GRE Vocabulary Practice Lists

To reprimand or punish someone severely.

“The editorial castigated the senator for his failure to act on climate legislation.”

To express strong disapproval; an official reprimand.

“The committee voted to censure the member for violating the code of ethics.”

To criticize severely and at length.

“The review excoriated the novel's thin characters and implausible plot.”

To criticize harshly or attack physically.

“Critics lambasted the policy as short-sighted and economically reckless.”

To find fault with or scold reproachfully.

“She upbraided her assistant for repeatedly missing deadlines.”

To blame or insult in strong or violent language.

“He vituperated the referee after the controversial call ended the game.”

To praise enthusiastically.

“The keynote speaker extolled the virtues of cross-disciplinary research.”

To praise highly, especially in a public context.

“Colleagues lauded her groundbreaking contributions to computational biology.”

To write or deliver a panegyric; to praise lavishly.

“The biographer panegyrized the statesman while largely ignoring his failures.”

A speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly.

“The retiring dean received a heartfelt encomium from her faculty.”

To treat someone as a celebrity or person of great importance.

“The press lionized the young inventor after her product became a global phenomenon.”

Approval or praise, especially from an official body.

“The proposal received the board's approbation after months of revisions.”

To confirm or give support to a statement, theory, or finding.

“The second study corroborated the original team's findings.”

To provide evidence to support or prove the truth of.

“The auditors could not substantiate the company's reported revenue figures.”

To state as a fact; to assert strongly and publicly.

“The court affirmed the lower court's ruling on constitutional grounds.”

To check or prove the validity or accuracy of.

“Independent researchers validated the experimental results before publication.”

To deny or contradict; to speak against.

“Few economists could gainsay the evidence that inequality had risen sharply.”

To prove a statement or person to be wrong.

“The defense attorney refuted each witness's account with documentary evidence.”

To claim or prove that evidence or an accusation is false.

“The scientist rebutted the critics' claims in a detailed response paper.”

To argue against; to dispute the truth of.

“No evidence was produced to controvert the prosecution's central claim.”

To dispute the truth, validity, or honesty of; to call into question.

“The opposing counsel tried to impugn the expert's credentials.”

To admit that something is true or valid after first denying it.

“The author concedes that her earlier argument was based on incomplete data.”

Modest or shy due to a lack of self-confidence.

“The diffident candidate spoke so quietly that the panel asked her to repeat herself.”

Showing a lack of courage or determination; cowardly.

“The board's pusillanimous response to the scandal satisfied no one.”

To waver between different opinions or actions; to be indecisive.

“He vacillated for weeks before finally submitting his resignation.”

To be indecisive; to move back and forth between choices.

“Her resolve never wavered despite intense pressure from the administration.”

Showing or suffering from nervousness or a lack of confidence.

“A timorous demeanor in negotiations often results in unfavorable terms.”

Showing a willingness to take bold risks; impudently bold.

“The startup made the audacious decision to challenge three established giants at once.”

Fearless; adventurous.

“Intrepid journalists traveled to the conflict zone to document the situation firsthand.”

Showing fearlessness and determination.

“The dauntless climber pressed on despite worsening weather conditions.”

Holding firmly to a goal or position; persistent.

“Tenacious advocacy over a decade finally led to the landmark legislation.”

Admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering.

“The director remained resolute in her vision despite studio pressure to revise it.”

Abundant in supply or quantity.

“The researchers generated copious data but struggled to draw clear conclusions.”

A large or excessive amount of something.

“There is a plethora of studies on the topic, yet consensus remains elusive.”

Excessively or lavishly generous; abundant.

“The apology was profuse but struck many observers as insincere.”

Swarming or full of people or things.

“The estuary was teeming with migratory birds during the autumn months.”

Filled or well-supplied with something.

“The syllabus was replete with primary sources from the colonial period.”

A scarcity or lack of something.

“A dearth of qualified engineers slowed the project considerably.”

The presence of something in only small or insufficient quantities.

“The paucity of evidence made a conviction unlikely.”

Lacking in quantity or quality; deficient.

“The meager salary offered made recruitment of experienced staff difficult.”

Thinly dispersed or scattered; not dense.

“Vegetation becomes increasingly sparse at high altitudes.”

Barely sufficient or adequate.

“There is scant evidence that the proposed intervention produces lasting change.”

Not telling the truth; lying.

