GRE vocabulary list 04: 41 high-frequency words

A cluster for passages about inertia, avoidance, and delay. The shades matter: some words attack effort, some attack speed, some attack intent.

Indolentadjective

Wanting to avoid activity or exertion; lazy.

Example: “The indolent cat barely lifted its head when the doorbell rang.”

Synonyms: lazy, slothful, idle, lethargic

Lethargicadjective

Sluggish and lacking in energy.

Example: “After three days of flu he felt too lethargic to leave the sofa.”

Synonyms: sluggish, listless, torpid, weary

Torpidadjective

Mentally or physically inactive; lethargic.

Example: “The bear emerged torpid and blinking from its long winter den.”

Synonyms: lethargic, sluggish, dormant, inert

Dilatoryadjective

Slow to act, often intentionally so.

Example: “The dilatory lawyer filed motion after motion to push back the trial.”

Synonyms: tardy, delaying, dawdling, slow

Procrastinateverb

To delay or postpone an action.

Example: “She would procrastinate until the night before, then write the whole essay in one sitting.”

Synonyms: delay, dawdle, put off, dither

Slothfuladjective

Lazy; indolent.

Example: “The slothful clerk let the inbox pile up for a week before answering a single message.”

Synonyms: lazy, indolent, idle, sluggish

For passages about rumor, reputation, and the press. Several overlap in meaning, so the test is usually whether the harm was spoken (slander) or written (libel).

Slandernoun

A false spoken statement that damages a person’s reputation.

Example: “He sued for slander after the baseless accusation cost him his job.”

Synonyms: defamation, calumny, smear, libel

Libelnoun

A published false statement that damages a person’s reputation.

Example: “The magazine retracted the article to head off a libel suit.”

Synonyms: defamation, slander, aspersion, smear

Calumnynoun

The making of false and defamatory statements about someone.

Example: “The memoir was a quiet rebuttal to years of calumny from the press.”

Synonyms: slander, libel, defamation, aspersion

Aspersionnoun

An attack on the reputation or integrity of someone.

Example: “The rival cast aspersions on her credentials just before the vote.”

Synonyms: slur, slander, detraction, imputation

Vilifyverb

To write or speak about someone in an abusively disparaging way.

Example: “The columnist was quick to vilify anyone who disagreed with her.”

Synonyms: disparage, denigrate, malign, defame

The verbal cousins of the praise adjectives in lists 01 and 02. These are the actions, the verbs of public praise, useful when a stem describes an award or a glowing review.

Extolverb

To praise enthusiastically.

Example: “The reviews extolled the debut novel as the year’s most promising.”

Synonyms: laud, praise, exalt, glorify

Acclaimnoun

Enthusiastic and public praise.

Example: “The young cellist won international acclaim after the televised recital.”

Synonyms: applause, praise, accolade, plaudits

Exaltverb

To raise to a higher rank or power; to praise highly.

Example: “The ceremony exalted the volunteers who had rebuilt the town after the flood.”

Synonyms: glorify, extol, elevate, laud

Glorifyverb

To represent as admirable; to praise and honor.

Example: “The biographer refused to glorify a leader whose record was plainly mixed.”

Synonyms: exalt, extol, praise, magnify

Celebrateverb

To honor or praise widely; to mark a significant occasion.

Example: “The festival celebrates the harvest that once saved the valley from famine.”

Synonyms: honor, commemorate, praise, observe

A cluster for the odd, the individual, and the striking. Peculiar and eccentric lean toward harmless quirks; bizarre and outlandish lean toward the startling.

Eccentricadjective

Unconventional and slightly strange.

Example: “The eccentric inventor drove a car he had built entirely from salvaged parts.”

Synonyms: unconventional, odd, quirky, peculiar

Idiosyncraticadjective

Peculiar or individual to a person.

Example: “Her idiosyncratic filing system baffled every temp who tried to help.”

Synonyms: individual, distinctive, quirky, peculiar

Peculiaradjective

Strange or odd; unusual.

Example: “A peculiar smell drifted from the basement whenever it rained.”

Synonyms: strange, odd, unusual, curious

Outlandishadjective

Strikingly unusual, especially in appearance or behavior.

Example: “He wore outlandish suits to every board meeting until they became his trademark.”

Synonyms: bizarre, flamboyant, eccentric, striking

Bizarreadjective

Very strange or unusual.

Example: “The film’s bizarre ending left the audience unsure whether to laugh or gasp.”

