GRE Vocab List 1-7
Terms
undefined, object
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- abase
- v. lower; degrade; humiliate
- abash
- v. embarrass
- abate
- v. subside or moderate
- abbreviate
- v. shorten
- abdicate
- v. renounce; give up
- aberrant
- adj. abnormal or deviant
- aberration
- n. abnormality; departure from the norm; mental irregularity or disorder
- abet
- v. assist
- abeyance
- n. suspended action
- abhor
- v. detest; hate
- abject
- adj. wretched; lacking pride
- abjure
- v. renounce upon oath; disavow
- ablution
- n. washing
- abnegation
- n renunciation; self-sacrifice
- abolish
- v. cancel; put an end to
- abominable
- adj. detestable; extremely unpleasant
- abominate
- v. loathe; hate
- aboriginal
- adj., n. being the first of its kind in a region; primitive; native
- abortive
- adj. unsuccessful; fruitless
- abrasive
- adj. rubbing away; tending to grind down
- abridge
- v. condense or shorten
- abrogate
- v. abolish
- abscission
- n. removal by cutting off, as in surgery; separation
- abscond
- v. depart secretly and hide
- absolute
- adj. complete; totally unlimited; certain
- absolve
- v. pardon (an offense)
- abstain
- v. refrain; withhold from participation
- abstemious
- adj. sparing in eating and drinking; temperate
- abstinence
- n. restraint from eating or drinking
- abstract
- adj. theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational
- abstruse
- adj. obscure; profound; difficult to understand.
- abusive
- adj. coarsely insulting; physically harmful
- abut
- v. border upon; adjoin
- abyss
- n. enormous chasm; vast, bottomless pit
- academic
- adj. related to a school; not practical or directly useful
- accede
- v. agree
- accelerate
- v. move faster
- accessible
- adj. easy to approach; obtainable
- accessory
- n. additional object
- acclaim
- v. applaud; announce with great approval
- acclimate
- v. adjust to climate or environment; adapt.
- acclivity
- n. sharp upslope of a hill
- accolade
- n. award of merit
- accommodate
- v. oblige or help someone; adjust or bring into harmony; adapt
- accomplice
- n. partner in a crime
- accord
- n. agreement
- accost
- v. approach and speak first to a person
- accoutre
- v. equip
- accretion
- n. growth; increase
- accrue
- v. come about by addition
- acerbic
- adj. bitter or sour in nature; sharp and cutting
- acerbity
- n. bitterness of speech and temper
- acetic
- adj. vinegary
- acidulous
- adj. slightly sour; sharp; caustic
- acknowledge
- v. recognize; admit
- acme
- n. peak, pinnacle; highest point
- acoustics
- n. science of sound; quality of that makes a room easy or hard to hear in
- acquiesce
- v. assent; agree passively
- acquittal
- n. deliverance from a charge
- acrid
- adj. sharp; bitterly pungent
- acrimonious
- adj. bitter in words or manner
- acrophobia
- n. fear of heights
- actuarial
- adj. calculating; pertaining to insurance statistics
- actuate
- v. motivate
- acuity
- n. sharpness
- acumen
- n. mental keenness
- acute
- adj. quickly perceptive; keen; brief and severe
- adage
- n. wise saying; proverb
- adamant
- adj. hard; inflexible
- adapt
- v. alter; modify
- addendum
- n. addition; appendix to book
- addiction
- n. compulsive, habitual need
- addle
- v. muddle, drive crazy; become rotten
- address
- v. direct a speech to; deal with or discuss
- adept
- adj. expert at
- adhere
- v. stick fast
- adherent
- n. supporter; follower
- adjacent
- adj. adjoining; neighboring; close by
- adjunct
- n something (generally nonessential or interior) added on or attached
- adjuration
- n. solemn urging
- adjutant
- n. staff officer assisting the commander; assistant
- admonish
- v. warn; reprove
- adorn
- v. decorate
- adroit
- adj. skillful
- adulation
- n. flattery; admiration.
- adulterate
- v. make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances.
