abjure: To solemnly give up or renounce
abate: To become less intense
aberrant: Departing from the normal path or type
abeyance: A state of temporary inactivity
abscond: To leave quickly and secretly, often with something
abstemious: Eating and drinking sparingly
accretion: Gradual growth by additions
adulterate: To make impure by adding something inferior
aggrandize: To make seem greater in power or rank
alchemy: A seemingly magical process of transformation
anathema: Something detested; a person or thing strongly disliked
antithesis: The direct opposite
apostate: One who abandons a belief or cause
apotheosis: The highest point; glorification as a god
aphorism: A short, wise saying
bowdlerize: To remove material thought improper from a text
cabal: A small secret group plotting together
calumny: A false statement meant to damage a reputation
captious: Tending to find fault over trivial points
catharsis: A release of strong emotion
cavil: To raise petty objections
chimerical: Imaginary; unrealistic
churlish: Rude and ill-mannered
cloying: Sweet to the point of disgust
compendious: Containing much in brief form
concomitant: Occurring along with something else
conflate: To merge into one
contumacious: Stubbornly disobedient
craven: Cowardly
dearth: A scarcity
denouement: The final resolution of a story's plot
desiccate: To dry out completely
dilatory: Slow to act; delaying
dirge: A mournful song
disabuse: To free from a false idea
discursive: Wandering from one topic to another
disingenuous: Not candid; pretending to know less
dissemble: To hide one's true feelings
dissonance: A clash of sounds or ideas
distend: To swell out
eclectic: Drawing from many sources
efface: To erase or make inconspicuous
effrontery: Shameless boldness
elegy: A sad poem or song for the dead
emollient: Soothing; making softer
encomium: Warm, glowing praise
endemic: Native to or common in a particular place
enmity: Deep hostility
ephemeral: Short-lived
equivocate: To use vague language to avoid commitment
eschew: To deliberately avoid
evanescent: Quickly fading away
exegesis: Careful explanation of a text
expiate: To make amends for wrongdoing
extol: To praise enthusiastically
fallacious: Based on a mistaken belief or faulty reasoning
fecund: Fertile; producing much
fetter: To restrain; also, a chain on the feet
filibuster: A long speech used to delay a vote
fulminate: To protest loudly
gainsay: To deny or contradict
gambol: To skip about playfully
glib: Smooth-talking but insincere
harangue: A long, aggressive speech
hegemony: Dominance of one group over others
histrionic: Overly dramatic
hubris: Excessive pride
idiosyncrasy: A personal peculiarity
impecunious: Having little or no money
imprecation: A curse
incipient: Just beginning to appear
indolent: Lazy
ineffable: Too great to be put into words
ingenuous: Innocent and sincere
inimical: Hostile or harmful
insouciant: Casually free of worry

Free flashcards from Peabody at peabody.kids/flashcards/tp-gre-vocab-1