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GRE 2014 > Top GRE Vocab Words > Flashcards

Top GRE Vocab Words Flashcards

(85 cards)

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1
Q

Abate

A

to reduce in amount, degree, or severity;

[Venemous’ force storm ABATED as he realized Plageuis’ power far exceeded his.]

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2
Q

Abscond

A

to leave secretly

[The patron ABSCONDED from the restaurant without paying his bill by sneaking out the back door.]

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3
Q

Abstain

A

to choose not to do something;

[Palpatine ABSTAINED from the vote to show his system’s dissatisfaction with the Senate’s actions.]

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4
Q

Abyss

A

An extremely deep hole;

[The submarine dove into the ABYSS to chart the previously unseen depths.]

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5
Q

Adulterate

A

to make impure;

[The chef made his ketchup last longer by ADULTERATING it with water.]

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6
Q

Advocate

A

to speak in favor of;

[David ADVOCATED running and vegetarian meals.]

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7
Q

Aesthetic

A

concerning the appreciation of beauty;

[Followers of the AESTHETIC Movement regarded the the pursuit of beauty as the only true purpose of art.]

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8
Q

Aggrandize

A

to increase in power, influence, and reputation;

[The supervisor sought to AGGRANDIZE herself by claiming that the achievements of her staff were her own.]

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9
Q

Alleviate

A

to make more bearable;

[Taking Ibuprofen helps to ALLEVIATE pain.]

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10
Q

Amalgamate

A

to combine or mix together;

[Giant Industries AMALGAMATED with Mega Products to form Giant-Mega Products Incorporated.

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11
Q

Ambiguous

A

doubtful or uncertain, able to be interpreted several ways;

[The character Hrothgar is portrayed in an AMBIGUOUS manner in Beowulf.]

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12
Q

Ameliorate

A

to make better, to improve;

[The doctor was able to AMELIORATE the patient’s suffering using painkillers.]

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13
Q

Anachronism

A

something out of place in time;

[The aged hippie used ANACHRONISTIC phrases, like groovy and far out, that had not been popular for years.]

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14
Q

Analogous

A

similar or alike in some way, equivalent to;

[For Bane, being saved only to be in Jedi custody was ANALOGOUS to a living hell.]

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15
Q

Anomaly

A

deviation from what is normal;

[Albino animals may display too great an ANOMALY in their coloring to attract normally colored mates.]

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16
Q

Antagonize

A

to annoy or provoke to anger;

[The child discovered he could ANTAGONIZE the cat by pulling its tail.]

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17
Q

Antipathy

A

extreme dislike;

[The ANTIPATHY between the French and the English regularly erupted into open warfare.]

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18
Q

Apathy

A

lack of interest or emotion;

[The APATHY of the voters is so great that less than half the people who are eligible to vote actually bother to do so.]

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19
Q

Arbitrate

A

to judge a dispute between two opposing parties;

[Since the people could not come to an agreement, a judge was forced to ARBITRATE their divorce proceedings.]

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20
Q

Archaic

A

ancient, old fashioned;

[Her ARCHAIC computer could not run the latest software.]

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21
Q

Ardor

A

intense and passionate feeling;

[Bishop’s ARDOR for the landscape was evident she he passionately described the beauty of the scenic Hudson Valley.]

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22
Q

Articulate

A

able to speak clearly and expressively;

[She is such an ARTICULATE defender of labor that unions are among her strongest supporters.]

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23
Q

Assuage

A

to make something unpleasant less severe;

[Lupin gave Harry some chocolate to ASSUAGE the sickness he felt after the dementor.]

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24
Q

Attenuate

A

to reduce in force or degree, to weaken;

[The Bill of Rights ATTENUATED the traditional power of governments to change laws at will.]

