GRE Top 1000 Vocabulary Words
The complete GRE vocabulary list — 1,000 words with phonetic pronunciation, part of speech, precise definition, GRE-level example sentence, and memory tip. Words 1–500 are covered in the Top 500 page; this page adds words 501–1000.
1000 words · Phonetic · Definition · GRE example · Memory tip · Root
This page covers words 501–1000. Words 1–500 are on the GRE Top 500 page. The GRE Verbal Reasoning section draws from a vocabulary pool well beyond 1,000 words — the 160+ score requires genuine breadth. Words in the 501–1000 range appear regularly in both Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence questions and in the longer reading passages that form the backbone of the Verbal section.
Words 501–600
Advanced GRE vocabulary — abeyance through chagrin.
| # | Word | Phonetic | POS | Definition | GRE Example | Memory Tip / Root |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 501 | abeyance | uh-BAY-uns | noun | A state of temporary disuse or suspension. | The project was held in abeyance pending the outcome of the regulatory review. | Root: Old French abeyance — expectation; a gaping toward something awaited. |
| 502 | ablution | uh-BLOO-shun | noun | The act of washing oneself; a ceremonial act of cleansing. | The ritual ablutions described in the text served both hygienic and symbolic purposes. | Root: Latin ablutio — a washing; ab- + luere (to wash). |
| 503 | abnegate | AB-nih-gayt | verb | To renounce or reject something; to refuse or deny oneself. | The ascetic philosophy required its adherents to abnegate all material comforts. | Root: Latin abnegare — to deny; ab- + negare (to deny). |
| 504 | absolution | ab-suh-LOO-shun | noun | Formal release from guilt, obligation, or punishment. | The public apology was less an act of genuine contrition than a bid for political absolution. | Root: Latin absolutio — completion; absolvere means 'to set free.' |
| 505 | abstention | ab-STEN-shun | noun | The formal act of refraining from voting or indulging in something. | Three abstentions on the committee's vote meant the motion passed by the narrowest margin. | Root: Latin abstentio — a holding back; ab- + tenere (to hold). |
| 506 | abysmal | uh-BIZ-mul | adjective | Extremely bad; immeasurably deep. | The abysmal response rate of the survey raised serious questions about the representativeness of the sample. | Root: Greek abyssos — bottomless pit; a- (without) + byssos (bottom). |
| 507 | acerbic | uh-SUR-bik | adjective | Sharp and forthright in speech or manner; harshly critical. | The acerbic review left the authors in no doubt that the manuscript required fundamental rethinking. | Root: Latin acerbus — harsh, tart; acer means 'sharp.' Acerbic is sharper than caustic. |
| 508 | acme | AK-mee | noun | The highest point of achievement or excellence; the peak. | The third volume is generally regarded as the acme of the author's scholarly career. | Root: Greek akme — the highest point; the point of a thing, its peak. |
| 509 | adduce | uh-DOOS | verb | To cite as evidence or proof; to bring forward in argument. | The attorney adduced three independent studies to support the expert's testimony. | Root: Latin adducere — to bring forward; ad- + ducere (to lead). |
| 510 | adjure | uh-JOOR | verb | To urge or request solemnly or earnestly; to command under oath. | The chair adjured the panelists to confine their remarks to the evidence before them. | Root: Latin adjurare — to swear to; ad- + jurare (to swear). |
| 511 | admonition | ad-muh-NISH-un | noun | A firm warning or reprimand; advice given to correct a fault. | Despite repeated admonitions about data handling, the error was made again in the next study. | Root: Latin admonitio — a reminder; ad- + monere (to warn). |
| 512 | adulation | aj-uh-LAY-shun | noun | Obsequious flattery; excessive admiration. | The adulation surrounding the new theory blinded its proponents to its significant weaknesses. | Root: Latin adulatio — flattery; adulari means 'to fawn upon.' |
| 513 | aegis | EE-jis | noun | Protection or support; the patronage of a particular person or organization. | The conference was organized under the aegis of the international scientific union. | Root: Greek aigis — the shield of Zeus; divine protection. |
| 514 | afflatus | uh-FLAY-tus | noun | A divine creative impulse or inspiration. | The poet described the work as having arrived with the force of afflatus rather than deliberate composition. | Root: Latin afflatus — a blowing on; ad- + flare (to blow) — breath of the divine. |
| 515 | allude | uh-LOOD | verb | To suggest or call attention to indirectly; to hint at. | The author alluded to the controversy without naming it, a tactic critics found evasive. | Root: Latin alludere — to play with; al- + ludere (to play) — to play around a topic. |
| 516 | altercation | awl-tur-KAY-shun | noun | A noisy argument or confrontation. | A heated altercation between two delegates disrupted the morning session. | Root: Latin altercatio — dispute; altercare means 'to dispute' from alter (the other). |
| 517 | amphibology | am-fih-BOL-uh-jee | noun | A phrase or sentence that is grammatically ambiguous. | The clause contained an amphibology that allowed each party to claim the contract supported its position. | Root: Greek amphibolia — ambiguity; amphi (on both sides) + ballein (to throw). |
| 518 | approbation | ap-ruh-BAY-shun | noun | Official approval or praise. | The proposal received approbation from the ethics board before proceeding to implementation. | Root: Latin approbatio — proof of something good; ad- + probare (to prove). |
| 519 | ardor | AR-dur | noun | Enthusiasm and passion; intense feeling. | The ardor with which the team pursued the hypothesis was evident in their seven-day workweeks. | Root: Latin ardor — flame; ardere means 'to burn.' |
| 520 | argot | AR-goh | noun | The jargon or slang of a particular group. | The dense technical argot of the subfield made the paper impenetrable to reviewers from adjacent disciplines. | Root: French argot — thieves' cant; originally the secret language of vagabonds. |
| 521 | ascendancy | uh-SEN-dun-see | noun | Occupation of a position of dominant power or influence. | The institute's ascendancy in the discipline lasted until a rival group published a landmark series of papers. | Root: Latin ascendere — to climb; ascending to dominance over others. |
| 522 | asperity | as-PER-ih-tee | noun | Harshness of tone or manner; roughness of surface. | She responded to the challenge with unexpected asperity that silenced further objections. | Root: Latin asperitas — roughness; asper means 'rough.' |
| 523 | assuage | uh-SWAYJ | verb | To make less intense; to satisfy. | The supplementary data were released to assuage concerns about selective reporting. | Root: Old French assouagier — to soften; ad- + suavis (sweet). |
| 524 | atavism | AT-uh-viz-um | noun | Reappearance of a trait from an earlier generation; reversion. | The resurgence of authoritarian rhetoric was analyzed as political atavism in the scholarly literature. | Root: Latin atavus — ancestor; return to ancestral characteristics. |
| 525 | attrition | uh-TRISH-un | noun | Gradual wearing down; reduction through sustained pressure. | The war of attrition within the committee eventually left moderates without influence. | Root: Latin attritio — rubbing away; atterere means 'to grind down.' |
| 526 | austerity | aw-STER-ih-tee | noun | Difficult economic conditions; sternness and severity of manner. | Years of fiscal austerity had degraded the infrastructure the emergency now depended on. | Root: Greek austeros — harsh, dry; not sweetened or indulgent. |
| 527 | averment | uh-VUR-ment | noun | A formal assertion; an allegation in a legal pleading. | The court required each averment in the complaint to be supported by specific factual allegations. | Root: Latin averare — to assert; from Latin verus (true). |
| 528 | avidity | uh-VID-ih-tee | noun | Enthusiasm and keenness; (chemistry) binding strength. | The avidity with which the team consumed new literature distinguished them as a research group. | Root: Latin aviditas — eagerness; avere means 'to crave.' |
| 529 | ballast | BAL-ust | noun | Material used to stabilize a ship or balloon; anything providing stability. | The historical data provided ballast against the wilder speculations in the theoretical literature. | Root: Old Norse barlast — bare load used only as weight, not cargo. |
| 530 | banality | buh-NAL-ih-tee | noun | The quality of being commonplace; a trite or obvious statement. | The report's conclusion collapsed into banality, offering nothing the reader did not already know. | Root: French banal — common to all; the banal belongs to everyone and therefore to no one. |
| 531 | beatify | bee-AT-ih-fy | verb | To make blissfully happy; (in Catholic Church) to declare blessed. | The hagiography effectively beatified its subject, rendering any critical appraisal impossible. | Root: Latin beatus — blessed + facere (to make). |
| 532 | bedlam | BED-lum | noun | A scene of uproar and confusion. | When the retraction became public, the conference descended into bedlam. | Root: Bethlem Royal Hospital, London; the chaos inside the asylum lent its name to disorder. |
