GRE Group 1 Vocab

Aberrant (adj.)

deviating from the norm (noun form: abberation)

Abscond (verb)

to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide

Alacrity (noun)

eager and enthuastic willingness

Anomaly (noun)

deviation from the normal order, form, or rule (adj. form: anomalous)

Approbation (noun)

an expression of approval or praise

Arduous (adj.)

strenuous, taxing: requiring significant effort

Assuage (verb)

to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify

Audacious (adj.)

daring and fearless; recklessly bold (noun form: audacity)

Austere (adj.)

without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic (noun form: austerity)

Axiomatic (adj.)

taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth (noun form: axion)

Canonical (adj.)

following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards (noun form: canon)

Capricious (adj.)

inclined to change one’s mind impulsively; erratic, unpredictable

Censure (verb)

to criticize severely; to offcially rebuke

Chicanery (noun)

trickery or subterfuge

Connoisseur (noun)

an informed and astute judge in matters of taste; expert

Convoluted (adj.)

complex or complicated

Disabuse (verb)

to undeceive; to set right

Discordant (adj.)

conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound

Disparate (adj.)

fundamentally distinct or dissimilar

Effrontery (noun)

extreme boldness; presumtuousness

Eloquent (adj.)

well-spoken, expressive, articulate (noun form: eloquence)

Enerviate (verb)

to weaken; to reduce in vitality

Ennui (noun)

dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy

Equivocate (verb)

to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent (adj. form: equivocal)

Erudite (adj.)

very learned; scholarly (noun form: erudition)

Exculpate (verb)

to exonerate; to clear of blame

Exigent (adj.)

urgent, pressing; requiring immediate action or attention

Extemporaneous (adj.)

improvised; done without preparation

Filibuster (noun)

intentional obstruction, especially using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action

Fulminate (verb)

to loudly attack or denounce

Ingenuous (adj.)

artless; frank and candid; lacking in sophistication

Inured (adj.)

accustomed to accepting something undesirable

Irascible (adj.)

easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts

Laud (verb)

to praise highly (adj. form: laudatory)

Lucid (adj.)

clear; easily understood

Magnanimity (noun)

the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, especially in forgiving (adj. form: magnanimous)

Martial (adj.)

associated with war and the armed forces

Mundane (adj.)

of the world; typical of or concerned with the ordinary

Nascent (adj.)

coming into being; in early developmental stages

Nebulous (adj.)

vague; cloudy; lacking clearly in defined form

Neologism (noun)

a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses

Noxious (adj.)

harmful, injurious

Obtuse (adj.)

lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear or precise in thought or expression

Obviate (verb)

to anticipate or make necessary

Onerous (adj.)

troubling; burdensome

Paean (noun)

a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving

Parody (noun)

a humorous imitation intended for ridicule or comic effect, especially in literature and art

Perennial (adj.)

recurrent through the year or many years, happening repeatedly

Perfidy (noun)

intentional breach of faith; treachery (adj. form: perfidious)

Perfunctory (adj.)

cursory; done without care or interest

Perspicacious (adj.)

acutely perceptive; having keen discenerment (noun form: perspicacity)

Prattle (verb)

to babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idle manner

Precipitate (adj.)

acting with excessive haste or impulse

Precipitate (verb)

to cause or happen before anticipated or required

Predilection (noun)

a disposition in favor of something; preference

Prescience (noun)

foreknowledge of events; knowing of events prior to their occurring (adj. form: prescient)

Prevaricate (verb)

to deliberately avoid the truth; to mislead

Qualms (noun)

misgivings; reservations; causes for hesitancy

Recant (verb)

to rettract, especially a previously held belief

Refute (verb)

to disprove; to successfully argue against

Relegate (verb)

to forcibly assign, especially to a lower place or position

Reticent (adj.)

quiet; reserved; reluctant to express thoughts and feelings

Solicitous (adj.)

concerned and attentive; eager

Sordid (adj.)

characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul

Sporadic (adj.)

occurring only occasionally, or in scattered instances

Squander (verb)

to waste by spending or using irresponsibly

Static (adj.)

not moving, active, or in motion; at rest

Stupefy (verb)

to stun, baffle, or amaze

Stymie (verb)

to block; to thwart

Synthesis (noun)

the combination of parts to make a whole (verb form: synthesize)

Torque (noun)

a force that causes rotation

Tortuous (adj.)

winding, twisting; excessively complicated

Truculent (adj.)

fierce and cruel; eager to fight

Veracity (noun)

truthfulness, honesty

Virulent (adj.)

extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic

Voracious (adj.)

having an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit; ravenous

Waver (verb)

to move to and fro; to sway; to be unsettled in opinion