Top 101 GRE Words- 1-51

Question 1

laconic

Answer 1

brief and to the point; effectively cut short

Ex. her laconic speech won the argument

Question 2

insipid

Answer 2

lacking taste or flavor

Ex. Souplantation’s insipid pasta needed salt

Question 3

pragmatic

Answer 3

concerned with practical matters

Ex. the teacher’s pragmatic attitude towards discipline

Question 4

iconoclast

Answer 4

someone who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions

Ex. as an iconoclast, he would be dismissed from the jury

Question 5

arduous

Answer 5

difficult to accomplish, hard to endure

-Ex. starting a master’s program after months of arduous GRE preparation

Question 6

profligate

Answer 6

recklessly extravagant or wasteful in the use of resources

Ex. profligate use of natural resources

Question 7

prosaic

Answer 7

not challenging; dull and lacking excitement

Ex. her prosaic ideas were dismissed for the group project

Question 8

ameliorate

Answer 8

make, become better

Ex. Fines for using too much water would ameliorate the drought issue

Question 9

obsequious

Answer 9

obedient or attentive to an excessive degree

Ex. they were served by an obsequious waitress

Question 10

capricious

Answer 10

given to sudden behavior change

Ex. capricious SoCal weather

Question 11

fortutious

Answer 11

happening by accident or chance

Ex. the similarity between the essays may not simply be fortuitous

Question 12

orthodox

Answer 12

conforming to all traditional beliefs, and religious practices
Ex. orthodox medical treatment does not rely on technology

Question 13

alacrity

Answer 13

lively and cheerful readiness

Ex. Anita accepts invitations with alacrity

Question 14

pellucid

Answer 14

translucently clear

Ex. mountains were reflected in the pellucid water

Question 15

corroborate

Answer 15

confirm or give support to

Ex. the witness corroborated the boy’s account of the attack

Question 16

magnanimous

Answer 16

very generous or forgiving

Ex. He made magnanimous donations to the church

Question 17

scrupulous

Answer 17

diligent, thorough, and extremely careful

Ex. inspection was completed with scrupulous attention to detail

Question 18

prolific

Answer 18

fruitful, present in large number

Ex. Filipinos have a prolific family tree

Question 19

dogmatic

Answer 19

dictatorial, opinionated

Ex. people who go door to door spreading religion can be so dogmatic

Question 20

placate

Answer 20

make someone less angry or hostile

Ex. Karl has to placate his mother often

Question 21

mercurial

Answer 21

subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood

Ex. His mercurial mother’s attitude depended upon who was present

Question 22

exacerbate

Answer 22

infuriate, make worse

Ex. Smoke exacerbates my asthma

Question 23

redundant

Answer 23

not or no longer needed or useful; superfluous

Ex. Taking developmental psych twice was redundant

Question 24

hackneyed

Answer 24

unoriginal and trite

Ex. hackneyed old sayings

Question 25

prudent

Answer 25

acting with or showing care and thought | Ex. It is not prudent to drive in the snow

Question 26

belie

Answer 26

disguise or contradict | Ex. His joyful tones belie the grim nature of homelife

Question 27

esoteric

Answer 27

mysterious, obscure | Ex. Math is an esoteric subject to me

Question 28

cacophony

Answer 28

a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds | Ex. neighbors fighting plus loud music makes for a cacophony surrounding

Question 29

impetuous

Answer 29

acting or done quickly and without thought or care | Ex. Diane makes impetuous decisions

Question 30

idiosyncrasy

Answer 30

a way of thought peculiar to an individual | Ex. Dad's idiosyncrasy or saving 10 cents

Question 31

extant

Answer 31

in existence; surviving | Ex. Shakespeare's extant writing shows how important he is

Question 32

obscure

Answer 32

not discovered or known about; uncertain | Ex. Google maps gave obscure directions because the home was still new

Question 33

didactic

Answer 33

intended to teach, educational | Ex. While the professor's lectures were designed to be didactic, they only confused the students

Question 34

pithy

Answer 34

brief, to the point | Ex. he didn't talk much, but what he did say was always pithy

Question 35

copious

Answer 35

abundant in supply or quantity | Ex. take copious notes

Question 36

ostentation

Answer 36

pretentious and vulgar display intended to impress; show off | Ex. Nicely decorated home without any trace of ostentation

Question 37

adulterate

Answer 37

alter; render something poorer in quality | Ex. green tea was adulterated with sugar

Question 38

vociferous

Answer 38

loud and clamorous | Ex. protesters were vociferous in their demands

Question 39

taciturn

Answer 39

reserved or uncommunicative in speech | Ex. taciturn child turned into a chatty adult

Question 40

obdurate

Answer 40

refuse to change one's opinion; stubborn | Ex. his obdurate mother would not believe a word he said

Question 41

garrulous

Answer 41

excessively talkative | Ex. Cheyanne is garrulous by nature

Question 42

misanthrope

Answer 42

person who hates others | Ex. I am a misanthrope

Question 43

lionize

Answer 43

treat someone as a celebrity | Ex. Miriam lionized Puya

Question 44

imminent

Answer 44

about to happen | Ex. imminent death of drug-addicted people

Question 45

frivolous

Answer 45

trivial, silly | Ex. I used to think couponing was a frivolous act, but later realized how helpful it is

Question 46

benign

Answer 46

gentle; kindly | Ex. Karl's face is calm and benign

Question 47

dissonance

Answer 47

lack of harmony; disagreement | Ex. there is much dissonance in the Andres household

Question 48

inculpate

Answer 48

accuse or blame | Ex. someone placed the gun in her purse to inculpate her

Question 49

docile

Answer 49

compliant, submissive | Ex. AJ portrays Tina as a docile wife

Question 50

sporadic

Answer 50

occurring at irregular intervals; scattered or isolated | Ex. Diane exercises sporadically

Question 51

prevaricate

Answer 51

deceive; stretch the truth | Ex. he seemed to prevaricate when journalists asked questions