Basic Vocabulary

This is a list of words that are commonly tested on the GRE. You probably know some of
them already, but it’s important that you know ALL of the words. They are the start to that
wonderful vocabulary that you are going to build before the test!

accessible adj. Able to be reached or used. Buildings today must be accessible to people
in wheelchairs.
adapt v. To adjust or make usable. Many animals can adapt their feeding habits
according to changes in the food supply.
analysis n. The process of looking at something carefully and methodically. My
teacher’s analysis of my paper was not very favorable.
application n. The act of using something. Our math teacher used today’s class to
teach the application of the formulas he had taught the day before.
awe n. An emotion combining fear and wonder. The crowd was in awe as the
king came out to give his speech.
benefactor n. Someone who takes care of or gives money to another person. Mr.
Warbucks was Annie’s benefactor; he took care of her.
bizarre adj. Very strange; unusual. I could not explain his bizarre behavior at the
party on Friday.
chaos n. Disorder. Kim’s mother was shocked by the chaos in her room.
characterize v. To describe the qualities of. Lisa had been characterized as a shy
person, so it was surprising when she started to speak out in class.
cite v. To quote or refer to a person’s speech or writing. In his paper, Josh cited
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Clarence Darrow.
colleague n. A co-worker. My colleagues at school bought me flowers for my birthday.
commodity n. Something bought or sold. Gold is a rare commodity.
compel v. To force. He compelled me to follow him by twisting my arm.
competition n. A contest between opponents. The Olympic Games is an international
sports competition.
compromise n. An agreement which partially satisfies each side. I wanted tacos and my
wife wanted a salad, so we reached a compromise and had taco salad.
compromise v. To give up something in order to reach an agreement. I wanted tacos
and my wife wanted a salad, so we compromised and had taco salad.
conceive v. To imagine. Having lived in New York City my entire life, I could not
conceive of moving to the country.
conclusive adj. Putting an end to any uncertainty or doubt; final. The study was
conclusive; there was no doubt that mosquitoes caused malaria during
the digging of the Panama Canal.
conform v. To act in accordance with prevailing standards or customs. Dress codes
make students conform because they must wear the same uniform.
conquer v. To defeat an opponent. The Normans conquered England in 1066.
consciousness n. The state of being aware and awake. After being hit on the head with a
brick, John lost consciousness.
consequence n. A result. As a consequence of my laziness, I was not prepared for class.
consideration n. Careful thought. After long consideration, the principal agreed to our
request.
contradiction n. A situation in which two things do not make sense together. The
witness gave a contradictory account; when first interviewed she claimed
that the suspect was wearing green pants, but upon further questioning
she stated that she couldn’t see him clearly.
contrary adj. Opposite; disagreeing. Mary is quite contrary; she argues with everyone,
even when she doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
controversial adj. Causing debate or argument. He lost many votes because of his
controversial position on taxes.
conventional adj. Following accepted customs; normal. It is conventional for a bride to
wear a white dress.
convey v. To express. The poem conveyed the poet’s thoughts on the beauty of
nature.
corruption n. Dishonesty; immoral behavior. The politicians accused each other of
lying and corruption during the debate.
critical adj. Tending to call attention to flaws. I did not want to show my brother my
project because I knew that he would be too critical of it and tell me to
do it all over.
crude adj. Raw; rude. His crude manners displeased everyone at the table.
cultivate v. To help something to grow. The professor hoped to cultivate an interest
in art in her students by bringing them to the museum.
current adj. Up-to-date; at the moment. He never pays attention to current events;
he says that in a few years they will become part of history.
cynical adj. Distrustful of people’s motives. The cynical professor always thought
that his students were nice to him because they wanted better grades.
deliberate v. To think deeply about. He deliberated many hours before making a
decision.
deliberate adj. Carefully considered and intended. That was no accident – it was a
deliberate insult.
depict v. To represent by or as if by a picture; to describe. The newspaper article
depicted the victim as a charitable person who had always been kind to
others.
detached adj. Set apart from others. The teacher thought that Jim seemed detached
from all the other children, so he suggested that they all play a game
together.
determined adj. Committed; certain. I was determined to learn Japanese this summer,
so I took a class and practiced speaking every day.
devise v. To imagine or create. Melissa devised a plan to get her father to raise
her allowance.
