Most Common GRE Words, Part 1

Question 1

aberration

Answer 1

noun: a deviation from what is normal or expected

Aberrations in climate have become the norm: rarely a week goes by without some meteorological phenomenon making headlines

Question 2

amalgam

Answer 2

noun: a mixture of multiple things

The band’s music was an amalgam of hip-hop, flamenco and jazz, blending the three styles with surprising results

Question 3

acrimony

Answer 3

noun: bitterness and ill will

The acrimony between the president and vice-president sent a clear signal to voters: the health of the current administration was imperiled.

Question 4

ambiguous

Answer 4

adjective: open to more than one interpretation

The coach told his team, “Move towards that side of the field”; because he did not point, his directions were ambiguous, and the team had no idea to which side he was referring.

Question 5

ambivalent

Answer 5

adjective: mixed or conflicting emotions about something

Sam was ambivalent about studying for the exam because doing so ate up a lot of his time, yet he was able to improve his analytical skills.

Question 6

amenable

Answer 6

adjective: easily persuaded

Even though she did not like the outdoors, Shirley was generally amenable and so her brother was able to persuade her to go camping

Question 7

amorphous

Answer 7

adjective: shapeless

His study plan for the GRE was at best amorphous; he would do questions from random pages in any one of seven test prep books.

Question 8

anomalous

Answer 8

adjective: not normal

According to those who do not believe in climate change, the extreme weather over the last five years is simply anomalous—daily temperatures should return to their old averages, they believe.

Question 9

artful

Answer 9

adjective: exhibiting artistic skill

Picasso is generally considered the most artful member of the Cubist movement.

adjective: clever in a cunning way

Bernie Madoff’s artful Ponzi scheme stole billions of dollars from investors and is considered the largest financial fraud in U.S. history.

Question 10

auspicious

Answer 10

adjective: favorable, the opposite of sinister

Despite an auspicious beginning, Mike’s road trip became a series of mishaps, and he was soon stranded and penniless, leaning against his wrecked automobile.

Question 11

belie

Answer 11

verb: to give a false representation to; misrepresent

The smile on her face belies the pain she must feel after the death of her husband.

Question 12

betray

Answer 12

verb: to reveal or make known something, usually unintentionally

With the gold medal at stake, the gymnast awaited his turn, his quivering lip betraying his intense emotions.

Question 13

castigate

Answer 13

verb: to reprimand harshly

Drill sergeants are known to castigate new recruits so mercilessly that the latter often break down during their first week in training.

Question 14

calumny

Answer 14

noun: making of a false statement meant to injure a person’s reputation

With the presidential primaries well under way, the air is thick with calumny, and the mud already waist-high.

Question 15

censure

Answer 15

verb: to express strong disapproval

After being caught in bed with a mistress, the mayor was quickly censured by the city council.

Question 16

chastise

Answer 16

verb: to reprimand harshly

Though chastised for eating the snacks for the party, Lawrence shrugged off his mother’s harsh words and continued to plow through jars of cookies and boxes of donuts.

Question 17

demur

Answer 17

verb: to object or show reluctance

Wallace disliked the cold, so he demurred when his friends suggested they go skiing in the Alps.

Question 18

disinterested

Answer 18

adjective: unbiased; neutral

The potential juror knew the defendant, and therefore could not serve on the jury, which must consist only of disinterested members.

Question 19

egregious

Answer 19

adjective: standing out in a negative way; shockingly bad

The dictator’s abuse of human rights was so egregious that many world leaders demanded that he be tried in an international court for genocide.

Question 20

enervate

Answer 20

verb: to sap energy from

John preferred to avoid equatorial countries; the intense sun would always leave him enervated after he’d spent the day sightseeing.

Question 21

equivocal

Answer 21

adjective: confusing or ambiguous

The findings of the study were equivocal—the two researchers had different opinions on what the results signified.

Question 22

extant

Answer 22

adjective: still in existence (usually refers to documents).

Despite many bookstores closing, experts predict that some form of book dealing will still be extant generations from now.

Question 23

galvanize

Answer 23

verb: to excite or inspire (someone) to action

At mile 23 of his first marathon, Kyle had all but given up, until he noticed his friends and family holding a banner that read, “Go Kyle”; galvanized, he broke into a gallop, finishing the last three miles in less than 20 minutes.

Question 24

gregarious

Answer 24

adjective: to be likely to socialize with others

Often we think that great leaders are those who are gregarious, always in the middle of a large group of people; yet, as Mahatma Gandhi and many others have shown us, leaders can also be introverted.

