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GRE Vocab 2
Vocabulary for the GRE
100
Language - English
Undergraduate 4
11/02/2012

Additional Language - English Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Extant
Definition
In existence, still existing. Ex: "The only ***** representative of that species"
Term
Fathom
Definition
A measure of length (six feet) used in nautical settings.
To penetrate to the depths of something in order to understand it
Term
Fawn
Definition
To seek favor or attention; to act subserviently
Term
Fervid, Fervent
Definition
Highly emotional; hot. ex: "The partisans displayed a ******* patriotism"
Term
Fledgling
Definition
A baby bird.
An inexperienced person; inexperienced
Term
Florid
Definition
Flushed with a rosy color, as in complexion.
Very ornate and flowery
Term
Floundering
Definition
Struggling
Term
Garrulous
Definition
Verbose; talkative; rambling
Term
Gossamer
Definition
Fine cobweb on foliage; fine gauzy fabric; very fine
Term
Guile
Definition
Skillful deceit.
Term
Guileless
Definition
Honest; straightforward
Term
Hapless
Definition
Unfortunate
Term
Headlong
Definition
Headfirst; impulsive; hasty. Impulsively; hastily, without forethought
Term
Iconoclast
Definition
One who attacks traditional idea or institutions or one who destroys sacred images
Term
Impecunious
Definition
Penniless; poor
Term
Imperious
Definition
Commanding
Term
Improvidence
Definition
An absence of foresight; a failure to provide for future needs or events
Term
Inchoate
Definition
In an initial or early stage; incomplete; disorganized
Term
Incorrigible
Definition
Not capable of being corrected
Term
Indelible
Definition
Permanent; unerasable; strong
Term
Ineffable
Definition
Indescribable; inexpressible in words; unspeakable
Term
Inveterate
Definition
1.Having a particular habit, activity, or interest that is long-established and unlikely to change.
2.(of a feeling or habit)Long-established and unlikely to change.
Term
Diurnal
Definition
1.Of or during the day
2.(of animals) active in the daytime
Term
Vagaries
Definition
An unexpected and inexplicable change in a situation or in someone's behavior: "the ****** of the weather".
Term
Ambivalent
Definition
Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.
Term
Pernicious
Definition
Having a harmful effect, esp. in a gradual or subtle way.
Term
Trounce
Definition
1.Defeat heavily in a contest.
2.Rebuke or punish severely.
Term
Flagging
Definition
1.Mark (an item) for attention or treatment in a specified way.
2.(of a person) Become tired, weaker, or less enthusiastic.
Term
Acumen
Definition
The ability to make good judgments and quick decisions, typically in a particular domain: "business ******".
Term
Obviated
Definition
1.Remove (a need or difficulty): "the Venetian blinds ***** the need for curtains".
2.Avoid; prevent: "a parachute can ******* disaster".
Term
Beholden
Definition
Owing thanks or having a duty to someone in return for help or a service: "I don't like to be ***** to anybody".
Term
Forestalled
Definition
1.Prevent or obstruct (an anticipated event or action) by taking action ahead of time: "vitamins may ****** many diseases of aging".
2.Act in advance of (someone) in order to prevent them from doing something.
Term
Ardent
Definition
Enthusiastic or passionate (Syn: fervent)
Term
Periphrastic
Definition
1.(of speech or writing) Indirect and circumlocutory. Ex: "the ******* nature of legal syntax"
2.(of a case or tense) Formed by a combination of words rather than by inflection (such as "did go" and "of the people" rather than "went" and "the people's")
Term
Voluble
Definition
Speaking or spoken incessantly and fluently
Term
Taciturn
Definition
(of a person) Reserved or uncommunicative in speech; saying little.
Term
Prolix
Definition
(of speech or writing) Using or containing too many words; tediously lengthy.
Term
Terse
Definition
Sparing in the use of words; abrupt: "a ***** statement".
Term
Vilify
Definition
Speak or write about in an abusively disparaging manner.
Term
Plaudit
Definition
Enthusiastic approval; a round of applause.
Term
Ingenuous
Definition
1.free from reserve, restraint, or dissimulation; candid; sincere.
2.artless; innocent; naive.
3.Obsolete . honorable or noble.
