GRE Wordlist 06 - 10
Terms
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- barefaced
- adj. shameless; bold; unconcealed
- bastion
- n. stronghold; something seen as a source of protection
- bate
-
v. to moderate or restrain: unable to bate our enthusiasm.
2. to lessen or diminish; abate: setbacks that bated his hopes. - bauble
- n. a showy, usually cheap, ornament; trinket; gewgaw; a jester's scepter
- bawdy
- adj. indecent; obscene
- beatific
- adj. /ˌbiəˈtɪfɪk/ bestowing bliss, blessings, happiness, or the like: beatific peace; blissful; saintly: a beatific smile
- bedizen
- v. /bɪˈdaɪzən, -ˈdɪzən/ to dress or adorn in a showy, gaudy, or tasteless manner
- bedraggle
- v. wet thoroughly; to make limp and soiled, as with rain or dirt
- beguile
- v. to influence by trickery, flattery, etc.; mislead; delude o take away from by cheating or deceiving (usually fol. by of; to pass time (pleasantly)
- beholden
- adj. obliged; indebted
- belabor
- v. explain or go over excessively or to a ridiculous degree; assail verbally
- belie
-
v. to show to be false; contradict; to misrepresent: The newspaper belied the facts.
to act unworthily according to the standards - bemused
- adj. confused; lost in thought; preoccupied
- benison
- n. /ˈbɛnəzən, -sən/ blessing; benediction
- bent
- n. natural talent or inclination
- bereavement
- n. state of being deprived of something vaulable or beloved
- bereft
- adj. deprived of; lacking
- beset (v)
- v. to attack on all sides; assail; harass; to surround; hem in
- besmirch
-
v. to soil; tarnish; discolor.
to detract from the honor or luster of: to besmirch someone's good name - betoken
- v. to give evidence of; indicate; to be or give a token or sign of; portend
- betroth
- v. become engaged to marry
- bevy
- n. large group
- bilious
- adj. suffering from a liver complaint; peevishly ill humored; extremely unpleasant or distasteful
- bilk
- v. swindle; cheat; defraud; to evade payment of (a debt)
- bivouac
- n. /ˈbɪvuˌæk, ˈbɪvwæk/ a military encampment made with tents or improvised shelters, usually without shelter or protection from enemy fire.
- blandish
- v. cajole; coax with flattery
- blowhard
- n. talkative boaster
- bluff (adj)
- adj. good-naturedly direct, blunt, or frank; heartily outspoken: a big, bluff, generous man
- bluster
- v. blow in heavy gusts; threaten emptily; bully
- bolt
- n. door bar; fastening pin or screw; length of fabric
- boorish
- adj. rude; insensitive
- bovine
- adj. of or pertaining to the subfamily Bovinae, which includes cattle, buffalo, and kudus; oxlike; cowlike; stolid; dull
- bowdlerize
- v. /ˈboʊdləˌraɪz, ˈbaʊd-/ to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.
- braggadocio
- n. /ˌbrægəˈdoʊʃiˌoʊ/ boasting; a boasting person; braggart.
- brindled
- adj. tawny or grayish with streaks or spots
- bristling
- adj. rising like bristles; showing irritation
- brocade
- n. rich, figured fabric
- brook (v)
- v. tolerate; endure
- browbeat
- v. to intimidate by overbearing looks or words; bully
- buffet (v)
- v. slap; batter; knock about
- bugaboo
- n. bugbear; object of baseless terror
- bulwark
- n. a wall of earth or other material built for defense; rampart; any protection against external danger, injury, or annoyance; any person or thing giving strong support or encouragement
- bungle
- v. mismanage; blunder
- buoyant
- adj. cheerful and optimistic
- burgeon
- v. grow forth; send out buds
- burlesque (v.)
- v. to make ridiculous by mocking representation
- burnish
- v. make shiny by rubbing; polish
- cabal
- n. /kəˈbæl/ a small group of secret plotters, as against a government or person in authority; the plots and schemes of such a group; intrigue; a clique, as in artistic, literary, or theatrical circle
- cadge
- v. to obtain by imposing on another's generosity or friendship; to borrow without intent to repay
- callow
- adj. youthful; immature; inexperienced
- calumny
- n. /ˈkæləmni/ malicious misrepresentation; slander
- cameo
- n. technique of engraving upon a gem or other stone, as onyx, in such a way that an underlying stone of one color is exposed as a background for a low-relief design of another color; gem or other stone so engraved
- canard
- n. a false or baseless, usually derogatory story, report, or rumor
- canker
- n. any ulcerous sore; any evil
- canny
- adj. careful; cautious; prudent: a canny reply.; astute; shrewd; knowing; sagacious: a canny negotiator.; skilled, expert; frugal, thrifty: a canny housewife.
- canon
- n. collection or authoritative list of books; rule or principle, frequently religous
- cant
- n. insincere, esp. conventional expressions of enthusiasm for high ideals, goodness, or piety; the phraseology peculiar to a particular class, party, profession, etc.: the cant of the fashion industry.
