GRE Vocabulary Set

acerbic

(adjective) - sharply or bitingly critical.

sycophant

(noun) - a person who flatters another in order to get ahead.

also: adulator

diffident

(adjective) - hesitant in acting or speaking through lack of self-confidence

fastidious

(adjective) - extremely or excessively careful or detailed

prolix

(adjective) - too long-winded or wordy.

also: verbose

prosaic

(adjective) - being dull, ordinary, or uninteresting.

also: unremarkable

quotidian

(adjective) - occurring every day

also: common, frequent, ordinary

ameliorate

(verb) - to make better or more tolerable

also: mitigate

trifling

(adjective) - lacking in significance or solid worth

also: frivolous

sanguine

(adjective) - confidently optimistic

impecunious

(adjective) - having very little or no money usually habitually

also: broke

ubiquitous

(adjective) - existing or being everywhere at the same time

also: widespread, commonplace

kindred

(adjective) - of a similar nature or character

also: akin, affiliated

commensurate

(adjective) - corresponding in size, extent, amount, or degree

also: proportionate

iconoclast

(noun) - a person who attacks settled beliefs or institutions

caprice

(noun) - a sudden change in feeling, opinion, or action

accede

(verb) - to express approval or give consent

also: to agree to a request or demand

polemic

(noun) - an aggressive attack on or refutation of the opinions or principles of another

imperious

(adjective) - marked by arrogant assurance

restive

(adjective) - stubbornly resisting control

also: unruly, disobedient

complaisant

(adjective) - showing a desire to accommodate; willing to please

also: obliging

abscission

(noun) - the act or process of cutting off

raillery

(noun) - light-hearted teasing or banter

also: jest

aerie

(noun) - the nest of a bird on a cliff or mountaintop

also: high or lofty home or dwelling place

truculent

(adjective) - aggressively self-assertive

also: belligerent, pugnacious

solecism

(noun) - grammatical mistake or error in language usage

raconteur

(noun) - a person who excels in telling anecdotes

epigram

(noun) - short, witty, and clever saying/poem

also: adage, proverb

inquest

(noun) - a judicial or official inquiry/examination

also: investigation, inquiry

pyrrhic

(adjective) - achieved at excessive cost

bonhomie

(noun) - friendly and cheerful behavior

etymology: French

philistine

(adjective) - not appreciative or interested in cultural or intellectual pursuits

imbroglio

(noun) - an acutely painful or embarrassing misunderstanding

also: squabble, controversy, misunderstanding

venial

(adjective) - able to be forgiven or pardoned, not serious or intentional

also: forgivable, remissible

untempered

(adjective) - not regulated/moderated

plucky

(adjective) - spirited, brave

abreast

(adjective) - beside one another in line

dispensation

(noun) - a general state of ordering things

also: allocation, allotment

dyspeptic

(adjective) - someone who is easily irritable, easily annoyed, or in a sour mood

prognostication

(noun) - an indication in advance

also: prediction, forecast

beneficent

(adjective) - doing or producing good

also: benevolent, compassionate

bemoan

(verb) - to express deep grief or distress over

also: lament

inviolable

(adjective) - unable to be violated, broken, or infringed upon

also: sacrosanct, untouchable

unstinting

(adjective) - not restricting or holding back

also: charitable, generous, bountiful

besotted

(adjective) - blindly or utterly infatuated

also: intoxicated

martinet

(noun) - a strict disciplinarian

lugubrious

(adjective) - sad and mournful in an exaggerated/melodramatic way

also: somber, morose