GRE Wordlist 41 - 45
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- rescind
-
v. to abrogate; annul; revoke; repeal.
2. to invalidate (an act, measure, etc.) by a later action or a higher authority. - restive
- adj. restlessly impatient; obstinately resisting control
- reticent
- adj. reserved; uncommunicative; inclined to silence
- retinue
- n. a body of retainers in attendance upon an important personage; suite.
- retiring
- adj. modest; shy; withdrawing from contact with others
- retrench
-
v. to cut down, reduce, or diminish; curtail (expenses).
2. to cut off or remove.
3. Military. to protect by a retrenchment. - retrograde (v)
- v. go backwards; degenerate
- reverie
- n. daydream; musing
- revile
- v. attack with abusive language; vilify
- rhetoric
- n art of effective communication; insincere or grandiloquent speech
- ribald
-
adj. /ˈrɪbəld; spelling pron. ˈraɪbəld/ vulgar or indecent in speech, language, etc.; coarsely mocking, abusive, or irreverent; scurrilous.
n. a ribald person. - riddle (v)
- v. pierce with holes; permeate or spread throughout
- rider
- n. amendment or clause added to a legislative bill
- rife
-
adj. of common or frequent occurrence; prevalent; in widespread existence, activity, or use: Crime is rife in the slum areas of our cities.
2. current in speech or report: Rumors are rife that the government is in financial difficulty.
3. abundant, plentiful, or numerous.
4. abounding (usually fol. by with). - rococo
- adj. ornate; highly decorated
- roil
- v. make liquids murky by stirring up sediment; disturb
- roseate
- adj. /ˈroʊziɪt, -ˌeɪt/ tinged with rose; rosy: a roseate dawn.; bright or promising: a roseate future.; incautiously optimistic: a roseate forecast for holiday sales.
- rostrum
- n. platform for speech-making; pulpit
- rotundity
- n. roundness; sonorousness of speech
- rout
- v. stampede; drive out
- rue
- v. 1. to feel sorrow over; repent of; regret bitterly: to rue the loss of opportunities.; to wish that (something) had never been done, taken place, etc.: I rue the day he was born.
- runic
- adj. mysterious; set down in an ancient alphabet; (of ornamental knots, figures, etc.) of an interlaced form seen on ancient monuments, metalwork, etc., of the northern European peoples.
- rusticate
- v. /ˈrʌstɪˌkeɪt/ banish to the country; dwell in the country; to go to the country
- sacrosanct
- adj. most sacred; inviolable; above or beyond criticism, change, or interference
- sagacious
-
adj. /səˈgeɪʃəs/ having or showing acute mental discernment and keen practical sense; shrewd: a sagacious lawyer.
2. Obsolete. keen of scent. - salacious
- adj. lustful or lecherous; (of writings, pictures, etc.) obscene; grossly indecent.
- salient
-
adj. prominent or conspicuous: salient traits.
2. projecting or pointing outward: a salient angle.
3. leaping or jumping: a salient animal. - sallow
- adj. /ˈsæloʊ/ yellowish; sickly in color
- salubrious
- adj. healthful
- salutary
- adj. /ˈsælyəˌtɛri/ favorable to or promoting health; healthful.; promoting or conducive to some beneficial purpose; wholesome.
- sanctimonious
- adj. displaying ostentatious or hypocritical devoutness
- sanguinary
- adj. /ˈsæŋgwəˌnɛri/ bloody; ready or eager to shed blood; bloodthirsty.; composed of or marked with blood.
- sardonic
- adj. characterized by bitter or scornful derision; mocking; cynical; sneering: a sardonic grin.
- sartorial
-
adj. of or pertaining to tailors or their trade: sartorial workmanship.
2. of or pertaining to clothing or style or manner of dress: sartorial splendor. - saturnine
- adj. /ˈsætərˌnaɪn/ sluggish in temperament; gloomy; taciturn.; suffering from lead poisoning, as a person.; due to absorption of lead, as bodily disorders.
