GRE Word Smart
Terms
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- abate
- v. to lessen in intensity or degree
- aberrant
- deviating from the norm
- abjure
- v. to renounce or reject solemnly; to recant; to avoid; forswear; repudiate
- abrogate
- v. to abolish or annul by authority; put down
- abscission
- n. act of cutting off or removing
- abscond
- v. to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide
- accretion
- n. growth, increase by successive addition, building up
- acerbic
- adj. having a sour or bitter taste or character
- acumen
- n. a quick keen, or accurate knowledge or insight
- admonish
- v. to reprove; to express warning or disapproval
- adroit
- adept, dexterous
- adulterate
- v. to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients
- adumbrate
- v. to foreshadow vaguely, intimate, suggest, or outline sketchily
- aggrandize
- v. to increase in intensity, power, or prestige; to make appear greater
- alacrity
- n. eager and enthusiastic willingness
- alloy
- v. to commingle, to debase by mixing with something inferior
- amalgamate
- v. to combine several elements into a whole
- ameliorate
- v. to make better or more tolerable
- amenable
- adj. agreeable, responsive to suggestion
- anachronism
- n. something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context
- anathema
- n. a solemn or ecclesiastical (religious) curse; accursed or thoroughly loathed person or thing
- anodyne
- adj. soothing
- antithetical
- adj. diametrically opposed, as in antithesis
- apocryphal
- adj. of dubious authenticity or origin; spurious
- apogee
- n. farthest or highest point; culmination; zenith
- apostate
- one who abandons long-held religious or political convictions, a betrayer of the cause
- apotheosis
- n. deification, glorification to godliness, the perfect example
- apposite
- adj. appropriate, pertinent, relevant, apropos
- apprise
- v. give notice to, inform
- approbation
- n. an expression of approval or praise
- appropriate
- v. to take for one's own use, confiscate
- arabesque
- n. complex, ornate design
- arcane
- adj. mysterious, abstruse, esoteric, knowable only to initiates
- arrant
- adj. impudent; in every way, being completely such barefaced, utter; immodest
- arrest
- to suspend; to engage
- artless
- adj. completely without guile; natural, without artificiality
- asperity
- adj. severity, rigor; roughness, harshness; acrimony, irritability
- aspersion
- n. an act of defamation or maligning
- assiduous
- adj. diligent, hard-working
- assuage
- v. to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify
- astringent
- adj. having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe
- attenuate
- v. to rarefy, weaken or make thinner, lessen
- augury
- n. omen, portent, the reading of omens
- august
- adj. majestic, venerable
- auspice
- n. protection or support, patronage
- auspicious
- adj. favorable, propitious, successful, prosperous
- austere
- adj. without adornment, bare, severely simple, ascetic
- avarice
- n. greed, especially for wealth
- aver
- v. to state as a fact, to confirm or support
- axiomatic
- adj. taken as a given, possessing self-evident truth
- baleful
- adj. sinister, pernicious, ominous
- bane
- adj. cause of injury, source of harm, source of persistent frustration
- beatify
- v. to bless, make happy, or ascribe a virtue to, to regard as saintly
- bedizen
- v. to adorn, especially in a cheap, showy manner, festoon, caparison
- belie
- v. to give a false impression of, to misrepresent
- bellicose
- adj. belligerent, pugnacious, warlike
- blandish
- v. to coax with flattery, toady or fawn
- blithe
- adj. carefree, merry
- bombastic
- adj. pompous, grandiloquent
- boor
- n. a rude or insensitive person, lout, yokel
- broach
- v. bring up, announce, begin to talk about
- brook
- v. to tolerate, endure, countenance
- bucolic
- adj. rustic and pastoral, characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants
- burgeon
- v. to grow rapidly or flourish
- burnish
- v. to polish, rub to a shine
- byzantine
- adj. labrynthine, complex
- cadge
- v. to sponge, beg, or mooch
- cajole
- v. to inveigle, coax, wheedle, sweet-talk
- calumniate
- v. to slander, make a false accusation
- capricious
- adj. inclined to change one's mind impulsively, erratic, unpredictable
- castigation
- n. severe criticism or punishment
- caustic
- adj. burning or stinging, causing corrosion
- censure
- v. to criticize severely, to officially rebuke
- chary
- adj. wary, cautious, sparing
- chasten
- v. to chastise or correct, subdue
- chauvinist
- n. one blindly devoted to a group of which one is a member
- chicanery
- n. trickery or subterfuge
- chimera
- n. an illusion, originally, an imaginary fire-breathing she-monster
- churlish
- adj. boorish, vulgar, loutish, difficult and intractable
- coalesce
- v. to come together
- cogent
- adj. appealing forcibly to the mind or reason, convincing
- color
- v. to change as if by dying, influence, distort, or gloss over
- commensurate
- adj. matching, corresponding, or proportionate in degree, size, amount , or other property
- complaisance
-
n. the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
complaisant - Exhibiting a desire or willingness to please; cheerfully obliging - consequential
- adj. pompous, self-important
- contemn
- v. to scorn or despise
- contrite
- adj. regretful, penitent, seeking forgiveness
- convoluted
- adj. complex or complicated
- corrigible
- adj. capable of being set right, correctable, reparable
