Flashcards: GRE barron's most frequent
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allamericanmade on February 21, 2009
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Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 ABATE | subside or moderate |
| ABERRANT | abnormal or deviant |
| ABEYANCE | suspended action |
| ABSCOND | depart silently and hide |
| ABSTEMIOUS | sparing in eating and drinking (ADJ) |
| ADMONISH | warn; reprove (V) |
| ADULTERATE | make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances |
| AESTHETIC | artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciating the beautiful; |
| AGGREGATE | gather; accumulate; |
| ALACRITY | cheerful promptness; eagerness; |
| ALLEVIATE | relieve |
| AMBIGUOUS | unclear or doubtful in meaning |
| AMBIVALENCE | the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes; |
| AMALGAMATE | combine; unite in one body; |
| AMELIORATE | improve |
| ANACHRONISM | something or someone misplaced in time; |
| ANALOGOUS | comparable |
| ANARCHY | absence of governing body; state of disorder; |
| ANOMALOUS | abnormal; irregular; |
| ANTIPATHY | aversion; dislike; |
| APATHY | lack of caring; indifference; |
| APPEASE | pacify or soothe |
| APPRISE | inform |
| APPROBATION | approval; |
| APPROPRIATE | acquire; take possession of for one's own use; |
| ARDUOUS | hard; strenuous; |
| ARTLESS | without guile; open and honest; |
| ASCETIC | practicing self denial; austere; |
| ASSIDUOUS | diligent |
| ASSUAGE | easen or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger); |
| ATTENUATE | make thinner; weaken or lessen (in density, force, degree) |
| AUDACIOUS | daring; bold; |
| AUSTERE | forbiddingly stern; severely simple; severely simple and unornamented; |
| AUTONOMOUS | self-governing |
| AVER | assert confidently or declare; as used in law, state formally as a fact; |
| BANAL | hackneyed; commonplace; |
| BELIE | contradict; give a false impression |
| BENEFICENT | kindly; doing good; |
| BOLSTER | support; reinforce; |
| BOMBASTIC | pompous; using inflated language; |
| BOORISH | rude; insensitive |
| BURGEON | grow forth; send out buds; |
| BURNISH | make shiny by rubbing; polish; |
| BUTTRESS | support; prop up; |
| CACOPHONOUS | discordant; inharmonious |
| CAPRICIOUS | unpredictable; fickle; |
| CASTIGATION | punishment; severe criticism; |
| CATALYST | agent that influences the pace of a chemical reaction while it remains unaffected and unchanged; |
| CATALYST | person or thing that causes action; |
| CAUSTIC | burning; sarcastically biting; |
| CHICANERY | trickery; deception; |
| COAGULATE | thicken; congeal; clot; |
| CODA | concluding section of a musical or literary composition; something that rounds out, summarizes or concludes; |
| COGENT | convincing; |
| COMMENSURATE | corresponding in extent, degree, amount, etc.; proportionate; |
| COMPENDIUM | brief, comprehensive summary; |
| COMPLAISANT | trying to please; overly polite; obliging; |
| COMPLIANT | yielding; conforming to requirements; |
| CONCILIATORY | reconciling; soothing; |
| CONDONE | overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse; |
| CONFOUND | confuse; puzzle |
| CONNOISSEUR | person competent to act as a judge of art, etc.; a lover of an art; |
| CONTENTION | claim; thesis; |
| CONTENTIOUS | quarrelsome; |
| CONTRITE | penitent; |
| CONUNDRUM | riddle; difficult problem; |
| CONVERGE | approach; tend to meet; come together; |
| CONVOLUTED | coiled around; involved; intricate; |
| CRAVEN | cowardly; |
| DAUNT | intimidate; frighten; |
| DECORUM | propriety; orderliness and good taste in manners; |
| DEFAULT | failure to act (N) |
| DEFERENCE | courteous regards for another's wish. courteous regard for people's feelings; "in deference to your wishes"; |
| DELINEATE | portray; depict; sketch; |
| DENIGRATE | blacken; |
| DERIDE | ridicule; make fun of; |
| DERIVATIVE | unoriginal; obtained from another source |
| DESICCATE | dry up; |
| DESULTORY | aimless; haphazard; digressing at random; |
