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200 GRE Words
GRE Vocabulary
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| ABATE | to reduce in amount, degree, or severity - as the hurricane's force ABATED, the winds dropped and the sea became calm |
| ABSCOND | to leave secretly - the restaurant witho patron ABSCONDED from the restaurant without paying his bill by sneaking out the back door |
| ABSTAIN | to choose not to do something - during lent, practicing Catholics ABSTAIN from eating meat |
| ABYSS | an extremely deep hole - the submarine dove into the ABYSS to chart the previously unseen depths |
| ADULTERATE | to make impure - the restauranteur made his ketchup last longer by adulterating it with water |
| ADVOCATE | to speak in favor of - the vegetarian advocated a diet containing no meat |
| AESTHETIC | concerning the appreciation of beauty - 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 - the supervisor sought to aggrandize himself by claiming that the achievements of his staff were actually his own |
| alleviate | to make more bearable - taking aspirin helps to Alleviate a headache |
| amalgamate | to combine; to mix together - giant industries amalgamated with mega products to form giant mega products incorporated |
| ambiguous | doubtful or uncertain; able to be interpreted several ways - the directions he gave were so ambiguous that we disagreed on which way to turn |
| ameliorate | to make better; to improve - the doctor was able to ameliorate the patient's suffering using painkillers |
| anachronism | something out of place in time - the aged hippi used anachronistic phrases like "groovy" and "far out" that had not been popular for years |
| analogous | similar or alike in some way; equivalent to - 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 - albino animals may display too great an anomaly in their coloring to attract normally colored mates |
| antagonize | to annoy or provoke to anger - the child discovered that he could antagonize the cat by pulling its tail |
| antipathy | extreme dislike - the antipathy between the French and the English regularly erupted into open warfare bother to do so |
| apathy | lack of interest or emotion - the apathy of voters is so great that less than half the people who are eligible to vote actually |
| arbitrate | to judge a dispute between two opposing parties - since the couple could not come to agreement, a judge was forced to arbitrate their divorce proceedings |
| archaic | ancient, old fashioned - her archaic commodore computer could not run the latest software |
| ardor | intense and passionate feeling - 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 - she is such an articulate defender of labor that unions are among her strongest supporters |
| attenuate | to reduce in force or degree; to weaken - the bill of rights attenuated the traditional power of government to change laws at will |
| audacious | fearless and daring - "And you, your majesty, make kiss my bum!" replied the audacious peasant |
| austere | severe or stern in appearance; undecorated - the lack of decoration makes zen temples seem austere to the untrained eye |
| banal | predictable, cliched, boring - he used banal phrases like "have a nice day", or "another day, another dollar" |
| bolster | to support; to prop up - the presence of giant footprints bolstered the argument that Sasquatch was in the area |
| bombastic | pompous in speech and manner - mussolini's speeches were mostly bombastic; his boasting and outrageous claims had no basis in fact |
| cacophony | harsh, jarring noise - the junior high orchestra created an almost unbearable cacophony as they tried to tune their instruments |
| candid | impartial and honest in speech - the observations of a child can be charming since they are candid and unpretentious |
| capricious | changing one's mind quickly and often - 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 - Americans 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 - the imposition of harsh taxes was the catalyst that finally brought on the revolution |
| caustic | biting in wit - dorothy parker gained her reputation for caustic wit from her cutting, yet clever, insults |
| chaos | great disorder or confusion - 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 - 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 - dishonest used car salespeople often use chicanery to sell their beat- up old car |
| cogent | convincing and well reasoned - swayed by the cogent argument of the defense, the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendant |
| condone | to overlook, pardon, or disregard - some theorists believe that failing to prosecute minor crimes is the same as condoning an air of lawlessness |
| convoluted | intricate and complicated - although many people brought a brief history of time, few could follow its convoluted ideas and theories |
| corroborate | to provide supporting evidence - fingerprints corroborated the witness's testimony that he saw the defendant in the victim's apartment |