- advent
- n. arrival.
- adventitious
- adj. accidental; casual.
- adversary
- n. opponent; enemy.
- adverse
- adj. unfavorable; hostile.
- adversity
- n. poverty; misfortune.
- advert
- v. refer (to).
- advocacy
- n. support; active pleading on behalf of someone or somethin.
- advocate
- v. urge; plead for
- aegis
- n. shield; defense.
- aerie
- n. nest of a large bird of prey (eagle, hawk).
- aesthetic
- adj. artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciating the beautiful.
- affable
- adj. easily approachable; warmly friendly.
- affected
- adj. artificial; pretended; assumed in order to impress.
- affidavit
- n. written statement made under oath.
- affiliation
- n. joining; associating with.
- affinity
- n. kinship
- affirmation
- n. positive assertion; confirmation; solemn pledge by one who refuses to take an oath.
- affix
- v. attach or add on; fasten.
- affliction
- n. state of distress; cause of suffering
- affluence
- n. abundance; wealth
- affront
- n. insult; offense; intentional act of disrespect.
- agape
- adj. openmouthed.
- agenda
- n. items of business at a meeting.
- agglomeration
- n. collection; heap
- aggrandize
- v. increase or intensify; raise in power, wealth, rank or honor.
- aggregate
- v. gather; accumulate.
- aggressor
- n. attacker.
- aghast
- adj. horrified; dumbfounded
- agility
- n. nimbleness
- agitate
- v. stir up; disturb
- agnostic
- n. one who is skeptical of the existence of a god or any ultimate reality
- agog
- adj. highly excited; intensely curious
- agrarian
- adj. pertaining to land or its cultivation
- alacrity
- n. cheerful promptness; eagerness.
- alchemy
- n. medieval form of speculative thought that aimed to transform base metals (lead or copper) into silver or gold and to discover a means of prolonging life.
- alcove
- n. nook; recess.
- alias
- n. an assumed name.
- alienate
- v. make hostile; separate
- alimentary
- adj. supplying nourishment.
- alimony
- n payments made to an ex-spouse after divorce.
- allay
- v. calm; pacify
- allege
- v. state without proof.
- allegiance
- n. loyality
- allegory
- n. story in which characters are used as symbols; fable.
- alleviate
- v. relieve
- alliteration
- n. repetition of beginning sound in poetry.
- allocate
- v. assign.
- alloy (noun usage)
- n. a mixture as of metals.
- alloy (verb usage)
- v. mix; make less pure; lesson or moderate
- allude
- v. refer indirectly
- allure
- v. entice; attract
- allusion
- n. indirect reference.
- alluvial
- adj. pertaining to soil deposits left by running water.
- aloof
- adj. apart; reserved.
- aloft
- adv. upward
- altercation
- n. noisy quarrel; heated dispute.
- altruistic
- adj. unselfishly generous; concerned for others.
- amalgamate
- v. combine; unite in one body.
- amass
- v. collect
- amazon
- n. female warrior.
- ambidextrous
- adj. capble of using either hand with equal ease.
- ambience
- n. environment; atmosphere
- ambiguous
- adj. unclear or doubtful in meaning.
- ambivalence
- n. the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes.
- amble
- n. moving at an easy pace.
- ambrosia
- n. food of the gods.
- ambulatory
- adj. able to walk; not bedridden.
- ameliorate
- v. improve.
- amenable
- adj. readily managed or willing to be led; answerable or accountable legally.
- amend
- v. correct; change, generally for the better.
- amenities
- n. convenient features; courtesies
- amiable
- adj. agreeable; lovable; warmly friendly.
- amicable
- adj. politely friendly; not quarrelsome.
- amiss
- adj. wrong; faulty.
- amity
- n. friendship
- amnesia
- n. loss of memory.
- amnesty
- n. pardon
- amoral
- adj. nonmoral
- amorous
- adj. moved by sexual love; loving.
- amorphous
- adj. formless; lacking shape or definition
- ample
- adj. abundant
- amplify
- v. boraden or clarify by expanding; intensify; make stronger.
