GRE Vocabulary words 2
Terms
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- repine
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1. To be discontented or low in spirits; complain or fret.
2. To yearn after something: Immigrants who repined for their homeland. - prevaricate
- To stray from or evade the truth; equivocate.
- tractable
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1. Easily managed or controlled; governable.
2. Easily handled or worked; malleable. - virulence
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1. Extremely infectious, malignant, or poisonous. Used of a disease or toxin.
2. Capable of causing disease by breaking down protective mechanisms of the host. Used of a pathogen. - stygian
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1. Gloomy and dark.
2. Infernal; hellish. - spurious
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1. Lacking authenticity or validity in essence or origin; not genuine; false.
Of illegitimate birth. - upbraid
- 1. To reprove sharply; reproach
- nefarious
- infamous by way of being wicked
- ameliorate
- To make or become better; improve
- mollify
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1. To calm in temper or feeling; soothe. See Synonyms at pacify.
2. To lessen in intensity; temper.
3. To reduce the rigidity of; soften. - effrontery
- Brazen boldness; presumptuousness.
- splenetic
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Of or relating to the spleen.
Affected or marked by ill humor or irritability.
n.
A person regarded as irritable. - abstemious
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Eating and drinking in moderation.
Sparingly used or consumed: abstemious meals.
Restricted to bare necessities: an abstemious way of life. - augury
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The art, ability, or practice of auguring; divination.
A sign of something coming; an omen: “The chartist buys when the auguries look favorable and sells on bad omens†(Burton G. Malkiel). - deposition
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The act of deposing, as from high office.
The act of depositing, especially the laying down of matter by a natural process.
Something deposited; a deposit.
Law. Testimony under oath, especially a statement by a witness that is written down or recorded for use in court at a later date.
Deposition The removal of Jesus from the cross. - sycophantic
- A servile self-seeker who attempts to win favor by flattering influential people.
- cavil
- To find fault unnecessarily; raise trivial objections. See Synonyms at quibble.
- feckless
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Lacking purpose or vitality; feeble or ineffective.
Careless and irresponsible. - chicanery
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Deception by trickery or sophistry.
A trick; a subterfuge. - surly
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Sullenly ill-humored; gruff.
Threatening, as of weather conditions; ominous: surly clouds filled the sky.
Obsolete. Arrogant; domineering. - abate
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To reduce in amount, degree, or intensity; lessen. See Synonyms at decrease.
To deduct from an amount; subtract.
To lessen - abdication
- To relinquish (power or responsibility) formally.
- abeyance
- The condition of being temporarily set aside; suspension: held the plan in abeyance.
- abjure
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To renounce under oath; forswear.
To recant solemnly; repudiate: abjure one's beliefs.
To give up (an action or practice, for example); abstain from: “For nearly 21 years after his resignation as Prime Minister in 1963, he abjured all titles, preferring to remain just plain ‘Mr.’†(Time).
-To promise to give up - abrogate
- To abolish, do away with, or annul, especially by authority.
- abscond
- To leave quickly and secretly and hide oneself, often to avoid arrest or prosecution.
- abstruse
- Difficult to understand; recondite. See Synonyms at ambiguous.
- acarpous
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Producing no fruit; sterile.
Having no fruit. - accolade
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An expression of approval; praise.
A special acknowledgment; an award. - accretion
- the growing of separate things into one
- adamant
- Impervious to pleas, appeals, or reason; stubbornly unyielding
- admonitory
- cautious advice or warning
- agile
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Characterized by quickness, lightness, and ease of movement; nimble.
Mentally quick or alert: an agile mind. - alacrity
-
Cheerful willingness; eagerness.
Speed or quickness; celerity. - celerity
- Swiftness of action or motion; speed. See Synonyms at haste
- alloy
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A homogeneous mixture or solid solution of two or more metals, the atoms of one replacing or occupying interstitial positions between the atoms of the other: Brass is an alloy of zinc and copper.
A mixture; an amalgam: “Television news has... always been an alloy of journalism and show business†(Bill Moyers). - animosity
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Bitter hostility or open enmity; active hatred.
A hostile feeling or act. See Synonyms at enmity. - aplomb
- Self-confident assurance; poise
- apostate
- One who has abandoned one's religious faith, a political party, one's principles, or a cause.
- apotheosis
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Exaltation to divine rank or stature; deification.
Elevation to a preeminent or transcendent position; glorification: “Many observers have tried to attribute Warhol's current apotheosis to the subversive power of artistic vision†(Michiko Kakutani).
An exalted or glorified example: Their leader was the apotheosis of courage. - apprise
- To give notice to; inform: apprised us of our rights
- approbation
- approval
- apropos
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At an appropriate time; opportunely.
