GRE vocabulary list 04 (anachronism)

A strong vocabulary is essential for a high GRE score. Based on our analysis, the words below are among the most commonly tested on the exam.

Flashcards can help you memorize definitions, but they don’t always show whether you can recognize and use a word in context. Use the quizzes to check that you understand these words well enough for test day.

Definitions

anachronism

incongruity

noun

A person or thing which seems to belong to a different time or period of time.

"The plastic water bottle was an anachronism hidden in the scene of the movie that depicted medieval times."

"Farming with a ox driven plow would be considered an anachronism these days."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

arduous

daunting

adjective

difficult to accomplish; demanding considerable mental effort and skill

"Walking uphill on a hot and sunny day can be an arduous task."

"The arduous hike was made more difficult by the hot and humid weather."

austere

self-denying

adjective

Unadorned; unembellished; severely simple.

"The princess rejected her family's wealth and opulence and chose to live a more austere lifestyle far away from civilization."

"His rural homestead was quite austere in nature; he only had the things necessary to live at hand."

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

benign

harmless

adjective

not dangerous to health; not recurrent or progressive (especially of a tumor)

"The harmless medicine has only benign side effects."

"The benign tumor did not require chemotherapy."

cogent

coherent

adjective

Reasonable and convincing; based on evidence.

"The author made difficult topics accessible with her cogent writing."

"The teacher could communicate even the most complicated topics in a cogent manner."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

confound

confuse

verb

To fail to see the difference; to mix up; to confuse right and wrong.

"The complicated and twisting roads confounded every tourist."

"It is easy to confound the words farther and further."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

convoluted

complicated

adjective

Complex, intricate or complicated.

"The code behind the software was so convoluted that even a slight change would crash the whole program."

"They had a convoluted game plan that was sure to fall apart once anything unforeseen happens."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

disabuse

enlighten

verb

To free (someone) of a misconception or misapprehension; to unveil a falsehood held by (somebody).

"Travel can disabuse people of their misconceptions about foreigners."

"Education can disabuse people of their prior beliefs."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

disinterested

unbiased

adjective

Not influenced by regard to personal advantage; free from selfish motive; having no relation of feeling; not biased or prejudiced.

"The judge listened to the case with a disinterested and unbiased approach."

"To be disinterested does not mean to be unengaged, but rather, unbiased."

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

exacerbate

worsen

verb

make worse

"The increase in rent exacerbated her financial problems."

"Oversleeping in the morning can exacerbate insomnia."

exculpate

liberate

verb

To clear of or to free from guilt; exonerate.

"The judge exculpated the criminal of all his crimes, setting him free from a 10 year sentencing."

"The judge exculpated him from all his crimes."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

guile

trickery

noun

deceptiveness, deceit, fraud, duplicity, dishonesty

"The scam artist used guile to convince the helpless target that they were not losing any money."

"The poker player wore sunglasses to hide his guile."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

gullible

over-trusting

adjective

naive and easily deceived or tricked

"The gullible child will believe anything you say."

"It's easy to tell the gullible girl a lie."

intransigent

uncompromising

adjective

Refusing compromise; uncompromising; inflexible; irreconcilable.

"The intransigent boss refused to give the worker a raise."

"It's impossible compromise with my intransigent father."

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

meticulous

careful

adjective

Characterized by very precise, conscientious attention to details.

"It is best to be meticulous when doing your taxes so you do not get audited by the IRS."

"You should meticulously check if you packed everything before taking an international flight."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

obsequious

obedient

adjective

Promptly obedient, or submissive, to the will of another; compliant; yielding to the desires of another; devoted.

"The royal servants were obsequious and obedient to their queen."

"Many people are blindly obsequious to authority."

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

onerous

daunting

adjective

Burdensome; oppressive.

"Transporting tons of groceries to the house can be quite onerous."

"Walking to school in three feet of snow is an onerous task."

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

pedant

purist

noun

A person who is overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points of learning.

"The pedant preferred to philosophize over little qualms rather than focus on the practical aspects of the issue."

"The grammatical pedant never skipped an opportunity to correct someone else's grammar."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

perfidy

trickery

noun

A state or act of deceit.

"It is impossible to win a game of poker without at least a little perfidy."

