If you are looking GRE Words Meanings for Vocabulary you are here on right website. On this page you will learn important GRE Past Papers Words with meanings. On this page you will cover the Most important words with their part of speech, pronunciation, synonyms and antonym, if applicable. Sample usage of the word is also illustrated.
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| GRE VOCABULARY WORDS FOR EXAMS |
Learn these important vocabulary words with important meanings for your exams preparations.
List of GRE Important Vocabulary Words
CENTRIFUGE (n) [SEN-truh-fyooj]
Syn: machine that separates substances by whirling them
Ant: NULL
Usage: The new machine acts like a centrifuge and spins very quickly, causing the solids and liquids inside it to separate by centrifugal action.
CENTRIPETAL (adj) [sen-TRIP-i-tl]
Syn: tending toward the center
Ant: centrifugal; tending toward the outside
Usage: The centripetal force was magnetizing and pulling her towards the door.
CENTURION (n) [sen-TOO R-ee-uh n] Syn: Roman army officer
Ant: NULL
Usage: There was a carved stone statue of a centurion in full regalia.
CERTITUDE (n) [sur-ti-tood] Syn: certainty
Ant: uncertainty
Usage: The comedy of forgiveness has no such luxurious certitude.
CESSATION (n) [se-SEY-shuh n] Syn: stoppage
Ant: continuance; continuity
Usage: After a full day, the storm still showed no signs of cessation.
CHAFE (v) [cheyf]
Syn: warm by rubbing; make sore (by rubbing)
Ant: soothe; smooth; calm; console
Usage: The fall down the cliff had badly chafed her hands and caused several bruises.
CHAGRIN (n) [shuh-GRIN]
Syn: vexation (caused by humiliation or injured pride); disappointment
Ant: delight; pleasure; happiness
Usage: To her great chagrin, the thief had stolen the bag containing her passport and tickets.
CHAMELEON (n) [kuh-MEE-lee-uh n]
Syn: lizard that changes color in different situations
Ant: permanence of color
Usage: Keith changes his opinions as fast as a chameleon changes color.
CHAOTIC (adj) [key-OT-ik] Syn: in uter disorder
Ant: orderly
Usage: My schedule this week has been very chaotic and confusing.
CHARISMA (n) [kuh-RIZ-muh]
Syn: divine gift; great popular charm or appeal of a political leader
Ant: repulsion
Usage: Catherine’s allure and charisma captivated Paul’s atention so much that he never left her side all evening.
CHARLATAN (n) [SHAHR-luh-tn]
Syn: quack; pretender to knowledge
Ant: the real thing
Usage: The lady is a charlatan; no one trusts her to do legitimate business anymore.
CHARY (adj) [CHAIR-ee]
Syn: cautious; sparing or restrained about giving
Ant: culpable; liberal; lavish; profuse; eager
Usage: Jack is a bit chary of going to the local doctor after he read reports about someone dying there.
CHASE (v) [cheys]
Syn: ornament a metal surface by indenting
Ant: NULL
Usage: The jeweler chased our names inside our wedding rings so they would be engraved there for eternity.
CHASSIS (n) [CHAS-ee]
Syn: framework and working parts of an automobile
Ant: automotive engine
Usage: They had to dismantle the chassis to get the body out from within it.
CHASTENED (adj) [chey-suhn d] Syn: humbled; subdued; rebuked Ant: encouraged; comforted
Usage: Martha was chastened for misbehaving with other girls in the class.
CHASTISE (v) [chas-TAHYZ]
Syn: punish
Ant: commend; flater; indulge; pamper; spoil; demoralize; degrade
Usage: With sharp words, he chastised her for inviting strangers into the house in his absence.
CHAUVINIST (n) [shoh-vuh-NIST]
Syn: blindly devoted patriot; bigot
Ant: fair-minded person
Usage: To their immense dismay, the women discovered that the new mayor of the town was a chauvinist.