- canter
- n. slow gallop
- canto
- n. division of a long poem
- capacious
- adj. spacious
- capillary
- adj. having a very fine bore; resembling a strand of hair; hairlike
- capitulate
- v. to surrender unconditionally or on stipulated terms.; to give up resistance
- captious
-
adj. apt to notice and make much of trivial faults or defects; faultfinding; difficult to please;
apt or designed to ensnare or perplex, esp. in argument: captious questions - carafe
- n. glass water bottle
- carapace
- n. shell covering the back
- careen
- v. lurch; sway from side to side
- carousal
- n. drunken revel
- carping
-
n. petty criticism
adj. fault-finding; characterized by fussy or petulant faultfinding; querulous - caste
- n. prestige
- cataract
- n. great waterfall
- catechism
- n. book for religious instruction; instruction by question and answer
- catholic
- adj. broad or wide-ranging in tastes, interests, or the like; having sympathies with all; broad-minded; liberal
- causal
- adj. implying a cause-and-effect relatiouship
- cauterize
- v. to burn with a hot iron, electric current, fire, or a caustic, esp. for curative purposes
- cavalier
- adj. haughty, disdainful, or supercilious; offhand or unceremonious
- cavil
- v. /ˈkævəl/ to raise irritating and trivial objections; find fault with unnecessarily (usually fol. by at or about)
- centrifugal
- adj. radiating
- cerebration
- n. thought
- ceremonious
- adj. marked by formality
- chaff
- n. worthless products of an endeavor
- chaffing
- adj. bantering; joking; teasing
- chagrin
- n. vexation; disappointment
- charisma
- n. divine gift; the special virtue that confers or is thought to confer on the person holding it an unusual ability for leadership, worthiness of veneration, or the like
- charlatan
- n. quack; pretender to knowledge
- chase
- v. ornament a metal surface by indenting; to ornament (metal) by engraving or embossing
- chasten
- v. correct by punishment or scolding; restrain
- chastened
- adj. humbled; subdued; rebuked
- chauvinist
- n. blindly devoted patriot; zealous adherent of a group or cause
- check (v)
- v. stop motion; curb or restrain
- checkered
- adj. marked by changes in fortune
- chicanery
- n. /ʃɪˈkeɪnəri, tʃɪ-/ trickery; deception
- chisel
- v. swindle or cheat
- choleric
- adj. /ˈkɒlərɪk, kəˈlɛrɪk/ hot-tempered
- churlish
- adj. boorish; rude
- cipher
- n. nonentity; worthless person or thing
- circumscribe
-
# To draw a line around; encircle.
# To limit narrowly; restrict.
# To determine the limits of; define - circumspect
- adj. watchful and discreet; cautious; prudent
- cistern
- n. reservoir or water tank
- cite
- v. quote; commend
- clamber
- v. climb by crawling
- clangor
- n. loud resounding noise
- clarion
- adj. shrill, trumpetlike
- cloying
- adj. distasteful because excessive; excessively sweet or sentimental
- coddle
- v. treat gently; pamper
- codicil
- n. /ˈkɒdəsəl/ supplement to the body of a will; any supplement; appendix.
- coercion
- n. use of force to get someone to obey
- coeval
- adj. /koʊˈivəl/ living at the same time as; contemporary
- cogent
- adj. convincing or believable by virtue of forcible, clear, or incisive presentation; telling; to the point
- cognate
- adj. allied by blood; similar or akin in nature
- cognizance
- n. knowledge
- collation
- n. a light meal that may be permitted on days of general fast; any light meal
- colloquy
- n. /ˈkɒləkwi/ informal discussion; a conversational exchange; dialogue; a conference
- collusion
- n. a secret agreement, esp. for fraudulent or treacherous purposes; conspiracy
- comely
- adj. attractive; agreeable
- comeuppance
- n. /ˌkʌmˈʌpəns/ deserved reward or just deserts, usually unpleasant: He finally got his comeuppance for his misbehavior.
- comity
- n. /ˈkɒmɪti/ civility; mutual courtesy; Also called comity of nations. courtesy between nations, as in respect shown by one country for the laws, judicial decisions, and institutions of another
- commodious
- adj. spacious and comfortable
- compendium
- v. brief, comprehensive summary; full list or inventory
- complaisant
- adj. /kəmˈpleɪsənt, -zənt, ˈkɒmpləˌzænt/ trying to please; overly polite; obliging
- complicity
- n. involvement in a crime; participation
- comport
- v. /kəmˈpɔrt, -ˈpoʊrt/ bear one's self; behave
- compunction
- n. a feeling of uneasiness or anxiety of the conscience caused by regret for doing wrong or causing pain; contrition; remorse
- concatenate
- v. link as in a chain; link together in series
- conclave
- n. a private or secret meeting
- condign
- adj. /kənˈdaɪn/ appropriate; well-deserved; fitting; adequate: condign punishment
- conflate
- v. meld or fuse; confuse; combine into one