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25
Audacious
fearless and daring; | [Her AUDACIOUS nature allowed her to fulfill her dream of skydiving.]
26
Dogma
A firmly held opinion, often a religious belief
27
Dogmatic
Dictorial in one's opinions
28
Dupe
To deceive; a person who is easily deceived
29
Eclectic
Selecting from or made up from a variety of sources
30
Efficacy
Effectiveness
31
Elegy
A sorrowful poem or speech
32
Eloquent
Persuasive and moving, especially in speech
33
Emulate
To copy; to try to equal or excel
34
Enervate
To reduce in strength
35
Engender
To produce, cause, or bring about
36
Enigma
A puzzle; a mystery
37
Enumerate
To count, list, or itemize
38
Ephemeral
Lasting a short time
39
Equivocate
To use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead
40
Erratic
Wandering and unpredictable
41
Erudite
Learned, scholarly, bookish
42
Esoteric
Known or understood by only a few
43
Estimable
Admirable
44
Eulogy
Speech in praise of someone
45
Euphemism
Use of an inoffensive work or phrase in place of a more distasteful one
46
Exacerbate
To make worse
47
Exculpate
To clear from blame; prove innocent
48
Exigent
Urgent; requiring immediate action
49
Exonerate
To clear blame
50
Explicit
Clearly stated or shown; forthright in expression
51
Austere
severe or stern in appearance, undecorated; | [The lack of decoration makes military barracks seem AUSTERE to the civilian eye.]
52
Banal
predictable, clichéd, boring; | [He used BANAL phrases like, "Have a nice day" or "Another day, another dollar."]
53
Bolster
to support, to prop up; | [THe presence of giant footprints BOLSTERED the argument that Sasquatch was in the area.]
54
Bombastic
pompous in speech and manner; | [The ranting of the radio talk-show host was mostly BOMBASTIC; his boasting and outrageous claims had no basis in fact.]
55
Cacophony
harsh, jarring noise; | [The junior high orchestra created an almost unbearable CACOPHONY as they tried to tune their instruments.]
56
Candid
impartial and honest in speech; | [The observations of a hold can be charming since they are candid and unpretentious.]
57
Capricious
changing one's mind quickly and often; | [Queen Elizabeth I was quite CAPRICIOUS; her courtiers could never be sure which of their number would catch her fancy.]
58
Castigate
to punish or criticize harshly; [Many Americans are amazed at how harshly the authorities in Singapore CASTIGATE perpetrators of what would be considered minor crimes in the United States.]
59
Catalyst
something that brings about a change in something else; | [The imposition of harsh taxes was the CATALYST that finally brought on the revolution.]
60
Caustic
biting in wit; | [Dorothy Parker gained her reputation for CAUSTIC wit from her cutting, yet cleaver, insults.]
61
Chaos
great disorder or confusion; | [In many religious traditions, God created an ordered universe from CHAOS.]
62
Chauvinist
someone who is prejudiced in favor of a group to which her or she belongs; [The attitude that men are inherently superior to women and therefore must be obeyed is common among male CHAUVINISTS.]
63
Chicanery
deception by means of craft or guile; | [Dishonest used car sales people often use CHICANERY to sell their beat-up old cars.]
64
Cogent
convincing and well reasoned; | [Swayed by the COGENT argument of the defense, the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendant.]
65
Condone
to overlook, pardon, or disregard; | [Some theorists believe that failing to prosecute minor crimes is the same as CONDONING an air of lawlessness.]
66
Convoluted
intricate and complicated; | [Although many people bought 'A Brief History of Time,' few could follow its CONVOLUTED ideas and theories.]
67
Corroborate
to provide supporting evidence; | [Fingerprints CORROBORATED the witness's testimony that he say the defendant in the victim's apartment.]
68
Credulous
too trusting, gullible; | [Although some four-year-olds believe in the Easter Bunny, only the most CREDULOUS nine-year-olds also believe in him.
69
Crescendo
steadily increasing volume or force; | [The CRESCENDO of tension became unbearable as Evel Knievel prepared to jump his motorcycle over the school buses.]
70
Decorum
appropriateness of behavior or conduct, propriety | [The countess complained that the vulgar peasants lacked the DECORUM appropriate for a visit to the palace.]
71
Deference
respect, courtesy; | [The respectful young law clerk treated the Supreme Court justice with the utmost DEFERENCE.]
72
Deride
to speak of or treat with contempt, to mock; | [The awkward child was often DERIDED by his "cooler" peers.]
73
Desiccate
to dry out thoroughly; | [After a few weeks of lying on the desert's baking sands, the cow's carcass became completely DESICCATED.]
74
Desultory
jumping from one thing to another, disconnected | [Diane had a DESULTORY academic record; she had changed majors 12 times in three years]
75
Diatribe
an abusive, condemnatory speech; | [The trucker bellowed a DIATRIBE at the driver who had cut him off].
76
Diffident
lacking self-confidence; | [Steve's DIFFIDENT manner during the job interview stemmed from his nervous nature and lack of experience in the field.]
77
DILATE
to make larger, to expand; | [When you enter a darkened room, the pupils of your eyes DILATE to let in more light.]
78
Dilatory
intended to delay; | [The congressman used DILATORY measures to delay the passage of the bill.]
79
Dilettante
someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic; [Jerry's friends were such DILETTANTES that they seemed to have new jobs and hobbies each week.]
80
Dirge
a funeral hymn or mournful speech; | [Melville wrote the poem "The DIRGE for James McPherson" for the funeral of a Union general who was killed in 1864.]
81
Disabuse
to set right, to free from error; | [Galileo's observations DISABUSED scholars of the notion that the sun revolved around the earth.]
82
Discern
to perceive, to recognize; | [It is easy to DISCERN the difference between butter and butter-flavored topping.]
83
Disparate
fundamentally different, entirely unlike; | [Although the twins appear to be identical physically, their personalities are DISPARATE.]
84
Dissemble
to present false appearance, to disguise one's real intentions or character; [The villain could DISSEMBLE to the police no longer—he admitted the deed and tore up the floor to reveal the body of the old man.]
85
Dissonance
a hard and disagreeable combination, often of sounds; | [Cognitive DISSONANCE is the inner conflict produced when long-standing beliefs are contradicted by new evidence.]

GRE 2014 (9 decks)

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