Vocabulary for GMAT - C

cabal
(n.) a group of persons joined by a secret
The very idea that there could be a cabal cast suspicion on the whole
operation.

cache
(n.) stockpile; store; heap; hiding place for goods
The town kept a cache of salt on hand to melt winter's snow off the
roads.
Extra food is kept in the cache under the pantry.
The cache for his jewelry was hidden under the bed.

cacophonous
(adj.) sounding jarring
The cacophonous sound from the bending metal sent shivers up our
spines.

cacophony
(n.) a harsh, inharmonious collection of sounds; dissonance
The beautiful harmony of the symphony was well enjoyed after the
cacophony coming from the stage as the orchestra warmed up.
The amateur band created more cacophony than beautiful sound.

cajole
(v.) to coax with insincere talk
To cajole the disgruntled employee, the manager coaxed him with lies
and sweet talk.
The salesman will cajole the couple into buying the stereo.

calamity
(n.) disaster
The fire in the apartment building was a great calamity.

caliber
(n.) quality
The caliber of talent at the show was excellent.

callow
(adj.) being young or immature
With the callow remark the young man demonstrated his age.
Although the girl could be considered an adult, the action was very
callow.

calumny
(n.) slander
I felt it necessary to speak against the calumny of the man's good reputation.

canard
(n.) a false statement or rumor
The canard was reported in a scandalous tabloid.

candid
(adj.) honest; truthful; sincere
People trust her because she's so candid.

cant
(n.) insincere or hypocritical statements of high ideals; the jargon of a
particular group or occupations
The theater majors had difficulty understanding the cant of the computer
scientists.
The remarks by the doctor were cant and meant only for his associates.

caprice
(n.) a sudden, unpredictable or whimsical change
The caprice with which the couple approached the change of plans was
evidence to their young age.
The king ruled by caprice as much as law.

capricious
(adj.) changeable; fickle
The capricious bride-to-be has a different church in mind for her
wedding every few days.

captious
(adj.) disposed to find fault
A captious attitude often causes difficulties in a relationship.

carte blanche
(n.) unlimited authority
The designer was given carte blanche to create a new line for the fall.

cascade
(n; v.) waterfall; pour; rush; fall
The hikers stopped along the path to take in the beauty of the rushing
cascade.
The water cascaded down the rocks into the pool.
He took a photograph of the lovely cascade.
The drapes formed a cascade down the window.

castigate
(v.) to punish through public criticism
The mayor castigated the police chief for the rash of robberies.

cataclysm
(n.) an extreme natural force
The earthquake has been the first cataclysm in five years.

catalyst
(n.) anything which creates a situation in which change can occur
The low pressure system was the catalyst for the nor'easter.

catharsis
(n.) a purging or relieving of the body or soul
He experienced a total catharsis after the priest absolved his sins.
Admitting his guilt served as a catharsis for the man.

caustic
(adj.) eating away at; sarcastic words
The caustic chemicals are dangerous.
The girl harmed her mother with her caustic remarks.
His caustic sense of humor doesn't go over so well when people don't
know what they're in for.

cavil
(v.) to bicker
The children are constantly caviling.

censor
(v.) to examine and delete objectionable material
The children were allowed to watch the adult movie only after it had
been censored.

censure
(n.; v.) a disapproval; an expression of disapproval; to criticize or
disapprove of
His remarks drew the censure of his employers.
A censure of the new show upset the directors.
Her parents censured her idea of dropping out of school.

ceremonious
(adj.) very formal or proper
The black-tie dinner was highly ceremonious.

cessation
(n.)ceasing; a stopping
The cessation of a bad habit is often difficult to sustain.

chafe
(v.) to annoy, to irritate; to wear away or make sore by rubbing
His constant teasing chafed her.
He doesn't wear pure wool sweaters because they usually chafe his skin.

chaffing
(n.) banter; teasing
The king was used to his jesters good-natured chaffing.

chagrin
(n.) a feeling of embarrassment due to failure or disappointment
To the chagrin of the inventor, the machine did not work.
She turned red-faced with chagrin when she learned that her son had
been caught shoplifting.

charisma
(n.) appeal; magnetism; presence
She has such charisma that everyone likes her the first time they meet
her.

charlatan
(n.) a person who pretends to have knowledge; an impostor; fake
The charlatan deceived the townspeople.
It was finally discovered that the charlatan sitting on the throne was not
the real king.