Question 25

harangue

Answer 25

noun: a long pompous speech; a tirade

Dinner at Billy’s was more a punishment than a reward, since anyone who sat at the dinner table would have to listen to Billy’s father’s interminable harangues against the government.

verb: to deliver a long pompous speech or tirade

Tired of his parents haranguing him about his laziness and lack of initiative, Tyler finally moved out of home at the age of thirty-five.

Question 26

iconoclast

Answer 26

noun: somebody who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions

Lady Gaga, in challenging what it means to be clothed, is an iconoclast for wearing a “meat dress” to a prominent awards show.

Question 27

impertinent

Answer 27

adjective: being disrespectful; improperly forward or bold

Dexter, distraught over losing his pet dachshund, Madeline, found the police officer’s questions impertinent—after all, he thought, did she have to pry into such details as to what Madeline’s favorite snack was?

Question 28

innocuous

Answer 28

adjective: harmless and doesn’t produce any ill effects

Everyone found Nancy’s banter innocuous—except for Mike, who felt like she was intentionally picking on him.

Question 29

intimate

Answer 29

verb: to suggest something subtly

At first Manfred’s teachers intimated to his parents that he was not suited to skip a grade; when his parents protested, teachers explicitly told them that, notwithstanding the boy’s precocity, he was simply too immature to jump to the 6th grade.

This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 30

involved

Answer 30

adjective: complicated, and difficult to comprehend

The physics lecture became so involved that the undergraduate’s eyes glazed over.

Question 31

laconic

Answer 31

adjective: (describes a person, speech, or style of writing) using very few words

While Martha always swooned over the hunky, laconic types in romantic comedies, her boyfriends inevitably were very talkative—and not very hunky.

Question 32

maintain

Answer 32

verb: to assert

The scientist maintained that the extinction of dinosaurs was most likely brought about by a drastic change in climate.

This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 33

parochial

Answer 33

adjective: narrowly restricted in scope or outlook

Jasmine was sad to admit it, but her fledgling relationship with Jacob did not work out because his culinary tastes were simply too parochial; “After all,” she quipped on her blog, “he considered Chef Boyardee ethnic food.”

This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

Question 34

mercurial

Answer 34

adjective: (of a person) prone to unexpected and unpredictable changes in mood

The fact that Ella’s moods were as mercurial as the weather was problematic for her relationships—it didn’t help that she lived in Chicago.

Question 35

parsimonious

Answer 35

adjective: extremely frugal; miserly

Katie is so parsimonious that she only buys a pair of socks if all of her other socks have holes in them.

Question 36

prevaricate

Answer 36

verb: to speak in an evasive way

The cynic quipped, “There is not much variance in politicians; they all seem to prevaricate”.

Question 37

prodigal

Answer 37

adjective: rashly or wastefully extravagant

Successful professional athletes who do not fall prey to prodigality seem to be the exception—most live decadent lives.

Question 38

profligate

Answer 38

adjective: spending resources recklessly or wastefully

The composer Wagner, while living on a limited salary, was so profligate as to line all the walls of his apartment with pure silk.

noun: someone who spends resources recklessly or wastefully

Most lottery winners go from being conservative, frugal types to outright profligates who blow millions on fast cars, lavish homes, and giant yachts.

Question 39

qualify

Answer 39

verb: to make less severe; to limit (a statement)

Chris qualified his love for San Francisco, adding he didn’t like the weather there as much as he liked the weather in Los Angeles.

This word has other definitions, but this is the most important one to study

Question 40

restive

Answer 40

adjective: restless

The crowd grew restive as the comedian’s opening jokes fell flat.

Question 41

upbraid

Answer 41

verb: to reproach; to scold

Bob took a risk walking into the “Students Barbershop”—in the end he had to upbraid the apparently drunk barber for giving him an uneven bowl cut.

Question 42

venality

Answer 42

noun: the condition of being susceptible to bribes or corruption

Even some of the most sacred sporting events are not immune to venality, as many of the officials have received substantial bribes to make biased calls.

Question 43

venerate

Answer 43

verb: to respect deeply

The professor, despite his sleep-inducing lectures, was venerated amongst his colleagues, publishing more papers yearly than all of his peers combined.

Question 44

veracious

Answer 44

adjective: truthful

While we elect our leaders in the hope that every word they speak will be veracious, history has shown that such a hope is naive.

Question 45

vindicate

Answer 45

verb: to clear of accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt with supporting arguments or proof

Even seven Tour de France wins cannot vindicate Lance Armstrong in the eyes of the public–that the athlete used performance enhancing drugs invalidates all those wins.

Question 46

wanting

Answer 46

adjective: lacking

She did not think her vocabulary was wanting, yet there were so many words that inevitably she found a few she didn’t know.