- scabbard
- n. case for a sword; sheath
- scad
- n. a great quantity
- scintilla
- n. a minute particle; spark; trace: not a scintilla of remorse.
- scruple (v)
- v. fret about; hesitate, for ethical reasons
- scurrilous
-
adj. /ˈskɜrələs, ˈskʌr-/ grossly or obscenely abusive: a scurrilous attack on the mayor.
2. characterized by or using low buffoonery; coarsely jocular or derisive: a scurrilous jest. - scurvy (adj)
- adj. contemptible; despicable; mean: a scurvy trick.
- scuttle
- v. to abandon, withdraw from, or cause to be abandoned or destroyed (as plans, hopes, rumors, etc.).; to sink (a vessel) deliberately by opening seacocks or making openings in the bottom.
- seamy
- adj. sordid; unwholesome
- secrete
- v. to place out of sight; hide; conceal: squirrels secreting nuts in a hollow tree trunk.
- sedition
-
n. incitement of discontent or rebellion against a government.
2. any action, esp. in speech or writing, promoting such discontent or rebellion.
3. Archaic. rebellious disorder. - sedulous
-
adj. diligent in application or attention; persevering; assiduous.
2. persistently or carefully maintained: sedulous flattery. - seminal
-
adj. pertaining to, containing, or consisting of semen.
2. Botany. of or pertaining to seed.
3. having possibilities of future development.
4. highly original and influencing the development of future events: a seminal artist; seminal ideas. - sententious
- adj. /sɛnˈtɛnʃəs/ abounding in pithy aphorisms or maxims: a sententious book; given to excessive moralizing; self-righteous.
- sere
- adj. /sɪər/ parched; dry; withered
- sheaf
- n. bundle of stalks of grain; any bundle of things tied together
- shrew
- n. scolding woman
- shunt
- v. divert; turn aside; sidetrack
- shyster
-
n. a lawyer who uses unprofessional or questionable methods.
2. a person who gets along by petty, sharp practices. - sibylline
-
adj. /ˈsɪbəˌlin, -ˌlaɪn, -lɪn/ of, resembling, or characteristic of a sibyl; prophetic; oracular.
2. mysterious; cryptic. - sinecure
- n. well-paid position with little responsibility
- skinflint
- n. stingy person; miser
- skulduggery
-
n. dishonorable proceedings; mean dishonesty or trickery: bribery, graft, and other such skulduggery.
2. an instance of dishonest or deceitful behavior; trick. - skulk
- v. move furtively and secretely
- slag
- n. residue from smelting metal; dross; waste material
- slake
- v. /sleɪk/ to allay (thirst, desire, wrath, etc.) by satisfying.; to cool or refresh: He slaked his lips with ice.; to make less active, vigorous, intense, etc.: His calm manner slaked their enthusiasm.
- slapdash
- adj. haphazard; careless; sloppy; offhand: a slapdash answer.
- sleazy
-
adj. contemptibly low, mean, or disreputable: sleazy politics.
2. squalid; sordid; filthy; dilapidated: a sleazy hotel.
3. thin or poor in texture, as a fabric; cheap; flimsy: a sleazy dress; a sleazy excuse. - sleight
-
n. skill; dexterity.
2. an artifice; stratagem.
3. cunning; craft. - slew
- n. large quantity or number
- slight (n)
- n. insult to one's dignity; snub
- slipshod
- adj. untidy or slovenly; shabby
- sluggard
- n. lazy person
- sluice
- n. /slus/ artificial channel for directing or controlling the flow of water
- smattering
-
n. a slight, superficial, or introductory knowledge of something: a smattering of Latin.
adj. slight or superficial. - smelt
- v. melt or blend ores, changing their chemical composition
- solecism
-
n. /ˈsɒləˌsɪzəm, ˈsoʊlə-/ a nonstandard or ungrammatical usage, as unflammable and they was.
