GRE WORD BANK

1. Embryonic - not fully formed

2. Apotheosis- the height of development
3. Pariah - outcast
4. Tyro - beginner
5. Inchoate - not fully formed / embryonic
6. Eponym - derived from a name
7. Scintillating - glowing/sparkling/ shinning
8. Refulgent - glowing/sparkling/ shinning
9. Enthralling - charming
10. Winsome - Charming
11. Antic - grotesque, insipid, vapid, bland
12. Ebullient - enthusiastic
13. Lugubrious - overly sad
14. Lachrymose - overly sad
15. Dolorous - overly sad
16. Jaded - overly used to something
17. Behoove - become one’s duty
18. Hubris - extreme pride
19. Hauteur - extreme pride
20. Placid - peaceful
21. Halcyon - peaceful
22. Complaisant - cheerfully obedient
23. Zeitgeist - the spirit of the times
24. Schadenfreude - joy at another’s pain
25. Chagrin - dismay
26. Jut - to stick out
27. Glut - abundance or overflow/ avalanche / flush
28. Feckless - without skill, incompetent, lazy
29. Despot - tyrant
30. Genuflect- bend one’s knee
31. Buoy - support / shore up
32. Perfunctory - casually done/ cursory
33. Evanescent- short lived
34. Ephemeral - short lived
35. Transitory- short lived
36. Minutae - small details
37. Smattering - small amount
38. Modicum - small amount
39. Analogous - similar
40. Iconoclast - one who defies a strong belief
41. Inviolable - sacred
42. Artifice - trickery
43. Atavism - throwback
44. Avalanche - a large amount/glut
45. Conflate - mix together
46. Conciliate - to make peace with
47. Fervor - passion
48. Fastidious - fussy
49. Punctilious - overly focused on details
50. Nitpicky - fussy/ fastidious
51. Derogatory - insulting
52. Scamper - scurry/ jump around
53. Palaver - idle chatter about unnecessary things
54. Prevaricate - to speak evasively
55. Embellish - add more details
56. Guffaw - Laugh loudly
57. Goad - aggressively urge one along
58. Decry - speak out against
59. Belie - give false representation
60. Pontificate - speak pompously
61. Superficial - at face value/ shallow
62. Soporific - boring/ inducing sleep
63. Enervate - drain energy/ strength
64. Lethargic - lack of energy/ laziness
65. Raillery - slight teasing
66. Telltale - revealing
67. Crestfallen - dishonorable
68. Besmirch - dishonor
69. Cadaverous - corpse-like
70. Ravenous - very hungry
71. Voracious - very hungry
72. Histrionic - overly theatrical
73. Prolix - overly verbose
74. Garrulous - overly verbose/ talkative
75. Loquacious - overly verbose/ talkative
76. Profligate - squander/ spend wastefully
77. Supercilious - arrogant
78. Ingenuous - naive
79. Puerile - childish
80. Pugnacious- combative
81. Belligerent- combative
82. Bellicose - combative
83. Truculent- combative
84. Junta - group seizing power
85. Bastardization - corruption
86. Graft - corruption
87. Apposite - appropriate
88. Proselytize - attempt to convert
89. Bilious - Grumpy
90. Redact - to remove sensitive details
91. Peevish - annoying
92. Nettlesome - annoying/ irritable
93. Fractious - annoying/ irritable
94. Splenetic - annoying/ irritable
95. Dispensation - exemption
96. Dog - pursue
97. Parsimonious - extremely frugal
98. Bridle - restrain
99. Immure - confine
100. Circumscribe - restrict within limits
101. Copacetic - extremely satisfying
102. Avarice - greed
103. Dilatory - intended to cause delay
104. Simulacrum - image / representation
105. Oeuvre - a work of art
106. Corollary - consequence
107. Lionize - celebrate a person
108. Fete - celebrate a person
109. Antedate - precede
110. Resignation - to accept something unpleasant
111. Brook - to tolerate something or someone unpleasant
112. Flag - tire
113. Solicitous - overly anxious to please
114. Capitulate - surrender
115. Grandiloquent - pompous
116. Epigram - a witty assertion
