GRE Updated

Aberrant – Abnormal; different from the accepted norm

Abeyance – State of suspension; temporary inaction

Abscond – To sneak away

Abstemious – Indicative of self-denial, particularly with food or drink

Abstruse – Difficult to comprehend

Accessible – Easy to understand, especially by a certain group

Acquiescent – Agreeing without protest

Acrid – Bitter; harsh

Acrimonious – Bitter in temper, manner, and speech

Acumen – Keenness; quickness of intellectual insight

Admonition – A gentle reproof

Affect (noun) – Emotion that influences behavior

Affront – To deliberately offend, as with a gesture

Aggrandize – To widen in scope or make bigger or greater

Aggregate – Amounting to a whole

Allay – To reduce the intensity of

Amalgamate – To mix or blend together in a homogenous body

Ameliorate – To make better or improve

Anachronous – Out of place in time

Anecdote – A short account of an interesting incident

Archipelago – A large group of islands

Articulate – Well-spoken, eloquent

Artifice – Cleverness or skill

Artless – Without deceit or cunning; sincere

Ascetic – Representative of severe self-denial

Assiduous – Persistent, unceasing

Astute – Keen; wise

Audacious – Fearless, bold

Augment – To increase in measure or intensity

Austere – Unadorned; severely simple

Avarice – Extreme greed and hoarding

Aver – To declare or profess

Banal – Trite; commonplace

Base – Simple and boring

Belie – To present a false front

Beset – To surround, as in an attack

Blatant – Very obvious, offensively loud, or coarsely conspicuous

Bolster – To support; to reinforce

Bombastic – Using inflated language; pompous

Boon – A timely benefit; a blessing

Brevity – Briefness or conciseness

Browbeat – To intimidate in an overbearing manner

Bumptious – Offensively self-assertive; pushy

Bungle – To perform clumsily or inadequately; botch

Burgeon – To grow forth; to send out buds

Cacophony – A disagreeable, harsh, or discordant sound or tone

Callous – Insensitive; indifferent

Calumniate – To make false and malicious statements about; to slander

Candor – The quality of being open and sincere

Cantankerous – Bad-tempered and uncooperative

Carp – To complain unreasonably

Chaos – A state of disorder and confusion

Chicanery – Trickery, deception, especially through the use of questionable logic

Churl – A rude, boorish, or surly person

Coda – Concluding section of a musical or literary piece; something that summarizes

Codify – To assemble related laws or principles into a systematic collection

Cognizant – Aware; taking notice

Cohort – A companion or associate

Colloquial – Pertaining to common speech

Commensurate – Corresponding in amount, quality, or degree

Complacency – A feeling of quiet security; satisfaction

Conciliatory – A state of seeking to reconcile or make peace

Concrete – Actual, irrefutable, as in concrete evidence

Confidante – One to whom secrets are confided

Congruous – Appropriate or fitting

Consternation – Unsettling dismay or amazement

Consummate – To bring to completion

Contentious – Quarrelsome

Contrite – Penitent, apologetic

Contumacious – Rebellious

Cordial – Polite in a pleasant way

Corroborate – To make more certain; confirm

Countenance – Appearance, especially the look or expression of the face

Counter – To go against or attempt to undermine an action

Counterpart – A person or thing resembling or complementing another

Craven – Cowardly

Credulity – Willingness to believe or trust too readily

Cronyism – The practice of favoring one’s friends, especially in political appointments

