GRE Word List

A M I N U R R A H M A N (AMIN) GRE Word List
		List of 333 important GRE words and definitions.
		Abate – subside or moderate. Aberrant – abnormal or deviant. Abeyance – suspended action. Abscond – depart secretly and hide. Abstemious – sparing in eating and drinking; temperate Admonish – warn; reprove Adulterate – make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances. Aesthetic – artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciating the beautiful. Aggregate – gather; accumulate. Alacrity – cheerful promptness; eagerness. Alleviate – relieve. Amalgamate – combine; unite in one body. Ambiguous – unclear or doubtful in meaning. Ambivalence – the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes. Ameliorate – improve. Anachronism – something or someone misplaced in time. Analogous – comparable. Anarchy – absence of governing body; state of disorder. Anomalous – abnormal; irregular. Antipathy – aversion; dislike. Apathy – lack of caring; indifference. Appease – pacify or soothe; relieve. Apprise – inform. Approbation – approval. Appropriate – acquire; take possession of for one’s own use. Arduous – hard; strenuous. Artless – without guile; open and honest. Ascetic – practicing self-denial; austere. Assiduous – diligent. Assuage – ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger). Attenuate – make thinner; weaken or lessen (in density, force, degree). Audacious – daring; bold. Austere – forbiddingly stern; severely simple and unornamented. Autonomous – self-governing. Aver – assert confidently or declare; as used in law, state formally as a fact. Banal – hackneyed; commonplace; trite; lacking originality. Belie – contradict; give a false impression. Beneficent – kindly; doing good. Bolster – support; reinforce. Bombastic – pompous; using inflated language. Boorish – rude; insensitive. Burgeon – grow forth; send out buds. Burnish – make shiny by rubbing; polish. Buttress – support; prop up. Cacophonous – discordant; inharmonious. Capricious – unpredictable; fickle. Castigation – punishment; sever criticism. Catalyst – agent that influences the pace of a chemical reaction while it remains unaffected and unchanged; person or thing that causes action. Caustic – burning; sarcastically biting. Chicanery – trickery; deception. Coagulate – thicken; congeal; clot. Coda – concluding section of a musical or literary composition; something that rounds out, summarizes, or concludes. Cogent – convincing. Commensurate – corresponding in extent, degree, amount, etc.; proportionate. Compendium – brief, comprehensive summary. Complaisant – trying to please; overly polite; obliging. Compliant – yielding; conforming to requirements. Conciliatory – reconciling; soothing. Condone – overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse. Confound – confuse; puzzle. Connoisseur – person competent to act as a judge of art, etc.; a lover of an art. Contention – claim; thesis. Contentious – quarrelsome. Contrite – penitent. Conundrum – riddle; difficult problem. Converge – approach; tend to meet; come together. Convoluted – coiled around; involved; intricate. Craven – cowardly. Daunt – intimidate; frighten. Decorum – propriety; orderliness and good taste in manners. Default – failure to act. Deference – courteous regard for another’s wish. Delineate – portray; depict; sketch. Denigrate – blacken. Deride – ridicule; make fun of. Derivative – unoriginal; obtained from another source. Desiccate – dry up. Desultory – aimless; haphazard; digressing at random. Deterrent – something that discourages; hinderance. Diatribe – bitter scolding; invective. Dichotomy – split; branching into two parts. Diffidence – shyness. Diffuse – wordy; rambling; spread out. Digression – wandering away from the subject. Dirge – lament with music. Disabuse – correct a false impression; undeceive. Discerning – mentally quick and observant; having insight. Discordant – not harmonious; conflicting. Discredit – defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve. Discrepancy – lack of consistency; difference. Discrete – separate; unconnected; consisting of distinct parts. Disingenuous – lacking genuine candor; insincere. Disinterested – unprejudiced. Disjointed – lacking coherence; separated at the joints. Dismiss – eliminate from consideration; reject. Disparage – belittle. Disparate – basically different; unrelated. Dissemble – disguise; pretend. Disseminate – distribute; spread; scatter. Dissolution – disintegration; looseness in morals. Dissonance – discord; opposite of harmony. Distend – expand; swell out. Distill – purify; refine; concentrate. Diverge – vary; go in different directions from the same point. Divest – strip; deprive. Document – provide written evidence. Dogmatic – opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal. Dormant – sleeping; lethargic; latent. Dupe – someone easily fooled. Ebullient – showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm. Eclectic – selective; composed of elements drawn from disparate sources. Efficacy – power to produce desired effect. Effrontery – impudence; shameless boldness; sheer nerve; presumptuousness. Elegy – poem or song expressing lamentation. Elicit – draw out by discussion. Embellish – adorn; ornament; enhance, as a story. Empirical – based on experience. Emulate – imitate; rival. Endemic – prevailing among a specific group of people or in a specific area or country. Enervate – weaken. Engender – cause; produce. Enhance – increase; improve. Ephemeral – short-lived; fleeting. Equanimity – calmness of temperament; composure. Equivocate – lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the truth. Erudite – learned; scholarly. Esoteric – hard to understand; know only to the chosen few. Eulogy – expression of praise, often to the occasion of someone’s death. Euphemism – mild expression in place of an unpleasant one. Exacerbate – worsen; embitter. Exculpate – clear from blame. Exigency – urgent situation; pressing needs or demands; state of requiring immediate attention. Extrapolation – projection; conjecture. Facetious – joking (often inappropriately); humorous. Facilitate – help bring about; make less difficult. Fallacious – false; misleading. Fatuous – brainless; inane; foolish, yet smug. Fawning – trying to please by behaving obsequiously, flattering, or cringing. Felicitous – apt; suitably expressed; well chosen. Fervor – glowing ardor; intensity of feeling. Flag – droop; grow feeble. Fledgling – inexperienced. Flout – reject; mock; show contempt for. Foment – stir up; instigate. Forestall- prevent by taking action in advance. Frugality – thrift; economy. Futile – useless; hopeless; ineffectual. Gainsay – deny. Garrulous – loquacious; wordy; talkative. Goad – urge on. Gouge – overcharge. Grandiloquent – pompous; bombastic; using high-sounding language. Gregarious – sociable. Guileless – without deceit. Gullible – easily deceived. Harangue – long, passionate, and vehement speech. Homogeneous – of the same kind. Hyperbole – exaggeration; overstatement. Iconoclastic – attacking cherished traditions. Idolatry – worship of idols; excessive admiration. Immutable – unchangeable. Impair – injure; hurt. Impassive – without feeling; imperturbable; stoical. Impede – hinder; block. Impermeable – impervious; not permitting passage through its substance. Imperturbable – calm; placid. Impervious – impenetrable; incapable of being damaged or distressed. Implacable – incapable of being pacified. Implicit – understood but not stated. Implode – burst inward. Inadvertently – unintentionally; by oversight; carelessly. Inchoate – recently begun; rudimentary; elementary. Incongruity – lack of harmony; absurdity. Inconsequential – insignificant; unimportant. Incorporate – introduce something into a larger whole; combine; unite. Indeterminate – uncertain; not clearly fixed; indefinite. Indigence – poverty. Indolent – lazy. Inert – inactive; lacking power to move. Ingenuous – naïve and trusting; young; unsophisticated. Inherent – firmly established by nature or habit. Innocuous – harmless. Insensible – unconscious; unresponsive. Insinuate – hint; imply; creep in. Insipid – lacking in flavor; dull. Insularity – narrow-mindedness; isolation. Intractable – unruly; stubborn; unyielding. Intransigence – refusal of any compromise; stubbornness. Inundate – overwhelm; flood; submerge. Inured – accustomed; hardened. Invective – abuse. Irascible – irritable; easily angered. Irresolute – uncertain how to act; weak. Itinerary – plan of a trip. Laconic – brief and to the point. Lassitude – languor; weariness. Latent – potential but undeveloped; dormant; hidden. Laud – praise. Lethargic – drowsy; dull. Levee – earthen or stone embankment to prevent flooding. Levity – lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity. Log – record of a voyage or flight; record of day-to-day activities. Loquacious – talkative. Lucid – easily understood; clear; intelligible. Luminous – shining; issuing light. Magnanimity – generosity. Malingerer – one who feigns illness to escape duty. Malleable – capable of being shaped by pounding; impressionable. Maverick – rebel; nonconformist. Mendacious – lying; habitually dishonest. Metamorphosis – change of form. Meticulous – excessively careful; painstaking; scrupulous. Misanthrope – one who hates mankind. Mitigate – lessen in intensity; moderate; appease. Mollify – soothe. Morose – ill-humored; sullen; melancholy. Mundane – worldly as opposed to spiritual; every-day. Negate – cancel out; nullify; deny. Neophyte – recent convert; beginner. Obdurate – stubborn. Obsequious – slavishly