chary
(adj.) cautious; being sparing in giving
Be chary when driving at night.
The chary man had few friends.

chaste
(adj.) virtuous; free of obscenity
Because the woman believed in being chaste, she would not let her date
into the house.

chastise
(v.) to punish; discipline; admonish
The dean chastised the first-year student for cheating on the exam.

cherish
(v.) to feel love for
The bride vowed to cherish the groom for life.

chicanery
(n.) trickery or deception
The swindler was trained in chicanery.
A news broadcast is no place for chicanery.

chimera
(n.) an impossible fancy
Perhaps he saw a flying saucer, but perhaps it was only a chimera.

choleric
(adj.) cranky; cantankerous; easily moved to feeling displeasure
The choleric man was continually upset by his neighbors.
Rolly becomes choleric when his views are challenged.

chortle
(v.) to make a gleeful, chuckling sound
The chortles emanating from the audience indicated it wouldn't be as
tough a crowd as the stand-up comic had expected.

churlishness
(n.) crude or surly behavior; behavior of a peasant
The fraternity's churlishness ran afoul of the dean's office.
The churlishness of the teenager caused his employer to lose faith in
him.

circumlocution
(n.) a roundabout or indirect way of speaking; not to the point
The man's speech contained so much circumlocution that I was unsure of
the point he was trying to make.
The child made a long speech using circumlocution to avoid stating that it
was she who had knocked over the lamp.

circumlocutory
(adj.) being too long, as in a description or expression; a roundabout,
indirect, or ungainly way of expressing something
It was a circumlocutory documentary that could have been cut to half its
running time to say twice as much.

circumspect
(adj.) considering all circumstances
A circumspect decision must be made when so many people are involved.

citadel
(n.) a fortress set up high to defend a city
A citadel sat on the hill to protect the city below.

clandestine
(adj.) secret
The clandestine plan must be kept between the two of us!

clemency
(n.) mercy toward an offender; mildness
The governor granted the prisoner clemency.
The weather's clemency made for a perfect picnic.

cloture
(n.) a parliamentary procedure to end debate and begin to vote
Cloture was declared as the parliamentarians readied to register their
votes.

cloying
(adj.) too sugary; too sentimental or flattering
After years of marriage the husband still gave cloying gifts to his wife.
Complimenting her on her weight loss, clothing and hairstyle was a
cloying way to begin asking for a raise.

coagulate
(v.) to become a semisolid, soft mass; to clot
The liquid will coagulate and close the tube if left standing.

coalesce
(v.) to grow together
The bride and groom coalesced their funds to increase their collateral.
At the end of the conference the five groups coalesced in one room.

coda
(n.) in music, a concluding passage
By the end of the coda, I was ready to burst with excitement over the
thrilling performance.
The audience knew that the concerto was about to end when they heard
the orchestra begin playing the coda.

coddle
(v.) to treat with tenderness
A baby needs to be coddled.

codify
(v.) to organize laws or rules into a systematic collection
The laws were codified by those whom they affected.
The intern codified all the city's laws into a computerized filing system.

coffer
(n.) a chest where money or valuables are kept
The coffer that contained the jewels was stolen.

cogent
(adj.) to the point; clear; convincing in its clarity and presentation
The lawyer makes compelling and cogent presentations, which evidently
help him win 96 percent of his cases.
He made a short, cogent speech which his audience easily understood.

cogitate
(v.) to think hard; ponder; meditate
It is necessary to cogitate on decisions which affect life goals.
The room was quiet while every student cogitated during the calculus
exam.

cognate
(adj.; n.) having the same family; a person related through ancestry
English and German are cognate languages.
The woman was a cognate to the royal family.

cognitive
(adj.) possessing the power to think or meditate; meditative; capable of
perception
Cognitive thought makes humans adaptable to a quickly changing
environment.
Once the toddler was able to solve puzzles, it was obvious that her
cognitive abilities were developing.

cognizant
(adj.) aware of; perceptive
She became alarmed when she was cognizant of the man following her.
It was critical to establish whether the defendant was cognizant of his
rights.

coherent
(adj.) sticking together; connected; logical; consistent
The course was a success due to its coherent information.
If he couldn't make a coherent speech, how could he run for office?

cohesion
(n.) the act of holding together
The cohesion of the group increased as friendships were formed.
The cohesion of different molecules forms different substances.

