GRE Vocabulary — Set 8 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, three example sentences (the most common use first) and, where useful, a note.
Learn deck · part of GRE General Test (Verbal) · written against: Shorter GRE format (September 2023). Updated 2026-10-10.
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maunder (v.) · MAWN-durto ramble on with no clear purpose, drifting from point to point; to roam around idlySpeech & Silence
The keynote speaker maundered on about his childhood until the audience stopped listening.
Instead of answering the question, the witness maundered through three unrelated stories.
On free afternoons we maundered along the riverbank with no destination in mind. -
fretful (adj.) · FRET-fuhlworried and uneasy, unable to settle; of a baby or patient, cranky and restlessMood & Temperament
Fretful about the storm, Dad checked the weather radar every ten minutes.
The teething baby was fretful all night.
After a fretful sleep, Mira woke an hour before her alarm. -
scrimp (v.) · SKRIMPto live on as little as possible, cutting every expense, usually to save toward somethingAbundance & Scarcity
By scrimping on lunches for a whole year, Nadia saved enough for a used bicycle.
To pay off the loan, they scrimped on everything from heating to haircuts.
Students scrimped through the semester on rice, beans and day-old bread. -
skulduggery (n.) · skuhl-DUHG-uh-reesecret, underhanded scheming and dirty tricks, often to gain an unfair advantageTruth & Deception
Investigators uncovered years of skulduggery in the city's contracting office.
Rival teams accused each other of skulduggery after the playbook went missing.
The spy novel is a fun romp of codes, chases and skulduggery.
Watch out: also spelled skullduggery. -
scupper (v.) · SKUHP-urto wreck a plan or chance, putting an end to itDifficulty & Ease
A late injury scuppered the team's hopes of a title.
Opponents scuppered the deal by leaking its terms early.
Heavy rain threatened to scupper the outdoor concert.
Watch out: Merriam-Webster labels the verb chiefly British; the noun is an opening that drains a ship's deck. -
allusive (adj.) · uh-LOO-sivfull of indirect references to other works, people or events; hinting rather than statingClarity & Obscurity
Her allusive poems reward readers who know their Greek myths.
The film is richly allusive, nodding to dozens of classic westerns.
His allusive reply hinted at trouble without naming anyone.
Don't confuse with: elusive, hard to find, catch or pin down. -
depredation (n.) · dep-ruh-DAY-shuhna raid or attack in which things are stolen or destroyed; also, the damage done by such ravaging (usually depredations)Harm & Help
Coastal villages suffered the depredations of pirates for centuries.
Farmers lost half their chickens to the depredations of foxes.
The forest has slowly recovered from decades of depredation by loggers. -
lucre (n.) · LOO-kurmoney or profit, seen as grubby or gained by questionable means (often filthy lucre)Money & Morals
The quarrel over the will was all about filthy lucre.
He left teaching for the lucre of a job in advertising.
Gold-rush towns filled with men hungry for quick lucre.
Origin: Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French and Latin; ultimately Latin lucrum "material gain, profit." -
derring-do (n.) · dair-ing-DOOdaring, heroic action, often of a showy or adventurous kindBoldness & Fear
The film is packed with swordfights and acts of derring-do.
Stories of the pilot's derring-do spread through the squadron.
His tales of derring-do grew taller with every telling.
Origin: Middle English dorring don "daring to do," from dorren "to dare" + don "to do." -
delimit (v.) · dih-LIM-itto draw clear lines around something, stating exactly what it covers and where it stopsSameness & Difference
The contract clearly delimits each partner's responsibilities.
An old treaty delimited the border between the two kingdoms.
The researchers delimited their study to students over eighteen.
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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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