GRE Vocab

Abate

to lessen in intensity or degree

Aberrant

deviating fromt he norm

Abjure

to renounce or reject solemnly, to recant, to avoid

Abrogate

to abolish or annul by authority, put down

Abscission

act of cutting off or removing

Abscond

to depart clandestinely, to steal off and hide

Abstain

to refrain from an activity

Abstruse

hard to understand

Accolade

an expression of praise, an award

Accretion

growth, increase by successive addition build up

Acerbic

having a sour or bitter taste or character

Acumen

quick, keen, or accurate knowledge or insight

Admonish

to reprove, to express warning or dispproval

Adroit

adept, dexterous

Adulation

excessive praise, intense adoration

Adulterate

to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients

Adumbrate

to foreshadow vaguely, intimate, suggest, or outline sketchily

Advocate

to argue for or support a cause

Aesthetic

dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful

Aggrandize

to increase in intensity, power, or prestige; to make greater

Alacrity

eager and enthusiastic willingness

Alchemy

a magical or wonderful transformation

Amalgamate

to combine several elements into a whole

Alloy

to commingle; to debase by mixing with something inferior

Ambiguity

uncertainty in meaning

Ambivalence

the quality of having opposing ideas or feelings

Amerliorate

to make better or more tolerable

Amenable

agreeable: responsive to suggestion

Anachronism

something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context

Anathema

a solemn or ecclesiastical curse; accursed or thoroughly loathed person or thing

Anodyne

soothing

Anomaly

deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality

Antagonize

to irritate or cause hostility

Antipathy

aversion, dislike

Antithetical

diametrically opposed, as in antithesis

Apathy

lack of interest or feelings

Apocryphal

of dubious authenticity or origin; spurious

Apogee

farthest or highest point; culmination; zenith

Apostate

one who abandons long-held religious or political convictions, a betrayer of a cause

Apotheosis

deification, glorification to godliness, the perfect example

Apposite

appropriate, pertinent, relevent, apropos

Apprise

give notice to, inform

Approbation

an expression of approval or praise

Appropriate

to take for one’s own use

Arabesque

complex, ornate design

Arcane

mysterious, abstruse, esteric, knowable only to initiates

Archaic

outdated; associated with an earlier, perhaps more primitive time

Arduous

strenuous, taxing, requiring significant effort

Arrant

impudent; in every way, being completely such, bare-faced, utter

Arrest

to suspend; to engage

Articulate

to enunciate or pronounce clearly; to express oneself clearly

Artless

completely without guile; natural, without artificiality

Ascetic

one who practices rigid self-denial, especially as an act of religious devotion

Asperity

severity, rigor; roughness, harshness; acrimony, irritability+

Aspersion

an act of defamation or maligning

Assiduous

diligent, hardworking

Assuage

to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify

Astringent

having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe

Attenuate

to rarefy, weaken or make thinner, lessen

Audacious

daring and fearless; recklessly bold

Augury

omen, portent, the reading of omens

August

majestic, venerable

Auspice

protection or support, patronage—- or sign (signal)

Auspicious

favorable, propitious, successful, prosperous

Austere

without adornment; bare; severly simple ascetic—- or rigidy economy

Avarice

greed, especially for wealth

Aver

to state as a fact; to confirm or support

Axiom

a universally recognized principle; a generally accepted or common saying

Baleful

sinister, pernicious, ominous

Bane

cause of injury, source of harm; source of persistent frustration

Beatify

to bless, make happy or ascribe a virtue to; to regard as saintly