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If you have the gift of music, you can create your own songs and plug the vocab words andtheir definitions right into the lyrics. You can sing your songs anywhere! So what if JoeNextdoor thinks youve lost it as you sing while washing your car? Youre the one going tograd school and leaving Joe Nextdoor . . . well . . . next door!

Regardless of when you begin studying, make sure to do it every day. Revisit the words youthink you already know. Knowing as much vocabulary as possible will help you immenselywith the Verbal section.

The Paramount 300: Memorizing theMost Common Words

This section features the 300 most commonly occurring words on the GRE. Of course, youneed to know way more than 300 words for this test. However, for space considerations,weve included only the most popular words here. We recommend that you scour the

Internet for additional GRE vocabulary words (theyre everywhere!) and then use your find-ings to supplement our list.

With that said, get ready to dive in and start studying!

1. Aberrant: Abnormal; different from the accepted norm

2. Abeyance: State of suspension; temporary inaction

3. Abstemious: Characterized by a state of self-denial, particularly in the area of food ordrink

4. Acrid: Bitter; harsh

5. Acumen: Keen; quickness of intellectual insight

6. Admonition: A gentle reproof

7. Amalgamate: To mix or blend together in a homogenous body

8. Ameliorate: To relieve, as from pain or hardship

9. Ascetic: Given to severe self-denial; practicing excessive abstinence

10. Assiduous: Persistent, unceasing

11. Astute: Keen; wise

12. Audacious: Fearless

13. Austere: Unadorned; severely simple

14. Aver: To avouch, justify, or prove

15. Banal: Trite; commonplace

16. Blatant: Offensively loud

17. Bolster: To support; to reinforce

18. Bombastic: Using inflated language; pompous

19. Burgeon: To grow forth; to send out buds

20. Cacophony: A disagreeable, harsh, or discordant sound or tone

21. Chicanery: Use of trickery to deceive

88 Part II: A Word to the Wise: Verbal Questions

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22. Coda: Concluding section of a musical or literary piece; something that summarizes

23. Cognizant: Aware; taking notice

24. Colloquial: Pertaining to common speech

25. Consternation: Panic26. Contentious: Quarrelsome

27. Contrite: Penitent

28. Contumacious: Rebellious

29. Craven: Cowardly

30. Decorum: Orderliness and good taste in manners

31. Deleterious: Hurtful, morally or physically

32. Delineate: To represent by sketch or diagram

33. Deride: To ridicule; to make fun of

34. Derision: Ridicule35. Desultory: Aimless; haphazard

36. Diatribe: Bitter or malicious criticism

37. Didactic: Pertaining to teaching

38. Dilatory: Causing delay

39. Disconcert: To disturb the composure of

40. Dissemble: To disguise or pretend

41. Dissolution: Breaking up of a union of persons

42. Divest: To strip; to deprive

43. Divulge: To tell or make known, generally of something secret or private44. Dubious: Doubtful

45. Dupe: Someone easily fooled

46. Ebullient: Showing great enthusiasm or exhilaration

47. Efficacy: Power to produce an intended effect

48. Effrontery: Shameless boldness; impudence

49. Egress: Exit

50. Elegy: A poem lamenting the dead

51. Elicit: To extract without violence; to learn through discussion

52. Embellish: To add attractive and ornamental features53. Emulate: Imitate

54. Engender: To produce

55. Enervate: To weaken

56. Ennui: Boredom

57. Ephemeral: Short-lived; fleeting

58. Equanimity: Evenness of mind or temper

59. Equivocal: Ambiguous

89Chapter 11: Words to Help You Score: GRE Vocabulary

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60. Eradicate: To destroy completely

