Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Word Smart for the GRE 2nd addition > Section 18-All P's (92) > Flashcards

Section 18-All P's (92) Flashcards

1
Q

Paen (n)

A

a song or expression of praise and thanksgiving/triumph

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Palliate (v)

A

to make something appear less serious, gloss over, mitigate in an attempt to cloak

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Pandemic (adj)

A

widespread; occurring over a large area or affecting an unusually large percentage of the population

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Pan- (Greek)

A

All

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Demos (Greek)

A

people

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Panegyric (n)

A

formal expression of praise

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Paradigm (n)

A

something that serves as a model, example, or pattern; the framework of assumptions and understandings shared by a group or discipline that shapes its worldview/ a model

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Para (Greek)

A

beside; distant from

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Paradox (n)

A

contradiction; a seemingly self contradictory statement that seems true nonetheless (adj)-Paradoxial

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Paragon (n)

A

something regarded as a model of excellence or perfection in some way

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Pariah (n)

A

an outcast, a rejected and despised person

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Parody (n)

A

humorous imitation intended for ridicule or comic effect, especially in literature and art, also something so bad as to be potentially mistaken for an intentional mockery

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Parry (v)

A

to block, evade or ward off, as a blow

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Parsimonious (adj)

A

cheap, miserly; frugal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Partisan (adj)

A

one-sided, committed to a party, biased or prejudiced

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Paucity (adj)

A

scarcity, a lacking of

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Peccadillo (n)

A

a slight offense, literally, a minor sin

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Pedagogy (n)

A

the art or profession of training, teaching, or instructing

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Pedantic (adj)

A

ostentatious display of learning, excessive attention to minutiae and formal rules, unimaginative

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Ostentatious

A

vulgar or pretentious display; designed to impress or attract notice

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Pedant

A

one with pedantic

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Pedestrian (adj)

A

commonplace, trite, unremarkable, dull

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Penchant (n)

A

Strong inclination, a liking

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Penurious (adj)

A

penny-pinching; excessively thrifty, ungenerous

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Penury
extreme poverty, destitution or lack of resources
26
Peremptory (adj)
admitting of no contradiction, putting and end to further debate, haughty, imperious, final
27
Perennial (adj)
recurrent through the year or many years, happening repeatedly
28
Perfidy (n)
intentional breach of faith, treachery
29
Perfunctory (adj)
cursory, done without care or interest/effort
30
Peripatetic (adj)
itinerant, traveling, nomadic
31
Pernicious (adj)
extremely harmful, potentially causing death, inimical
32
Personable (adj)
pleasing in appearance, attractive
33
Perspicacious (adj)
acutely perceptive, having keen discernment; having great acumen
34
Peruse (v)
to examine with great care
35
Pervade (v)
to permeate throughout
36
Pervasive
having the tendency to permeate or spread throughout
37
Petrous (adj)
like a rock, hard, stony
38
Perify
to make hard or rocklike, or to paralyze with fear
39
Petulant (adj)
impatient, irritable
40
Philanthropic (adj)
humanitarian, benevolent
41
Philistine (n)
a crass individual guided by material rather than intellectual or artistic values
42
Phlegmatic (adj)
calm, sluggish, unemotional, stoic
43
Picaresque (adj)
involving clever rogues or adventurers
44
Pied (adj)
multi-colored, usually in blotches
45
Pillory (v)
to punish, hold up to public scorn
46
Pine (v)
to yearn intensely, to languish, to lose vigor
47
Pious (adj)
extremely reverent or devout
48
Piquant (adj)
agreeably pungent, spicy, stimulating
49
Pique (n)
resentment, feeling of irritation due to hurt pride (also can be used as a verb)
50
Pirate (v)
to use or reproduce illegally
51
Pith (n)
the essential or central part
52
Pithy
Precise and brief
53
Placate (v)
to appease, to calm by making concessions; mollify
54
Plaintive (adj)
mournful, melancholy, sorrowful
55
Plangent (adj)
pounding, thundering, resounding
56
Plastic (adj)
moldable, pliable, not rigid
57
Platitude (n)
a superficial or trite remark, especially one offered as meaningful
58
Plethora (n)
an overabundance, a surplus
59
Pluck (n)
courage, spunk, fortitude
60
Plumb (v)
to measure the depth (as with a plumb line), to examine critically
61
Plummet (v)
to plunge or drop straight down
62
Poignant (adj)
distressing, pertinent, touching, stimulating, emotional
63
Polemical (adj)
controversial, argumentative
64
Polemics
the art or practice of controversy and argumentation
65
Pragmatic (adj)
practical rather than idealistic
66
Pragmatist
one who is practical
67
Prate (v)
chatter, babble
68
Prattle (v)
to babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idle manner
69
Precarious (adj)
uncertain, risky, dangerous
70
Precept (n)
Rule establishing standards of conduct, a doctrine that is taught
71
Precipitate (adj)
acting with excessive haste or impulse
72
Precipitate (v)
to cause or happen before anticipated or required
73
Precursor (n)
something that precedes and indicates or announces another
74
Predilection (n)
a disposition in favor of something, preference
75
Preempt (v)
to replace, to supercede, to appropriate
76
Preemption
a prior appropriation of or claim to something, (and preemptive means characterized by preemption)
77
Preen (v)
to dress up, primp, groom oneself with elaborate care; in animals, to clean fur or feathers
78
Prescience (n)
knowing of events prior to their occuring
79
Presumptuous (adj)
overstepping bounds, as of propriety or courtesy; taking liberties
80
Prevaricate (v)
to deliberately avoid the truth, mislead
81
Pristine (adj)
pure, uncorrupted, clean
82
Prize (v)
to pry, press or force with a lever
83
Probity (adj)
adherence to highest principles, uprightness
84
Proclivity (n)
a natural predisposition or inclination
85
Prodigal (adj)
recklessly wasteful, extravagant, profuse, lavish
86
Prodigious (adj)
abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary
87
Profligate (adj)
excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant
88
Profuse (adj)
given or coming forth abundantly, extravagant
89
Profusion
abundance or extravagance
90
Prolific (adj)
producing large volumes or amounts, productive
91
Proliferate
to grow or increase swiftly and abundantly
92
Proliferation
The act of increasing quickly
93
Prolix (adj)
long-winded, verbose
94
Propensity (n)
a natural inclination or tendency, penchant
95
Propinquity (adj)
nearness in time or place, affinity of nature, kinship
96
Propitiate (v)
to appease or pacify
97
Propitious (adj)
auspicious, favorable
98
Propriety (n)
appropriateness; conformity with standards of acceptable behavior
99
Proprietary
associated with ownership
100
Prosaic (adj)
dull, unimaginative
101
Proscribe (v)
To outlaw or prohibit
102
Whats the difference between Prescription and Proscription?
Prescription-what you should do, Proscription-What you are not allowed to do
103
Provident (adj)
frugal, looking to the future
104
Providential
happening as if from divine intervention
105
Puerile (adj)
childish, immature
106
Pugnacious (adj)
contentious, quarrelsome, given to fighting, belligerent, Bellicose, querulous
107
Punctilious (adj)
precise, paying attention to trivialities, especially in regard to etiquette
108
Pundit (n)
an authority on a subject, one who gives opinions
109
Pungent (adj)
characterized by a strong, sharp smell or taste, penetrating, to the point
110
Pusillanimous (adj)
cowardly, craven
111
Putrefy (v)
to rot, decay and give off a foul odor, become gangrenous

Word Smart for the GRE 2nd addition (19 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions