Common GRE-level Words

Question 1

Abstain

Answer 1

verb: to hold oneself back voluntarily, especially from something regarded as improper or unhealthy (usually followed by from

I try to abstain from animal products, but i love cheese!

Question 2

apathy

Answer 2

noun: absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement.

My boyfriend’s apathetic nature led to our breakup

Question 3

capricious

Answer 3

adjectives: subject to, led by, or indicative of a sudden, odd notion or unpredictable change; erratic:
synonyms: mercurial, variable, flighty

Jess was such a capricious boss. I never knew how she’d react.

Question 4

engender

Answer 4

verb: to produce, cause, or give rise to
synonyms: beget, occasion, excite, stir up. 1, 2. create, generate, breed.

Hatred engenders violence.

Question 5

equivocal

Answer 5

adjective
1. allowing the possibility of several different meanings, as a word or phrase, especially with intent to deceive or misguide; susceptible of double interpretation; deliberately ambiguous:
an equivocal answer.
2. of doubtful nature or character; questionable; dubious; suspicious:
aliens of equivocal loyalty.
3. of uncertain significance; not determined:
an equivocal attitude.

Question 6

gullible

Answer 6

adjective: easily deceived or cheated

Question 7

laudable

Answer 7

adjective: deserving or worthy of praise
deserving praise; praiseworthy; commendable

And we endorse the principle that no goal is laudable if it increases even slightly the risk of violence against our children.

Question 8

mitigate

Answer 8

verb:
1. to lessen in force or intensity, as wrath, grief, harshness, or pain; moderate.
2. to make less severe: to mitigate a punishment.

You can mitigate your parents’ anger by telling them you were late to dinner because you were helping your elderly neighbor.

Question 9

placate

Answer 9

verb: to appease or pacify, especially by concessions or conciliatory gestures

If you placate someone, you stop them from being angry by giving them something or doing something that pleases them.

Question 10

volatile

Answer 10

adjective
1. evaporating rapidly; passing off readily in the form of vapor:
Acetone is a volatile solvent.
2. tending or threatening to break out into open violence; explosive:
a volatile political situation.
3.changeable; mercurial; flighty:
a volatile disposition.

Watch out when a situation becomes volatile — it is likely to change for the worse suddenly. If you and your best friend have a volatile relationship, you frequently fight and make up.

Question 11

adulterate

Answer 11

verb: to debase or make impure by adding inferior materials or elements; use cheaper, inferior, or less desirable goods in the production of (any professedly genuine article):
to adulterate food.

Question 12

assuage

Answer 12

verb:
1. to make milder or less severe; relieve; ease; mitigate:
to assuage one’s grief; to assuage one’s pain.
2.to appease; satisfy; allay; relieve:
to assuage one’s hunger.
3. to soothe, calm, or mollify:
to assuage his fears; to assuage her anger

The most common things that we assuage are fears, concerns, guilt, grief, anxiety, and anger. That makes a lot of sense — these are all things we seek relief from. The word comes from Old French assouagier, from the Latin root suavis, “sweet” — think of adding a bit of honey to something unpleasant. A word with a similar meaning is mollify.

Question 13

corroborate

Answer 13

verb: to make more certain; confirm

He corroborated my account of the accident.
For example, a witness in court corroborates the testimony of others, and further experimentation can corroborate a scientific theory. Near synonyms are substantiate and confirm

Question 14

enigma

Answer 14

noun:
1. a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation:
His disappearance is an enigma that has given rise to much speculation.
2.
a person of puzzling or contradictory character:
To me he has always been an enigma, one minute completely insensitive, the next moved to tears.

Question 15

erudite

Answer 15

adjective: characterized by great knowledge; learned or scholarly:
an erudite professor; an erudite commentary.

Synonyms: educated, knowledgeable; wise, sapient.

Question 16

loquacious

Answer 16

adjective: talking or tending to talk much or freely; talkative; chattering; babbling; garrulous:
a loquacious dinner guest.

Question 17

opaque

Answer 17

adjective: not transparent or translucent; impenetrable to light; not allowing light to pass through.

unclear, cloudy, solid

Question 18

pragmatic

Answer 18

adjective: of or relating to a practical point of view or practical considerations.

Question 19

propriety

Answer 19

noun: correct or appropriate behavior

Always caring about doing the right and proper thing, you are obsessed with propriety.

Question 20

zeal

Answer 20

noun: dedication or enthusiasm for something.

If you have zeal, you’re willing, energized, and motivated.

Question 21

anomaly

Answer 21

noun: an abnormality

If you are a breeder of black dogs and one puppy comes out pink, that puppy is an anomaly.

Question 22

audacious

Answer 22

adjective: daring, boldness, courage;

challenging conventions

Question 23

desiccate

Answer 23

adjective: lacking vitality or spirit
verb: remove water from

Question 24

ephemeral

Answer 24

noun: anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form

Question 25

fervid

Answer 25

adjective: 1. characterized by intense emotion
2. extremely hot

There’s a fascinating and fervid swell of student activism, one that’s shaped administrative policy in the past few year

Question 26

laconic

Answer 26

using few words; expressing much in few words; concise:

laconic means brief

Question 27

lucid

Answer 27

1.adj
(of language) transparently clear; easily understandable

2.adj
transmitting light; able to be seen through with clarity

“I was worried about my grandmother’s confusion yesterday, but she seems really lucid today.”

Question 28

pedant

Answer 28

noun: a person who adheres rigidly to book knowledge without regard to common sense.

For every badly spelt, poorly constructed tweet, there were a hundred unreconstructed grammar pedants leaping in to point out the mistakes.

Question 29

precipitate

Answer 29

bring about abruptly
fall from the clouds

Precipitate usually means “bringing something on” or “making it happen” — and not always in a good way. An unpopular verdict might “precipitate violence” or one false step at the Grand Canyon could precipitate you down into the gorge.

Question 30

vacillate

Answer 30

verb:
1. to waver in mind or opinion; be indecisive or irresolute:
His tendency to vacillate makes him a poor leader.
2.to sway unsteadily; waver; totter; stagger.
3.to oscillate or fluctuate.

Something that vacillates sways or fluctuates, often quite unsteadily. So use this verb to describe the staggering motions of a person who has had too much to drink, as well as the opinions of someone who can’t make up her mind.