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GRE - Verb
Card list for GRE test (Verb)
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Abate | to make or become less in amount or intensity |
| Abjure | to formally reject or give up (as a belief) |
| Abrogate | to revoke formally |
| Abscond | to run away usually includes taking something or somebody along |
| Abstain | to choose not to consume or take part in (particularly something enjoyable) |
| Adjudicate | to arrive at a judgment or conclusion or serve as a judge in a competition |
| Admonish | to strongly warn |
| Adulterate | to make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance |
| Afford | to provide with an opportunity |
| Aggrandize | to increase in power, reputation or influence |
| Alleviate | to make easier or relieve the intensity of |
| Ameliorate | to make something bad better |
| Antagonize | to provoke the hostility of |
| Antedate | to come earlier in date or time |
| Appease | to please someone by doing something desired or giving something demanded |
| Appropriate | to take something by force |
| Arrogate | to seize and control without authority |
| Ascribe | to attribute or credit to |
| Assail | to attack in speech or writing |
| Assuage | to make something intense less severe |
| Attenuate | to weaken or become weaker |
| Augment | to make greater or improved |
| Avert | to turn away ; to prevent |
| Badger | to annoy someone by many comments or questions as to ask someone persistently to do something |
| Balk | to refuse to comply or do what someone else wants you to do |
| Banish | to expel from a community or residence |
| Beg | to assume something is true usually followed by "the question" meaning that you ask a question in which you assume something that hasn't been proven true |
| Begrudge | to envy someone for possessing or enjoying something ; to give something in a reluctant or unwilling way |
| Behoove | to be one's duty or obligation |
| Belie | to contradict or give a false representation |
| Belittle | to lessen the importance, dignity or reputation of |
| Bemoan | to express discontent or a strong regret |
| Besiege | to cause to fell distressed as with questions or requests |
| Besmirch | to damage the good name and reputation of someone |
| Betray | to reveal something unintentionally |
| Bolster | to support and strengthen |
| Bowdlerize | to edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate |
| Bridle | to put restriction on ; to react with anger or to take offense |
| Bristle | to react in an offended or angry manner |
| Brook | to allow something unpleasant to happen or to tolerate someone who behaves unpleasantly |
| Browbeat | to discourage with threats or a domineering manner |
| Buck | to resist |
| Bumble | to act clumsily or awkwardly |
| Burgeon | to grow rapidly |
| Buttress | to make stronger or defensible |
| Capitulate | to surrender usually under agreed conditions |
| Carp | to persistently raise trivial objections |
| Castigate | to criticize harshly |
| Cede | to relinquish possession or control over |
| Censure | to criticize severely and publicly |
| Chagrin | to cause to feel shame |
| Champion | to fight for a cause |
| Chastise | to criticize harshly |
| Check | to hold back the growth of something |
| Chortle | to laugh happily in muffled way |
| Circumscribe | to limit the size or amount |
| Circumvent | to try to avoid fulfilling duties |
| Coalesce | to fuse or cause to grow together |
| Compound | to make more intense or marked |
| Concede | to give over something ; to accept defeat ; to admit something |
| Conciliate | to cause to be more favorably inclined |
| Condone | to allow something (usually behavior that is considered morally wrong or offensive) to continue |
| Conflate | to mix together different elements or concepts |
| Confound | to cause confusion as to mistake one thing for another |
| Connive | to take part in immoral and unethical plots |
| Consecrate | to officially make someone or something holy |
| Construe | to interpret or understand in a particular way |
| Consummate | to make perfect and complete in every aspect |
| Contrive | to pull off a scheme or plan in tricky or clever way |
| Corroborate | to confirm or lend support (in an idea or claim) |
| Cosset | to treat with excessive indulgence |
| Countermand | to cancel an order or command especially by giving a new one |
| Cow | to intimidate |
| Crescendo | to gradually increase the loudness |
| Crystallize | to make free from confusion or ambiguity |
| Culminate | to reach the highest point or final result of something |
| Debase | to lower the character of someone ; to reduce the value of something (as by adding impurities) |
| Debunk | to expose as false ideas and claims especially while ridiculing |
| Decimate | to kill in large numbers |
| Decry | to express strong disapproval of |
| Defray | to help pay the cost of (either in part or full) |
| Degrade | to reduce in worth or character |
| Deign | to do something that one considers to be below one's dignity |
| Deliberate | to think about carefully by weighing the pros and cons of an issue |
| Delineate | to describe in detail |
| Demean | to cause someone or something to lose dignity or respect |
| Demur | to show reluctance or disagreement or refusal |
