GRE Vocabulary List

Memorizing vocabulary lists is not the best way to improve your vocabulary. The best way is to read more and read more challenging material. However, if you only have a couple of months till you take the test, memorization might be your only realistic option. I hope you are seeing this page in your first, rather than your last year of college. If so, consider taking courses in a broad range of disciplines. Doing so will prepare you for the wide range of reading comprehension topics you will get on the GRE, GMAT, MCAT, and LSAT, and improve your vocabulary as well. Include a course in logic for good measure (MSU students can take PHL 130 -- a basic logic course). However, if you're already a senior, you might want to learn all the words on this list. They are not all that uncommon, and you might run into them elsewhere than on the GRE. At least two sections of the GRE, analogies and antonyms, depend largely on the test-taker's knowledge of vocabulary. Many of the following words have appeared in the GRE exams (based upon previous exams which ETS has has released for students to practice with). Others are, in my opinion, good candidates to appear on the GRE. I can't guarantee that you will see all (or any) of these words on the GRE. No one can (legally) do that, as the GRE is secret. However, because of the difficulty of coming up with good antonym and analogy questions, it is likely that some words will be "recycled". The first column contains the vocabulary words, arranged in alphabetical order. The second column gives the part(s) of speech (noun, verb, adjective, or adverb) to which the word belongs, and the third gives a bief definition. In some cases, the third column also includes examples of other forms of the listed word. Knowing the part of speech to which a word belongs can often help you analyze questions and answer choices on the verbal sections of the GRE and improve your chances of figuring out the correct answer. This is especially true for analogy questions. For more information on this subject, see the Suffixes page. As for learning the parts of speech, rather than memorizing what part of speech each word belongs to, try to become more aware of what the most common parts of speech are and how the are used in sentences. For the purposes of the GRE, nouns, verbs, and adjectives are most useful. Consult a basic grammar handbook for explanations. Then, try to learn the vocabulary by putting the words into sentences. This is the best way to become more aware of how the words are used and will help you analyze GRE Analogies questions. Please remember that these are only brief and incomplete notes about these words. Many have alternate definitions or are modified to function as parts of speech not listed here. For complete and authoritative information, consult a good dictionary.

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Part of Speech adj.

Definitions, Other Forms, and Examples deviating from normal or

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abscond advocate

v. v., n.

aggrandize
Greek and Latin Roots and Affixes

v. v. adj. adj.

amalgamate ambiguous ambrosial

Suffixes

Easily Confused Words

Homonyms

anachronism

n.

MSU Learning Resources Center

anomalous antediluvian antipathy arbitrate

adj. adj. n. v. v. v. adj.

MSU Test Preparation Consortium

MSU Home

assuage attenuate audacious

correct. to leave secretly and hide, often to avoid the law. to speak, plead, or argue for a cause, or in anothers behalf. (n) -- one who advocates. to make greater, to increase, thus, to exaggerate. to unite or mix. (n) -amalgamation. vague; subject to more than one interpretation extremely pleasing to the senses, divine (as related to the gods) or delicious (n: ambrosia) a person or artifact appearing after its own time or out of chronological order (adj: anachronistic) peculiar; unique, contrary to the norm (n: anomaly) ancient; outmoded; (literally,before the flood) hostility toward, objection, or aversion to to settle a dispute by impulse (n: arbitration) to make less severe; to appease or satisfy weaken (adj: attenuated) extremely bold; fearless, especially said of human behavior (n: audacity)

aver banal barefaced blandishment bombast breach

v. adj. adj. n. n. n., v.

burgeon buttress cadge caprice castigate catalyst caustic

v., n. v., n. v. n. v. n. adj.

chicanery complaisant conflagration corporeal

n. adj. n. adj.

corporal

adj.

corroborate

v.

to declare commonplace or trite (n: banality) unconcealed, shameless, or brazen speech or action intended to coax someone into doing something pompous speech (adj: bombastic) a lapse, gap or break, as in a fortress wall. To break or break through.ex: Unfortunately, the club members never forgot his breach of ettiquette. to grow or flourish; a bud or new growth (adj: burgeoning ) to support. a support to get something by taking advantage of someone impulse (adj: capricious) to chastise or criticize severely an agent of change (adj: catalytic; v. catalyze) capable of dissolving by chemical action; highly critical: "His caustic remarks spoiled the mood of the party." deception by trickery willingly compliant or accepting of the status quo (n: complaisance) a great fire of or having to do with material, as opposed to spiritual; tangible. (In older writings, coeporeal could be a synonym for corporal. This usage is no longer common) of the body: "corporal punishment." a noncommissioned officer ranked between a sergeant and a private. to strengthen or support:

craven culpable dearth

adj., n. adj. n.

deference

n.

depict deprecation depredation

v. n. n.

descry desiccate diatribe diffident disabuse

v. v. n. adj. adj.

disparaging dispassionate dissemble dogged

adj. adj. v. adj.

dogmatic eclectic

adj. adj.

