88

Part II: A Word to the Wise: Verbal Questions

If you have the gift of music, you can create your own songs and plug the vocab words and their definitions right into the lyrics. You can sing your songs anywhere! So what if Joe Nextdoor thinks youve lost it as you sing while washing your car? Youre the one going to grad school and leaving Joe Nextdoor . . . well . . . next door! Regardless of when you begin studying, make sure to do it every day. Revisit the words you think you already know. Knowing as much vocabulary as possible will help you immensely with the Verbal section.

The Paramount 300: Memorizing the Most Common Words

This section features the 300 most commonly occurring words on the GRE. Of course, you need to know way more than 300 words for this test. However, for space considerations, weve included only the most popular words here. We recommend that you scour the Internet for additional GRE vocabulary words (theyre everywhere!) and then use your findings to supplement our list. With that said, get ready to dive in and start studying! 1. Aberrant: Abnormal; different from the accepted norm 2. Abeyance: State of suspension; temporary inaction 3. Abstemious: Characterized by a state of self-denial, particularly in the area of food or drink 4. Acrid: Bitter; harsh 5. Acumen: Keen; quickness of intellectual insight 6. Admonition: A gentle reproof 7. Amalgamate: To mix or blend together in a homogenous body 8. Ameliorate: To relieve, as from pain or hardship 9. Ascetic: Given to severe self-denial; practicing excessive abstinence 10. Assiduous: Persistent, unceasing 11. Astute: Keen; wise 12. Audacious: Fearless 13. Austere: Unadorned; severely simple 14. Aver: To avouch, justify, or prove 15. Banal: Trite; commonplace 16. Blatant: Offensively loud 17. Bolster: To support; to reinforce 18. Bombastic: Using inflated language; pompous 19. Burgeon: To grow forth; to send out buds 20. Cacophony: A disagreeable, harsh, or discordant sound or tone 21. Chicanery: Use of trickery to deceive

Chapter 11: Words to Help You Score: GRE Vocabulary

22. Coda: Concluding section of a musical or literary piece; something that summarizes 23. Cognizant: Aware; taking notice 24. Colloquial: Pertaining to common speech 25. Consternation: Panic 26. Contentious: Quarrelsome 27. Contrite: Penitent 28. Contumacious: Rebellious 29. Craven: Cowardly 30. Decorum: Orderliness and good taste in manners 31. Deleterious: Hurtful, morally or physically 32. Delineate: To represent by sketch or diagram 33. Deride: To ridicule; to make fun of 34. Derision: Ridicule 35. Desultory: Aimless; haphazard 36. Diatribe: Bitter or malicious criticism 37. Didactic: Pertaining to teaching 38. Dilatory: Causing delay 39. Disconcert: To disturb the composure of 40. Dissemble: To disguise or pretend 41. Dissolution: Breaking up of a union of persons 42. Divest: To strip; to deprive 43. Divulge: To tell or make known, generally of something secret or private 44. Dubious: Doubtful 45. Dupe: Someone easily fooled 46. Ebullient: Showing great enthusiasm or exhilaration 47. Efficacy: Power to produce an intended effect 48. Effrontery: Shameless boldness; impudence 49. Egress: Exit 50. Elegy: A poem lamenting the dead 51. Elicit: To extract without violence; to learn through discussion 52. Embellish: To add attractive and ornamental features 53. Emulate: Imitate 54. Engender: To produce 55. Enervate: To weaken 56. Ennui: Boredom 57. Ephemeral: Short-lived; fleeting 58. Equanimity: Evenness of mind or temper 59. Equivocal: Ambiguous

89

90

Part II: A Word to the Wise: Verbal Questions

60. Eradicate: To destroy completely 61. Erudite: Very learned 62. Eschew: To keep clear of 63. Esoteric: Hard to understand; known only by a few 64. Exacerbate: To make more sharp or severe; to make worse 65. Exculpate: To free from blame 66. Exigency: Urgent situation 67. Expatiate: To speak or write at some length 68. Extirpate: To root out; to eradicate 69. Facetious: Amusing 70. Fallacious: Illogical 71. Fatuous: Idiotic 72. Fervor: Ardor or intensity of feeling 73. Fledgling: Inexperienced 74. Foment: To nurse to life; to encourage 75. Forestall: To prevent by taking action in advance 76. Frugal: Economical 77. Fulminate: To cause to explode 78. Gainsay: To contradict; to deny 79. Garrulous: Trivial talking 80. Germane: Relevant 81. Goad: To urge on 82. Grandiloquent: Pompous; bombastic 83. Gregarious: Sociable; outgoing 84. Guileless: Without deceit 85. Gullible: Easily deceived 86. Halcyon: Calm 87. Harangue: A tirade 88. Harbinger: One who foreruns and announces the coming of a person or thing 89. Heresy: Opinion or doctrine subversive of settled or accepted beliefs 90. Homogeneous: Of the same kind 91. Hyperbole: Exaggeration or overstatement 92. Iconoclast: An image-breaker 93. Ignominious: Shameful 94. Impecunious: Having no money; broke 95. Impede: To hinder; to block 96. Imperious: Insisting on obedience 97. Imperturbable: Calm

