click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Top 200 GRE words
Kaplan's top 200 GRE words
Question | Answer |
---|---|
Abate | To reduce in amount, degree, or severity |
Abscond | To leave secretly |
Abstain | To choose not to do something |
Abyss | Extremely deep hole |
Adulterate | To make impure |
Advocate | To speak in favor of |
Aesthetic | Concerning the appreciation of beauty |
Aggrandize | To increase in power, influence, and reputation |
Alleviate | To make more bearable |
Amalgamate | To combine; to mix together |
Ambiguous | Doubtful or uncertain; able to be interpreted several ways |
Ameliorate | To make better; to improve |
Anachronism | Something out of place in time |
Analogous | Similar or alike in some way; equivalent to |
Anomaly | Deviation from what is normal |
Antagonize | To annoy or provoke to anger |
Antipathy | Extreme Dislike |
Arbitrate | To judge a dispute between two opposing parties |
Archaic | Ancient, old-fashioned |
Ardor | Intense and passionate feeling |
Articulate | Able to speak clearly and expressively |
Assuage | To make something unpleasant less severe |
Attenuate | To reduce in force of degree; to weaken |
Audacious | Fearless and daring |
Austere | Severe or stern in appearance; undecorated |
Banal | Predictable, cliched, boring |
Bolster | To prop up; to support |
Bombastic | Pompous in speech and manner |
Cacophony | Harsh, jarring noise |
Candid | Impartial and honest in speech |
Capricious | Changing one's mind quickly and often |
Castigate | To punish or criticize harshly |
Catalyst | Something that brings about a change in something else |
Caustic | Biting in wit |
Chaos | Great disorder or confusion |
Chauvinist | Someone prejudiced in favor of a group which he or she belongs |
Chicanery | Deception by means of craft or guile |
Cogent | Convincing and well reasoned |
Condone | To overlook, pardon, or disregard |
Convoluted | Intricate and complicated |
Corroborate | To provide supporting evidence |
Credulous | Too trusting, gullible |
Crescendo | Steadily increasing volume or force |
Decorum | Appropriateness of behavior or conduct; propriety |
Deference | Respect, Courtesy |
Deride | To speak of or treat with contempt; to mock |
Desiccate | To dry out thoroughly |
Desultory | Jumping from one thing to another; disconnected |
Diatribe | An abusive, condemnatory speech |
Diffident | Lacking self-confidence |
Dilate | To make larger; to expand |
Dilatory | Intended to delay |
Dilettante | Someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic |
Dirge | A funeral hymn or mournful speech |
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 |
Dissonance | A harsh and disagreeable combination, often of sounds |
Dogma | A firmly held opinion, often a religious belief |
Dogmatic | Dictatorial in one's opinions |
Dupe | To deceive; a person who is easily deceived |
Eclectic | Selecting from or made up from a variety of sources |
Efficacy | Effectiveness |
Elegy | A sorrowful poem or speech |
Eloquent | Persuasive and moving, especially in speech |
Emulate | To copy; to try to equal or excel |
Enervate | To reduce in strength |
Engender | To produce, cause, or bring about |
Enigma | A puzzle; a mystery |
Enumerate | To count, list, or itemize |
Ephemeral | Lasting a short time |
Equivocate | To use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead |
Erratic | Wandering and unpredictable |
Erudite | Learned, scholarly, bookish |
Esoteric | Known or understood by only a few |
Estimable | Admirable |
Eulogy | Speech in praise of someone. |
Euphemism | Use of any inoffensive word or phrase in place of a more distasteful one. |
Exacerbate | To make worse. |
Exculpate | To clear from blame; prove innocent. |
Exigent | Urgent; requiring immediate action. |
Exonerate | To clear of blame. |
Explicit | Clearly stated or shown forthright in expression. |
Fanatical | Acting excessively enthusiastic; filled with extreme unquestioned devotion. |
Fawn | To grovel. |
Fervid | Intensely emotional; Feverish. |
Florid | Excessively decorated or embellished. |
