GRE Vocabulary — Set 6 flashcards
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More 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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soliloquy (n.) · suh-LIL-uh-kweea passage in a play where a character, alone or unheard, voices private thoughts aloud; any talk to oneselfSpeech & Silence
Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" soliloquy is studied in countless classrooms.
Alone on the dark stage, the villain reveals his plan in a chilling soliloquy.
Stuck in traffic, Marta delivered a grumbling soliloquy about her missed appointment.
Root: Late Latin soliloquium, from Latin solus, "alone," + loqui, "to speak." -
levity (n.) · LEV-uh-teeplayful humor or an unserious attitude, often at a moment that calls for gravityMood & Temperament
A moment of levity eased the tension before the final exam.
The judge warned that the courtroom was no place for levity.
His levity about the broken window annoyed his parents more than the window.
Root: Latin levitas, from levis, "light in weight." -
tittle (n.) · TIT-uhlthe smallest possible amount or part; the dot over an i, or any other tiny written mark like itAbundance & Scarcity
The editor would not change one jot or tittle of the author's manuscript.
Her story didn't vary by a tittle in three retellings.
The dot over a lowercase i is called a tittle.
Origin: Middle English titel, from Medieval Latin titulus, from Latin, "title." -
humbug (n.) · HUHM-buhgtalk or behavior meant to deceive; nonsense; a person who falsely pretends to be somethingTruth & Deception
The senator called the rival's budget promises pure humbug.
Scrooge answers his nephew's Christmas greeting with "Bah!" and "Humbug!"
In Baum's novel, the great Wizard of Oz admits he is only a humbug. -
extricate (v.) · EK-struh-kaytto get someone or something out of a tangle or a tight spot, often with effortDifficulty & Ease
Rescuers spent forty minutes extricating the trapped hiker from the narrow crevice.
The company is trying to extricate itself from a costly contract.
She gently extricated the kite string from the branches.
Root: Latin extricatus, past participle of extricare, from ex- + tricae, "trifles, perplexities." -
hermetic (adj.) · hur-MET-iksealed so tightly that no air gets in or out; cut off from outside influence; obscure and hard to understandClarity & Obscurity
The probe's hermetic seal kept moisture away from its instruments.
Life in the remote monastery was hermetic, untouched by the news.
The philosopher's hermetic prose baffles even her own graduate students.
Origin: Medieval Latin hermeticus, from Hermet-, Hermes Trismegistus. -
injurious (adj.) · in-JUUR-ee-uhsharmful, especially to health; insulting or damaging to a reputationHarm & Help
The factory's fumes proved injurious to the workers' lungs.
The pesticide proved injurious to bees as well as to the beetles it targeted.
The paper printed a correction after publishing injurious falsehoods about the shop owner. -
indemnify (v.) · in-DEM-nuh-fighto promise to pay for someone's possible loss, damage or legal costs; to repay a loss already sufferedMoney & Morals
The contract indemnifies the band against damage to the rented hall.
The insurer agreed to indemnify the farmers for their flooded crops.
Most policies won't indemnify you for losses you caused on purpose.
Root: Latin indemnis, "unharmed," from in- + damnum, "damage." -
wince (v.) · WINSto grimace briefly, as from sudden pain, embarrassment or distasteBoldness & Fear
She winced as the antiseptic stung the scrape on her knee.
Remembering my first piano recital still makes me wince.
Fans winced at the singer's sour high note. -
variegated (adj.) · VAIR-ee-uh-gay-tidmarked with patches or streaks of different colors; full of varietySameness & Difference
Variegated ivy, green with cream edges, covered the old wall.
The quilt's variegated patches came from forty years of family clothes.
His variegated career included stints as a chef, pilot and teacher.
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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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