CHERUBIC (adj) [chuh-ROO-bik] Syn: angelic; innocent-looking Ant: devilish
Usage: The frescoes on the ceiling depicted three cherubic angels.
CHICANERY (n) [shi-KEY-nuh-ree] Syn: trickery; deception
Ant: honesty
Usage: It’s yet another of his tricks or chicanery; we refuse to believe him anymore.
CHIDE (v) [chahyd] Syn: scold
Ant: hail
Usage: He chided her for inviting strangers into the house in his absence.
CHIMERICAL (adj) [ki-MER-i-kuh l]
Syn: fantastically improbable; highly unrealistic imaginative
Ant: real; ordinary
Usage: The whole episode was so unreal that it seemed chimerical to her.
CHOLERIC (adj) [KOL-er-ik]
Syn: hot-tempered
Ant: calm
Usage: His choleric atitude alienates people more than anything else.
CHORTLE (v) [chawr-tl] Syn: chuckle with delight Ant: NULL
Usage: She gave a mighty chortle and said, “I'm drunk as a skunk.”
CHRONIC (adj) [KRON-ik]
Syn: long established as a disease; time after time; frequent; repeated
Ant: intermitent
Usage: Michael is a chronic gambler.
CHURLISH (adj) [CHUR-lish]
Syn: boorish; rude
Ant: captivating
Usage: We all wondered what had made Gary so churlish, normally he was so cheerful and pleasant-mannered.
CILIATED (adj) [sil-ee-it]
Syn: minute organism having minute hairs
Ant: NULL
Usage: An ameba, however, does not feed entirely on plants; it is also carnivorous, feeding on tiny ciliated organisms.
CIPHER (n) [SAHY-fer]
Syn: secret code
Ant: uncoded language.
Usage: The metal bracelet contained a secret cipher inside it.
CIRCLET (n) [SUR-klit]
Syn: small ring; band
Ant: NULL
Usage: The gold circlet on Anna’s arm was badly damaged when she fell from the parapet, but she herself was barely injured.
CIRCUMLOCUTION (n) [sur-kuh m-loh-KYOO-shuh n]
Syn: indirect or roundabout expression
Ant: terseness; conciseness; directness; coherence; simplicity
Usage: The restless crowd was geting tired of the candidate’s circumlocution
and wanted shorter speeches.
CIRCUMSCRIBE (v) [SUR-kuh m-SKRAHYB]
Syn: limit; confine
Ant: allow; permit
Usage: The movements of the group have been severely circumscribed since the new laws came into effect.
CIRCUMVENT (v) [sur-kuh m-VENT]
Syn: outwit; baffle
Ant: aid; assist; comply with
Usage: Gordon was smart at circumventing the police despite the many barriers they erected.
CISTERN (n) [SIS-tern]
Syn: reservoir water tank
Ant: NULL
Usage: The woman collected rainwater in the cistern and then used it to wash her hair for a natural smoothness.
CITADEL (n) [SIT-uh-dl]
Syn: fortress
Ant: unprotected area
Usage: The women of the royal family huddled inside the citadel even as the kingdom was taken under siege by the enemy.
CLAIRVOYANT (adj) [klair-VOI-uh nt] Syn: having foresight; fortunetelling Ant: shortsighted
Usage: She must be clairvoyant; how else could she have predicted I was arriving in that city without even having met or called me?
CLAMBER (v) [KLAM-ber]
Syn: climb by crawling
Ant: NULL
Usage: As the fire began spreading, they clambered up the stairs leading to the terrace.
CLAMOR (n) [KLAM-er]
Syn: noise
Ant: silence; acquiescence; quiet; reticence
Usage: We raised our voices to the director in a clamor for more holidays.
CLANGOR (n) [KLANG-er]
Syn: loud, resounding noise
Ant: silence
Usage: The sudden heavy clangor of the bells at midnight awoke every villager.