61. Erudite: Very learned

62. Eschew: To keep clear of

63. Esoteric: Hard to understand; known only by a few64. Exacerbate: To make more sharp or severe; to make worse

65. Exculpate: To free from blame

66. Exigency: Urgent situation

67. Expatiate: To speak or write at some length

68. Extirpate: To root out; to eradicate

69. Facetious: Amusing

70. Fallacious: Illogical

71. Fatuous: Idiotic

72. Fervor: Ardor or intensity of feeling73. Fledgling: Inexperienced

74. Foment: To nurse to life; to encourage

75. Forestall: To prevent by taking action in advance

76. Frugal: Economical

77. Fulminate: To cause to explode

78. Gainsay: To contradict; to deny

79. Garrulous: Trivial talking

80. Germane: Relevant

81. Goad: To urge on82. Grandiloquent: Pompous; bombastic

83. Gregarious: Sociable; outgoing

84. Guileless: Without deceit

85. Gullible: Easily deceived

86. Halcyon: Calm

87. Harangue: A tirade

88. Harbinger: One who foreruns and announces the coming of a person or thing

89. Heresy: Opinion or doctrine subversive of settled or accepted beliefs

90. Homogeneous: Of the same kind91. Hyperbole: Exaggeration or overstatement

92. Iconoclast: An image-breaker

93. Ignominious: Shameful

94. Impecunious: Having no money; broke

95. Impede: To hinder; to block

96. Imperious: Insisting on obedience

97. Imperturbable: Calm


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98. Impervious: Impenetrable

99. Implicit: Implied

100. Importune: To harass with persistent demands

101. Impugn: To assail with arguments or accusations102. Inadvertently: Unintentionally

103. Inane: Silly

104. Inchoate: Recently begun

105. Indolence: Laziness

106. Ineffable: Unutterable

107. Inert: Inactive; lacking power to move

108. Inexorable: Unrelenting

109. Innocuous: Harmless

110. Insouciant: Nonchalant111. Intrepid: Fearless and bold

112. Inure: To harden or toughen by use, exercise, or exposure

113. Invidious: Showing or feeling envy

114. Irascible: Easily angered

115. Itinerant: Wandering

116. Laconic: Brief and to the point

117. Latent: Dormant

118. Laudable: Praiseworthy

119. Licentious: Wanton120. Loquacious: Talkative

121. Lucid: Easily understood; clear

122. Magnanimity: Generosity

123. Malingerer: One who feigns illness to escape duty

124. Malleable: Pliant

125. Maverick: Rebel; nonconformist

126. Mendacious: Untrue

127. Metamorphosis: Change of form

128. Meticulous: Overcautious129. Misanthrope: One who hates mankind

130. Mitigate: To lessen in intensity; to appease

131. Modicum: A small amount

132. Mollify: To soothe

133. Mordant: Biting

134. Morose: Ill-humored; sullen

135. Mundane: Worldly


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136. Nefarious: Extremely wicked

137. Negate: To cancel out; to nullify

138. Neophyte: Beginner

139. Obdurate: Stubborn140. Obfuscate: To darken

141. Obsequious: Servile; ready to serve

142. Obviate: To make unnecessary

143. Odious: Hateful

144. Officious: Meddlesome

145. Onus: Burden

146. Opprobrium: Infamy; vilification

147. Oscillate: To waver

148. Ostentation: A display of vanity; showy149. Palpable: Perceptible by feeling or touch

150. Paragon: Model of perfection

151. Parsimonious: Sparing in spending of money

152. Partisan: One-sided; committed to one party

153. Pathos: Having a quality that rouses emotion or sympathy

154. Paucity: Few

155. Penchant: Strong inclination

156. Penurious: Excessively sparing in the use of money; frugal

157. Perennial: Something long-lasting158. Perfidy: Treachery

159. Permeable: Penetrable; porous

160. Pernicious: Tending to kill or hurt

161. Pervasive: Spread throughout

162. Phlegmatic: Not easily roused to feeling or emotion

163. Pious: Religious

164. Placate: To soothe; to bring from a hostile state to a calm one

165. Platitude: Trite or commonplace statement

166. Plethora: Excess; superabundance167. Porous: Full of pores

168. Portend: Foretell

169. Pragmatic: Practical

170. Precarious: Perilous

171. Precipitate: Rash; premature

172. Precocious: Mature at a young age

173. Prescience: Knowledge of events before they happen


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174. Prevaricate: To use ambiguous language for the purpose of deceiving

