Barron’s Guide, 2005, 16th Edition GRE High-Frequency Words Vocabulary List 333 Words Total
Word | Definition |
abate | subside or moderate |
aberrant | abnormal or deviant |
abeyance | suspended action |
abscond | depart secretly and hide |
abstemious | sparing in eating and drinking; temperate |
admonish | warn; reprove |
adulterate | make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances |
aesthetic | artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciating the beautiful |
aggregate | gather; accumulate |
alacrity | cheerful promptness; eagerness |
alleviate | relieve |
amalgamate | combine; unite in one body |
ambiguous | unclear or doubtful in meaning |
ambivalence | the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes |
ameliorate | improve |
anachronism | something or someone misplaced in time |
analogous | comparable |
anarchy | absence of governing body; state of disorder |
anomalous | abnormal; irregular |
antipathy | aversion; dislike |
apathy | lack of caring; indifference |
appease | pacify or soothe; relieve |
apprise | inform |
approbation | approval |
appropriate | v. acquire; take possession of for one’s own use |
arduous | hard; strenuous |
artless | without guile; open and honest |
ascetic | practicing self-denial; austere |
assiduous | diligent |
assuage | v. ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger) |
attenuate | make thinner |
audacious | daring; bold |
austere | forbiddingly stern; severely simple and unornamented |
autonomous | self-governing; independent |
aver | assert confidently or declare; as used in law, state formally as a fact |
banal | hackneyed; commonplace; trite; lacking originality |
belie | contradict; give a false impression |
beneficent | kindly; doing good |
bolster | support; reinforce |
bombastic | pompous; using inflated language |
boorish | rude; insensitive |
burgeon | grow forth; send out buds |
burnish | make shiny by rubbing; polish |
buttress | v. support; prop up |
capricious | unpredictable; fickle |
castigation | punishment; severe criticism |
catalyst | agent that increases the pace of a chemical action |
caustic | burning; sarcastically biting |
chicanery | trickery; deception |
coagulate | thicken; congeal; clot |
coda | concluding section of a musical or literary composition; summarizes or concludes |
cogent | convincing |
commensurate | adj. corresponding in extent, degree, etc.; proportionate |
compendium | brief, comprehensive summary |
complaisant | trying to please; overly polite; obliging |
compliant | yielding; conforming to requirements |
conciliatory | reconciling; soothing |
condone | overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse |
confound | confuse; puzzle |
connoisseur | person competent to act as a judge of art; a lover of art |
contention | claim; thesis |
contentious | quarrelsome |
contrite | penitent – Her contrite tears did not influence the judge when he imposed sentence |
conundrum | riddle; difficult problem |
converge | approach; tend to meet; come together |
convoluted | coiled around; involved; intricate |
craven | cowardly |
daunt | intimidate; frighten |
decorum | propriety; orderliness and good taste in manners |
default | failure to act |
deference | courteous regard for another’s wishes |
delineate | portray; depict; sketch |
denigrate | blacken |
deride | ridicule; make fun of |
derivative | unoriginal; obtained from another source |
desiccate | dry up |
desultory | aimless; haphazard; digressing at random |
deterrent | something that discourages; hindrance |
diatribe | n. bitter scolding; invective |
dichotomy | split; branching into two parts (especially contradictory ones) |
diffidence | shyness |
diffuse | adj. wordy, rambling, spread out (like a gas) |
digression | wandering away from the subject |
dirge | lament with music |
disabuse | correct a false impression; undeceive |
discerning | mentally quick and observant; having insight |
discordant | not harmonious; conflicting |
discredit | defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve |
discrepancy | lack of consistency; difference |
discrete | adj. separate; unconnected; consisting of distinct parts |
disingenuous | lacking genuine candor; insincere |
disinterested | unprejudiced |
disjointed | lacking coherence; separated at the joints |
dismiss | eliminate from consideration; reject |
disparage | belittle |
disparate | adj. basically different; unrelated |
dissemble | v. disguise; pretend |
disseminate | distribute; spread; scatter (like seeds) |
dissolution | disintegration; looseness in morals |
dissonance | discord; opposite of harmony |
distend | expand; swell out |
distill | purify; refine; concentrate |
diverge | vary; go in different directions from the same point |
divest | strip; deprive |
document | provide written evidence |
dogmatic | opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal |
dormant | sleeping; lethargic; latent |