CLARION (adj) [klar-ee-uhn] Syn: shrill, trumpetlike sound Ant: silence
Usage: The soldiers responded to the clarion call of the bugle and headed to the front to fight another day.
CLAUSTROPHOBIA (n) [klaw-struh-FOH-bee-uh] Syn: fear of enclosed spaces
Ant: agoraphobia, fear of open spaces
Usage: Wilma had a fear of claustrophobia so she refused to stay in the tiny room alone.
CLAVICLE (n) [KLAV-i-kuh l]
Syn: collarbone
Ant: NULL
Usage: The karate chop landed squarely on his clavicle, snapping it.
CLEAVE (v) [kleev]
Syn: split or sever; cling to; remain faithful to
Ant: remain whole
Usage: The butcher moved to cleave the carcass into smaller portions.
CLEFT (n) [kleft]
Syn: hollow; indentation
Ant: protuberance
Usage: The dark-haired man had a cleft in his chin.
CLEMENCY (n) [KLEM-uh n-see]
Syn: disposition to be lenient; mildness, as of the weather
Ant: severity
Usage: The prisoners petitioned the mayor for clemency and pardon.
CLICHÉ (n) [klee-SHEY]
Syn: phrase dulled in meaning by repetition
Ant: original expression
Usage: The statement was yet another cliché.
CLIMACTIC (adj) [klahy-MAK-tik] Syn: relating to the highest point Ant: anticlimactic
Usage: We waited with bated breath for the climactic ending.
CLIME (n) [klahym] Syn: region; climate Ant: NULL
Usage: We were unused to the tropical climes so we promptly fell ill.
CLIQUE (n) [kleek]
Syn: small exclusive group
Ant: open group
Usage: The cheerleaders formed a clique in the middle school.
CLOISTER (n) [KLOI-ster]
Syn: monastery or convent
Ant: NULL
Usage: Mary was then sheltered in the cloister with nuns watching over her.
CLOUT (n) [klout]
Syn: great influence (especially political or social)
Ant: inconsequentiality
Usage: John Matheson has a lot of clout and power in this city; he can get away with anything.
COAGULATE (v) [koh-AG-yuh-leyt]
Syn: thicken; congeal; clot
Ant: rarefy; expand; dissipate; thin; liquefy
Usage: The liquid gel was coagulating because of the cool temperature.
COALESCE (v) [koh-uh-LES]
Syn: combine; fuse
Ant: separate; divide
Usage: The two liquids were then coalesced into a congealed mass.
CODA (n) [KOH-duh]
Syn: concluding section of a musical or literary composition
Ant: introduction
Usage: The coda is often more technically difficult to master than any other piece of music.
CODDLE (v) [KOD-l]
Syn: treat gently
Ant: treat roughly
Usage: The Berrets have coddled their children too much.
CODICIL (n) [KOD-uh-suh l]
Syn: supplement to the body of a will
Ant: main body of a document
Usage: A codicil was added to the will only yesterday.
COEVAL (adj) [koh-EE-vuh l]
Syn: living at the same time as; contemporary
Syn: living
Usage: Although the two scientists were coeval, they didn’t know of each other’s work because of their vast geographic separation.
COGITATE (v) [KOJ-i-teyt]
Syn: think over
Ant: ignore
Usage: He needed a lot of privacy and silence to cogitate over this decision which could possibly alter his life.
COGNATE (adj) [KOG-neyt]
Syn: related linguistically; allied by blood; similar or akin in nature
Ant: dissimilar; unlike
Usage: They were just about as cognate with regards to each other as pea and pod.
COGNITIVE (adj) [KOG-ni-tiv]
Syn: having to do with knowing or perceiving; related to the mental processes
Ant: physical
Usage: Her cognitive abilities have won her the Best Intellectual of the Year award.
COGNIZANCE (n) [KOG-nuh-zuh ns] Syn: knowledge
Ant: ignorance
Usage: Jack’s sense of cognizance is exceptional; he is often sought after for advice.