Synonyms: weird, outlandish, grotesque, odd

The disciplined counterweight to the waste and excess clusters. These words appear in passages about monks, diets, wartime rationing, and anyone who holds back.

Abstemiousadjective

Not self-indulgent, especially in eating and drinking.

Example: “His abstemious diet of rice and greens puzzled his steak-loving friends.”

Synonyms: temperate, frugal, sparing, moderate

Asceticadjective

Characterized by severe self-discipline and abstention from indulgence.

Example: “The monk led an ascetic life in a bare room with a single wooden chair.”

Synonyms: austere, disciplined, abstinent, Spartan

Austeritynoun

Plainness and simplicity; severe restriction of indulgence.

Example: “The wartime government preached austerity and rationed sugar and silk.”

Synonyms: severity, plainness, restraint, asceticism

Temperancenoun

Moderation in action, thought, or feeling; restraint.

Example: “She answered the provocation with a temperance that disarmed her critic.”

Synonyms: moderation, restraint, sobriety, self-control

Forbearancenoun

Patient self-control; restraint and tolerance.

Example: “Repaying the loan over a decade required real forbearance from both sides.”

Synonyms: patience, restraint, tolerance, self-control

For stems that signal accumulation, swelling, or rising influence. These pair naturally with the brief-and-passing and change clusters elsewhere in the series.

Augmentverb

To make greater by adding to it; to increase.

Example: “A second job augmented her income enough to cover tuition.”

Synonyms: increase, enlarge, supplement, expand

Amassverb

To gather or accumulate a large amount over time.

Example: “Over forty years he had amassed one of the finest stamp collections in the country.”

Synonyms: accumulate, gather, hoard, collect

Aggrandizeverb

To increase the power, status, or wealth of, often unduly.

Example: “The dictator used state media to aggrandize himself at every turn.”

Synonyms: enhance, elevate, inflate, magnify

Accrueverb

To be received in increasing amounts over time.

Example: “Interest accrues daily on the unpaid balance of the card.”

Synonyms: accumulate, build up, amass, grow

Waxverb

To grow gradually stronger or larger.

Example: “His influence waxed throughout the decade until rivals could no longer ignore him.”

Synonyms: grow, increase, swell, intensify

The opposite of the restraint cluster. Note that dissipate has a second, physical meaning, to disperse or vanish, which the GRE sometimes trades on.

Prodigaladjective

Spending money or resources freely and recklessly.

Example: “The prodigal heir returned home after squandering his share of the estate.”

Synonyms: wasteful, extravagant, lavish, improvident

Squanderverb

To waste something in a reckless or foolish way.

Example: “He squandered the signing bonus on a car he could not afford to insure.”

Synonyms: waste, dissipate, fritter, blow

Dissipateverb

To disperse or scatter; to squander.

Example: “The fog dissipated as the sun climbed above the ridge.”

Synonyms: disperse, scatter, dispel, vanish

Wastrelnoun

A person who wastes resources; a reckless spendthrift or idler.

Example: “The family regarded him as a wastrel who would gamble away any inheritance.”

Synonyms: spendthrift, squanderer, idler, profligate

Dissoluteadjective

Overindulging in sensual pleasures; lax in morals.

Example: “The dissolute nobleman threw banquets while his estates quietly decayed.”

Synonyms: debauched, profligate, degenerate, licentious

A gentle cluster for serene settings and unflappable people. Halcyon is the odd one out: it almost always modifies a remembered period rather than a present scene.

Placidadjective

Not easily upset or excited; calm and peaceful.

Example: “The placid lake mirrored the mountains so precisely it looked painted.”

Synonyms: calm, tranquil, serene, unruffled

Sereneadjective

Calm, peaceful, and untroubled.

Example: “Her serene expression hardly changed even when the alarm sounded.”

Synonyms: tranquil, placid, composed, unruffled

Tranquiladjective

Free from disturbance; calm.

Example: “They bought the cottage for its tranquil view of the cove at dawn.”

Synonyms: serene, placid, peaceful, quiet

Equanimitynoun

Mental calmness and composure, especially in difficulty.

Example: “She accepted the verdict with an equanimity that surprised the courtroom.”

Synonyms: composure, poise, calm, sang-froid

Halcyonadjective

Denoting a past period that was calm and happy.

Example: “He often spoke of the halcyon summers before the family business failed.”

Synonyms: golden, idyllic, peaceful, serene