Curmudgeon – An ill-tempered person

Cursory – Hasty, superficial

Dearth – An inadequate supply; scarcity; lack

Debacle – A complete collapse or failure

Decorum – Orderliness and good taste in manners

Deferent – In a state of giving in out of respect for another person

Deleterious – Hurtful, morally or physically

Delineate – To represent by sketch or diagram; to describe precisely in words

Depravity – The state of being morally bad or evil

Deride – To ridicule; to make fun of

Derision – Ridicule

Derivative – Something obtained or developed from a source

Desultory – Aimless; haphazard

Diatribe – Bitter or malicious criticism

Didactic – For the purpose of teaching

Diffidence – Lacking confidence

Dilatory – Causing delay

Disconcert – To disturb the composure of

Discretion – Using one’s own judgment; being discreet

Disingenuous – Insincere, phony

Disquiet – Lack of calm, peace, or ease

Dissemble – To disguise or pretend in order to deceive or mislead

Dissolution – Breaking up of a union of persons

Dissonant – Out of harmony, incongruous

Divergent – Deviating from a certain course

Divest – To strip; to deprive, often in terms of property

Divulge – To tell or make known, generally of something secret or private

Doctrinaire – A person who’s fanatical about enforcing a certain principle, regardless of its practicality

Dogmatic – Forceful and unwavering, allowing no room for interpretation or dissent

Doldrums – A state of inactivity or low spirits

Dubious – Doubtful

Dupe – Someone who’s easily fooled; to fool someone

Duplicity – Deceitfulness

Ebullient – Showing great enthusiasm or exhilaration

Eclectic – Drawn from multiple sources or based on multiple styles

Efficacious – Capable of producing the intended result

Efficacy – Power to produce an intended effect

Effrontery – Shameless boldness; impudence

Egregious – Seriously bad or wrong

Egress – Exit

Elegy – A poem lamenting the dead

Elicit – To extract (usually information, a reaction, or an emotional response) without the use of force; to learn through discussion

Elitism – Consciousness or pride in belonging to a select group

Embellish – To beautify or enhance with additional features or information

Empirical – Proven by observed occurrence or existence

Emulate – Imitate

Endemic – Characteristic of a specific place or culture

Enervate – To weaken

Engender – To produce or to make something come into existence

Enigmatic – Mysterious, perplexing

Ennui – Boredom

Ephemeral – Short-lived; fleeting

Equable – Free from many changes or variations

Equanimity – Evenness of mind or temper

Equivocal – Ambiguous

Equivocate – To use ambiguous or unclear expressions, usually to avoid commitment or to mislead

Eradicate – To destroy completely

Erudite – Very well-educated

Eschew – To keep clear of, avoid

Esoteric – Hard to understand; known only by a few

Euphemism – A nice way of saying something that’s otherwise unpleasant

Exacerbate – To make sharper or more severe; to make worse

Exculpate – To free from blame

Exigency – Urgent situation

Expatiate – To speak or write at some length on a given topic or theme

Expiation – The means by which atonement or reparation is made

Extenuating – The state of explaining or justifying in order to lessen the seriousness of an action

Extirpate – To root out; to eradicate

Extrapolation – To infer an unknown from something that’s known

Facetious – Not intended to be taken seriously

Facilitate – To make easier

Fallacious – Illogical

Fatuous – Idiotic

Felicitous – Appropriate or suitable for the situation or circumstances

Ferret out – To track down, discover

Fervor – Ardor or intensity of feeling

Fledgling – Inexperienced

Foment – To instigate or encourage negative behavior, such as violence

Forestall – To prevent by taking action in advance

Fortification – The act of strengthening or protecting

Frugal – Thrifty

Fulminate – To cause to explode; to detonate

Fumble – To feel or grope about clumsily

Gaffe – A social blunder; faux pas

Gainsay – To contradict or oppose

Garrulous – Prone to trivial talking

Generosity – The state of giving freely

Germane – Relevant

Goad – To urge on

Grandiloquent – Speaking or expressing oneself in a lofty style

Grandstand – To conduct oneself or perform showily in an attempt to impress onlookers

Gregarious – Sociable; outgoing

Grouse – To complain or grumble

Guileless – Without deceit

Gullible – Easily deceived

Halcyon – Calm

Haphazard – Characterized by a lack of order or planning

Harangue – A tirade

Harbinger – Anything or anyone who makes known the coming of a person or future event; an omen

Hedge – A barrier or boundary; an act of preventing complete loss of a bet or investment

Heresy – Opinion or doctrine subversive of settled or accepted beliefs

Homogeneous – Of the same kind

Hyperbole – Exaggeration or overstatement

Iconoclast – A person who attacks and destroys religious images or accepted beliefs or traditions

