500+ Practice GRE Vocabulary Words

abate

abate

(v.) to make less active or intense; (v.) to become less in intensity

abdicate

(v.) to give up power

blandish

(v.) to flatter, coax or persuade
blasphemous: (adj.) irreverent or profane`, particularly in relation to a religious subject

bleak

(adj.) unsheltered and exposed to wind and cold; (adj.) cold, cutting and harsh; gloomy; (adj.) not hopeful

bode

(v.) to predict or announce in advance

bogus

(adj.) not veritable or genuine

bootless

(adj.) useless, without benefit

brackish

(adj.) somewhat salty, as might be the waters near a sea; having an displeasing taste; nauseous

chameleon

(n.) any of the Old World lizards which can change color; (n.) a changeable or inconstant person

charlatan

(n.) a person who pretends to have more knowledge or skill than he or she actually possesses; (n.) a cont artist or fake

chary

(adj.) cautious or careful; (adj.) fastidious; sparing

chastise

(v.) to criticize severely; (v.) to discipline through corporal punishment

boorish

(adj.) rude; awkward, ill-mannered

breach

(n.) a failure to follow through on or complete the agreement and terms of a contract or law; (n.) an opening created by a breakthrough (in a wall); (n.) a break in amicable relations

bristle

(n.) any short, stiff or prickly hair of an animal or plant; (intrans. verb) to become stiff and erect; (n.) to show anger, irritation or outrage; (n.) to be thickly covered with

brusque

(adj.) abrupt and rough use of language or manner of speech

bumptious

(adj.) arrogant, excessively conceited, forward

burlesque

(n.) any comic or satirical imitation (for example) in the form of writing, theater or a parody, intending to mock; (adj.) bawdy

burnish

(v.) to polish or to make shiny

cabal

(n.) a group of plotters or intriguers with conspiratorial intentions; (n.) a secret scheme or plot

cache

(n.) a hiding place, especially in the ground for ammunition, food or treasures; (n.) anything so hidden; (v.) to put in a cache

caliber

(n.) degree of capacity or competence

calumniate

(v.) to make false and malicious statements about

candor

(n.) the state or quality of being open, honest, straightforward, open and sincere in communication; (n.) freedom from bias

canter

(n.) an easy-going gallop; (v.) to move or ride at a canter

capitulate

(v.) to surrender often after negotiation of terms

captious

(adj.) characterized by a disposition to find out and point trivial faults; (adj.) intended to entrap or confuse

carnage

(n.) the slaughter of numerous people; (n.) those slain in battle

carping

(adj.) characterized by trivial fault-finding

caste

(n.) any of the social or subclasses of traditional Hindu society, such as the Brahman or Sudra castes; a social class distinct from others and characterized by hereditary rank, profession or wealth; (n.) a social position conferred on someone based on a system of castes

cataclysm

(n.) any violent upheaval, particularly of a political or social nature; (n.) an extensive flood

catalyst

(n.) (in chemistry), a substance that causes a chemical reaction without itself being affected; (n.) a person or thing that brings about or precipitates change; (n.) a person or event that precipitates a process or change

cathartic

(adj.) physically or emotionally purging in nature; (adj.) therapeutic

Catholic

(adj.) of or pertaining to the Catholic church; a member of the Catholic church; (adj.) of a broad, liberal or comprehensive scope

cavil

(v.) to raise trivial objections; (n.) a trivial or annoying objection

celibate

(n.) one who abstains from sexual relations with others; (n.) an individual who remains unmarried

centrifugal

(adj.) moving or directed outward from the center; (n.) a rotating, perforated drum that holds materials to be separated in a machine

centripetal

(adj.) moving or directed toward an axis or center; (adj.) tending or directed toward centralization

cessation

(n.) a temporary discontinuance

abase

(v.) to humiliate, cause to feel shame; (v.) to hurt the pride of

abash

(v.) to embarrass; to cause to be embarrassed

aberration

(n.) an aberrant state or condition; (n.) a disorder in a person's mental state; an optical phenomenon which results from the failure of a mirror or lens to produce a good image

abet

(v.) to assist or encourage, , often in the case of wrongdoing; (v.) to support, uphold, or maintain; (v.) to contribute to the commission of an offense

abeyance

(n.) a temporary suspension or cessation; (n.) a temporary suppression

abhor

(v.) to find repugnant, or to shrink back with dislike or horror

abjure

(v.) to reject something; (v.) to retract an oath; (v.) to recant

aboriginal

(n.) an original inhabitant of any land; (n.) an animal or plant native to the region

abortive

(adj.) failing to accomplish an original intent or goal; (adj.) imperfectly formed or developed; (n.) something that is born prematurely; (adj.) made from the skin of a still-born animal

abscond

(v.) to run away, often taking someone or something along; (v.) to hide, withdraw or be concealed

absolve

(v.) to release from moral wrongdoing; (v.) to grant remission of a sin

abstain

(v.) to refrain from engaging in a certain act; (v.) to voluntarily refrain from, especially when having to do with an act involving the appetite or senses

abstemious

(adj.) sparing in consumption of, especially in relation to food and drink; (adj.) marked by moderation in indulgence

