GRE Vocabulary

Mostly words I've come across that I didn't initially know the meaning to.

Sanguine

• Optimistic or positive, esp. in a bad situation OR

• Blood-red or relating to blood

Descry

Catch sight of; to find out/discover

Peruse

Examine carefully or at length

Assay

Evaluate, analyze or test

Homonym

One of 2 or more words spelled & pronounced alike but dif. in meaning

Epigram

• Pointed statement OR

• Short poem

Euphony

The quality of sounding good

Polyphony

The use of simultaneous melodic lines to produce harmonies in musical compositions

Bilious

• Relating to bile, nausea/vomiting OR

• Sickly colored OR

• Bad tempered

Phlegmatic

Having an unemotional & stolidly calm disposition

Aver

To state or prove as true

Verisimilitude

Appearance of being true/real

Belligerent

At war or eager to fight

Adumbrate

To foreshadow/give a hint of what’s coming

Insouciant

Carefree

Attenuate

Reduce the force, effect or value of something

Commiserate

Sympathize

Flagging

Becoming tired

Capricious

Unaccountable changes of mood/behavior

Engender

Cause or give rise to a feeling or situation

Equivocal

Uncertain; open to more than one interpretation

Laudable

Deserving praise/commendation

Prodigal

Spending money/resources recklessly; wastefully extravagant

Adulterate

Render poorer in quality by adding another substance

Assuage

Make an unpleasant feeling less intense

Corroborate

Confirm/give support to a statement/theory

Erudite

Having or showing great knowledge or learning

Loquacious

Tending to talk a great deal

Propriety

Conformity to morals

Audacious

Willingness to take bold risks

Desiccate

Remove moisture from something

Fervid

Intensely enthusiastic/passionate

Laconic

Using very few words

Pedant

Person excessively concerned w/minor details

Sojourning

Temporary stay

Congruent

In agreement/harmony

Polity

• Form/process of civil gov. or constitution

• An organized society; a state as a political entity

Spurious

• Not being what it purports to be OR

• (of a line of reasoning) apparently but not actually valid

Terse

Sparing in the use of words; abrupt

Succinct

Briefly & clearly expressed

Bellicose

Demonstrating aggression & willingness to fight

Blithe

Showing a casual & cheerful indifference considered to be callous or improper

Spurn

Reject w/disdain or contempt

Discountenance

Refuse to approve of

Forsook

Past tense of forsake (to abandon)

Afflatus

Divine creative impulse or inspiration

Matron

• Woman in charge of domestic & medical arrangements in boarding school OR

• A dignified & sober middle-aged married woman

Concaterate

Link together in a chain or series

Dyspeptic

Relating to or suffering from pain caused by digestive problems

Cambric

A fine thin white linen fabric

Dovecote

• A small compartmented raised house or box for domestic pigeon OR

• A settled or harmonious group or organization

Sanguinary

Bloodthirsty, murderous

Teutonic

Relating to the Teutons (ancient northern European tribe)

Penitent

Feeling/showing sorrow & regret for having done wrong

Alacrity

Brisk & cheerful readiness

Crotchety

Irritable

Enumerate

Mention several things one by one

Invective

Insulting, abusive, or highly critical language

Diatribe

Forceful & bitter verbal attack against someone/something

Countenence

• A person’s face or facial expression OR

• Admit as acceptable or possible

Akimbo

Hands on the hips & elbows turned outwards

Expediency

Being convenient & practical despite possibly being improper or immoral

Magpie

• Long-tailed crow w/boldly marked (or green) plumage & a noisy call OR

• Used to refer to a person who obsessively collects things or who chatters idly

Magnanimity

Quality of having a loftiness of spirit enabling one to bear trouble calmly, to disdain meanness, & to display noble generosity

Conciliatory

Intended or likely to placate or pacify

Phalanx

Body of troops or police officers standing or moving in close formation

Sundry

• Of various kinds OR

• Various items not important enough to be mentioned individually

Bedew

Cover/sprinkle w/drops of water or other liquid

Afghan

A woolen blanket or shawl, typically one knitted or crocheted in strips or squares

Wheedle

To influence or entice by soft words or flattery

Cockscomb

The crest or comb of a domestic cock

Dudgeon

A feeling of offence or deep resentment

Briny

Of salty water or the sea

Slipshod

Characterized by a lack of care, thought or organization

Gabble

Rapid unintelligible talk

Tempestuous

Characterized by strong & turbulent or conflicting emotion

Mercurial

Subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind

Pliant

Easily influenced or directed

Frenetic

Fast & energetic in a rather wild & uncontrolled way

Arrogate

Take or claim something w/out justification

Eschew

Deliberately avoid using; abstain from

Inter

Place (a corpse) in a grave or tomb

Exorbitant

(Of a price or amount charged) unreasonably high

Apogee

Highest point in development of something; a climax or culmination

Capitulate

Cease to resist an opponent or an unwelcome demand; yield

Impugn

Dispute the truth, validity or honesty of a statement or motive

Acrimony

Bitterness or ill feeling

Sinecure

A position requiring little or no work but giving the holder status or financial benefit

Desultory

• Lacking plan, purpose or enthusiasm OR

• Going from one subject to another in a half-hearted way OR

• Occurring randomly or occasionally

Truculent

Eager or quick to fight; aggressively defiant

Sarcosant

Regarded as too important or valuable to be interfered with

Approbation

Approval or praise

Enmity

A state or feeling of active opposition or hostility

Largess

Generosity in bestowing money or gifts upon others

Galvanize

Shock or excite (someone) into taking action

Repudiate

Refuse to accept; reject

Duress

Threats, violence or constraints used to coerce someone into doing something against their will or better judgement

Ebullience

The quality of being cheerful & full of energy; exuberance

Inscrutable

Impossible to understand or interpret

Insipid

Lacking in qualities that interest, stimulate or challenge