"His constant perfidy made it hard to believe anything he said."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

phlegmatic

calm

adjective

showing little emotion

"The phlegmatic bouncer displayed no emotion when the drunkards were yelling at him."

"Her phlegmatic face showed no emotion."

precarious

uncertain

adjective

Held by a doubtful tenure; depending on unknown causes or events; exposed to constant risk; not to be depended on for certainty or stability; uncertain

"The novelist's royalty paychecks came with precarious consistency."

"The cup was positioned in a precarious location on the edge of the table."

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

probity

integrity

noun

Tried virtue or integrity; approved moral excellence; honesty; rectitude; uprightness.

"The public official's probity lead her to dissent against her president; her oath to the constitution took precedence."

"The soldier's character could be characterized by probity and honour."

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

quixotic

idealistic

adjective

Possessing or acting with the desire to do noble and romantic deeds, without thought of realism and practicality.

"The young man made a quixotic attempt to woo the woman he had no business talking to."

"The quixotic student would have his expectations ruined when he enters the real world."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

spurious

fake

adjective

Not proceeding from the true source, or from the source pretended; not genuine; counterfeit; false; adulterate.

"The spurious Gucci bag was only worth $10."

"The street vendors sold spurious designer clothing on the sidewalk."

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

waver

fluctuate

intransitive verb

To be unsettled in opinion; to vacillate; to be undetermined; to fluctuate.

"The athlete's confidence would waver at the first sign of adversity."

"Neither opponent wavered or gave way during the fight."

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

anachronism

Something out of its proper time period
Synonym: incongruity

arduous

Difficult, requiring significant effort or skill
Synonym: daunting

austere

Severely simple, unadorned
Synonym: self-denying

benign

Not harmful; not progressive (esp. of tumors)
Synonym: harmless

cogent

Reasonable, convincing, based on evidence
Synonym: coherent

confound

To confuse or mix up; fail to distinguish
Synonym: confuse

convoluted

Complex, intricate, or complicated
Synonym: complicated

disabuse

To free someone from a misconception; correct a false belief
Synonym: enlighten

disinterested

Unbiased, impartial; not influenced by personal interest
Synonym: unbiased

exacerbate

To make worse
Synonym: worsen

exculpate

To clear from guilt or blame; exonerate
Synonym: liberate

guile

Deceptiveness, trickery, dishonesty
Synonym: trickery

gullible

Easily deceived or tricked; naive
Synonym: over-trusting

intransigent

Uncompromising, inflexible, refusing to change
Synonym: uncompromising

meticulous

Very precise; paying close attention to detail
Synonym: careful

obsequious

Excessively obedient or submissive; compliant
Synonym: obedient

onerous

Burdensome, oppressive
Synonym: daunting

pedant

Person overly concerned with rules or minor details
Synonym: purist

perfidy

Deceit, treachery, betrayal
Synonym: trickery

phlegmatic

Showing little emotion; calm, unemotional
Synonym: calm

precarious

Uncertain, unstable, risky
Synonym: uncertain

probity

Integrity, honesty, uprightness
Synonym: integrity

quixotic

Idealistic without regard to practicality; unrealistic
Synonym: idealistic

spurious

Not genuine; false, counterfeit
Synonym: fake

waver

To fluctuate or be indecisive; vacillate
Synonym: fluctuate

GRE vocabulary list 04 (anachronism)

A strong vocabulary is essential for a high GRE score. Based on our analysis, the words below are among the most commonly tested on the exam.

Definitions

GRE vocabulary list 04 (anachronism)

A strong vocabulary is essential for a high GRE score. Based on our analysis, the words below are among the most commonly tested on the exam.

Definitions

anachronism

incongruity

noun

A person or thing which seems to belong to a different time or period of time.

"The plastic water bottle was an anachronism hidden in the scene of the movie that depicted medieval times."

"Farming with a ox driven plow would be considered an anachronism these days."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

arduous

daunting

adjective

difficult to accomplish; demanding considerable mental effort and skill

"Walking uphill on a hot and sunny day can be an arduous task."

"The arduous hike was made more difficult by the hot and humid weather."

austere

self-denying

adjective

Unadorned; unembellished; severely simple.

"The princess rejected her family's wealth and opulence and chose to live a more austere lifestyle far away from civilization."