| credulous | too trusting; gullible - although some 4 year old believe in the Easter bunny, only the most credulous 9 year olds also believe in him |
| crescendo | steadily increasing in volume or force - 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 - the countess complained that the vulgar peasants lacked the decorum appropriate for a visit to the palace |
| deference | respect, courtesy - the respectful young law clerk treated the supreme court justice with the utmost deference |
| deride | to speak of or treat with contempt; to mock - the awkward child was often derided by his "cooler" peers |
| desiccate | to dry out thoroughly - 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 - diane had a desultory academic record; she had changed majors 12 times in three years |
| diatribe | an abusive, condemnatory speech - the trucker bellowed a diatribe at the driver who had cut him off |
| diffident | lacking self confidence - steve'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 - when you enter a darkened room, the pupils of your eyes dilate to let in more light |
| dilatory | intended to delay - the congressman used dilatory measures to delay the passage of the bill |
| dilettante | someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic - jerry's friends were such dilettantes that they seemed to have new jobs and hobbies every week |
| dirge | a funeral hymn or mournful speech - Melville wrote the poem "A DIRGE of James McPherson" for the funeral of a Union general who was killed in 1864 |
| disabuse | to set right; to free from error - Galileo's observations disabused scholars of the notion that the sun revolved around the earth |
| discern | to perceive; to recognize - it is easy to discern the difference between butter and butter flavored topping |
| disparate | fundamentally different' entirely unlike - although the twins appear to be identical physically, their personalities are desperate |
| dissemble | to present a false appearance; to disguise one's real intentions or character - 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 - 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 - linus's central dogma was that children who believed in the great pumpkin would be rewarded |
| dogmatic | dictatorial in one's opinions - the dictator was dogmatic- he, and only he, was right |
| dupe | to deceive; a person who is easily deceived - bugs bunny was able to dupe elmer fudd by dressing up as a lady rabbit |
| eclectic | selecting from or made up from a variety of sources - budapest's architecture is an eclectic mix of eastern and western styles |
| efficacy | effectiveness - the efficacy of penicillin was unsurpassed when it was first introduced; the drug completely eliminated almost all bacterial infections for which it was administered |
| elegy | a sorrowful poem or speech - although Thomas Gray's "elegy written in a country churchyard" is about death and loss, it urges its readers to endure this life and to trust in spirituality |
| eloquent | persuasive and moving, especially in speech - the gettysburg address is moving not only because of its lofty sentiments but also because of its eloquent words |
| emulate | to copy; to try to equal or excel - the graduate student sought to emulate his processor in every way, copying not only how she taught, but also how she conducted herself outside of class |
| enervate | to reduce in strength - the guerrillas hoped that a series of surprise attacks would enervate the regular army |
| engender | to produce, cause, or bring about - his fear and hatred of clowns was engendered when he witnessed the death of his father at the hands of a clown |
| enigma | a puzzle; a mystery - speaking in riddles and dressed in old robes, the artist gained a reputation as something of an enigma |
| enumerate | to court, list, or itemize - moses returned from the mountain with tablets on which the commandments were enumerated |
| ephemeral | lasting a short time - the lives of mayflies seemed ephemeral to us, since the flies' average life span is a matter of hours |
| equivocate | to use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead - when faced with criticism of his policies, the politician equivocated and left all parties thinking he agreed with them |
| erratic | wandering and unpredictable - the plot seemed predictable until it suddenly took a series of erratic turns that surprised the audience |
| erudite | learned, scholarly, bookish - the annual meeting of philosophy professors was a gathering of the most erudite, well published individuals in the field |
| esoteric | known or understood by only a few - only a handful of experts are knowledgeable about the esoteric world of particle physics |
| estimable | admirable - most people consider it estimable that mother Teresa spent her life helping the poor of India |
Created by:
sunying12
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