| DETERRENT | something that discourages; hindrance; |
| DIATRIBE | bitter scolding; invective; |
| DICHOTOMY | split; branching into two parts; |
| DIFFIDENCE | shyness; |
| DIFFUSE | wordy; rambling; spread out (like a gas); |
| DIGRESSION | wandering away from the subject; |
| DIRGE | lament with music |
| DISABUSE | correct a false impression; undeceive; |
| DISCERNING | mentally quick and observant; having insight; |
| DISCORDANT | not harmonious; conflicting; |
| DISCREDIT | defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve; |
| DISCREPANCY | lack of consistency; difference; |
| DISCRETE | separate; unconnected; consisting of distinct parts; |
| DISINGENUOUS | lacking genuine candor; insincere; |
| DISINTERESTED | unprejudiced; |
| DISJOINTED | lacking coherence; separated at the joints; |
| DISMISS | eliminate from consideration; reject; |
| DISPARAGE | belittlle |
| DISPARATE | basically different; unrelated; |
| DISSEMBLE | disguise; pretend; |
| DISSEMINATE | distribute; spread; scatter; |
| DISSOLUTION | disintegration; looseness in morals; |
| DISSONANCE | discord; opposite of harmony; |
| DISTEND | expand; swell out; |
| DISTILL | purify; refine; concentrate; |
| DIVERGE | vary |
| DIVEST | strip; deprive; |
| DOCUMENT | provide written evidence; |
| DOGMATIC | opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal; |
| DORMANT | sleeping; lethargic; latent; |
| DUPE | somebody easily fooled |
| EBULLIENT | showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm; |
| ECLECTIC | selective; composed of elements drawn from disparate sources; |
| EFFICACY | power to produce desired effect; |
| EFFRONTERY | impudence; shameless boldness; sheer nerve; presumptuousness; |
| ELEGY | poem or song expressing lamentation; |
| ELICIT | draw out by discussion; |
| EMBELLISH | adorn; ornament; enhance, as a story; |
| EMPIRICAL | based on experience; |
| EMULATE | imitate; rival; |
| ENDEMIC | prevailing in a specific group of people or in a specific area of country; |
| ENERVATE | weaken; |
| ENGENDER | cause; produce; |
| ENHANCE | increase; improve; |
| EPHEMERAL | short-lived; fleeting; |
| EQUANIMITY | calmness or temperament; composure; |
| EQUIVOCATE | lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the truth; |
| ERUDITE | learned; scholarly; |
| ESOTERIC | hard to understand; known only to a chosen few; |
| EULOGY | expression of praise, often on the occasion of someone's death; |
| EUPHEMISM | mild expression in place of an unpleasant one; |
| EXACERBATE | worsen; embitter; |
| EXCULPATE | clear from blame; exonerate; |
| EXIGENCY | urgent situation; |
| EXTRAPOLATION | projection; conjecture; |
| FACETIOUS | joking (often inappropriately); humorous; |
| FACILITATE | help bring about; make less difficult; |
| FALLACIOUS | false; misleading; |
| FATUOUS | brainless; inane; foolish, yet smug; |
| FAWNING | trying to please by behaving obsequiously, flattering or cringing; |
| FELICITOUS | apt; suitably expressed; well-chosen; |
| FERVOR | glowing ardor; intensity of feeling; |
| FLAG | droop; grow feeble; |
| FLEDGLING | inexperienced; |
| FLOUT | reject; mock; show contempt for; |
| FOMENT | stir up; instigate; incite; |
| FORESTALL | prevent by taking action in advance; |
| FRUGALITY | thrift; economy; marked by avoiding waste and being economical |
| FUTILE | useless; hopeless; ineffectual; |
| GAINSAY | deny |
| GARRULOUS | loquacious; wordy; talkative; Excessively talkative; Excessively wordy and rambling |
| GOAD | urge on; |
| GOUGE | overcharge |
| GRANDILOQUENT | pompous; bombastic; using high sounding language; |
| GREGARIOUS | sociable; |
| GUILELESS | without deceit; |
| GULLIBLE | easily deceived; |
| HARANGUE | long; passionate, and vehement speech; |
| HOMOGENEOUS | of the same kind; |
| HYPERBOLE | exaggeration; overstatement; |
| ICONOCLASTIC | attacking cherished traditions; |
| IDOLATRY | worship of idols; excessive admiration; |
| IMMUTABLE | unchangeable; |
| IMPAIR | injure; hurt; |
| IMPASSIVE | without feeling; imperturbable; stoical; |
