GRE vocab sorted by consolidating Kaplan 500 words, PR Smart Words for GRE, Manhattan GRE essential & Manhattan GRE Advance, K-Kaplan, PR-Smart Words for GRE, M-Manhattan Essential, MA-Manhattan Advance
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FQ WORD 3 abate
3 aberrant
3 abjure
3 abscond
DEFINITION USAGE v reduce, diminish, ebb, Her stress over spendind so much money on a relent, subside, wane house abated when the real estate broker told her about the property's 15 year tax abatement. adj abnormal, deviant, The teen's aberrant behavior made his family divergent, errant suspect that he was using drugs./ Losing rater than gaining weight over the holidays is certainly an aberration. v give up, renounce; To become a citizen of the US, you must abjure repudiate, recant, or loyalty to the nation of your birth./ Since shun (especially enrolling in that nutrition class, she has abjured formally or under sugar and saturated fats. oath), recant, retract, forswear v to leave secretly, The patron absconded from the restaurant decamp, escape, flee without paying his bill by sneakiing out the back door.
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3 abstain
v
hold back, refrain (especially from something bad or unhealty); decline to vote, forbear, withhold
3 accretion
n
3 adulterate
v
The church board voted on whether to hold an abstinence rally to encourage young people not to become sexually active; while most members voted in favor, one voted against and two abstained, with one abstainer commenting that, as far as she know, the church's teens were pretty abstemious already. gradual increase; an Accretion of money to his portfolio./ Some added part or addition, charitable funds keep the principal in their accumulation accounts untouched and use only the accretion for philantrophic purpose. make impure by Some bars adulterate top-‐shelf liquor by pouring adding inappropriate cheaper brand into the more expensive brand's or inferior ingredients, bottle. debase
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3 aesthetic
adj, Concering appreciation The twins were so different-‐one possessed a truly M, K
n of beauty or good baroque aesthetic, preferring golden, gilded PR
taste, pertaining to the décor. The Other lived in a world of pure logic, science of what is untouched by any aesthetic sense whatsoever; beautiful(adj); a sense art did not move him, his house was bare, and he of beauty and taste of married his wife solely because she was a master a particular time and of calculus. placce (n) v make greater; exaggerate, apotheosize, ennoble, uplift, exalt cheerful or speedy willingness, haste, swiftness blend, merge or unite, admix, coalesce, intermix I can't stand when my coworker aggrandizes her role in our group projects./ Stop it with your constant self-‐aggrandizing-‐we don’t care how many automobiles you own! Any boss wants an employee to respnd with alacrity to his or her requests, handling them promptly and with enthusiasm. The Amalgamated Transit Union is so claaed because it contains many local unions of bus operators, subway operators, baggage handlers, etc./ She amalgamated two important relatives into a single character, even amalgamting their names (Mary and Rose) into the character "Aunt Mary Rose." M, K
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3 aggrandize
3 alacrity
n
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3 amalgamate v
3 ameliorate
improve, make better If you spill water on your computer keyboard, or more bearable, you can ameliorate the damage by leaving the amend, upgrade, keyboard uside down to try. pacify 3 anachronism n something that is not The queen of England is a bit of anachronism, in its corect historical with her old-‐fashioned pillbox hats./ Did you time; a mistake in catch the anachronism in the latest action chronology, such as by blockbuster set in ancient Greece? assigning a person or event to the wrong tome period, archaism, incongruity 3 anodyne n, medicine that relieves While aspirin is a nice analgesic, the construction adj pain (n); soothing, worker argued that, for sore and tired muscles, relieving pain (adj), nothing beat the anodyne effects of a six-‐pack narcotic, nepenthe, beer. opiate 3 anomaly n deviation from what is While the cosmetics division of this company has common; many female executies, it is an anomaly-‐in the inconsistency, aberrant rest of the company, sadly, only 4% of mangement positions are filled by women.