- countenance
- v. to approve or tolerate
- cozen
- v. to deceive, beguile, hoodwink
- craven
- adj. contemptibly fainthearted
- credulous
- adj. tending to believe too readily, gullible
- culpable
- adj. deserving blame
- daunt
- v. to intimidate or dismay
- decorum
- n. politeness or appropriateness of conduct or behavior
- demur
- v. to question or oppose
- denigrate
- v. blacken, belittle, sully, defame, disparage
- denouement
- n. an outcome or solution
- deprecate
- v. to disparage or belittle
- depredate
- v. to plunder, pillage, ravage, or destroy, to exploit in a predatory manner
- derision
- n. scorn, ridicule, contemptuous treatment
- desuetude
- n. disuse
- desultory
- adj. random, thoughtless; marked by a lack of plan or purpose
- detraction
- n. slandering, verbal attack, aspersion
- diaphanous
- adj. transparent, gauzy
- didactic
- adj. intended to teach or instruct
- die
- n. a tool used for shaping
- diffident
- adj. reserved, shy, unassuming, lacking in self-confidence
- dilatory
- adj. causing delay, procrastinating
- dilettante
- n. one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge
- din
- n. loud sustained noise
- disabuse
- v. to undeceive
- discomfit
- v. to defeat, put down
- discordant
- adj. conflicting, dissonant or harsh in sound
- discretion
- n. cautious reserve in speech
- disinterested
- adj. free from self-interest
- disparage
- v. to slight or belittle
- disparate
- adj. fundamentally distinct or dissimilar
- dissemble
- v. to disguise or conceal, to mislead
- dissolution
- n. disintegration, looseness in morals
- distrait
- v. distracted, absent-minded, especially due to anxiety
- doggerel
- n. trivial, poorly constructed verse
- dogmatic
- adj. authoritatively and or arrogantly assertive of principles, which often cannot be proved
- dross
- n. slag, waste or foreign matter, impurity, surface scum
- dulcet
- adj. melodious, harmonious, mellifluous
- dynamo
- n. generator, forceful, energetic person
- ebullience
- adj. the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
- eccentric
- adj. departing from norms or conventions
- eclectic
- adj. composed of elements dawn from various sources
- edifying
- adj. enlightening, informative
- effrontery
- n. extreme boldness / presumptuousness
- effusive
- adj. gushing / excessively demonstrative
- egress
- n. exit
- emollient
- adj. soothing, especially to the skin / making less harsh / mollifying / anodyne
- empirical
- adj. based on observation or experiment
- encomium
- n. glowing and enthusiastic praise / panegyric, tribute, eulogy
- endemic
- adj. characteristic of or often found in a particular locality, region, or people / restricted to or peculiar to that region / indigenous
- enervate
- v. to weaken / to reduce in vitality
- engender
- v. to cause, produce, give rise to
- ennui
- n. dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy
- enormity
- n. excessive wickedness / evilness
- epicure
- n. one devoted to sensual pleasure, particularly in food and drink / gourmand, sybarite
- epithet
- n. disparaging word or phrase
- equanimity
- n. composure, self-possession
- equivocate
- v. to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent
- errant
- adj. traveling, itinerant, peripatetic
- erudite
- adj. very learned / scholarly
- eschew
- v. to shun or avoid
- esoteric
- adj. intended for or understood by a small specific group
- essay
- v. to test or try / attempt, experiment
- estimable
- adj. worthy, formidable
- evanescent
- adj. tending to disappear like vapor / vanishing
- evince
-
v. to show clearly, to indicate
To show or demonstrate clearly; manifest: evince distaste by grimacing. - exacerbate
- v. to make worse or more severe
- exact
- v. to demand, call for, require, take eg. to exact revenge or the job is very exacting
- excoriate
- v. to censure scathingly, to upbraid
- exculpate
- v. exonerate / to clear of blame
- exemplar
- n. typical or standard specimen / paradigm, model
- exhort
- v. to incite, to make urgent appeals
- exigent
- adj. urgent / pressing / requiring immediate action or attention
- exonerate
- v. to remove blame
- expatiate
- v. discuss or write about at length / to range freely
- expiate
- v. to atone or make amends for
- expurgate
- v. to remove obscenity, purify, censor
- extant
- adj. existing, not destroyed or lost
- extirpate
- v. to destroy, exterminate, cut out, pull out by the roots
- fatuous
- adj. silly, inanely foolish
- fawn
- v. to flatter or praise excessively
- feckless
- adj. ineffectual / irresponsible
- felicitous
- adj. apt / suitably expressed, well chosen, / delightful
- fell
- n. a barren or stony hill / an animal's hide
- fervent
- adj. greatly emotional or zealous
- fetid
- adj. stinking, having a heavy bad smell
- fetter
- v. to shackle, put in chains, restrain
- filibuster
- n. intentional obstruction, usually using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action
- filigree
- n. an ornamental work, especially of delicate lacelike patterns / resembling such a pattern
- flag
- v. to sag or droop, to become spiritless, to decline
- flip
- adj. sarcastic, impertinent
- florid
- adj. flushed with color, ruddy, ornate
- flout
- v. to demonstrate contempt for
- foment
- v. to stir up, incite, rouse
- forbearance
- n. patience, willingness to wait
- ford
- v. to wade across the shallow part of a river or stream
- forestall
-
To delay, hinder, or prevent by taking precautionary measures beforehand.