- amputate
- v. cut off part of body; prune.
- amok (also amuck)
- adv. in a state of rage
- amulet
- n. charm; talisman
- anachronism
- n. something or someone misplaced in time.
- analgesic
- adj. causing insensitivity to pain
- analogous
- adj. comparable
- analogy
- n. similarity; parallelism
- anarchist
- n. person who seeks to overturn the established government; advocate of abolishing authority
- anarchy
- n. absence of governing body; state of disorder.
- anathema
- n. solemn curse; someone or something regarded as a curse.
- ancestry
- n. family descent
- anchor
- v. secure or fasten firmly; be fixed in place.
- ancillary
- adj. serving as an aid or accessory; auxillary.
- anecdote
- n. short account of an amusing or interesting event
- anemia
- n. condition in which blood lacks red corpuscles.
- anesthetic
- n. substance that removes sensation with or without loss of consciousness
- anguish
- n. acute pain; extreme suffering.
- angular
- adj. sharp-cornered; stiff in manner.
- animadversion
- n. critical remark.
- animated
- adj. lively; spirited.
- animosity
- n. active enmity.
- animus
- n. hostile feeling or intent
- annals
- n. records; history.
- anneal
- v. reduce brittleness and improve toughness by heating and cooling.
- annex
- v. attach; take possesion of
- annihilate
- v. destroy
- annotate
- v. comment; make explanatory notes.
- annuity
- n. yearly allowance
- annul
- v. make void
- anodyne
- n. drug that relieves pain; opiate.
- anoint
- v. consecrate
- anomalous
- adj. abnormal; irregular.
- anomaly
- n. iregularity
- anonymity
- n. state of being nameless; anonymousness.
- antagonism
- n. hostility; active resistance
- antecede
- v. precede.
- antecedents
- n. preceding events or circumstances that influence what comes later; ancestors of early background
- antediluvian
- adj. antiquated; extremely ancient.
- anthem
- n. song of praise or patriotism
- anthology
- n. book of literary selections by various authors.
- anthropoid
- adj. manlike.
- anthropologist
- n. student of the history and science of humankind
- anthropomorphic
- adj.. having human form or characterstics
- antic
- adj. extravagantly odd
- anticlimax
- n. letdown in thought or emotion
- antidote
- n. remedy to counteract a poison or disease
- antipathy
- n. aversion; dislike
- antiquated
- adj. obsolete; outdated
- antispetic
- n. substance that prevents infection
- antithesis
- n. contrast; direct opposite of or to.
- anvil
- n. iron block used in hammering out metals
- apathy
- n. lack of caring; indifference
- ape
- v. imitate or mimic
- aperture.
- n. opening; hole
- apex
- n. tip; summit; climax
- aphasia
- n. loss of speech due to injury or illness
- aphorism
- n. pithy maxim or saying.
- apiary
- n. a place where bees are kept
- aplomb
- n. poise; assurance
- apocalyptic
- adj. prophetic; pertaining to revelations.
- apocryphal
- adj. spurious; not authentic; invented rather than true.
- apogee
- n. highest point.
- apolitical
- adj. having an aversion or lack of concern for political affairs
- apologist
- n. one who writes in defense of a cause or institution.
- apostate
- n. one who abandons his religious faith or political beliefs
- apothecary
- n. durggist
- apothegm
- n. pithy, compact saying
- apotheosis
- n. elevation to godhood; an ideal example of something
- appall
- v. dismay; shock
- apparition
- n. ghost; phantom
- appease
- v. pacify or soothe; relieve.
- appellation
- n. name; title
- append
- v. attach
- application
- n. diligent attention
- apposite
- adj. appropriate; fitting
- appraise
- v. estimate value of
- appreciate
- v. be thankful for; increase in worth; be thoroughly conscious
- apprehend
- v. arrest (a criminal); dread; perceive.
- apprehensive
- adj. fearful; discerning
- apprise
- v. inform.
- approbation
- n. approval