GRE Vocabulary Set

lambasting

scolding harshly; giving a verbal beating to

austerity

severity; strictness

excoriating

expressing strong disapproval

frivolity

lack of seriousness; lightheartedness

patent

evident or obvious

penitential

feeling pain or sorrow for wrongs committed

intractable

not easily managed

prolixity (prolix)

verbose, excessive wordiness

impetuous

rash, impulsive

prodigality

wasteful extravagance in spending

taciturnity

silence or extreme reserve; unwilligness to speak

volubility

excessive talkativeness

pellucidity

translucently clear; easily understood

prosaic

dull

hackneyed

overused, cliched

vociferous

loud and noisy

aloof

reserved, distant

placid

calm, peaceful

circumscribed

restricted or limited

indecorous

lacking good taste; improper

fortuitous

lucky

fallow

inactive; unproductive

distend

expand; swell

acquisitiveness

strong desire to acquire and posses

mendacity

untruthfulness

veracity

truthfulness

pithy

brief and full of meaning and substance; concise

zealous

fervent; fanatical

dolorous

exhibiting sorrow or pain

forestall

prevent by acting first

wreak

to bring about or inflict

expedience

convenient and practical, appropriate

invariable

never changing

proprietary

characteristic of an owner of property; constituting property

disentangle

to free from tangles or complications

subversion

sabotage

dislocation

displacement of a bone from its joint

anachronistic

out of date

dogmatism

arrogant, stubborn assertion of opinion or belief

didactic

instructive

syntactical

dealing with sentence structure

sartorial

pertaining to tailors

flout

mock; treat with contempt

brandish

to wave or flourish in menacing fashion

attenuation

decrease or loss of virulence

virulence

extreme bitterness or malevolence

antedated

preceded in time

synoptic

general in view

lurid

causing shock or horror

intransigent

refusing to compromise, irreconcible

obsequious

overly submissive and eager to please

probity

honesty

profligate

wasteful and immoral

tendentiousness

an intentional and controversial bias

antithetical

sharply contrasted in character or purpose

inimical

hostile; unfriendly

quixotic

overly idealistic; impractical

abate

reduce or lessen

capricious

given to sudden, unpredicatable changes

cogent

convincing and well-reasoned

dearth

scarcity or lack

enervate

weaken or drain of energy

ephemeral

lasting for a very short time

equivocate

speak ambiguously to avoid commitment

garrulous

excessively talkative

idiosyncrasy

peculiar personal habit or trait

laconic

using very few words

obfuscate

make unclear or confusing

pedantic

overly focused on minor details or rules

prolific

producing abundant works or results

quiescent

inactive or at rest

sagacious

wise and discerning

tenacious

holding firm; persistent

ubiquitous

present everywhere

vacillate

to waver between choices