117. Quip - a witty assertion
118. Grandiose - characterized by magnificence
119. Celerity - quickness
120. Lambast - criticize harshly
121. Erudite- knowledge gained through studying/ scholarly
122. Malinger - to avoid work
123. Derelict - avoiding work/ duties
124. Impregnable - indestructible
125. Vindictive - seeking revenge
126. Epiphany - a sudden realization
127. Paragon - the best of its kind
128. Aesthete - an appreciator of beauty
129. Moment - important
130. Exacting - demanding
131. Apprehension - anxiety
132. Endemic - native
133. Jingoist - overly patriotic
134. Opulence - Affluence/ wealth
135. Oligarch - a government by the few
136. Lucid - easy to understand
137. Convivial - friendly and lively
138. Expunge - to remove
139. Pithy - concise but expressive
140. Quintessential - perfectly representative
141. Aboveboard - Honest
142. Arcane - Understood by a few people
143. Esoteric - understood/known by a few people
144. Plodding - slow progression
145. Culminating - driving towards a climax
146. Ambivalent - having contradictory feelings
147. Corroborate - add evidence to something
148. Ubiquitous - appearing everywhere at the same time/ widespread
149. Jejune - immature
150. Egregious- to stand out in a bad way
151. Gregarious - sociable
152. Loath - reluctant
153. Censure - speak out against
154. Incisive - very decisive
155. Trenchant - very decisive
156. Pollyannaish - overly optimistic
157. Ersatz - fake
158. Umbrage - offense
159. Arrogate - to take forcefully/ to seize with authority
160. Flux - uncertainty
161. Objurgate - to scold severely
162. Hegemony - dominance
163. Buck - to resist
164. Balk - to be reluctant
165. Internecine - internal strife/conflict
166. Poignant - emotionally touching
167. Hackneyed - cliche
168. Errant - straying from course
169. Vilify - to speak ill of
170. Mollifying - soothing
171. Emollient - soothing
172. Morose - weepy
173. Tact - proper social behavior
174. Dissemble - to hide one’s true intentions
175. Prognostication - prediction
176. Dilettante - dabbler
177. Staunch - dependable
178. Stalwart - dependable
179. Panegyric - formal praise
180. Wanton - showing no limits
181. Semblance - misleading appearance
182. Acerbic - harsh
183. Abrogate - to overturn a law
184. Obtrude - to force entry/forcefully thrust
185. Checkered - disreputable
186. Gumption - resourcefulness
187. Tractable - easy to manage
188. Gambit - scheme
189. Machinate - scheme
190. Factitious - artificial
191. Clemency- mercy
192. Becoming - suitable
193. Infantile - childish
194. Ossify - harden
195. Inure - harden
196. Preeminent - highly dignified
197. Catholic - universal
198. Rustic - related to a country
199. Lacerate - to distress deeply
200. Denouement - resolution of a story
201. Noisome - foul /offensive odor/ stinky
202. Malodorous - foul /offensive odor/ stinky
203. Acrid - foul /offensive odor/ stinky
204. Desiccated - lacking vitality
205. Transmute - to alter forms
206. Dilapidated - to run down
207. Implacable - unable to be calmed
208. Disenfranchised - denied from voting
209. Trite - lacking originality
210. Smug - self-satisfied/ complacent
211. Surreptitious - stealthy/ moving cautiously to prevent being noticed
212. Furtive - stealthy
213. Sardonic - mocking
214. Countermand - reverse a command
215. Sagacious - wise
216. Puissant - Powerful
217. Precipitate - hasty
218. Nadir - lowest point
219. Unpropitious- unlikely to succeed
220. Underscore - emphasize
221. Anemic - lacking energy
222. Uncanny - strange/ unsettling
223. Dovetail - fit together tightly
224. Laborious - demanding
225. Rebuff - to snub, drive away or reject
226. Reconnoiter - to explore an area and gather information (especially about enemy
forces)
