GRE PREP GUIDE 2025

GRE Terminology

Abate

reduce or lessen

Aberrant

deviating from the norm

Abjure

to reject or renounce

Abscond

to leave secretly and hide

Acrimony

bitterness or ill feeling

Alacrity

eager willingness

Ameliorate

to make better or improve

Anachronism

something out of place in time

Antipathy

strong dislike

Apathy

lack of interest or emotion

Arduous

difficult and tiring

Austere

strict or simple in style

Banal

commonplace or boring

Belie

to contradict or give a false impression

Bolster

to support or strengthen

Bombastic

pompous or inflated in speech

Cacophony

harsh or discordant sound

Capricious

impulsive and unpredictable

Castigate

to punish or criticize harshly

Caustic

sarcastic or biting in tone

Conundrum

a confusing or difficult problem

Credulous

too trusting or gullible

Decorum

proper behavior or etiquette

Deference

respect or courteous regard

Desiccate

to dry out completely

Diatribe

bitter verbal attack

Diffident

shy or lacking self-confidence

Disparate

different or distinct in kind

Disseminate

to spread widely

Dogmatic

stubbornly opinionated

Ebullient

overflowing with enthusiasm

Eclectic

choosing from various sources

Elegy

a mournful poem or song

Enervate

to weaken or exhaust

Ephemeral

short-lived or fleeting

Esoteric

intended for a small

Eulogy

speech of praise for the deceased

Exacerbate

to make worse or more severe

Fervid

intensely passionate

Foment

to stir up or incite

Garrulous

excessively talkative

Gregarious

sociable and outgoing

Harangue

a long

Iconoclast

one who attacks traditional beliefs

Idiosyncrasy

a peculiar personal trait

Imperturbable

calm and composed

Impetuous

acting without thought or care

Inchoate

not fully formed or developed

Ingenuous

innocent and sincere

Inimical

hostile or unfriendly

Insipid

lacking flavor or interest

Intrepid

fearless or adventurous

Inundate

to flood or overwhelm

Irascible

easily angered

Laconic

using few words

Lethargic

slow or lacking energy

Loquacious

talkative or chatty

Magnanimous

generous and forgiving

Malleable

easily shaped or influenced

Misanthrope

person who hates others

Mitigate

to make less severe

Obdurate

stubbornly resistant

Obfuscate

to confuse or make unclear

Obsequious

overly submissive or flattering

Occlude

to block or obstruct

Opaque

not transparent or hard to understand

Opprobrium

public disgrace or shame

Ostentatious

showy or pretentious display

Paradox

a statement that contradicts itself but may be true

Paragon

model of excellence or perfection

Pedantic

overly concerned with minor details

Penchant

strong liking or preference

Perfidy

betrayal of trust

Perfunctory

done without care or interest

Perspicacious

having sharp understanding

Pervasive

spreading widely throughout

Philanthropy

the desire to promote others’ welfare

Placate

to calm or appease

Pragmatic

dealing with things sensibly and realistically

Precipitous

very steep or hasty

Prodigal

wastefully extravagant

Prosaic

dull or unimaginative

Quixotic

unrealistically idealistic

Recalcitrant

stubbornly disobedient

Recondite

difficult to understand

Reproach

to express disapproval

Sanguine

optimistic or cheerful

Scrupulous

very careful and precise

Specious

seemingly true but false

Spurious

not genuine or authentic

Substantiate

to support with evidence

Superfluous

unnecessary or excessive

Surreptitious

done secretly or stealthily

Tacit

unspoken but understood

Tirade

long

Torpid

inactive or sluggish

Vacillate

to waver between choices

Venerate

to respect or honor deeply

Verbose

using too many words

Vindicate

to clear from blame or suspicion