cohort
(n.) a group; band
The cohort of teens gathered at the athletic field.

collaborate
(v.) to work together; cooperate
The two builders collaborated to get the house finished.

colloquial
(adj.) having to do with conversation; informal speech
The colloquial reference indicated the free spirit of the group.
When you listen to the difference between spoken colloquial
conversation and written work, you realize how good an ear a novelist
must have to write authentic dialogue.

collusion
(n.) secret agreement for an illegal purpose
The authority discovered a collusion between the director and treasurer.

comeliness
(n.) beauty; attractiveness in appearance or behavior
The comeliness of the woman attracted everyone's attention.

commiserate
(v.) to show sympathy for
The hurricane victims commiserated about the loss of their homes.

commodious
(adj.) spacious and convenient; roomy
The new home was so commodious that many new pieces of furniture
needed to be purchased.

communal
(adj.) shared or common ownership
The communal nature of the project made everyone pitch in to help.

compatible
(adj.) in agreement with; harmonious
When repairing an automobile, it is necessary to use parts compatible
with that make and model.

complacent
(adj.) content; self-satisfied; smug
The CEO worries regularly that his firm's winning ways will make it
complacent.
The candidate was so complacent with his poll numbers that he virtually
stopped campaigning.

complaisance
(n.) the quality of being agreeable or eager to please
The complaisance of the new assistant made it easy for the managers to
give him a lot of work without worrying that he may complain.

compliant
(adj.) complying; obeying; yielding
Compliant actions should be reinforced.
The slave was compliant with every order to avoid being whipped.

comport
(v.) fitting in
It was easy to comport to the new group of employees.

comprehensive
(adj.) all-inclusive; complete; thorough
It's the only health facility around to offer comprehensive care.

compromise
(v.) to settle by mutual adjustment
Labor leaders and the automakers compromised by agreeing to a starting
wage of $16 an hour in exchange for concessions on health-care
premiums.

concede
(v.) to acknowledge; admit; to surrender; to abandon one's position
After much wrangling, the conceded that the minister had a point.
Satisfied with the recount, the mayor conceded graciously.

conceit
(n.) an exaggerated personal opinion
The man's belief that he was the best player on the team was pure
conceit.

conciliation
(n.) an attempt to make friendly or placate
The attempt at conciliation

conciliatory
(adj.) to reconcile
The diplomat sought to take a conciliatory approach to keep the talks
going.

concise
(adj.) in few words; brief; condensed
The concise instructions were printed on two pages rather than the
customary five.

conclave
(n.) any private meeting or closed assembly
The conclave was to meet in the executive suite.

condescend
(v.) to come down from one's position or dignity
The arrogant, rich man was usually condescending towards his servants.

condone
(v.) to overlook; to forgive
The loving and forgiving mother condoned her son's life of crime
I will condone your actions of negligence.

confluence
(n.) a thing which is joined together
Great cities often lie at the confluence of great rivers.

confound
(v.) to lump together, causing confusion; to damn
The problem confounded our ability to solve it.
Confound you, you scoundrel!

conglomeration
(n.) a collection or mixture of various things
The conglomeration is made up of four different interest groups.
The soup was a conglomeration of meats and vegetables.

conjoin
(v.) to combine
The classes will conjoin to do the play.

conjure
(v.) to call upon or appeal to; to cause to be, appear, come
The smell of the dinner conjured images of childhood.
The magician conjured a rabbit out of a hat.

connivance
(n.) secret cooperation in wrongdoing
With the guard's connivance, the convict was able to make his escape.

connoisseur
(n.) expert; authority (usually refers to a wine or food expert)
They allowed her to choose the wine for dinner since she was the
connoisseur.

connotative
(adj.) containing associated meanings in addition to the primary one
Along with the primary meaning of the word, there were two connotative
meanings.
The connotative meaning of their music was spelled out in the video.

consecrate
(v.) to declare sacred; to dedicate
We will consecrate the pact during the ceremony.
The park was consecrated to the memory of the missing soldier.

consequential
(adj.) following as an effect; important
His long illness and consequential absence set him behind in his
homework.
The decision to move the company will be consequential to its success.

consort
(n.; v.) a companion, spouse; to associate
An elderly woman was seeking a consort.
They waited until dark to consort under the moonlight.

conspicuous
(adj.) easy to see; noticeable
The diligent and hardworking editor thought the obvious mistake was
conspicuous.

