GRE Vocabulary 2025

Abate

To reduce in amount, degree, or severity.

Abscond

To leave secretly.

Abstain

To choose not to do something.

Abstruseness

The quality of being difficult to understand or obscure.

Abyss

An extremely deep hole.

Acerbically Witty

Being sharp and biting in humor or speech, often in a harsh or sarcastic way.

Adulterate

To make impure.

Advocate

To speak in favor of.

Aesthetic

Concerning the appreciation of beauty.

Aggrandize

To increase in power, influence, and reputation.

Allegorical

Representing a deeper meaning, often moral, political, or spiritual.

Alleviate

To make more bearable.

Amalgamate

To combine; to mix together.

Ambiguous

Doubtful or uncertain; can be interpreted several ways.

Ameliorate

To make better or improve.

Anachronism

Something out of place in time.

Anachronistic

Belonging to a time period other than the one being depicted; out of place in time.

Analogous

Similar or alike in some way; equivalent to.

Anomaly

Deviation from what is normal.

Antagonize

To annoy or provoke to anger.

Antipathy

An intense dislike.

Apathy

Lack of interest or emotion.

Aplomb

Self-assurance, especially in difficult situations.

Arbitrary

Based on random choice or personal whim, rather than reason or system.

Arbitrate

To judge a dispute between two opposing parties.

Archaic

Ancient; old-fashioned.

Ardor

Intense and passionate feeling.

Articulate

Able to speak clearly and expressively.

Ascetic

A person who practices severe self-discipline and abstention from indulgence, often for religious reasons.

Aspiration

A strong desire or ambition to achieve something.

Assuage

To make something unpleasant less severe.

Attenuate

To reduce in force or degree; to weaken.

Audacious

Fearless and daring.

Austere

Severe or stern in appearance; undecorated.

Avid about

Having a keen interest or enthusiasm for something.

Banal

Lacking originality, freshness, or novelty; dull.

Baseness

The quality of being morally low or dishonorable.

Belies

To give a false impression of something; to misrepresent.

Blithely obvious

Carefree and showing a lack of concern, often with something that is easily noticeable.

Bolster

Support; prop up.

Bombastic

Pompous in speech and manner.

Bungling

Performing something clumsily or incompetently.

Burgeoning

Beginning to grow or develop rapidly.

Cacophony

Harsh, jarring noise.

Calumnious

Containing false accusations meant to damage someone's reputation.

Candid

Impartial and honest in speech.

Canny about

Being shrewd or cautious, often in a clever or astute way.

Capricious

Changing one's mind quickly and often.

Castigate

To punish or criticize harshly.

Catalyst

Something that brings about a change in something else.

Causal

Relating to or acting as a cause of something.

Caustic

Biting in wit.

Chaos

Great disorder or confusion.

Chauvinist

Someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs.

Chicanery

Deception by means of craft or guile.

Chronological

Arranged in the order of time of occurrence.

Cogency

The quality of being clear, logical, and convincing.

Cogent

Convincing and well-reasoned.

Coherent

Logical, consistent, and clear in thought or expression.

Commensurate

Corresponding in size, degree, or extent; proportional.

Condone

To overlook, pardon, or disregard.

Contentment

A state of happiness and satisfaction.

Convoluted

Intricate and complicated.

Corroborate

To support with evidence.

Credulous

Too trusting; gullible.

Crescendo

Steadily increasing in volume or force.

Curtailment

The action or process of reducing or limiting something.

Cynical

Believing that people are motivated by self-interest; distrustful of others' motives.

Cynics

People who are skeptical or distrustful of others' sincerity.

Debased

Reduced in quality, value, or dignity.

Decorum

Appropriateness of behavior or conduct; propriety.

Deference

Respect; courtesy.

Delineate

To describe or portray something in detail.

Denigrate

To criticize unfairly or defame.

Deride

To speak of or treat with contempt; to mock.

Derivative

Something that is based on or adapted from something else; not original.

Desiccate

To dry out thoroughly.

Desultory

Jumping from one thing to another; disconnected.

Diatribe

An abusive, condemnatory speech.

Diffident

Lacking self-confidence.

Dilate

To make larger; expand.

Dilatory

Intended to delay.

Dilettante

Someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic.

Dirge

A funeral hymn or mournful speech.

Disabuse

To set right; to free from error.

Discern

To perceive or recognize.

Discomfiting

Causing discomfort or unease; unsettling.

Disenchantment

The feeling of disappointment or dissatisfaction when something turns out to be less than expected.

Disinterested

Having no personal interest or bias; impartial.

Disparate

Fundamentally different; entirely unlike.

Disquietude

A state of unease or anxiety.

Dissemble

To present a false appearance; to disguise one's real intentions or character.

Dissembler

A person who conceals their true feelings or intentions; a hypocrite.

Dissonance

A harsh and disagreeable combination, especially of sounds.

Doctrinaire

A person who is dogmatic about beliefs or doctrines and often unwilling to change them.

Dogma

A firmly held opinion, often a religious belief.

Dogmatic

Dictatorial in one's opinions.

Dubious

Doubtful or suspicious; uncertain.

Dupe

To deceive; a person who is easily deceived.

Duplicity

Deceptiveness or double-dealing; the act of being deceitful.