| 533 | begrudge | bih-GRUJ | verb | To feel resentful at another's possessions or good fortune; to give reluctantly. | Even those who begrudged the award conceded that the decade-long project justified recognition. | Root: be- (intensifier) + grudge; to hold a grudge against someone's advantage. |
| 534 | belie | bih-LY | verb | To give a false impression of; to fail to fulfill. | The placid surface of the discussion belied the profound disagreements beneath. | Root: Old English beleogan — to deceive; be- + lie. |
| 535 | bellicose | BEL-ih-kohs | adjective | Demonstrating aggression and readiness to fight. | The bellicose framing of the policy debate foreclosed the possibility of compromise. | Root: Latin bellicosus — warlike; bellum means 'war.' |
| 536 | beneficence | buh-NEF-ih-sens | noun | The quality of being kind and charitable. | The foundation's beneficence was conditional on recipients accepting restrictive governance terms. | Root: Latin bene (well) + facere (to do) — doing good for others. |
| 537 | berate | bih-RAYT | verb | To scold or rebuke angrily and at length. | The supervisor publicly berated the team in a manner that violated the organization's own conduct policies. | Root: be- + archaic 'rate' (to scold); intensified scolding. |
| 538 | bigotry | BIG-uh-tree | noun | Intolerance toward those holding different opinions. | The study provided empirical evidence that bigotry persisted even in ostensibly progressive institutional settings. | Root: Old French bigot — religious hypocrite; intolerance masquerading as virtue. |
| 539 | blandishment | BLAND-ish-ment | noun | Flattery intended to persuade; coaxing words. | The industry's blandishments included research grants, speaking fees, and consulting contracts. | Root: French blandir — to flatter; blandus means 'smooth.' |
| 540 | blasphemy | BLAS-fuh-mee | noun | Contemptuous speech about religion or the sacred. | What the institution called blasphemy, the next generation called intellectual courage. | Root: Greek blasphemia — defamation; blaptein (harm) + pheme (speech). |
| 541 | bluster | BLUS-tur | noun/verb | Loud, aggressive talk with little substance; to talk in this way. | The bluster in the opening statement was not supported by the evidence that followed. | Root: Middle Low German blustern — to blow gustily; sound and fury signifying little. |
| 542 | boon | BOON | noun | A thing that is helpful or beneficial; a blessing. | The freely available dataset was a boon to researchers in institutions with limited library access. | Root: Old Norse bon — prayer; what one prays for, and receives — a gift. |
| 543 | bravado | bruh-VAH-doh | noun | A show of boldness intended to impress; performed courage. | The bravado of the press release concealed serious concerns about the study's reproducibility. | Root: Spanish bravada — boasting; bravery performed rather than authentic. |
| 544 | bromide | BROH-myd | noun | A trite remark; a sedative. | The report was a collection of bromides that provided no actionable guidance. | Root: bromine — a sedating compound; verbal bromides sedate thought. |
| 545 | burnish | BUR-nish | verb | To polish by rubbing; to enhance a reputation or image. | The documentary was seen primarily as an effort to burnish the organization's public image. | Root: Old French burnir — to make brown and bright by friction. |
| 546 | callous | KAL-us | adjective | Showing cruel disregard for others; having hardened skin. | The callous language of the internal memo shocked employees who read it. | Root: Latin callosus — thick-skinned; callus is skin hardened by use. |
| 547 | calumny | KAL-um-nee | noun | False and damaging statement about someone; slander. | The calumny spread through social media before a correction could reach the same audience. | Root: Latin calumnia — false charge; calvi means 'to devise tricks.' |
| 548 | carping | KAR-ping | adjective | Difficult to please; complaining in a petty way. | The carping objections raised at each stage of peer review obscured several genuinely valid concerns. | Root: Old Norse karpa — to brag; to fault-find in a nagging, trivial way. |
| 549 | carp | KARP | verb | To complain or find fault continually and in a petty way. | To carp about the study's sample size without engaging its main argument is an evasion. | Root: Old Norse karpa — to brag, dispute; later to complain ceaselessly. |
| 550 | cessation | se-SAY-shun | noun | The ending or stopping of something. | The cessation of the funding stream forced the team to wind down the project prematurely. | Root: Latin cessatio — stopping; cedere means 'to yield, stop.' |
| 551 | chagrin | shuh-GRIN | noun/verb | Annoyance or shame at having failed or been humiliated. | Much to the committee's chagrin, the error had already been cited in forty subsequent publications. | Root: French chagrin — grief, rough leather; to be rubbed raw by embarrassment. |
Words 601–700
Advanced GRE vocabulary — chicanery through equanimity.
| # | Word | Phonetic | POS | Definition | GRE Example | Memory Tip / Root |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 601 | chicanery | shih-KAY-nur-ee | noun | The use of trickery to achieve a purpose. | The investigation uncovered chicanery in the admissions process that had persisted for a decade. | Root: French chicaner — to quibble; legal trickery through petty manipulation. |
| 602 | churlish | CHUR-lish | adjective | Rude in a mean-spirited and surly way. | It would be churlish not to acknowledge the considerable achievement represented by the first volume. | Root: Old English ceorl — a common man; later a rude, rough person. |
| 603 | circumlocution | sur-kum-loh-KYOO-shun | noun | The use of many words where fewer would do; evasive speech. | The witness's circumlocution frustrated the examiner who needed direct answers. | Root: Latin circum (around) + loqui (to speak) — speaking in circles. |
| 604 | cogitate | KOJ-ih-tayt | verb | To think deeply about something; to ponder. | The scientist cogitated for weeks before proposing the interpretive framework that resolved the contradiction. | Root: Latin cogitare — to think; co- + agitare (to drive about mentally). |
| 605 | cognizant | KOG-nih-zant | adjective | Having knowledge or being aware of something. | The authors stated they were cognizant of the study's limitations and addressed each one explicitly. | Root: Latin cognoscere — to know; co- + gnoscere (to know). |
| 606 | collusion | kuh-LOO-zhun | noun | Secret or illegal cooperation to deceive others. | The investigation alleged collusion between the vendor and the procurement officer. | Root: Latin collusio — playing together; con- + ludere (to play) — playing tricks together. |
| 607 | comeliness | KUM-lee-nes | noun | Pleasant appearance; attractiveness. | The essay praised not only the argument's strength but the comeliness of its prose. | Root: Old English cymlic — fitting, suitable; comeliness is attractive propriety. |
| 608 | compliant | kum-PLY-unt | adjective | Meeting rules or standards; too willing to comply; submissive. | The compliant attitude of the working group allowed the committee's errors to go unchallenged. | Root: Latin complere — to fulfill; to comply is to fill up requirements. |
| 609 | compunction | kum-PUNK-shun | noun | A feeling of guilt or moral scruple about one's actions. | The executive showed no compunction about the decisions that had cost hundreds of jobs. | Root: Latin compunctio — a pricking; com- + pungere (to prick) — a prick of conscience. |
| 610 | conceited | kun-SEE-tid | adjective | Excessively proud of oneself; vain. | The conceited tone of the introduction undermined the collegial spirit the paper's acknowledgments claimed. | Root: conceive — the conceited person has a high conception of themselves. |
| 611 | conflate | kun-FLAYT | verb | To combine two or more things into one; to confuse two distinct things. | Critics argued the author had conflated correlation with causation throughout the empirical chapters. | Root: Latin conflare — to blow together; con- + flare (to blow) — fusing two things. |
| 612 | consternation | kon-stur-NAY-shun | noun | A feeling of anxiety or dismay, typically at something unexpected. | The announcement of the retraction caused consternation throughout the research community. | Root: Latin consternatio — alarm; consternare means 'to throw into confusion.' |
| 613 | contentious | kun-TEN-shus | adjective | Causing or likely to cause an argument; controversial. | The contentious finding has been disputed by four independent laboratories. | Root: Latin contentio — striving; contendere means 'to contend.' |
| 614 | contrite | kun-TRYT | adjective | Feeling deep regret and guilt about wrongdoing. | The contrite letter of apology acknowledged errors that had not previously been admitted. | Root: Latin contritus — worn away; conterere means 'to grind to pieces.' |
| 615 | conviction | kun-VIK-shun | noun | A firmly held belief; the verdict that someone is guilty of an offense. | Her conviction that the null hypothesis would be rejected proved unfounded. | Root: Latin convictio — a proving; convincere means 'to prove guilty.' |
| 616 | copious | KOH-pee-us | adjective | Abundant in supply; plentiful. | Copious footnotes documented sources the main text had no room to discuss. | Root: Latin copiosus — well-supplied; copia means 'abundance.' |
