GRE Vocab

GRE Words I'm Struggling With

Disseminate

To spread, scatter, or disperse widely, especially information, news, or ideas

Congenial

For people: Someone who is easy to get along with, sociable, and shares a similar temperament

For places or situations: An environment or setting that feels comfortable, welcoming, and agreeable

con-genie-al

everything is pleasant, welcoming, and perfectly suited to your tastes

Benign

a non-cancerous tumor

a gentle, favorable, and wholesome quality that puts you at ease, whether it is a person's kind temperament or a region's pleasant climate

“They enjoyed a peaceful vacation under a benign autumn sun.”

Contrite

feeling or expressing deep remorse, guilt, or regret for having done something wrong

"cont-rite" as count right. If you fail to count money or a job right, you feel regret/sorry

Incredulous

unwilling or unable to believe something,

showing a lack of belief

"No way, that's incredible! I don’t believe you!"

Ingenuous

a simple lack of worldly experience

Childlike trust, openness, and an inability to hide true feelings

Abjure

Strongly reject, renounce, or swear off a belief, claim, or course of action, often under oath or intense pressure.

You elbowed the jure so he would drop his belief

Antipathy

a deep-seated, intense feeling of dislike, aversion, or opposition toward someone or something

Arduous

requiring great physical, mental, or emotional effort and endurance

Artless

free from deceit, cunning, or artificiality, and can also mean lacking skill or knowledge

Assuage

to make an unpleasant feeling less intense or to satisfy a desire or need

Censure

strongly express disapproval or harsh criticism of someone's behavior

Cogent

An argument or reason that is clear, logical, and convincing

Contend

to struggle or compete with others, often in a forceful way

argue a certain point of view; assert

A heavy-weight contender must contend (struggle)against their opponent in the ring, while they contend (assert/claim) that they are the true champion of the world.

Desultory

lacking a clear plan, purpose, or enthusiasm, often jumping randomly from one thing to another

De slut had no plan and jumped to get with every guy

Dilatory

Intended to cause delay, wasting time, stall

Equivocate

use ambiguous or unclear language, especially to conceal the truth or avoid committing to a specific position

Waffle, prevaricate

Equivocal

Open to more than one interpretation, misleading

Vocalize that ur confused

Approbation

approval, admiration, or praise

Corroborate

To strengthen or support with additional evidence; to make more certain.

Disparate

Fundamentally distinct or different

Dis -pair- ate completely different things on their date

Emulate

To copy or imitate the actions, behavior, or success of someone else to equal their successes respectfully.

Enervate

to drain of energy, weaken, or exhaust

Fervid

intensely passionate, enthusiastic, or burning with emotion

The fervid servant was eager to serve us

Ephemeral

lasting for a very short time, Short lived

EPH EM! you won’t see them again, it was short lived

Incendiary

Tending to inflame or stir up conflict, rebellion, or heat; literally causing fires.

In cens diary she write mean things she wants to burn

The rebel leader's incendiary speech provoked widespread riots across the capital city

Inimical

Tending to obstruct or harm; hostile; unfriendly

Invigorate

to give life, energy, or strength to someone or something

morning walk in the crisp autumn air never fails to invigorate her before a long day at the office

Mitigate

To alleviate, moderate, or lessen the force, intensity, or severity of something bad

Syn: assuage

Obsolete

no longer produced or used; completely out of date

Opaque

Not able to see through

hard to understand, obscure, or unintelligible

Paradigmatic

Serving as a perfect example of something

Pedantic

over-focused on formal rules and trivial details.

Placid

calm, peaceful, and not easily irritated or upset

Like flaccid: Calm, still, or lacking disturbance

Polemical

describes a speech, writing, or person that aggressively attacks someone else's opinions or beliefs

Profundity

great depth of knowledge, intelligent

Great wisdom

the noun form of the adjective profound

Prophetic

Foreseeing or predicting the future with accuracy

Books, or warnings that turn out to be eerily correct over time. (Prophecy)

Syn: Prescient

Prudent

acting with or showing care, wisdom, and thought for the future

Prude-Dent. Imagine a very careful driver who is a bit of a "prude" about traffic laws. Because she never speeds and follows every rule, she has a dent-free car!

Syn: Judicious

Punctilious

someone who is extremely careful about following formal rules, etiquette, or precise details.

Recondite

knowledge or information that is difficult for an ordinary person to understand

Scrupulous

1. Extremely attentive to details; careful, precise, and meticulous.
2. Having moral integrity; strict regard for what is right; principled.

Belie

When appearance hides the reality of something

to contradict, give a false impression, or show something to be false

His youthful face belies his 80 years

Inimical

actively prevent something else from thriving or existing

Intimate

To hint, imply, or suggest indirectly

Deeply personal, private, or closely acquainted

A very close, trusted friend or confidant

Aloof

Distant, reserved, or standoffish

Conventional

Following traditional social norms or polite customs.

Diminutive

extremely or unusually small

Diminish + Mini

Picture something that has been diminished into a mini version

Fanciful

ideas that are highly unrealistic and impractical

Syn: quixotic

Frivolous

lacking any serious purpose, value, or importance

Imperious

person assumes power and gives commands without justification, showing an attitude of extreme superiority

Irresolute

someone who is uncertain, hesitant, or unable to make a decision

Laudable

an action, idea, or goal that is deserving of praise and commendation, even if it is not entirely successful

Lax

a loose physical structure or a careless, negligent approach to rules and standards

Marginalize

to push a person, group, or idea to the outer edges of society, making them feel unimportant, powerless, or excluded from full participation

Marginof a notebook

Panache

flamboyant confidence, style, or flairin the way someone dresses, speaks, or performs

When someone does something with panache, they do it with a lively, elegant grace that earns the admiration of others

Plodding

movement or progress that is slow, heavy, laborious, and completely unexciting

A person plotting their way through difficult terrain moves at a painfully plodding pace

Prosaic

Dull, cliché, or completely unoriginal.	"The movie's plot was disappointingly prosaic, relying entirely on predictable tropes."
Everyday Life	Routine, mundane, and unglamorous.

Remedial

actions taken to fix a bad situation or restore something to a proper standard

An action or course designed to be a "remedy for all" deficiencies is remedial

Restive

Restless

impatient, uneasy, or unwilling to be controlled

Stubbornly resisting guidance, balky, or refusing to move forward

Stigmatize

to unfairly regard or characterize someone or something as disgraceful, shameful, or socially unacceptable

To stigmatize someone is to figuratively "stick" a badge of permanent shame onto them.

Undermine

to weaken, damage, or harm something gradually, secretly, or insidiously

Weary

physically or mentally exhausted, tired, or completely worn outdue to hard work, stress, or long endurance

When you are completely worn down from intense studying or physical labor, you feel weary

Zealous

+ immense, driving energy and intense fervor

- that passion becomes blind, aggressive, or excessive