abyss

(n.) a gulf or pit that is either bottomless or which possesses an unfathomable and inconceivable depth; (n.) infinite time

abysmal

(adj.) boundless and vast; (adj.) unfathomable

accede

(v.) to give into or yield to someone else's wishes or desires; (v.) to be in accordance with; to agree

acclivity

(n.) an upward grade or slope, on the earth

accolade

(n.) to praise; (n.) a symbol that signifies distinction or approval; (n.) a ceremony that was formerly used to bestow knighthood

accoutre

(v.) to provide with military equipment

accretion

(n.) an increase brought about by natural growth; (n.) an increase in a beneficiary's awarded portion of an estate

acetic

(adj.) containing or relating to acetic acid; vinegary smell or taste, particularly in relation to wine

acidulous

(adj.) tasting sour like

acme

(n.) the highest degree or level attainable, the highest point of something; mature age; (n.) the crisis or height of a disease

acquiescence

(n.) acceptance without resistance or protest; assent or submission; (n.) in criminal law: submission to an injury by the injured party

acquiescent

(adj.) willing to carry out someone else's orders or wishes without any protest or dissent; (adj.) submissive

actuate

(v.) to trigger a reaction or to move and incite to action; (v.) to carry out or perform

adapt

(v.) to modify or change to suit a new purpose or conditions; (v.) to conform one's own self to new conditions or a new environment

addiction

(n.) a situation in which someone is dependent on something that is physiologically and/or psychologically habit forming, particularly in relation to alcohol or drugs

adhere

(v.) to be in accordance with or compatible with; to carry out a plan without deviation; (v.) to come into close contact with; to be a devoted supporter or follower, in a religious sense

adipose

(adj.) composed of animal fat

admonish

(v.) to counsel in relation to one's negative behavior; (v.) to warn against strongly; (v.) to take to task

adulterate

(adj.) mixed with impurities; (v.) to corrupt or debase by adding a foreign substance

adumbration

(n.) a rough summary of the main aspects of an argument or theory; providing vague indications of something in advance

adversity

(n.) a state of affliction or misfortune; extreme challenge or hardship; (n.) a stroke of excessively bad fortune

advert

(v.) to give heed to; (v.) to make a subversive or overt reference to
advocate: (n.) a person who stands for and/or pleads for a cause, idea or person; (n.) a lawyer who pleads a case in a court of law; (v.) to push for or recommend something; (v.) to argue in favor of

aerie

(n.) a lofty nest of a bird of prey, such as an eagle or hawk; (n.) a habitation of high altitude

aesthetic

(adj.) relating to beauty or good taste; (n.) a specialty in philosophy that relates to what is beautiful and how humans respond to art and beauty in the world

affable

(adj.) exemplifying warmth and friendliness; (adj.) gracious and mild

affected

(adj.) acted on or influenced; (adj.) experiencing an emotional impact

aggrandize

(v.) to add details to; to increase in power; (v.) to make something appear exceedingly great or exalted

affiliation

(n.) association in or with a professional or societal group; (n.) connection in terms of descent (from birth)

affinity

(n.) the force which attracts atoms and binds them together in the formation of a molecule; (n.) a close connection marked by shared interests or similarities; an intrinsic resemblance between persons and/or things; a natural attraction to or feeling of kinship for; (adj.) kinship by marriage or adoption

affray

(n.) a noisy fight or quarrel; the act of disturbing someone; fear or fright

agape

(adj.) with the mouth wide open due to wonder or awe; (n.) a religious meal shared as a sign of fellowship, love, and respect

aggregate

(n.) gathered or having a tendency to gather in a mass or whole; (n.) the whole amount; (v.) to gather in a mass or whole

aghast

(adj.) struck with fear, disgust, dismay and/or horror

agnostic

(adj.) uncertain of all claims relating to knowledge; (n.) a person who doubts the truth of religion and/or does not hold a particular view or perspective on the existence or nonexistence of God

alacrity

(n.) cheerful readiness, promptness, eagerness

agrarian

(adj.) agricultural or relating to farms and agriculture, fields or lands; (n.) a person in favor of an equal division of property

alchemy

(n.) a forerunner of chemistry, originating from the medieval era; (n.) the manner in which two individuals relate to each other

alias

(n.) a temporarily assumed name, other than one's real name

allay

(v.) to lessen the intensity of; (v.) to calm; to quench, particularly in terms of thirst
allege: (v.) to report or accuse

alleviate

(v.) to provide physical relief, particularly from pain; (v.) to make easier

allocate

(v.) to distribute according to a particular plan; (v.) to set aside

aloof

(adj.) to be somewhat at a distance or apart from a crowd; detached or reserved in mannerisms

altercation

(n.) a quarrel or argument

amalgamation

(n.) the mixing or blending together of various elements, including races or societies; (n.) the result of such blending; (n.) the combination of two or more commercial companies

ambiguous

(adj.) unclear; (adj.) uncertain in nature; open to more than one interpretation

ameliorate

(v.) to make something or someone better

amenable

(adj.) willing to comply; (adj.) responsible to a higher authority

amnesia

(n.) a partial or total loss of memory