GRE Word Smart II
Terms
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- jejune
- adj. vapid, uninteresting / childish, immature / lacking nutrition
- jibe
- v. to agree, to be in accord
- jocose
- adj. given to joking / humorous
- labile
- adj. readily open to change, unstable
- lachrymose
- adj. causing tears, tearful, showing sorrow
- laconic
- adj. using few words / terse
- lassitude
- n. listlessness, languor, weariness
- libertine
- n. someone unrestrained by morality or convention or leading a dissolute life
- limn
- v. to draw, outline in detail
- limpid
- adj. transparent, serene, clear and simple in style, untroubled
- list
- v. to tilt or lean to one side
- lumber
- v. to move heavily and clumsily or with a rumbling sound
- luminous
- adj. characterized by brightness and the emission of light, enlightened, clear
- magnanimity
- n. the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, especially in forgiving
- malinger
- v. to feign illness so as to avoid work
- maunder
- v. to talk or move aimlessly, mutter
- maverick
- n. an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party
- mellifluous
- adj. sweetly flowing, usually used to describe words or sounds
- mendacity
- n. the condition of being untruthful, dishonesty
- mendicant
- n. a beggar, supplicant
- mercurial
- adj. characterized by rapid and unpredictable change in mood
- meretricious
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adj. tawdry, pretentious, attractive but false, showy, having to do with prostitution
attracting attention in a vulgar manner - mettlesome
- adj. courageous, high-spirited
- militate
- v. to have weight or bearing on, to argue (against)
- minatory
- adj. menacing, threatening
- mince
- v. pronounce or speak affectedly or too carefully, euphemize, take tiny steps, tiptoe
- mitigate
- v. to make or become less severe or intense, moderate
- mollify
- v. to calm or soothe,reduce in emotional intensity
- morose
- adj. sad, sullen, melancholy
- multifarious
- adj. varied, motley, greatly diversified
- mundane
- adj. of the world, typical or concerned with the ordinary
- nadir
- n. low point, perigee
- natty
- adj. trimly neat and tidy, dapper
- nebulous
- adj. vague, cloudy, lacking clearly defined form
- neologism
- n. a new word, expression, or usage / the creation or use of new words or senses
- nexus
- n. a connection, tie, or link / center or focus
- nice
- adj. exacting, extremely or even excessively precise / done with delicacy or skill
- noisome
- adj. offensive, especially to oneÂ’s sense of smell, fetid
- nonplussed
- adj. baffled, in a quandary, at a loss for what to say, do or think
- nostrum
- n. cure-all, placebo, questionable remedy
- noxious
- adj. harmful / injurious
- obdurate
- adj. unyielding, hardhearted, inflexible
- obfuscate
- v. to deliberately obscure, to make confusing
- obsequious
- adj. exhibiting a fawning attentiveness / subservient
- obstinate
- adj. stubborn / hardheaded / uncompromising
- obstreperous
- adj. noisy, loudly stubborn, boisterous
- obtain
- v. to be established, accepted, or customary, prevail
- obtuse
- adj. lacking sharpness of intellect, not clear or precise in thought or expression
- obviate
- v. to anticipate and make unnecessary
- occlude
- v. to obstruct or block
- occult
- adj. hidden, concealed, beyond comprehension
- officious
- adj. meddlesome, pushy in offering oneÂ’s services where they are unwanted
- onerous
- adj. troubling, burdensome
- opprobrium
- n. disgrace, contempt, scorn
- ossified
- adj. changed into bone / made rigidly conventional and unreceptive to change
- ostensible
- adj. seeming, appearing as much, professed
- ostentatious
- adj. characterized by or given to pretentiousness
- overweening
- adj. presumptuously arrogant, overbearing, immoderate
- paean
- n. a song or expression of praise and thanksgiving
- palliate
- v. to make something appear less serious, gloss over, mitigate
- panegyric
- n. formal expression of praise
- parsimonious
- adj. cheap, miserly
- peccadillo
- n. a slight offense, literally, a minor sin
- pedantic
- adj. ostentatious display of learning, extcessive attention to minutiae and formal rules, unimaginative
- pedestrian
- adj. commonplace, trite, unremarkable
- penurious
- adj. penny-pinching / excessively thrifty / ungenerous
- peremptory
- adj. admitting of no contradiction, putting an end to further debate, haughty, imperious
- perennial
- adj. recurrent through the year or many years, happening repeatedly
- perfidy
- n. intentional breach of faith, treachery
- perfunctory