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3 apocryphal
I'am sorry, but this putative letter from George Washington that you found at a garage sale is clearly apocryphal-‐it is riddled with anachronisms, and also, Washington most certainly didn't refer to Martha Washington as "hey baby." 3 apostate n, person who deserts a Many people considered "freedom fightes" by adj party, cause, religion, some are considered apostates by others; some etc., one who women's rights leaders in very conservative renounces a religious nations receive death threats from religious faith, defector, leaders who consider them apostate. deserter, traitor 3 approbation n praise or approval, esp. In her speech for class president, she won the formal approval, approbation of her peers by promising not only adulation, kudos, exalt, to save the prom, but to raise enough money to exril, hail make it free for everyone. 3 archaic adj charateristic of an The school's archaic computer system predated earlier period, ancient, even floppy disks. primitive, antediluvian, bygone, dowdy
adj of questionable authenticity; false, fictitious, fradulent, disputed, doubtful
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3 assuage
v
3 audacious
3 augury
3 august
make milder, relieve; After losing a million-‐dollar account, he tried to M, K
soothe, pacify or calm assuage his furious boss by pointing out that he PR
was close to winning a new account worth at least as much. adj very bold or brave, He audaciously asked for a raise after working at M, K
often in a rude or the company for less than two months! PR
reckless way; extremely original, gallant, mettlesome, stout, undaunted n telling the truth, such Value investors such as Warren Buffet consider MA, as through others' attempts to "time the market" as mere K
supernatural means, augury, equivalent to trying to predict rain by PR prophecy, prediction reading tea leaves. of events, auspices, harbinger, presage adj Venerable, majestic; "I welcome you to this august institution, where MA, inspiring admiration, Presidents and Nobel Prize winners have received K
dignified, grandiose the fruits of wrudition," said the university PR president (rather bombastically) to the new crop of first-‐year students.
3 austere
2 abase 2 abdicate
2 abscission
2 abyss
adj severe in manner or Her deign sense was so minimalist as to be appearance; very self-‐ austere./ The graduaton speaker delivered an disciplined, ascetic; suatere message; the economy is bad, and without luxury or ease; academic success alone isn’t enough to succeed sober or serious, bleak, in the job market. dour, grim v to humble; to disgrace, My intension was not to abase the comedian. demean v formally given up the King Edward VIII of England famously abdicated throne (or som other the throne in order to marry an American power or divorcee./ Parents can be charged with neglect responsibility, cede, for abdiating their responsibilities towards their relinquish children. n cutting off; sudden The abscission of leaves from the trees is normal termination; the in fall./ An inflamed appendix calls for an separation og leaves, immediate surgical abscission. petals, or other parts from a plant or animal n a deep and vast space Walking a tightrope over an active volcano, the or cavity; anything acrobat was terrified of falling into the abyss./ profound or infinite The patient remembered her experience with clinical depression as an abyss of hopelessness.
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2 acerbic 2 acidulous
adj sour; harsh or severe
2 acme
2 acumen
2 adumbrate
2 aerie
Lemons are acerbic. Harsh comments are also acerbic, like putting lemon juice on a wound. adj slightly acid or sour; Grapefruit juice is acidulous./ I'am skipping sharp or caustic, Thanksgiving this year to avoide my mother's acerbic, acetose, acidulous comments about what she thinks I piquant, pungent, tart ought to be doing with my life. n summit, peak, highest The acme of my vacation was when I finally point, apex climbed to the acme of the mountain and enjoyed the georgeous vista.
n keen, quick, accurate His political acumen allowed him to bargain insight or judgment behind the scenes and get bills passed despite being in the minority party. v give a rough outline of; When I took the lead role in the movie, I agreed foreshadow; reveal not to give away the plot, but I supposed I could only partially; obscure give a brief adumbration of the premise. n dwelling or fortress The billionaire somked a cigar out his window built on
high place; and watached the riots in the streets below, safe the nest of a bird of in the aerie of his penthouse partment. prey, such as an eagle or hawk, built on a mountain or cliff, perch, stronghold
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2 ambiguous
2 amortize
adj doubtful, uncertain, can be interpreted several ways, dubious, equivocal, nebulous v gradually pay off a debt, or gradually write off an asset
The directions he gave were so ambiguous that we disagreed on which way to turn.
