GRE Vocabulary — Set 2 flashcards
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A second hundred GRE words, grouped by meaning family from speech to sociability, each with its pronunciation, a plain-English definition, three example sentences (the most common use first) and at most one note on roots, look-alikes or usage. No word repeats from Set 1.
Learn deck · part of GRE General Test (Verbal) · written against: Shorter GRE format (September 2023). Updated 2026-10-10.
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harangue (n., v.) · huh-RANGa long, loud, often angry speech or lecture aimed at listeners; to lecture someone this waySpeech & Silence
One parent's harangue about homework stretched the school board meeting past midnight.
Every morning the old sergeant harangued the recruits about their muddy boots.
Stop haranguing me about my room; I'll clean it tonight. -
sardonic (adj.) · sar-DAHN-ikgrimly mocking, with a contemptuous or cynical edgePraise & Criticism
"Another brilliant plan," she said with a sardonic smile.
The novel's narrator makes sardonic comments about everyone he meets.
His humor turned sardonic after the team lost its tenth straight game.
Origin: ultimately Greek sardánios, "(of laughter or smiling) bitter, scornful." -
ubiquitous (adj.) · yoo-BIK-wuh-tuhsappearing to be in all places at once; turning up constantlyAbundance & Scarcity
Within a decade the touchscreen became ubiquitous, from cash registers to refrigerator doors.
The plaza's ubiquitous pigeons ate crumbs straight from visitors' hands.
Plastic bottles are now ubiquitous, even on remote beaches. -
inchoate (adj.) · in-KOH-itonly just begun and not yet fully formed or organizedChange & Stability
The plan was still inchoate: a few sketches, a name and much enthusiasm.
He struggled to put his inchoate fears into words.
The movement began as inchoate frustration before organizers gave it shape.
Origin: Latin incohātus, inchoātus, "only begun, unfinished, imperfect." -
conundrum (n.) · kuh-NUHN-druhma baffling, thorny problem that resists any obvious answer; a riddleDifficulty & Ease
Rising costs and falling enrollment left the college with a real conundrum.
Scientists still puzzle over the conundrum of why we sleep.
The puzzle book ends with a conundrum whose answer is a pun. -
flout (v.) · FLOWTto make no secret of ignoring or defying a law, custom or rulePower & Submission
Hikers flout the no-campfire signs every summer, and the rangers are tired of stamping out embers.
The company flouted safety rules to finish the bridge early.
Students who flout the dress code lose their lunch privileges.
Don't confuse with: flaunt, to show off: you flaunt wealth and flout rules. -
vitiate (v.) · VISH-ee-aytto spoil or weaken the quality of; to make legally invalidHarm & Help
A single sloppy measurement vitiated the whole experiment.
Too much sugar vitiates an otherwise healthy breakfast.
A forged signature vitiated the entire contract.
Root: Latin vitiatus, past participle of vitiare, from vitium, "fault, vice." -
pragmatic (adj.) · prag-MAT-ikjudging plans and choices by whether they work in real life, not by theory or idealsWisdom & Folly
A pragmatic mayor, she fixed the crumbling bridge before building a stadium.
We need a pragmatic solution, not a perfect one.
Her parents took a pragmatic view of her plan to study art.
Origin: Greek pragma, "deed" or "thing done," lies behind Latin pragmaticus, which described a person versed in legal or business affairs. -
prosaic (adj.) · proh-ZAY-ikordinary and matter-of-fact, lacking imagination or poetry; dullStyle & Taste
The prosaic explanation for the lights in the sky, a weather balloon, disappointed everyone.
Behind the glamorous job title lay mostly prosaic tasks like filing.
His prosaic style suits instruction manuals better than poems.
Root: Late Latin prosaicus, from Latin prosa, "prose." -
gregarious (adj.) · grih-GAIR-ee-uhstaking pleasure in mixing with others; sociable; of animals, keeping together as a groupSociety & Solitude
A gregarious host, he invited the delivery driver in and chatted for an hour.
Gregarious by nature, she made friends on the first day of camp.
Starlings are gregarious birds that roost in enormous flocks.
Root: Latin gregarius, "of a flock or herd," from greg-, grex, "flock, herd."
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About these cards
Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.
Checked against:
- Senses and parts of speech checked against Merriam-Webster.com, The American Heritage Dictionary (5th edition, ahdictionary.com), Oxford Learner's Dictionaries, the Cambridge Dictionary and Longman; all definitions, notes and example sentences are original.
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