monologues depressed his friends.”
nefarious
wicked, evil: “a nefarious plot.”
complaisant
willingly compliant or accepting of the status quo (n: complaisance)
verbose
wordy: “The instructor asked her verbose student make her paper more concise.” (n: verbosity)