By the way; incidentally: Apropos, where were you yesterday? - ardor
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Fiery intensity of feeling. See Synonyms at passion.
Strong enthusiasm or devotion; zeal: “The dazzling conquest of Mexico gave a new impulse to the ardor of discovery†( - argot
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A specialized vocabulary or set of idioms used by a particular group: thieves' argot
-slang - arrant
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Completely such; thoroughgoing: an arrant fool; the arrant luxury of the ocean liner.
-in the highest degree - aspersion
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An unfavorable or damaging remark; slander: Don't cast aspersions on my honesty.
The act of defaming or slandering.
-slander - assail
- To attack with or as if with violent blows; assault.
- assiduous
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Constant in application or attention; diligent: an assiduous worker who strove for perfection. See Synonyms at busy.
Unceasing; persistent: assiduous research. - attenuate
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To make slender, fine, or small: The drought attenuated the river to a narrow channel.
To reduce in force, value, amount, or degree; weaken: Medicine attentuated the fever's effect.
To lessen the density of; rarefy.
-enervate - auspicious
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Attended by favorable circumstances; propitious: an auspicious time to ask for a raise in salary. See Synonyms at favorable.
Marked by success; prosperous - auxiliary
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Giving assistance or support; helping.
Acting as a subsidiary; supplementary: the main library and its auxiliary branches.
Held in or used as a reserve: auxiliary troops; an auxiliary power generator. - aver
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To affirm positively; declare.
Law.
To assert formally as a fact.
To justify or prove. - baleful
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Portending evil; ominous. See Synonyms at sinister.
Harmful or malignant in intent or effect. - balk
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To stop short and refuse to go on: The horse balked at the jump.
To refuse obstinately or abruptly: She balked at the very idea of compromise.
obstacle - baneful
- Causing harm, ruin, or death; harmful
- barrage
- An artificial obstruction, such as a dam or irrigation channel, built in a watercourse to increase its depth or to divert its flow.
- bedizen
- To ornament or dress in a showy or gaudy manner.
- belabor
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To attack with blows; hit, beat, or whip. See Synonyms at beat.
To assail verbally.
To discuss repeatedly or at length; harp on: Don't belabor the point. - bellicose
- Warlike in manner or temperament; pugnacious. See Synonyms at belligerent
- bequeath
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The act of giving, leaving by will, or passing on to another.
Something that is bequeathed; a legacy. - bereft
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To leave desolate or alone, especially by death: “Cry aloud for the man who is dead, for the woman and children bereaved†(Alan Paton).
Archaic. To take (something valuable or necessary), typically by force. - blandishment
- To coax by flattery or wheedling; cajole
- cajole
- To urge with gentle and repeated appeals, teasing, or flattery; wheedle
- blithe
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Carefree and lighthearted.
Lacking or showing a lack of due concern; casual: spoke with blithe ignorance of the true situation. - bolster
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To support or prop up with or as if with a long narrow pillow or cushion.
To buoy up or hearten: Visitors bolstered the patient's morale. - breach
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An opening, a tear, or a rupture.
A gap or rift, especially in or as if in a solid structure such as a dike or fortification.
A violation or infraction, as of a law, a legal obligation, or a promise.
A breaking up or disruption of friendly relations; an estrangement.
A leap of a whale from the water.
The breaking of waves or surf. - broach
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To bring up (a subject) for discussion or debate.
To announce: We broached our plans for the new year.
To pierce in order to draw off liquid: broach a keg of beer.
To draw off (a liquid) by piercing a hole in a cask or other container.
To shape or enlarge (a hole) with a tapered, serrated tool. - brook
- To put up with; tolerate: We will brook no further argument
- burgeon
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To put forth new buds, leaves, or greenery; sprout.
To begin to grow or blossom.
To grow and flourish. - burnish
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To make smooth or glossy by or as if by rubbing; polish.
To rub with a tool that serves especially to smooth or polish. - cabal
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A conspiratorial group of plotters or intriguers: “Espionage is quite precisely ita cabal of powerful men, working secretly†(Frank Conroy).
A secret scheme or plot. - cadge
- to beg or get by begging
- calumny
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A false statement maliciously made to injure another's reputation.
The utterance of maliciously false statements; slander - candid
- frank, straightfoward
- cant
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Monotonous talk filled with platitudes.
Hypocritically pious language.
The special vocabulary peculiar to the members of an underworld group; argot.
Cant See Shelta.
Whining speech, such as that used by beggars.
The special terminology understood among the members of a profession, discipline, or class but obscure to the general population; jargon. See Synonyms at dialect. - cantankerous
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Ill-tempered and quarrelsome; disagreeable: disliked her cantankerous landlord.