consternation
(n.) amazement or terror that causes confusion
The look of consternation on the child's face caused her father to panic.

constrain
(v.) to force, compel; to restrain
It may be necessary to constrain the wild animal if it approaches the
town.
The student was constrained to remain in her seat until the teacher gave
her permission to leave.

consummation
(n.) the completion; finish
Following the consummation of final exams, most of the students
graduated.

contemporary
(adj.) living or happening at the same time; modern
Contemporary furniture will clash with your traditional sectional.

contempt
(n.) scorn; disrespect
The greedy, selfish banker was often discussed with great contempt.

contentious
(adj.) quarrelsome
The contentious student was asked to leave the classroom.
They hate his contentious behavior because every suggestion they give
ends in a fight.

contest
(v.) to attempt to disprove or invalidate
I will attempt to contest the criminal charges against me.

contiguous
(adj.) touching; or adjoining and close, but not touching
There are many contiguous buildings in the city because there is no
excess land to allow space between them.

contravene
(v.) to act contrary to; to oppose or contradict
The story of the accused contravened the story of the witness.
The United Nations held that the Eastern European nation had
contravened the treaty.

contrite
(adj.) regretful; sorrowful; having repentance
Regretting his decision not to attend college, the contrite man did not
lead a very happy life.
A contrite heart has fixed its wrongs.

contumacious
(adj.) resisting authority
The man was put in jail for contumacious actions.

contusion
(n.) a bruise; an injury where the skin is not broken
The man was fortunate to receive only contusions from the crash.

conundrum
(n.) a puzzle or riddle
I spent two hours trying to figure out the conundrum.
The legend says that to enter the secret passageway, one must answer
the ancient conundrum.

conventional
(adj.) traditional; common; routine
The bride wanted a conventional wedding ceremony, complete with white
dresses, many flowers, and a grand reception party.
Conventional telephones are giving way to videophones.

converge
(v.) to move toward one point (opposite: diverge)
It was obvious that an accident was going to occur as the onlookers
watched the two cars converge.
The two roads converge at the corner.

conviviality
(n.) a fondness for festiveness or joviality
His conviviality makes him a welcome guest at any social gathering.

convoke
(v.) a call to assemble
The teacher convoked her students in the auditorium to help prepare
them for the play.

copious
(adj.) abundant; in great quantities
Her copious notes touched on every subject presented in the lecture.

corpulence
(n.) obesity
The corpulence of the man kept him from fitting into the seat.

correlate
(v.) to bring into mutual relation
The service man was asked to correlate the two computer demonstration
pamphlets.

corroborate
(v.) to confirm the validity
The witness must corroborate the prisoner's story if she is to be set
free.

coterie
(n.) a clique; a group who meet frequently, usually socially
A special aspect of campus life is joining a coterie.
Every day after school she joins her coterie on the playground and they
go out for a soda.

covenant
(n.) a binding and solemn agreement
With the exchange of vows, the covenant was complete.

covetous
(adj.) greedy; very desirous
Lonnie, covetous of education, went to almost every lecture at the
university.
Covetous of her neighbor's pool, she did everything she could to make
things unpleasant..

cower
(v.) to huddle and tremble
The lost dog cowered near the tree.
The tellers cowered in the corner as the bandit ransacked the bank.

coy
(adj.) modest; bashful; pretending shyness to attract
Her coy manners attracted the man.
He's not really that shy, he's just being coy.

crass
(adj.) stupid or dull; insensitive; materialistic
To make light of someone's weakness is crass.
They made their money the old-fashioned way, but still they were
accused of being crass.
My respect for the man was lowered when he made the crass remark.

craven
(n.; adj.) coward; abject person; cowardly
While many fought for their rights, the craven sat shaking, off in a corner
somewhere.
Craven men will not stand up for what they believe in.

culpable
(adj.) deserving blame; guilty
The convicted criminal still denies that he is culpable for the robbery.

curb
(n.) a restraint or framework
A curb was put up along the street to help drainage.

curmudgeon
(n.) an ill-tempered person
The curmudgeon asked the children not to play near the house.

cursory
(adj.) hasty; slight
The detective's cursory examination of the crime scene caused him to
overlook the lesser clues.

cynic
(n.) one who believes that others are motivated entirely by selfishness.
The cynic felt that the hero saved the man to become famous.