"The witness corroborted his story." (n: corroboration) cowardly; a coward deserving of blame (n: culpability) lack, scarcity: "The prosecutor complained about the dearth of concrete evidence against the suspect." submission or courteous yielding: "He held his tongue in deference to his father." (n: deferential. v. defer) to show, create a picture of. belittlement. (v. deprecate) the act of preying upon or plundering: "The depredations of the invaders demoralized the population." to make clear, to say to dry out thoroughly (adj: desiccated) a bitter abusive denunciation. lacking self-confidence, modest (n: diffidence) to free a person from falsehood or error: "We had to disabuse her of the notion that she was invited." belittling (n: disparagement. v. disparage) calm; objective; unbiased to conceal one's real motive, to feign stubborn or determined: "Her dogged pursuit of the degree eventually paid off." relying upon doctrine or dogma, as opposed to evidence selecting or employing

efficacy effluent

n. adj., n

emollient emulate encomium endemic

adj., n. v. n. adj.

enervate

v.

engender

v.

enigma ephemeral equivocal

n. adj. adj.

erudite esoteric

adj. adj.

individual elements from a variety of sources: "Many modern decorators prefer an eclectic style." (n: eclecticism) effectiveness; capability to produce a desired effect the quality of flowing out. something that flows out, such as a stream from a river (n: effluence) softening; something that softens to strive to equal or excel (n: emulation) a formal eulogy or speech of praise prevalent in or native to a certain region, locality, or people: "The disease was endemic to the region." Don't confuse this word with epidemic. to weaken or destroy the strength or vitality of: "The heatenervated everyone." (adj: enervating) to give rise to, to propagate, to cause: "His slip of the toungue engendered much laughter." puzzle; mystery: "Math is an enigma to me." (adj: enigmatic) lasting for only a brief time, fleeting (n: ephemera) ambiguous; unclear; subject to more than one interpretation -- often intentionally so: "Republicans complained that Bill Clinton's answers were equivocal." (v. equivocate) scholarly; displaying deep intensive learning. (n: erudition) intended for or

eulogy exacerbate

n. v.

exculpate

v.

exorbitant

adj.

explicit extant

adj. adj.

fathom

n., v.

fawn feign

v. v.

fervid, fervent

adj.

fledgling florid

n., adj. adj.

understood by only a few: "The esoteric discussion confused some people." (n: esoterica) a spoken or written tribute to the deceased (v. eulogize) to increase the bitterness or violence of; to aggravate: "The decision to fortify the border exacerbated tensions." to demonstrate or prove to be blameless: "The evidence tended to exculpate the defendant."(adj: exculpatory) exceeding customary or normal limits, esp. in quantity or price: "The cab fare was exorbitant." fully and clearly expressed in existence, still existing: The only extant representative of that species." a measure of length (six feet) used in nautical settings. to penetrate to the depths of something in order to understand it: "I couldn't fathom her reasoning on that issue." to seek favor or attention; to act subserviantly (n, adj: fawning) to give false appearance or impression: "He feigned illness to avoid going to school." (adj: feigned) highly emotional; hot: "The partisans displayed a fervent patriotism." (n: fervor) a baby bird; an inexperienced person; inexperienced. flushed with a rosy color, as in complexion; very ornate and flowery: "florid

floundering garrulous

adj. adj.

gossamer

n., adj.

guile

n.

guileless hapless headlong

adj. adj. adj., adv.

homogenous iconoclast

adj. n.

impecunious imperious implication imply

adj. adj. n. v.

improvidence

n.