"His rural homestead was quite austere in nature; he only had the things necessary to live at hand."

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

benign

harmless

adjective

not dangerous to health; not recurrent or progressive (especially of a tumor)

"The harmless medicine has only benign side effects."

"The benign tumor did not require chemotherapy."

cogent

coherent

adjective

Reasonable and convincing; based on evidence.

"The author made difficult topics accessible with her cogent writing."

"The teacher could communicate even the most complicated topics in a cogent manner."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

confound

confuse

verb

To fail to see the difference; to mix up; to confuse right and wrong.

"The complicated and twisting roads confounded every tourist."

"It is easy to confound the words farther and further."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

convoluted

complicated

adjective

Complex, intricate or complicated.

"The code behind the software was so convoluted that even a slight change would crash the whole program."

"They had a convoluted game plan that was sure to fall apart once anything unforeseen happens."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

disabuse

enlighten

verb

To free (someone) of a misconception or misapprehension; to unveil a falsehood held by (somebody).

"Travel can disabuse people of their misconceptions about foreigners."

"Education can disabuse people of their prior beliefs."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

disinterested

unbiased

adjective

Not influenced by regard to personal advantage; free from selfish motive; having no relation of feeling; not biased or prejudiced.

"The judge listened to the case with a disinterested and unbiased approach."

"To be disinterested does not mean to be unengaged, but rather, unbiased."

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

exacerbate

worsen

verb

make worse

"The increase in rent exacerbated her financial problems."

"Oversleeping in the morning can exacerbate insomnia."

exculpate

liberate

verb

To clear of or to free from guilt; exonerate.

"The judge exculpated the criminal of all his crimes, setting him free from a 10 year sentencing."

"The judge exculpated him from all his crimes."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

guile

trickery

noun

deceptiveness, deceit, fraud, duplicity, dishonesty

"The scam artist used guile to convince the helpless target that they were not losing any money."

"The poker player wore sunglasses to hide his guile."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

gullible

over-trusting

adjective

naive and easily deceived or tricked

"The gullible child will believe anything you say."

"It's easy to tell the gullible girl a lie."

intransigent

uncompromising

adjective

Refusing compromise; uncompromising; inflexible; irreconcilable.

"The intransigent boss refused to give the worker a raise."

"It's impossible compromise with my intransigent father."

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

meticulous

careful

adjective

Characterized by very precise, conscientious attention to details.

"It is best to be meticulous when doing your taxes so you do not get audited by the IRS."

"You should meticulously check if you packed everything before taking an international flight."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

obsequious

obedient

adjective

Promptly obedient, or submissive, to the will of another; compliant; yielding to the desires of another; devoted.

"The royal servants were obsequious and obedient to their queen."

"Many people are blindly obsequious to authority."

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

onerous

daunting

adjective

Burdensome; oppressive.

"Transporting tons of groceries to the house can be quite onerous."

"Walking to school in three feet of snow is an onerous task."

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

pedant

purist

noun

A person who is overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points of learning.

"The pedant preferred to philosophize over little qualms rather than focus on the practical aspects of the issue."

"The grammatical pedant never skipped an opportunity to correct someone else's grammar."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

perfidy

trickery

noun

A state or act of deceit.

"It is impossible to win a game of poker without at least a little perfidy."

"His constant perfidy made it hard to believe anything he said."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

phlegmatic

calm

adjective

showing little emotion

"The phlegmatic bouncer displayed no emotion when the drunkards were yelling at him."

"Her phlegmatic face showed no emotion."

precarious

uncertain

adjective

Held by a doubtful tenure; depending on unknown causes or events; exposed to constant risk; not to be depended on for certainty or stability; uncertain

"The novelist's royalty paychecks came with precarious consistency."

"The cup was positioned in a precarious location on the edge of the table."

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

probity

integrity

noun

Tried virtue or integrity; approved moral excellence; honesty; rectitude; uprightness.

"The public official's probity lead her to dissent against her president; her oath to the constitution took precedence."

"The soldier's character could be characterized by probity and honour."

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

quixotic

idealistic

adjective

Possessing or acting with the desire to do noble and romantic deeds, without thought of realism and practicality.

"The young man made a quixotic attempt to woo the woman he had no business talking to."

"The quixotic student would have his expectations ruined when he enters the real world."

