Top 200 GRE Words - Part 1 Flashcards
1-100
Abate
to reduce in amount, degree
ebb, slacken, moderate
Abscond
to leave secretly
flee, escape
Abstain
to choose not to do something
refrain
Abyss
an extremely deep hole
chasm, void
Adulterate
to make impure
Advocate
to speak in favour of
back, champion, support
Aesthetic
concerning the appreciation of beauty
tasteful
Aggrandize
to increase in power, influence
amplify, augment, apotheosize
Alleviate
to make more bearable
allay, assuage, palliate, mitigate
Amalgamate
to combine, to mix
Intermix, Admix, Commingle
Ambiguous
doubtful or uncertain
equivocal, nebulous, obscure
Ameliorate
to make better, to improve
Anachronism
Something out of place in time
Archaism
Analogous
similar/alike
Comparable, Equivalent
Anomaly
deviation from normal
Aberrance, Aberration
Antagonize
to annoy or provoke to anger
Incite, Pester, Vex
Antipathy
extreme dislike
Animosity, Animus, Hostility, Aversion
Apathy
lack of interest or emotion
Indifference, Lassitude, Phlegm, Impassivity
Arbitrate
to judge
Adjudicate
Archaic
ancient, old-fashioned
Obsolete, Vintage, Dowdy, Antique
Ardor
intense, passionate feeling
Zeal, Fervor
Articulate
able to speak clearly
Eloquent, Fluent, Expressive
Assuage
to make something unpleasant less severe
Allay, Alleviate, Mitigate, Palliate, Placate
Attenuate
to reduce in force or degree
Enfeeble, Sap, Enervate, Debilitate
Audacious
fearless and daring
Daultless, Gallant, Intrepid
Austere
severe or stern in appearence; undecorated
Harsh, Severe, Grim
BANAL
predictable, cliched, boring
BLAND, CLICHED, HACKNEYED, TRITE
BOLSTER:
to support; to prop up
BUTTRESS, SUPPORT
BOMBASTIC:
pompous in speech and manner
BLOATED, GRANDIOSE, PRETENTIOUS
CACOPHONY:
harsh, jarring noise
DISCORD, DISHARMONY, NOISE
CANDID:
impartial and honest in speech
FORTHRIGHT
CAPRICIOUS:
changing one’s mind quickly and often
ERRATIC, FICKLE, MERCURIAL, WHIMSICAL
CASTIGATE:
to punish or criticize harshly
ADMONISH, CHASTISE, REPRIMAND, REPROACH, CHIDE, SCOLD
CATALYST:
something that brings about a change in something else
CAUSTIC:
biting in wit
ACERBIC, TRENCHANT
CHAOS:
great disorder or confusion
SCRAMBLE, TURMOIL
CHAUVINIST:
someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs
PARTISAN, PARTIAL
CHICANERY:
deception by means of craft or guile
DECEPTION, SUBTERFUGE
COGENT:
convincing and well reasoned
CONVINCING, SOUND
CONDONE:
to overlook, pardon, or disregard
EXCULPATE
CONVOLUTED:
intricate and complicated
KNOTTY, LABYRINTHINE
CORROBORATE:
to provide supporting evidence
BUTTRESS, SUBSTANTIATE
CREDULOUS:
too trusting; gullible
NAIVE, SUSCEPTIBLE
CRESCENDO:
steadily increasing volume or force
DECORUM:
conforming to acceptable standards
DECENCY, PROPRIETY
DEFERENCE:
respect, courtesy
REVERENCE, VENERATION
DERIDE:
to speak of or treat with contempt; to mock
RIDICULE, SCOFF, SNEER
DESICCATE:
to dry out thoroughly
DESULTORY:
jumping from one thing to another; disconnected
HAPHAZARD, ERRATIC, RANDOM
DIATRIBE:
an abusive, condemnatory speech
HARANGUE, TIRADE, INVECTIVE,
DIFFIDENT:
lacking self-confidence
TIMID, MODEST, DEMURE
DILATE:
to make larger; to expand
AMPLIFY, ENLARGE
DILATORY:
intended to delay
DRAGGING, LAGGARD
DILETTANTE:
someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic
AMATEUR
DIRGE:
a funeral hymn or mournful speech
ELEGY
DISABUSE:
to set right; to free from error
DISCERN:
to perceive; to recognize
DISPARATE:
fundamentally different; entirely unlike
DISSEMBLE:
to present a false appearance; to disguise one’s real intentions or character
The villain could DISSEMBLE to the police no longer-he admitted the deed and tore up
the floor to reveal the body of the old man
DISGUISE, MASQUERADE, SHAM
DISSONANCE:
a harsh and disagreeable combination, often of sounds.
