Essential Vocabulary for the GRE【Part 4】301. caucus ～ 400. contempt

When the mayor noticed the spike in crime in his city, research showed the causality was due to his lenient prison sentences and large gang population.

304. caustic [adjective]

hurtful, critical, or intentionally unkind:

The comic’s caustic jokes offended quite a few people.

305. cauterize [verb]

to burn an injury to stop bleeding and prevent infection:

A laser was used to cauterize the patient’s artery.

306. cavalier [adjective]

not serious or caring enough about matters that other people are serious about:

Bryan will regret his cavalier attitude about studying when he fails to graduate on time.

307. cede [verb]

to give control or possession of something, especially land to someone else, often unwillingly or because forced to do so:

Because Ann believed her new job kept her away from home too much, she decided to cede the position to her assistant.

308. celerity [noun]

speed:

People choose to travel by air because of the celerity of airplanes.

309. celestial [adjective]

of or from the sky or outside this world:

Since I am an atheist, I do not believe in a celestial afterlife.

310. censorship [noun]

the act of censoring books, films, etc.:

Censorship has allowed the government to prevent the media from airing criticisms of its leadership.

311. censure [verb]

to express strong criticism or disapproval:

If Bart receives another censure from his boss, he will more than likely lose his job.

312. census [noun]

a count for official purposes, especially one to count the number of people living in a country and to collect information about them:

According to last year’s census, over five hundred thousand people live in our city.

313. centrifugal [adjective]

moving away from the point around which it is turning:

The juice is extracted by centrifugal force.

314. centripetal [adjective]

moving towards the point around which it is turning:

The centripetal star is slowly accelerating towards the middle of its solar system.

315. cerebral [adjective]

relating to the brain or the cerebrum:

She makes cerebral films that deal with important social issues.

316. chagrin [noun]

disappointment or anger, especially when caused by a failure or mistake:

After finishing third in the race, I swallowed my chagrin and congratulated the winner.

317. champion [noun]

to support, defend, or fight for a person, belief, right, or principle enthusiastically:

He championed the struggle for the liberation and human rights.

318. chary [adjective]

uncertain and frightened to take risks, or unwilling to take action:

While Tim has plans to leave college, he is chary about telling his parents of his decision.

319. chasten [verb]

to make someone aware of failure or of having done something wrong:

As a parent, I don’t feel spanking is a good way to chasten your kids.

320. chauvinist [noun]

someone who has an unreasonable belief that their own country or race is the best or most important:

Some people consider my sister to be a chauvinist when it comes to feminism, as she gets both angry and irritated when someone opposes her point of view.

321. chicanery [noun]

clever, dishonest talk or behavior that is used to deceive people:

The investigation revealed political chicanery and corruption.

322. chide [verb]

to speak to someone severely because they have behaved badly:

I don’t want the boss to chide me for being late again, so I’m setting the alarm for a half hour earlier.

323. chimera [noun]

a hope or dream that is very unlikely ever to come true:

When my son woke up screaming, it took him a while to realize the chimera chasing him was not real.

324. chivalric [adjective]

relating to chivalry:

The chivalric code guiding the conduct of knights was embodied in a wide range of literary sources.

325. churlish [adjective]

rude, unfriendly, and unpleasant:

Although Lucy is a beautiful and talented actress, she has a reputation for being churlish and difficult to get along with.

326. circuitous [adjective]

not straight or direct:

They took a circuitous route to avoid reporters.

327. circumscribe [verb]

to limit something:

A tall electric fence was constructed outside the prison to circumscribe prison escapes.

328. circumspect [adjective]

careful not to take risks:

In this day and age, you need to be circumspect about giving out too much personal information on the internet.

329. clairvoyant [adjective]

claiming to have powers to see the future or see things that other people cannot see, or relating to these powers:

The psychic’s clairvoyant abilities allowed her to see into the future.

330. clamber [verb]

to climb up, across, or into somewhere with difficulty, using the hands and the feet:

Fortunately, the baby fell back onto the soft carpet after trying to clamber up the steps.

331. clamor [noun]

to make a loud complaint or demand:

There was a clamor of voices outside the office.

332. clangorous [adjective]

related to the continuous loud noise of something, especially something made of metal, being hit or rung:

The song is full of clangorous percussion.

333. clearheaded [adjective]

able to think clearly:

He says that his work keeps him alert and clearheaded.

334. cleave [verb]

to continue to believe firmly in something:

That stubborn man always cleave to his idea.

335. clique [noun]

a small group of people who spend their time together and do not welcome other people into that group:

The cool kids’ clique always sits in the last row of the auditorium.

336. cloister [verb]

to seclude from the world in or as if in a cloister:

Even though the young prince was supposed to cloister himself in the castle during the war, he escaped his guards and joined the battle.

