GRE Vocabulary Cartoons: N Words

nadir

(noun) the lowest point of something

naivete

unsophisticatedness, artlessness

(noun) lack of experience, wisdom or judgement

nascent

(adj.) coming into existence; emerging

(adj.) new

nebulous

(adj.) vague

neophyte

(noun) beginner

nepotism

(n.) undue favoritism to or excessive patronage of one's relatives

(noun) unfairly hiring family

nettle

(verb) to irritate

newfangled

(adj.) new; untested

(adj.) new, often needlessly so

noisome

(adj.) offensive or disgusting; foul-smelling; harmful or injurious

(adj.) stinky

non sequitur

(noun) something that does not logically follow

(noun) something unrelated

nonchalant

cool and confident, unconcerned

(adj.) acting casual or disinterested

nondescript

(adj.) ordinary, not outstanding; not easily classified

(adj.) plain

nonpareil

(adj.) having no equal

nonplussed

(adj., part.) puzzled, not knowing what to do, at a loss

(adj.) bewildered or confused

nontrivial

Important or big enough to matter

(adj.) not unimportant

normative

establishing, relating to, or deriving from a standard or norm, especially of behavior

(adj.) prescribing a standard or model

nostalgia

longing for the past

(noun) a bittersweet longing for the past

nostrum

(n.) an alleged cure-all; a remedy or scheme of questionable effectiveness

(noun) a questionable medicine or remedy

notorious

famous for something bad

(adj.) famous for being bad

novel

(adj.) new

novitiate

(noun) beginner

noxious

(adj.) harmful

nuance

(n.) a subtle or slight variation (as in color, meaning, quality), delicate gradation or shade of difference

(noun) a subtle or slight distinction

nugatory

of no value or importance

(adj.) unimportant