Chapter 11: Words to Help You Score: GRE Vocabulary

98. Impervious: Impenetrable 99. Implicit: Implied 100. Importune: To harass with persistent demands 101. Impugn: To assail with arguments or accusations 102. Inadvertently: Unintentionally 103. Inane: Silly 104. Inchoate: Recently begun 105. Indolence: Laziness 106. Ineffable: Unutterable 107. Inert: Inactive; lacking power to move 108. Inexorable: Unrelenting 109. Innocuous: Harmless 110. Insouciant: Nonchalant 111. Intrepid: Fearless and bold 112. Inure: To harden or toughen by use, exercise, or exposure 113. Invidious: Showing or feeling envy 114. Irascible: Easily angered 115. Itinerant: Wandering 116. Laconic: Brief and to the point 117. Latent: Dormant 118. Laudable: Praiseworthy 119. Licentious: Wanton 120. Loquacious: Talkative 121. Lucid: Easily understood; clear 122. Magnanimity: Generosity 123. Malingerer: One who feigns illness to escape duty 124. Malleable: Pliant 125. Maverick: Rebel; nonconformist 126. Mendacious: Untrue 127. Metamorphosis: Change of form 128. Meticulous: Overcautious 129. Misanthrope: One who hates mankind 130. Mitigate: To lessen in intensity; to appease 131. Modicum: A small amount 132. Mollify: To soothe 133. Mordant: Biting 134. Morose: Ill-humored; sullen 135. Mundane: Worldly

91

92

Part II: A Word to the Wise: Verbal Questions

136. Nefarious: Extremely wicked 137. Negate: To cancel out; to nullify 138. Neophyte: Beginner 139. Obdurate: Stubborn 140. Obfuscate: To darken 141. Obsequious: Servile; ready to serve 142. Obviate: To make unnecessary 143. Odious: Hateful 144. Officious: Meddlesome 145. Onus: Burden 146. Opprobrium: Infamy; vilification 147. Oscillate: To waver 148. Ostentation: A display of vanity; showy 149. Palpable: Perceptible by feeling or touch 150. Paragon: Model of perfection 151. Parsimonious: Sparing in spending of money 152. Partisan: One-sided; committed to one party 153. Pathos: Having a quality that rouses emotion or sympathy 154. Paucity: Few 155. Penchant: Strong inclination 156. Penurious: Excessively sparing in the use of money; frugal 157. Perennial: Something long-lasting 158. Perfidy: Treachery 159. Permeable: Penetrable; porous 160. Pernicious: Tending to kill or hurt 161. Pervasive: Spread throughout 162. Phlegmatic: Not easily roused to feeling or emotion 163. Pious: Religious 164. Placate: To soothe; to bring from a hostile state to a calm one 165. Platitude: Trite or commonplace statement 166. Plethora: Excess; superabundance 167. Porous: Full of pores 168. Portend: Foretell 169. Pragmatic: Practical 170. Precarious: Perilous 171. Precipitate: Rash; premature 172. Precocious: Mature at a young age 173. Prescience: Knowledge of events before they happen