| 617 | cozen | KUZ-en | verb | To trick or deceive someone. | The fraudulent methodology had cozened reviewers for three years before detection. | Root: possibly from French cousin — to cheat like a 'cousin' claiming false kinship. |
| 618 | debacle | dih-BAH-kul | noun | A sudden disastrous collapse or defeat; a complete disaster. | The failed product launch became a case study in strategic debacle. | Root: French débâcle — an unplugging; de- + bâcler (to bar) — barriers suddenly removed, causing chaos. |
| 619 | debasement | dih-BAYS-ment | noun | The action of lowering the quality or value of something. | Critics described the policy change as a debasement of the standards the institution had historically upheld. | Root: de- (down) + base; lowering to a base level. |
| 620 | decadence | DEK-uh-dens | noun | Moral or cultural decline; excessive self-indulgence. | The symposium examined whether the field's theoretical decadence was a symptom of broader intellectual exhaustion. | Root: Latin decadere — to fall down; de- + cadere (to fall). |
| 621 | declaim | dih-KLAYM | verb | To utter aloud in a rhetorical manner; to make a forceful speech. | The philosopher declaimed against rationalism in language so charged that many mistook it for irony. | Root: Latin declamare — to practise speaking; de- + clamare (to shout). |
| 622 | decorum | dih-KOR-um | noun | Behavior in keeping with good taste and propriety. | The proceedings maintained decorum despite the gravity of the allegations under discussion. | Root: Latin decorum — that which is seemly; decor means 'that which adorns.' |
| 623 | deference | DEF-ur-ens | noun | Humble submission and respect; yielding to another's judgment. | In deference to the senior researcher's concerns, the team delayed publication for additional verification. | Root: Latin deferre — to bring down; de- + ferre (to carry) — carrying oneself down before another. |
| 624 | defile | dih-FYL | verb | To damage the purity or appearance of; to desecrate. | The vandalism was perceived as an attempt to defile the institution's intellectual heritage. | Root: Old French defouler — to trample; de- + fouler (to tread on). |
| 625 | delusive | dih-LOO-siv | adjective | Giving a false or misleading impression. | The delusive optimism of the forecast ignored structural factors that guaranteed eventual failure. | Root: Latin deludere — to play false; de- + ludere (to play). |
| 626 | demur | dih-MUR | verb/noun | To raise doubts or objections; an objection. | Several board members demurred at the proposed timeline, citing insufficient preparation time. | Root: Old French demourer — to delay; de- + morari (to delay) — to pause and object. |
| 627 | depravity | dih-PRAV-ih-tee | noun | Moral corruption; wickedness. | The historian documented the depravity of the regime through testimony from its survivors. | Root: Latin depravitas — crookedness; de- + pravus (crooked, wicked). |
| 628 | dexterous | DEK-stur-us | adjective | Showing or having skill, especially with the hands; mentally adroit. | The dexterous handling of the politically sensitive question earned the diplomat considerable praise. | Root: Latin dexter — right-handed; the right hand is the skilled one. |
| 629 | dilatory | DIL-uh-tor-ee | adjective | Slow to act; intended to cause delay. | Dilatory responses to information requests delayed the investigation by several months. | Root: Latin dilatorius — delaying; differre means 'to postpone.' |
| 630 | disenfranchise | dis-en-FRAN-chyz | verb | To deprive of a right or privilege, especially the right to vote. | The new regulations were alleged to disenfranchise minority voters through administrative burdens. | Root: dis- + enfranchise; to remove the franchise (right) that was given. |
| 631 | disparage | dih-SPAR-ij | verb | To speak of something in a way that shows it is of little value; to belittle. | The review disparaged the methodology without proposing a superior alternative. | Root: Old French desparagier — to marry unequally; to treat something as beneath its worth. |
| 632 | dissertation | dis-ur-TAY-shun | noun | A long essay on a particular subject; a doctoral thesis. | The dissertation committee required three rounds of revision before approving the final document. | Root: Latin dissertatio — discussion; dissertare means 'to discuss in detail.' |
| 633 | distort | dih-STORT | verb | To pull or twist out of shape; to give a misleading account of. | Selective citation can distort the overall picture even when no individual claim is technically false. | Root: Latin distorquere — to twist apart; dis- + torquere (to twist). |
| 634 | diurnal | dy-UR-nul | adjective | Of or during the day; recurring every day. | The diurnal variations in the data required a time-adjusted statistical analysis. | Root: Latin diurnalis — daily; dies means 'day.' |
| 635 | doleful | DOHL-ful | adjective | Feeling or expressing great sorrow or distress. | The doleful tone of the final chapter reflected the author's sense that the problem had no solution. | Root: Old French doel — grief; dolere means 'to grieve.' |
| 636 | dulcet | DUL-sit | adjective | Sweet and soothing (especially of sound); melodious. | The dulcet prose of the introduction gave no warning of the polemical arguments that followed. | Root: Latin dulcis — sweet; dulcet tones are honeyed and pleasing. |
| 637 | ebullience | ih-BUL-yens | noun | The quality of being cheerful and full of energy; enthusiasm. | The ebullience of the research team in the early phases gave way to careful caution as the data emerged. | Root: Latin ebullire — to bubble up; ebullience is irrepressible bubbling energy. |
| 638 | edification | ed-ih-fih-KAY-shun | noun | Instruction intended to improve morally or intellectually. | The course was designed not merely for professional training but for the broader edification of its students. | Root: Latin aedificatio — a building; to edify is to build up a person's understanding. |
| 639 | egalitarian | ih-gal-ih-TAIR-ee-un | adjective | Believing in equal rights and opportunities for all. | The egalitarian principles in the charter were unevenly applied in practice. | Root: French égalitaire; égal means 'equal' — from Latin aequalis. |
| 640 | effrontery | ih-FRUN-tuh-ree | noun | Insolent or impertinent behavior; shameless audacity. | The contractor had the effrontery to bill for work not completed and materials not supplied. | Root: Latin effrons — shameless; ex- + frons (forehead) — not blushing. |
| 641 | elaborate | ih-LAB-uh-rayt | verb | To develop or present in detail; to add more detail or information. | The committee asked the author to elaborate on the methodological justification in the revision. | Root: Latin elaborare — to work out; ex- + laborare (to labor) — labored carefully. |
| 642 | elide | ih-LYD | verb | To omit a sound or syllable; to merge; to pass over or ignore. | The summary elided the important distinction between correlation and causation. | Root: Latin elidere — to crush out; ex- + laedere (to strike) — striking something out. |
| 643 | embellish | em-BEL-ish | verb | To make more attractive by adding details; to add fictitious detail to. | The account had been embellished over retellings to the point of unreliability. | Root: Old French embellir — to make beautiful; em- + bel (beautiful). |
| 644 | eminent | EM-ih-nent | adjective | Famous and respected, especially in a particular field. | An eminent authority in the field was invited to review the manuscript before submission. | Root: Latin eminere — to stand out; ex- + minere (to project) — projecting above others. |
| 645 | empathy | EM-puh-thee | noun | The ability to understand and share the feelings of another. | Clinical training in empathy reduced diagnostic errors by prompting attention to patient-reported symptoms. | Root: Greek empatheia — passion; em- (in) + pathos (feeling) — feeling into another's experience. |
| 646 | encumber | en-KUM-bur | verb | To restrict or burden; to load with a burden. | The project was encumbered by bureaucratic requirements that consumed disproportionate resources. | Root: Old French encombrer — to obstruct; en- + combre (a river barrier). |
| 647 | enmity | EN-mih-tee | noun | The state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone. | The enmity between the two schools of thought had long since ceased to be productive. | Root: Latin inimicus — enemy; in- + amicus (friend) — not a friend. |
| 648 | enunciate | ih-NUN-see-ayt | verb | To pronounce words clearly; to state or set forth definitely. | The policy document failed to enunciate the criteria by which applications would be evaluated. | Root: Latin enuntiare — to announce; ex- + nuntiare (to report). |
| 649 | equable | EK-wuh-bul | adjective | Calm and even-tempered; not easily disturbed; (of climate) not varying greatly. | The negotiator's equable temperament allowed her to function effectively under extreme pressure. | Root: Latin aequabilis — uniform; aequus means 'equal, even.' |
| 650 | equanimity | ee-kwuh-NIM-ih-tee | noun | Mental calmness and composure, especially in difficult situations. | The scientist received the rejection of her decade-long project with remarkable equanimity. | Root: Latin aequanimitas — evenness of mind; aequus (equal) + animus (mind). |
Words 701–800
Advanced GRE vocabulary — erroneously through malinger.
