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Graduate Record Exam (GRE)
Key words from the Verbal Reasoning section of the GRE
118
English
Post-Graduate
09/28/2014

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Term
Acerbic
Definition
bitter or sharp in tone, taste or manner
Term
Acute
Definition
severe and short in duration, perceptive, very great or bad, sensitive,
Term
Adroit
Definition
displaying physical or mental skill
Term
Adulator
Definition
to admire or flatter excessively
Term
Affability
Definition
good-natured, friendly and easy to talk to
Term
Alacrity
Definition
promptness or eager and speedy readiness
Term
Ambivalent
Definition
having mixed, uncertain or conflicting feelings about something unsure
Term
Amiable
Definition
friendly and pleasant to be with
Term
Anesthetized
Definition
to give an anesthetic
Term
Arcane
Definition
difficult or impossible to understand; requiring secrete knowledge to be understood
Term
Ascertained
Definition
to be determined or established
Term
Assiduous
Definition
showing persistent and hard working effort in doing something
Term
Augment
Definition
to add to something in order to make it larger or more substantial, to grow it
Term
Austerity
Definition
enforced thrift as an economic measure, severity or plainness
Term
Banal
Definition
dull and unoriginal, commonplace
Term
Boon
Definition
something that functions as a blessing or benefit to somebody, a gift or a favour
Term
Bucolic
Definition
of countryside or shepherds, rural
Term
Buoyant
Definition
able to float, pushing upward, quick to recover emotionally or cheerful
Term
Canny
Definition
shrewd enough not to be easily deceived
Term
Canonizing
Definition
to give religious approval to someone or something, to clarify something
Term
Capricious
Definition
tending to make sudden unexpected changes
Term
Chief impetus
Definition
the chief motivation or energy to accomplish or undertake something
Term
Clangorous
Definition
a din or uproar; a clang or repeated loud clanging
Term
Coalescing
Definition
to merge or unite things
Term
Commensurate
Definition
equal in size or proportion; measured using compatible units
Term
Corroborated
Definition
to verify
Term
Deleterious
Definition
having a harmful or damaging effect on somebody/something
Term
Didacticism
Definition
having a instructional quality in writing or attitudes
Term
Diffidence
Definition
to be shy or hesitant, modest or lacking in self-confidence
Term
Disinterestedness
Definition
free from bias or self-interest, not interested or indifferent
Term
Disquieting
Definition
causing a feeling of anxiety or uneasiness
Term
Doctrinaire
Definition
determined to use a specific theory or method and refusing to accept that there might be a better approach
Term
Dogmatic
Definition
prone to expressing strongly held beliefs and opinions
Term
Dubious
Definition
unsure about outcome, possibly dishonest or immoral, of uncertain quality
Term
Dynamism –
Definition
vigorously active, forceful or energized quality
Term
Efficacy –
Definition
the ability to produce the desired result, effectiveness
Term
Egoism –
Definition
pursuit of your own welfare or self-interest
Term
Eminence –
Definition
a position or rank of distinction or superiority
Term
Enigmatic –
Definition
having a quality of mystery and ambiguity and so difficult to understand or interpret
Term
Equivocal –
Definition
ambiguous and difficult to interpret or raising doubts
Term
Ethos
Definition
shared fundamental traits or distinctive character
Term
Extant
Definition
still in existence
Term
Fanciful
Definition
imaginary, impractical or curiously made rather then realism or practicality
Term
Fastidiousness
Definition
concerned that even the smallest details should be just right, easily disgusted by things that are not perfectly clean
Term
Fecklessness
Definition
unable or unwilling to do anything useful, lacking the thought or organization necessary to succeed
Term
Feigning
Definition
to pretend something or invent something, copying somebody or something
Term
Fortuitous
Definition
accidental or unplanned, happening by lucky chance
Term
Hackneyed
Definition
made commonplace and stale by overuse
Term
Harbinger
Definition
somebody or something that foreshadows or anticipates a future event
Term
Herald
Definition
the bringer of news, a sign of what will occur, official messenger
Term
Heterodox
Definition
disagreeing with established opinions
Term
Hidebound
Definition
narrow-minded and conservative; having dry stiff skin resulting from poor feeding
Term
Hortatory
Definition
urging, encouraging or strongly advising a course of action to somebody
Term
Iconoclastic
Definition
something challenging tradition
Term
Illiberality
Definition
narrow-minded and ungenerous
Term
Impecunious
Definition
having little or no money, and so unable to lead comfortable life
Term
Impetuous
Definition
acting impulsively, done on impulse, moving with great force and energy
Term
Incendiary
Definition
likely to catch fire or inciting civil unrest
Term
Incensed
Definition
praise or adulation, also the fragrance
Term
Incongruous
Definition
