GRE High Frequency Words
Barron & Kaplan GRE Words
Terms
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- disinterested
- unprejudiced by personal interest
- abeyance
- suspended action
- disseminate*
- distribute; spread widely; scatter (like seeds)
- equivocate*
- lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the truth
- elegy
- a sorrowful poem or speech
- doleful
- sorrowful, mournful
- inamorata
- a female lover
- bolster
- support; reinforce
- arrogate
- to claim unwarrantably or presumptuously
- embellish
- adorn; ornament; enhance, as a story
- abdicate
- to renounce or relinquish a throne
- dogma
- a firmly held opinion, often a religious belief
- alacrity
- cheerful promptness; eagerness
- goad
- overcharge
- diffuse*
- to spread widely or thinly
- condone
- overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse
- admonish
- to counsel against something; caution; warn; reprove
- eulogy*
- expression of praise, often on the occasion of someone's death
- document
- provide written evidence
- inconsequential
- insignificant; unimportant
- aggregate
- gather; accumulate
- indolence*
- state of being lazy or slothful
- dilatory*
- inclined to delay or procrastinate
- grandiloquent*
- pompous or inflated in language; bombastic; using high-sounding language
- forestall*
- prevent by taking action in advance
- aberrant
- abnormal or deviant
- conciliate
- to placate, win over
- buttress
- support; prop up
- inherent
- firmly established by nature or habit; a permanent and inseparable element, quality, or attribute
- acquiesce
- to comply, give in
- exacerbate*
- worsen; to increase bitterness or violence; intensify, inflame
- derision
- contemptuous or jeering laughter; ridicule.
- disquiet
- a lack of calm or peace
- diverge
- vary; go in different directions from the same point
- anachronism*
- something or someone misplaced in time; an obsolete or archaic form
- amity
- friendship; peaceful harmony
- fawning*
- trying to please by behaving obsequiously, flattering, or cringing
- efficacy*
- effectiveness ; power to produce desired effect
- contention
- struggling together in opposition, strife; opposing claim or thesis
- acrid
- sharp or biting to the taste or smell
- impassive
- without feeling; showing or feeling no emotion; unconscious
- abstemious*
- sparing in eating and drinking; temperate
- impugn
- to attack as false or questionable; challenge in argument
- derivative
- unoriginal; obtained from another source
- burnish
- make shiny by rubbing; polish
- endemic
- prevailing among a specific group of people or in a specific area or country; native to, indigenous
- apartheid
- any system or caste that separates people according to race
- congenital
- existing or as such from birth
- fervor
- glowing ardor; intensity of emotion
- benevolent
- desiring to do good to others
- capricious*
- unpredictable; fickle; changing one's mind quickly and often
- impervious*
- impenetrable; incapable of being damaged or distressed
- discrete
- separate; unconnected; consisting of distinct parts
- disparate
- fundamentally distinct or different in kind; entirely dissimilar
- confluence
- merging into one
- discerning
- mentally quick and observant; having insight
- approbation*
- approval; praise, consideration
- extrapolation
- projection; to infer (an unknown) from something that is known; conjecture.
- caustic
- burning; sarcastically biting
- adjoin*
- to be close or in contact with
- androgynous
- being both male and female
- fledgling
- inexperienced
- euphony
- pleasantness of sound
- contrite
- feeling regret and sorrow for one's sins or offenses; penitent
- denigrate
- to speak damagingly of ; to blacken
- belligerent
- warlike, given to waging war
- ebullient
- showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm
- execrable
- utterly detestable; abominable; abhorrent.
- expound
- to set forth in detail
- empirical
- based on experience
- ingenuous*
- free from reserve, restraint, or dissimulation; naive and trusting; young
- apotheosis
- glorification, glorified ideal, exalting person or thing to the position of god
- inert
- inactive; lacking power to move
- flout
- reject; mock; show contempt for
- catalyst
- agent that increases the rate of a chemical action; person or thing that causes action
- boorish
- rude; insensitive
- daunt
- intimidate; frighten
- equanimity
- calmness of temperament; mental or emotional stability or composure
- androgen
- any substance that promotes masculine characteristics
- aver*
- assert confidently or declare; as used in law, state formally as a fact
- indigent
- experiencing want or need; impoverished.
