GRE High Frequency Words Vocabulary List

A vocabulary list featuring 300+ Essential GRE Words. A list of 300+ essential, high frequency words for the GRE.

Words Beginning With A

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: 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

Words Beginning With B

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: support; prop up

Words Beginning With C

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: 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

Words Beginning With D

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: bitter scolding; invective

Dichotomy: Split; branching into two parts (especially contradictory ones)

Diffidence: Shyness

Diffuse: 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: 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: basically different; unrelated

Dissemble: 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

Words Beginning With E

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

Words Beginning With F

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

Words Beginning With G

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

Words Beginning With H

Harangue: long, passionate, and vehement speech

Homogeneous: of the same kind

Hyperbole: exaggeration; overstatement

Words Beginning With I

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: 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: refusal of any compromise; stubbornness

Inundate: overwhelm; flood; submerge

Inured: accustomed; hardened

Invective: abuse

Irascible: irritable; easily angered

Irresolute: uncertain how to act; weak

Itinerary: plan of a trip

Words Beginning With J

Words Beginning With K

Words Beginning With L

Laconic: brief and to the point

Lassitude: languor; weariness

Latent: potential but undeveloped; dormant; hidden

Laud: 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

Words Beginning With M

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

Words Beginning With N

Negate: cancel out; nullify; deny

Neophyte: recent convert; beginner

Words Beginning With O

Obdurate: 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

Words Beginning With P

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: 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: 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

Words Beginning With Q

Qualified: limited; restricted

Quibble: minor objection or complaint

Quiescent: at rest; dormant; temporarily inactive

Words Beginning With R

Rarefied: made less dense (of a gas)

Recalcitrant: obstinately stubborn; determined to resist authority; unruly

Recant: disclaim or disavow; retract a previous statement; openlyconfess 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

Words Beginning With S

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: 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

Words Beginning With T

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

Words Beginning With U

Words Beginning With V

Vacillate: waver; fluctuate

Venerate: revere

Veracious: truthful

Verbose: wordy

Viable: practical or workable

Viscous: sticky, gluey

Vituperative: abusive; scolding

Volatile: changeable; explosive; evaporation rapidly

Words Beginning With W

Warranted: justified; authorized

Wary: very cautious

Welter: turmoil; bewildering jumble

Whimsical: capricious; fanciful

Words Beginning With X

Words Beginning With Y

Words Beginning With Z

Zealot: fanatic; person who shows excessive zeal