GRE Vocabulary — Set 5 flashcards
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A fifth set of one hundred words for GRE Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence, grouped by meaning family, each with pronunciation, a definition that tells near-synonyms apart and three example sentences, the most common use first.
Learn deck · part of GRE General Test (Verbal) · written against: Shorter GRE format (September 2023). Updated 2026-10-10.
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divulge (v.) · duh-VUHLJto let out something that was meant to stay confidential, especially something you were trusted to keepSpeech & Silence
The reporter would not divulge who had leaked the documents to her.
Under questioning, the clerk finally divulged where the spare keys were hidden.
Grandma Rosa took the secret of her sauce to the grave rather than divulge it.
Root: Latin divulgare (dis- + vulgare, "to make known," itself from vulgus, the mob), taken into Middle English. -
suave (adj.) · SWAHVpolished and self-assured in manner, with an easy charm that can hide a lack of sincerityMood & Temperament
The suave host greeted every guest by name and never lost his smile.
In old spy movies, the hero stays suave even mid-chase.
Behind the suave salesman's compliments was a very expensive contract.
Origin: French; in Middle French it meant pleasant or sweet, and it goes back to Latin suavis. -
voracious (adj.) · vuh-RAY-shuhseager for more of an activity and never satisfied, as a reader; eating huge amounts of foodAbundance & Scarcity
A voracious reader, Leila finished three novels during the snowstorm.
Caterpillars are voracious, chewing through leaves almost nonstop.
Our voracious puppy gulps down its dinner in seconds.
Root: Latin vorax, from vorare, "to devour." -
charade (n.) · shuh-RAYDan absurd pretense meant to keep up appearances; (charades) a guessing game in which words are acted outTruth & Deception
The "public hearing" was a charade; the council had already voted.
The partners kept up the charade of friendship until the company was sold.
At the reunion, the cousins played charades until midnight.
Origin: French, probably from Occitan charrada, "talk, chat, chatter." -
thorny (adj.) · THOR-neefull of difficulties and controversy, hard to settle without offending someone; covered in thornsDifficulty & Ease
Who should pay for the new bridge is a thorny question for the county.
The diplomats sidestepped the thorny issue of the disputed border.
We pushed through thorny bushes to reach the creek. -
clarion (adj.) · KLAIR-ee-uhnloud, clear and rousing, like a trumpet call; brilliantly clearClarity & Obscurity
The flood was a clarion call to rebuild the town's levees.
Her clarion soprano soared above the full choir.
The trumpets' clarion notes announced the queen's arrival.
Origin: ultimately Latin clarus; as a noun, a clarion is a clear, shrill trumpet of the Middle Ages. -
salve (n., v.) · SAVa soothing or healing cream for wounds or sores; (v.) to ease guilt, hurt pride or anger, often by making amendsHarm & Help
The nurse rubbed salve on the scrape and covered it with gauze.
Nothing Jonah told himself could salve the guilt of forgetting his sister's recital.
The mayor's apology did little to salve the town's wounded pride. -
tithe (n., v.) · TIGHTHa payment to keep a church going, worth a tenth of what a person earns or produces; a tiny part; (v.) to give a tenthMoney & Morals
Medieval farmers owed a tithe of their crops to the parish church.
Barely a tithe of the money raised ever reached the flood victims.
Some members tithe faithfully, setting aside ten percent of every paycheck.
Origin: Middle English, from Old English teogotha, "tenth." -
flinch (v.) · FLINCHto make a quick, involuntary movement away from pain, felt or expected; to shrink from a hard or unpleasant dutyBoldness & Fear
Marco flinched as his little sister swung the stick toward his shins.
The goalie didn't flinch as the striker wound up for the penalty kick.
She has never flinched from making unpopular decisions. -
facsimile (n.) · fak-SIM-uh-leea reproduction that matches its original exactly, especially one of a document, artwork or printed page; a faxSameness & Difference
The archive lets researchers leaf through a facsimile while the fragile original stays locked away.
The restaurant is a near facsimile of a 1950s diner.
Before email, offices often sent signed contracts by facsimile.
Origin: the Latin phrase fac simile, "make alike."
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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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