GRE 2025-2026 Vocabulary

Abberrant

abnormal or deviant

Abeyance

a state of being temporarily inactive, suspended, or set aside

Abscond

to sneak away and hide

Abstemious

self denying; refraining from indulging

Abstruse

difficult to understand; obscure

Accessible

easy to approach; obtainable

Acquiesent

ready to accept something without protest or to do what someone else wants; tending to accept or allow what others want or demand

Acrid

having an irritatingly strong and unpleasant taste or smell

Acrimonious

(adj.) stinging, bitter in temper or tone

Acumen

keen insight; shrewdness

Admonition

gentle warning; friendly reproof

Affect

Appearance of observable emotions

Affront

an action or remark that causes outrage or offense

Aggrandize

to increase or make greater

Aggregate

gather; accumulate

Allay

(v.) to calm or pacify, set to rest; to lessen or relieve

Amalgamate

to combine; to mix together

Ameliorate

to improve, make better, correct a flaw or shortcoming

Anachronous

out of place in time

Anecdote

a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person

Archipelago

A group of islands

Articulate

(v.) To pronounce distinctly; to express well in words; to fit together into a system; (adj.) able to use language effectively; expressed clearly and forcefully

Artifice

a skillful or ingenious device; a clever trick; a clever skill; trickery

Artless

Free of deceit or craftiness, natural, genuine; lacking skill or knowledge, crude, uncultured

Ascetic

practicing self-denial; austere (simple)

Assiduous

hard-working; persistent; diligent

Astute

wise, clever

Audacious

(adj.) bold, adventurous, recklessly daring

Augment

to make larger, increase

Austere

(adj.) severe or stern in manner; without adornment or luxury, simple, plain; harsh or sour in flavor

Avarice

(n.) a greedy desire, particularly for wealth

Aver

(v.) to affirm, declare confidently

Banal

common, ordinary

Base

Simple, boring

Belie

contradict; give a false impression

Beset

(v.) to attack from all sides; to surround, hem in; (adj., part.) harassed, troubled; studded (as with jewels)

Blatant

(adj.) noisy in a coarse, offensive way; obvious or conspicuous, especially in an unfavorable sense

Bolster

to support

Bombastic

pompous; using inflated language

Boon

a gift or blessing

Brevity

briefness; short duration

Browbeat

to intimidate by a stern or overbearing manner; to bully

Bumptious

offensively self-assertive

Bungle

(v.) to act or work clumsily and awkwardly; to ruin something through clumsiness

Burgeon

begin to grow or increase rapidly; flourish

Cacophony

A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds

Callous

unfeeling, insensitive

calumniate

(v.) to slander; to accuse falsely and maliciously

Candor

truthfulness; sincere honesty

Cantankerous

bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative

Carp

to complain or find fault in a petty or nagging way

Chaos

great disorder or confusion

Chicanery

trickery; deception

Churl

a rude person; boorish

Coda

concluding part of a literary or musical composition; something that summarizes or concludes

Codify

to systematize

Cognizant

aware

Cohort

a companion or associate

Colloquial

Characteristic of ordinary conversation rather than formal speech or writing

Commensurate

corresponding in size or degree; in proportion

Complacency

the state of being self-satisfied

Concillatory

reconciling; soothing

Concrete

irrefutable

Confidante

someone to whom one tells a secret

Congruous

appropriate or fitting

Consternation

dismay, amazement

Consummate

complete or perfect in the highest degree

Contentious

quarrelsome, inclined to argue

Contrite

feeling regret for having committed some wrongdoing

Contumacious

disobedient, rebellious

Cordial

pleasantly polite

Corroborate

to confirm

Countenance

facial expression

Counter

against, opposite

Counterpart

(n.) a person or thing closely resembling or corresponding to another; a complement

Craven

Cowardly

Credulity

tendency to believe things too quickly or easily

Cronyism

the practice of favoring one's friends, especially in political appointments

Curmudgeon

a bad-tempered person

Cursory

hasty, not thorough

Dearth

a lack, scarcity

Debacle

a complete failure; a total collapse

Decorum

proper behavior

Deferent

a state of giving in out of respect for another person

Deleterious

hurtful, morally or physically

Delineate

(v.) to portray, sketch, or describe in accurate and vivid detail; to represent pictorially

Depravity

moral corruption

Deride

to ridicule, laugh at with contempt

Derision

ridicule; mockery

Derivative

something that comes from another source

Desultory

aimless; haphazard

Diatribe

a bitter or malicious criticism

Didactic

instructive

Diffidence

shyness; lack of confidence

Dilatory

tending to delay or procrastinate

Disconcert

to confuse; to disturb the composure of

Discretion

cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions

disingenuous

insincere

Disquiet

lack of peace or tranquility

Dissemble

(v.) to disguise or conceal, deliberately give a false impression