Important GRE Vocabulary Guide
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Transcript of Important GRE Vocabulary Guide
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8/20/2019 Important GRE Vocabulary Guide
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Important GRE Vocabulary List
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8/20/2019 Important GRE Vocabulary Guide
2/19
1.
Abscond – (v) To depart suddenly and secretly, as for the purpose of escaping arrest.
2.
Adversity - (n) Hardship, difficulty; opposition
3.
Aggravate – (v) to make worse/intensify something
4.
Arduous – (adj) hard to do, requiring much effort
5.
Belie – (v) to contradict, to give a false impression
6.
Bombast - (n) speech or writing that sounds grand or important but has little meaning
7.
Castigation – (n) Severe criticism or punishment
8.
Censure – (v) to criticize harshly
9.
Chicanery – (n) trickery, fraud, deception
10.
Coercive – (adj) Forcing someone to do something against their will; intimidate
11.
Condemn – (v) to express strong disapproval of
12.
Conspire – (v) to plan together secretly to do something wrong or illegal
13.
Covert –
(adj) secret or hidden
14.
Cower – (v) To crouch or shrink away from in fear or shame
15.
Craven – (adj) lacking courage-coward
16.
Denigrate – (v)to attack the reputation of; to speak ill of
17.
Denounce – (v) to criticize publicly
18.
Discomfit –
(v) to embarrass, unsettle
19.
Disingenuous – (adj) not candid; insincere; not honest
20.
Exacerbate –(v) to make (a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling) worse.
21.
Fraud –(n) a deliberate deception intended to produce unlawful gain
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22.
Garrulous – (adj) talkative, rambling
23.
Impudent – (adj) disrespectful, characterized by improper bold behavior
24.
Inopportune – (adj) coming at a bad time; not appropriate
25.
Irascible – (adj) easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts
26.
Martial – (n) associated with war and the armed forces
27.
Misanthrope – (n) a person who hates or despises people
28.
Obdurate - (adj) stubborn; hardhearted
29.
Onerous – (adj) troubling; burdensome
30.
Perjury –(n) lying under oath
31.
Provoke – (v) anger, arouse, bring to action
32.
Recalcitrant – (adj/n) marked by stubborn resistance to and defiant of authority or guidance
33.
Secrete – (v) to ensconce, conceal, or stow
34.
Squander –
(v) to spend foolishly, waste
35.
Abate - (v) to lessen in intensity or degree
36.
Accolade - (n) an expression of praise
37.
Adulation - (n) excessive praise; intense adoration
38.
Aesthetic - (adj.) dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful
39.
Ameliorate - (v) to make better or make more tolerable
40.
Ascetic - (n) one who practice rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion
41.
Avarice - (n) greed, esp. for wealth
42.
Axiom - (n) a universally recognized principle
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43.
Burgeon - (v) to grow rapidly or flourish
44.
Bucolic - (adj.) rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants
45.
Cacophony - (n) harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance
46.
Canon - (n) an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature
47.
Catalyst - (n) a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing
that cause change
48.
Caustic - (adj) burning or stinging; causing corrosion
49.
Chary - (adj.) wary, cautious, sparing
50.
Cogent - (adj.) appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing
51.
Complaisance - (n) the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
52.
Contentious - (adj.) argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement
53.
Contrite - (adj.) regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness
54.
Culpable - (adj.) deserving blame
55.
Dearth - (n) smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack
56.
Demur - (v) to question or oppose
57.
Didactic - (adj.) intended to teach or instruct
58.
Discretion - (n) cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions
59.
Dogmatic - (adj.) expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or unprovable principles
60.
Ebullience - (n) the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
61.
Eclectic - (adj.) composed of elements drawn from various sources
62.
Elegy - (n) a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead
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63.
Emollient - (adj./n.) soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smooths the
skin
64.
Empirical - (adj.) based on observation or experiment
65.
Enigmatic - (adj.) mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand
66.
Ephemeral - (adj.) brief; fleeting
67.
Esoteric - (adj.) intended for or understood by a small, specific group
68.
Eulogy - (n) a speech honoring the dead; expression of approval or commendation
69.
Exonerate - (v) to remove blame
70.
Facetious - (adj.) playful; humorous
71.
Fallacy - (n) an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief
72.
Furtive - (adj.) marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious
73.
Gregarious - (adj.) sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people
74.