dominant adj. Most powerful. The dominant male wolf in a pack is the leader.
draft n. A version of a letter or essay. My first draft was full of errors, but I
corrected them before turning in my paper.
enhance v. To make better or stronger. Some athletes take dangerous drugs in an
attempt to enhance their performance.
esteem n. Respect or admiration. Most scientists hold Einstein in high esteem.
esteem v. To respect or admire. Most scientists esteem the work of Einstein.
exasperation n. The state of being annoyed or irritated. She felt exasperation after she
failed an exam for which she had studied a great deal.
excavation n. Digging. The excavation for the new subway was almost finished.
exhibit v. To show publicly. The works of Picasso were exhibited in the National
Gallery.
extent n. The range over which something extends; scope. The boy would go to
any extent to meet his favorite baseball player.
forge v. To make or imitate falsely, especially with intent to defraud. Susan was
fired from her job after she forged her employer’s signature on some
documents.
forge v. To advance. Even with all of the setbacks, the small company forged
ahead and grew to be quite successful.
fragile adj. Easily broken. Glass must be packed carefully, because it is very fragile.
funding n. Financial resources provided to make some project possible. Now that I
have funding from a scholarship, I can afford to attend a private college.
generalization n. A statement or judgement about a group based on a few examples. “All
sports are dangerous” is a sweeping generalization.
generate v. To create. Whenever I get cold, I try to generate heat by rubbing my
hands together.
harsh adj. Very strict; unkind or cruel. While arguing with my sister, I used some
harsh words, so I apologized to her afterwards.
headstrong adj. Bold; stubborn. Paula is very headstrong and always does what she
wants, even when her parents tell her that she can’t.
humanity n. The quality of being humane; kindness. The rich businessman displayed
his humanity when he created soup kitchens all over the city.
ideal n. A standard of perfection, beauty, or excellence. Many people in baseball
say that Tony Gwynn has an ideal swing.
illumination n. Lighting. The illumination from the streetlight allowed me read the
house numbers.
immediate adj. Direct; without anything in between. My immediate family includes my
parents and brothers, but I also have grandparents and cousins.
implement n. Tool. Guns and bombs are implements of destruction.
imply v. To lead someone to believe something without directly stating it. In his
letter, he implied that he wanted to visit us for the weekend, although
he never openly said so.
impractical adj. Not usable or effective. It is impractical to try to open a can of beans
with a pencil.
impulse n. Force or urge. I suddenly had the impulse to eat a gallon of ice cream.
inconsistent adj. Not agreeing with another fact or claim. This weather is inconsistent
with what the weatherman said; he claimed it would be sunny, but it
rained all afternoon.
indignation n. Moral outrage. The community felt indignation towards the city’s
proposal to tear down its only playground.
infer v. To conclude or figure out. Since she didn’t call on Saturday, I inferred
that she didn’t want to go out with me.
influence n. Ability to persuade or affect. Violent television shows can have a
negative influence on children because they often imitate what they see.
influential adj. Having influence or power. Mr. Smith is a very influential man; he has
convinced many people to join in his community service project.
insightful adj. Exhibiting clear and deep perception. The student’s analysis of the book
demonstrated an insightful understanding of the complex themes.
irrelevant adj. Having no connection to a subject. The judge dismissed the evidence
because it was irrelevant to the case.
labor n. Work; effort. Mary was rewarded for her labor when she scored well on
the SAT.
mere adj. Only; nothing more than. Even though I rushed, I missed the train by
mere seconds and stood there watching as it pulled out of the station.
misleading adj. Deceptive. It is misleading to say that low-tar cigarettes are good for
your health.
moral n. The significance of a story or event. The moral of the story is that you
should not trust strangers.
moral adj. Relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior. He had a moral
dilemma when he had to decide whether to tell the cashier that she had
given him too much change.
morose adj. Sad and dreary. Martha’s morose behavior worried her friends because
she had always been a very cheerful person.
mythical adj. Fictional; unreal. A unicorn is a mythical creature; it doesn’t really
exist.
novel n. A book that tells a fictional story. Frank could not stop reading the new
crime novel by his favorite author.
organic adj. Derived from living organisms. This fertilizer is organic because it is
made of natural ingredients and does not contain chemicals.
