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My GRE set 1
kaplan top gre words
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Abate | To reduce in amount, degree, or severity. ex: As the hurricane's force ABATED, the winds dropped and the sea became calm |
| Abscond | To leave secretly ex: The patron ABSCONDED from the restaurant without paying his bill by sneaking out the back door |
| Abstain | To choose not to do something. ex: She ABSTAINED from choosing a mouthwatering dessert from the tray |
| Abyss | An extremely deep hole ex: The submarine dove into the ABYSS to chart the previously unseen depths |
| Adulterate | To make impure ex: the restaurateur made his ketchup last longer by ADULTERATING it with water |
| Advocate | To speak in favor of ex: The vegetarian ADVOCATED a diet containing no meat |
| Aesthetic | Concerning the appreciation of beauty ex: Followers of the AESTHETIC movement regarded the pursuit of beauty as the only true purpose of art |
| Aggrandize | To increase in power, influence, and reputation ex: The supervisor sought to AGGRANDIZE himself by claiming that the achievements of his staff were actually his own |
| Alleviate | To make more bearable ex: Taking aspirin helps to ALLEVIATE a headache |
| Amalgamate | To combine;to mix together ex:Giant industries AMALGAMATED with mega Products to form Giant-Mega Products incorporated |
| Ambiguous | Doubtful or uncertain; able to be interpreted several ways ex: The directions he gave were so AMBIGUOUS that we disagreed on which way to turn |
| Ameliorate | To make better;improve ex: The doctor was able to AMELIORATE the patient's suffering using painkillers |
| Anachronism | Something out of place in time ex: The aged hippie used ANACHRONISTIC phrases like groovy and far out that had not been popular for years |
| Analogous | Similar or alike in some way; equivalent to ex: In a famous argument for the existence of God, the universe is ANALOGOUS to a mechanical timepiece, the creation of a divinely intelligent "clockmaker" |
| Anomaly | Deviation from what is normal ex: Albino animals may display too great an ANOMALY in their coloring to attract normally colored mates |
| Antagonize | To annoy or provoke to anger ex: The child discovered that he could ANTAGONIZE the cat by pulling its tail |
| Antipathy | Extreme dislike ex: The ANTIPATHY between the French and the English regularly erupted into open warfare |
| Apathy | Lack of interest or emotion ex: The APATHY of voters is so great that less than half the people who are eligible to vote actually bother to do so |
| Arbitrate | To judge a dispute between two opposing parties ex: Since the couple could not come to agreement, a judge was forced to ARBITRATE their divorce proceedings |
| Archaic | Ancient, old-fashioned ex: Her ARCHAIC Commodore computer could not run the latest software |
| Ardor | Intense and passionate feeling Ex: Bishop's ARDOR for landscape was evident when he passionately described the beauty of the scenic Hudson Valley |
| Articulate | Able to speak clearly and expressively ex: She is such an ARTICULATE defender of labor that unions are her strongest supporters |
| Assuage | To make something unpleasant less severe ex: Serena used aspirin to ASSUAGE her pounding headache |
| Attenuate | to reduce in force or degree;weaken ex: The Bill of Rights ATTENUATED the traditional power of government to change laws at will |
| Audacious | Fearless and daring ex: Her audacious nature allowed her to fulfill her dream of skydiving |
| Austere | Severe or stern in appearance; undecorated ex: The lack of decoration makes Zen temples seem AUSTERE to the untrained eye |
| Banal | Predictable, cliched, boring ex: He used BANAL phrases like Have a nicde day, or Another day, another dollar |
| Bolster | to support;to prop up ex: The presence of giant footprints BOLSTERED the argument that Sasquatch was in the area |
| Bombastic | Pompous in speech and manner ex: The dictator's speeches were mostly BOMBASTIC; his boasting and outrageous claims had no basis in fact |
| Cacophony | Harsh, Jarring Noise ex: The junior high orchestra created an almost unbearable CACOPHONY as they tried to tune their instruments |
| Candid | Impartial and honest in speech ex: The observations of a child can be charming since they are CANDID and unpretentious |
| Capricious | Changing one's mind quickly and often ex: Queen Elizabeth I was quite CAPRICIOUS; her courtiers could never be sure which of their number would catch her fancy |