Harangue - (v./n.) to deliver a pompous speech or tirade; a long, pompous speech
75.
Heretical - (adj.) violating accepted dogma or convention
76.
Hyperbole - (n) an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech
77.
Impecunious - (adj.) lacking funds; without money
78.
Incipient - (adj.) beginning to come into being or to become apparent
79.
Inert - (adj.) unmoving; lethargic; sluggish
80.
Innocuous - (adj.) harmless; causing no damage
81.
Intransigent - (adj.) refusing to compromise
82.
Inveigle - (v) to obtain by deception or flattery
83.
Morose - (adj.) sad; sullen; melancholy
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84.
Odious - (adj.) evoking intense aversion or dislike
85.
Opaque - (adj.) impenetrable by light; not reflecting light; unintelligible
86.
Oscillation - (n) the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm
87.
Penurious - (adj.) penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous
88.
Pernicious - (adj.) extremely harmful; potentially causing death
89.
Peruse - (v) to examine with great care
90.
Pious - (adj.) extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion
91.
Precursor - (n) one that precedes and indicates or announces another
92.
Preen - (v) to dress; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care
93.
Prodigious - (adj.) abundant in size, force or extent; extraordinary
94.
Prolific - (adj.) producing large volumes or amounts; productive
95.
Putrefy - (v) to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor
96.
Quaff - (v) to drink deeply
97.
Quiescence - (n) stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest
98.
Redoubtable - (adj.) awe-inspiring; worthy of honor
99.
Sanction - (n/v) authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance; to give
permission or authority to
100.
Satire - (n) a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision
101.
Squalid - (adj.) sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect
102.
Stoic - (adj.) indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast
103.
Supplant - (v) to take the place of; supersede
104.
Torpid - (adj.) lethargic; sluggish; dormant
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105.
Ubiquitous - (adj.) existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; wide-spread
106.
Urbane - (adj.) sophisticated, refined, elegant
107.
Vilify - (v) to defame; to characterize harshly
108.
Viscous - (adj.) thick; sticky
109.
Acumen - (n) keen, accurate judgement or insight; shrewdness
110.
Adulterate - (v) to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients
111.
Amalgamate - (v) to combine several elements into a whole
112.
Archaic - (adj.) outdated; associated with an earlier, perhaps more primitive time
113.
Aver - (v) to state as a fact; to declare or assert
114.
Bolster - (v) to provide support or reinforcement
115.
Bombastic - (adj.) pompous; grandiloquent
116.
Diatribe - (n) a harsh denunciation
117.
Dissemble - (v) to disguise or conceal; to mislead
118.
Eccentric - (adj.) departing from norms or conventions
119.
Endemic - (adj.) characteristic of or often found in a particular locality, region, of people
120.
Evanescent - (adj.) tending to disappear like vapor; vanishing
121.
Fervent - (adj.) greatly emotional or zealous
122.
Fortuitous - (adj.) happening by accident or chance
123.
Germane - (adj.) relevant to the subject at hand; appropriate in subject matter
124.
Grandiloquence - (n) pompous speech or expression
125.
Hackneyed - (adj.) rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage
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126.
Halcyon - (adj.) calm and peaceful
127.
Hedonism - (n) devotion to pleasurable pursuits, esp. to the pleasure of the senses (a hedonist is someone who
pursue pleasure)
128.
Hegemony - (n) the consistent dominance of one state or ideology over others
129.
Iconoclast - (n) one who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institution
130.
Idolatrous - (adj.) given to intense or excessive devotion to something
131.
Impassive - (adj.) revealing no emotion
132.
Imperturbable - (adj.) marked by extreme calm, impassivity and steadiness
133.
Implacable - (adj.) not capable of being appeased or significantly changed
134.
Impunity - (n) immunity from punishment or penalty
135.
Inchoate - (adj.) in an initial stage; not fully formed
136.
Infelicitous - (adj.) unfortunate; inappropriate
137.
Insipid - (adj.) without taste or flavor; lacking in spirit; bland
138.
Loquacious - (adj.) extremely talkative (like Michelle!)
139.
Luminous - (adj.) characterized by brightness and the emission of light Malevolent - (adj.) having or showing often
vicious ill will, spite, or hatred
140.
Malleable - (adj.) capable of being shaped or formed; tractable; pliable
141.
Mendacity - (n) the condition of being untruthful; dishonesty
142.