outdated adj. Old-fashioned. Can you believe he wore those outdated clothes to
school?
overlook v. To fail to see. How could you overlook that gross error?
passive adj. Not active. A clam is a passive creature; it justs sits there.
patron n. One who uses wealth or influence to help a cause. The patron donated
$100,000 to help the tutoring programs in all of the public schools in the
city.
perseverance n. The act of not quitting. Because she had perseverance and did not give
up, the injured woman learned to walk again.
persist v. To continue. He persisted in bothering me until I punched him in the
nose.
persuasive adj. Able to move people to act or believe. The most persuasive salesman can
sell air conditioners in the middle of winter.
pictorial adj. Consisting of pictures. The pictorial section of the travel book was full of
pictures that the author had taken while on his vacation to Spain.
plastic adj. Easily bendable. A material may be described as plastic if it bends
instead of breaking.
playwright n. Someone who writes plays. Shakespeare is the greatest English-
language playwright.
poll v. To obtain and analyze information or opinions from people. We polled
the students on where to take the field trip and they voted to go to the
museum.
poll n. A survey of people’s opinions. The election poll showed that voters
preferred one candidate much more than the other one.
portrait n. A picture or painting of a person. We had a portrait made of my
grandmother so we could remember her.
potential adj. Ability. Kevin was disappointed by his poor performance in the game
because he knew he had the potential to do better.
practical adj. Concerned with actual use or practice. Shelley was practical when she
decorated her apartment; she bought only those pieces of furniture that
she knew she would use.
predominant adj. Having superior numbers, strength, or importance. The most
predominant feature of a giraffe is its long neck.
primarily adv. Most importantly. Although my duties are primarily to type and answer
the telephone, I sometimes make coffee.
principle n. A rule or guide. He never eats meat—it’s against his principles.
prominence n. The state of being noticeable. The celebrity’s prominence in a crowd
could be prevented only by wearing a disguise.
prose n. Words in sentences and paragraphs, as opposed to poetry. Paul wrote
only poetry and no prose at all.
prosperity n. The state of being successful; economic well-being. The prosperity that
the retired couple was enjoying was the result of many years of hard
work.
quest n. A long search. King Arthur went on a quest for the Holy Grail.
refute v. To disprove. His argument was so poor that I easily refuted it.
relatively adv. In comparison to something else. She was relatively tall compared to
everyone else in her class.
resentment n. Deep hatred. Alice had a great deal of resentment toward the woman
who robbed her.
resolution n. Something settled or resolved; the outcome of a decision. The resolution
of the children’s argument over the piece of cake was to divide the piece
in half.
revolution n. A political overthrow. The American Revolution was fought for freedom
from the British Empire.
skeptical adj. Doubtful; disbelieving. I was skeptical when I read the advertisement
for the apartment because the price seemed too low for such a big place.
standard adj. Common or ordinary. An airbag is a standard feature of new cars.
standard n. A common feature or rule used to judge. Michael Jordan set a new
standard for excellence in the game of basketball.
strive v. To try very hard. Marcus strives to beat his own personal record every
time he races.
subtle adj. Hard to detect; not obvious. The difference between Jack and his twin
brother is so subtle that you need to look very closely to see it.
sufficient adj. Enough. Two pieces of bread a day is not a sufficient amount of food to
survive.
sympathy n. Compassion. I expressed my sympathy to James when his fish died; I
felt his pain.
tolerance n. Ability to endure pain or hardship; respecting the beliefs or practices of
others. The boy always brags about his high tolerance for pain, but his
parents have no tolerance for his dangerous stunts.
transparent adj. Clear; see-through. Glass is usually transparent—you can see through
it.
undermine v. To remove support from; to weaken. His repeated lies only served to
undermine his credibility.
unscrupulous adj. Without honor or morals. The unscrupulous used-car salesman
convinced me to buy this lousy car!
validity n. Truth; correctness. Scientists try to test the validity of their theories.
values n. Beliefs of a person or social group. It was against Samantha’s values to
lie, so she told her parents when she failed the class.
verify v. To test the truth of. Most scientists verify their results before publishing
their findings.
vital adj. Important, necessary. Learning vocabulary is vital to good performance
on the SAT.
vivid adj. Bright or lively. His tie was so full of vivid colors that it hurt my eyes to
look at it.