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Pile Management Card
GRE Vocabulary

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TORPOR
:Extreme mental and physical sluggishness

Ex. After surgery, the patient experienced TORPOR until the anesthesia wore off.
TACITURN
:Silent, not talkative

Ex. The clerk's TACITURN nature earned him the nickname, "Silent Bob."
TACIT
:Done without using words

Ex. Although not a word had been said, everyone in the room knew that a TACIT agreement had been made about which course of action to take.
STOLID
:Unemotional; lacking sensitivity

Ex. The prisoner appeared STOLID and unaffected by the judge's harsh sentence
SPECIOUS
:Deceptively attractive; seemingly plausible but fallacious

Ex. The student's SPECIOUS excuse for being late sounded legitimate, but was proved otherwise when his teacher called his home.
SOPORIFIC
:Causing sleep or lethargy

Ex. The movie proved to be SOPORIFIC that soon loud snores were heard throughout the theatre.
SATIATE
:To satisfy fully or overindulge

Ex. His desire for power was so great that nothing less than complete control of the country could SATIATE it.
RETICENT
:Silent, reserved

Ex. Physically small and RETICENT in her speech, Joan Didion often went unnoticed by those upon whom she went reporting.
RAREFY
:To make thinner or sparser

Ex. Since the atmosphere RAREFIES as altitudes increase, the air at the top of very tall mountains is too thin to breathe.
QUIESCENT
:Motionless

Ex. Many animals are QUIESCENT over the winter months, minimizing activity in order to conserve energy.
PROPITIATE
:To conciliate; to appease

Ex. The management PROPITIATED the irate union by agreeing to raise wages for its members.
PREVARICATE
:To lie or deviate from the truth

Ex. Rather than admit that he had overslept again, the employee PREVARICATED and claimed that heavy traffic had prevented him from arriving at work on time.
PRECIPITATE
:To throw violently or bring about abruptly; lacking deliberation

Ex. Upon learning that the couple married after knowing each other only two months, friends and family members expected such a PRECIPITATE marriage to end in divorce.
OCCLUDE
:To stop up; to prevent the passage of

Ex. A shadow is thrown across the Earth's surface during a solar exlipse, when the light from the sun is OCCLUDED by the moon
PERFIDIOUS
:Willing to betray one's trust

Ex. The actress's PERFIDIOUS companion revealed all of her intimate secrets to the gossip columnist
MOLLIFY
:To calm or make less severe

Ex. Their argument was so intense that it was difficult to believe any compromise would MOLLIFY them
OBSEQUIOUS
:Overly submissive and eager to please

Ex. The OBSEQUIOUS new associate made sure to compliment her supervisor's tie and agree with him on every issue
OSTENTATION
:Excessive showiness

Ex. The OSTENTATION of the Sun King's court is evident in the lavish decoration and luxuriousness of his palace at Versailles
OPPROBRIUM
:Public disgrace

Ex. After the scheme to embezzle the elderly was made public, the treasurer resigned in utter OPPROBRIUM
OBVIATE
:To prevent; to make unnecessary

Ex. The river was shallow enough to wade across at many points, which OBVIATED the need for a bridge
OBDURATE
:Hardened in feeling; resistant to persuasion

Ex. The President was completely OBDURATE onthe issue, and no amount of persuasion would change his mind
LACONIC
:Using few words

Ex. She was a LACONIC poet who built her reputation on using words as sparingly as possible
IRASCIBLE
:Easily made angry

Ex. Atila the Hun IRASCIBLE and violent nature made all who dealt with him fear for their lives
INTRANSIGENT
:Uncompromising; refusing to be reconciled

Ex. The professor was INTRANSIGENT on the deadline, insisting that everyone turn the assignment in at the same time
INSIPID
:Lacking interest or flavor

Ex. The critic claimed that the painting was INSIPID, containing no interesting qualities at all
INNOCUOUS
:Harmless

Ex. Some snakes are poisonous, but most species are INNOCUOUS and pose no danger to humans
INIMICAL
:Hostile, unfriendly

Ex. Even though the children had grown up together they were INIMICAL to each other at school
INCHOATE
:Not fully formed; disorganized

Ex. The ideas expressed in Nietzsche's mature work also appear in an INCHOATE form in his earliest writings
IMPERTURBABLE
:Not capable of being disturbed

Ex. The counselor had so much experience dealing with distraught children that she seemed IMPERTURBABLE, even when faced wit the wildest tantrums
ICONOCLAST
:One who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions

Ex. His lack of regard for traditional beliefs soon established him as an ICONOCLAST
GARRULOUS
:Tending to talk a lot

Ex. The GARRULOUS parakeet distracted its owner with its continuous talking
FOMENT
:To arouse or incite

Ex. The protesters tried to FORMENT feelign against the war through their speeches and demonstrations
FLORID
:Excessively decorate or embellished

Ex. The palace had been decorated in an excessively FLORID style; every surface had been carved and gilded
EXIGENT
:Urgent, requiring immediate action

Ex. THe patient was losing blood so rapidly that it was EXIGENT to stop the source of the bleeding
ESOTERIC
:Known or understood by only a few

Ex. Only a handful of experts are knowledgable about the ESOTERIC world of particle physics
ERUDITE
:Learned, scholarly, bookish

Ex. The annual meeting of philosophy professors was a gathering of the most ERUDITE, well-published individuals in the field
ENERVATE
:To reduce in strength

Ex. The guerrillas hoped that a series of suprise attacks would ENERVATE the regular army
DISSEMBLE
:To present a false appearance; to disguise one's real intentions or character

Ex. The villain could DISSEMBLE to the police no longer - he admitted the deed
DISABUSE
:To set right; to free from error

Ex. Galileo's observations DISABUSED scholars of the notion that the Sun revolved around the Earth
DILETTANTE
:Someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic

Ex. Jerry's friends were such DILETTANTES that they seemed to have new jobs and hobbies every week
DILATORy
:Intended to delay

Ex. The congressman used DILATORY measures to delay the passage of the bill
DESULTORY
:Jumping from one thing to another; disconnected

Ex. Diane had a DESULTORY academic record; she had changed majors 12 times in three years
DESUCCATE
:To dry out thoroughly

Ex. After a few weeks of lying on the desert's baking sands, the cow's carcass became completely DESSICATED
AUSTERE
:Severe or stern in appearance; undecorated

Ex. The lack of decoration makes Zen temples seem AUSTERE to the untrained eye
ATTENUATE
:To reduce in force or degree; to weaken

Ex. The Bill of Rights ATTENUATED the traditional power of government to change laws at will
ASSUAGE
: To make something unpleasant less severe

Ex. Serena used aspirin to ASSUAGE her pounding headache
AGGRANDIZE
:To increase in power, influence, and reputation

Ex. The supervisor sought to AGGRANDIZE himself by claiming that the achievements of his staff were actually his own
ABSCOND
:To leave secretly

Ex. The patron ABSCONDED from the restaurant without paying his bill by sneaking out the back door
ABATE
:To reduce in amount, degree, or severity

Ex. As the hurricane's force ABATED, the winds dropped and the sea became calm
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