prose." struggling: "We tried to save the floundering business." verbose; talkative; rambling: "We tried to avoid our garrulous neighbor." fine cobweb on foliage; fine gauzy fabric; very fine: "She wore a gossamer robe." skillful deceit: "He was well known for his guile." (v. bequile; adj: beguiling. Note, however, that these two words have an additional meaning: to charm (v.) or charming (adj:), while the word guile does not generally have any such positive connotations) honest; straightforward (n: guilelessness) unfortunate headfirst; impulsive; hasty. impulsively; hastily; without forethought: "They rushed headlong into marriage." similar in nature or kind; uniform: "a homogeneous society." one who attacks traditional ideas or institutions or one who destroys sacred images (adj: iconoclastic) penniless; poor commanding insinuation or connotation (v. implicate) to suggest indirectly; to entail: "She implied she didn't believe his story." (n: implication) an absence of foresight; a failure to provide for future needs or events: "Their improvidence resulted in the loss of their

inchoate

adj.

incorrigible

adj.

indelible

adj.

ineffable infer

adj. v.

ingenious

adj.

ingenuous

adj.

inhibit innocuous insensible

v. adj. adj.

insipid insular

adj. adj.

home." in an initial or early stage; incomplete; disorganized: "The act of writing forces one to clarify incohate thoughts." not capable of being corrected: "The school board finally decided the James was incorrigible and expelled him from school." permanent; unerasable; strong: "The Queen made an indelible impression on her subjects." undescribable; inexpressible in words; unspeakable to deduce: "New genetic evidence led some zoologists to infer that the red wolf is actually a hybrid of the coyote and the gray wolf." clever: "She developed an ingenious method for testing her hypothesis."(n: ingenuity) unsophisticated; artless; straightforward; candid: "Wilson's ingenuous response to the controversial calmed the suspicious listeners." to hold back, prohibit, forbid, or restrain (n: inhibition, adj: inhibited) harmless; having no adverse affect; not likely to provoke strong emotion numb; unconscious: "Wayne was rendered insensible by a blow to the head." unfeeling; insensitive: "They were insensibile to the suffering of others.: lacking zest or excitement; dull of or pertaining to an

intransigent

adj.

irascible laconic latent laudable leviathan loquacious lucid lugubrious

adj. adj. adj. adj. n. adj. adj. adj.

magnanimity malevolent

n. adj.

misanthrope misnomer misogynist mitigate

n. n. n. v.

island, thus, excessively exclusive: "Newcomers found it difficult to make friends in the insular community." stubborn; immovable; unwilling to change: "She was so intransigent we finally gave up trying to convince her." (n: intransigence) prone to outbursts of temper, easily angered using few words; terse: "a laconic reply." present or potential but not evident or active (n: latency) praiseworthy; commendable (v. laud) giant whale, therefore, something very large talkative clear; translucent: "He made a lucid argument to support his theory." weighty, mournful, or gloomy, especially to an excessive degree: "Jake's lugubrious monologues depressed his friends." generosity and nobility. (adj: magnanimous) malicious; evil; having or showing ill will: "Some early American colonists saw the wilderness as malevolent and sought to control it." one who hates people: "He was a true misanthrope and hated even himself." incorrect name or word for something one who hates women to make less forceful; to become more moderate; to make less harsh or undesirable: "He was trying to mitigate the damage he had done." (n:

nefarious noisome

adj. adj.

obdurate obviate occlude opaque

adj. v. v. adj.

ossified

adj.

panegyric peccadillo pedantic

n. n. adj.

perfidious petulant

adj. adj.

philanthropy

n.

phlegmatic placate

adj. v.

mitigation) wicked, evil: "a nefarious plot." harmful, offensive, destructive: "The noisome odor of the dump carried for miles." hardened against influence or feeling; intractable. to prevent by anticipatory measures; to make unnecessary: to close or shut off; to obstruct (n: occlusion) not transparent or transluscent; dense; difficult to comprehend, as inopaque reasoning turned to bone; hardened like bone; Inflexible: "The ossified culture failed to adapt to new economic conditions and died out." a writing or speech in praise of a person or thing a small sin or fault showing a narrow concern for rules or formal book learning; making an excessive display of one's own learning: "We quickly tired of his pedantic conversation." (n: pedant, pedantry). deliberately treacherous; dishonest (n: perfidy) easily or frequently annoyed, especially over trivial matters; childishly irritable tendency or action for the benefit of others, as in donating money or property to a charitible organization not easily excited; cool; sluggish to calm or reduce anger by making concessions: "The professor tried to placate his students by postponing

plastic

adj.