| Denigrate | to falsely attack good name or reputation of someone |
| Deride | to treat or speak of with contempt |
| Derive | to come from ; to obtain or establish something by deduction |
| Desecrate | to willfully destroy a sacred place ; to remove the consecration from a person or object |
| Deter | to discourage someone by persuasion |
| Devolve | to grow worse (devolve into) ; to delegate to another |
| Differentiate | to be a distinctive feature or trait ; to evolve so as to lead to a new species or develop in a way most suited to the environment (sometimes in positive sense) |
| Dilate | to clarify the meaning of by adding details |
| Disabuse | to free somebody from an erroneous belief |
| Discern | to detect with the sense |
| Discriminate | to recognize or perceive the difference |
| Disenfranchise | to prevent someone or group of people from having right to vote |
| Dispatch | to dispose of rapidly and without delay |
| Dissemble | to conceal or hide one's true motives usually through deceit |
| Disseminate | to cause something or someone to become widely known |
| Dissipate | to disperse or scatter ; to spend money wastefully |
| Dog | to pursue relentlessly |
| Dovetail | to tightly fit together as if by means of an interlocking joint |
| Dupe | to trick or swindle |
| Edify | to make understand |
| Eke Out | to make a living with difficulty as with insufficient resources |
| Elaborate | to explain in more detail |
| Elicit | to call forth as emotions or responses |
| Elucidate | to make clearer and easier to understand |
| Elude | to escape understanding ; to avoid by being quick |
| Embellish | to make more attractive or beautiful by adding ornament or color |
| Embroil | to deeply drag someone into difficult situation or course of action |
| Emulate | to strive to equal or match especially by imitating |
| Encumber | to hold back |
| Enervate | to make someone tired or feel weak |
| Engender | to make exist or give rise to |
| Enjoin | to direct somebody to do something with authority |
| Enthrall | to hold the attention entirely |
| Entice | to get someone to do something through (false or exaggerate) promises |
| Enumerate | to determine the number or amount of ; to specify individually one by one |
| Equivocate | to speak vaguely usually with the intention to mislead or deceive |
| Eradicate | to completely destroy |
| Err | to make an error |
| Eschew | to stay away from or stay clear of |
| Espouse | to adopt or support an idea or cause |
| Exacerbate | to make worse |
| Exalt | to praise or glorify |
| Exasperate | to irritate |
| Excoriate | to criticize very harshly |
| Exculpate | to pronounce not guilty of criminal charges |
| Execrate | to curse and hiss at |
| Exemplify | to be characteristic of ; to clarify by giving an example |
| Exhort | to strongly urge on or encourage |
| Exonerate | to pronounce that someone is not guilty of a criminal charge |
| Expound | to clarify the meaning by adding details or explanations |
| Expunge | to eliminate completely |
| Expurgate | to remove objectionable material |
| Extenuate | to make a guilt or offense less serious or more forgivable |
| Extrapolate | to draw from specific cases for more general cases |
| Fawn | to try to gain favor by extreme flattery |
| Ferret | to search for something persistently |
| Fete | to celebrate a person |
| Finagle | to achieve something by means of trickery or devious methods |
| Flag | to become less intense or enthusiastic |
| Fleece | to deceive |
| Flounder | to behave awkwardly ; to have difficulties |
| Flummox | to be a mystery or bewildering to |
| Foment | to try to stir up public opinion |
| Frustrate | to prevent or hinder of |
| Gainsay | to contradict or deny |
| Gall | to irritate |
| Galvanize | to excite or inspire to action |
| Gerrymander | to manipulate voting districts in order to favor a particular political party |
| Glean | to collect information bit by bit |
| Glut | to supply with an excess of |
| Goad | to urge on with unpleasant comments |
| Grovel | to treat someone with too much fear |
| Guffaw | to laugh loudly and boisterously |
| Hail | to acclaim or celebrate something enthusiastically |
| Hamper | to prevent the progress or free movement of |
| Hamstrung | to make ineffective or powerless |
| Harangue | to loudly and angrily deliver long pompous speech |
| Harry | to annoy continually |
| Hector | to bully or intimidate |
| Hedge | to limit or qualify a statement and avoid making a direct statement |
| Hobble | to hold back the progress of something |
| Hoodwink | to deceive or trick someone |
| Hound | to pursue relentlessly |
| Imbibe | to drink or absorb as if drinking ; receive into the mind and retain |
| Immure | to enclose usually in walls |
| Impede | to slow the movement or progress as to be a hindrance or obstacle to |
| Implicate | to convey a meaning ; to indicate in wrongdoing usually a crime |
| Importune | to beg persistently and urgently |
| Impugn | to attack as false or wrong |
| Impute | to attribute or credit something to other things |
| Incense | to make furious |
| Indict | to formally charge of a crime or wrong-doing |
| Ingratiate | to gain favor with somebody by deliberate efforts or doing something they like |
| Intimate | to say or suggest something in an indirect way |