175. Proclivity: Natural inclination

176. Prodigious: Immense

177. Profound: Deep; not superficial178. Proliferate: To grow rapidly

179. Propensity: Natural inclination

180. Prudence: Caution

181. Puerile: Childish

182. Pugnacious: Quarrelsome

183. Pungent: Stinging; sharp in taste or smell

184. Pusillanimous: Cowardly; fainthearted

185. Qualm: Misgivings; uneasy fears

186. Quibble: Minor objection or complaint187. Quiescence: Being quiet or still; inactive

188. Quixotic: Idealistic; romantic to a ridiculous degree

189. Recant: To formally withdraw ones belief

190. Recondite: Incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding; profound

191. Redress: To set right by compensation or punishment

192. Reprobate: A sinful and depraved person

193. Repudiate: To refuse to have anything to do with

194. Rescind: To void by enacting authority

195. Respite: Interval of rest196. Reticent: Reserved; inclined to silence

197. Reverent: Respectful

198. Rhetoric: The art of effective communication

199. Rout: To drive out; to stampede

200. Ruminate: To chew over again; to think over

201. Sagacious: Wise

202. Salacious: Having strong sexual desires

203. Salubrious: Healthful

204. Sanction: To approve205. Sanguine: Cheerfully confident; optimistic

206. Satiate: To satisfy or fulfill the appetite or desire of

207. Savor: To satisfy fully

208. Secrete: To hide away

209. Sedulous: Persevering in effort or endeavor

210. Seethe: To be disturbed

211. Seminal: Influencing future developments


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212. Shard: Fragment

213. Shirk: To avoid

214. Shoddy: Not genuine; inferior

215. Sinuous: Curving in and out216. Skeptic: Doubter

217. Skittish: Lively; frisky

218. Slander: Defamation

219. Sloth: Slow-moving

220. Solicitous: Worried; concerned

221. Sonorous: Resonant

222. Soporific: Causing sleep

223. Specious: Seemingly reasonable but incorrect

224. Spendthrift: Someone who wastes money225. Spurious: Not genuine

226. Stentorian: Extremely loud

227. Stigma: A token of disgrace

228. Stint: To be thrifty

229. Stipulate: To make express conditions

230. Stolid: Dull; impassive

231. Striated: Marked with parallel bands

232. Strut: A pompous walk

233. Subterfuge: Evasion234. Supercilious: Careless contempt

235. Superfluous: More than what is needed

236. Supersede: To cause to be set back

237. Supine: Lying on the back

238. Tacit: Understood

239. Taciturn: Stern; silent

240. Tangential: Digressing

241. Tantamount: Equivalent in effect or value

242. Tawdry: Cheap243. Temerity: A foolish disregard of danger

244. Tempestuous: Stormy; impassioned

245. Tenacious: Holding fast

246. Tenuous: Thin; slim

247. Tepid: Lukewarm

248. Thrall: Slave; bondage

249. Thwart: To frustrate


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250. Titillate: To tickle

251. Torpid: Dull; sluggish; inactive

252. Tortuous: Abounding in irregular bends or turns

253. Tractable: Docile254. Transgression: Violation; sin

255. Transmute: To change

256. Transparent: Easily detected

257. Transpire: To happen, to be revealed

258. Trepidation: Nervous feeling; fear

259. Truculence: Ferocity

260. Tutelage: The act of training or being under instruction

261. Tyro: Beginner

262. Ubiquitous: Being present everywhere263. Umbrage: Sense of injury

264. Unassuaged: Unsatisfied; not soothed

265. Uncouth: Clumsy; dumb

266. Undermine: To weaken; to sap

267. Unerringly: Infallibility

268. Ungainly: Awkward; clumsy

269. Unison: Complete accord

270. Unruly: Disobedient

271. Untenable: Indefensible272. Upbraid: To reproach as deserving blame

273. Vacillate: To waver; to fluctuate

274. Vagabond: Wanderer

275. Vainglory: Excessive; pretentious

276. Valorous: Courageous

277. Vantage: Position giving advantage

278. Vapid: Having lost quality and flavor; dull; lifeless

279. Variegated: Many colored

280. Vehement: Forceful281. Venerate: To look upon with deep respect

282. Veracious: Truthful

283. Verbiage: Use of many words

284. Verbose: Wordy

285. Vicissitude: Change of condition or circumstances, generally of fortune

286. Viscous: Sticky; gluey

287. Vituperate: Overwhelm with wordy abuse


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288. Vociferous: Making a loud outcry

289. Volatile: Changeable

290. Warranted: Justified

291. Wary: Very cautious292. Welter: Turmoil

293. Whimsical: Fanciful

294. Whorl: Ring

295. Winsome: Attractive

296. Wreak: Inflict

297. Writhe: Twist in coils

298. Yore: Time past

299. Zealot: Fanatic

300. Zeitgeist: Intellectual and moral tendencies of any age


300 words

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