Difficult to handle: “had to use liquid helium, which is supercold, costly and cantankerous†(Boston Globe). - castigate
- to inflict SEVERE punishment
- centurion
- leader of an army of 100 soldiers
- chary
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Very cautious; wary: was chary of the risks involved.
Not giving or expending freely; sparing: was chary of compliments. - chasten
- correct or punish
- chauvinist
- blindly devoted patriot
- churl
- bad-tempered person
- clinch
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To fix or secure (a nail or bolt, for example) by bending down or flattening the pointed end that protrudes.
To fasten together in this way.
To settle definitely and conclusively; make final: “The cocktail circuit is a constant and more contracts are clinched over pâté than over paper†(Ann L. Trebbe). - cloture
- A parliamentary procedure by which debate is ended and an immediate vote is taken on the matter under discussion. Also called closure
- coagulate
- To cause transformation of (a liquid or sol, for example) into or as if into a soft, semisolid, or solid mass.
- coalesce
-
To grow together; fuse.
To come together so as to form one whole; unite: The rebel units coalesced into one army to fight the invaders. - coeval
- Originating or existing during the same period; lasting through the same era
- cogent
- strong, convincing
- collusion
- secret meeting for a deceitful purpose
- combustion
- process of burning
- commodious
-
spacious
-having plenty of space for what is needed - conciliatory
- reconciling, mollifying, comforting
- concord
- agreement or harmony
- congeal
- make or become stiff or solid
- connotation
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The act or process of connoting.
An idea or meaning suggested by or associated with a word or thing: Hollywood holds connotations of romance and glittering success.
The set of associations implied by a word in addition to its literal meaning.
Logic. The set of attributes constituting the meaning of a term; intension. - consequential
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Following as an effect, result, or conclusion; consequent.
Having important consequences; significant: “The year's only really consequential legislation was the reform of Social Security†(New York Times). - consternation
- surprise, fear, dismay
- constrain
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To compel by physical, moral, or circumstantial force; oblige: felt constrained to object. See Synonyms at force.
To keep within close bounds; confine: a life that had been constrained by habit to the same few activities and friends.
To inhibit or restrain; hold back: “Failing to control the growth of international debt will also constrain living standards†(Ronald Brownstein).
To produce in a forced or inhibited manner. - contemn
- scorn or despise
- contentious
- argumentative pugnacious combative quarrelsome
- contiguous
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Sharing an edge or boundary; touching.
Neighboring; adjacent.
Connecting without a break: the 48 contiguous states.
Connected in time; uninterrupted: served two contiguous terms in office. - contrite
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Feeling regret and sorrow for one's sins or offenses; penitent.
Arising from or expressing contrition: contrite words. - contumacious
- Obstinately disobedient or rebellious; insubordinate.
- convoke
- call together; summon
- cordon
- line (of police acting on guard)
- corporeal
- physical; of the body
- corroboration
- additional strengthening evidence
- countenance
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Appearance, especially the expression of the face: The question left him with a puzzled countenance.
The face or facial features.
A look or expression indicative of encouragement or of moral support.
Support or approval.
Obsolete. Bearing; demeanor. - countervail
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To act against with equal force; counteract.
To compensate for; offset. - cower
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to cringe in fear
-crouch, shrink back - craven
- Characterized by abject fear; cowardly.
- credulity
- A disposition to believe too readily.
- cumbersome
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Difficult to handle because of weight or bulk. See Synonyms at heavy.
Troublesome or onerous. - curmudgeon
- An ill-tempered person full of resentment and stubborn notions
- cursory
- Performed with haste and scant attention to detail: a cursory glance at the headlines.
- curtail
- make shorter than planned
- dearth
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A scarce supply; a lack: “the dearth of uncensored, firsthand information about the war†(Richard Zoglin).
Shortage of food; famine. - debacle
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A sudden, disastrous collapse, downfall, or defeat; a rout.
A total, often ludicrous failure.
The breaking up of ice in a river.
A violent flood. - decorum
- propriety; properness
- decry
- disapprove of
- defer
- postpone; give up (authority)
- deferential
- showing respect
- delineate
- to portray depict sketch out
- contention
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The act or an instance of striving in controversy or debate. See Synonyms at discord.
A striving to win in competition; rivalry: The teams met in fierce contention for first place.
An assertion put forward in argument. - deluge
- great flood
- demagogue
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A leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace.
A leader of the common people in ancient times. - demur
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To voice opposition; object: demurred at the suggestion. See Synonyms at object.
Law. To enter a demurrer.
To delay. - denigrate
- blacken belittle sully defame