COHABIT (v) [koh-HAB-it]
Syn: live together
Ant: live separately
Usage: The number of cohabiting couples is expected to double by 2021.
COHORTS (n) [KOH-hawrts] Syn: companions; associates Syn: enemies; opponents
Usage: The two men had been cohorts for many years and commited the crime together.
COIFFURE (n) [kwah-FYOO R]
Syn: hairstyle
Ant: NULL
Usage: She daintily touched her fingers to hair, appreciating the fresh coiffure, and preened in front of the mirror.
COLANDER (n) [KUHL-uh n-der]
Syn: container with perforated botom used for straining
Ant: closed container
Usage: We had to use a colander to strain the pasta.
COLLABORATE (v) [kuh-LAB-uh-reyt]
Syn: work together
Ant: disagree
Usage: The two countries decided to collaborate on the new trade opportunities.
COLLAGE (n) [kuh-LAHZH]
Syn: work of art put together from fragments
Ant: NULL
Usage: We created a colorful collage using five of the photographs, some crayons, and a large colored sheet.
COLLATE (v) [kuh-LEYT]
Syn: examine in order to verify authenticity; arrange in order
Ant: disassemble
Usage: She was asked to collate the details of individual sales from each of the departments.
COLLOQUIAL (adj) [kuh-LOH-kwee-uh l]
Syn: pertaining to conversational or common speech
Ant: formal
Usage: The language they used was very colloquial and not in any way formal.
COLLOQUY (n) [KOL-uh-kwee]
Syn: informal discussion
Ant: silence
Usage: I enjoyed the local flavor of the colloquy among the tribes.
COLOSSAL (adj) [kuh-LOS-uh l] Syn: huge
Ant: small
Usage: The movie he had in mind was a colossal epic.
COMATOSE (adj) [KOM-uh-tohs] Syn: in a coma; extremely sleepy Ant: conscious; awake
Usage: For years, he had been comatose and was being given food nutrients intravenously simply to keep his body alive.
COMELY (adj) [KUHM-lee]
Syn: atractive; agreeable
Ant: unseemly; ungraceful; unshapely
Usage: I couldn’t believe that litle Maria, who had been rather unatractive as a child, had grown up to become such a comely young woman.
COMESTIBLE (n) [kuh-MES-tuh-buh l] Syn: something fit to be eaten
Ant: something unfit to eat
Usage: Faced with a variety of comestible delicacies we didn’t know what to eat and what to leave out.
COMEUPPANCE (n) [kuhm-UHP-uh ns] Syn: consequence; just desserts
Ant: NULL
Usage: For the amount of hard work he has put in, he hardly gets any favorable comeuppance.
COMITY (n) [KOM-i-tee]
Syn: courtesy; civility
Ant: discord
Usage: Michael’s civility and comity had everyone smiling and beaming.
COMMEMORATE (v) [kuh-MEM-uh-reyt] Syn: honor the memory of
Ant: forget
Usage: To commemorate the great man’s life, a ceremony was held every year on the date of his death.
COMMENSURATE (adj) [kuh-men-ser-it] Syn: equal in extent
Ant: unequal; lesser; greater
Usage: The leter said that the salary offered would be commensurate with the best in the industry.
COMMODIOUS (adj) [kuh-MOH-dee-uh s] Syn: spacious and comfortable
Ant: cramped
Usage: His commodious apartment must have cost him a fortune.
COMPACT (adj) [kuhm-PAKT] Syn: tightly packed; firm; brief Ant: loose; slack;
Usage: The mobile phone she carried was compact as well as trendy.
COMPELLING (adj) [kuh m-PEL-ing] Syn: overpowering; irresistible in effect Ant: weak; noninfluential
Usage: We demanded to know from the management a compelling reason for having dismissed the efficient accountant.
COMPENDIUM (n) [kuh m-PEN-dee-uh m]
Syn: brief, comprehensive summary; abstract; abridgement
Ant: expansion; addition
Usage: The students were asked to submit a brief compendium of their annual project to the departmental head.