| Castigate | To punish or criticize harshly ex: American are amazed at how harshly the authorities in Singapore CASTIGATE perpetrators of what would be considered minor crimes in the US |
| Catalyst | Something that brings about a change in something else ex: The imposition of harsh taxes was the CATALYST that finally brought on the revolution |
| Caustic | Biting in Wit ex: Dorothy Parker gained her reputation for CAUSTIC wit from her cutting, yet clever, insults |
| Chaos | Great disorder or confusion ex: In most religious traditions, God created an ordered universe from CHAOS |
| Chauvinist | Someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs ex: The attitude that men are inherently superior to women and therefore must be obeyed is common among male CHAUVINISTS |
| Chicanery | Deception by means of craft or guile ex: Dishonest used car salesmen often use CHICANERY to sell their beat-up old cars |
| Cogent | Convincing and well reasoned ex: Swayed by the COGENT argument of the defense, the jury had not choice but to acquit the defendant |
| Condone | To overlook, pardon, or disregard ex: Some theorists believe that failing to prosecute minor crimes is the same as CONDONING and air of lawlessness |
| Convoluted | Intricate and complicated ex: Although many people bought A Brief History of Time, few could follow its convoluted ideas and theories |
| Corroborate | To provide supporting evidence ex: Fingerprints CORROBORATED the witness's testimony that he saw the defendant in the victim's apartment |
| Credulous | Too trusting;gullible ex: Although some four-year-olds believe in the Easter Bunny, only the most CREDULOUS nine-year-olds also believe in him |
| Crescendo | Steadily increasing volume or force ex: The CRESCENDO of tension became unbearable as Evel Knievel prepared to jump his motorcycle over the school buses |
| Decorum | Appropriateness of behavior or conduct; propriety ex:The countess complained that the vulgar peasants lacked the DECORUM appropriate for a visit to the palace |
| Deference | Respect; courtesy ex: The respectful young law clerk treated the Supreme Court justice with the utmost DEFERENCE |
| Deride | To speak of or treat with contempt; to mock ex: The awkward child was often DERIDED by his "cooler" peers |
| Desiccate | To dry out thoroughly ex: After a few weeks of lying on the desert's baking sands, the cow's carcass became completely DESICCATED |
| Desultory | Jumping from one thing to another; disconnected ex: Diane had a DESULTORY academic record she had changed majors 12 times in three years |
| Diatribe | An abusive, condemnatory speech ex: The trucker bellowed a diatribe at the driver who had cut him off |
| Diffident | Lacking self-confidence ex: Steven's DIFFIDENT manner during the job interview stemmed from his nervous nature and lack of experience in the field |
| Dilate | To make larger; to expand ex: When you enter a darkened room, the pupils of your eyes DILATE to let in more light |
| Dilatory | Intended to delay ex: The congressman used DILATORY measures to delay the passage of the bill |
| Dilettante | Someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic; dabbler ex: Jerry's friends were such DILETTANTES that they seemed to have new jobs and hobbies every week |
| Dirge | A funeral hymn or mournful speech ex: Melville wrote the poem " A DIRGE for Jame McPherson" for the funeral of a Union general who was killed in 1864 |
| Disabuse | to set right;to free from error ex:Galileo's observations DISABUSED scholars of the notion that the Sun revolved around the Earth |
| Discern | To perceive; to recognize ex: It is easy to DISCERN the difference between butter and butter-flavored topping |
| Disparate | Fundamentally different;entirely unlike ex: Although the twins appear to be identical physically, their personalities are DISPARATE |
| Dissemble | To present a false appearance; to disguise one's real intentions or character ex: 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 |
| Dissonance | A harsh and disagreeable combination, often of sounds ex: Cognitive DISSONANCE is the inner conflict produced when long-standing beliefs are contradicted by new evidence |
| Dogma | A firmly held opinion, often a religious belief ex: Linus' central DOGMA was that children who believed in the Great Pumpkin would be rewarded |
| Dogmatic | Dictatorial in one's opinions ex: The dictator was DOGMATIC-he, and only he, was right |
| Dupe | To deceive; a person who is easily deceived ex: Bugs Bunny was able to DUPE Elmer Fudd by dressing up as a lady rabbit |
Created by:
mandee11
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