plethora

n.

ponderous pragmatic

adj. adj.

precipice

n.

precipitate

v., n.

precursor

n.

prevaricate

v.

prodigal

adj.

propitiate

v.

the exam." related to being shaped or molded; capable of being molded. (n: plasticity n: plastic) excessively large quantity; overabundance: "We received a p lethora of applications for the position." heavy; massive; awkward; dull: "A ponderous book is better than a sleeping pill." concerned with facts; practical, as opposed to highly principled or traditional: "His pragmatic approach often offended idealists." (n: pragmatism) cliff with a vertical or nearly vertical face; a dangerous place from which one is likely to fall; metaphorically, a very risky circumstance to fall; to fall downward suddenly and dramatically; to bring about or hasten the occurrence of something: "Old World diseases precipitated a massive decline in the American Indian population." something (or someone) that precedes another: "The assasination of the Archduke was a precursor to the war." to stray away from or evade the truth: "When we asked him what his intentions were, he prevaricated."(n: prevarication; prevaricator) rashly wasteful: "Americans' prodigal devotion to the automobile is unique." to conciliate; to appease: "They made sacrifices to

Pulchritudinous pusillanimous

adj. adj.

quiescence rarefy reproof rescind sagacious sanguine

n. v. n. v. adj. adj.

sate saturnine savant sedulous

v. adj. n. adj.

specious

adj.

superficial

adj.

tacit

adj.

propitiate angry gods." beautiful (n: pulchritude) cowardly, timid, or irreselute; petty: "The pusillanimous leader soon lost the respect of his people." inactivity; stillness; dormancy (adj: quiescent) to make or become thin; to purify or refine (n: rarefaction, adj: rarefied) the act of censuring, scolding, or rebuking. (v. reprove). to repeal or annul having a sharp or powerful intellect or discernment. (n: sagacity). cheerful; confident: "Her sanguine attitude put everyone at ease."(Sangfroid (noun) is a related French word meaning unflappibility. Literally, it means cold blood) to satisfy fully or to excess having a gloomy or morose temperament a very knowledgable person; a genious diligent; persevering; persistent: "Her sedulous devotion to overcoming her background impressed many." (n: sedulity; sedulousness; adv. sedulously) seemingly true but really false; deceptively convincing or attractive: "Her argument, though specious, was readily accepted by many." only covering the surface: "A superficial treatment of the topic was all they wanted." unspoken: "Katie and carmella had a tacit

taciturn temperate tirade (diatribe) tortuous

adj. adj. n. adj.

tractable

adj.

turpitude tyro

n. n.

vacuous

adj.

venerate

v.

verbose

adj.

vex

v.

agreement that they would not mention the dented fender to their parents." habitually untalkative or silent (n: taciturnity) exercising moderation and self-denial; calm or mild (n: temperance) an angry speech: "His tirade had gone on long enough." twisted; excessively complicated: "Despite public complaints, tax laws and forms have become increasingly tortuous." Note: Don't confuse this with torturous. ability to be easily managed or controlled: "Her mother wished she were more tractable." (n: tractibility) depravity; baseness: "Mr. Castor was fired for moral turpitude." beginner; person lacking experience in a specific endeavor: "They easily took advantage of the tyro." empty; without contents; without ideas or intelligence:: "She flashed a vacuous smile." great respect or reverence: "The Chinese traditionally venerated their ancestors; ancestor worship is merely a popular misnomer for this tradition." (n: veneration, adj: venerable) wordy: "The instructor asked her verbose student make her paper more concise." (n: verbosity) to annoy; to bother; to perplex; to puzzle; to debate at length: "Franklin vexed his brother with his controversial writings."

viscous

adj.

volatile voracious

adj. adj.

waver wretched zeal

v. adj. n.

slow moving; highly resistant to flow: "Heintz commercials imply that their catsup is more viscous than others'." (n: viscosity) explosive; fickle (n: volatility). craving or devouring large quantities of food, drink, or other things. She is a voracious reader. to hesitate or to tremble extremely pitiful or unfortunate (n: wretch) enthusiastic devotion to a cause, ideal, or goal (n: zealot; zealoutry. adj: zealous)

Copyright Jessica DeForest, 2000. All rights reserved