337. cloying [adjective]

too sweet and therefore unpleasant:

Jill is no longer impressed by cloying lines of devotion after having her heart broken countless times.

338. clutter [noun]

a condition of disorder, or a lot of objects that are in a state of disorder:

Clutter filled the elderly couple’s home as they refused to get rid of anything they had every bought.

339. coagulate [verb]

to change from liquid to a more solid state, or to cause something to do this:

The blood coagulates to stop wounds bleeding.

340. coalesce [verb]

to combine into a single group or thing:

The view of party leader coalesce to form a coherent policy.

341. coda [noun]

a piece of music at the end of a longer piece of music, usually separate from the basic structure:

The final section of the song was sealed with a coda that sounded like an entirely different melody.

342. codify [verb]

to arrange something, such as laws or rules, into a system:

The latest draft of the agreement codifies the panel's decision.

343. coerce [verb]

to persuade someone forcefully to do something that they are unwilling to do:

As the students argued, the teacher tried to coerce them into silence with the threat of a detention.

344. coffer [noun]

a large, strong box in which money or valuable objects are kept:

After placing all his loot into the coffer, the pirate locked the chest.

345. cogent [adjective]

persuasive and well expressed:

Because the child was so young, I worked hard to give her cogent answers to her questions.

346. cognizant [adjective]

understanding or realizing something:

Because I have been on a tight budget for two years, I am very cognizant of the importance of using coupons to get the best deals.

347. cohesive [adjective]

united and working together effectively:

After six weeks of training together, our group bonded and became quite cohesive.

348. cohort [noun]

a group of people who share a characteristic, usually age:

The Millennial generation is the largest cohort in US history.

349. collude [verb]

to act together secretly or illegally in order to deceive or cheat someone:

Insurance companies should not be allowed to collude to raise rates on customers.

350. coltish [adjective]

young and energetic but awkward:

He was a tall, coltish, bespectacled young man, curiously lovable.

351. comestible [adjective]

edible:

Unfortunately some poisonous mushrooms look like comestible mushrooms.

352. commensurate [adjective]

suitable in amount or quality compared to something else; matching in degree:

You will get a salary increase commensurate with your additional responsibilities and work.

353. commiserate [verb]

to express sympathy to someone about some bad luck:

I commiserate with my friend after he got fired due to his frequent slips in the business.

354. communism [noun]

a political theory that believes that the state should control the methods of production, there should be no separate social classes and everyone should be treated equally:

One of the benefits of communism is free healthcare for everyone.

355. compatriot [noun]

a person who comes from the same country, or a friend or someone you work with:

One of the most beautiful things about the Olympics was carrying the flag with her fellow compatriot during the opening ceremony.

356. compendium [noun]

a short but complete account of a particular subject, especially in the form of a book:

The book is nothing more than a compendium of the author’s rants against the government.

357. complacent [adjective]

feeling so satisfied with your own abilities or situation that you feel you do not need to try any harder:

I am rightfully not complacent with low quality service.

358. complaisant [adjective]

willing to satisfy others by being polite and fitting in with their plans:

During the flight, I was lucky enough to have an attendant who was friendly and complaisant and made sure all my needs were met.

359. complement [noun]

a number of people or things that makes something complete:

The painting is the complement that will bring everything together in my redesigned living room.

360. compliant [adjective]

willing to do what other people want you to do:

The teacher was shocked when her normally rebellious class became compliant.

361. complicit [adjective]

involved in or knowing about a crime or some activity that is wrong:

Several officers were complicit in the cover-up.

362. comprehension [noun]

the ability to understand completely and be familiar with a situation, facts, etc.:

His behavior was completely beyond comprehension.

363. compromise [verb]

to lower or weaken standards:

His political career ended when he compromised himself by accepting bribes.

364. compunction [noun]

a slight guilty feeling about something you have done or might do:

She kept us waiting without the slightest compunction.

365. con artist [noun]

a person who deceives other people by making them believe something false or making them give money away:

The con artist bamboozled her out of $600.

366. concave [adjective]

curved inward:

While a convex lens turns outward, a concave lens bends inwardly.

367. concede [verb]

to admit, often unwillingly, that something is true:

The firm should concede a significant salary increase to its employees.

368. conceit [noun]

the state of being too proud of yourself and your actions:

Someone that is full of conceit tends to look down on others and think of themselves as superior to everyone.

369. conceive [verb]

to bring a thought or idea into being:

Our team leader is counting on us to conceive a fix for the server error before our client deadline.

370. concert [verb]

to settle or adjust by conferring and reaching an agreement:

Because of the concerted effort of the allied forces, the war quickly came to an end.