227. Obfuscate - to make unclear
228. Impugn - to criticize or cast doubt on or call into question
229. Nebulous - unclear/ vague
230. Deleterious - harmful/ dangerous
231. Noxious - harmful/ dangerous
232. Determinate - having distinct limits
233. Sylvan - pertaining to a characteristic of a forest or woodland
234. Pedantic - overly concerned about formal rules or details
235. Tempestuous - intensely emotional
236. Neologism - a new word / a new phrase
237. Progeny - offspring/ descendants/ followers
238. Apocryphal - of questionable authenticity/Trite
239. Heresy - a belief that violates the tenets of a religion
240. Stolid - not easily excited, unemotional
241. Feign - to pretend/ fake/ give false appearance.
242. Confound - to lump together/ cause confusion
243. Chimera - illusion
244. Clandestine - done secretly
245. Conflagration - a large fire
246. Amorphous - without definite shape or form
247. Resurgent - rising again
248. Meteoric - very rapid
249. Exemplar - model
250. Colossal - humongous
251. Affable - likable
252. Acrimony - sharpness or bitterness in speech
253. Probity - honesty
254. Obliterate - to wipe out or remove
255. Chivalrous - courteous
256. Anathema - detested person
257. Demur - to object something
258. Taciturn - reserved and generally quiet
259. Demure - reserved or shy
260. Hector - bully
261. Fortuitous - based on chance
262. Maunder - wander
263. Apothegm - short saying
264. Anecdote - short narration
265. Provincial - unsophisticated
266. Coterminous - equal in scope
267. Tumultuous - riot/ violent sound/ thunderous/ loud
268. Tableau - a picturesque display🖼
269. Cacophony - unpleasant sound🎧😖
270. Dissenter - one to withholds assent/ heretic
271. Imperceptible - unnoticeable/ undetectable
272. Descant - to talk or write at length
273. Sybarite - A lover of luxury
274. Intrepid - fearless
275. Torpor - Lethargic
276. Hermetic - sealed tightly, protected from external influence🔒
277. Debutant/Debutante - a young man/woman being introduced to society.
278. Mirth - gladness/ merry-making
279. Gaiety - gladness/ merry-making
280. Diffident - lacking self-confidence
281. Ineffable - unable to be expressed in words
282. Fawn - Flatter extremely to win favor
283. Obsequious - flattering extremely to win favor
284. Ingratiate - to please someone to gain favor
285. Insidious - slowly and subtly harmful
286. Onerous - burdensome / oppressive
287. Burnish - to polish by rubbing
288. Kismet - fate / destiny
289. Coterie - a group of people with a common interest (eg. Club)
290. Obviate - prevent
291. Palliate - to treat the symptoms
292. Occlude - to stop up or cut off the flow ✂
293. Platitude - a trite statement
294. Maladroit - clumsy
295. Bumbling - clumsy
296. Sordid - vile / filthy / wretched / mean or morally questionable
297. Imbroglio - a violent or bitter misunderstanding or altercation
298. Embroiled - in an argument
299. Harry - to torment by or as if by constant attacks
300. Sepulcher - a tomb/ place of burial
301. Fatuous - stupidly or foolishly self-satisfied (foolish + Smug)
302. Raconteur - storyteller
303. Repine - to express discontent.
304. Acumen - mental sharpness
305. Raiment - clothing/ garments
306. Cloy - to sicken someone with too much of a good thing
307. Excoriate - censure
308. Accrete - to grow together
309. Inordinate - Exceeding reasonable limits
310. Temporize - to pretend or talk in an evasive way in order to buy more time
311. Mercurial - tending to change mood or behavior suddenly and unpredictably
312. Dudgeon - a fit of anger
313. Disabuse - free from error
314. Turgid - swollen/ bombastic
315. Cabal - a group of people with secret meetings & commitments
316. Sublime - beautiful, heavenly,
317. Pusillanimous - contemptibly cowardly
318. Heretic - Dissenter
319. Incumbent - necessary
320. Glib - insincere
321. Saturnine - gloomy
322. Piquant - pungent in taste
323. Parvenu - upstart
324. Arriviste - upstart
325. Paucity - lack of
326. Litany - long account/ long list
327. Recrudesce - relapse
328. Culpability - a state of guilt
329. Guile - deceitful/ cunning/ tricky
330. Espouse - to support a course
331. Ineluctable - inevitable/unavoidable
332. Craven - cowardly
333. Churlish - ill mannered
334. Supplant - to take the place of
335. Untrammeled - not limited
336. Quail - to draw back in fear
337. Contingent - a small group
338. Grovel - show fear
339. Macabre - gruesome/ horrifying
340. Finagle - to get through trickery
341. Abstruse - incomprehensible/ difficult to understand
342. Servile - pertaining to slavery or submissive slavery
343. Subservient - useful in an inferior capacity/ obsequiously submissive