- adj. cursory, done without care or interest
- peripatetic
- adj. itinerant, traveling, nomadic
- pernicious
- adj. extremely harmful, potentially causing death
- personable
- adj. pleasing in appearance, attractive
- perspicacious
- adj. acutely perceptive, having keen discernment
- peruse
- v. to examine with great care
- pervade
- v. to permeate throughout
- petrous
- adj. like a rock, hard, stony
- petulant
- adj. impatient, irritable
- phlegmatic
- adj. calm sluggish, unemotional, stoic
- picaresque
- adj. involving clever rogues or adventurers
- pied
- adj. multi-colored, usually in blotches
- pillory
- v. to punish, hold up to public scorn
- pine
- v. to yearn intensely, to languish, to lose vigor
- piquant
- adj. agreeably pungent, spicy, stimulating
- pique
- n. resentment, feeling of irritation due to hurt pride
- pith
- n. the essential or central part
- plaintive
- adj. mournful, melancholy, sorrowful
- plangent
- adj. pounding, thundering, resounding
- plastic
- adj. moldable, pliable, not rigid
- platitude
- n. a superficial or trite remark, especially one offered as meaningful
- pluck
- n. courage, spunk, fortitude
- plumb
- v. to measure the depth, to examine critically
- poignant
- adj. distressing, pertinent, touching, stimulating, emotional
- polemical
- adj. controversial, argumentative
- pragmatic
- adj. practical rather than idealistic
- prate
- v. chatter, babble
- prattle
- v. to bable meaninglessly / to talk in an empty and idle manner
- precarious
- adj. uncertain, risky, dangerous
- precept
- n. rule establishing standards of conduct, a doctrine that is taught
- precipitate
- adj. acting with excessive haste or impulse
- predilection
- n. a disposition in favor of something, preference
- prescience
- n. knowing of event prior to their occurring
- presumptuous
- adj. overstepping bounds, as of propriety or courtesy / taking liberties
- prevaricate
- v. to deliberately avoid the truth, mislead
- prize
- v. to pry, press or force with a lever
- probity
- adj. adherence to highest principles, uprightness
- proclivity
- n. a natural predisposition or inclination
- prodigal
- adj. recklessly wasteful, extravagant, profuse, lavish
- prodigious
- adj. abundant in size, force, or extent / extraordinary
- profligate
- adj. excessively wasteful / recklessly extravagant
- profuse
- adj. given or coming forth abundantly, extravagant
- prolix
- adj. long winded, verbose
- propensity
- n. a natural inclination or tendency, penchant
- propinquity
- adj. nearness in time or place, affinity of nature, kinship
- propitiate
- v. to appease, conciliate
- propitious
- adj. auspicious, favorable
- prosaic
- adj. dull, unimaginative
- proscribe
- v. to outlaw or prohibit
- provident
- adj. frugal, looking to the future
- puerile
- adj. childish, immature
- pugnacious
- adj. contentious, quarrelsome, given to fighting, belligerent
- punctilious
- adj. precise, paying attention to trivialities, especially in regard to etiquette
- pundit
- n. an authority on a subject, one who gives opinions
- pusillanimous
- adj. cowardly, craven
- putrefy
- v. to rot, decay and give off a foul odor, become gangrenous
- quaff
- v. to drink deeply
- quail
- v. to shrink back in fear, lose courage
- qualify
- v. to limit
- querulous
- adj. prone to complaining or grumbling, quarrelsome
- quiescence
- n. stillness, motionlessness, quality of being at rest
- quixotic
- adj. foolishly impractical, marked by lofty romantic idea
- quotidian
- adj. occurring or recurring daily, commonplace
- rail
- v. to complain about bitterly
- ramify
- v. to be divided or subdivided, branch out
- rancorous
- adj. characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment
- rapacious
- adj. voracious greedy, plundering, subsisting on prey
- rarefy
- v. to make or become thin, less dense, refine
- rebus
- n. riddle, a representation of words by pictures or symbols that sound like the words
- recalcitrant
- adj. obstinately defiant of authority or guidance, difficult to manage
- recant
- v. to retract, especially a previously held belief
- recondite
- adj. hidden, concealed, difficult to understand, obscure
- reconnoiter
- v. to engage in reconnaissance, make a preliminary inspection of
- recumbent
- adj. leaning, resting, prone
- redolent
- adj. fragrant, suggestive or evocative
- redoubtable
- adj. awe-inspiring
- refulgent
- adj. radiant / shiny / brilliant
- refute
- v. to disprove, successfully argue against
- regale
- v. to delight or entertain, feast
- remonstrate
- v. to protest, object
- rent
- v. torn, split, pierced as by a sound
- repine