- impermeable
- impervious; not permitting passage through its substance
- compendium
- brief, comprehensive summary
- duplicity
- deceitfulness in speech or conduct; double-dealing
- imperturbable
- calm; placid; incapable of being upset or agitated
- frugality
- thrifty; economy
- apathy*
- lack of interest or emotion; uncaring; indifference
- flag
- droop; grow feeble; to decline in vigor or strength; symbolic cloth
- craven
- cowardly
- convoluted*
- intricate and complicated
- emulate
- imitate; rival with success
- dystrophy
- faulty or inadequate nutrition or development
- indigence
- seriously impoverished condition; poverty
- conciliatory
- reconciling; soothing
- complacent
- self-satisfied, unconcerned
- dismiss
- eliminate from consideration; reject
- inadvertently
- unintentionally; by oversight; carelessly
- coda
- concluding section of a musical or literary composition; something that summarizes or concludes
- coagulate
- thicken; congeal; clot
- abate*
- to reduce in amount, degree or severity
- inimical
- hostile, unfriendly
- elocution
- art of clear and expressive speech
- deterrent
- something that discourages; hindrance
- homogeneous
- of the same kind
- deference*
- respect; courteous regard for another's wishes
- avocation
- something one does in addition to a principle occupation
- assuage
- to make less severe; ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger)
- distill
- purify; refine; concentrate
- distend
- to expand by stretching; swell out
- exculpate*
- to clear from blame; prove innocent
- engender
- to produce, cause or bring about
- euphemism
- an inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive
- enervate
- weaken to reduce in strength
- bemoan
- to express pity for
- decadent
- excess; decaying, deteriorating
- circuitous
- roundabout, indirect
- abscond*
- depart secretly and hide
- disabuse*
- correct a false impression; to set right; to free from error
- aggrandize
- to increase in power, influence and reputation
- contravene
- to come into conflict with
- fallacious
- false; misleading; containing a fallacy
- abjure
- to renounce on oath
- impetuous*
- quick to act without thinking
- assiduous*
- diligent, persistent, hardworking
- accretion
- an increase by natural growth
- corroborate
- to provide supporting evidence
- erudite
- characterized by great knowledge; learned or scholarly
- dissonance
- discord; opposite of harmony
- iconoclast*
- one who opposes established beliefs, customs, institutions and religious images
- analogous
- comparable
- atrophy
- to waste away; wither or deteriorate; the wasting away of body tissue
- apprise
- inform
- fiduciary
- of a trust; held or given in trust; a person to whom property or power is entrusted
- epithet
- a word or phrase characteristically used to characterize a person or thing; "man's best friend"
- castigate*
- to punish in order to correct; criticize harshly
- inchoate*
- not fully formed; disorganized; rudimentary; elementary
- elicit
- to bring or draw out; to draw forth
- dour
- sullen, gloomy
- connoisseur
- person competent to act as a judge of art; a lover of art
- heterodox
- different from acknowledged standard; holding unorthodox opinions or doctrines
- attenuate
- make thinner
- ambivalence
- the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes
- convoke
- to call together
- idolatry
- worship of idols; excessive admiration
- deign
- to think fit or in accordance with one's dignity
- incorporate
- introduce something into a larger whole; combine; unite
- discordant
- not harmonious; conflicting
- conflagration
- a large destructive fire
- eclectic*
- selective; composed of elements from a variety of sources
- effrontery
- impudence; shameless boldness; sheer nerve; presumptuousness
- hypocritical
- pretending to have virtues or qualities one does not truly have
- foment*
- to arouse or incite
- fatuous
- brainless; inane; foolish, yet smug
- concentric
- having a common center
- delineate
- portray; depict; sketch; portray in words
- diatribe
- bitter scolding; sharply abusive denunciation
- compliant
- yielding; conforming to requirements
- dissolution
- disintegration of organization, company, gov.; looseness in morals; reduction to a liquid
- dirge
- lament with music; funeral song
- default
- failure to act
- estimable
- admirable; worthy of esteem
- facilitate
- help bring about; make less difficult
- guileless
- without deceit
- amatory
- of or pertaining to lovers or lovemaking
- beneficent
- kindly; doing good
- digression
- wandering away from the subject
- ambiguous
- unclear or doubtful in meaning
- anomalous
- abnormal; irregular
- immutable
- unchangeable
- effluence
- flowing out of
- apogee
- the highest or most distant point
- heterogeneous
- different in kind; composed of different substances; not originating in the body
- hyperbole
- exaggeration; overstatement
- cogent*
- convincing and well reasoned
- disparage
- belittle; to bring reproach or discredit upon
- diffident*
- lacking or marked by a lack of self-confidence; shy and timid.