344. Potentate - a powerful ruler/ person of importance
345. Opprobrium - a state of shame or disgrace or contempt or scorn
346. Derision - the act of mocking, ridicule, mockery.
347. Deride - put down
348. Distaff - work or other matters regarded as the concern of women
349. Overweening - arrogant/ excessive
350. Impetuous - characterized by excessive haste and lack of deliberation/ moving with
great force & energy
351. Placate - to make less angry
352. Plumb - to measure the depth of something
353. Inculcate - to teach through frequent repetition
354. Crystallize - become definite
355. Mellifluous - sweet sounding
356. Obstreperous - noisily defiant
357. Gaffe - social blunder
358. Beatific - blissfully happy
359. Limpid - clear
360. Pellucid - clear/ transparent
361. Sap - gradually weaken or destroy (a person’s strength or power)/ insidious
362. Broadside - verbal attacks / diatribe
363. Polemic - verbal attacks/ diatribe
364. Diatribe - harsh verbal attack
365. Banal - overfamiliar
366. Fleece - deceive
367. Pyrrhic - a costly victory
368. Pundit - expert
369. Eminent - highly respected
370. Laconic. - frugal with words
371. Unstinting - generous
372. Largesse - generous
373. Munificent - generous
374. Ample - generous in nature/ more than adequate
375. Unsparing - not merciful or neutral // generous
376. Mainstay - someone or something that plays an important role
377. Polarize - to cause division of opinion between groups
378. Stultify - to sap enthusiasm
379. Legerdemain - a display of cleverness, especially to deceive others
380. Immaculate - spotless, without blemish
381. Gamin - a child who roams the streets
382. Incredulous - skeptical
383. Subjugate - to bring someone under the control of another
384. Suppliant- one who makes a request humbly & earnestly
385. Paroxysm - a sudden uncontrollable spasm
386. Veracity - truthfulness
387. Compunction - feeling of shame & regret
388. Penitential - marked by deep regret or pain or sorrow for offenses
389. Pervade - to spread wide
390. Cavort - to frolic or romp
391. Abnegate - to renounce something
392. Officious - meddlesome
393. Invidious - causing resentment
394. Inundate - to flood
395. Infelicitous - inappropriate
396. Tendentious - biased in view
397. Dandy - a man who gives exaggerated attention to personal appearance/ Something
excellent in its class.
398. Gormandize - to eat ravenously
399. Leery - distrustful
400. Intimate - hint at
401. Deference - courtesy, respect or submission to another person’s opinion or wishes
402. Admonitory - serving to warn
403. Prodigious - great in size, extent
404. Doughty - bold or brave
405. Incorrigible - not reformable
406. Chortle - to laugh merrily
407. Sedulous - diligent
408. Tortuous - winding, twisty
409. Simulacrum - a bad imitation
410. Devolve - delegate
411. Quisling - a traitor
412. Desideratum - a necessity
413. Pillory - to ridicule publicly
414. Impute - to attribute
415. Captious - overly critical or complaining
416. Perfidious - intending to betray
417. Remonstrate - forcefully protest
418. Flummox - to bewilder/ confuse
419. Palpable - easily noticeable/ salient
420. Abrade - to wear the skin off something
421. Bucolic - pastoral/ rural/ idyllic
422. Pragmatism - a practical approach to problems or affairs
423. Dearth - scarcity/ shortage or lack of something/ paucity
424. Shibboleth - a word or saying used by a party or sect
425. Synthesize - to combine various components into a new whole
426. Abdicate - to give up a duty or a position
427. Flout - to treat with contemptuous disregard
428. Confluence - the meeting together of two or more things/ the act of merging
429. Caustic - harsh or corrosive
430. Interlocutory - not final
431. Elision - the omission of one or more sounds in a word or phrase. (Eg. “There’s” instead
of “there is”)
432. Untoward - inconvenient
433. Brazen - without shame
434. Sangfroid - poise/cool under pressure
435. Unflappable - poise/cool under pressure
436. Renege - to go back on
437. Expansive - sociable/ gregarious
438. Ascetic - practicing self-denial
439. Surly - bad-tempered
440. Precocious - developing early
441. Cavalier - not caring / nonchalant/ apathetic
442. Proscribe - ban
443. Encumber - to hold back
444. Flounder - to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually
445. Evenhanded - fair/ impartial
446. Putrefaction - undergoing or being corrupt or rotten or morally wrong
447. Maxim - short saying/ apothem
448. Misanthropy - hatred or dislike for humankind
449. Nihilistic - a viewpoint that traditional beliefs or values are unfounded, senseless and
useless
450. Evince - to display evidence or reveal clearly