| IMPEDE | hinder; block; |
| IMPERMEABLE | impervious; not permitting passage through its substance; |
| IMPERTURBABLE | calm; placid; |
| IMPERVIOUS | impenetrable; incapable of being damaged or distressed; |
| IMPLACABLE | incapable of being pacified; |
| IMPLICIT | understood but not stated; |
| IMPLODE | burst inward; |
| INADVERTENTLY | unintentionally; by oversight; carelessly; |
| INCHOATE | recently begun; rudimentary; elementary; |
| INCONGRUITY | lack of harmony; absurdity; |
| INCONSEQUENTIAL | insignificant; unimportant; |
| INCORPORATE | introduce something into a larger whole; combine; unite; |
| INDETERMINATE | uncertain; not clearly fixed; indefinite; |
| INDIGENCE | poverty; |
| INDOLENT | lazy |
| INERT | inactive; lacking power to move |
| INGENUOUS | naive and trusting; young; unsophisticated; |
| INHERENT | firmly established by nature or habit; |
| INNOCUOUS | harmless |
| INSENSIBLE | unconscious; unresponsive; |
| INSINUATE | hint; imply; creep in; |
| INSIPID | lacking in flavor; dull; |
| INSULARITY | narrow-mindedness; isolation; |
| INTRACTABLE | unruly; stubborn; unyielding; |
| INTRANSIGENCE | refusal fo any compromise; stubbornness; |
| INUNDATE | overwhelm; flood; submerge; |
| INURED | accustomed; hardened; |
| INVECTIVE | abuse; |
| IRASCIBLE | irritable; easily angered; |
| IRRESOLUTE | uncertain how to act; weak; |
| ITINERARY | plan of a trip; |
| LACONIC | brief and to the point; |
| LASSITUDE | languor; weariness; |
| LATENT | potential but undeveloped;dormant; |
| LAUD | praise; |
| LETHARGIC | drowsy; dull; |
| LEVEE | earthen or stone embankment to prevent flooding |
| LEVITY | lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity; |
| LOG | record of a voyage ro fight; record of day to dat activities; |
| LOQUACIOUS | talkative; |
| LUCID | easily understood; clear; intelligible; |
| LUMINOUS | shining; issuing light; |
| MAGNANIMITY | generosity; |
| MALINGERER | one who feigns illness to escape duty; |
| MALLEABLE | capable of being shaped by pounding; impressionable; |
| MAVERICK | rebel; nonconformist; |
| MENDACIOUS | lying; habitually dishonest; |
| METAMORPHOSIS | change of form |
| METICULOUS | excessively careful; attentive to detail |
| MISANTHROPE | one who hates mankind; |
| MITIGATE | lessen in intensity; moderate; appease; |
| MOLLIFY | soothe |
| MOROSE | moody; ill-humored; sullen; melancholy. |
| MUNDANE | worldly as opposed to spiritual; |
| NEGATE | cancel out; nullify; deny; |
| NEOPHYTE | recent convert; beginner; |
| OBDURATE | stubborn; |
| OBSEQUIOUS | slavishly attentive; servile; sycophantic; |
| OBVIATE | make unnecessary; get rid of; |
| OCCLUDE | shut; close; |
| OFFICIOUS | meddlesome; excessively pushy in offering one's services; |
| ONEROUS | burdensome; |
| OPPROBRIUM | infamy; vilification; |
| OSCILLATE | vibrate pendulumlike; waver; |
| OSTENTATIOUS | showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention; |
| PARAGON | model of perfection; |
| PARTISAN | one-sided; prejudiced; committed to a party; |
| PATHOLOGICAL | pertaining to disease; |
| PAUCITY | scarcity |
| PEDANTIC | showing off learning; bookish; |
| PENCHANT | strong inclination; liking; |
| PENURY | severe poverty; stinginess; destitution; |
| PERENNIAL | something long-lasting; |
| PERFIDIOUS | treacherous; disloyal; |
| PERFUNCTORY | superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care or enthusiasm; |
| PERMEABLE | penetrable; porous; allowing liquid or gas to pass through; |
| PERVASIVE | spread throughout; |
| PHLEGMATIC | calm; not easily disturbed; |
| PIETY | devoutness; reverence for God; |
| PLACATE | pacify; conciliate; |
| PLATITUDE | trite remark; commonplace statement; |
| PLETHORA | excess; overabundance; |
| PLUMMET | fall sharply; |
| POROUS | full of pores; like a sieve; |
| PLASTICITY | ability to be molded; |
| PRAGMATIC | practical (ass opposed to idealistic); concerned with the practical worth or impact of something; |
| PREAMBLE | introductory statement; |
| PRECARIOUS | uncertain; risky; |