Meticulous - (adj.) characterized by extreme care and precision; attentive to detail
143.
Mitigate - (v) to make or become less severe or intense; to moderate
144.
Obsequious - (adj.) exhibiting a fawning attentiveness
145.
Occlude - (v) to obstruct or block
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146.
Opprobrium - (n) disgrace; contempt; scorn
147.
Pedagogy - (n) the profession or principles of teaching, or instructing
148.
Pedantic - (adj,) overly concerned with the trivial details of learning or education; show-offish about one's
knowledge
149.
Penury - (n) poverty; destitution
150.
Pervasive - (adj.) having the tendency to permeate or spread throughout
151.
Pine - (v) to yearn intensely; to languish; to lose vigor
152.
Pirate - (v) to illegally use or produce
153.
Pith - (n) the essential or central part
154.
Pithy - (adj.) precise and brief
155.
Placate - (v) to appease; to calm by making concessions; to pacify
156.
Platitude - (n) a superficial remark, esp. one offered as meaningful
157.
Plummet - (v) to plunge or drop straight down
158.
Prodigal - (adj.) recklessly wasteful; extravagant; profuse; lavish
159.
Profuse - (adj.) given or coming forth abundantly; extravagant
160.
Proliferate - (v) to grow or increase swiftly and abundantly
161.
Queries - (n) questions; inquiries; doubts in the mind; reservations
162.
Querulous - (adj.) prone to complaining or grumbling; peevish
163.
Rancorous - (adj.) characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment
164.
Recalcitrant - (adj.) obstinately defiant of authority; difficult to manage
165.
Repudiate - (v) to refuse to have anything to do with; disown
166.
Rescind - (v) to invalidate; to repeal; to retract
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167.
Reverent - (adj.) marked by, feeling or expressing a feeling of profound awe and respect
168.
Rhetoric - (n) the art or study of effective use of language for communication and persuasion
169.
Salubrious - (adj.) promoting health or well-being
170.
Solvent - (adj.) able to meet financial obligations; able to dissolve another substance
171.
Specious - (adj.) seeming true, but actually being fallacious; misleadingly attractive; plausible but false
172.
Spurious - (adj.) lacking authenticity or validity; false; counterfeit
173.
Subpoena - (n) a court order requiring appearance and/or testimony
174.
Succinct - (adj.) brief; concise
175.
Superfluous - (adj.) exceeding what is sufficient or necessary
176.
Surfeit - (n/v) an overabundant supply; excess; to feed or supply to excess
177.
Tenacity - (n) the quality of adherence to something valued; persistent determination
178.
Tenuous - (adj.) having little substance or strength; flimsy; weak
179.
Tirade - (n) a long and extremely critical speech; a harsh denunciation
180.
Transient - (adj.) fleeting; passing quickly; brief
181.
Zealous - (adj.) fervent; ardent; impassioned; devoted to a cause (a zealot is a zealous person)
182.
Acerbic - (adj.) having a sour or bitter taste or character; sharp; biting; vitriolic
183.
Aggrandize - (v) to increase in intensity, power, influence or prestige
184.
Alchemy - (n) a medieval science aimed at the transmutation of metals, esp. base metals into gold (an alchemist isone who practices alchemy)
185.
Amenable - (adj.) agreeable; responsive to suggestion
186.
Anachronism - (n) something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context
187.
Astringent - (adj./n) having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe; something with a tightening effect on
tissue
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188.
Contiguous - (adj.) sharing a border; touching; adjacent
189.
Convention - (n) a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude
190.
Credulous - (adj.) tending to believe too readily; gullible
191.
Cynicism - (n) an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness
192.
Decorum - (n) polite or appropriate conduct or behavior
193.
Derision - (n) scorn, ridicule, contemptuous treatment
194.
Desiccate - (v) to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull
195.
Dilettante - (n) one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge
196.
Disparage - (v) to slight or belittle
197.
Divulge - (v) to disclose a secret; unwrap
198.
Fawn - (v) to flatter or praise excessively
199.
Flout - (v) to show contempt for, as in a rule or convention
200.
Glib - (adj.) marked by ease or informality; nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial
201.
Hubris - (n) overbearing presumption or pride; arrogance
202.
Imminent - (adj.) about to happen; impending
203.
Immutable - (adj.) not capable of change
204.
Impetuous - (adj.) hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement
205.
Indifferent - (adj.) having no interest or concern; showing no bias or prejudice
206.