| # | Word | Phonetic | POS | Definition | GRE Example | Memory Tip / Root |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 701 | erroneously | ih-ROH-nee-us-lee | adverb | In a mistaken or incorrect manner. | The claim was erroneously attributed to a study that had in fact reported the opposite finding. | Root: Latin erroneus — wandering; errare means 'to wander, stray, err.' |
| 702 | espouse | ih-SPOWZ | verb | To adopt or support a cause, belief, or way of life. | The professor espoused a view of science as a social practice without abandoning its claims to objectivity. | Root: Old French espouser — to marry; to embrace a cause as one's own. |
| 703 | exalt | ig-ZAWLT | verb | To hold someone or something in very high regard; to praise or glorify. | The retrospective exhibition exalted the artist to a canonical status she had never achieved in her lifetime. | Root: Latin exaltare — to raise high; ex- + altus (high). |
| 704 | exempt | ig-ZEMPT | verb/adjective | To free from an obligation; not subject to a rule or duty. | Small research institutions were exempted from the reporting requirements that larger bodies faced. | Root: Latin eximere — to take out; ex- + emere (to buy, take). |
| 705 | exhort | ig-ZORT | verb | To strongly encourage or urge to do something. | The dean exhorted the faculty to submit their work to the highest-quality venues. | Root: Latin exhortari — to encourage; ex- + hortari (to urge). |
| 706 | expunge | ek-SPUNJ | verb | To erase or remove completely; to obliterate. | The committee voted to expunge the flawed data from the published record. | Root: Latin expungere — to mark out with a point; ex- + pungere (to prick). |
| 707 | fervor | FUR-vur | noun | Intense and passionate feeling. | The fervor with which the idea was promoted masked the thinness of the evidence behind it. | Root: Latin fervor — boiling; fervere means 'to boil.' |
| 708 | fidelity | fih-DEL-ih-tee | noun | Faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief; accuracy. | High fidelity to the source documents is the defining standard of archival historical scholarship. | Root: Latin fidelitas — faithfulness; fides means 'faith.' |
| 709 | forbear | for-BAIR | verb | To refrain from doing something; to restrain an impulse. | The reviewer forbore from mentioning the competing work, which some took as a signal of unease. | Root: Old English forberan — to endure, restrain; for- + beran (to bear). |
| 710 | foment | foh-MENT | verb | To instigate or stir up trouble or discontent. | The editorials were accused of fomenting public anxiety rather than informing it. | Root: Latin fomentare — to apply a warm poultice; figuratively, to warm up trouble. |
| 711 | fortuitous | for-TOO-ih-tus | adjective | Happening by chance rather than intention; fortunate. | The fortuitous timing of the discovery coincided with a regulatory window that allowed rapid deployment. | Root: Latin fortuitus — by chance; fors means 'chance.' |
| 712 | fugacious | fyoo-GAY-shus | adjective | Tending to disappear; fleeting; transitory. | The most significant insights in the seminar were often fugacious, lost between session and documentation. | Root: Latin fugax — fleeing; fugere means 'to flee.' |
| 713 | gainsay | GAYN-say | verb | To deny or contradict; to speak against or oppose. | When the replication data were presented, there was nothing to gainsay the original finding. | Root: Old English gegensecgan — to say against; gain (against) + say. |
| 714 | grievance | GREE-vuns | noun | A real or imagined wrong causing resentment; a formal complaint. | The union filed a grievance alleging systematic bias in the promotion process. | Root: Old French grevance — burden; grever means 'to burden, harm.' |
| 715 | gullible | GUL-ih-bul | adjective | Easily persuaded to believe something; credulous. | The scheme succeeded because its targets were not gullible but were misled by sophisticated fabricated evidence. | Root: possibly from gull — a simpleton; gullible is easily gulled (deceived). |
| 716 | hallmark | HAWL-mark | noun | A mark of quality; a distinctive feature or characteristic. | Methodological rigor is the hallmark of the research tradition that produced this study. | Root: Goldsmiths' Hall, London, where gold and silver were assayed and marked for quality. |
| 717 | hamper | HAM-pur | verb | To hinder or impede the movement or progress of. | Incomplete disclosure of conflict of interest hampered the committee's ability to assess the research objectively. | Root: Old French hamprer — to shackle; a large covered basket that traps its contents. |
| 718 | heresy | HER-ih-see | noun | Belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious doctrine; any contrarian view. | What was once treated as scientific heresy is now the consensus position in the field. | Root: Greek hairesis — a choosing; to choose a doctrine contrary to established belief. |
| 719 | hoodwink | HOOD-wink | verb | To deceive or trick someone. | The fraudulent data had hoodwinked reviewers who lacked the specialized knowledge to detect it. | Root: hood + wink; to pull a hood over the eyes and wink — to blind and deceive. |
| 720 | hyperbole | hy-PUR-buh-lee | noun | Exaggerated statements not meant to be taken literally; overstatement. | Calling the finding 'revolutionary' was hyperbole; 'significant' would have been defensible. | Root: Greek hyperbole — excess; hyper (over) + ballein (to throw) — throwing beyond the mark. |
| 721 | iconoclast | y-KON-uh-klast | noun | A person who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions. | The iconoclast's challenge to foundational assumptions was resisted for a decade before gaining acceptance. | Root: Greek eikon (image) + klan (to break) — one who smashes sacred images. |
| 722 | impugn | im-PYOON | verb | To dispute the truth or validity of something. | The defense sought to impugn the forensic methodology rather than contest the factual findings. | Root: Latin impugnare — to fight against; im- + pugnare (to fight). |
| 723 | inane | ih-NAYN | adjective | Lacking sense or meaning; pointless. | The inane discussion of tangential issues consumed valuable time that could have resolved the central question. | Root: Latin inanis — empty; an inane comment is vacuous, empty of sense. |
| 724 | incisive | in-SY-siv | adjective | Intelligently analytical and clear-thinking; cutting straight to the point. | The incisive three-paragraph summary outperformed the forty-page report it condensed. | Root: Latin incidere — to cut into; in- + caedere (to cut) — cutting to the heart of a matter. |
| 725 | inculcate | IN-kul-kayt | verb | To instill an attitude, idea, or habit by persistent instruction. | The training was designed to inculcate rigorous standards of evidence evaluation in new researchers. | Root: Latin inculcare — to press in; in- + calcare (to tread) — pressing in by repetition. |
| 726 | indict | in-DYT | verb | To formally accuse of or charge with a crime; to strongly condemn. | The report indicted the entire procurement system rather than attributing fault to individual actors. | Root: Anglo-French enditer — to accuse; the -c- is silent in English. |
| 727 | indolent | IN-duh-lent | adjective | Wanting to avoid activity or exertion; lazy. | An indolent approach to peer review allowed several methodologically flawed papers to enter the record. | Root: Latin indolens — without pain; in- + dolere (to suffer pain) — too comfortable to exert oneself. |
| 728 | inexorable | in-EK-sur-uh-bul | adjective | Impossible to stop or prevent; relentless. | The inexorable pressure of competitive publishing forced many researchers into premature disclosure. | Root: Latin inexorabilis — not to be moved by prayer; in- + exorare (to prevail upon). |
| 729 | ignominious | ig-nuh-MIN-ee-us | adjective | Deserving or causing public disgrace; humiliating. | The ignominious retraction of five papers in one journal issue damaged the field's credibility. | Root: Latin ignominia — dishonor; in- + nomen (name) — nameless, without honor. |
| 730 | illuminate | ih-LOO-mih-nayt | verb | To light up; to help clarify or explain. | A comparative analysis can illuminate patterns that are invisible within a single case study. | Root: Latin illuminare — to light up; lumen means 'light.' |
| 731 | impoverished | im-POV-ur-isht | adjective | Made poor; lacking in richness, quality, or substance. | Without interdisciplinary engagement, the debate had become intellectually impoverished. | Root: Old French empovrir — to make poor; im- + pauper (poor). |
| 732 | irrefutable | ih-REF-yuh-tuh-bul | adjective | Impossible to deny or disprove. | The irrefutable nature of the DNA evidence ended the controversy within weeks of publication. | Root: Latin irrefutabilis; in- + refutare (to disprove) — not refutable. |
