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Pile Management Card
Kaplan GRE set two

xenophobia

n. a fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers

bigotry, chauvinism, prejudice

wanton

adj. undisciplined; unrestrained, reckless

capricious, lewd, licentious

vex

v. to annoy; irritate; puzzle; confuse

annoy, bother, chafe, exasperate, irk, nettle, peeve, provoke

usury

n. the practice of lending money at exorbitant rates

tyro

n. beginner, novice

apprentice, fledgling, greenhorn, neophyte, tenderfoot

torpor

n. extreme mental and physical sluggishness

apathy; languor

tacit

adj. done without using words

implicit, implied, undeclared, unsaid, unuttered

surfeit

n. excessive amount

glut, plethora, repletion, superfluity, surplus

stentorian

adj. extremely loud

clamorous, noisy

soporific

adj. causing sleep or lethargy

hypnotic, narcotic, slumberous, somnolent

sardonic

adj. cynical, scornfully mocking

acerbic, caustic, sarcastic, satirical, snide

sacrosanct

adj. extremely sacred; beyond criticism

holy, inviolable, off-limits

zealot

n. someone passionately devoted to a cause

enthusiast, fanatic, militant, radical

wizened

adj. shriveled; withered; wrinkled

atrophied, desiccated, gnarled, wasted

wan

adj. sickly pale

ashen, sickly

verdant

adj. green with vegetation; inexperienced

upbraid

v. to scold sharply

berate, chide, rebuke, reproach, tax

turgid

adj. swollen as from a fluid, bloated

distended

toady

n. one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors

parasite, sycophant

syncopation

n. temporary irregularity in musical rhythm

sublime

adj. lofty or grand

august, exalted, glorious, grand, magnificent, majestic, resplendent, superb

specious

adj. deceptively attractive; seemingly plausible but fallacious

illusory, ostensible, plausible, sophistic, spurious

seraphic

adj. angelic; sweet

cherubic, heavenly

sanguine

adj. ruddy; cheerfully optimistic

confident, hopeful, positive, rosy, rubicund

ribald

adj. humorous in a vulgar way

coarse; gross, indelicate, lewd, obscene

yoke

v. to join together

bind, harness, pair

winsome

adj. charming; happily engaging

attractive, delightful

viscous

adj. thick and adhesive, like a slow-flowing liquid

gelatinous; glutinous; thick

variegated

adj. varied; marked with different colors

umbrage

n. offense; resentment

asperity, dudgeon, ire, pique, rancor

trenchant

adj. acute, sharp, incisive; forceful, effective

biting, caustic, cutting, keen

talon

n. claw of an animal, especially a bird of prey

sycophant

n. a self-serving flatterer; yes man

bootlicker, fawner, lickspittle, toady

stolid

adj. unemotional, lacking sensitivity

apathetic, impassive, indifferent, phlegmatic, stoical, unconcerned

spartan

adj. highly self-disciplined; frugal; austere

restrained, simple

sedition

n. behavior that promotes rebellion or civil disorder against the state

conspiracy, insurrection

salient

adj. prominent; of notable significance

marked, noticeable, outstanding

rejoiner

n. response

retort; riposte

redress

n. relief from wrong or injury

amends, indemnity, quittance, reparation, restitution

pugilism

n. boxing

fighting, sparring

probity

n. complete honesty and integrity

morality, rectitude, uprightness, virtue

prattle

n. meaningless, foolish talk

babble, blather, chatter, drivel, gibberish

plebeian

adj. crude or coarse; characteristic of commoners

conventional, unrefined

phlegmatic

adj. calm and unemotional in temperament

apathetic, calm, emotionless, impassive, indifferent, passionless, unemotional

pedant

n. someone who shows off learning

doctrinaire, nit-picker, pedagogue, scholar, schoolmaster, sophist

parley

n. discussion, usually between enemies

debate, dialogue, negotiations, talks

ostensible

adj. apparent

represented, supposed, surface

onerous

adj. troublesome and oppressive; burdensome

arduous, backbreaking, burdensome, cumbersome, difficult, exacting, formidable, hard, laborious, oppressive, rigorous, taxing, trying

raconteur

n. witty, skillful storyteller

anecdotalist, monologist

puerile

adj. childish; immature; silly

infantile, jejune, juvenile

prescient

adj. having foresight

augural, divinatory, mantic, oracular, premonitory

polyglot

n. a speaker of many languages

plastic

adj. able to be molded, altered or bent

adaptable, ductile, malleable, pliant

zenith

n. the point of culmination, peak

acme, pinnacle

zeal

adj. passion; excitement

ardency, fervor, fire, passion

wraith

n. a ghost or specter; a ghost of a living person seen just before his or her death

