Barrons GRE High-Frequency 333 Words
Vocabulary List
WORD | MEANING |
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 |
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 |
Futile | useless; hopeless; ineffectual |
Gainsay | deny |
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 | lavishly 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 |