| Inundate | to flood or overwhelm |
| Inure | to become accustomed to especially something unpleasant |
| Irk | to irritate |
| Jeopardize | to pose a threat to or to put at risk |
| Juxtapose | to place side by side for contrast |
| Kowtow | to bow or act in a subservient manner |
| Lacerate | to distress or deeply hurt the feelings of |
| Lambaste | to criticize harshly or angrily |
| Lament | to regret strongly ; to express grief verbally |
| Lampoon | to ridicule with satire |
| Languish | to become feeble |
| Lavish | to bestow with profusion |
| Lionize | to assign great social importance to |
| Machinate | to engage in plotting something |
| Maintain | to assert or state clearly and firmly |
| Maunder | to wander aimlessly ; to speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly |
| Meander | to wander aimlessly |
| Mesmerize | to hold one’s attention entirely |
| Misattribute | to erroneously attribute or to falsely ascribe used especially of authorship |
| Misconstrue | to interpret in the wrong way |
| Mitigate | to make less severe |
| Morph | to undergo dramatic change in a seamless and barely noticeable fashion |
| Mulct | to illegally obtain money by deception |
| Nettle | to cause annoyance in |
| Objurgate | to criticize severely |
| Obscure | to make unclear |
| Obtain | to be valid or applicable |
| Obviate | to prevent the occurrence of |
| Occlude | to block passage through |
| Ossify | to make rigid and set into a conventional pattern |
| Ostracize | to exclude from a community or group |
| Palaver | to speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly |
| Patronize | to talk to someone in a way that shows that you believe you are more intelligent or better than other people |
| Perpetuate | to cause to continue |
| Perturb | to cause to be worried or alarmed |
| Peruse | to read very carefully |
| Pillory | to ridicule or expose to public scorn |
| Pine | to yearn for |
| Placate | to cause to be more favorably inclined as to make someone less angry |
| Pontificate | to talk in a dogmatic and pompous manner |
| Posit | to assume as fact |
| Precipitate | to cause to happen |
| Preclude | to prevent from happening or arising |
| Preempt | to take place or acquire before others can do so |
| Prevail | to be widespread in a particular area at a particular time ; to prove superior |
| Prevaricate | to speak in an evasive way |
| Prognosticate | to make a prediction about the future |
| Promulgate | to state or announce |
| Propitiate | to placate or appease |
| Proscribe | to command against |
| Proselytize | to convert (someone) to another religion, philosophy or perspective |
| Quail | to draw back as with fear or pain |
| Qualify | to limit or make more specific |
| Quip | to make a witty remark |
| Rankle | to make someone resentful or irritated |
| Rebuke | to criticize severely or angrily |
| Reconcile | to make one thing compatible with another |
| Refute | to prove that something is false or incorrect |
| Relegate | to assign to a lower position |
| Remonstrate | to make objections while pleading |
| Renege | to fail to fulfill a promise or obligation |
| Reproach | to express warning or criticism towards |
| Repudiate | to reject as untrue or unfounded |
| Rescind | to cancel officially |
| Resolve | to reach a conclusion after a discussion or deliberation |
| Retract | to pull inward or towards a center ; to formally reject or to disavow a formerly held belief |
| Rile | to cause annoyance in especially by minor irritations |
| Sanction | to give permission or authority |
| Satiate | to fully satisfy |
| Savvy | to understand something |
| Sententious | to be moralizing usually in a pompous sense |
| Snub | to refuse to acknowledge outright and bluntly |
| Spurn | to reject with contempt or a lack of respect |
| Squander | to spend thoughtlessly |
| Squelch | to suppress or crush completely |
| Start | to suddenly move in a particular direction |
| Stem | to limit or hold back the flow or growth of something |
| Stultify | to cause one to lose energy and enthusiasm through routine |
| Stymie | to hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of |
| Subsume | to include or contain ; to consider |
| Supplant | to take place or move into the position of |
| Tarnish | to make dirty or spotty |
| Tender | to offer up something formally |
| Thwart | to prevent the efforts or desires of |
| Tout | to advertise or show off strongly in positive terms |
| Transmute | to change in form, appearance or nature |
| Truncate | to reduce the length of something |
| Undermine | to weaken |
| Underscore | to give extra weight to |
| Underwrite | to support financially |
| Unnerve | to make nervous or upset |
| Upbraid | to scold or criticize |
| Vacillate | to repeatedly change opinion or desire |
| Vanquish | to come out better in a competition, race or conflict |
| Vaunt | to show off |
| Venerate | to respect deeply |
| Vie | to compete for something |
| Vilify | to spread negative information about |
| Vindicate | to clear of accusation or blame with supporting arguments or proofs |
| Vituperate | to spread negative information about ; to criticize harshly |
| Waver | to be unsure in doing something as to choose between choices |
| Wax | to gradually increase in size or intensity |