Ignominious – Shameful, disgraceful

Imbroglio – Entanglement, as in a situation

Immense – Very large

Impartial – Objective, open-minded

Impecunious – Having no money; broke

Impede – To hinder; to block

Impenitent – Not feeling regret about one’s sins

Imperious – Domineering, overbearing; urgent

Imperturbable – Calm

Impervious – Impenetrable

Impetuous – Impulsive

Implicit – Implied

Importune – To harass with persistent demands

Impugn – To challenge as false with arguments or accusations

Inadvertently – Unintentionally

Inane – A nicer word for describing someone or something as stupid or idiotic

Incensed – Angered

Inchoate – Recently begun, not fully developed or organized

Inconstant – Changeable; fickle; variable

Indigenous – Originating in a particular place or region

Indigent – Lacking necessities, such as food, clothing, and shelter

Indolence – Laziness

Ineffable – Incapable of being expressed in words; unutterable

Inert – Inactive; lacking power to move or react

Inexorable – Not subject to change; not able to be persuaded or convinced

Ingenuous – Innocent, sincere

Ingratiating – Charming, agreeable

Innocuous – Harmless

Insensible – Incapable of perceiving or feeling

Insinuate – To suggest or hint slyly

Insipid – Bland

Insouciant – Free from worry or concern; carefree

Intimation – Something indicated or made known indirectly

Intrepid – Fearless and bold

Inure – To harden or toughen by use, exercise, or exposure

Invidious – Showing or feeling envy

Irascible – Easily angered

Ironic – To convey the opposite of an expression’s literal meaning

Itinerant – Traveling from place to place

Jingoism – Professing one’s patriotism loudly and excessively

Killjoy – A person who spoils the joy or pleasure of others

Laconic – Brief and to the point; concise

Lampoon – To make fun of; to mock or ridicule

Latent – Dormant

Laud – To praise

Laudable – Praiseworthy

Licentious – Unrestrained by laws or rules, especially those related to sexuality

Liken – To represent as similar to someone or something

Loquacious – Talkative

Lucid – Easily understood; clear

Lugubrious – Gloomy, depressing

Magnanimity – Generosity

Malingerer – One who feigns illness to escape duty

Malleable – Pliant; able to be reshaped

Masticate – To chew or reduce to a pulp

Maverick – Rebel; nonconformist

Mealymouthed – Insincere, deceitful

Mediocrity – The state or quality of being barely adequate

Mendacious – Untruthful, deceitful

Mendicant – A beggar or homeless person

Metamorphosis – Change of form

Meticulous – Very thorough and precise

Misanthrope – One who hates people

Mitigate – To lessen in intensity; to appease

Modicum – A small amount

Mollify – To soothe

Morbidity – Related to illness or disease, in a certain population or geographical area

Mordant – Sarcastic; harsh

Moribund – Near death or extinction

Morose – Ill-humored; sullen

Mundane – Ordinary; dull

Myopic – Shortsighted or narrow-minded

Narcissism – Excessive fascination with oneself

Nefarious – Extremely wicked

Negate – To cancel out; to nullify

Neophyte – Beginner

Nepotism – Favoritism on the basis of family relationship

Obdurate – Stubborn

Obfuscate – To darken or conceal

Obsequious – Servile; ready to serve

Obviate – To make unnecessary

Odious – Hateful

Officious – Aggressively authoritative in offering help or advice, especially when dealing with trivial matters

