Gre Practice Exams Vocabulary

Front 1

antithesis

Back 1

the exact opposite of something or someone

sentence:

His lifestyle is the antithesis of healthy living.

Front 2

variance

Back 2

an amount of difference or change

an official decision or document that allows someone to do something that is not usually allowed by the rules

sentence:
There was some variance in the results


He had to get a variance to add a garage on to his house.

Front 3

mores

Back 3

the customs, values, and behaviors that are accepted by a particular group, culture, etc.

sentence:
social mores

Front 4

caste

Back 4

one of the classes into which the Hindu people of India were traditionally divided

Front 5

folkways

Back 5

a mode of thinking, feeling, or acting common to a given group of people; especially : a traditional social custom

Front 6

disavow

Back 6

to say that you are not responsible for (something) : to deny that you know about or are involved in (something)


sentence:

She now seems to be trying to disavow her earlier statements.

Front 7

devout

Back 7

deeply religious

Front 8

veracious

Back 8

truthful, honest

sentence:

he has a reputation for being veracious so people generally take his word for things

Front 9

iniquitous

Back 9

very unfair or evil

sentence:

an iniquitous deed/war

Front 10

chaste

Back 10

not having sex
morally pure or decent
dimple or plane
sentence

a chaste young woman

Front 11

contrite

Back 11

feeling or showing regret for bad behavior

sentence:

a contrite apology

Front 12

ingenuous

Back 12

having or showing the innocence, trust, and honesty that young people often have

sentence:

an appealingly ingenuous young woman/man

Front 13

incongruous

Back 13

strange because of not agreeing with what is usual or expected

sentence:

His outburst seemed incongruous to those who know him well.

Front 14

indolent

Back 14

not liking to work or be active

sentence:

an indolent young man

Front 15

adroit

Back 15

very clever or skillful

an adroit negotiator

Front 16

prosaic

Back 16

dull or ordinary

sentence:

he has a prosaic writing style

Front 17

charlatan

Back 17

a person who falsely pretends to know or be something in order to deceive people

sentence:

Some people thought he was a great leader, but others saw him as just a charlatan. [=fake, fraud]

Front 18

mountebank

Back 18

a dishonest person : a person who tricks and cheats other people

sentence:

a gang of swindlers and mountebanks

Front 19

empiric

Back 19

charlatan

one who relies on practical experience

sentence:

a member of an ancient sect of physicians who based their practice on experience alone disregarding all theoretical and philosophic considerations

Front 20

aplomb

Back 20

confidence and skill shown especially in a difficult situation

sentence:

He showed/demonstrated great aplomb in dealing with the reporters.

Front 21

precipice

Back 21

a very steep side of a mountain or cliff

a point where danger trouble or difficulty begins

sentence:

He stood on the edge of the precipice.

Front 22

duct

Back 22

a bodily tube or vessel especially when carrying the secretion of a gland
2
a : a pipe, tube, or channel that conveys a substance

Front 23

convey

Back 23

to impart or communicate by statement, suggestion, gesture, or appearance <struggling to convey his feelings>

to bear from one place to another; especially : to move in a continuous stream or mass

Front 24

lenity

Back 24

the quality or state of being lenient : clemency


sentence:

a social critic who argues that judicial lenity is chiefly to blame for the increased criminality that plagues us>

Front 25

virulence

Back 25

the quality or state of being virulent: as
a : extreme bitterness or malignity of temper : rancor
b : malignancy, venomousness <the virulence of a disease>
c : the relative capacity of a pathogen to overcome body defenses

sentence:

<I was surprised by the virulence of the criticism.

Front 26

amiability

Back 26

being agreeable

Front 27

penurious

Back 27

very poor

sentence:

The penurious school system had to lay off several teachers.

Front 28

penchant

Back 28

[count] : a strong liking for something or a strong tendency to behave in a certain way — usually + for

sentence:
he has a penchant for asking stupid quesitons

Front 29

partiality

Back 29

an unfair tendency to treat one person, group, or thing better than another

Front 30

supineness

Back 30

Marked by or showing lethargy, passivity, or blameworthy indifference. See Synonyms at inactive.
4. Inclined; sloping.

Front 31

inattention

Back 31

failure to carefully think about, listen to, or watch someone or something : lack of attention
▪

sentence
Many traffic accidents are the result of driver inattention.

Front 32

avidity

Back 32

the quality or state of being avid:
a : keen eagerness
b : consuming greed

sentence:

<in her avidity to express her opinions, she frequently and unthinkingly interrupts people

Front 33

arachnid

Back 33

a kind of animal that has eight legs and a body formed of two parts

Front 34

anthropod

Back 34

Any of numerous invertebrate animals of the phylum Arthropoda, including the insects, crustaceans, arachnids, and myriapods, that are characterized by a chitinous exoskeleton and a segmented body to which jointed appendages are articulated in pairs.

Front 35

aperture

Back 35

a hole or small opening in something
sentence:

we entered the cave through a narrow aperture

Front 36

rayon

Back 36

a smooth fiber that is used in making clothing

sentence:
the shirt is made of rayon

Front 37

bengaline

Back 37

fabric with a crosswise rib made from textile fibers (as rayon, nylon, cotton, or wool) often in combination

Front 38

theosophy

Back 38

teaching about God and the world based on mystical insight

Front 39

cornice

Back 39

the decoratve top edge of a building or column

Front 40

chevron

Back 40

a shape, pattern, or object in the form of a V or an upside-down V
2 : a piece of cloth that is shaped like a V and that is worn on the sleeve of a military or police uniform to show a person's rank

Front 41

coronet

Back 41

small crown

Front 42

libertine

Back 42

a pearson who leads an immoral life and is mainly interested in sexual pleasure

Front 43

spoonerism

Back 43

a humorous mistake in which a speaker switches the first sounds of two or more words

Front 44

transposition

Back 44

: the transfer of any term of an equation from one side over to the other side with a corresponding change of the sign

Front 45

repudiation

Back 45

the act of repudiating : the state of being repudiated; especially : the refusal of public authorities to acknowledge or pay a debt

sentence:
voters seemed satisfied by the candidate's public repudiation of the beliefs of an organization to which he had briefly belonged as a youth>

Front 46

sanction

Back 46

official permission or approval

sentence:
The country acted without the sanction of the other nations.

Front 47

rhetorician

Back 47

a master or teacher of rhetoric
b : orator
2
: an eloquent or grandiloquent writer or speaker

Front 48

profundity

Back 48

formal 1 [noncount] : the quality being profound: such as a : the quality of showing great knowledge or understanding
▪ the profundity of his thoughts/insights ▪ Her books are a mixture of playfulness and profundity.
b : the quality of being very strongly felt
▪ the depth and profundity of her feelings
2 [count] : a statement that shows great knowledge or understanding — usually plural ▪ philosophical profundities

Front 49

proclivity

Back 49

a strong natural liking for something that is usually bad: a tendency to do something that is usually bad

sentence:

Why do some people have a proclivity for violence? [=why are some people violent?]

Front 50

dilatory

Back 50

causing a delay