GRE vocab words

languished

lose or lack vitality; grow weak or feeble

plundered

steal goods from (place or person)

contentious

disagreement or controversial

vacuous

showing lack of thought; mindless

myopic

short-sightedness

prescient

being able to look into the future

ingenuous

innocent and unsuspecting

ingenious

clever, original, and inventive

acquiesced

to give in

promulgated

spread about and make known

meticulous

detail-oriented

enigmatic

mysterious

callow

immature

laconic

not saying much; revealing little

etymology

origin and development of word meaning

nascent

just coming into existence

amend

make minor changes

edifice

building, especially a large, imposing one

vignette

small illusion or portrait photo which fades into its background without a border

vista

a pleasing view

exacerbate

to make worse or more severe

extort

take money from someone

abhor

to hate

attenuate

to make better

mitigate

to make less severe or make better

ambivalent

can't make up their mind

reticent

silent; didn't have much to say

gregarious

social, outgoing, friendly

taciturn

silent, quiet

pompous

proud; having high opinion about oneself

imperious

acting like an emperor

deprecating

criticizing someone else; bad

deferential

respectful; putting people first

obsequious

obedient or attentive to excessive degree

eloquent

well-spoken

disparaging

expressing opinion that something is of little worth

fortitude

courage

ignominy

shame

extolled

praised enthusiastically

indemnified

compensate for harm or loss

lauded

praise; applauded

denigrated

criticize unfairly

lububriousness

sadness

mirth

amusement; laughter

poignancy

something tugs at heart strings

merriment

amusement; laughter

solemnity

seriousness

inimical

unfriendly or hostile

ambiguous

something is unclear

lassitude

lacking energy

listlessness

lacking energy

banality

lacking originality

loquacious

talkative

exigent

requiring immediate action

impetuousness

quality or fact of doing things suddenly

bombastic

high sounding with little meaning

apocryphal

untrue or doubtful authenticity

flippant

lack of respect or seriousness

irreverent

lack of respect or seriousness

disingenuous

insincere

mendacious

habitually dishonest

magnanimous

generous to rival or less powerful person

flamboyant

tending to attract attention

subversive

seeking or intended to subvert an established system

ostentatious

designed to impress or attract notice

garrulous

excessively talkative

ancillary

subordinate

profligate

immoral or wasteful

empirical

something has been or can be tested for accuracy

virtuosity

great technical skill

naïveté

lack of wisdom and sophistication

verisimilitude

appearance of being true or real

hortatory

tending or aiming to exhort

lofty

of imposing heights

preeminent

surpassing all other; very distinguished

abstruse

difficult to understand; obscure

conjecture

opinion formed from incomplete info

sobriquet

a person's nickname

veneration

feeling of deep respect

machination

plot or scheme

syncopation

temporary displacement in music

condemnation

expression of very strong disapproval

euphemism

mild or indirect word of expression instead of a more harsh

guile

sly or cunning intelligence

candor

being open and honest in expression

sophism

misleading argument; used to deceive

mendacity

untruthfulness; lying

incredulous

unwilling or able to believe something

artifice

clever or cunning devices to deceive

enigma

person/ thing that is mysterious

conceded

admit something is true after first denying

exorbitant

unreasonably high

expedient

convenient and practical

penitent

feeling or showing sorrow and regret

desultory

lacking a plan, purose, or enthusiasm

polemical

expressing a strongly critical attack on someone

hackneyed

lacking significance by being overused

ambiguity

the quality of being open to more than one interpretation

parsimony

extreme unwillingness to spend money or use resources

benevolence

desired to do good to others; good will; charitableness