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

spurious

fake

adjective

Not proceeding from the true source, or from the source pretended; not genuine; counterfeit; false; adulterate.

"The spurious Gucci bag was only worth $10."

"The street vendors sold spurious designer clothing on the sidewalk."

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

waver

fluctuate

intransitive verb

To be unsettled in opinion; to vacillate; to be undetermined; to fluctuate.

"The athlete's confidence would waver at the first sign of adversity."

"Neither opponent wavered or gave way during the fight."

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

anachronism

Something out of its proper time period
Synonym: incongruity

arduous

Difficult, requiring significant effort or skill
Synonym: daunting

austere

Severely simple, unadorned
Synonym: self-denying

benign

Not harmful; not progressive (esp. of tumors)
Synonym: harmless

cogent

Reasonable, convincing, based on evidence
Synonym: coherent

confound

To confuse or mix up; fail to distinguish
Synonym: confuse

convoluted

Complex, intricate, or complicated
Synonym: complicated

disabuse

To free someone from a misconception; correct a false belief
Synonym: enlighten

disinterested

Unbiased, impartial; not influenced by personal interest
Synonym: unbiased

exacerbate

To make worse
Synonym: worsen

exculpate

To clear from guilt or blame; exonerate
Synonym: liberate

guile

Deceptiveness, trickery, dishonesty
Synonym: trickery

gullible

Easily deceived or tricked; naive
Synonym: over-trusting

intransigent

Uncompromising, inflexible, refusing to change
Synonym: uncompromising

meticulous

Very precise; paying close attention to detail
Synonym: careful

obsequious

Excessively obedient or submissive; compliant
Synonym: obedient

onerous

Burdensome, oppressive
Synonym: daunting

pedant

Person overly concerned with rules or minor details
Synonym: purist

perfidy

Deceit, treachery, betrayal
Synonym: trickery

phlegmatic

Showing little emotion; calm, unemotional
Synonym: calm

precarious

Uncertain, unstable, risky
Synonym: uncertain

probity

Integrity, honesty, uprightness
Synonym: integrity

quixotic

Idealistic without regard to practicality; unrealistic
Synonym: idealistic

spurious

Not genuine; false, counterfeit
Synonym: fake

waver

To fluctuate or be indecisive; vacillate
Synonym: fluctuate

GRE vocabulary list 04 (anachronism)

A strong vocabulary is essential for a high GRE score. Based on our analysis, the words below are among the most commonly tested on the exam.

Definitions

anachronism

Something out of its proper time period
Synonym: incongruity

arduous

Difficult, requiring significant effort or skill
Synonym: daunting

austere

Severely simple, unadorned
Synonym: self-denying

benign

Not harmful; not progressive (esp. of tumors)
Synonym: harmless

cogent

Reasonable, convincing, based on evidence
Synonym: coherent

confound

To confuse or mix up; fail to distinguish
Synonym: confuse

convoluted

Complex, intricate, or complicated
Synonym: complicated

disabuse

To free someone from a misconception; correct a false belief
Synonym: enlighten

disinterested

Unbiased, impartial; not influenced by personal interest
Synonym: unbiased

exacerbate

To make worse
Synonym: worsen

exculpate

To clear from guilt or blame; exonerate
Synonym: liberate

guile

Deceptiveness, trickery, dishonesty
Synonym: trickery

gullible

Easily deceived or tricked; naive
Synonym: over-trusting

intransigent

Uncompromising, inflexible, refusing to change
Synonym: uncompromising

meticulous

Very precise; paying close attention to detail
Synonym: careful

obsequious

Excessively obedient or submissive; compliant
Synonym: obedient

onerous

Burdensome, oppressive
Synonym: daunting

pedant

Person overly concerned with rules or minor details
Synonym: purist

perfidy

Deceit, treachery, betrayal
Synonym: trickery

phlegmatic

Showing little emotion; calm, unemotional
Synonym: calm

precarious

Uncertain, unstable, risky
Synonym: uncertain

probity

Integrity, honesty, uprightness
Synonym: integrity

quixotic

Idealistic without regard to practicality; unrealistic
Synonym: idealistic

spurious

Not genuine; false, counterfeit
Synonym: fake

waver

To fluctuate or be indecisive; vacillate
Synonym: fluctuate