Comprehensive GRE Vocabulary – Core 200 Words

200 core GRE-level vocabulary flashcards with concise definitions to aid rapid review and recall.

Abase

To humiliate, demean, or degrade someone

Abate

To lessen in intensity, amount, or strength

Aberrant

Departing from an accepted standard; abnormal

Abeyance

A temporary suspension or pause

Abhor

To regard with extreme dislike or hatred

Abjure

To formally renounce or give up (a belief, claim, or cause)

Abrogate

To abolish, repeal, or cancel officially

Abscond

To leave secretly and hide, often to avoid arrest

Abstain

To choose to refrain from an action or habit

Abstruse

Difficult to understand; obscure

Accede

To agree to a request or demand

Accolade

An award, honor, or expression of praise

Acerbic

Sharp and forthright in tone; bitter

Acme

The highest point; peak

Acquiesce

To accept something reluctantly but without protest

Acrimony

Bitterness or harshness of manner or speech

Adulterate

To make something impure by adding inferior elements

Aesthetic

Concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty

Alacrity

Eager and cheerful readiness

Alienate

To cause someone to feel isolated or estranged

Alleviate

To relieve, reduce, or lessen

Amalgamate

To combine or unite to form one structure

Ambiguous

Open to more than one interpretation

Ambivalent

Having mixed or contradictory feelings

Amenable

Responsive; willing to follow advice or suggestion

Ameliorate

To improve or make better

Anachronism

Something out of its proper time period

Anathema

Something or someone intensely disliked or cursed

Animosity

Strong hostility or hatred

Anomalous

Deviating from the norm; irregular

Antipathy

A deep-seated feeling of dislike

Apathy

Lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern

Apocryphal

Of doubtful or questionable authenticity

Apostate

A person who abandons a religious or political belief

Approbation

Official approval or praise

Arbitrary

Based on random choice rather than reason

Arcane

Understood by few; mysterious or secret

Arduous

Requiring great effort; strenuous

Artless

Without deception; natural or innocent

Ascetic

Practicing strict self-denial as a measure of personal discipline

Aspersion

A damaging or derogatory remark

Assiduous

Showing great care and perseverance; diligent

Assuage

To soothe, pacify, or lessen (pain, fear, worry)

Audacious

Fearlessly bold or daring

Austere

Severe or strict in manner; without luxury

Avarice

Extreme greed for wealth or material gain

Axiom

A universally accepted principle or self-evident truth

Banal

So lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring

Belie

To give a false impression of; to contradict

Belligerent

Hostile and aggressive; inclined to fight

Beneficent

Doing or producing good; charitable

Benign

Gentle, kind; not harmful

Blithe

Cheerful and carefree; indifferent

Bolster

To support or strengthen

Bombastic

High-sounding but with little meaning; pompous

Bucolic

Relating to the pleasant aspects of the countryside

Cacophony

A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds

Calumny

A false and malicious statement; slander

Candid

Honest, frank, and straightforward

Capitulate

To surrender or yield

Capricious

Impulsive and unpredictable

Castigate

To criticize or punish severely

Caustic

Sarcastic in a scathing way; able to burn chemically

Censure

Strong disapproval or official reprimand

Chicanery

Trickery or deceptive practice

Coalesce

To come together and form one mass or whole

Cogent

Clear, logical, and convincing

Complacent

Self-satisfied and unaware of possible dangers

Connoisseur

An expert who can appreciate the subtleties of something

Conundrum

A confusing and difficult problem or question

Convoluted

Extremely complex and difficult to follow

Copious

Abundant in supply or quantity

Credulous

Too ready to believe; gullible

Cryptic

Having a hidden or mysterious meaning

Cursory

Hasty and therefore not thorough

Daunt

To intimidate or discourage

Debacle

A sudden, disastrous failure

Debilitate

To weaken or enfeeble

Decorum

Proper and dignified behavior

Deference

Respectful submission to another’s opinion or wishes

Deleterious

Harmful or damaging

Demur

To raise objections; to hesitate

Deride

To ridicule or mock

Desiccate

To dry out completely

Desultory

Lacking purpose or enthusiasm; random

Diatribe

A bitter, abusive criticism or denunciation

Didactic

Intended to instruct or teach

Diffident

Shy, lacking self-confidence

Dilatory

Tending to delay or procrastinate

Dilettante

A person who dabbles in a subject without serious study

Disabuse

To free someone from a misconception

Discern

To perceive or recognize clearly

Discomfit

To make someone uneasy or embarrassed

Disparate

Essentially different; not comparable

Dispassionate

Not influenced by strong emotion; impartial

Disseminate

To spread widely (information, ideas, etc.)

Dissolution

The act of breaking up or ending

Docile

Easily managed or taught; submissive

Dogmatic

Holding opinions as undeniably true; doctrinaire

Dubious

Doubtful; of questionable authenticity