GRE Vocabulary — Set 3 flashcards
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A third hundred GRE words — trap pairs (enervate, diffident, temerity) and words of boldness, effort, extremes and variety — each with pronunciation, a plain definition and three example sentences, most common use first. No word repeats from Sets 1 and 2.
Learn deck · part of GRE General Test (Verbal) · written against: Shorter GRE format (September 2023). Updated 2026-10-10.
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glib (adj.) · GLIBof a person or what they say: smooth and fluent, but thoughtless, shallow or insincereSpeech & Silence
The salesman's glib answer to the safety question was smooth but beside the point.
Critics called the report's glib optimism an insult to the flood's victims.
Lena regretted being glib about a friend's real worries. -
apathy (n.) · AP-uh-theeindifference; a state in which something stirs no care or excitementMood & Temperament
Voter apathy, not opposition, sank the referendum: fewer than a third turned out.
The students' apathy toward the dance surprised the planning committee.
Years of broken promises had turned the town's anger into apathy.
Root: ultimately Greek apathḗs, "not suffering, without passion or feeling, impassive." -
scant (adj.) · SKANTbarely enough or not quite enough; very littleAbundance & Scarcity
The expedition paid scant attention to the local guides' warnings about the river.
There is scant evidence that the old dam caused the flooding.
This bread needs a scant tablespoon of yeast, just under a full one. -
disingenuous (adj.) · dis-in-JEN-yuh-wuhsinsincere and less than frank, often by feigning ignorance or innocenceTruth & Deception
The firm's disingenuous show of surprise fooled nobody who had read the earlier warnings.
Her disingenuous question was really an accusation.
Calling the fee "optional" was disingenuous, since nobody could skip it.
Origin: dis- "not" + ingenuous, "innocent, open and trusting." -
laborious (adj.) · luh-BOR-ee-uhscosting many hours of hard, patient work; also, slow and showing signs of strainDifficulty & Ease
Transcribing the water-damaged diaries was laborious work, a page an hour at best.
Before computers, checking census figures was a laborious process.
His laborious prose made a short report feel endless. -
elucidate (v.) · ih-LOO-suh-daytto shed light on something through explanationClarity & Obscurity
A single diagram elucidated what three pages of text had failed to convey.
The professor asked me to elucidate my second point.
New letters may elucidate why the painter left Paris so suddenly.
Root: Late Latin ēlūcidāre, to make clear or enlighten, from ē- (a form of ex-) and Latin lūcidus, full of light. -
benign (adj.) · bih-NIGHNof a tumor, not cancerous and not spreading; gentle, kindly or harmlessHarm & Help
The lump proved benign, and the surgeon sent her home that afternoon.
The coast has a benign climate, mild in winter and cool in summer.
Grandpa's benign smile hid a fierce competitive streak at checkers.
Root: ultimately Latin benignus, from bene + gignere, "to beget." -
destitute (adj.) · DES-tuh-tootso poor as to lack even food or a place to sleep; entirely lacking something (destitute of)Money & Morals
The fire left two hundred families destitute, with only the clothes they wore.
Charities opened shelters for destitute families after the factory closed.
The speech was destitute of new ideas. -
audacious (adj.) · aw-DAY-shuhsboldly daring, sometimes recklessly or rudely soBoldness & Fear
The audacious plan was to land an untested craft on the moon's far side.
The architect's audacious design hung the library over a cliff.
Asking for a raise on your first day was audacious, even rude.
Watch out: it can admire boldness or condemn nerve; context decides which. -
eclectic (adj.) · ih-KLEK-tikchoosing from a wide and varied range of sources, styles or ideas; made up of such varied elementsSameness & Difference
Her eclectic bookshelf mixed naval history, cookbooks and old comics.
The café plays an eclectic mix of jazz, folk and opera.
The architect's style is eclectic, borrowing from temples and barns alike.
Root: Greek eklektikós, "inclined to pick out and choose whatever seems best."
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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, Dictionary.com and Longman; all definitions, notes and example sentences are original.
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