| 733 | jettison | JET-ih-sun | verb | To throw or drop from an aircraft or ship; to abandon or discard. | Under revision pressure, the authors jettisoned the three weakest empirical chapters. | Root: Old French getaison — the act of throwing; geter means 'to throw.' |
| 734 | kowtow | KOW-tow | verb | To act in an excessively subservient manner; to perform a gesture of submission. | Scientists who kowtow to funding agencies at the expense of intellectual independence undermine the enterprise. | Root: Chinese kòutóu — to knock the head on the ground in submission. |
| 735 | lampoon | lam-POON | noun/verb | A speech or text publicly criticizing someone using ridicule; to mock or satirize. | The satirical journal lampooned the study's grandiose claims in a piece that went viral. | Root: French lampon — let us drink; drinking songs that mocked public figures. |
| 736 | languish | LANG-gwish | verb | To become weak or feeble; to fail to make progress. | The application languished in the review queue for eighteen months before a decision was issued. | Root: Latin languere — to be faint; languor shares this root. |
| 737 | litigious | lih-TIJ-us | adjective | Prone to engage in lawsuits; of or relating to litigation. | The litigious culture of the industry deterred whistleblowers who feared personal liability. | Root: Latin litigiosus — contentious; lis/litis means 'lawsuit.' |
| 738 | lucrative | LOO-kruh-tiv | adjective | Producing a great deal of profit. | The lucrative consulting contracts created conflicts of interest the committee had failed to disclose. | Root: Latin lucrativus — profitable; lucrum means 'profit, gain.' |
| 739 | malediction | mal-uh-DIK-shun | noun | A curse; the utterance of a curse. | The final paragraph of the response letter read more like a malediction than scholarly disagreement. | Root: Latin maledictio — a cursing; male (badly) + dicere (to speak) — speaking evil. |
| 740 | malefactor | MAL-ih-fak-tur | noun | A person who commits a crime or some other wrong. | The inquiry named specific malefactors rather than attributing the failure to systemic dysfunction alone. | Root: Latin malefactor — evildoer; male (badly) + facere (to do). |
| 741 | malevolent | muh-LEV-uh-lent | adjective | Having or showing a wish to do evil to others. | The malevolent manipulation of the data was intended to cause maximum damage to the competitor's reputation. | Root: Latin male (badly) + velle (to wish) — wishing harm. |
| 742 | malign | muh-LYN | verb/adjective | To speak about in a spitefully critical manner; harmful in nature. | The widely maligned decision was eventually reversed when the evidence against it became undeniable. | Root: Latin malignus — evil-natured; male (bad) + genus (origin). |
| 743 | malinger | muh-LING-ur | verb | To exaggerate or feign illness to escape duty or work. | The analogy to malingering was unfair; the researcher had documented health constraints that explained the delays. | Root: French malingre — sickly; mal (badly) + haingre (thin) — pretending to be weak. |
| 744 | manifest | MAN-ih-fest | verb/adjective | To display or show clearly; clear and obvious. | The conflict of interest, though not declared, was manifest to anyone who knew the funding sources. | Root: Latin manifestus — caught in the act; manus (hand) + festus (struck) — caught red-handed. |
| 745 | manipulate | muh-NIP-yuh-layt | verb | To control or influence in a clever or unscrupulous way; to handle skillfully. | The prosecutor alleged that the defendant had manipulated the records to conceal the transactions. | Root: Latin manipulus — a handful; manus (hand) + plere (to fill) — handling. |
| 746 | meager | MEE-gur | adjective | Lacking in quantity or quality; thin. | The meager evidence for the hypothesis could not bear the weight of the conclusions drawn from it. | Root: Old French maigre — lean; Latin macer means 'thin, lean.' |
| 747 | mendacious | men-DAY-shus | adjective | Not telling the truth; lying. | The mendacious account in the report contradicted the contemporaneous field notes. | Root: Latin mendax — lying; mendacium means 'a lie.' |
| 748 | miserly | MY-zur-lee | adjective | Of or characteristic of a miser; reluctant to spend money. | The miserly allocation of resources to the oversight function ensured that violations would go undetected. | Root: Latin miser — wretched; a miser is wretched with money they will not spend. |
| 749 | negate | nih-GAYT | verb | To make ineffective; to nullify; to deny the existence of. | The confounding variable threatened to negate the study's causal claims entirely. | Root: Latin negare — to deny; to say 'no' to the validity of something. |
| 750 | nepotism | NEP-uh-tiz-um | noun | The practice of giving unfair advantages to one's relatives or friends. | The hiring process was alleged to reflect nepotism rather than merit-based selection. | Root: Italian nipote — nephew; 16th-century popes gave offices to nephews (who were sometimes their sons). |
Words 801–900
Advanced GRE vocabulary — nihilism through stingy.
| # | Word | Phonetic | POS | Definition | GRE Example | Memory Tip / Root |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 801 | nihilism | NY-uh-liz-um | noun | The belief that life is meaningless; rejection of all moral principles. | The paper examined whether moral nihilism was a coherent philosophical position or a performative contradiction. | Root: Latin nihil — nothing; nihilism holds that nothing has meaning or value. |
| 802 | nominal | NOM-ih-nul | adjective | Existing in name only; very small; relating to a name. | The nominal independence of the review body was undermined by its structural dependence on the entity it oversaw. | Root: Latin nominalis — of a name; nomen means 'name.' |
| 803 | nondescript | non-dih-SKRIPT | adjective | Lacking distinctive or interesting qualities; unremarkable. | The nondescript packaging concealed the significance of the findings within. | Root: non- + Latin descriptus — described; not having been described or classified distinctively. |
| 804 | obliterate | uh-BLIT-ur-ayt | verb | To destroy utterly; to leave no clear traces of. | The second revision obliterated so much original material that the work scarcely resembled the submitted draft. | Root: Latin obliterare — to erase; ob- + litera (letter) — blotting out letters. |
| 805 | obsequious | ob-SEE-kwee-us | adjective | Obedient or attentive to an excessive degree; fawning. | The obsequious behavior of subordinates created a culture that insulated leadership from honest feedback. | Root: Latin obsequiosus — compliant; obsequi means 'to comply with.' |
| 806 | obstinate | OB-stih-nit | adjective | Stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or chosen course. | The obstinate insistence on the original methodology persisted even after four failed replications. | Root: Latin obstinatus — persistent; ob- + stanare (to stand against). |
| 807 | obtuse | ob-TOOS | adjective | Annoyingly slow to understand; blunt. | An obtuse reading of the evidence ignored the pattern visible to every other analyst. | Root: Latin obtusus — blunted; ob- + tundere (to beat) — a blunted, unstated point. |
| 808 | occlude | uh-KLOOD | verb | To stop up or close; to obstruct or block. | Confirmation bias can occlude the perception of evidence that contradicts prior beliefs. | Root: Latin occludere — to close off; ob- + claudere (to shut). |
| 809 | opaque | oh-PAYK | adjective | Not transparent or translucent; hard to understand. | The opaque funding structure made it impossible to determine whether conflicts of interest existed. | Root: Latin opacus — shaded; opaque objects block light and, figuratively, block understanding. |
| 810 | opprobrium | uh-PROH-bree-um | noun | Harsh criticism or censure; public disgrace arising from disgraceful conduct. | The opprobrium that followed the retraction took years to fully dissipate. | Root: Latin opprobrium — reproach; ob- + probrum (disgraceful act). |
| 811 | ostracize | OS-truh-syz | verb | To exclude from a society or group by common consent. | Whistleblowers are sometimes ostracized by the communities they expose. | Root: Greek ostrakizein — to exile by vote using pottery shards; ostrakon means 'potsherd.' |
| 812 | outmoded | owt-MOH-did | adjective | No longer fashionable or useful; obsolete. | The outmoded analytical framework persisted in textbooks long after the field had moved beyond it. | Root: out- + mode; having passed out of fashion or practical utility. |
| 813 | overbearing | oh-vur-BAIR-ing | adjective | Unpleasantly overpowering; domineering and arrogant. | The overbearing manner of the chair stifled the open debate the committee's mandate required. | Root: over- + bearing (behavior, manner) — carrying oneself excessively over others. |