Foment | To arouse or incite. |
Frugality | A tendency to be thrifty or cheap. |
Garrulous | Tending to talk a lot. |
Gregarious | Outgoing, sociable. |
Guile | Deceit or trickery. |
Gullible | Easily deceived. |
Homogeneous | Of a similar kind. |
Iconoclast | One who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions. |
Imperturbable | Not capable of being disturbed. |
Impervious | Impossible to penetrate; incapable of being affected. |
Impetuous | Quick to act without thinking. |
Implacable | Unable to be calmed down or made peaceful. |
Inchoate | Not fully formed; disorganized. |
Ingenuous | Showing innocence or childlike simplicity. |
Inimical | Hostile, unfriendly. |
Innocuous | Harmless. |
Insipid | Lacking interest of flavor. |
Intransigent | Uncompromising; refusing to be reconciled. |
Inundate | To overwhelm; to cover with water. |
Irascible | Easily made angry. |
Laconic | Using few words. |
Lament | To express sorrow; to grieve. |
Laud | To give praise; to glorify. |
Lavish | To give unsparingly (V.); extremely generous or extravagant. (Adj.) |
Lethargic | Acting in an indifferent or slow, sluggish manner. |
Loquacious | Talkative. |
Lucid | Clear and easily understood. |
Luminous | Bright, brilliant, glowing. |
Malinger | To evade responsibility by pretending to be ill. |
Malleable | Capable of being shaped. |
Metaphor | A figure of speech comparing two different things; a symbol. |
Meticulous | Extremely careful about details. |
Misanthrope | A person who dislikes others. |
Mitigate | To soften; to lessen. |
Mollify | To calm or make less severe. |
Monotony | Lack of variation. |
Naive | Lacking sophistication or experience. |
Obdurate | Hardened in feeling; resistant to persuasion. |
Obsequious | Overly submissive and eager to please. |
Obstinate | Stubborn; Unyielding. |
Obviate | To prevent; to make unnecessary. |
Occlude | To stop up; to prevent the passage of. |
onerous | Troublesome and oppressive; burdensome. |
Opaque. | Impossible to see through; preventing the passage of light. |
Opprobrium | Public disgrace. |
Ostentation | Excessive showiness. |
Paradox | A contradiction of dilemma. |
Paragon | Model of excellence or perfection. |
Pedant | Someone who shows off learning. |
Perfidious | Willing to betray one's trust. |
Perfunctory | Done in a routine way; indifferent. |
Permeate | To penetrate. |
Philanthropy | Charity; a desire or effort to promote goodness. |
Placate | To soothe or pacify. |
Plastic | Able to be molded; altered, or bent. |
Plethora | Excess. |
Pragmatic | Practical as opposed to idealistic. |
Precipitate | To throw violently or bring about abruptly; lacking deliberation. |
Prevaricate | To lie or deviate from the truth. |
Pristine | Fresh and clean; uncorrupted. |
Prodigal | Lavish; Wasteful. |
Proliferate | To increase in number quickly. |
Propitiate | To conciliate; to appease. |
Propriety | Correct behavior; obedience to rules and customs. |
Prudence | Wisdom, caution, or restraint. |
Pungent | Sharp and irritating to the senses. |
Quiescent | Motionless. |
Rarefy | To make thinner or sparser. |
Repudiate | To reject the validity of. |
Reticent | Silent, reserved. |
Rhetoric | Effective writing or speaking. |
Satiate | To satisfy fully or overindulge. |
Soporific | Causing sleep or lethargy. |
Specious | Deceptively attractive; seemingly plausible but fallacious. |
Stigma | A mark of shame or discomfort. |
Stolid | Unemotional; Lacking sensitivity. |
Sublime | Lofty or grand. |
Tacit | Done without using words. |
Taciturn | Silent, not talkative. |
Tirade | Long, harsh speech or verbal attack. |
Torpor | Extreme mental and physical sluggishness. |
Transitory | Temporary; lasting a brief time. |
Vacillate | To sway physically; to be indecisive. |
Venerate | To respect deeply. |
Veracity | Filled with truth and accuracy. |
Verbose | Wordy. |
Vex | To annoy |
Volatile | Easily aroused or changeable; lively or explosive. |
Waver | To fluctuate between choices. |
Whimsical | Acting in a fanciful or capricious manner; unpredictable. |
Zeal | Passion, excitement. |