GRE Vocabulary — Set 7 flashcards
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One hundred 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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sonorous (adj.) · SAH-nuh-ruhsrich, deep and ringing in tone; of language, having a grand style that makes a strong impressionSpeech & Silence
The cathedral bell gave a single sonorous note that shook the windows.
His sonorous baritone filled the hall without a microphone.
The senator delivered sonorous phrases about duty that said very little.
Root: Latin sonorus; akin to Latin sonus, "sound." -
cloying (adj.) · KLOY-ingso sweet, sentimental or flattering that it becomes sickening or tiresomeMood & Temperament
The movie's cloying ending had every character hugging in the rain.
The frosting was so sweet it turned cloying after two bites.
His constant compliments grew cloying, and the staff began avoiding him. -
smidgen (n.) · SMIJ-uhnjust a little of something; a tiny bitAbundance & Scarcity
Add a smidgen of salt to bring out the chocolate's flavor.
The test was a smidgen harder than I expected.
Grandma slipped me a smidgen more of her peach pie when nobody was looking.
Origin: probably an alteration of English dialect smitch, "soiling mark." -
affectation (n.) · af-ek-TAY-shuhna manner, accent or habit that someone fakes in hopes of impressing peopleTruth & Deception
Quoting Latin at dinner parties was an affectation meant to impress.
She wrote plainly, without affectation or fancy words.
Carrying a pocket watch had become one of his affectations.
Root: ultimately Latin affectātiō, "striving after, strained manner (in rhetoric)," from affectāre. -
frictionless (adj.) · FRIK-shuhn-lissmooth and easy, with no hassle or obstacles; in physics, free of frictionDifficulty & Ease
The app promises frictionless payments with a single tap.
Border crossings were not as frictionless as the treaty had promised.
Physics problems often assume a frictionless surface to simplify the math. -
portent (n.) · POR-tentsomething taken to foretell a momentous, often calamitous, event; an omenClarity & Obscurity
The farmers took the early frost as a portent of a lean harvest.
The sudden silence of the birds felt like a portent of something terrible.
Ancient chroniclers recorded comets as portents of a king's death. -
nostrum (n.) · NAH-struhma pet remedy or scheme promoted as a cure-all but of doubtful worth; a quack medicineHarm & Help
Every candidate offered the same tired nostrums for fixing the schools.
The economist rejected tax cuts as a nostrum for every downturn.
Doctors warned that the herbal nostrum had never been tested in a single trial.
Origin: Latin, neuter of noster, "our, ours." -
mammon (n.) · MAM-uhnwealth regarded as an evil influence or a false god, pursued at the cost of higher valuesMoney & Morals
The preacher warned that the town had begun to worship mammon.
Critics accused the college of selling its ideals to mammon.
In the poem, the miser serves mammon until he dies alone.
Origin: Middle English, from Late Latin mammona, from Greek mamōna, from Aramaic māmōnā, "riches." -
embolden (v.) · im-BOHL-duhnto fill someone with enough nerve or confidence to act, often in a risky wayBoldness & Fear
Early success emboldened the young company to expand overseas.
Emboldened by the crowd's cheers, the shy singer added an encore.
Lax security only emboldens thieves. -
lockstep (n.) · LAHK-stepclose, exact parallel movement (in lockstep); rigid, mindless conformity; a march with each person close behind the nextSameness & Difference
Wages and prices rose in lockstep through the decade.
Students moved through the curriculum in lockstep, with no room for curiosity.
The cadets crossed the parade ground in lockstep, each close behind the next.
Watch out: often attributive (lockstep thinking); Merriam-Webster gives the phrase in lockstep its own entry.
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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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