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GRE Vocab

Terms in this set (151)

prowess
(n.) distinguished bravery; superior skill or ability
profligacy
wasteful and immoral behavior
orthodoxies
n. authorized or generally accepted theory, doctrine, or practice
spurious
not genuine, not true, not valid
maladroit
clumsy; unskillful
eclectic
selecting from or made up from a variety of sources
frivolous
(adj.) of little importance, not worthy of serious attention; not meant seriously
forestall
to prevent by taking action in advance
cultivate
(v.) to nurture, improve, refine (At the library, she cultivated her interest in spy novels.)
benign
harmless
didactic
instructive
panegyrical
formally expressing praise
erudite
(adj.) scholarly, learned, bookish, pedantic
permeated
spread or flowing throughout
luxuriant
abundant in growth, very fertile, splendid
banal
hackneyed, trite, commonplace, boring
gauche
(adj.) awkward, lacking in social graces, tactless, clumsy
adept
(adj.) thoroughly skilled; (n.) an expert
ascetic
One who leads a life of self-denial and contemplation; absent of luxury
unstinting
very generous
sublime
of such excellence, grandeur, or beauty as to inspire great admiration or awe
prosaic
(adj.) dull, lacking in distinction and originality; matter-of-fact, straightforward; characteristic of prose, not poetic
quiescent
inactive; at rest, quiet, still
fatuous
(adj.) stupid or foolish in a self-satisfied way
comely
attractive
prepossessing
(adj.) occupying the mind to the exclusion of other thoughts or feelings (His prepossessing appearance made it impossible for me to think of anything else.)
decorous
proper; in good taste
felicitous
(adj.) appropriate, apt, well chosen; marked by well-being or good fortune, happy
diffidence
shyness; lack of confidence
propriety
(n) the state of being proper, appropriateness; (pl) standards of what is proper or socially acceptable
reticence
restraint in speech, reluctance to speak
decorum
proper behavior
brashness
self-assertive in a rude or overbearing way
pithy
brief and full of meaning and substance; concise
conformist
follower of customs
conventional
(adj.) in line with accepted ideas or standards; trite
whimsical
(adj.) subject to odd ideas, notions, or fancies; playful; unpredictable
capricious
impulsive and unpredictable
irksome
annoying
onerous
burdensome; heavy; hard to endure
facile
(adj.) easily done or attained; superficial; ready, fluent; easily shown but not sincerely felt
glib
(adj.) ready and fluent in speech; thoughtless, insincere
implacable
unable to be calmed down or made peaceful
immutable
(adj.) not subject to change, constant
forlorn
sad and lonely
magnanimous
generous in forgiving, above small meanness
bellicose
Demonstrating aggression and willingness to fight.
desolate
Deserted and lonely
doughty
brave and persistent
divulge
(v.) to tell, reveal; to make public
retrench
(v.) to cut down, reduce in scope and cost
diverge
to vary; go in different directions from the same point
fuse
to mix or to join (usually by melting)
rebuked
criticized; reprimanded
lauded
Praised; glorified
mitigated
to relieve; to alleviate
perfidy
faithlessness, treachery
sophistry
(n.) reasoning that seems plausible but is actually unsound; a fallacy
expiate
(v.) to make amends, make up for; to avert
soporific
(adj.) tending to cause sleep, relating to sleepiness or lethargy; (n.) something that induces sleep
sedulous
(adj.) persistent, showing industry and determination
coruscating
flashing, sparkling
debilitating
weakening, harmful
falsifiable
capable of being disproved
preternatural
beyond what is normal or natural
teleological
relating to or involving the explanation of phenomena in terms of the purpose they serve rather than of the cause by which they arise.
countenance
a person's face or facial expression
preclude
(v.) to make impossible, prevent, shut out
consonant
(adj.) in harmony (The singers' consonant voices were beautiful.)
discrepant
disagreeing, inconsistent
candor
honesty
complaisance
the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
edifying
instructing and improving spiritually or morally
tedious
long and tiresome
grating
Irritating; harsh or discordant (of a noise); scraping
rousing
exciting, stirring
cadge
to beg; sponge
mendicate
to beg
allay
(v.) to calm or pacify, set to rest; to lessen or relieve
anodyne
something that calms or soothes pain
monocoque
an aircraft or vehicle structure in which the chassis is integral with the body
Origin early 20th century: from French, from mono- 'single' + coque 'shell.'
pavonine
of or like a peacock
parietal
pertaining to the outer wall of the body cavity
saturnine
(adj.) of a gloomy or surly disposition; cold or sluggish in mood
cauterized
burned to prevent infection
sensitized
cause person or thing to respond to stimuli
inured
hardened; accustomed; used to
attuned
familiar with someone or something so that you can understand or recognize them or it, and act in an appropriate way
promulgated
formally made public
aniconic
"no images"; referring to traditions that do not encourage visual imagery in religion
bombast
impressive but meaningless language
objectivity
unbiased
superfluous
unnecessary
requisite
made necessary by particular circumstances or regulations
apocryphal
of doubtful authenticity
laconic
using few words
garrulous
talkative
taciturn
(adj.) habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little
tempestuous
turbulent, stormy
demarcation
the marking of boundaries or categories
domineering
Forcing others to obey
eminent
(adj.) famous, outstanding, distinguished; projecting
unobjectionable
acceptable
execrable
very very bad
prolific
(adj.) abundantly productive; abundant, profuse
sidereal
relating to the stars
boisterous
(adj.) rough and noisy in a cheerful way; high-spirited
etiolated
weak or sick; drained of color or vigor
circumscribed
restricted or limited
singular
unique
obtuse
annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand
abominable
Horrible or unpleasant
transient
(adj.) lasting only a short time, fleeting; (n.) one who stays only a short time
maladjusted
poorly adjusted, disturbed
static
Having no motion or change
discreet
careful
incredulous
disbelieving, skeptical
prodigious
enormous
stolidity
absence of emotional reactions
commensurate
proportional
undue
inappropriately excessive
intransigence
stubbornness; refusal to compromise
comportment
behavior; demeanor; mode of bearing or movement
delineate
(v.) to portray, sketch, or describe in accurate and vivid detail; to represent pictorially
futile
useless; hopeless
presumptuous
too forward or bold; overstepping proper bounds
contemptuous
Feeling hatred; scornful
beseech
to beg, plead, implore
prerogative
a special right or privilege
conduit
a channel for conducting fluids; a means by which something is transmitted
plight
a dangerous, difficult, or otherwise unfortunate situation
ineluctable
not to be avoided or escaped; inevitable
invidious
offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment
plangent
loud and resounding
nugatory
worthless
contentious
quarrelsome
denouement
an outcome; result
pedantic
tending to show off one's learning
antediluvian
extremely old; antiquated
acrimonious
angry or bitter
nascent
beginning to exist or develop
predilection
preference
intractable
stubborn; obstinate; hard to move forward
inveterate
firmly established, long-standing; habitual
timorous
timid
cowed
to pressure by intimidation
turgid
swollen
repatriate
to send someone back to their home country
extradite
to hand over someone to a judicial system
interdict
to prohibit
expurgate
to remove something questionable
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