List of High Frequency GRE Words for Test Takers of 2013. These are the real GRE words that you see most frequently in the General GRE Realtime Test. Learn these Important GRE words thoroughly before attending GRE General test.

GRE High Frequency Words

Abate – v – subside or moderate.
Aberrant – adj – abnormal or deviant
Abeyance – n – suspended action
Abscond – v – depart secretly and hide
Abstemious – adj – sparing in eating and drinking temperate
Admonish – v – warn; reprove.
Adulterate – v – make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances
Aesthetic – artistic dealing with or capable of appreciating the beautiful
Aggregate – v – gather; accumulate
Alacrity – n – cheerful promptness; eagerness
Alleviate – v – relieve
Amalgamate – v – combine; unite in one body
Ambiguous – adj – unclear or doubtful in meaning
Ambivalence – n – the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes
Ameliorate – v – improve
Anachronism – n – something or someone misplaced in time
Analogous – adj – comparable
Anarchy – n – absence of governing body; state of disorder
Anomalous – adj – abnormal; irregular
Antipathy – n – aversion; dislike
Apathy – n – lack of caring; indifference
Appease – v – pacify or soothe; relieve
Apprise – v – inform
Approbation – n – approval
Appropriate – acquire; take possession of for one’s own use
Arduous – adj – hard; strenuous
Artless – adj – without guile; open and honest
Ascetic – adj – practicing self-denial; austere
Assiduous – adj- diligent
Assuage – v – ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger)
Attenuate – v – make thinner; weaken or lessen (in density, force, degree)
Audacious – adj – daring bold
Austere – forbiddingly stern; severely simple and unornamented
Autonomous – self-governing
Aver – assert confidently or declare; as used in law, state, formally as a fact
Banal – hackneyed; commonplace; trite; lacking originality
Belie – contradict; give a false impression
Beneficent – kindly; doing good
Bolster – support; reinforce
Bombastic – pompous; using inflated language
Boorish – rude; insensitive
Burgeon – grow forth
Burnish – make shiny by rubbing; polish
Buttress – support; prop up
Cacophonous – discordant; inharmonious
Capricious – unpredictable; fickle
Castigation-punishment; severe criticism
Catalyst – agent that influences the pace of a chemical reaction while it remains unaffected and unchanged; person or thing that causes action
Caustic – burning; sarcastically biting
Chicanery – trickery; deception
Coagulate – thicken; congeal; clot
Coda – concluding section of a musical or literary composition; something that rounds out, summarizes, or concludes
Cogent – convincing
Commensurate – corresponding in extent, degree, amount; proportionate
Compendium – brief; comprehensive summary
Complaisant – trying to please; overly polite; obliging
Compliant – yielding; conforming to requirements
Conciliatory – reconciling; soothing
Condone – overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse
Confound – confuse; puzzled
Connoisseur – person competent to act as a judge of art
Contention – claim; thesis
Contentious – quarrelsome
Contrite – penitent; repentant
Conundrum – riddle; difficult problem
Converge – approach; tend to meet; come together
Convoluted – coiled around; involved; intricate
Craven – cowardly
Daunt – intimidate; frighten
Decorum – propriety; orderliness and good taste in manners
Default – failure to act
Deference – courteous regard for another’s wish
Delineate – portray; depict; sketch
Denigrate – blacken
Deride – ridicule; make fun of
Derivative; unoriginal; obtained from another source
Desiccate – dry up
Desultory – aimless; haphazard; digressing at random
Deterrent – something that discourage; hindrance
Diatribe – bitter scolding; invective
Dichotomy – split; branching into two parts (usually contradictory)
Diffidence – shyness
Diffuse – wordy; rambling; spread out
Digression – wandering away from the subject
Dirge – lament with music
Disabuse – correct a false impression; undeceive
Discerning – mentally quick and observant; having insight
Discordant – not harmonious; conflicting
Discredit – defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve
Discrepancy – lack of consistency; difference
Discrete – separate; unconnected; consisting of distinct parts
Disingenuous – lacking genuine candor; insincere
Disinterested; unprejudiced
Disjointed – lacking coherence; separated at the joints
Dismiss – eliminate from consideration; reject
Disparage – belittle
Disparate – basically different; unrelated
Dissemble – disguise; pretend
Disseminate – distribute; spread; scatter
Dissolution – disintegration; looseness in morals
Dissonance – discord; opposite of harmony
Distend – expend; swell out
Distill – purify; refine; concentrate
Diverge – vary; go in different directions from the same point
Divest – strip; deprive
Document – provide written evidence
Dogmatic – opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal
Dormant – sleeping; lethargic; latent
Dupe – someone easily fooled
Ebullient – showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm
Eclectic – selective; composed of elements drawn from disparate sources
Efficacy – power to produce desired effect
Effrontery – impudence; shameless boldness; sheer nerve; presumptuousness
Elegy – poem or song expressing lamentation
Elicit – draw out by discussion
Embellish – adorn; ornament; enhance, as a story
Empirical – based on experience
Emulate – imitate; rival
Endemic – prevailing among a specific group of people or in a specific area or country
Enervate – weaken
Engender – cause; produce
Enhance – increase; improve
Ephemeral – short-lived; fleeting
Equanimity – calmness of temperament; composure
Equivocate – lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the truth
Erudite – learned; scholarly
Esoteric – hard to understand; known only to the chosen few
Eulogy – expression of praise, often on the occasion of someone’s death
Euphemism – mild expression in place of an unpleasant one
Exacerbate – worsen; embitter
Exculpate – clear from blame
Exigency – urgent situation; pressing needs or demands; state of requiring immediate attention
Extrapolation – projection; conjecture
Facetious – joking (often inappropriately)
Facilitate – help bring about; make less difficult
Fallacious – false; misleading
Fatuous – brainless; inane; foolish, yet smug
Fawning – trying to please by behaving obsequiously, flattering, or cringing
Felicitous – apt; suitably expressed; well chosen
Fervor – glowing ardor; intensity of feeling
Flag – droop; grow feeble
Fledgling – inexperienced
Flout – reject; mock; show contempt for
Foment – stir up; instigate
Forestall – prevent by taking action in advance
Frugality – thrift, economy
Futile – useless; hopeless; ineffectual
Gainsay – deny
Garrulous – loquacious; wordy; talkative
Goad – urge on
Gouge – overcharge
Grandiloquent – pompous; bombastic; using high-sounding language
Gregarious – sociable
Guileless – without deceit
Gullible – easily deceived
Harangue – long, passionate, and vehement speech
Homogeneous – off the same kind
Hyperbole – exaggeration; overstatement
Iconoclastic – attacking cherished traditions
Idolatry – worship of idols
Immutable – unchangeable
Impair – injure; hurt
Impassive – without feeling; imperturbable; stoical
Impede – hinder; block
Impermeable – impervious; not permitting passage through its substance
Imperturbable – calm placid
Impervious – impenetrable; incapable of being damaged or distressed
Implacable – incapable of being pacified
Implicit – understood but not stated
Implode – burst inward
Inadvertently – unintentionally; by oversight; carelessly
Inchoate – recently begun; rudimentary; elementary
Incongruity – lack of harmony; absurdity
Inconsequential – insignificant; unimportant
Incorporate – introduce something into a larger whole; combine; unite
Indeterminate – uncertain; not clearly fixed; indefinite
Indigence – poverty
Indolent – lazy
Inert – inactive; lacking power to move
Ingenuous – naïve and trusting; young; unsophisticated
Inherent – firmly established by nature or habit
Innocuous – harmless
Insensible – unconscious; unresponsive
Insinuate – hint; imply; creep in
Insipid – lacking in flavor; dull
Insularity – narrow-mindedness; isolation
Intractable – unruly; stubborn; unyielding
Intransigence – refusal of any compromise; stubbornness
Inundate – overwhelm; flood; submerge
Inured – accustomed; hardened
Invective – abuse
Irascible – irritable; easily angered
Irresolute – uncertain how to act; weak
Itinerary – plan of a trip
Laconic – brief and to the point
Lassitude – languor; weariness
Latent – potential but undeveloped; dormant; hidden
Laud – praise
Lethargic – drowsy; dull
Levee – earthen or stone embankment to prevent flooding
Levity – lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity
Log – record of a voyage or flight; record of day-to-day activities
Loquacious – talkative
Lucid – easily understood
Luminous – shining; issuing light
Magnanimity – generosity
Malingerer – one who feigns illness to escape duty
Malleable – capable to being shaped by pounding; impressionable
Maverick – rebel; nonconformist
Mendacious – lying; habitually dishonest
Metamorphosis – change of form
Meticulous – excessively careful; painstaking; scrupulous
Misanthrope – one who hates mankind
Mitigate – appease; moderate
Mollify – soothe
Morose – ill-humored; sullen; melancholy
Mundane – worldly as opposed to spiritual; everyday