apparition, bogeyman, phantasm, shade, spirit

wily

adj. clever, deceptive

crafty, cunning, tricky

whimsical

adj. lightly acting in a fanciful or capricious manner; unpredictable

capricious, erratic, flippant, frivolous

waver

v. to fluctuate between choices

dither, falter, fluctuate, oscillate, vacillate, waver

volatile

adj. easily aroused or changeable; lively or explosive

capricious, erratic, fickle, inconsistent, inconstant, mercurial, temperamental

vestige

n. a trace; remnant

relic, remains, sign

verbose

adj. wordy

longwinded, loquacious, prolix, superfluous

veracity

n. filled with truth and accuracy

candor; exactitude, fidelity, probity

venerate

v. to respect deeply

adore, honor, idolize, revere

venerable

adj. respected because of age

distinguished, elderly, respectable

vacillate

v. to physically sway; to be indecisive

dither, falter, fluctuate, oscillate, waver

unequivocal

adj. absolute, certain

categorical, clear, explicit, express, unambiguous

unconsionable

adj. unscrupulous; shockingly unfair or unjust

dishonorable, indefensible

tirade

n. long, harsh speech or verbal attack

diatribe, fulmination, harangue, obloquy, revilement, vilification

transitory

adj. temporary; lasting a brief time

ephemeral, evanescent, fleeting, impermanent, momentary

tome

n. book, usually large and academic

codex, volume

terrestrial

adj. earthly, down-to-earth, commonplace

earthbound, mundane, sublunary, tellurian, terrene

tangential

adj. digressing; diverting

digressive, extraneous, inconsequential, irrelevant, peripheral

symbiosis

n. cooperation, mutual helpfulness

association, interdependence

surly

adj. rude and bad-tempered

gruff, grumpy, testy

supplant

v. to replace (another) by force; to take the place of

displace, supersede

sully

v. to tarnish, to taint

besmirch, defile

stratagem

n. trick designed to deceive an enemy

artifice, feint, maneuver, ruse, while

stigma

n. a mark of shame or discredit

blemish, spot, opprobrium, stain, taint

stasis

n. a state of static balance or equilibrium; stagnation

inertia, standstill

sportive

adj. frolicsome, playful

frisky, merry

slake

v. to calm down or moderate

sentient

adj. aware; conscious, able to perceive

feeling, intelligent, thinking

rustic

adj. rural

bucolic, pastoral

rhetoric

n. effective writing or speaking

eloquence; oratory

repudiate

v. to reject the validity of

deny, disavow, disclaim, disown, renounce

repose

n. relaxation; leisure

calmness; tranquility

repast

n. meal or meal time

quotidian

adj. occurring daily; commonplace

everyday, normal, usual

quixotic

adj. overly idealistic, impractical

capricious, impulsive, romantic, unrealistic

pungent

adj. sharp and irritating to the senses

acrid, caustic, piquant, poignant, stinging

prudence

n. wisdom; caution or restraint

astuteness, circumspection, discretion, frugality, judiciousness, providence, thrift

propriety

n. the quality of behaving in a proper manner; obeying rules and customs

appropriateness, decency, decorum, modesty

proliferate

v. to increase in number quickly

breed, multiply, procreate, propagate, reproduce, spawn

prodigal

adj. lavish, wasteful

extravagant, lavish, profligate, spendthrift, wasteful

pristine

adj. fresh and clean; uncorrupted

innocent, undamaged

precipitate

v. to throw violently or bring about abruptly; lacking deliberation

pragmatic

adj. practical, as opposed to idealistic

rational, realistic

posit

v. to assume as real or conceded; propose as an explanation

suggest

politic

adj. shrewd and practical in managing or dealing with things; diplomatic

tactful

polemic

n. controversy; argument; verbal attack

denunciation, refutation

plucky

adj. courageous; spunky

brave, bold, gutsy

plethora

n. excess

glut, overabundance, superfluity, surfeit

placate

v. to soothe or pacify

appease, conciliate, mollify

pithy

adj. concise; succinct; to the point

brief, compact, laconic, terse

philistine

n. a person who is guided by materialism and is disdainful of intellectual or artistic values