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2 analgesia
n
2 antipathy
n
A mortgage is a common form of amortized debt-‐ MA, spreading the payments out over as long as 30 K years is not uncommon./ On his company balance sheet, Joe amortized the value of his patent. pain relief; inability to While natural-‐birth advocates decline analgesia MA, fell pain, in childbirth, many women are very eager to take K advantage of modern anesthesia. extreme dislike, The antipathy between fans of the rival soccer K, PR abhorrence, aversion, teams made the game even more electrifying to enmity, repugnance, watch. repulsion, revulsion
2 antithetical
2 apathy
2 apposite
adj directly opposed, opposite; involving antithesis (the rhetorical act of placing two phrases opposite one another for contrast, as in love me or hate me) n lack of interest or emotion, indifference, lassitude, lethargy, phlegm, listlessness, stolidity adj highly appropriate, suitable, or relevant
Partying all night, every night, is antithetical to one's academic performance.
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The apathy of voters is so great that less than half K, PR the people who are eligible to vote actually bother to do so.
2 apprise
v
inform, give notice to
He searched his brain for an apposite word to describe wealthy Americans' addiction to consumer goods, until he discovered the neologism "affluenza." I can't believe you failed to apprise me that my child was biting the other children in his preschool class! If I had known, I could've addressed this issue before all the other parents threatened to sue!
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2 appropriate v
2 arcane
2 arduous
2 arrogate
set aside or authorize The School Board appropriated money for new MA, (such as money) for a textbooks. PR particular purpose; take for one's own use adj known or understood To win at Jeopardy; you must be full of arcane M, by only a few; obscure, knowledge./ The wizard's shop was full of PR secret arcanum, from Latin-‐to-‐Ancient Greek dictionaries to entire books on maic spells relating only to elephants. adj very difficult, The arduous hike up rocky terrain was all worth it M, strenuous; severe, once the hikers reached the summit./ It was an PR hard to endure arduous winter on the prairie; the family barely survived. v claim or take In order to build the oil pipeline, the government MA, presumptuously or arrogated the land of many small farmers who K without the right to do are still fighting for compensation./ The bride's so, appropriate, mother arrogated the right to decide on the presume, take venue, the food, and even the wedding dress!
2 artless
2 ascetic
adj free of deceit or Children can be so artless that, when you try to craftness, natural, explain war to them, they say things like, "But genuine; lacking skill or isn't that mean?"/ His artless attempt at knowledge, crude, negotiating a raise began
with "I need more uncultured money, please." and ended with "Ok. Sorry I asked." adj, abstinent or austere in Ascetics such as monks actually take vows of n lifestyle (adj); a person poverty./ The graduate student lived an ascetic who leads an aaustere existence. and simple life without material pleasure n
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2 asperity
rigor, severity; The freshman at the military school was shocked MA, harshness or sharpness by the asperity of punishments meted out for PR of tone; roughness of even the most minor offenses, as well as the surface asperoty with which his drill sergent bossed him around./ The asperity of her cheap, scratchy sweater made her wish she could afford cashmere.
2 aspersions
n
damaging remarks, defamation, slander
2 assail
v
He could no longer work with his duplicitous MA, business partner, who acted friendly to his face PR but then spewed aspersions about him behind his back./ If you asperse me one more time, I will sue you for libel! attack violently, assult, The debate team assiled the opposition with MA, beset, storm, strike more evidence than they could respond to. K
2 assiduous
2 attenuate
2 aver
adj persevering, diligent, Through assiduous effort over a substantial MA, constant period of time, anyone can develop a prodigious PR vocabulary. v to reduce in force or The Bill of Rights attenuated the traditional K, PR degree; to weaken, power of government to change laws at will. debilitate, devitalize, enervate, enfeeble, rarefy, sap, thin, unnerve v declare or affirm with "Despite your insistence that ethics are M, confidence completely situational," "I aver that the existence PR of naural rights inevitably leads to certain immutable ethical boundaries."
