GRE Vocabulary Group 2
Terms
undefined, object
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- abate (v.)
- to lessen in intensity or degree
- accolade (n.)
- an expression of praise
- adulation (n.)
- excessive praise; intense adoration
- aesthetic (adj.)
- dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful
- ameliorate (v.)
- to make better or more tolerable
- ascetic (n.)
- one who practices rigid self-denial, especially as an act of religious devotion
- avarice (n.)
-
greed, especially for wealth
adj form: avaricious - axiom (n.)
-
a universally recognized principle
adj form: axiomatic - burgeon (v.)
- to grow rapidly or flourish
- bucolic (adj.)
- rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants
- cacophony (n.)
-
harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance
adj form: cacophonous - canon (n.)
-
an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature
adj form: canonical - castigation (n.)
-
severe criticism or punishment
verb form: castigate - catalyst (n.)
- a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing that causes change
- caustic (adj.)
- burning or stinging; causing corrosion
- chary (adj.)
- wary; cautious; sparing
- cogent (adj.)
- appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing
- complaisance (n.)
-
the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
adj form: complaisant - contentious (adj.)
- argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement
- contrite (adj.)
-
regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness
noun form: contrition - culpable (adj.)
-
deserving blame
noun form: culpability - death (n.)
- smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack
- demur (v.)
- to question or oppose
- didactic (adj.)
- intended to teach or instruct
- discretion (n.)
-
cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions
adj form: discrete - disinterested (adj.)
- free from bias or self-interest; impartial
- dogmatic (adj.)
-
expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or improvable principles
noun form: dogma - ebullience (adj.)
-
the quality of lively enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
adj form: ebullient - eclectic (adj.)
- composed of elements drawn from various sources
- elegy (n.)
-
a mournful poem, especially one lamenting the dead
adj form: elegiac - emollient (adj./n.)
- soothing, especially to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smoothes the skin
- empirical (adj.)
- based on observation or experiment
- enigmatic (adj.)
-
mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand
noun form: enigma - ephemeral (adj.)
- brief; fleeting
- esoteric (adj.)
- intended for or understood by a small, specific group
- eulogy (n.)
-
a speech honoring the dead
verb form: eulogize - facetious (adj.)
- playful; humorous
- fallacy (n.)
-
an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief
adj form: fallacious - furtive (adj.)
- marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious; secretive;
- gregarious (adj.)
- sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people
- harangue (v./n.)
- to deliver a pompous speech or tirade; a long, pompous speech
- heretical (adj.)
-
violating accepted dogma or convention
noun form: heresy - hyperbole (n.)
-
an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech
adj form: hyperbolic - impecunious (adj.)
- lacking funds; without money
- incipient (adj.)
- beginning to come into being or to become apparent
- inert (adj.)
- unmoving; lethargic; sluggish
- innocuous (adj.)
- harmless; causing no damage
- intransigent (adj.)
-
refusing to compromise
noun form: intransigence - inveigle (v.)
- to obtain by deception or flattery
- morose (adj.)
- sad; sullen; melancholy
- odious (adj.)
- evoking intense aversion or dislike
- opaque (adj.)
- impenetrable by light; not reflecting light
- oscillation (n.)
-
the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm
verb form: oscillate - penurious (adj.)
- penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous
- pernicious (adj.)
- extremely harmful; potentially causing death
- peruse (v.)
-
to examine with great care
noun form: perusal - pious (adj.)
-
extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion
noun form: piety - precursor (n.)
- one that precedes and indicates or announces another
- preen (v.)
- to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care
- prodigious (adj.)
- abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary
- prolific (adj.)
- producing large volumes or amounts; productive
- putrefy (v.)
-
to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor
adj form: putrid - quaff (v.)
- to drink deeply
- quiescence (n.)
-
stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest
adj form: quiescent - redoubtable (adj.)
- awe-inspiring; worthy of honor
- sanction (n./v.)
- authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance; to give permission or authority to
- satire (n.)
-
a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision
adj form: satirical - squalid (adj.)
-
sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect
noun form: squalor - stoic (adj.)
-
indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast
noun form: stoicism - supplant (v.)
- to take the place of; supersede
- torpid (adj.)
-
lethargic; sluggish; dormant
noun form: torpor - ubiquitious (adj.)
- existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread
- urbane (adj.)
-
sophisticated; refined; elegant
noun form: urbanity - vilify (v.)
- to defame; to characterize harshly
- viscous (adj.)
-
thick; sticky
noun form: viscosity