2. a breach of good manners or etiquette.
3. any error, impropriety, or inconsistency. - solemnity
- n. seriousness; gravity; Often, solemnities. a solemn observance, ceremonial proceeding, or special formality: the solemnities of Easter.
- solicitous
-
adj. anxious or concerned (usually fol. by about, for, etc., or a clause): solicitous about a person's health.
2. anxiously desirous: solicitous of the esteem of others.
3. eager (usually fol. by an infinitive): He was always solicitous to please. - soliloquy
-
n. an utterance or discourse by a person who is talking to himself or herself or is disregardful of or oblivious to any hearers present (often used as a device in drama to disclose a character's innermost thoughts): Hamlet's soliloquy begins with “To be or not to be.â€
2. the act of talking while or as if alone. - soluble
- adj. capable of being dissolved or liquefied: a soluble powder.; capable of being solved or explained: a soluble problem.
- solvent (adj)
- adj. able to pay all debts
- somnolent
- adj. half asleep; sleepy; drowsy.; tending to cause sleep.
- sophist
- n. /ˈsɒfɪst/ teacher of philosophy; quibbler; employer of fallacious reasoning
- sophistry
-
n. /ˈsɒfəstri/ a subtle, tricky, superficially plausible, but generally fallacious method of reasoning.
2. a false argument; sophism. - soporific
- adj. /ˌsɒpəˈrɪfɪk, ˌsoʊpə-/ sleep-causing; marked by sleepiness
- spangle
- n. small metallic piece sewn on clothing as an ornament
- spasmodic
-
adj. pertaining to or of the nature of a spasm; characterized by spasms.
2. resembling a spasm or spasms; sudden but brief; sporadic: spasmodic efforts at reform.
3. given to or characterized by bursts of excitement. - spate
- n. sudden flood; a sudden, almost overwhelming, outpouring: a spate of angry words.
- specious
- adj. seemingly reasonable, but incorrect; misleading (often intentionally)
- spendthrift
-
n. a person who spends possessions or money extravagantly or wastefully; prodigal.
adj. wastefully extravagant; prodigal. - spoonerism
- n. he transposition of initial or other sounds of words, usually by accident, as in a blushing crow for a crushing blow.
- sportive
- adj. playful
- spruce
- adj. trim in dress or appearance; neat; smart; dapper.
- spurious
- adj. false; counterfeit; forged; illogical
- staid
- adj. /steɪd/ of settled or sedate character; not flighty or capricious.; fixed, settled, or permanent.
- stalwart
-
adj.strongly and stoutly built; sturdy and robust.
2. strong and brave; valiant: a stalwart knight.
3. firm, steadfast, or uncompromising: a stalwart supporter of the U.N. - stanch
- v. /stɔntʃ, stæntʃ, stɑntʃ/ to stop the flow of (a liquid, esp. blood).; to stop the flow of blood or other liquid from (a wound, leak, etc.).
- steep (v)
- v. soak; saturate
- stem (v)
- v. check the flow
- stentorian
- adj. extremely loud; very loud or powerful in sound: a stentorian voice.
- stigma
- n. token of disgrace
- stilted
- adj. bombastic; stiffly pompous
- stint (v)
- v. be thrifty; set limits
- stipple
- v. paint or draw with dots
- stock (adj)
- adj. typical; standard; kept regularly in supply
- stockade
- n. wooden enclosure or pen; fixed line of posts used as a defensive barrier
- stolid
- adj. dull; impassive; not easily stirred or moved mentally; unemotional
- stratagem
- n. clever trick; deceptive scheme; any artifice, ruse, or trick devised or used to attain a goal or to gain an advantage over an adversary or competitor: business stratagems.
- stricture
- n. critical comments; severe and adverse criticism; an abnormal contraction of any passage or duct of the body.; a restriction.
