GRE Word List 13

Group 1

Alleviated	made less severe [alleviation (n); alleviate (v)]
Apostrophe	1. punctuation mark; 2. appeal to someone not present (a figure of speech)
Centurion	roman soldier (commander of a company of 100 soldiers)
Emollient	softening (a); something which softens (n)
Fusillade	long burst of gunfire
Inerrancy	infallibility; inability to make mistakes [inerrant (a)]
Mince	1. chop into small pieces; 2. walk with tiny steps, 3. speak in an affected manner
Palpate	medical term meaning to examine with the hands
Platitude	unoriginal, obvious saying
Quibble	1. (v) to argue about minor matters; to play on words when finding fault; 2. (n) a minor verbal point in an argument

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Group 2

Apprehension	slight fear; sense of something unfavorable
Conniving	cunning; scheming [connive (v)]
Derision	mockery [deride (v)]
Epigram	short, witty saying
Lassitude	lack of energy; weariness
Pedantic	over-insistent on matters of book-learning [pedant (n)]
Phenomenology	branch of science concerned with things as they are perceived; not directly derived from theory
Precipitate	1. hurried (a); 2. insoluble product of a reaction in chemistry (n), 3. to instigate or speed up an action (v)
Renege	go back on promise or retract statement

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Group 3

Armada	fleet of ships
Dawdler	slow person who falls behind others [dawdle (v)]
Dross	something worthless; impurities left after refining
Expiate	atone; make amends for
Hack	1. chop roughly; 2. person who writes to earn money, 3. hired horse
Prone	1. vulnerable to; 2. horizontal
Propensity	tendency; inclination
Scabbard	cover for a sword
Skiff	small boat
Umbrage	1. shadow; 2. offence; sense of injury

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Group 4

Dilettantism	dabbling esp. in the arts [dilettante (n) = person who dabbles]
Enervate	weaken
Malevolent	having evil intentions [malevolence(n)]
Neophyte	new convert; tyro
Panegyric	speech praising someone; laudatory words
Presage	forewarn of; indicate
Serration	jagged edge
Slight	1. minor (a); 2. perceived insult (v) and (n)
Tare	1. weed; 2. allowance made for container when weighing
Unprepossessing	unattractive

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Group 5

Aberration	deviation from the normal
Cant	insincere talk
Disinter	dig up [opposite inter = bury]
Fa�ade	1. front elevation of building, 2. false appearance or demeanor
Impeding	hindering [impede (v); impediment (n)]
Lacuna	gap; missing part [plural = lacunae]
Monolithic	united in purpose; forming a single unit
Pied	multicolored
Roster	list of names
Seemly	appropriate (of behavior); decorous

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Group 6

Analogue	1. something similar; 2. output proportional to input (engineering)
Coda	piece of music at the end of a musical work; finale; final part of document
Commingle	mix
Equivocal	ambiguous; open to interpretation [equivocate (v), equivocation (n)]
Fallible	capable of making mistakes [fallibility (n)]
Hallow	respect; worship
Indigence	poverty
Papyrus	material used for writing on before paper was invented
Pique	1. annoyance (n); 2. to stimulate interest; to annoy (v)
Sap	1. liquid inside plants (n); 2. to drain; to undermine (v); 3. a fool (n)

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Group 7

Arbitrator	mediator; person appointed to judge a dispute [arbitrate (v)]
Descry	to see (esp. at a distance); catch sight of
Facetious	not intended to be taken seriously
Indecorous	unseemly; inappropriate (of behavior)
Proliferate	grow and spread [proliferation (n)]
Scotch (v)	to prevent; stop; disable
Strut	1. supporting rod (n); 2. to walk in an arrogant manner; show off (v)
Toy (v)	to play with
Usury	lending money at high interest rates
Wag (n)	a witty person

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Group 8

Atavism	reappearance of ancestral traits; regression [atavistic (a)]
Filibuster	delaying tactics
Gambit	opening move; transaction
Mitigation	making less severe [mitigate (v)]
Obligate	compulsory
Predilection	leaning; interest; talent
Propitiate	appease; try to gain favor [propitiation (n)]
Stanch	to stop
Travesty	parody; ridiculous error
Waft	drift smoothly (v); whiff; smell (n)

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Group 9

Forage	search for food
Lumber	1. walk in an ungainly way; 2. timber (wood)
Muse	1. think; meditate (v); 2. a source of inspiration (n) [in mythology, a goddess who gives inspiration]
Prescience	foreknowledge
Prune	1. to trim; 2. a dried plum
Ready	(used of wit) quick
Resolve	firmness (n)
Squalid	dirty and demeaning
Sullied	made dirty or impure [opposite unsullied; sully (v)]
Veneration	worship; respect [venerable (a), venerate (v)]

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Group 10

Demur	object; hesitate to accept
Duplicity	cunning; deception; double dealing
Exigency	urgent matter; pressing need
Expostulate	offer strong objections; remonstrate
Gossamer	delicate; filmy; like gauze
Inefficacious	ineffective
Pine	1. type of evergreen tree; 2. grieve
Prudish	narrow-minded; excessively concerned with morals [prudery (n), prude (n)]
Quixotic	impractically idealistic
Stipple	cover with dots of paint etc.

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