GRE Vocab 3-4

abate

decrease / decrease in intensity; lessen (v)

abjure

renounce / strongly reject (an idea); forgo (v)

anomalous

atypical / differing from what is normal (adj)

antipathy

hatred / profound hostility or hatred (n)

arcane

understood by few / comprehended by very few people; secret (adj)

arduous

strenuous / very challenging; needing great effort (adj)

artless (3)

naive / simple / unskilled / naive; inexperienced (adj) / plain and simple (adj) / lacking skill (adj)

ascetic (2)

strict / strict person / (of a lifestyle) very strict and lacking luxury (adj) / someone who adopts an ascetic lifestyle (n)

assuage (2)

soothe / fullfill / decrease a negative feeling (v) / fulfill a certain desire (v)

betray

unintentionally reveal / unknowingly disclose or reveal (v)

bucolic

pleasantly rural / associated with tranquil rural life (adj)

burgeon

flourish / quickly increase or grow; skyrocket (v)

cacophonous

harsh sounding / extremely noisy; grating (adj)

canonize

glorify / treat like a god; deeply venerate (v)

censure

condemn / strongly criticize or disapprove (v)

chicanery

trickery / using deception to attain a certain goal (n)

coalesce

merge / bring elements together; unite (v)

cogent

sound / persuasive and clear; compelling (adj)

compelling (2)

sound / captivating / persuasive and clear (adj) / attracting interest; fascinating (adj)

contend (3)

assert / compete / struggle / argue a certain point of view (v) / (v) / struggle or attempt to overcome something (v)

copious

plentiful / existing in great supply; abundant (adj)

cosmopolitan (2)

worldly / diverse / (of a person) sophisticated and urbane (adj) / (of a city) highly diverse (adj)

deference

respect / high regard and respect; esteem (n)

desultory

aimless / unplanned; without enthusiasm (adj)

diffident

shy / reserved or shy; without confidence (adj)

dilatory

delaying / slow and unhurried; meant to stall (adj)

equivocate

evasive speech / speak evasively or dishonestly; avoid taking a stance (v)

polarize

divide / separate into two opposing groups (v)

prodigal

wasteful / carelessly wasteful; extravagant (adj)

verbose

wordy / excessively talkative (adj)

abstain

avoid participating / avoid taking part in something (v)

approbation

praise / appreciation toward someone (n)

cherish

love / greatly love or protect something (v)

corroborate

support / lend support to; bolster (v)

disparate

different / contrasting (adj)

emulate

imitate / imitate someone or something (v)

enervate

tire out / sap the energy out of someone; fatigue (v)

ephemeral

short lived / extremely shortlasting (adj)

fervid

energetic / excessively energetic or eager (adj)

garrulous

annoyingly talkative / tending to talk too much; wordy (adj)

incendiary

provocative / causing conflict (adj)

inimical

damaging / hostile in manner or tone (adj)

intimate

hint / subtly suggest or imply

invigorate

energize / provide energy or vitality to (v)

mitigate

alleviate / diminish negative feelings or situation (v)

obsolete

no longer useful / outmoded (adj)

opaque (2)

unclear / not see through / hard to comprehend (adj) / not able to be seen through (adj)

paradigmatic

typical / representing the standard example (adj)

pedantic

nitpicky / overly concerned with (minor) details (adj)

placid

calm / free from activity or irritation (adj)

polemical

controversial / giving a strong, controversial opinion (adj)

precipitate (2)

cause / done quickly / cause to happen (v) / done quickly or suddenly (adj)

profundity

intellectual depth / great wisdom or intelligence (n)

prophetic

predict the future / able to correctly predict the future (adj)

prudent

good judgement / wise in decision-making (adj)

punctilious

attention to detail / highly concerned with details or manners (adj)

recondite

difficult to understand / obscure and difficult to understand (adj)

scrupulous (2)

attention to detail / moral integrity / careful with details (adj) / possessing moral integrity (adj)

tranquil

peaceful / free from activity (adj)

vacillate

go back and forth / go back and forth with one's view (v)