Negate – cancel out; nullify; deny
Neophyte – recent convert; beginner
Obdurate – stubborn
Obsequious – slavishly attentive; servile; sycophantic
Obviate – make unnecessary; get rid of
Occlude – shut; close
Officious – meddlesome; excessively pushy in offering one’s services
Onerous – burdensome
Opprobrium – infamy; vilification
Oscillate – vibrate pendulumlike; waver
Ostentatious – showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention
Paragon – model of perfection
Partisan – one-sided; prejudiced; committed to a party
Pathological – pertaining to disease
Paucity – scarcity
Pedantic – showing off learning; bookish
Penchant – strong inclination; liking
Penury – severe poverty; stinginess
Perennial – something long-lasting
Perfidious – treacherous; disloyal
Perfunctory – superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care, enthusiasm
Permeable – penetrable; porous; allowing liquids or gas to pass through
Pervasive – spread throughout
Phlegmatic – clam; not easily disturbed
Piety – devoutness; reverence for God
Placate – pacify; conciliate
Plasticity – ability to be molded
Platitude – trite remark
Plethora – excess; overabundance
Plummet – fall sharply
Porous – full of pores; like a sieve
Pragmatic – practical (as opposed to idealistic); concerned with the practical worth or impact of something
Preamble – introductory statement
Precarious – uncertain; risky
Precipitate – rash; premature; hasty; sudden
Precursor – forerunner
Presumptuous – arrogant; taking liberties
Prevaricate – lie
Probity – uprightness; incorruptibility
Problematic – doubtful; unsettled; questionable
Prodigal – wasteful; reckless with money
Profound – deep; not superficial; complete
Prohibitive – tending to prevent the purchase or use of something
Proliferate – grow rapidly; spread; multiply
Propensity – natural inclination
Propitiate – appease
Propriety 0 fitness; correct conduct
Proscribe – ostracize; banish; outlaw
Pungent – stinging; sharp in taste or smell; caustic
Qualified – limited; restricted
Quibble – minor objection or complaint
Quiescent – at rest; dormant; temporarily inactive
Rarefied – made less dense (of a gas)
Recalcitrant – obstinately stubborn; determined to resist authority; unruly
Recant – disclaim of disavow; retract a precious statement
Recluse – hermit; loner
Recondite – abstruse; profound; secret
Refractory – stubborn, unmanageable
Refute – disprove
Relegate – banish to an inferior position; delegate; assign
Reproach – express disapproval or disappointment
Reprobate – person hardened in sin; devoid of a sense of decency
Repudiate – disown; disavow
Rescind – cancel
Resolution – determination
Resolve – determination; firmness of purpose
Reticent – reserved; uncommunicative; inclined to silence
Reverent – respectful; worshipful
Sage – person celebrated for wisdom
Salubrious – healthful
Sanction – approve; ratify
Satiate – satisfy fully
Saturate – soak thoroughly
Savor – enjoy; have a distinctive flavor, smell, or quality
Secrete – hide away or cache; produce and release a substance into an organism
Shard – fragment, generally of pottery
Skeptic – doubter; person who suspends judgment until having examined the evidence supporting a point of view
Solicitous – worried, concerned
Soporific – sleep-causing; marked by sleepiness
Specious – seemingly reasonable but incorrect; misleading (often intentionally)
Spectrum – color band produced when a beam of light passes through a prism
Sporadic – occurring irregularly
Stigma – token of disgrace; brand
Stint – be thrifty; set limits
Stipulate – make express conditions, specify
Stolid – dull; impassive
Striated – marked with parallel bands; grooved
Strut – pompous walk
Strut – supporting bar
Subpoena – writ summoning a witness to appear
Subside – settle down; descend; grow quiet
Substantiate – establish by evidence; verity; support
Supersede – cause to be set aside; replace; make obsolete
Supposition – hypothesis; surmise
Tacit – understood; not put into words
Tangential – peripheral; only slightly connected; digressing
Tenuous – thin; rare; slim
Tirade – extended scolding; denunciation; harangue
Torpor – lethargy; sluggishness; dormancy
Tortuous – winding; full of curves
Tractable – docile; easily managed
Transgression – violation of a law; sin
Truculence – aggressiveness; ferocity
Vacillate – waver; fluctuate
Venerate – revere
Veracious – truthful
Verbose – wordy
Viable – practical or workable; capable of maintaining life
Viscous – sticky, gluey
Vituperative – abusive; scolding
Volatile – changeable; explosive; evaporating rapidly
Warranted – justified; authorized
Wary – very cautious
Welter – turmoil; bewildering jumble
Whimsical – capricious; fanciful
Zealot – fanatic; perso who shows excessive zeal (enthusiasm)