Top 100 GRE Words

abyss hole so deep as to appear bottomless acquiesce agree, accept without protest affable polite and friendly, easy to talk to affliction distress, suffering affluent wealthy, abundant agitate move, shake, stir up ambiguous having more than one meaning annex take possession of aqueous of or like water arduous demanding great effort, strenuous aroma quality or surrounding atmosphere considered typical atone make repayment avarice greed bellicose inclined to fighting calisthenics exercises to develop strong bodies captor person who takes someone captive concoct invent, prepare by mixing together dangle hand or swing loosely deprive take away from, prevent from using diligent hard-working disrobe undress docile easily trained or controlled doleful dismal, mournful drought a long period of dry weather dubious feeling doubt dumbfound astonish efface rub or wipe out, obliterate elucidate to make understandable enchant charm, delight endeavor to make an effort, to try very hard endorse approve, support a claim or statement enthrall take the whole attention enslave exploit to use for selfish advantage or profit extensive far-reaching extol to praise highly flimsy lacking solidarity, strength fraud a fault, a deception gaudy too bright and showy ghastly death-like, pale and ill grumble to complain harass worry, trouble heretic very busy; active impediment something that hinders (esp in speech) indigenous native insatiate never satisfied intrepid fearless irate angry jeopardy danger leash control loafer an idle, lazy person lucrative profitable lustrous bright; shining malign to slander meddle to interfere, to intrude mend to repair mirth being merry and happy nausea feeling of sickness neglect pay no attention to nocturnal of or in the night obese very fat obsolete no longer useful, outdated perch take up a high position pervade spread through every part of petulant unreasonably impatient or irritable pillage plunder (esp in war) presumptuous too bold or self-confident quashed annulled quenching satisfy, put an end to, put out refurbished make clean, as if like new rejoicing happiness, joy reticent in the habit of saying little reverberate be sent back, again and again rigor sternness, strictness, severe conditions rotundity state of being round salvage the saving of property from loss scattered not situated together shatter to break into many pieces shunned avoided, kept away from sketchy shortly, roughly, quickly sporadic happening from time to time stifled suppressed, kept back strive to make great efforts, to struggle subsequent following succumb yield, die taciturn unspoken, silent tantalize raise hopes that cannot be realized tentative uncertain, probable torpid dull and slow treacherous not to be trusted, perfidious tremor thrill tyro a beginner uproar noise and excitement vanity a foolish pride vehemence forcefulness, intensity, conviction vigilance watchfulness vindicate prove the truth voluptuous arousing sensual pleasures wan looking ill, not bright wile a trick wrinkle make small lines (eg forehead)

The Learning Center at Berea College Draper 106 CPO 2149 x3404
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Spring 2009

GRE Vocab Practice

Preparing for the Verbal section of the GRE can be daunting, especially considering the practice time necessary to build a stronger vocabulary. Fortunately, the test questions frequently rely on the same words, and these trends provide test-takers with a smaller group of terms to study. Isolating Vocabulary Gaps When looking over top GRE word lists, try to highlight or underline words that you do not know and words for which you cant easily provide a definition. If you cant articulate the meaning(s) of a word on demand, then it is a word you should study. Use flashcards, lists, ask a friend to quiz you, and above all else, plan adequate time to study before the GRE. Ideally, you should spend at least a month learning new words; building vocabulary takes longer than learning a math formula or argument structure. Studying Vocabulary Roots If you fail to recognize a word on the GRE, you can often make an educated guess as to its meaning by breaking the word into its component (com-, meaning with or together) parts. Learn common Latin roots, and take the time to study the meaning of popular prefixes and suffixes, such as a- (without, a lack of; atypical, asexual, atheism), or ex- (out [of]; exodus, extinct, exhale). Identifying affixes and roots can help you determine a words approximate function or meaning. A useful reference list is located at <http://www.virtualsalt.com/roots.htm>. The Imaginary Word Method The GRE verbal section will contain three types of vocabulary questions: sentence completion, antonyms, and analogies. For all of these questions, the most important technique to remember is the imaginary word. Ignoring the list of words, imagine one of your own that has the meaning you need, then 1) eliminate words that cannot mean the same as your word and 2) locate the word that has the closest meaning. Sentence completions are a bit different. Decide whether the sentence contains agreement or disagreement by identifying words like but, except (disagreement), or so, and thus (agreement), then use your imaginary word to choose the best option. Ex: While some students are quick to answer questions, others are ______. Sagacious Arrogant Flamboyant Torpid

The sentence begins with while, indicating a compound sentence with disagreement. Lazy might serve well in the blank, and torpid is its synonym. Thus, torpid is the correct answer. Before the GRE There is no point cramming vocabulary the night before the exam, so instead, try giving yourself a cumulative review of the words youve learned. Get a good nights sleep, and dont worry about it; youve done all you can do. The Learning Center at Berea College Draper 106 CPO 2149 x3404
www.berea.edu/learningcenter
Spring 2009