- doctrine
- a principle or body of principles presented for acceptance or belief; dogma
- eugenics
- improvement of qualities of race by control of inherited characteristics
- inculpate
- to charge with fault
- belie
- contradict; give a false impression
- indoctrinate
- to imbue someone with learning
- abject
- utterly hopeless, humiliating or wretched
- burgeon
- grow or develope quickly; send out buds
- implicit
- understood but not stated
- discredit
- defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve
- discrepancy
- lack of consistency; difference
- dupe*
- to deceive; a person who is easily deceived
- autonomous*
- self-governing; independent
- ineffable
- too great for description
- implode
- burst inward
- incongruity
- lack of harmony; absurdity
- deride
- ridicule; make fun of
- incursion
- a hostile entrance into a place
- converge
- approach; tend to meet; come together
- gullible
- easily deceived
- effigy
- a likeness or image, especially of a person; possible crude representation
- disingenuous
- lacking genuine candor; insincere
- chicanery*
- trickery; deception by means of craft or guile
- anarchy
- absence of governing body; state of disorder
- confound
- confuse; puzzle
- commensurate
- corresponding in extent, degree, etc.; proportionate, equal measure
- affable
- friendly, courteous
- dormant
- sleeping; lethargic; in a state of rest or inactivity
- convalescent
- recovering from illness
- ablution
- act of cleansing
- adventitious
- associated with something by chance; appearing in an abnormal or unusual position; accidental
- compunction
- a feeling of uneasiness for doing wrong
- divest
- strip; deprive of clothing, ornament, etc.; to sell off, to take away
- gregarious
- sociable; fond of the company of others
- capitulate
- to surrender unconditionally or on stipulated terms
- amalgamate
- combine; unite in one body
- animus
- hostile feeling or attitude
- enigma
- a puzzle; a mystery
- adjure
- to charge bind or command earnestly and solmnly
- circumambulate
- to walk about or around
- dissemble*
- disguise; pretend; to disguise one's real intentions or character
- artless
- without guile, open and honest, free from deceit; lacking art, knowledge or skill
- acerbic
- sour or astringent in taste, harsh in temper
- benign
- having a kindly disposition
- futile
- useless; hopeless; ineffectual
- disport
- to divert or amuse oneself; to display oneself in a sportive manner
- decorum
- propriety; orderliness and good taste in manners
- indeterminate
- uncertain; not clearly fixed; indefinite
- arduous
- hard; strenuous
- importune
- to urge or press with excessive persistence; improper advances toward another
- infusion
- liquid extract so obtained
- ephemeral*
- short lived; fleeting
- garrulous
- loquacious; talkative; wordy
- facetious
- amusing, humorous; not meant to be taken seriously or literally
- impede
- hinder; block
- cursory
- going rapidly over something; hasty; superficial
- credulous*
- too trusting; gullible
- abrogate
- to abolish by formal means
- complaisant*
- trying to please; overly polite; obliging
- circumspect
- watchful and discreet
- dichotomy*
- split; branching into two parts (especially contradictory ones)
- desultory*
- aimless; haphazard; irregular; digressing at random
- acrimonious
- caustic, stinging or bitter in nature
- impair
- injure; hurt
- circumscribe
- to draw a line around
- felicitous
- apt; suitably expressed; well chosen
- epigram
- a witty or pointed saying tersely expressed
- antipathy*
- aversion; dislike
- ameliorate
- to make better; to improve
- fusillade
- continuous discharge of firearms; outburst of criticism
- altruist
- a person unselfishly concerned for the welfare of others
- guile
- deceit or trickery; artful deception
- aesthetic
- artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciating the beautiful
- exult
- to show or feel triumphant joy
- bombastic*
- pompous in speech and manner ; using inflated language
- induce
- to move or lead by influence; to produce
- implacable
- incapable of being pacified
- desiccate*
- to dry out thoroughly
- dilettante
- someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic
- austere*
- forbiddingly stern in appearance; severely simple and unornamented
- deferential
- respectful, to yield judgment to; showing deference
- conundrum
- riddle; difficult problem
- adulterate*
- to make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances
- dogmatic*
- opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal
- ascetic
- practicing self-denial; austere
- disjointed
- lacking coherence; separated at the joints
- gainsay
- deny, dispute; to speak or act against
- banal
- boring; commonplace; trite; lacking originality; clichéd; hackneyed
- exigency
- urgent situation; pressing needs or demands; state of requiring immediate attention
- delude
- to mislead the mind of judgment of, deceive
- exigent
- urgent; requiring immediate action
- apostasy*
- renunciation of one's previous loyalty; a total desertion of one's religion, principles, cause, etc.
- abstruse
- hard to understand; secret, hidden
- goad
- urge on
- audacious
- daring; bold
- appropriate
- acquire; take possession of for one's own use
- empathy
- the identification with the feelings or thoughts of others
- bilateral
- pertaining to or affecting two or both sides
- enhance
- increase; improve
- esoteric*
- hard to understand; known only to the chosen few
- fractious
- irritable, readily angered
- appease
- pacify or soothe; relieve
- alleviate
- relieve
- harangue
- long, passionate, and vehement speech
- contentious
- quarrelsome