Inimical - (adj.) damaging; harmful; injurious
207.
Intractable - (adj.) not easily managed or directed; stubborn; obstinate
208.
Intrepid - (adj.) steadfast and courageous
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209.
Laconic - (adj.) using few words; terse
210.
Maverick - (n) an independent or unorthodox individual ;dissenter; refuse to be branded
211.
Mercurial - (adj.) characterized by rapid and unpredictable change in mood
212.
Mollify - (v) to calm or soothe; to reduce in emotional intensity
213.
Neophyte - (n) a recent convert; a beginner; novice
214.
Obfuscate - (v) to deliberately obscure; to make confusing
215.
Obstinate - (adj.) stubborn; hardheaded; uncompromising
216.
Ostentatious - (adj.) characterized by or given to pretentious play; showy
217.
Pervade - (v) to permeate throughout
218.
Phlegmatic - (adj.) calm; sluggish; unemotional
219.
Pragmatic - (adj.) practical rather than idealistic
220.
Presumptuous - (adj.) over stepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy); taking liberties
221.
Pristine - (adj.) pure; uncorrupted; clean
222.
Probity - (n) adherence to highest principles; complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness
223.
Proclivity - (n) a natural predisposition or inclination
224.
Profligate - (adj.) excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant
225.
Propensity - (n) a natural inclination or tendency; penchant
226.
Prosaic - (adj.) dull; lacking in spirit or imagination
227.
Pungent - (adj.) characterized by a strong, sharp smell or taste
228.
Quixotic - (adj.) foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals
229.
Quotidian - (adj.) occurring or recurring daily; commonplace
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230.
Rarefy - (v) to make or become thin, less dense; to refine
231.
Recondite - (adj.) hidden; concealed; difficult to understand; obscure
232.
Refulgent - (adj.) radiant; shiny; brilliant
233.
Renege - (v) to fail to honor a commitment; to go back on a promise
234.
Sedulous - (adj.) diligent; persistent; hardworking
235.
Shard - (n) a piece of broken pottery or glass
236.
Soporific - (adj.) causing drowsiness; tending to induce sleep
237.
Sparse - (adj.) thin; not dense; arranged at widely spaced intervals
238.
Spendthrift - (n) one who spends money wastefully
239.
Subtle - (adj.) not obvious; elusive; difficult to discern
240.
Terse - (adj.) brief and concise in wording
241.
Tout - (v) to publicly praise or promote
242.
Trenchant - (adj.) sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating
243.
Unfeigned - (adj.) genuine; not false or hypocritical
244.
Untenable - (adj.) indefensible; not viable; uninhabitable
245.
Vacillate - (v) to waver indecisively between one course of action or opinion and another; waver
246.
Variegated - (adj.) multicolored; characterized by a variety of patches of different colors
247.
Vexation - (n) annoyance; irritation
248.
Vigilant - (adj.) alertly watchful
249.
Vituperate - (v) to use harsh, condemnatory language; to abuse or censure severely or abusively; berate
250.
Volatile - (adj.) readily changing to a vapor; changeable; fickle; explosive
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251.
Plethora - (n) an overabundance; a surplus
252.
Abyss – (n) an immeasurably deep chasm or void; a bottomless pit
253.
Alleviate – (v) to make more bearable
254.
Arbitrate – (v) to judge a dispute between two opposing parties
255.
Ardor – (n) intense and passionate feeling
256.
Articulate – (v) able to speak clearly and expressively
257.
Assuage – (v) to make something unpleasant less severe
258.
Attenuate – (v) to reduce in force or degree; to weaken
259.
Audacious – (adj) fearless and daring
260.
Austere – (adj) severe or stern in appearance, undecorated
261.
Banal – (adj) predictable, clichéd, boring
262.
Bolster – (v) to support; to prop up
263.
Candid –
(adj) impartial and honest in speech
264.
Capricious – (adj) changing one's mind quickly and often; whimsical
265.
Crescendo – (n) steadily increasing volume or force
266.
Deference – (n) respect, courtesy
267.
Desultory – (adj) jumping from one thing to another; disconnected
268.
Diffident –
(adj) lacking self-confidence
269.
Dilate – (v) to make larger; to expand
270.
Dilatory – (adj) intended to delay
271.
Dirge – (n) a funeral hymn; a mournful poem; a funeral service in its solemn or sung forms
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272.