attentive; servile: sycophantic. Obviate – make unnecessary; get rid of. Occlude – shut; close. Officious – meddlesome; excessively pushy in offering one’s services. Onerous – burdensome. Opprobrium – infamy; vilification. Oscillate – vibrate pendulum like; waver. Ostentatious – showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention. Paragon – model of perfection. Partisan – one-sided; prejudiced; committed to a party. Pathological – pertaining to disease. Paucity – scarcity. Pedantic – showing off learning; bookish. Penchant – strong inclination; liking. Penury – severe poverty; stinginess. Perennial – something long-lasting. Perfidious – treacherous; disloyal. Perfunctory – superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm. Permeable – penetrable; porous; allowing liquids or gas to pass through. Pervasive – spread throughout. Phlegmatic – calm; not easily disturbed. Piety – devoutness; reverence for God. Placate – pacify; conciliate. Plasticity – ability to be molded. Platitude – trite remark; commonplace statement. Plethora – excess; overabundance. Plummet – fall sharply. Porous – full of pores; like a sieve. Pragmatic – practical; concerned with the practical worth or impact of something. Preamble – introductory statement. Precarious – uncertain; risky. Precipitate – rash; premature; hasty; sudden. Precursor – forerunner. Presumptuous – arrogant; taking liberties. Prevaricate – lie. Pristine – characteristic of earlier times; primitive, unspoiled. Probity – uprightness; incorruptibility. Problematic – doubtful; unsettled; questionable; perplexing. Prodigal – wasteful; reckless with money. Profound – deep; not superficial; complete. Prohibitive – tending to prevent the purchase or use of something; inclined to prevent or forbid. Proliferate – grow rapidly; spread; multiply. Propensity – natural inclination. Propitiate – appease. Propriety – fitness; correct conduct. Proscribe – ostracize; banish; outlaw. Pungent – stinging; sharp in taste or smell; caustic. Qualified – limited; restricted. Quibble – minor objection or complaint. Quiescent – at rest; dormant; temporarily inactive. Rarefied – made less dense [of a gas]. Recalcitrant – obstinately stubborn; determined to resist authority; unruly. Recant – disclaim or disavow; retract a previous statement; openly confess error. Recluse – hermit; loner. Recondite – abstruse; profound; secret. Refractory – stubborn; unmanageable. Refute – disprove. Relegate – banish to an inferior position; delegate; assign. Reproach – express disapproval or disappointment. Reprobate – person hardened in sin, devoid of a sense of decency. Repudiate – disown; disavow. Rescind – cancel. Resolution – determination. Resolve – determination; firmness of purpose. Reticent – reserved; uncommunicative; inclined to silence. Reverent – respectful; worshipful. Sage – person celebrated for wisdom. Salubrious – healthful. Sanction – approve; ratify. Satiate – satisfy fully. Saturate – soak thoroughly. Savor – enjoy; have a distinct flavor, smell, or quality. Secrete – hide away or cache; produce and release a substance into an organism. Shard – fragment, generally of pottery. Skeptic – doubter; person who suspends judgment until having examined the evidence supporting a point of view. Solicitous – worried, concerned. Soporific – sleep-causing; marked by sleepiness. Specious – seemingly reasonable but incorrect; misleading (often intentionally). Spectrum – colored band produced when a beam of light passes through a prism. Sporadic – occurring irregularly. Stigma – token of disgrace; brand. Stint – be thrifty; set limits. Stipulate – make express conditions, specify. Stolid – dull; impassive. Striated – marked with parallel bands; grooved. Strut – pompous walk. Strut – supporting bar. Subpoena – writ summoning a witness to appear. Subside – settle down; descend; grow quiet. Substantiate – establish by evidence; verify; support. Supersede – cause to be set aside; replace; make obsolete. Supposition – hypothesis; surmise. Tacit – understood; not put into words. Tangential – peripheral; only slightly connected; digressing. Tenuous – thin; rare; slim. Tirade – extended scolding; denunciation; harangue. Torpor – lethargy; sluggishness; dormancy. Tortuous – winding; full of curves. Tractable – docile; easily managed. Transgression – violation of a law; sin. Truculence – aggressiveness; ferocity. Vacillate – waver; fluctuate. Venerate – revere. Veracious – truthful. Verbose – wordy. Viable – practical or workable; capable of maintaining life. Viscous – sticky, gluey. Vituperative – abusive; scolding. Volatile – changeable; explosive; evaporating rapidly. Warranted – justified; authorized. Wary – very cautious. Welter – turmoil; bewildering jumble. Zealot – fanatic; person who shows excessive zeal.