Common GRE Word
Terms
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- abate
- to reduce in amount, degree, or severity
- aberrant
- deviating from what is normal or expected
- abscond
- to leave secretly
- abstain
- to choose not to do something
- abyss
- an extremely deep hole
- adulterate
- to make impure
- advocate
- to speak in favor of
- aesthetic
- concerting the appreciation of beauty
- aggrandize
- to increase in power, influence and reputation
- alacrity
- speed or quickness
- alleviate
- to make more bearable
- amalgamate
- to combine, to mix together
- ambiguous
- doubtful or uncertain, can be interpreted several ways
- ameliorate
- to make better to improve
- anachronism
- something our of place in time
- analogous
- similar or alike in some way
- anomaly
- deviation from what is normal
- antagonize
- to annoy or provoke to anger
- antipathy
- extreme dislike
- apathy
- lack of interest or emotion
- apocryphal
- of questionable authority or authenticity
- approbation
- approval and praise
- arbitrary
- determined by chance or impulse
- arbitrate
- to judge a dispute between to opposing parties
- archaic
- ancient, old-fashioned
- ardor
- intense and passionate feeling
- articulate
- able to speak clearly and expressively
- assuage
- to make something unpleasant less severe
- attenuate
- reduce in force or degree
- audacious
- fearless and daring
- austere
- severe or stern in appearance
- banal
- predictable, clichéd, boring
- bolster
- to support, prop up
- bombastic
- pompous in speech and manner
- burgeon
- to grow and flourish
- burnish
- to polish
- cacophony
- harsh, jarring noise
- candid
- impartial and hones in speech
- capricious
- changing one’s mind quickly and often
- castigate
- to punish or criticize harshly
- catalyst
- something that brings about a change in something else
- caustic
- biting in wit
- chaos
- great disorder or confused situation
- chauvinist
- someone prejudiced in favor of a group that he or she belongs to
- chicanery
- deception by means of craft or guile
- circumspect
- cautious, aware of potential consequences
- coalesce
- to grow together to form a single whole
- cogent
- convincing and well-reasoned
- condone
- to overlook, pardon, or disregard
- connoisseur
- a person with expert knowledge or discriminating tastes
- convoluted
- intricate and complicated
- corroborate
- supporting evidence
- credulous
- too trusting
- crescendo
- steadily increasing in volume or force
- decorum
- appropriateness of behavior or conduct
- deference
- respect, courtesy
- deride
- to speak of or treat with contempt, to mock
- desiccate
- to dry out thoroughly
- desultory
- jumping from one thing to another
- diatribe
- an abusive, condemnatory speech
- diffident
- lacking self-confidence
- dilate
- to make larger, expand
- dilatory
- intended to delay
- dilettante
- someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic
- dirge
- a funeral hymn or mournful speech
- disabuse
- set right, free from error
- discern
- to perceive or recognize
- disparate
- fundamentally different
- dissemble
- to present a false appearance, to disguise one’s real intentions or
- dogma
- a firmly held opinion, especially a religious belief
- dogmatic
- dictatorial in one’s opinions
- dissonance
- a harsh and disagreeable combination, especially of sounds
- dupe
- to deceive or a person who is easily deceived
- eclectic
- selecting from or made up from a variety of sources
- efficacy
- effectiveness
- elegy
- a sorrowful poem or speech
- eloquent
- persuasive and moving, especially in speech
- embellish
- beautify something; to add ornamental or fictitious details
- emulate
- to copy
- enervate
- to reduce in strength
- engender
- to produce, cause, or bring about
- enigma
- a puzzle, a mystery
- enumerate
- to count, list itemize
- ephemeral
- lasting a short time
- equivocate
- to use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead
- erratic
- wandering and unpredictable
- erudite
- learned, scholarly, bookish
- esoteric
- known or understood only by a few
- estimable
- admirable
- eulogy
- speech in praise of someone
- euphemism
- use of an inoffensive word or phrase in place of a more distasteful one
- exacerbate
- to make worse
- exculpate
- to clear from blame, prove innocent
- exigent
- urgent
- exonerate
- to clear of blame
- explicit
- clearly stated or shown
- fanatical
- acting excessively enthusiastic, filled with extreme, unquestioned devotion