dupe | someone easily fooled |
ebullient | showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm |
eclectic | selective; composed of elements drawn from disparate sources |
efficacy | power to produce desired effect |
effrontery | impudence; shameless boldness; sheer nerve; presumptuousness |
elegy | poem or song expressing lamentation |
elicit | draw out by discussion |
embellish | adorn; ornament; enhance, as a story |
empirical | based on experience |
emulate | imitate; rival |
endemic | prevailing among a specific group of people or in a specific area or country |
enervate | weaken |
engender | cause; produce |
enhance | increase; improve |
ephemeral | short-lived; fleeting |
equanimity | calmness of temperament; composure |
equivocate | lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the truth |
erudite | learned; scholarly |
esoteric | hard to understand; known only to the chosen few |
eulogy | expression of praise, often on the occasion of someone’s death |
euphemism | mild expression in place of an unpleasant one |
exacerbate | worsen; embitter |
exculpate | clear from blame |
exigency | urgent situation; pressing needs or demands; state of requiring immediate attention |
extrapolation | projection; conjecture |
facetious | joking (often inappropriately); humorous |
facilitate | help bring about; make less difficult |
fallacious | false; misleading |
fatuous | brainless; inane; foolish, yet smug |
fawning | trying to please by behaving obsequiously, flattering, or cringing |
felicitous | apt; suitably expressed; well chosen |
fervor | glowing ardor; intensity of feeling |
flag | droop; grow feeble |
fledgling | inexperienced |
flout | reject; mock; show contempt for |
foment | stir up; instigate |
forestall | prevent by taking action in advance |
frugality | thrift; economy |
gainsay | deny |
futile | useless; hopeless; ineffectual |
garrulous | loquacious; talkative; wordy |
goad | urge on |
gouge | overcharge |
grandiloquent | pompous; bombastic; using high-sounding language |
gregarious | sociable |
guileless | without deceit |
gullible | easily deceived |
harangue | long, passionate, and vehement speech |
homogeneous | of the same kind |
hyperbole | exaggeration; overstatement |
iconoclastic | attacking cherished traditions |
idolatry | worship of idols; excessive admiration |
immutable | unchangeable |
impair | injure; hurt |
impassive | without feeling; imperturbable; stoical |
impede | hinder; block |
impermeable | impervious; not permitting passage through its substance |
imperturbable | calm; placid |
impervious | impenetrable; incapable of being damaged or distressed |
implacable | incapable of being pacified |
implicit | understood but not stated |
implode | burst inward |
inadvertently | unintentionally; by oversight; carelessly |
inchoate | adj. recently begun; rudimentary; elementary |
incongruity | lack of harmony; absurdity |
inconsequential | insignificant; unimportant |
incorporate | introduce something into a larger whole; combine; unite |
indeterminate | uncertain; not clearly fixed; indefinite |
indigence | poverty |
indolent | lazy |
inert | inactive; lacking power to move |
ingenuous | naive and trusting; young; unsophisticated |
inherent | firmly established by nature or habit |
innocuous | harmless |
insensible | unconscious; unresponsive |
insinuate | hint; imply; creep in |
insipid | lacking in flavor; dull |
insularity | narrow-mindedness; isolation |
intractable | unruly; stubborn; unyielding |
intransigence | n. refusal of any compromise; stubbornness |
inundate | overwhelm; flood; submerge |
inured | adj. accustomed; hardened |
invective | n. abuse |
irascible | irritable; easily angered |
irresolute | uncertain how to act; weak |
itinerary | plan of a trip |
laconic | brief and to the point |
lassitude | languor; weariness |
latent | potential but undeveloped; dormant; hidden |
laud | v. praise |
lethargic | drowsy; dull |
levee | stone embankment to prevent flooding |
levity | lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity |
log | record of a voyage or flight; record of day-to-day activities |
loquacious | talkative |
lucid | easily understood; clear; intelligible |
luminous | shining; issuing light |
magnanimity | generosity |
malingerer | one who feigns illness to escape duty |
malleable | capable of being shaped by pounding; impressionable |
maverick | rebel; nonconformist |
mendacious | lying; habitually dishonest |
metamorphosis | change of form |
meticulous | excessively careful; painstaking; scrupulous |
misanthrope | one who hates mankind |
mitigate | appease; moderate |
mollify | soothe |
morose | ill-humored; sullen; melancholy |
mundane | worldly as opposed to spiritual; everyday |
negate | cancel out; nullify; deny |
neophyte | recent convert; beginner |
obdurate | adj. stubborn |
obsequious | slavishly attentive; servile; sycophantic |