Term
Innocuous
Definition
Harmless; having no adverse effect; not likely to provoke strong emotion
Term
Insipid
Definition
lacking excitement or zest; dull
Term
Insular
Definition
1. Ignorant of or uninterested in cultures, ideas, or peoples outside one's own experience.
2. Lacking contact with other people.
Term
Intransigent
Definition
Stubborn; immovable; unwilling to change
Term
Irascible
Definition
Prone to outbursts of temper, easily angered
Term
Laconic
Definition
Using few words; terse
Term
Latent
Definition
Present or potential but not evident or active
Term
Laudable
Definition
Praiseworthy; commendable
Term
Leviathan
Definition
Giant whale, therefore, something very large
Term
Loquacious
Definition
Talkative
Term
Lugubrious
Definition
Weighty, mournful, or gloomy, especially to an excessive degree
Term
Magnanimity
Definition
Generosity and nobility
Term
Misanthrope
Definition
One who hates people
Term
Mitigate
Definition
To make less forceful; to become more moderate; to make less harsh or undesirable
Term
Nefarious
Definition
Wicked, evil
Term
Noisome
Definition
Harmful, offensive, destructive
Term
Obdurate
Definition
Hardened against influence of feeling; intractable
Term
Obviate
Definition
To prevent by anticipatory measures; to make unnecessary
Term
Ossified
Definition
Turned to bone; hardened like bone; inflexible
Term
Panegyric
Definition
A writing or speech in praise of a person or thing
Term
Peccadillo
Definition
A small sin or fault
Term
Pedantic
Definition
1. Showing a narrow concern for rules or formal book learning
2. making an excessive display of one's own learning
Term
Perfidious/Perfidy
Definition
Deliberately treacherous; dishonest
Term
Phlegmatic
Definition
Not easily excited; cool; sluggish
Term
Placate
Definition
To calm or reduce anger by making concessions
Term
Ponderous
Definition
Heavy; massive; awkward; dull
Term
Pragmatic
Definition
Concerned with facts; practical (as opposed to highly principled or traditional)
Term
Precipice
Definition
Cliff with a vertical or nearly vertical face; a dangerous place which one is likely to fall; metaphorically , a very risky circumstance
Term
Precipitate
Definition
To fall; to fall downward suddenly and dramatically; to bring about or hasten the occurrence of something
Term
Prevaricate
Definition
To stray away from or evade the truth
Term
Prodigal
Definition
Rashly wasteful
Term
Propitiate
Definition
To conciliate; to appease
Term
Pulchritudinous
Definition
Beautiful
Term
Pusillanimous
Definition
Cowardly, timid or irreselute; petty
Term
Quiescence
Definition
Inactivity; stillness; dormancy
Term
Rarefy
Definition
To make or become thin; to purify or refine
Term
Reproof
Definition
The act of censoring, scolding, or rebuking
Term
Sagacious
Definition
Having a sharp or powerful intellect
Term
Sanguine
Definition
Cheerful; confident
Term
Rescind
Definition
Repeal or annul
Term
Sate
Definition
To satisfy full or to excess
Term
Saturnine
Definition
Having a gloomy or morose temperament
Term
Sedulous
Definition
Diligent; persevering; persistent
Term
Temperate
Definition
Exercising moderation and self-denial; calm or mild
Term
Tirade (diatribe)
Definition
An angry speech. ex: "His ****** has gone on long enough"
Term
Tortuous (NOT torturous)
Definition
Twisted; excessively complicated
Term
Tractable
Definition
Ability to to be easily managed or controlled ex: "Her mother wished she was more ******"
Term
Turpitude
Definition
Depravity; baseness
Term
Tyro
Definition
Beginner; person lacking experience in a specific endeavor (think of slang word: "noob")
Term
Vacuous
Definition
Empty; without contents; without ideas or intelligence
Term
Venerate
Definition
Great respect or reverence
Term
Verbose
Definition
Wordy
Term
Vex
Definition
To annoy; to bother; to perplex; to puzzle; to debate at length
Term
Viscous
Definition
Slow moving; highly resistant to flow
Term
Volatile
Definition
1. readily vaporizable at a relatively low temperature
2. flying or having the power to fly
3.lighthearted, lively; easily aroused ; tending to erupt into violence; explosive (a volatile temper)
4.unable to hold the attention fixed because of an inherent lightness or fickleness of disposition; characterized by or subject to rapid or unexpected change (a volatile market)
5. difficult to capture or hold permanently : evanescent, transitory

Other simpler def: Explosive; fickle
Term
Voracious
Definition
Craving or devouring large quantities of food, drink, or other things
Term
Waver
Definition
To hesitate or to tremble
Term
Wretched
Definition
Extremely pitiful or unfortunate
Term
Zeal
Definition
Enthusiastic devotion to a cause, ideal, or goal
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