| 814 | pander | PAN-dur | verb | To gratify or indulge an immoral or distasteful desire or habit. | Publishing sensationalized findings to attract media attention is one way researchers pander to popular demand. | Root: Pandarus — a character in Chaucer and Troilus who acted as a go-between for illicit love. |
| 815 | paraphrase | PAIR-uh-frayz | verb/noun | To express the meaning of something in different words; a restatement. | The student's paraphrase of the source revealed a fundamental misunderstanding of the original argument. | Root: Greek paraphrazein — to tell in other words; para (beside) + phrazein (to tell). |
| 816 | partisan | PAR-tih-zan | adjective/noun | Prejudiced in favor of a particular cause; a strong supporter of a party. | The study was dismissed as partisan, though the dismissal itself seemed equally motivated by allegiance. | Root: French partisan — member of a party; parte (part) — one who takes a side. |
| 817 | penchant | PEN-chunt | noun | A strong or habitual liking for something; a tendency toward something. | Her penchant for understatement made her most devastating critiques easy to overlook on first reading. | Root: French pencher — to incline; to lean toward something persistently. |
| 818 | penitent | PEN-ih-tent | adjective/noun | Feeling or showing sorrow and regret for having done wrong. | The penitent tone of the corrigendum went beyond what the magnitude of the error required. | Root: Latin paenitere — to repent; to be sorry for one's faults. |
| 819 | perfidious | pur-FID-ee-us | adjective | Deceitful and untrustworthy. | The perfidious leaking of the draft report to a competitor caused lasting damage to the collaboration. | Root: Latin perfidiosus — treacherous; per- (through) + fides (faith) — breaking faith through. |
| 820 | perturb | pur-TURB | verb | To make someone anxious or unsettled; to cause a disturbance. | The anomalous results perturbed the research team enough to prompt a six-month investigation. | Root: Latin perturbare — to confuse thoroughly; per- + turbare (to disturb). |
| 821 | petty | PET-ee | adjective | Of little importance; ungenerous in small matters; mean-spirited. | The petty quibbles in the peer review distracted from the three substantive objections that needed attention. | Root: Old French petit — small; petty concerns are small in scope and spirit. |
| 822 | pilferage | PIL-fur-ij | noun | The act of stealing small amounts repeatedly. | The internal audit revealed systematic pilferage that, over years, had amounted to a substantial sum. | Root: probably from Old French pelfrer — to plunder; petit theft of small items. |
| 823 | polemic | puh-LEM-ik | noun | A strong verbal or written attack on an opinion; a contentious argument. | The book is valuable as a polemic but limited as a dispassionate scholarly assessment. | Root: Greek polemikos — warlike; polemos means 'war.' A polemic is intellectual combat. |
| 824 | pompous | POM-pus | adjective | Affectedly and irritatingly grand or self-important. | The pompous preamble was quickly forgotten once the substantive findings were presented. | Root: Latin pompa — a solemn procession; excess ceremony in speech or conduct. |
| 825 | pomposity | pom-POS-ih-tee | noun | The quality of being excessively elevated in style or importance. | The pomposity of the final report was widely mocked, particularly given its absence of concrete recommendations. | Root: pompous + -ity; the state of carrying oneself in grand procession. |
| 826 | posterity | pos-TER-ih-tee | noun | All future generations; one's descendants. | The archive was preserved for posterity, ensuring that the primary sources would remain accessible to future researchers. | Root: Latin posteritas — future generations; posterus means 'coming after.' |
| 827 | prejudice | PREJ-uh-dis | noun/verb | Preconceived opinion not based on reason; to cause harm to. | Prior exposure to the defendant's record was alleged to have prejudiced the panel against a fair assessment. | Root: Latin praejudicium — prior judgment; prae (before) + judicium (judgment). |
| 828 | pretentious | prih-TEN-shus | adjective | Attempting to impress by affecting greater importance or talent than is actually possessed. | The pretentious language of the abstract obscured findings that were actually quite modest. | Root: Latin praetendere — to stretch before; pre- + tendere (to stretch) — claiming more than is there. |
| 829 | profuse | pruh-FYOOS | adjective | Exuberantly plentiful; extravagantly generous. | Profuse apologies were offered, though they could not undo the damage caused by the premature announcement. | Root: Latin profusus — poured forth; pro- + fundere (to pour) — poured out in excess. |
| 830 | protract | proh-TRAKT | verb | To prolong; to extend in duration. | The protracted negotiations consumed resources that neither side could afford. | Root: Latin protrahere — to drag out; pro- + trahere (to draw). |
| 831 | provincial | pruh-VIN-shul | adjective | Of or concerning a province; unsophisticated. | A provincial focus on domestic data limited the study's applicability to the international context. | Root: Latin provincia — conquered territory; the provinces were culturally peripheral to Rome. |
| 832 | prudish | PROO-dish | adjective | Easily shocked by matters relating to sex or decency; excessively proper. | A prudish avoidance of the topic meant that the report addressed the phenomenon only obliquely. | Root: prude — Old French prude (femme) — a respectable woman; overly proper. |
| 833 | punctilious | punk-TIL-ee-us | adjective | Showing great attention to detail or correct behavior. | Punctilious compliance with data management protocols is the first line of defense against research fraud. | Root: Italian puntiglio — a fine point; punctum means 'point' — attending to every fine point. |
| 834 | querulous | KWER-uh-lus | adjective | Complaining in a petulant or whining manner. | The querulous correspondence from the author complicated an already extended revision process. | Root: Latin querulus — full of complaints; queri means 'to complain.' |
| 835 | rapture | RAP-chur | noun | A feeling of intense pleasure or joy; ecstasy. | The reception of the findings was one of rapture among proponents who had waited years for confirmation. | Root: Latin raptus — seized; to be carried away by joy. |
| 836 | ratify | RAT-ih-fy | verb | To sign or give formal consent to a treaty, contract, or agreement. | The committee ratified the new data-sharing protocol after a period of public comment. | Root: Latin ratificare — to confirm; ratus (fixed, approved) + facere (to make). |
| 837 | recant | rih-KANT | verb | To withdraw a former statement or belief; to retract. | Under the weight of new evidence, the original author publicly recanted the causal interpretation. | Root: Latin recantare — to sing back; re- + cantare (to sing) — to unsay what was said. |
| 838 | rectify | REK-tih-fy | verb | To put right; to correct something that is wrong. | The erratum was issued promptly to rectify the figure that had been mislabeled in the original publication. | Root: Latin rectificare — to make straight; rectus (right) + facere (to make). |
| 839 | redress | rih-DRES | noun/verb | Remedy or compensation for a wrong; to set right. | The claimants sought redress through the formal complaint mechanism. | Root: Old French redresser — to straighten again; re- + dresser (to arrange, set right). |
| 840 | reticence | RET-ih-sens | noun | The quality of being reticent; reserve in speech. | Her reticence on the subject of publication pressure spoke more loudly than any explicit statement. | Root: Latin reticentia — silence; re- + tacere (to be silent). |
| 841 | revere | rih-VEER | verb | To feel deep respect or admiration for something. | The methodology was revered in the field for decades before its foundational assumptions were questioned. | Root: Latin revereri — to stand in awe of; re- + vereri (to fear, respect). |
| 842 | revile | rih-VYL | verb | To criticize in an abusive or contemptuous manner. | Researchers who published negative results were, paradoxically, often reviled rather than praised. | Root: Old French reviler — to treat as vile; re- + vil (vile). |
| 843 | rhetoric | RET-ur-ik | noun | The art of effective or persuasive speaking; language designed to have a persuasive effect. | Stripping away the rhetoric revealed that the proposal contained very little substantive commitment. | Root: Greek rhetorike — the art of the orator; rhetor means 'public speaker.' |
| 844 | rigorous | RIG-ur-us | adjective | Extremely thorough and careful; not allowing deviation from the standard. | Rigorous peer review is the quality control mechanism on which scientific progress depends. | Root: Latin rigor — stiffness; strict adherence, unyielding standards. |