Chapter 11: Words to Help You Score: GRE Vocabulary

174. Prevaricate: To use ambiguous language for the purpose of deceiving 175. Proclivity: Natural inclination 176. Prodigious: Immense 177. Profound: Deep; not superficial 178. Proliferate: To grow rapidly 179. Propensity: Natural inclination 180. Prudence: Caution 181. Puerile: Childish 182. Pugnacious: Quarrelsome 183. Pungent: Stinging; sharp in taste or smell 184. Pusillanimous: Cowardly; fainthearted 185. Qualm: Misgivings; uneasy fears 186. Quibble: Minor objection or complaint 187. Quiescence: Being quiet or still; inactive 188. Quixotic: Idealistic; romantic to a ridiculous degree 189. Recant: To formally withdraw ones belief 190. Recondite: Incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding; profound 191. Redress: To set right by compensation or punishment 192. Reprobate: A sinful and depraved person 193. Repudiate: To refuse to have anything to do with 194. Rescind: To void by enacting authority 195. Respite: Interval of rest 196. Reticent: Reserved; inclined to silence 197. Reverent: Respectful 198. Rhetoric: The art of effective communication 199. Rout: To drive out; to stampede 200. Ruminate: To chew over again; to think over 201. Sagacious: Wise 202. Salacious: Having strong sexual desires 203. Salubrious: Healthful 204. Sanction: To approve 205. Sanguine: Cheerfully confident; optimistic 206. Satiate: To satisfy or fulfill the appetite or desire of 207. Savor: To satisfy fully 208. Secrete: To hide away 209. Sedulous: Persevering in effort or endeavor 210. Seethe: To be disturbed 211. Seminal: Influencing future developments

93

94

Part II: A Word to the Wise: Verbal Questions

212. Shard: Fragment 213. Shirk: To avoid 214. Shoddy: Not genuine; inferior 215. Sinuous: Curving in and out 216. Skeptic: Doubter 217. Skittish: Lively; frisky 218. Slander: Defamation 219. Sloth: Slow-moving 220. Solicitous: Worried; concerned 221. Sonorous: Resonant 222. Soporific: Causing sleep 223. Specious: Seemingly reasonable but incorrect 224. Spendthrift: Someone who wastes money 225. Spurious: Not genuine 226. Stentorian: Extremely loud 227. Stigma: A token of disgrace 228. Stint: To be thrifty 229. Stipulate: To make express conditions 230. Stolid: Dull; impassive 231. Striated: Marked with parallel bands 232. Strut: A pompous walk 233. Subterfuge: Evasion 234. Supercilious: Careless contempt 235. Superfluous: More than what is needed 236. Supersede: To cause to be set back 237. Supine: Lying on the back 238. Tacit: Understood 239. Taciturn: Stern; silent 240. Tangential: Digressing 241. Tantamount: Equivalent in effect or value 242. Tawdry: Cheap 243. Temerity: A foolish disregard of danger 244. Tempestuous: Stormy; impassioned 245. Tenacious: Holding fast 246. Tenuous: Thin; slim 247. Tepid: Lukewarm 248. Thrall: Slave; bondage 249. Thwart: To frustrate

Chapter 11: Words to Help You Score: GRE Vocabulary

250. Titillate: To tickle 251. Torpid: Dull; sluggish; inactive 252. Tortuous: Abounding in irregular bends or turns 253. Tractable: Docile 254. Transgression: Violation; sin 255. Transmute: To change 256. Transparent: Easily detected 257. Transpire: To happen, to be revealed 258. Trepidation: Nervous feeling; fear 259. Truculence: Ferocity 260. Tutelage: The act of training or being under instruction 261. Tyro: Beginner 262. Ubiquitous: Being present everywhere 263. Umbrage: Sense of injury 264. Unassuaged: Unsatisfied; not soothed 265. Uncouth: Clumsy; dumb 266. Undermine: To weaken; to sap 267. Unerringly: Infallibility 268. Ungainly: Awkward; clumsy 269. Unison: Complete accord 270. Unruly: Disobedient 271. Untenable: Indefensible 272. Upbraid: To reproach as deserving blame 273. Vacillate: To waver; to fluctuate 274. Vagabond: Wanderer 275. Vainglory: Excessive; pretentious 276. Valorous: Courageous 277. Vantage: Position giving advantage 278. Vapid: Having lost quality and flavor; dull; lifeless 279. Variegated: Many colored 280. Vehement: Forceful 281. Venerate: To look upon with deep respect 282. Veracious: Truthful 283. Verbiage: Use of many words 284. Verbose: Wordy 285. Vicissitude: Change of condition or circumstances, generally of fortune 286. Viscous: Sticky; gluey 287. Vituperate: Overwhelm with wordy abuse

95

96

Part II: A Word to the Wise: Verbal Questions

288. Vociferous: Making a loud outcry 289. Volatile: Changeable 290. Warranted: Justified 291. Wary: Very cautious 292. Welter: Turmoil 293. Whimsical: Fanciful 294. Whorl: Ring 295. Winsome: Attractive 296. Wreak: Inflict 297. Writhe: Twist in coils 298. Yore: Time past 299. Zealot: Fanatic 300. Zeitgeist: Intellectual and moral tendencies of any age