Onus – Burden

Opprobrium – Infamy that results from shameful behavior

Oscillate – To waver or switch between different positions or beliefs

Ostentation – A display of vanity; showiness

Painstaking – Characterized by being very careful and diligent

Palpable – Readily seen, heard, or perceived

Panache – A grand or flamboyant manner or style

Parable – A short story designed to teach a lesson

Paragon – Model of perfection

Parsimonious – Sparing in spending of money; stingy

Partisan – One-sided; committed to one party

Pathos – Having a quality that rouses emotion or sympathy

Paucity – Scarcity, insufficiency

Pejorative – Having a disparaging or derogatory effect

Penchant – Strong inclination

Penurious – Excessively sparing in the use of money; extremely stingy

Perennial – Something long-lasting

Perfidy – Treachery, betrayal

Permeable – Penetrable; porous

Pernicious – Tending to kill or hurt

Pervasive – Spread throughout

Phlegmatic – Slow moving; not easily roused to feeling or emotion

Pious – Religious

Placate – To soothe; to bring from a hostile state to a calm one

Placid – Peaceful

Platitude – Trite or commonplace statement

Plethora – Excess; abundance

Plumb – To make vertical; to reach the deepest point

Polarize – To divide into sharply opposing factions

Pompous – Ostentatiously lofty or arrogant

Ponder – To consider something thoroughly and thoughtfully

Ponderous – Massive, awkward, unwieldy

Pontificate – Express an opinion in an annoying fashion

Porous – Full of holes; spongy, absorbent

Portend – Foretell

Poseur – A person who attempts to impress others by assuming a manner other than his true one

Pragmatic – Practical

Precarious – Hazardous, perilous

Precipitate – To hasten the occurrence of

Precocious – Mature beyond one’s age, typically in respect to mental abilities, talents, or skills

Preeminent – A step above others; distinguished, renowned

Prescience – Knowledge of events before they happen

Presentiment – A feeling or impression that something is about to happen

Prevaricate – To use ambiguous language for the purpose of deceiving

Proclivity – Natural inclination

Prodigal – Wasteful or lavish

Prodigious – Immense

Prodigy – A person, usually a child, having extraordinary talent

Profound – Deep, significant

Prognosticate – To predict something in the future

Proliferate – To grow rapidly

Propensity – Natural inclination

Prophetic – Ability to predict the future

Propitious – Presenting favorable conditions

Prosaic – Commonplace or dull

Protean – Changeable in shape or form

Prudence – Cautious wisdom

Puerile – Childish

Pugnacious – Quarrelsome or combative

Pungent – Stinging; sharp in taste or smell

Pusillanimous – Cowardly; fainthearted

Qualms – Misgivings; uneasy fears

Quibble – Minor objection or complaint

Quiescence – Being quiet or still; inactivity

Quintessential – The perfect representation of something

Quixotic – Idealistic; romantic to a ridiculous degree

Recant – To formally withdraw a statement

Recidivism – The tendency toward repeated or habitual relapse

Recondite – Beyond ordinary knowledge or understanding; profound

Redress – To set right by compensation or punishment

Refutation – An act of disproving a statement or charge

Refute – To disprove

Repose – The state of being at rest

Reprobate – A sinful and depraved person

Repudiate – To refuse to have anything to do with

Rescind – To repeal, revoke, or void

Resilience – The ability to recover from a setback

Respite – Interval of rest

Restive – Impatient or stubborn

Reticent – Reluctant or inclined to silence

Reverent – Respectful

Rhetoric – The art of effective communication

Rout – To drive out; to stampede

Rueful – Causing sorrow or pity

Ruminate – To chew over and over again; to think over, ponder

Sagacious – Wise

Salacious – Lustful; sexually indecent

Salubrious – Healthful

Sanction – To approve; in legal circles, a law that enacts a penalty for disobedience or a reward for obedience

Sanguine – Cheerfully confident; optimistic; bloody, ruddy, or reddish

Satiate – To satisfy or fulfill the appetite or desire of

Savor – To enjoy fully

Scanty – Scarce in quantity or amount

Secrete – To hide away

Security – Safety

Sedulous – Persistent in effort or endeavor

Seethe – To be in a state of excitement or agitation

Seminal – Influencing future developments

Shard – Fragment

Shirk – To avoid

Shoddy – Not genuine; inferior

Sinuous – Curving in and out

Skeptic – Doubter

Skepticism – Doubt or disbelief

Skittish – Lively; restless

Slander – Defamation

Slothful – Slow-moving, lazy

Solecism – A minor mistake in grammar or usage; a breach of good manners

Solicitous – Worried or concerned; eager to receive approval from others

Sonorous – Loud, deep, or resonant, as a sound

Soporific – Causing sleep

Spate – A sudden, almost overwhelming outpouring

Specious – Seemingly reasonable but incorrect

Spendthrift – Someone who wastes money

Spurious – Not genuine

Stentorian – Extremely loud

Stigma – A token of disgrace

Stint – A period of time (noun); to be thrifty (verb)

