GRE Vocabulary Prep 1

Sound

measure the depths of; discover the meaning of; to understand

Skirt

Border; lie along the edge of; go around; evade

Secular

not religious or holy; worldly things

Scathing

Severe, injurious; bitterly harsh or critical

Scant

not enough; barely enough

Saturate

to soak thoroughly; cause a substance to unite with the greatest possible amount of another substance

Savor

characteristic taste/flavor; appreciate fully; taste/smell with pleasure

Placate

satisfy or calm down

Pervasive

tending to spread throughout

Philanthropy

efforts to improve the well-being of humankind, generally through giving money

pious

devout; religiously reverent and dutiful

phony

fake, counterfeit; insincere, not genuine

inform

inspire, animate; give substance, essence or context to; to be the characteristic quality of

indifferent

not caring; having no interest; unbiased

indeterminate

not fixed or determined; indefinite; vague

incorporate

include, taken in; combine, unite; form a legal corporation; embody; give physical form to

inconsequential

insignificant; unimportant; illogical

incentive

something that encourages greater action or effort, such as a reward

incendiary

setting on fire, pertaining to arson; arousing strife, rebellion; “inflaming” the senses

insamuch

in like manner, considering that

inadvertent

unintentional; characterized by a lack of attention; careless

implode

burst inward; fall apart

implicit

implied; not stated directly; inolved in the esseence of something; unquestionable

impede

hold back; obstruct the progress of

impartial

unbiased; fair

impair

make worse; weaken

imminent

ready to occur; impending

implication

the act of implying or that which is implied; close connection

idiosyncrasy

characteristic or habit peculiar to an individual; quirk

hyperbole

deliberate exaggeration for effect

homogeneous

of the same kind; uniform throughout

hodgepodge

mixture of different kinds of things, jumble

placid

peaceful, calm, tranquil

plastic

able to be shaped or formed; easily influenced

satiate

to fully satisfy; to beyond satisfying to the point of access

sap

innerfluid of a plant; essential bodily fluid; energy; vitality; person taken advantage of; undermine; weaken; tire out

enervate

weaken, tire out

sanction

permission or approval; something to give support to authority to something else; to allow, confirm, ratify; legal action taken by one or more countries against another; to place sanctions or penalties on

rustic

relating to country life; unsophisticated; primitive; made of rough wood; rural/uncultured person

rife

happening frequently, abundant, currently being reported

rudimentary

elementary; relating to the basics; underdeveloped; primitive

conundrum

riddle; any mystery

incipient

just beginning; in a very early stage

inchoate

just begun; underdeveloped; unorganized

estimable

worthy of esteem; admirable; able to be estimated

base

morally low; dishonorable; little to no value; crude and unrrefined; counterfeit

abhor

detest, regard with disgust

foment

incite, instigate, stir up, promote the growth of; apply medicated liquid to a body part

flag

get tired; lose enthusiasm; hang limply or droop; to hail or wave down; to mark

abrasive

rough; suitable for grinding or polishing; causing irritation or annoyance

abstain

hold back; refrain; decline to vote