2 axiom
n
1 abeyance
n
self-‐evident truth We must take as axiomatic that the brain is MA, requiring no proof; influenced by the body. K universally or generally accepted principle, premise, adage, apothegm, aphorism, maxim, rule temporary suppression The baseball game was held in abeyance while it K or suspension, continued to rain. deferral, dormancy, postponement, remission detest, regard with disgust rough, suitable for grinding or polishing (such as sandpaper); causing irritation or annoyance) I abhor you! I would rather stab myself with a rusty bread knife than be your girlfriend. Could the inside of this mascot costume be any more abrasive? It's rubbing my skin raw! I have some seriously abrasive remarks for whoever designed this thing. M M
1 abhor 1 abrasive
v v
1 abreast
1 abridge
1 abrogate 1 abstemious
1 accede
1 accolade
adj side-‐by-‐side, the more As the professor walked abreast down the street MA common of "abreast with her mentor, she was amazed that the old of" means keeping up man, long since retired, still kept abreast of all with, staying aware of, the latest developments in neurobiology. or remaining equal in progress with v reduce or lessen; Our romatic vacation was abridged when the M shorten by ommiting babysitter called to say that the kids were sick parts throughout while and we should come home./ Audio books are retaining the main idea almost always abridged, since few people want to listen to a 200-‐hour book. v to abolish or annul by The court ruling abrogated the defendant's rights PR authority; put down to any profit from the sale of the house. adj moderate in appetite, Because Alyce is a vegetarian, she was only able K abstinent, continet, to eat an abstemious meal at the Texas sober Steakhouse. v agree, give consent; While the Englishman was a strong believer in MA assume power (usu. As democracy, he had to accede that watching accede to) Prince Charles someday accede to the throne would indeed the exciting. n an expression of The diva received her accolades graciously, PR praise; an award blowing kisses to her adoring fans.
1 admonish
v
1 adroit 1 adulation 1 adverse
1 affable
1 affectation
mildly scold; caution, She was an exacting boss who unbraided an M, advise or remind to do employee for the copier, yet she merely PR something admonished her five-‐year-‐old for the same offense. adj adept, dextrous Since he is ambidextrous, he is equally adroit at PR shooting marbles with either hand. n excessive praise, Leif Garrett was the object of much adolescent K intense adoration adulation. adj opposing, harmful Pioneer women perserved despite adverse M circumstances, even when fording a river-‐baby in one arm, leading a horse with the oter-‐against an adverse current. adj warm and friendly; The professional wresler played at belligerent in M pleasant, approchable the ring, but in real life, he was quite an affable fellow-‐sociable, easy-‐going, and always ready to land a hand. n fake behavior (a such I'm annoyed whenever Americans move to M as in speech or dress) England and suddenly start speaking with an adopted to give a affected British accent; such affectations, when certain impression practiced by celebrities, are only likely to alinate their fans.
1 affected
1 albeit
1 alleviate
1 alloy
1 aloof
1 amenable
adj phony, artificial, insincere, pretentious, put-‐on con although, even though jun ctio n v to make more bearable, allay, palliate, assuage v to commingle; to debase by mixing with something inferior adj distant physically or emotionally; reserved; indifferent adj agreeable; responsive to suggestion
The affected hairdresser spouted French phrases, K though she had never been to France. The village leader was illeterate albeit highly intelligent./ The trip was exciting, albeit brief. MA
Taking aspirin helps to alleviate a headache.
K
Alloying the punch with prune juice turned out not to be such a good idea after all.
PR
Perceiving her parents as cold and aloof, the child MA was natirally drawn to her warm, genial aunt.
1 amulet
n
If you're amenable, let's go for a walk before K lunch./ The actress was known for being amenable to direction, which made her a favorite of directors. ornament worn as a Though she claimed it was not because of K charm against evil superstition, Vivian always wore an amulet spirits, fetish, talisman around her neck.
