GRE Vocabulary: High-Value Words to Know
The GRE does not test whether you can recite a definition. It tests whether you know a word precisely enough to fit it into a sentence.
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The GRE Verbal section does not test whether you can recite a definition. It tests whether you know what a word means precisely enough to slot it into a sentence whose other words point towards it. Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence are built on that skill: the sentence gives you the logic, and the right word is the one whose exact meaning fits it.
That is why rote lists of synonyms often disappoint. Knowing that laconic is roughly "near" terse is not the same as knowing it means using very few words, so that it fits a sentence about a one-word reply but not one about rudeness. Meaning, and the precise shade of meaning, is what the section rewards.
The words below are grouped by sense, the way the test actually leans on them: how people speak, praise against censure, clarity against obscurity, temperament, and a handful of high-value nouns. Each comes with an example sentence, so you meet the word in context, which is exactly how you will meet it on the day.
High-value words, grouped by sense
How people speak
laconic adjective
Using very few words to express something, often to the point of seeming terse or blunt.
His laconic reply of a single word left the interviewer unsure whether he was pleased or merely indifferent.
garrulous adjective
Excessively talkative, especially about trivial matters.
Seated next to a garrulous passenger, she abandoned any hope of reading during the flight.
taciturn adjective
Habitually reserved and saying little.
The famously taciturn director rarely granted interviews, letting his films speak for him.
prolix adjective
Tediously lengthy and wordy in speech or writing.
The reviewer complained that the treatise was so prolix that its central argument was buried under needless digression.
trenchant adjective
Vigorous and incisive in expression or style.
Her trenchant critique exposed the flaws that gentler reviewers had overlooked.
equivocate verb
To use ambiguous language so as to conceal the truth or avoid committing oneself.
When pressed on the deadline, the spokesman equivocated rather than admit the delay.
prevaricate verb
To speak or act evasively in order to avoid telling the truth.
Rather than concede the error, the witness prevaricated under cross-examination.
Praise and censure
venerate verb
To regard with great respect and reverence.
Successive generations of scientists have venerated her as the founder of the discipline.
extol verb
To praise something or someone enthusiastically.
Critics extolled the novel as a landmark of contemporary fiction.
laud verb
To praise someone or something highly, especially in a public setting.
The chairman lauded the retiring engineer for four decades of service.
disparage verb
To speak of someone or something as being of little worth.
He was quick to disparage rival theories without engaging their evidence.
denigrate verb
To unfairly criticise or belittle the reputation of someone or something.
The campaign sought to denigrate the incumbent rather than debate the issues.
excoriate verb
To criticise someone or something severely and publicly.
The editorial excoriated the ministry for its dilatory response to the flooding.
castigate verb
To reprimand or criticise someone severely.
The judge castigated the prosecution for its cavalier handling of the evidence.
Clear versus obscure
pellucid adjective
Transparently clear in style or meaning, or physically translucent.
Her pellucid prose rendered even the most abstruse theorem intelligible to a lay reader.
abstruse adjective
Difficult to understand because of being remote from ordinary knowledge or obscure.
The paper's abstruse notation deterred all but the most specialised readers.
recondite adjective
Concerning a subject that is little known, deep, or obscure.
He delighted in recondite allusions that sent readers scrambling for a classical dictionary.
esoteric adjective
Intended for or understood by only a small group with specialised knowledge.
The seminar assumed an esoteric familiarity with medieval scholastic debates that few students possessed.
enigmatic adjective
Difficult to interpret or understand; mysterious.
Her enigmatic closing remark left the audience debating its meaning for days.
specious adjective
Superficially plausible or attractive but actually wrong or misleading.
The pamphlet's specious reasoning collapsed the moment its premises were examined.
Temperament and character
sanguine adjective
Optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently difficult situation.
Despite the disappointing quarterly figures, the chief executive remained sanguine about the firm's long-term prospects.
mercurial adjective
Subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind.
His mercurial temperament made him a thrilling collaborator but an exhausting one.
capricious adjective
Given to sudden and unaccountable changes of behaviour or opinion.
The capricious patronage of the court meant that a favoured poet could be ruined by a single careless verse.
obdurate adjective
Stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or course of action.
The magistrate remained obdurate despite the eloquent pleas for clemency.
intransigent adjective
Unwilling or refusing to change one's views or to agree about something.
Negotiations stalled because both delegations proved intransigent on the question of territorial borders.
magnanimous adjective
Generous or forgiving, especially towards a rival or less powerful person.
In a magnanimous gesture, the victor praised his defeated opponent's courage.
phlegmatic adjective
Having an unemotional and calmly disposed temperament.
His phlegmatic response to the setback reassured his anxious team.
High-value nouns
alacrity noun
Brisk and cheerful readiness to do something.
The volunteers accepted the assignment with an alacrity that surprised the organisers.
temerity noun
Excessive confidence or boldness; audacity.
He had the temerity to correct the professor in front of the entire lecture hall.
equanimity noun
Calmness and composure, especially in a difficult situation.
She received the diagnosis with an equanimity that astonished her doctors.
paucity noun
The presence of something in only small or insufficient quantities.
A paucity of reliable data hampered every attempt to model the epidemic.
plethora noun
An excessive amount or an oversupply of something.
Faced with a plethora of options, the committee found it impossible to decide.
From words to the section
Vocabulary is the most improvable part of GRE Verbal, and the part you can build quietly on your own. Lexfall is a vocabulary app: it builds a precise, advanced word bank a few words at a time, with spaced review that brings each word back just before you would forget it, in context rather than as a bare list. Words like laconic, specious and equanimity are the kind it teaches.
It does not teach test strategy or drill practice sections. It builds the word knowledge the section rests on.
This article is about vocabulary, not test preparation. GRE is a registered trademark of the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Lexfall is not affiliated with or endorsed by ETS.
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