obviate | make unnecessary; get rid of |
occlude | shut; close |
officious | meddlesome; excessively pushy in offering one’s services |
onerous | burdensome |
opprobrium | infamy; vilification |
oscillate | vibrate; waver |
ostentatious | showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention |
paragon | model of perfection |
partisan | one-sided; prejudiced; committed to a party |
pathological | pertaining to disease |
paucity | scarcity |
pedantic | showing off learning; bookish |
penchant | strong inclination; liking |
penury | severe poverty; stinginess |
perennial | something long-lasting |
perfidious | treacherous; disloyal |
perfunctory | superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm |
permeable | penetrable; porous; allowing liquids or gas to pass through |
pervasive | spread throughout |
phlegmatic | calm; not easily disturbed |
piety | devoutness; reverence for God |
placate | pacify; conciliate |
plasticity | ability to be molded |
platitude | n. trite remark; commonplace statement |
plethora | excess; overabundance |
plummet | fall sharply |
porous | full of pores; like a sieve |
pragmatic | practical (as opposed to idealistic); concerned with the practical worth or impact of something |
preamble | introductory statement |
precarious | uncertain; risky |
precipitate | adj. rash, premature, hasty, sudden |
precursor | forerunner |
presumptuous | arrogant; taking liberties |
prevaricate | lie |
pristine | characteristic of earlier times; primitive; unspoiled |
probity | uprightness; incorruptibility |
problematic | doubtful; unsettled; questionable; perplexing |
prodigal | wasteful; reckless with money |
profound | deep; not superficial; complete |
prohibitive | tending to prevent the purchase or use of something; inclined to prevent or forbid |
proliferate | grow rapidly; spread; multiply |
propensity | natural inclination |
propitiate | appease |
propriety | fitness; correct conduct |
proscribe | ostracize; banish; outlaw |
pungent | stinging; sharp in taste or smell; caustic |
qualified | limited; restricted |
quibble | minor objection or complaint |
quiescent | at rest; dormant; temporarily inactive |
rarefied | made less dense (of a gas) |
recalcitrant | obstinately stubborn; determined to resist authority; unruly |
recant | disclaim or disavow; retract a previous statement; openly confess error |
recluse | hermit; loner |
recondite | abstruse; profound; secret |
refractory | stubborn; unmanageable |
refute | disprove |
relegate | banish to an inferior position; delegate; assign |
reproach | express disapproval or disappointment |
reprobate | person hardened in sin; devoid of a sense of decency |
repudiate | disown; disavow |
rescind | cancel |
resolution | determination |
resolve | determination; firmness of purpose |
reticent | reserved; uncommunicative; inclined to silence |
reverent | respectful; worshipful |
sage | person celebrated for wisdom |
salubrious | healthful |
sanction | approve; ratify |
satiate | satisfy fully |
saturate | soak thoroughly |
savor | enjoy; have a distinctive flavor, smell, or quality |
secrete | hide away or cache; produce and release a substance into an organism |
shard | fragment, generally of pottery |
skeptic | doubter; person who suspends judgment until having examined evidence supporting a point of view |
solicitous | worried; concerned |
soporific | sleep-causing; marked by sleepiness |
specious | seemingly reasonable but incorrect; misleading (often intentionally) |
spectrum | colored band produced when a beam of light passes through a prism |
sporadic | occurring irregularly |
stigma | token of disgrace; brand |
stint | v. be thrifty; set limits |
stipulate | make express conditions; specify |
stolid | dull; impassive |
striated | marked with parallel bands; grooved |
strut | pompous walk |
strut | supporting bar |
subpoena | writ summoning a witness to appear |
subside | settle down; descend; grow quiet |
substantiate | establish by evidence; verify; support |
supersede | cause to be set aside; replace; make obsolete |
supposition | hypothesis; surmise |
tacit | understood; not put into words |
tangential | peripheral; only slightly connected; digressing |
tenuous | thin; rare; slim |
tirade | extended scolding; denunciation; harangue |
torpor | lethargy; sluggishness; dormancy |
tortuous | winding; full of curves |
tractable | docile; easily managed |
transgression | violation of a law; sin |
truculence | aggressiveness; ferocity |
vacillate | waver; fluctuate |
venerate | revere |
veracious | truthful |
verbose | wordy |
viable | practical or workable |
viscous | sticky, gluey |
vituperative | adj. abusive; scolding |
volatile | changeable; explosive; evaporation rapidly |
warranted | justified; authorized |
wary | very cautious |
welter | turmoil; bewildering jumble |
whimsical | capricious; fanciful |
zealot | fanatic; person who shows excessive zeal |