GRE Flashcards (Practice Tests)

Provident

prudent, frugal, saving

Unscrupulous

unprincipled, without scruples or principles

Profligate

recklessly wasteful, wildly extravagant

Somber

grave or even gloomy in character, dismal, depressing, melancholy

Allay

lessen the intensity of or calm, alleviate, make quiet

Rueful

mournful, regretful

Impenitent

not penitent or remorseful

Sublime

inspiring awe, to elevate or exalt, indignify

Austere

stern and cold in appearance, strict, ASCETIC

Gadfly

person who stimulates or annoys by persistent criticism

Insipid

lacking interest or significance, dull, flat, BANAL

Expiation

the act of atoning for sin or wrongdoing (especially appeasing a deity)

Repose

Verb: lean in a comfortable resting position, Noun: lay to rest

Demur

take exception to, to object

Schism

division of a group into opposing factions, discord, separation

Boon

a desirable state or a blessing, benefit, something very helpful

Imbroglio

intricate, complicated situation

Acrimonious

marked by strong resentment or cynicism, bitter, biting in feeling

Panache

dash or flamboyance in style

Nepotism

favoritism based on kinship

Recidivism

tendency to relapse into a behavior

Cronyism

favoritism shown to friends and associates (as by appointing them to positions without regard for their qualifications)

Dogmatism

giving opinion without evidence, a viewpoint or system of ideas based on insufficient examined premises

Eschew

avoid and stay away from deliberately

Mollify

make less rigid or softer; to reduce in intensity or rigidity, appease, soften

Masticate

chew (food); to soften or reduce to pulp by crushing

Anecdote

short account of an incident (especially a biographical one)

Harangue

a loud bombastic declamation expressed with strong emotion; ranting speech

Volition

act of making a decision, the capability of conscious choice and decision and intention

Aggregate

taking all units as a whole

Iconoclast

a person who destroys religious images, one who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions

Taciturnity

the trait of being uncommunicative

Garrulity

the quality of being wordy and talkative

Loquacity

the quality of being wordy and talkative

Indolent

Lazy, idle, disinclined to work or exertion

Tractable

easily managed (controlled or taught or molded)

Banality

commonplace; trite or overused expression; something that is obvious, or predictable; lacks freshness

Precipitate

verb: bring about abruptly; Adj: done with very great haste and without due deliberation

List

the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the vertical

Imprecise

nice

Aberrant

one whose behavior departs substantially from the norm of a group; deviate

Neologism

a newly invented word or phrase; new sort of word or speech

Dichotomy

Divide into two parts, being twofold

Chary

characterized by great cautious and wariness; hesitant or reluctant

Redoubtable

inspiring fear

Quixotic

not sensible about practical matters

Pragmatic

concerned with practical matters, guided by practical experience and observation rather than theory

Crestfallen

brought low in spirit; dejected

Aboveboard

without concealment or deception, open

Invective

vehement verbal attack, abusive language

Apostate

Renegade or faithless (without allegiance)

Refractory

Stubborn, stubbornly resistant to authority or control

Skein

a length of thread or yarn wound in a loose long coil; a flock of geese or similar birds in flight

Obdurate

stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing

Diaphanous

sheer; transparent

Turbid

muddy, having the sediment stirred up

Capitulate

surrender under agreed conditions

Inimical

Hostile, unfriendly

Tantamount

equivalent

Disingenuous

not straightforward or candid

Ascetic

practicing self-denial; austere

Discern

to see clearly, recognize

Reticence

restraint in speech, reluctance to speak

Propitious

marked by favorable signs or conditions

Offhand

with little or no preparation or forethought

Pariah

a person who is rejected (from society or home), an outcast

Exacerbate

make worse

Gauche

lacking social graces; tactless; awkward

Cloy

to spoil or destroy an appetite by too much indulgence, especially in sweet or rich things; to glut, satiate, surfeit

Debacle

a complete failure; a total collapse

Hapless

unfortunate, unlucky

Contemporaneous

occurring in the same period of time

Diatribe

bitter verbal attack

Gainsay

take exception to

Nonplussed

puzzled, not knowing what to do, at a loss

Discomfited

embarrassed; disconcerted

Equivocate

to avoid committing oneself in what one says

Opulence

wealth, affluence

Penury

extreme poverty

Phlegmatic

slow-moving, sluggish; unemotional

Effrontery

shameless boldness, presumptuousness

Erudite

Scholarly; learned, having or showing profound knowledge

Gregarious

sociable