371. concession [noun]

a special right to property or land:

Since the developer could not give the landowner his desired concession, he was not able to buy the land for the new subdivision.

372. conciliate [verb]

to end a disagreement or someone's anger by acting in a friendly way or slightly changing your opinions, or to satisfy someone who disagrees with you by acting in this way:

Before mediating between the two parties, the judge attempted to conciliate the plaintiff to prevent unnecessary litigation.

373. concoct [verb]

to invent an excuse, explanation, or story in order to deceive someone:

The clever writer is able to concoct such entertaining stories.

374. concomitant [adjective]

happening and connected with another thing:

Because the contractor and decorator agreed to concomitant work schedules in the final stages of construction, the house was ready to show well ahead of time.

375. condescending [adjective]

showing that you consider yourself better or more intelligent:

Her tone of voice was always so condescending.

376. condone [verb]

to ignore or accept behavior that some people consider wrong:

I cannot condone the use of violence under any circumstances.

377. confer [verb]

to give an official title, honor, or advantage to someone:

The US Constitution confers certain powers on the president.

378. confluence [noun]

a situation in which two things join or come together:

The confluence of warm and cold temperatures is going to create a powerful storm.

379. conformist [noun]

someone who behaves or thinks like the other people in a group and doesn't do anything unusual:

As a religious conformist, Jason does whatever his minister tells him to do.

380. confound [verb]

to confuse someone by being difficult to explain or deal with:

If the nurse does not read the labels, she will confound the medications and possibly harm patients.

381. congeal [verb]

to change from a liquid or soft state to a thick or solid state:

She wanted to wash the frying pan before the bacon fat had a chance to congeal.

382. congenial [adjective]

pleasant and friendly; producing a feeling of comfort or satisfaction:

Mark is a congenial host who always makes everyone feel welcome.

383. conglomerate [adjective]

made up of parts from various sources or of various kinds:

A newspaper controlled by a conglomerate multinational business is inhibited in discussing large areas of business.

384. congruent [adjective]

having the same size and shape, or matching in size and shape:

The suspect was released when the lab results proved his DNA sample was not congruent to the specimen found at the crime scene.

385. conjectural [adjective]

based on how something seems and not on proof:

The prosecutor knew the jury would have doubts about his conjectural theory of the crime.

386. conjugal [adjective]

connected with marriage or the relationship between two married people, especially their sexual relationship:

The conjugal retreat was focused on married couples who needed to refresh their relationships.

387. conjugate [verb]

to join together:

In the English language, we conjugate many different words for convenience, such as "won’t" for "will not."

388. connoisseur [noun]

a person who knows a lot about and enjoys one of the arts, or food, drink, etc. and can judge quality and skill in that subject:

Because the psychologist talks to many individuals, she considers herself to be a connoisseur of people and their relationships.

389. connote [verb]

to convey in addition to exact explicit meaning:

At work, we connote the employee of the month award with being the best worker on the team.

390. consanguine [adjective]

connected with the fact of people being blood relations:

Consanguine marriage is marriage between individuals who are closely related.

391. conscience [noun]

the feeling that you know and should do what is right and should avoid doing what is wrong, and that makes you feel guilty when you have done something you know is wrong:

Because I treat others as fairly as I can, I have a clear conscience about my business dealings.

392. conscious [adjective]

to notice that a particular thing or person exists or is present:

I became conscious of the crisis when the photographs of the terrorist attack were displayed on the news.

393. conscript [verb]

to force someone to serve in an army or one of a country's armed forces:

They proposed to conscript both capital and labor.

394. consecrate [verb]

to officially make something holy and able to be used for religious ceremonies:

This battlefield is consecrated to the memory of soldiers who died here.

395. consolidate [verb]

to combine several things, especially businesses, so that they become more effective, or to be combined in this way:

The two banks will consolidate in July next year.

396. conspicuous [adjective]

very noticeable or attracting attention, often in a way that is not wanted:

The notice must be displayed in a conspicuous place.

397. conspire [verb]

to plan secretly with other people to do something bad, illegal, or against someone's wishes:

The students have decided to conspire to steal the test answers.

398. constituency [noun]

the people who live and can vote in a particular area:

Most of the constituency in California voted for the democratic candidate.

399. contemplate [verb]

to spend time considering a possible future action, or to consider one particular thing for a long time in a serious and quiet way:

When the accountant was asked to contemplate the current budget, he discovered many ways the company could save money.

400. contempt [noun]

a strong feeling of disliking and having no respect for someone or something:

Sarah is a wonderful person who has never shown contempt for anyone.

REFERENCE

: Essential Vocabulary for the GRE

: Cambridge Dictionary

: WORDS IN A SENTENCE

: Sentence dictionary online

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