unsuitable or odd, out of place in context, inconsistent with something
Term
Indecorous
Definition
somewhat rude or shocking because of being considered socially unacceptable
Term
Indictment
Definition
a statement of fact that accuses
Term
Industrious
Definition
hard working, conscientious and energetic
Term
Injudicious
Definition
lacking in judgment or discretion
Term
Insipid
Definition
lacking in character or lively qualities, flavorless and bland
Term
Intractable
Definition
strong willed and resistant to outside influence, difficult to deal with, difficult to manipulate
Term
Irresolute
Definition
incapable of deciding
Term
Juxtaposition
Definition
to place side by side, to suggest link or emphasize contrast between them
Term
Kindred
Definition
similar to somebody or something, of the same family
Term
Laudatory
Definition
expressing praise or admiration
Term
Loquacious
Definition
tending to talk a great deal
Term
Malign
Definition
to criticize somebody or something in a spiteful and false or misleading way
Term
Obstinate
Definition
stubborn, refusing to change, difficult to control
Term
Opulent
Definition
in richly abundant supply; characterized by an obvious or lavish display of wealth or affluence
Term
Outmoded
Definition
no longer fashionable or widely used, obsolete
Term
Panacea
Definition
a supposed cure for all diseases or problems
Term
Pellucidity
Definition
clear or transparent in meaning
Term
Penchant
Definition
a strong liking, taste or tendency for something
Term
Penitential
Definition
constituting or expressing penance or penitence
Term
Perfunctory
Definition
done as a matter of duty or custom without thought, attention or feeling
Term
Placid
Definition
calm in nature or appearance, complacent
Term
Polemical
Definition
passionate, strongly worded and often controversial argument or critic
Term
Precocious
Definition
mentally advanced for age, blossoming or ripening early
Term
Premonitory
Definition
intuition of future event, warning about the future
Term
Prescient
Definition
having or showing knowledge of actions or events before they take place
Term
Pretensions
Definition
affected behaviour intended to give an appearance of greater importance, status or knowledge then is warranted; questionable claim to something
Term
Preternatural
Definition
going beyond nature, supernatural
Term
Prodigality
Definition
extravagantly wasteful, producing generous amounts, wasting parental money
Term
Prolix
Definition
tiresomely wordy
Term
Promulgated
Definition
to proclaim or declare something officially, especially to publicize formally that a law or decree is in effect; to make known
Term
Prosaic
Definition
lacking imagination, resembling prose, straightforward
Term
Providential
Definition
so favorable that it seems determined by fate; good judgment and foresight in the management of affairs or resources
Term
Punctiliousness
Definition
strict attention to minute details; very careful about the conventions of correct behaviour and etiquette
Term
Quandary
Definition
a state of uncertainty or indecision as to what to do in a difficult situation
Term
Quotidian
Definition
of the most ordinary everyday kind, done or experienced on a daily basis
Term
Recondite
Definition
understood only by experts, dealing with difficult material
Term
Relish
Definition
enjoying or taking great pleasure in an experience
Term
Reverence
Definition
respect felt or gained
Term
Rhapsody
Definition
enthusiastic talk
Term
Rumination
Definition
to think carefully at length about something
Term
Sanguine
Definition
cheerfully optimist, flushed with a healthy rosy colour
Term
Scanty
Definition
revealing or inadequate
Term
Scintillating
Definition
possessing or displaying a dazzlingly impressive liveliness, cleverness or wit
Term
Serendipitous
Definition
accidental discovery of something pleasant, valuable or useful
Term
Shrewd
Definition
good at judging people or situations, clever and accurate, crafty and sharp
Term
Spurious
Definition
different from what it is claimed to be, not authentic or not valid or well founded
Term
Sullen
Definition
showing bad temper or hostility by refusing to talk or behave cheerfully
Term
Surly
Definition
bad tempered, unfriendly, rude and somewhat threating
Term
Sycophant
Definition
Sycophant – a servile or obsequious person who flatters somebody powerful for person gain
Term
Taciturnity
Definition
habitually uncommunicative or reserved in speech and manner
Term
Temperance
Definition
self-restraint in the face of temptation or desire
Term
Tepid
Definition
showing little enthusiasm or warmth, slightly warm
Term
Trifling
Definition
insignificant, trivial or of little value, concerned with matters of little importance
Term
Tumultuous
Definition
noisy and unrestrained in a way that shows excitement or great happiness; confused or agitated
Term
Ubiquitous
Definition
present everywhere at once, or seeming to be
Term
Veracious
Definition
speaking or representing the truth
Term
Volubility
Definition
talking easily and at length or involving lengthy talking
Term
Zealots
Definition
a zealous follower
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