| PRECIPITATE | rash; premature; hasty; sudden; (ADJ) |
| PRECIPITATE | throw headlong; hasten; (V) |
| PRECURSOR | forerunner; |
| PRESUMPTUOUS | arrogant; taking liberties; |
| PREVARICATE | lie; |
| PRISTINE | characteristic of earlier times; primitive; unspoiled; |
| PROBITY | uprightness; incorruptibility; |
| PROBLEMATIC | doubtful; questionable; unsettled; perplexing; |
| PRODIGAL | wasteful; reckless with money; |
| PROFOUND | deep; not superficial; complete; |
| PROHIBITIVE | tending to prevent the purchase or use of something; inclined to prevent or forbid; |
| PROLIFERATE | grow rapidly; spread; multiply; |
| PROPENSITY | natural inclination; |
| PROPITIATE | appease; |
| PROPRIETY | fitness; correct conduct; |
| PROSCRIBE | ostracize; banish; outlaw; |
| PUNGENT | stinging; sharp in taste or smell; caustic; |
| QUALIFIED | limited; restricted; |
| QUIBBLE | minor objection or complaint; |
| QUIESCENT | at rest; dormant; temporarily inactive; |
| RAREFIED | made less dense [of a gas] |
| RECALCITRANT | obstinately stubborn; determined to resist authority; unruly; |
| RECANT | disclaim or disavow; retract a previous statement; openly confess error; |
| RECLUSE | hermit; loner; one who lives in solitude |
| RECONDITE | abstruse; profound; secret; |
| REFRACTORY | stubborn; unmanageable; |
| REFUTE | disprove; |
| RELEGATE | banish to an inferior position; delegate; assign; |
| REPROACH | express disapproval or disappointment; |
| REPROBATE | person hardened in sin, devoid of a sense of decency; |
| REPUDIATE | disown; disavow; |
| RESCIND | cancel |
| RESOLUTION | determination |
| RESOLVE | determination; firmness of purpose; |
| RETICENT | reserved; uncommunicative; inclined to silence; |
| REVERENT | respectful; worshipful; |
| SAGE | person celebrated for wisdom; |
| SALUBRIOUS | healthful; |
| SANCTION | approve; ratify; |
| SATIATE | satisfy fully; |
| SATURATE | soak thoroughly; |
| SAVOR | enjoy; have a distinctive flavor, smell or quality; |
| SECRETE | place out of sight; keep secret; "The money was secreted from his children" . Produce and release a substance into an organism; |
| SHARD | fragment, generally of pottery; |
| SKEPTIC | doubter; person who suspends judgment until having experienced the evidence supporting a point of view; |
| SOLICITOUS | worried; concerned; |
| SOPORIFIC | sleep-causing; marked by sleepiness; |
| SPECIOUS | seemingly reasonable but incorrect; misleading (often intentionally) |
| SPECTRUM | colored band produced when a beam of light passes through a prism; |
| SPORADIC | occurring irregularly; |
| STIGMA | token of disgrace; brand; |
| STINT | thrifty; set limits; |
| STIPULATE | make express conditions specify; |
| STOLID | dull; impassive; |
| STRIATED | marked with parallel bands; grooved; |
| STRUT | pompous walk; |
| STRUT | supporting bar |
| SUBPOENA | writ summoning a witness to appear |
| SUBSIDE | settle down; descend; grow quiet; |
| SUBSTANTIATE | establish by evidence; verify; support; |
| SUPERSEDE | cause to be set aside; replace; make obsolete; |
| SUPPOSITION | hypothesis; surmise; |
| TACIT | understood; not put into words; |
| TANGENTIAL | peripheral; only slightly connected; digressing; |
| TENUOUS | thin; rare; slim; |
| TIRADE | extended scolding; denunciation; harangue; |
| TORPOR | lethargy; sluggishness; dormancy; |
| TORTUOUS | winding; full of curves; |
| TRACTABLE | docile; easily managed; |
| TRANSGRESSION | violation of a law; sin; |
| TRUCULENCE | aggressiveness; ferocity; |
| VACILLATE | waver; fluctuate; |
| VENERATE | revere; |
| VERACIOUS | truthful; |
| VERBOSE | wordy; |
| VIABLE | practical or workable; capable of maintaining life; |
| VISCOUS | sticky; gluey; |
| VITUPERATE | abusive; scolding; |
| VOLATILE | changeable; explosive; evaporating rapidly; |
| WARRANTED | justified; authorized; |
| WARY | very cautious; |
| WELTER | turmoil; bewildering jumble; (N) |
| WELTER | wallow |
| WHIMSICAL | capricious; fanciful; |
| ZEALOT | fanatic; person who shows excessive zeal; |