Cognitive DISSONANCE is the inner conflict produced when long-standing beliefs are contradicted by new evidence.
CONTENTION, DISCORD
DOGMA:
a firmly held opinion, often a religious belief
DOCTRINE
DOGMATIC:
dictatorial in one’s opinions
AUTHORITARIAN, DICTATORIAL, IMPERIOUS
DUPE:
to deceive; a person who is easily deceived
HOODWINK, BEGUILE
ECLECTIC:
selecting from or made up from a variety of sources
Budapest’s architecture is an ECLECTIC mix of eastern and western styles.
BROAD
EFFICACY:
effectiveness
ELEGY:
a sorrowful poem or speech
Although Thomas Gray’s “ELEGY Written in a Country Churchyard” is about death and
loss, it urges its readers to endure this life, and to trust in spirituality.
DIRGE
ELOQUENT:
persuasive and moving, especially in speech
EMULATE:
to copy; to try to equal or excel
ENERVATE:
to reduce in strength
DEBILITATE, ENFEEBLE
ENGENDER:
to produce, cause, or bring about
BEGET, PROLIFERATE
ENIGMA:
a puzzle; a mystery
CONUNDRUM
ENUMERATE:
to count, list, or itemize
TABULATE
EPHEMERAL:
lasting a short time
EVANESCENT, TRANSIENT
EQUIVOCATE:
to use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead
EVASIVE, AMBIGUOUS
ERRATIC:
wandering and unpredictable
CAPRICIOUS, WHIMSICAL
ERUDITE:
learned, scholarly, bookish
ESOTERIC:
known or understood by only a few
Only a handful of experts are knowledgeable about the ESOTERIC world of particle
physics
ESTIMABLE:
admirable
PRAISEWORTHY, VENERABLE
EULOGY:
speech in praise of someone
His best friend gave the EULOGY, outlining his many achievements and talents.
EUPHEMISM:
use of an inoffensive word or phrase in place of a more distasteful one
EXACERBATE:
to make worse
AGGRAVATE
EXCULPATE:
to clear from blame; prove innocent
The adversarial legal system is intended to convict those who are guilty and to EXCULPATE
those who are innocent.
ABSOLVE, ACQUIT, EXONERATE
EXIGENT:
urgent; requiring immediate action
The patient was losing blood so rapidly that it was EXIGENT to stop the source of the
bleeding.
URGENT, CRITICAL
EXONERATE:
to clear of blame
The fugitive was EXONERATED when another criminal confessed to committing the crime
ABSOLVE, EXCULPATE, ACQUIT
EXPLICIT:
clearly stated or shown; forthright in expression
FANATICAL:
acting excessively enthusiastic; filled with extreme, unquestioned devotion
ZEALOUS, FERVID
FAWN:
to grovel
The understudy FAWNED over the director in hopes of being cast in the part on a permanent
basis
BOOTLICK, TOADY
FERVID:
intensely emotional; feverish
ZEALOUS, PASSIONATE
FLORID:
excessively decorated or embellished
The palace had been decorated in an excessively FLORID style; every surface had been
carved and gilded.
ORNATE, FLAMBOYANT, OSTENTATIOUS
FOMENT:
to arouse or incite
AGITATE, INSTIGATE, KINDLE
FRUGALITY:
a tendency to be thrifty or cheap
ECONOMICAL, PARSIMONY
GARRULOUS:
tending to talk a lot
The GARRULOUS parakeet distracted its owner with its continuous talking
LOQUACIOUS
GREGARIOUS:
outgoing, sociable
She was so GREGARIOUS that when she found herself alone she felt quite sad
SOCIABLE, CONGENIAL, AFFABLE
GUILE:
deceit or trickery
CHICANERY
GULLIBLE:
easily deceived
HOMOGENEOUS:
of a similar kind
UNIFORM
ICONOCLAST:
one who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions
His lack of regard for traditional beliefs soon established him as an ICONOCLAST.
NONCONFORMIST, MAVERICK,
IMPERTURBABLE:
not capable of being disturbed
STOICAL, COMPOSED
IMPERVIOUS:
impossible to penetrate; incapable of being affected
A good raincoat will be IMPERVIOUS to moisture
IMPREGNABLE, RESISTANT
IMPETUOUS:
quick to act without thinking
It is not good for an investment broker to be IMPETUOUS, since much thought should be
given to all the possible options.
IMPULSIVE, SPONTANEOUS