1 anathema
n
1 annul
v
1 antedate
v
a solemn or Hearing the anathema pronounced against her PR ecclesiastical filled her with foreboding. (religious) curse; accursed or thoroughly loathed person or thing make void or null, Can we appreciate the art of a murderer? For MA cancel, aboilish (usu. manu, the value of these paintings is annulled by Of laws or other the artist's crimes. established rules) be older than, precede Dinosaurs antedate the first human beings by MA in time; assign to an about 65 million years. earlier date farthest or highest The moon is at apogee when it is its farthest PR point; culmination; point away from the earth iin its orbit; it is at zenith perigee is when it is closest to earth. deification, She is the apotheosis of nurturing motherhoo; PR glorification to she makes soup for sick friends, nurses wounded godliness, the perfet birds, and listens to everyone's problems. example complex, ornate design A beautiful arabesque of fruits and flowers PR surrounded the central pattern of the print.
1 apogee
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1 apotheosis
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1 arabesque
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1 arbiter
n
1 arbitrary
1 arbitrate
judge, umpire, person Professional mediators arbiterate disputes./ "As MA empowered to decide the final arbiter of what is and is not appropriate matters at hand in the classroom, I demand that you take down that poster of the rapper Ice-‐T and his scantily-‐ clad wife Coco." adj determined by chance When you lack the information to judge what to K or impulse, erratic, do next, you will be forced to make an arbitrary indiscriminate, decision. wayward, changeable v to judge a dispute Since the couple could not come to an K between two opposing agreement, a judge was forced to arbitrate heir parties, adjudge, divorce proceedings. adjudicate, intervene adj very passionate, He was an ardent heavy metal lover and became MA devoted, or offended anytime someone referred to poison as enthusiastic a "hair band." n intense and passionate Bishop's ardor for landscape was evident when K feeling, fervency, he passionaely descrbed the beauty of the scenic fervidity, fervor Hudson Valley.
1 ardent
1 ardor
1 arrant
adj impudent; in every Don Juan's arrant philandering made him a PR way, being completely legend. He seemed to have had the ability to turn such, bare-‐faced, utter many of his admirers into arrant fools. v v find out with certainty Hopefully, the investigation will allow us to M ascertain who is at fault here. assign or credit to a He ascribed his good grades to diligent studying./ MA certain cause or source The young boy ascribed to his imaginary friend all the powers he wished he had himself. In the sixth week of Melanie's foreign study program, she finally attuned herself to life on a French farm. Students are not attuned to making decisions. MA
1 ascertain 1 ascribe
1 attuned
1 attuned to
1 augment
adj in harmony; in sympathetic relationship v accustom or acclimatize, make receptive or aware of v make larger
MA
If you memorize the definitions on all of these M flashcards, you will have notably augmented your vocabulary!
1 auspice
protection or support, As long as we were working under the auspices of PR patronage/ sign, the local authorities, the villagers were extremely portent cooperative; once we headed out on our own, however, we found that no one wanted to talk to us. / Since the auspices seemed good, we decided to go ahead and buy thirty lottery tickets. 1 auspicious adj favorable, propitious, Weddings are generally considered auspicious PR successful, prosperous occasions. 1 austerity n rigid economy usu. The Prime Minister imposed austerity measures PR Followed by measures in an attempt to stop the country's downward economic spiral. 1 autonomous adj self-‐governing, As leader of an autonomous region, the newly-‐ M independent elected president was received as a peer by some world leaders, although he was not entitled to send a represenaive to the UN./ It is normal for young people to desire greater autonomy as they grow up. 1 avarice n insatiable greed; a It is hard to fathom the sheer avarice of a MA miserly desire to hoard company that would fraudulently overcharge a wealth struggling school system for new computers.
n
1 avid
adj enthusiastic, An avid cyclist, she was on her bike every M dedicated, passionate; weekend, and even bought the same bike that extremely desirous Lance Amstrong last used in the Tour de France./ Avid of power, the young Senator compromised every principle to gain the support-‐and money-‐of large corporations.