Stipulate – To make specific conditions

Stoic – Lacking in emotional response, especially with pain or adversity

Stolid – Dull; impassive

Stratify – To form or place in layers

Striated – Marked with parallel bands

Strut – A pompous walk

Sublime – Supreme or outstanding; elevated

Subterfuge – Evasion

Supercilious – Showing careless contempt; arrogant

Superfluous – More than what’s needed

Supersede – To replace or supplant

Supine – Lying on one’s back face upward

Sybarite – A person devoted to luxury and pleasure

Sycophant – A self-seeking, servile flatterer

Tacit – Understood

Taciturn – Stern; silent

Tangential – Only slightly connected or related

Tantamount – Equivalent in significance, effect, or value

Tawdry – Showy, in a cheap way

Temerity – Recklessness

Tempestuous – Stormy; impassioned

Tenacious – Holding fast

Tendentious – Having or showing a definite tendency, bias, or purpose

Tenuous – Thin; slim

Tepid – Lukewarm

Thrall – A state of being enslaved or held captive physically, mentally, or morally

Thwart – To frustrate

Tilt – To lean forward, as if to attack

Timidity – Lacking in self-assurance or courage

Tirade – A long, passionate speech against something

Titillate – To excite or arouse

Titular – Holding a position in name (title) only without the power or responsibility that usually comes with that position

Torpid – Dull; sluggish; inactive

Tortuous – Abounding in irregular bends or turns; unpleasantly complicated

Tractable – Docile; easily controlled or shaped

Transgression – Violation; sin

Transience – A temporary state

Transmute – To change

Transparent – Easily detected

Trepidation – Nervous feeling; fear

Truculence – Ferocity

Truculent – Harsh, brutal

Turgid – Inflated, overblown, or pompous

Tutelage – The act of training or being under instruction

Tyro – Beginner, novice

Ubiquitous – Being present everywhere

Umbrage – Sense of having been injured

Unassuaged – Not soothed or relieved

Uncouth – Clumsy; rude

Undermine – To weaken or derail

Unerringly – Without fail

Ungainly – Awkward; clumsy

Unison – Complete accord

Unruly – Disobedient

Untenable – Indefensible

Upbraid – To reproach as deserving blame

Urbanity – Refined courtesy or politeness

Vacillate – To waver; to fluctuate

Vagabond – Wanderer

Vainglorious – Excessive; pretentious

Valorous – Courageous

Vantage – Position giving advantage

Vapid – Having lost quality and flavor; dull; lifeless

Variegated – Many-colored

Vehement – Forceful

Veneer – A thin covering to improve the appearance of something

Venerate – To look upon with deep respect

Veracious – Truthful

Verbiage – Use of many words

Verbose – Wordy

Vestigial – Occurring or persisting as a rudimentary or degenerate structure

Viable – Capable of living or succeeding

Vicissitude – Change of condition or circumstances, generally of fortune

Vigor – Strength; stamina; power

Virtuosity – Having the character or ability of an expert

Virulence – Intense sharpness of anger; intensity

Visage – Face, especially in terms of its features or expression

Viscous – Sticky; gluey

Vituperate – Overwhelm with wordy abuse

Vociferous – Making a loud outcry

Volatile – Changeable; explosive

Volition – A willful choice or decision

Voluble – Fluent; talkative

Warranted – Justified

Wary – Very cautious

Welter – Turmoil (noun); to roll, tumble, or toss about (verb)

Whet – To sharpen or stimulate

Whimsical – Fanciful

Whorl – A circular or spiral arrangement

Winsome – Attractive; charming

Wreak – Inflict

Writhe – Twist

Yore – Time past

Zealot – Fanatic

Zeitgeist – Intellectual and moral tendencies of any age