Disabuse – (v) to set right; to free from error
273.
Discern – (v) to perceive; to recognize
274.
Disparate – (adj) fundamentally different; entirely unlike
275.
Dissonance – (n) a harsh and disagreeable combination, often of sounds
276.
Dupe – (v) to deceive; a person who is easily deceived
277.
Efficacy – (n) effectiveness
278.
Eloquent – (adj) persuasive and moving, especially in speech
279.
Emulate – (v) to copy; to try to equal or excel
280.
Enervate – (v) to reduce in strength
281.
Engender – (v) to produce, cause, or bring about
282.
Enumerate – (v) to count, list, or itemize
283.
Equivocate – (v)to use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead
284.
Erratic –
(adj) wandering and unpredictable; lacking regularity
285.
Erudite – (adj) learned, scholarly, bookish
286.
Estimable – (adj) admirable
287.
Euphemism – (n) use of an inoffensive word or phrase in place of a more distasteful one
288.
Exculpate - (v) to clear from blame; prove innocent
289.
Exigent - (adj) urgent; requiring immediate action
290.
Explicit - (adj) clearly stated or shown; forthright in expression
291.
Fanatical - (adj) acting excessively enthusiastic; filled with extreme, unquestioned devotion
292.
Fervid - (adj) intensely emotional; feverish
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293.
Florid - (adj) excessively decorated or embellished
294.
Foment - (v) to arouse or incite
295.
Frugality - (adj) a tendency to be thrifty or cheap
296.
Gregarious - (adj) outgoing, sociable
297.
Guile - (n) deceit or trickery
298.
Gullible - (adj) easily deceived; naive
299.
Homogenous - (adj) of a similar kind
300.
Impervious - (adj) impossible to penetrate; incapable of being affected
301.
Ingenuous - (adj) showing innocence or childlike simplicity
302.
Inundate - (v) to overwhelm; to cover with water
303.
Lament -(v) to express sorrow; to grieve
304.
Laud - (v) to give praise; to glorify
305.
Lavish - (adj) to give unsparingly; or extremely generous or extravagant
306.
Lethargic - (adj) acting in an indifferent or slow, sluggish manner
307.
Lucid - (adj) clear and easily understood
308.
Malinger – (v) to evade responsibility by pretending to be ill
309.
Monotony - (n) lack of variation
310.
Naïve - (adj) lacking sophistication or experience
311.
Obviate - (v) to prevent; to make unnecessary
312.
Ostentation - (n) excessive showiness; flashiness
313.
Paradox - (n) a contradiction or dilemma
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314.
Paragon - (n) a model of excellence or perfection
315.
Perfidious - (adj) willing to betray one's trust
316.
Perfunctory - (adj) done in a routine way; indifferent
317.
Permeate - (v) to penetrate
318.
Philanthropy - (n)charity; a desire or effort to promote goodness
319.
Plastic – (adj) able to be molded, altered, or bent; impressionable
320.
Precipitate – (v) to throw violently or bring about abruptly; lacking deliberation
321.
Prevaricate – (v) to lie or deviate from the truth
322.
Propitiate – (v) to conciliate; to appease
323.
Propriety – (n) correct behavior; obedience to rules and customs
324.
Prudence – (n) wisdom, caution, or restraint
325.
Quiescent – (adj) motionless; inactive; dormant
326.
Reticent - (adj) silent, reserved
327.
Satiate – (v) to satisfy fully or overindulge
328.
Stigma – (n)a mark of shame or discredit
329.
Stolid - (adj) unemotional; lacking sensitivity; impassive
330.
Sublime - (adj) lofty or grand
331.
Taciturn - (adj) silent, not talkative ; tacit –
done without using words
332.
Torpor – (n) extreme mental and physical sluggishness
333.
Transitory - (adj) temporary, lasting a brief time
334.
Venerate – (v)to respect deeply
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335.
Veracity – (noun) filled with truth and accuracy
336.
Verbose – (adj) wordy
337.
Waver – (v) to fluctuate between choices
338.
Whimsical – (adj) acting in a fanciful or capricious manner; unpredictable
339.
Tumult (n) - violent and noisy commotion or disturbance of a crowd or mob; uproar; great mental or emotional
agitation
340.
Trifling (adj) - of very little importance; trivial; insignificant
341.
Schism (n) - division or disunion, especially into mutually opposed parties.
342.
Heresy (n) - any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs, customs, etc.
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