| 845 | ruminate | ROO-mih-nayt | verb | To think deeply about something; to chew the cud. | The philosopher ruminated on the paradox for years before publishing a tentative resolution. | Root: Latin ruminare — to chew the cud; rumen means 'throat' — chewing over ideas. |
| 846 | sanctify | SANK-tih-fy | verb | To set apart as sacred; to make productive of holiness. | Convention alone should not sanctify a methodology that has been shown to generate unreliable results. | Root: Latin sanctificare — to make holy; sanctus (holy) + facere (to make). |
| 847 | sardonic | sar-DON-ik | adjective | Grimly mocking or cynical. | The sardonic parenthetical inserted into a dry empirical account was the article's most cited line. | Root: Greek sardonios — a Sardinian herb causing facial spasms resembling a bitter grin. |
| 848 | satiate | SAY-shee-ayt | verb | To satisfy fully, often to excess; to sate. | No amount of confirmatory evidence could satiate the reviewer's apparent appetite for replication. | Root: Latin satiare — to satisfy fully; satis means 'enough.' |
| 849 | scruple | SKROO-pul | noun | A feeling of doubt or hesitation about the morality of an action. | She expressed no scruple about prioritizing publication speed over methodological thoroughness. | Root: Latin scrupulus — a small sharp stone in the shoe; a tiny thing that causes moral discomfort. |
| 850 | stigma | STIG-muh | noun | A mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance. | The stigma attached to publishing null results has long distorted the scientific literature. | Root: Greek stigma — a mark made by a pointed instrument; a brand of disgrace. |
| 851 | stingy | STIN-jee | adjective | Unwilling to give or spend; not generous; meanly small. | The stingy allocation of space for the methods section made independent replication nearly impossible. | Root: possibly from sting — unwilling to part with anything, as if it caused pain. |
Words 901–1000
Advanced GRE vocabulary — stratagem through anachronistic.
| # | Word | Phonetic | POS | Definition | GRE Example | Memory Tip / Root |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 901 | stratagem | STRAT-uh-jum | noun | A plan or scheme, especially one used to outwit an opponent. | The amendment was widely recognized as a legislative stratagem to delay rather than advance the reform. | Root: Greek strategema — a military maneuver; strategos means 'general.' |
| 902 | subjugate | SUB-juh-gayt | verb | To bring under domination or control; to conquer. | The study examined how colonial administrative structures had subjugated indigenous legal systems. | Root: Latin subjugare — to place under the yoke; sub- + jugum (yoke). |
| 903 | subvert | sub-VURT | verb | To undermine the power and authority of an established system. | The proposed reform was accused of attempting to subvert constitutional checks and balances. | Root: Latin subvertere — to overturn; sub- + vertere (to turn) — turning from below. |
| 904 | supplant | suh-PLANT | verb | To supersede and replace; to take the place of. | Machine learning methods have largely supplanted traditional regression analysis in this subfield. | Root: Latin supplantare — to trip up; sub- + planta (sole of foot) — to trip and take someone's place. |
| 905 | suppress | suh-PRES | verb | To prevent from being known; to forcibly put an end to. | Allegations that negative trial data had been suppressed prompted a regulatory investigation. | Root: Latin supprimere — to press down; sub- + premere (to press). |
| 906 | surmise | sur-MYZ | verb/noun | To suppose something without sufficient evidence; a supposition. | The connection was surmised rather than demonstrated, a distinction the authors elided. | Root: Old French surmise — an accusation; sur- + mettre (to put) — to put an idea on top without support. |
| 907 | sycophant | SIK-uh-fant | noun | A person who acts obsequiously to gain advantage. | The director had surrounded himself with sycophants who reinforced rather than challenged his biases. | Root: Greek sykophantes — informer; suko (fig) + phainein (to show) — a complex story about informing. |
| 908 | tedious | TEE-dee-us | adjective | Too long, slow, or dull; boring. | The tedious process of manual data entry consumed months that more efficient tools would have saved. | Root: Latin taedium — weariness; taedere means 'to disgust, weary.' |
| 909 | temerity | tuh-MER-ih-tee | noun | Excessive confidence or boldness; audacity. | Few in the field had the temerity to challenge the established consensus head-on. | Root: Latin temeritas — rashness; temere means 'rashly, without due consideration.' |
| 910 | timid | TIM-id | adjective | Showing a lack of courage or confidence; easily frightened. | A timid approach to the data understated the strength of the association. | Root: Latin timidus — fearful; timere means 'to fear.' |
| 911 | torment | TOR-ment | noun/verb | Severe physical or mental suffering; to cause such suffering. | The torment of an unresolved contradiction in the data drove the researcher to revisit every assumption. | Root: Latin tormentum — an instrument of torture; torquere means 'to twist.' |
| 912 | totalitarian | toh-tal-ih-TAIR-ee-un | adjective | Relating to a system of government that requires complete subservience to the state. | The institutional response to dissent was characterized by critics as approaching the totalitarian. | Root: total + -itarian; a state demanding total control over all aspects of life. |
| 913 | transient | TRAN-shent | adjective | Lasting only for a short time; temporary. | The transient improvements in measured outcomes did not persist through the follow-up period. | Root: Latin transire — to go across; trans- + ire (to go) — passing through without staying. |
| 914 | tyranny | TIR-uh-nee | noun | Cruel and oppressive government or rule; arbitrary use of power. | The historian examined how bureaucratic tyranny could arise even in democratically structured institutions. | Root: Greek tyrannos — absolute ruler; an unelected ruler with unchecked power. |
| 915 | usurp | yoo-SURP | verb | To take a position of power illegitimately or by force. | The executive committee was accused of attempting to usurp the authority of the full board. | Root: Latin usurpare — to seize for use; usus (use) + rapere (to seize) — seizing for one's own use. |
| 916 | vacillate | VAS-ih-layt | verb | To waver between different opinions or actions; to be indecisive. | The committee vacillated for months before reaching the decision everyone had assumed it would make. | Root: Latin vacillare — to sway; to swing back and forth without settling. |
| 917 | vehement | VEE-uh-ment | adjective | Showing strong feeling; forceful, passionate, or intense. | The vehement objections of the dissenters were recorded but not ultimately reflected in the final report. | Root: Latin vehemens — vigorous; ve- (out of) + mens (mind) — carried out of one's mind by passion. |
| 918 | venerate | VEN-ur-ayt | verb | To regard with great respect; to revere. | The scientist whose work had been dismissed in her lifetime was venerated two generations later. | Root: Latin venerare — to worship; venus/veneris means 'love, grace' — to hold in loving respect. |
| 919 | vestige | VES-tij | noun | A trace or remnant of something that is disappearing; the smallest amount. | No vestige of the original theoretical framework survived the paradigm shift of the 1990s. | Root: Latin vestigium — a footprint; what remains when the thing itself has gone. |
| 920 | vilify | VIL-ih-fy | verb | To speak or write about in an abusively disparaging manner. | The whistleblower was vilified in the organization's internal communications before being publicly supported. | Root: Latin vilificare — to make cheap; vilis (cheap) + facere (to make). |
| 921 | vindicate | VIN-dih-kayt | verb | To clear of blame or suspicion; to show to be right. | The independent replication vindicated the disputed findings after three years of controversy. | Root: Latin vindicare — to claim; vindex means 'one who delivers from danger.' |
| 922 | vituperate | vy-TOO-pur-ayt | verb | To blame or insult in strong or violent language. | The response vituperated the reviewer in terms that the editor chose not to share with the original recipient. | Root: Latin vituperare — to blame; vitium (fault) + parare (to prepare) — prepared to find fault. |
| 923 | wary | WAIR-ee | adjective | Feeling or showing caution about possible dangers or problems. | A wary reading of the secondary literature will reveal that the consensus is less robust than it appears. | Root: Old English waer — cautious; ware means 'aware' — heightened awareness of risk. |