boor, bourgeois, capitalist, clown, lout, materialist, vulgarian

philanthropy

n. charity; a desire or effort to promote goodness

altruism, humanitarianism

phalanx

n. a compact or close-knit body of people, animals, or things

legion, mass

perspicacious

adj. shrewd, astute, keen-witted

insightful, intelligent, sagacious

peccadillo

n. minor sin or offense

failing, fault, lapse, misstep

penury

n. an oppressive lack of resources (as money); severe poverty

destitution, impoverishment

pervade

v. to be present throughout; to permeate

imbue, infuse, penetrate, permeate, sufuse

permeate

v. to penetrate

imbue, infuse, pervade, suffuse

pejorative

n. having bad connotations; disparaging

belittling, dismissive, insulting

pathogenic

adj. causing disease

infecting, noxious

pariah

n. an outcast

castaway, derelict, leper, offscouring, untouchable

paragon

n. model of excellence or perfection

apotheosis, ideal, quintessence, standard

paradox

n. a contradiction or dilemma

ambiguity, incongruity

panach

n. flamboyance or dash in style and action; verve

flair

pallid

adj. lacking color or liveliness

ashen, blanched, ghostly, pale, wan

palatial

adj. relating to a palace; magnificent

grand; stately

overwrought

adj. agitated; overdone

elaborate; excited, nervous, ornate

ossify

v. to change into bone; to become hardened or set in a rigidly conventional pattern

opine

v. to express an opinion

point out, voice

obstinate

adj. stubborn, unyielding

obsequious

adj. overly submissive and eager to please

compliant, deferential, servile, subservient

oblique

adj. indirect, evasive, misleading, devious

glancing, slanted, tangential

nuance

n. a subtle expression of meaning or quality

nominal

adj. existing in name only, negligable

minimal, titular

neologism

n. new word or expression

nascent

adj. starting to develop; coming into existence

embryonic, emerging, inchoate, incipient

naive

adj. lacking sophistication or experience

artless, credulous, guileless, ingenuous, simple, unaffected, unsophisticated

nadir

n. lowest point

bottom, depth, pit

multifarious

adj. diverse

assorted, indiscriminate, heterogeneous, legion, motley, multifold, multiplex, multivarious, populous, varied

n. fixed customs or manners; moral attitudes

conventions, practices

monotony

n. no variation; tediously the same

drone, tedium

monastic

adj. extremely plain or secluded, as in a monastery

austere, contemplative, disciplines, regimented, self-abnegating

mollify

v. to calm or make less severe

missive

n. a written note or letter

misanthrope

n. a person who dislikes others

curmudgeon

militate

v. to operate against, work against

influence, affect, change

meticulous

adj. extremely careful; fastidious; painstaking

finicky, fussy, picky, precise, punctilious, scrupulou

maudlin

adj. overly sentimental

bathetic, mawkish, saccharine, weepy

mar

v. to damage; to deface; to spoil

blemish; disfigure; impair, injure, scar

mannered

adj. artificial or stilted in character

affected; unnatural

malleable

adj. capable of being shaped

adaptable, ductile, plastic, pliable, pliant

malinger

v. to evade responsibility by pretending to be ill

shirk, slack

maelstrom

n. whirlpool; turmoil; agitated state of mind

Charybdis, eddy, turbulence

machination

n. plot or scheme

cabal, conspiracy, design, intrigue

luminous

adj. bright; brilliant; glowing

incandescent, lucent, lustrous, radiant, resplendent

lumber

v. to move slowly and awkwardly

galumph, hulk, lurch, stumble

lucid

adj. clear and easily understood

clear, coherent, explicit, intelligible, limpid

loquacious

adj. talkative

effusive, garrulous, verbose

livid

adj. reddened with anger

furious, enraged, fuming, incensed

listless

adj. lacking energy and enthusiasm

faineant, indolent, languid, lethargic, sluggish

lionize

v. to treat as a celebrity

feast, honor, ply, regale

libertine

n. a free thinker, usually used disparagingly; one without moral restraint

hedonist

liberal

adj. tolerant; broad-minded; generous; lavish

bounteous, latitudinarian, munificent, permissive, progressive

levity

n. an inappropriate lack of seriousness, overly casual

amusement, horror

lethargic

adj. acting in an indifferent or slow, sluggish manner

apathetic, lackadaisical, languid, listless, torpid

leery

adj. suspicious

distrustful, guarded, wary

lavish

adj. extremely generous or extravagant; to give unsparingly

bestow, confer, exuberant, luxuriant, opulent, prodigal, profuse, superabundant

latent

adj. potential that is not readily apparent

concealed, dormant, inert, potential, quiescent

lassitude

n. a state of diminished energy

debilitation, enervation, fatigue, languor, listlessness, tiredness, weariness

larceny

n. theft of property

burglary, robbery, stealing

languid

adj. lacking energy; indifferent; slow

faineant, lackadaisical, listless, sluggish, weak

lampoon

v. to ridicule with satire

tease

lament

v. to express sorrow, to grieve

bewail, deplore, grieve, mourn

laconic

adj. using few words

concise, curt, pithy, taciturn, terse

knell

n. sound of a funeral bell; omen of death or failure

chime, peal, toll

kinetic

adj. relating to motion, characterized by movement

active, dynamic, mobile

kindle

v. to set fire to or ignite; excite or inspire

arouse, awaken, light, spark

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