Common Words I
1. amenable *
adjective: easily persuaded
Even though she did not like the outdoors, Shirley was generally amenable and so her
brother was able to persuade her to go camping.
2. chastise *
verb: to reprimand harshly
Though chastised for eating the snacks for the party, Lawrence shrugged off his mother’s
harsh words, and continued to plow through jars of cookies and boxes of donuts.
3. innocuous *
adjective: harmless and doesn’t produce any ill effects
Everyone found Nancy’s banter innocuous—except for Mike, who felt like she was
intentionally picking on him.
4. involved *
adjective: complicated, and difficult to comprehend
The physics lecture became so involved that the undergraduate’s eyes glazed over.
5. parochial *
adjective: narrowly restricted in scope or outlook
Jasmine was sad to admit it, but her fledgling relationship with Jacob did not work out
because his culinary tastes were simply too parochial; "After all," she quipped on her
blog, "he considered Chef Boyardee ethnic food."
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
6. qualify *
verb: to make less severe; to limit (a statement)
Chris qualified his love for San Francisco, adding he didn't like the weather there as
much as he liked the weather in Los Angeles.
This word has other definitions, but this is the most important one to study
7. aberration *
noun: a deviation from what is normal or expected
Aberrations in climate have become the norm: rarely a week goes by without some
meteorological phenomenon making headlines.
8. acrimony *
noun: bitterness and ill will
The acrimony between the president and vice-president sent a clear signal to voters: the
health of the current administration was imperiled.
9. profligate *
adjective: spending resources recklessly or wastefully
The composer Wagner, while living on a limited salary, was so profligate as to line all
the walls of his apartment with pure silk.
noun: someone who spends resources recklessly or wastefully
Most lottery winners go from being conservative, frugal types to
outright profligates who blow millions on fast cars, lavish homes, and giant yachts.
10. auspicious *
adjective: favorable, the opposite of sinister
Despite an auspicious beginning, Mike’s road trip became a series of mishaps, and he
was soon stranded and penniless, leaning against his wrecked automobile.
11. betray *
verb: to reveal or make known something, usually unintentionally
With the gold medal at stake, the gymnast awaited his turn, his quivering
lip betraying his intense emotions.
12. censure *
verb: to express strong disapproval
After being caught in bed with a mistress, the mayor was quickly censured by the city
council.
13. impertinent *
adjective: being disrespectful; improperly forward or bold
Dexter, distraught over losing his pet dachshund, Madeline, found the police officer’s
questions impertinent—after all, he thought, did she have to pry into such details as to
what Madeline’s favorite snack was?
14. vindicate *
verb: to clear of accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt with supporting arguments or
proof
Even seven Tour de France wins cannot vindicate Lance Armstrong in the eyes of the
public--that the athlete used performance enhancing drugs invalidates all those wins.
15. ambivalent *
adjective: mixed or conflicting emotions about something
Sam was ambivalent about studying for the exam because doing so ate up a lot of his
time, yet he was able to improve his analytical skills.
16. disinterested *
adjective: unbiased; neutral
The potential juror knew the defendant, and therefore could not serve on the jury, which
must consist only of disinterested members.
17. frugal *
adjective: not spending much money (but spending wisely)
Monte was no miser, but was simply frugal, wisely spending the little that he earned.
18. galvanize *
verb: to excite or inspire (someone) to action
At mile 23 of his first marathon, Kyle had all but given up, until he noticed his friends
and family holding a banner that read, “Go Kyle”; galvanized, he broke into a gallop,
finishing the last three miles in less than 20 minutes.
19. parsimonious *
adjective: extremely frugal; miserly
Katie is so parsimonious that she only buys a pair of socks if all of her other socks have
holes in them.
20. gregarious *
adjective: to be likely to socialize with others
Often we think that great leaders are those who are gregarious, always in the middle of a
large group of people; yet, as Mahatma Gandhi and many others have shown us, leaders
can also be introverted.
21. castigate *
verb: to reprimand harshly
Drill sergeants are known to castigate new recruits so mercilessly that the latter often
break down during their first week in training.
22. calumny *
noun: making of a false statement meant to injure a person’s reputation
With the presidential primaries well under way, the air is thick with calumny, and the
mud already waist-high.
23. commensurate *
adjective: to be in proportion or corresponding in degree or amount
The convicted felon’s life sentence was commensurate with the heinousness of his
crime.
24. veracious *
adjective: truthful
While we elect our leaders in the hope that every word they speak will be veracious,
history has shown that such a hope is naive.