“The mendacious account was exposed when contradictory records surfaced.”

Deceitful in speech or behavior; two-faced.

“His duplicitous dealings alienated former allies on both sides of the negotiation.”

Superficially plausible but actually wrong or misleading.

“The argument sounded logical at first, but closer analysis revealed it to be specious.”

To conceal one's true motives, feelings, or beliefs.

“The diplomat dissembled expertly, revealing nothing of her country's real intentions.”

Deceitful and untrustworthy; guilty of betrayal.

“The perfidious ally signed a separate peace deal without informing its partners.”

Speaking or representing the truth; truthful.

“A veracious account of events was difficult to produce given the conflicting testimonies.”

Truthful and straightforward; frank.

“She gave a candid assessment of the project's weaknesses before the committee.”

Direct and outspoken; straightforwardly honest.

“A forthright response, even an unflattering one, builds more trust than evasion.”

Open and not attempting to deceive; frank.

“The new management pledged to be transparent about the company's financial position.”

Devoid of guile; innocent and without deceptive intent.

“The guileless sincerity of the child's question silenced the entire room.”

Having or showing a tendency to be easily angered.

“The irascible professor was known for his sharp tongue and short patience.”

Easily angered; bad-tempered.

“His choleric reaction to any criticism made team collaboration nearly impossible.”

Demonstrating aggression and willingness to fight.

“The bellicose rhetoric from both sides raised fears of open conflict.”

Eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant.

“The truculent defendant interrupted proceedings three times before the judge intervened.”

Eager or quick to argue, quarrel, or fight.

“Her pugnacious style in debates won admiration from supporters and enemies alike.”

Not easily upset or excited; calm and peaceful.

“Despite the surrounding chaos, she maintained a placid composure throughout the crisis.”

Having or showing mental calmness in difficult situations.

“The negotiator's equanimous bearing helped defuse a tense standoff.”

Calm, peaceful, and untroubled.

“The serene landscape offered no hint of the devastation that had occurred there.”

Enduring pain or hardship without showing feelings; emotionally restrained.

“He faced the diagnosis with stoic acceptance, refusing pity from those around him.”

Unable to be upset or excited; calm at all times.

“Her imperturbable confidence was the quality colleagues most admired in a crisis.”

Easily influenced, trained, or controlled; adaptable.

“Young institutions are more malleable than those with entrenched traditions.”

Liable to change; inconstant.

“Scientific consensus is mutable — that is precisely what makes it reliable.”

Subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind.

“His mercurial temperament made long-term planning with him nearly impossible.”

Liable to change rapidly and unpredictably, especially for the worse.

“Volatile commodity prices wreaked havoc on the exporting nation's budget.”

Tending or able to change frequently or easily; versatile.

“The protean nature of the virus frustrated researchers seeking a stable target.”

Unchanging over time or unable to be changed.

“The laws of thermodynamics are treated as immutable within classical physics.”

Resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering.

“She remained steadfast in her principles despite mounting institutional pressure.”

Hard to control or deal with; stubbornly resistant to change.

“The conflict had become intractable after decades of mutual mistrust.”

Stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or course of action.

“The obdurate negotiator refused every compromise offered by the opposing side.”

Impossible to stop or prevent; relentlessly continuing.

“The inexorable march of automation transformed entire sectors of the economy.”

Having or showing great knowledge or learning.

“Her erudite commentary drew on sources spanning three centuries of scholarship.”

Having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgment.

“The sagacious investor avoided the asset bubble that ruined many of his peers.”

Having a ready insight into and understanding of things.

“A perspicacious reading of the data revealed the trend that others had overlooked.”

Having the ability to accurately assess situations or people; shrewd.

“The astute analyst spotted the accounting irregularity buried in a footnote.”

Having or showing good judgment; perceptive.

“A discerning editor shapes a manuscript into something the author could not alone achieve.”

Annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand.

“The obtuse response from headquarters suggested that senior management had missed the point entirely.”

Silly and pointless; foolishly self-satisfied.

“The fatuous optimism of the plan collapsed on contact with market realities.”

Having or showing a lack of thought or intelligence; empty-headed.

“The press conference produced vacuous answers that told journalists nothing new.”

Extremely stupid or foolish.

“The proposal was so asinine that even its supporters struggled to defend it.”

Offering nothing that is stimulating or challenging; dull and uninspiring.

“The interview was vapid — a series of softballs yielding no new information.”