| 924 | wavering | WAY-vur-ing | adjective | Being uncertain or undecided; vacillating. | The wavering support of key members of the committee made the outcome uncertain until the final vote. | Root: wave + -er; waving back and forth in indecision, like a flag in wind. |
| 925 | wield | WEELD | verb | To hold and use a weapon or tool; to have and be able to use power or influence. | Those who wield significant institutional authority bear a corresponding obligation to exercise it responsibly. | Root: Old English wieldan — to govern; to control and use power effectively. |
| 926 | xenophobia | zen-uh-FOH-bee-uh | noun | Dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries. | The paper examined xenophobia as a structural feature of immigration policy rather than merely individual attitudes. | Root: Greek xenos (stranger, foreigner) + phobos (fear). |
| 927 | zealotry | ZEL-uh-tree | noun | Fanatical and uncompromising pursuit of one's beliefs. | The ideological zealotry of both camps prevented the moderate position from receiving a hearing. | Root: zealot — Greek zelotes, from zelos (fervor); zealotry is zeal become fanaticism. |
| 928 | abjuration | ab-juh-RAY-shun | noun | The solemn renunciation of a belief, cause, or claim. | The formal abjuration was required before the scholar was permitted to resume his position. | Root: Latin abjuratio — renunciation on oath; ab- + jurare (to swear). |
| 929 | abnegation | ab-nih-GAY-shun | noun | The renunciation or denial of one's own desires; self-denial. | The scientist's abnegation of personal recognition in favor of collaborative credit was widely admired. | Root: Latin abnegatio — a denial; ab- + negare (to deny). |
| 930 | abomination | uh-bom-ih-NAY-shun | noun | A thing that causes disgust or hatred; something greatly detested. | The systematic destruction of archival material was described as an abomination by the professional community. | Root: Latin abominari — to deprecate as ominous; ab- + omen (omen) — treating something as a bad omen. |
| 931 | accretion | uh-KREE-shun | noun | The process of growth or increase by gradual accumulation. | The accretion of minor inaccuracies over successive revisions produced a text that bore little resemblance to the original. | Root: Latin accretio — growth; ad- + crescere (to grow). |
| 932 | acrid | AK-rid | adjective | Having an irritatingly strong and unpleasant taste or smell; bitter. | The acrid tone of the exchange between the two authors was visible even through the formal language of academic prose. | Root: Latin acer — sharp; acrid sharpness that irritates. |
| 933 | actuate | AK-choo-ayt | verb | To cause someone to act in a particular way; to activate a device. | The revision was actuated less by genuine reconsideration than by institutional pressure. | Root: Latin actuare — to put into action; actus means 'act.' |
| 934 | adage | AD-ij | noun | A short statement expressing a general truth; a proverb. | The adage that absence of evidence is not evidence of absence was invoked repeatedly in the discussion. | Root: Latin adagium — proverb; ad (to) + aio (I say) — something repeatedly said. |
| 935 | adamantine | ad-uh-MAN-tin | adjective | Unbreakable; impenetrably hard; unyielding. | The researcher's adamantine refusal to release the data frustrated the replication attempt. | Root: Greek adamas — diamond; the hardest substance — absolutely unyielding. |
| 936 | adhere | ad-HEER | verb | To stick firmly; to believe in and follow a principle. | The protocol required all teams to adhere strictly to the pre-registered analysis plan. | Root: Latin adhaerere — to stick to; ad- + haerere (to stick). |
| 937 | admonish | ad-MON-ish | verb | To warn or reprimand firmly but not harshly. | The referee's report admonished the authors for their treatment of the limitations section. | Root: Latin admonere — to warn; ad- + monere (to advise). |
| 938 | adroit | uh-DROYT | adjective | Clever or skillful; mentally dexterous. | The adroit reframing of the question allowed the committee to reach consensus without forcing a direct vote. | Root: French adroit — right-handed; the right hand was considered the skilled hand. |
| 939 | adulate | AJ-uh-layt | verb | To praise excessively; to flatter obsequiously. | The media had adulated the discovery without waiting for peer review, creating an impossible expectation. | Root: Latin adulari — to fawn upon; excessive dog-like flattery. |
| 940 | adventitious | ad-ven-TISH-us | adjective | Coming from outside; added extrinsically; accidental. | The adventitious finding in the supplementary data proved more significant than the primary hypothesis. | Root: Latin adventicius — coming from abroad; advenire means 'to arrive.' Not intrinsic. |
| 941 | adverse | AD-vurs | adjective | Preventing success or development; harmful; unfavorable. | The study continued despite adverse funding conditions that required three significant scope reductions. | Root: Latin adversus — turned against; ad- + vertere (to turn) — turned to face you unfavorably. |
| 942 | affectation | af-ek-TAY-shun | noun | Behavior or speech designed to impress; an artificial manner. | The affectation of jargon-laden prose concealed an argument that could have been stated in a paragraph. | Root: Latin affectatio — striving for; afficere means 'to aim at' — artificially aiming at an effect. |
| 943 | aggravate | AG-ruh-vayt | verb | To make a problem, injury, or offense worse; to annoy or exasperate. | Reissuing the statement without corrections aggravated the damage already caused by the initial error. | Root: Latin aggravare — to make heavier; ad- + gravis (heavy). |
| 944 | aghast | uh-GAST | adjective | Filled with horror or shock. | The scientific community was aghast at the casual treatment of statistical significance in the popular account. | Root: Old English gaestan — to frighten; aghast is overcome with fright. |
| 945 | aloof | uh-LOOF | adjective | Not friendly or forthcoming; distant; not involved. | The director remained aloof from the controversy, issuing no public statement for weeks. | Root: Dutch te loef — to the windward; keeping one's distance from the wind and thus from others. |
| 946 | altruistic | al-troo-IS-tik | adjective | Showing a selfless concern for the well-being of others. | The altruistic sharing of proprietary data set a standard that the field subsequently adopted. | Root: French altruisme — concern for others; Latin alter means 'other.' |
| 947 | amelioration | uh-meel-yuh-RAY-shun | noun | The act of making something better; improvement. | The program was designed for amelioration of the worst consequences of the policy failure. | Root: Latin meliorare — to improve; melior means 'better.' |
| 948 | amenable | uh-MEE-nuh-bul | adjective | Open and responsive to suggestion; easily persuaded. | The editorial board was amenable to a revised submission that addressed the reviewers' concerns. | Root: Old French amener — to lead to; amenable means leadable, open to direction. |
| 949 | amity | AM-ih-tee | noun | A friendly relationship; goodwill. | The collaboration began in amity but dissolved into acrimony over authorship disputes. | Root: Old French amitié — friendship; Latin amicus means 'friend.' |
| 950 | anachronistic | uh-nak-ruh-NIS-tik | adjective | Belonging to a period other than that being portrayed; outdated. | The continued use of that statistical method is widely regarded as anachronistic. | Root: Greek ana (against) + chronos (time) — placed against the order of time. |
Strategies for the 501–1000 range
Group by root families
Words 501–1000 include multiple words from the same Latin and Greek roots. Studying 'attrition,' 'contrition,' and 'detriment' together reinforces their shared root (terere — to rub away) and distinguishes their distinct uses.
Practice Sentence Equivalence with synonyms
For every word in this range, ask: what word from my list means nearly the same? 'Equanimity' pairs with 'composure' and 'imperturbability.' 'Fervor' pairs with 'ardor' and 'zeal.' Training synonym pairs is the key to Sentence Equivalence.
Read text in context, not isolation
Words like 'fugacious,' 'diurnal,' and 'adventitious' appear in science and humanities prose. Reading The New York Review of Books, Science, or Nature commentary regularly exposes you to this register naturally.
Use elimination on test day
When stuck on Text Completion, eliminate connotation mismatches first. If the sentence has a positive valence, 'malevolent' and 'nefarious' can be eliminated immediately regardless of precise meaning.
Ready for the master list?
Continue to the GRE Top 3000 for the complete advanced word list, or take a practice exam to test your vocabulary in context.