451. Determinism - a theory or doctrine that acts of will, occurrences in nature or
social/psychological phenomena are determined by preceding events or natural laws; the belief
in predestination or something being predestined to occur due to a preceding event or state
452. Heterodoxy - different or contrary from traditional standard or norm/ unorthodox in
nature
453. Firebrand - troublemaker
454. Panache - distinctive style
455. Assuage - to make less severe
456. Idiosyncrasy - peculiarity
457. Flush - abundance or glut
458. Prolific - productive
459. Percipient - perceptive
460. Antithetical - sharply contrasted
461. Appurtenant - supporting
462. Canard - false report
463. Pecuniary - related to money
464. Delineate - discuss in detail
465. Redoubtable - Inspiring fear
466. Edifying - enlightening
467. Forlorn - hopeless/ bleak
468. Propitiate - to appease
469. Raft - a large number
470. Chary - cautious
471. Temperance - moderation
472. Largess - quality/ state of being generous
473. Cynicism - contentiously distrustful of human nature and motives
474. Brusque - blunt in manner of speech to extent of ungracious harshness
475. Aphoristic - concise, true
476. Benighted - ignorant
477. Mendacity - deceit
478. Peremptory - bossy
479. Palimpsest - something reused
480. Didactic - instructive
481. Foible - small weakness
482. Remiss - to be negligent
483. Innocuous - harmless
484. Arrant - utter
485. Idealism - the practice of forming ideals and living under their influence
486. Pathos - an emotion of sympathetic pity
487. Sophomoric - overconfident and conceited but immature and lacking judgment
488. Acquisitive - strongly desirous of acquiring and possessing
489. Blasé - apathetic, especially to pleasure as a result of excessive indulgence or enjoyment
490. Doctrinism - excessively devoted to a doctrine or theory without regard to practical
considerations
491. Cantankerous - difficult and irritating to deal with/ ill-mannered
492. Digression - to turn aside from the main subject of attention or discussion
493. Casuistic – oversubtlety / Intellectually dishonest
494. Solipsistic - extremely egocentric and concerned with self.
495. Effulgence - radiant splendour/ brilliance
496. Transcendence - the quality of exceeding usual limits
497. Laudatory - relating to or expressing praise
498. Harbingers - an event or thing that foretells or foreshadows the coming of something or
someone
499. Presage - omen or something that foreshadows a future event/ prognostication
500. Faction - a party or group that is self-seeking or contentious or dissenting
501. Subvert - to corrupt or pervert by undermining morals or overthrowing from the
foundation
502. Grapple - to contest or struggle for superiority or mastery
503. Nimble - marked by quick, alert and clever conception
504. Florid - elaborately decorated/ marked by emotional or sexual fervor / ornate
505. Scathing - bitterly severe
506. Tenuous - having little substance/ weak.
507. Accede - to express approval or give consent
508. Imperious - domineering/ intensively compelling/ marked by arrogant assurance
509. Sunny - cheerful/ optimistic 🌞🥳
510. Austerity - being stern or serious or plain or very direct or harsh
511. Extraneous - not forming an essential or vital part, or having no relevance
512. Prosaic - ordinary, dull or unimaginative
513. Shore up - to support something or keep it from falling/ buoy
514. Electorate - all people in an area who are entitled to vote
515. Skittish - playfully frivolous or unpredictable/ nervous or easily scared
516. Amenable - easily brought under submission or cooperation
517. Vociferous - loud and forceful / vehement
518. Vehement - marked by forceful energy/ intensely emotional
519. Restive - impatience or uneasiness/ stubborn/ difficult to handle/ resisting control
520. Recalcitrant - obstinately defiant of authority or restraint/ difficult to manage
521. Counterpoint - to set in contrast or juxtaposition
522. Syntactical - related to the rules or guidelines of syntax
523. Schism - separation or division or the act of promoting division
524. Sartorial - relating to a tailor, tailored clothes or clothing
525. Discreet - careful
526. Paradoxical - contradictory but true
527. Check - hold back from doing
528. Oblique - indirect
529. Avert - prevent
530. Unviable - not able to work
531. Maleficent - working or productive of harm or evil
532. Malevolent - evil-minded
533. Moribund - about to die
534. Impervious - unaffected by
535. Baleful - threatening
536. Nascent - coming into existence or having come into existence recently
537. Clamor - loud or shout out
538. Fratricidal - related to killing one’s own sibling, or family member or close friend