- studied
- adj. unspontaneous; deliberate; thoughtful
- stultify
- v. /ˈstʌltəˌfaɪ/ cause to appear or become stupid or inconsistent; frustrate or hinder
- stupefy
-
v.to put into a state of little or no sensibility; benumb the faculties of; put into a stupor.
2. to stun, as with a narcotic, a shock, or a strong emotion.
3. to overwhelm with amazement; astound; astonish. - stygian
-
adj. /ˈstɪdʒiən/ of or pertaining to the river Styx or to Hades.
2. dark or gloomy.
3. infernal; hellish. - subaltern
- n. /sʌbˈɔltərn/ subordinate
- sublimate
- v. refine; purify; to make nobler or purer: To read about great men sublimates ambition.; Psychology. to divert the energy of (a sexual or other biological impulse) from its immediate goal to one of a more acceptable social, moral, or aesthetic nature or use.
- subliminal
- adj. below the threshold
- suborn
-
v. /səˈbɔrn/
persuade to act unlawfully, especially to commit perjury - subsume
-
v. to consider or include (an idea, term, proposition, etc.) as part of a more comprehensive one.
2. to bring (a case, instance, etc.) under a rule.
3. to take up into a more inclusive classification. - subterfuge
- n. /ˈsʌbtərˌfyudʒ/ pretense; evasion. an artifice or expedient used to evade a rule, escape a consequence, hide something, etc.
- succor
- v. /ˈsʌkər/ aid; assist; comfort
- suffuse
- v. to overspread with or as with a liquid, color, etc.
- sunder
- v. to separate; part; divide; sever.
- sundry
- adj. various; several
- superannuated
- adj. retired or disqualified because of age
- supercilious
- adj. haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression.
- supererogatory
- adj. /ˌsupərəˈrɒgəˌtɔri, -ˌtoʊri/ going beyond the requirements of duty.; superfluous; more than needed or demanded
- supernumerary
- n. /ˌsupərˈnuməˌrɛri, -ˈnyu-/ being in excess of the usual, proper, or prescribed number; additional; extra.; associated with a regular body or staff as an assistant or substitute in case of necessity.
- supine
-
adj. /adj. suˈpaɪn; n. ˈsupaɪn/ lying on the back, face or front upward.; inactive, passive, or inert, esp. from indolence or indifference.; (of the hand) having the palm upward.
n. (in English) the simple infinitive of a verb preceded by to. - suppliant
-
n. /ˈsʌpliənt/ a person who supplicates; petitioner.
adj. supplicating; expressive of supplication, as words, actions, etc. - supplicate
- v. petition humbly; pray to grant a favor
- supposititious
- adj. /səˌpɒzɪˈtɪʃəs/ assumed; counterfeit; hypothetical
- surfeit
-
v. /ˈsɜrfɪt/ satiate; stuff; indulge in excess in anything
n. excess; an excessive amount: a surfeit of speechmaking.
2. excess or overindulgence in eating or drinking. - surreptitious
- adj. secret; furtive; sneaky; hidden
- swathe
- v. /swɒð, sweɪð/ wrap around; bandage
- swill
-
v. drink greedily
n. liquid or partly liquid food for animals, esp. kitchen refuse given to swine; hogwash.
2. kitchen refuse in general; garbage.
3. any liquid mess, waste, or refuse; slop. - sybarite
- n. (usually lowercase) a person devoted to luxury and pleasure.
- syllogism
- n. logical formula consisting of a major premise, a minor premise and a conclusion; deceptive or specious argument
- sylvan
- adj. pertaining to the woods; rustic
- synoptic
- adj. pertaining to or constituting a synopsis; affording or taking a general view of the principal parts of a subject.; (often initial capital letter) taking a common view: used chiefly in reference to the first three Gospels (synoptic Gospels), Matthew, Mark, and Luke, from their similarity in content, order, and statement.
- tacit
- adj. understood; not put into words
- tangential
- adj. peripheral; only slightly connected
- tantamount
- adj. equivalent in effect or value