- v. to feel or express dejection or discontent, long for
- repudiate
- v. to refuse to have anything to do with, disown
- resolute
- adj. adamant, steadfast, determined
- reticent
- adj. quiet, reserved, reluctant to express thoughts and feelings
- rhetoric
- n. the art or study of effective use of language for communication and persuasion
- rubric
- n. a class or category/authoritative rule, heading , title as of a chapter in a code of law
- rue
- v. regret, feel remorse
- sagacious
- adj. having sound judgment, perceptive, wise
- salacious
- adj. appealing to or causing sexual desire, bawdy
- salient
- adj. prominent, protruding, conspicuous, highly relevant
- salubrious
- adj. promoting health or well-being
- salutary
- adj. remedial, wholesome, causing improvement
- sanctimony
- n. self-righteousness, pretended piety
- sanction
- n. authoritative permission or approval / a penalty intended to enforce compliance
- sanguine
- adj. cheerful, confident, optimistic
- sap
- v. to enervate or weaken the vitality of
- satiate
- v. to overindulge, satisfy to excess
- saturnine
- adj. gloomy, dark, sullen, morose
- scurvy
- adj. contemptible, despicable
- sedulous
- adj. diligent, persistent, hard-working
- seine
- n. a large net hung out and dragged in to catch fish
- sere
- adj. withered, arid
- seminal
- adj. like a seed, constituting a source, originative
- simper
- v. to smirk, to say something with a silly, coy smile
- sinecure
- n. position requiring little or no work and usually providing an income
- sinuous
- adj. winding, curving, moving lithely, devious
- slake
- v. to satisfy, quench, lessen the intensity of
- sodden
- adj. soaked or drenched, unimaginative, dull
- solicitous
- adj. concerned and attentive, eager
- solvent
- adj. able to meet financial obligations
- sophistry
- n. fallactious reasoning / plausible but faulty logic
- sophomoric
- adj. exhibiting immaturity, lack of judgment, pretentious
- soporific
- adj. causing drowsiness, tending to induce sleep
- sordid
- adj. characterized by filth, grime, or squalor, foul
- specious
- adj. seeming true, but actually false, misleadingly attractive
- spendthrift
- n. one who spends money wastefully
- splenetic
- adj. bad-tempered, irritable
- spurious
- adj lacking authenticity or validity, false, counterfeit
- squalid
- adj. sordid, wretched and dirty as from neglect
- stanch
- v. to stop the flow of a fluid
- steep
- v. to saturate or completely soak
- stentorian
- adj. extremely loud and powerful
- stint
- v. to restrain, be sparing or frugal
- stoic
- adj. indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain, steadfast
- stupefy
- v. to stun, baffle, or amaze
- stygian
- adj. gloomy, dark
- stymie
- v. to block, thwart
- succinct
- adj. brief, concise
- succor
- n. assistance, relief in time of distress
- sundry
- adj. various, miscellaneous, separate
- supercilious
- adj. disdainful, arrogant, haughty characterized by haughty scorn
- superfluous
- adj. exceeding what is sufficient or necessary
- supine
- adj. inactive, lying on oneÂ’s back, apathetic, mentally or morally slack
- supplant
- v. to take the place of supersede
- suppliant
- adj. asking humbly, beseeching
- supplicant
- n. beggar, one who prays or begs for something
- surfeit
- v. to feed or supply in excess
- sycophant
- n. someone who tries to flatter or please for personal gain, parasite
- tacit
- adj. implied, not explicitly stated
- taciturn
- adj. not talkative, silent
- tamp
- v. to plug, to drive in or down by a series of blows
- tautology
- n. a repetition, a redundancy, a circular argument
- tawdry
- adj. cheap, gaudy, showy, tacky, indecent
- tendentious
- adj. biased, showing marked tendencies
- tender
- v. to offer formally
- tenuous
- adj. having little substance or strength, flimsly, weak
- timorous
- adj. timid, fearful, diffident
- toady
- n. sychophant, flatterer, yes-man
- torpid
- adj. lethargic, sluggish, dormant
- torrid
- adj. scorching, ardent, passionate, hurried
- tortuous
- adj. winding, twisting, excessively complicated
- tout
- v. to publicly praise or promote
- tractable
- adj. docile, obedient, easily led
- travesty
- n. mockery, caricature, parody
- trenchant
- adj. sharply perceptive, keen, penetrating, biting, clear cut
- truculent
- adj. fierce, scathing, eager to fight
- tumid
- adj. swollen
- turbid
- adj. muddy, having sediment stirred up, clouded to the point of being opaque, in a state of turmoil
- turgid
- adj. swollen, bloated, pompous, excessively ornate
- turpitude
- n. depravity, baseness
- tyro
- n. novice, beginner in learning