- fawn
- to grovel
- fervid
- intensely emotional, feverish
- florid
- excessively decorated or embellished
- foment
- to arouse or incite
- fortuitous
- happening by chance, fortunate
- frugality
- tending to be thrifty or cheap
- garrulous
- tending to talk a lot
- gregarious
- outgoing, sociable
- guile
- deceit, trickery
- gullible
- easily deceived
- homogenous
- of a similar kind
- iconoclast
- one who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions
- imperturbable
- not capable of being disturbed
- impervious
- impossible to penetrate
- impetuous
- quick to act without thinking
- implacable
- unable to be calmed down or made peaceful
- inchoate
- not fully formed, disorganized
- ingenuous
- showing innocence or childlike simplicity
- inimical
- hostile, unfriendly
- innocuous
- harmless
- insipid
- lacking interest or flavor
- intransigent
- uncompromising, refusing to be reconciled
- inundate
- to overwhelm, to cover with water
- irascible
- easily made angry
- laconic
- using few words
- lament
- to express sorrow, to grieve
- lassitude
- tireness and apathy; a state of diminished energy
- latent
- potential that is not readily apparent
- laud
- to give praise, to glorify
- lavish
- extremely generous or extravagant
- lethargic
- acting in an indifferent or slow, sluggish manner
- loquacious
- talkative
- lucid
- clear and easily understood
- luminous
- bright, brilliant glowing
- malinger
- to evade responsibility by pretending to be ill
- malleable
- capable of being shaped
- metaphor
- a figure of speech comparing two different things, a symbol
- meticulous
- extremely careful about details
- misanthrope
- a person who dislikes others
- mitigate
- to soften, to lessen
- mollify
- to calm or make less severe
- monotony
- no variation, tediously the same
- naive
- lacking sophistication or experience
- obdurate
- hardened in feeling, resistant to persuasion
- obsequious
- overly-submissive and eager to please
- obstinate
- stubborn, unyielding
- obviate
- to make something unnecessary; to prevent
- occlude
- to stop up, prevent the passage of
- onerous
- troublesome and oppressive
- opaque
- impossible to see through, preventing the passage of light
- opprobrium
- public disgrace
- ostentation
- excessive showiness
- paradox
- a contradiction or dilemma
- paragon
- model of excellence or perfection
- pedant
- someone who shows off learning
- perfidious
- willing to betray one’s trust
- perfunctory
- done in a routine way
- permeate
- to penetrate
- pervade
- to spread throughout; to be present throughout, to permeate
- philanthropy
- charity, a desire or effort to promote goodness
- phlegmatic
- calm and unemotional in temperament
- placate
- to soothe or pacify
- plastic
- able to be molded, altered or bent
- plethora
- excess
- pragmatic
- practical as opposed to idealistic
- precipitate
- done or acting rashly; hurried; sudden; make something happen quickly; to throw violently or bring about abruptly
- prevaricate
- to lie or deviate from the truth
- pristine
- fresh and clean, uncorrupted
- probity
- complete honesty and integrity
- proclivity
- a natural inclination or predisposition
- prodigal
- lavish, wasteful
- proliferate
- to increase in number quickly
- propitiate
- to conciliate, to appease
- propriety
- acting in a proper, manner, obeying rules and customs
- prudence
- wisdom, caution or restraint
- pungent
- sharp and irritating to the senses
- quiescent
- motionless
- rarefy
- to make thinner or sparser
- repudiate
- to reject the validity of
- reticent
- silent, reserved
- rhetoric
- effective writing or speaking
- satiate
- to satisfy fully or overindulge
- soporific
- causing sleep or lethargy
- specious
- deceptively attractive
- stigma
- a mark of shame or discredit
- stolid
- showing no emotion; unconditional, lacking sensitivity
- sublime
- lofty or grand
- tacit
- done without using words
- taciturn
- silent, not talkative
- tirade
- long, harsh speech or verbal attack
- torpor
- extreme mental and physical sluggishness
- transitory
- temporary, lasting a brief time
- vacillate
- to physically sway or to be indecisive
- venerate
- to respect deeply
- verbose
- wordy
- vex
- to annoy
- viscous
- thick and adhesive, like a slow flowing fluid
- volatile
- easily aroused or changeable
- waver
- to fluctuate between choices
- whimsical
- lightly acting in a fanciful or capricious manner
- zeal
- passion, excitement