25. harangue *
noun: a long pompous speech; a tirade
Dinner at Billy's was more a punishment than a reward, since anyone who sat at the
dinner table would have to listen to Billy's father's interminable harangues against the
government.
verb: to deliver a long pompous speech or tirade
Tired of his parents haranguing him about his laziness and lack of initiative, Tyler
finally moved out of home at the age of thirty-five.
26. laconic *
adjective: (describes a person, speech, or style of writing) using very few words
While Martha always swooned over the hunky, laconic types in romantic comedies, her
boyfriends inevitably were very talkative—and not very hunky.
27. amalgam *
noun: a mixture of multiple things
The band’s music was an amalgam of hip-hop, flamenco and jazz, blending the three
styles with surprising results.
28. extant *
adjective: still in existence (usually refers to documents).
Despite many bookstores closing, experts predict that some form of book dealing will
still be extant generations from now.
29. equivocal *
adjective: confusing or ambiguous
The findings of the study were equivocal—the two researchers had different opinions on
what the results signified.
30. iconoclast *
noun: somebody who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions
Lady Gaga, in challenging what it means to be clothed, is an iconoclast for wearing a
"meat dress" to a prominent awards show.
31. ingenuous *
adjective: to be naïve and innocent
Two-years in Manhattan had changed Jenna from an ingenuous girl from the suburbs to a
jaded urbanite, unlikely to fall for any ruse, regardless of how elaborate.
32. amorphous *
adjective: shapeless
His study plan for the GRE was at best amorphous; he would do questions from random
pages in any one of seven test prep books.
33. anomalous *
adjective: not normal
According to those who do not believe in climate change, the extreme weather over the
last five years is simply anomalous—daily temperatures should return to their old
averages, they believe.
34. enervate *
verb: to sap energy from
John preferred to avoid equatorial countries; the intense sun would always leave
him enervated after he’d spent the day sightseeing.
35. maintain *
verb: to assert
The scientist maintained that the extinction of dinosaurs was most likely brought about
by a drastic change in climate.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
36. artful *
adjective: exhibiting artistic skill
Picasso is generally considered the most artful member of the Cubist movement.
adjective: clever in a cunning way
Bernie Madoff's artful Ponzi scheme stole billions of dollars from investors and is
considered the largest financial fraud in U.S. history.
37. restive *
adjective: restless
The crowd grew restive as the comedian’s opening jokes fell flat.
38. prodigal *
adjective: rashly or wastefully extravagant
Successful professional athletes who do not fall prey to prodigality seem to be the
exception—most live decadent lives.
39. venerate *
verb: to respect deeply
The professor, despite his sleep-inducing lectures, was venerated amongst his
colleagues, publishing more papers yearly than all of his peers combined.
40. venality *
noun: the condition of being susceptible to bribes or corruption
Even some of the most sacred sporting events are not immune to venality, as many of the
officials have received substantial bribes to make biased calls.
41. demur *
verb: to object or show reluctance
Wallace disliked the cold, so he demurred when his friends suggested they go skiing in
the Alps.
42. prevaricate *
verb: to speak in an evasive way
The cynic quipped, “There is not much variance in politicians; they all seem
to prevaricate”.
43. belie *
verb: to give a false representation to; misrepresent
The smile on her face belies the pain she must feel after the death of her husband.
44. upbraid *
verb: to reproach; to scold
Bob took a risk walking into the "Students Barbershop"—in the end he had
to upbraid the apparently drunk barber for giving him an uneven bowl cut.
45. undermine *
verb: to weaken (usually paired with an abstract term)
The student undermined the teacher’s authority by questioning the teacher’s judgment
on numerous occasions.
46. wanting *
adjective: lacking
She did not think her vocabulary was wanting, yet there were so many words that
inevitably she found a few she didn't know.
47. mercurial *
adjective: (of a person) prone to unexpected and unpredictable changes in mood
The fact that Ella’s moods were as mercurial as the weather was problematic for her
relationships—it didn’t help that she lived in Chicago.
48. intimate *
verb: to suggest something subtly
At first Manfred’s teachers intimated to his parents that he was not suited to skip a
grade; when his parents protested, teachers explicitly told them that, notwithstanding the
boy’s precocity, he was simply too immature to jump to the 6th grade.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
49. egregious *
adjective: standing out in a negative way; shockingly bad
The dictator’s abuse of human rights was so egregious that many world leaders
demanded that he be tried in an international court for genocide.
50. ambiguous *
adjective: open to more than one interpretation
The coach told his team, “Move towards that side of the field”; because he did not point,
his directions were ambiguous, and the team had no idea to which side he was referring.
51. Magoosh *
noun: An online GRE prep product used by tens of thousands of students worldwide.
Learn more at gre.magoosh.com.
After using Magoosh, Tom improved his GRE score by 8 points and was then admitted
into UC Berkeley.
