GRE VOCAB

using few words in speech

brief and full of meaning and substance, concise

not talking much; reserved

using language in a pompous, showy way; speaking to impress others

spread out, not concise; wordy

• very talkative; liking to talk; garrulous
• Hint: loq- relate to speaking

using too many words; wordy; long-winded

• talking a great deal with ease; glib
• Hint: quantity, not volume

looking down on others; proud and scornful

• dull or stale because of overuse; trite; hackneyed
• Hint: bla from banal

made commonplace by overuse; trite

lacking flavor or taste; unexciting

• lacking vitality, energy, or brightness; boring
• Hint: from lack and luster - without shine or brilliance

(n.) quality of being dull; an obvious remark uttered as if it were original

• dull; commonplace
• Hint: prosaic mosaic- mosaic made up of individual pieces that are all one dull shade

unoriginal and stale due to overuse

lacking freshness and zest; flat; stale

to lessen fear; to calm; to relieve pain

to win a person over through special considerations or persuasive methods; reconcile

to make or become less severe; to lessen pain or damage

to pacify, soothe, or appease; to make less severe or violent

showing goodwill; peaceable

compatible; having kindred needs or tastes; sympathetic

• sociable, outgoin
• Hint: greg- root fro group

lightheartedness; gaiety; carefree disposition, particularly when not appropriate

hatred or hostility

of a quarrelsome nature; eager to fight; warlike; belligerent

made for the sake of quarreling; quibbling

likely to dispute or argue

inclined to argue or debate; controversial

eager to fight; belligerent

• (n.) generous giving
• Hint: large$$

very generous

wasteful; lavish

having great economy; showing self-control when it comes to foregoing luxuries and frills; stern in manner or appearance

• greedy
• Hint: avarice

• stingy; relating to great poverty; destitution
• Hint: penniless

a difficult or troubling situation; a swampy ground, bog, mire

causing ruin; harmful; pernicious

showing a lack of fairness; wicked; vicious

very destructive or harmful, usually in an inconspicuous and relentless way

deeply hateful or spiteful; malicious

• extremely poisonous; deadly; full of spiteful hatred
• Hint: virulent virus

to scold or punish severely

to criticize strongly

• to show mild disapproval
• Hint: depreciate- to lower value; deprecate- look down on something with a sense of lesser value

• to ridicule or make fun of; to scoff at
• Hint: derision; rid-ridicule

• to oppose or attack someone or something as false or refutable
• Hint: pugnacious-ready to fight

to snub; to bluntly refuse

to chide; to scold bitterly

hard to get excited or emotional; calm; slow-moving

lacking emotion or not showing any emotion; stoical

• lazy; not wanting to do any work
• Hint: indolence- idleness; InDoLEnce

• a weak or lifeless feeling
• Hint: languor, linger; in languor I linger

sleep-inducing; sleepy

lacking energy; relating to inactivity; feeling sluggish

obeying or performing a service for someone in an overly attentive manner

• slave-like; overly humble; involving very hard work
• Hint: slave-ish

a self-server who tries to gain the favor of others through the use of flattery or by being overattentive

a flatterer; a sycophant

full of passion and emotion

• filled with bubbly excitement, as if boiling over with excitement
• Hint: bull- strong; initial e stand for enthusiasm- strong enthusiasm

lively; full of uplifted spirit; vivacious

• strongly opinionated; rigid; dictatorial
• Hint: dogma- a rigid set of beliefs; person who is dogmatic has ideas rooted in dogma

• strongly opinionated; narrow-mindedly stubborn
• Hint: hide- leather; person bound in hide won't move

stubborn; hard to manage

• resistant to persuasion or softening; stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing
• Hint: dura- hard; obdurate- hard headed

stubborn; inflexible

stubborn, disobedient; defiant

• pleasing sound
• Hint: eu- good

• sweet and smooth sounding
• Hint: mellifluous melodies

coarse-sounding; loud and unruly

shrill; high-pitched

• loud and noisy regarding one's own voice, especially shouting; demandingly clamourous
• Hint: voc- means voice

to praise or flatter too greatly; fawn over

to praise, as in a eulogy; to say good things about

to praise highly, laud

to praise a person or event in a formal speech or in writing; to praise highly

countless; a very large number

• an oversupply
• Hint: sur- means over and above; surplus - surfeit

holding back from eating or drinking too much

• relating to food and nourishment
• Hint: alimentary canal- pathway along which food travels and from which solid wastes are expelled

• having to do with relishing the pleasure of eating and drinking
• (n.) epicure

• pleasing to the taste buds
• Hint: pleasing to the palate

greedy; gluttonous; ravenous; insatiable

• cautious; wary
• Hint: chary, wary

• careful and cautious before acting
• Hint: circum- means around, spec- means seeing; circumspect- looking around

requiring a great deal of care or effort; painstaking

showing great care and honesty, based on personal belief of what is right and proper

lasting a short time; fleeting

• vanishing quickly; fleeting
• Hint: Evanescent - vanish

wandering about; tending to move around, travel

moving or walking about; itinerant

lasting for only a short time; temporary

fleeting

very, very old; antiquated

• ancient times
• Hint: antique

the start, the beginning of something

done or made in a secret, stealthy way

a person who refrains from indulging in earthly pleasures

a social outcast

• a skillful storyteller
• Hint: recount a story

less important; minor

able to judge people and situations clearly

wise due to much reading and studying; scholarly

• decisive, keen and directly to the point
• Hint: incisive - decisive

• showing wisdom in judging people and situations
• Hint: jud- means judge

• using wise judgement; sharp-minded
• Hint: peri- means around, spic- (spec-) means looking: perspicacious about looking around, being perceptive

• wise
• Hint: sage

having conflicting feelings or opinions about something; unsure

to have different opinions join together; fuse; converge

to recover from an illness

careless; rash

• poor; impoverished
• Hint: indi- India, which is impoverished country

• to suggest; to hint at
• Hint: (H)intimate

important enough to require a lot of thought

very heavy or bulky; dull or lifeless

• fearless
• Hint: in- means not, trep- means fear; intrepid- lacking fear

an enclosed space for birds

unable to be overcome

• someone who dislikes all people
• Hint: mis- means hatred, anthro- means man; misanthrope - hatred of mankind

filled-up; overflowing

false; counterfeit; lacking logic; specious

• changeable; fickle; volatile; mercurial
• (n.) caprice- a whim or fancy

lacking confidence in oneself; inclined to be shy

one who babbles in the arts and science but is an expert in neither

pertaining to equal political, social, and economical rights for all mankind

heretic

• showy in one's learning; overly instructive
• Hint: ped- means child-> like lecturing to a child

• having different patterns, colors, or appearance; dappled
• Hint: variegated - varied

• able to sustain life, practicality, or effectiveness
• Hint: vi- means life -> a viable circumstance is one that can support life

an emotional cleansing or release of emotional tensions, fears, or pity

• the quality of a piece of writing that evokes pity, sympathy, or some other strong emotional response in the reader
• Hint: pathos- means suffering; modern use means pity or compassion ie. pathetic, empathy

a brief descriptive passage in writing