To deal with or think of beforehand; anticipate.
ie. preclude, obviate - forswear
- v. to renounce, disallow, repudiate
- fracas
- n. noisy fight or quarrel, brawl
- fractious
- adj. quarrelsome, rebellious, unruly, cranky
- froward
- adj. intractable, not willing to yield or comply, stubbornly disobedient
- fulminate
- v. to attack loudly or denounce
- furtive
- adj. marked by stealth / covert / surreptitious
- gainsay
- v. to deny, dispute, contradict, oppose
- gambol
- v. to skip about playfully, frolic
- gauche
- adj. crude, awkward, tasteless
- glib
- adj. marked by ease or informality / nonchalant / lacking in depth / superficial
- gossamer
- adj. delicate, insubstantial or tenuous / insincere
- grandiloquence
- n. pompous speech or expression
- grouse
- v. to complain or grumble
- guy
- n. a rope or cord attached to something as a brace or guide
- hackneyed
- adj. rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage
- halcyon
- adj. calm and peaceful, prosperous
- hallow
- v. to set apart as holy
- harrow
- v. to distress, create stress or torment
- hedonism
- n. devotion to pleasurable pursuits, especially to the pleasures of the senses
- hegemony
- n. the consistent dominance or influence of one group, state, or ideology over others
- heretical
- adj. violating accepted dogma or convention, unorthodox
- hermetic
- adj. airtight, impervious to outside influence
- heterodox
- adj. unorthodox, heretical / iconoclastic
- iconoclast
- n. one who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institutions
- idolatrous
- adj. given to intense or excessive devotion to something
- ignominious
- adj. shameful, dishonorable, ignoble, undignified, disgraceful
- imbroglio
- n. difficult or embarrassing situation
- impassive
- adj. revealing no emotion or sensibility
- impecunious
- adj. lacking funds / without money
- imperious
- adj. commanding, masterful, arrogant, domineering, haughty
- impetuous
- adj. hastily or rashly energetic / impulsive and vehement
- importune
- v. to ask incessantly, beg, nag
- impugn
- v. attack or assail verbally, censure, execrate, deny
- impunity
- n. immunity from punishment, penalty or harm
- impute
- v. to attribute to a cause or source, ascribe, assign as a characteristic
- inchoate
- adj. in an initial stage, not fully formed
- incipient
- adj. beginning to come into being or to become apparent
- indefatigable
- adj. not easily exhaustible, tireless, dogged
- indolent
- adj. lazy, listless, torpid
- ineluctable
- adj. certain, inevitable
- inert
- adj. unmoving, lethargic, sluggish, not reactive chemically
- infelicitous
- adj. unfortunate / inappropriate
- ingenuous
- adj. artless, frank and candid/lacking in sophistication
- inimical
- adj. damaging, harmful, injurious, hostile, unfriendly
- inimitable
- adj. one of a kind, peerless
- iniquity
- n. wickedness, gross injustice
- innervate
- v. to supply with nerves, energize
- innocuous
- adj. harmless / causing no damage
- inscrutable
- adj. incapable of being discovered or understood, mysterious, incomprehensible
- insensible
- adj. unconscious, unresponsive, unaware, unaffected, numb
- insipid
- adj. without taste or flavor, lacking in spirit, dull
- insouciant
- adj. unconcerned, carefree, nonchalant
- insular
- adj. parochial, narrow-minded, like an island
- interdict
- v. prohibit, forbid, ban, halt
- intimate
- v. to imply, suggest, or insinuate
- intractable
- adj. not easily managed or directed, stubborn, obstinate
- intransigent
- adj. refusing to compromise
- intrepid
- adj. steadfast, courageous
- inured
- adj. accustomed to accepting something undesirable
- inveigh
- v. to attack verbally, denounce, deprecate
- inveigle
- v. to obtain by deception or flattery
- inveterate
- adj. deep rooted, ingrained, habitual
- irascible
- adj. easily angered / prone to temperamental outbursts
- itinerate
- v. to travel from place to place