COMPILATION (n) [kom-puh-LEY-shuh n] Syn: collection
Ant: independent work
Usage: The book is nothing but a compilation of his previously published works.
COMPLACENT (adj) [kuh m-PLEY-suh nt] Syn: self-satisfied; content
Ant: discontented
Usage: His laid-back, complacent atitude was the main reason why he hadn’t progressed far in his career.
COMPLEMENTARY (adj) [kom-pluh-MEN-tuh-ree] Syn: serving to complete something
Ant: independent; unrelated
Usage: Qualitative research approaches are considered as complementary to, and not in competition with, quantitative approaches.
COMPLIANT (adj) [kuh m-PLAHY-uh nt] Syn: yielding
Ant: immutable
Usage: It is difficult to find a compliant maidservant these days; most of them seem to be haughty and overbearing.
COMPONENT (n) [kuh m-POH-nuh nt] Syn: element; ingredient
Ant: whole
Usage: The program was merely one component of the entire software application.
COMPOSURE (n) [kuh m-POH-zher] Syn: mental calmness
Ant: anxiety
Usage: Despite having received a great shock, it was remarkable how James retained his composure and calm.
COMPOUND (v) [kom-POUND]
Syn: combine; constitute; pay interest; increase
Ant: keep separate or simple
Usage: The fact that Jack abused his wife often compounded the crime, making him more guilty than ever.
COMPRESS (v) [kuh m-PRES]
Syn: close; squeeze; contract
Ant: expand; dilate; diffuse
Usage: The file size is too large and must be compressed before it can be copied to a disk.
COMPRISE (v) [kuh m-PRAHYZ]
Syn: include; consist of
Ant: exclude; except; omit; reject
Usage: The complete course is comprised of two short modules and one project.
COMPROMISE (v) [KOM-pruh-mahyz]
Syn: adjust or setle by making mutual concessions; endanger the interests or reputation of
Ant: aggravate; perpetuate; escalate
Usage: Gina refused to compromise on her principles simply to satisfy a handful of people.
COMPUNCTION (n) [kuh m-PUHNGK-shuh n] Syn: remorse
Ant: defiance; immorality
Usage: He felt a terrible sense of compunction for his deed and begged forgiveness from the bereaved family.
CONCATENATE (v) [kon-KAT-n-eyt]
Syn: link as in a chain
Ant: let go; loose
Usage: She has decided to concatenate his name to her own without leting go of her maiden name.
CONCEDE (v) [kuh n-SEED]
Syn: admit; yield
Ant: infuriate
Usage: The government was determined not to concede to the terrorist’s demands.
CONCEIT (n) [kuh n-SEET]
Syn: vanity or self-love; whimsical idea; extravagant metaphor
Ant: humility
Usage: Pride and conceit are things as alien to her nature as humanity to Mars.
CONCENTRIC (adj) [kuh n-SEN-trik] Syn: having a common center
Ant: NULL
Usage: She wore a necklace shaped with a series of concentric circles.
CONCEPTION (n) [kuh n-SEP-shuh n] Syn: beginning; forming of an idea Ant: ending
Usage: From its conception to its implementation, the play was completely Jake’s efforts.
CONCESSION (n) [kuh n-SESH-uh n]
Syn: an act of yielding
Ant: defiance
Usage: The government decided to make a concession to the plan after the public protests.
CONCLAVE (n) [KON-kleyv]
Syn: private meeting
Ant: open meeting
Usage: The writers’ conclave at Detroit was a huge resounding success.
CONCOCT (v) [kon-KOKT]
Syn: prepare by combining; make up in concert
Ant: separate
Usage: Karen and Fred concocted a wicked plot.
CONCOMITANT (n) [kon-KOM-i-tuh nt] Syn: that which accompanies
Ant: stranger; foe
Usage: Loss of memory is a natural concomitant of old age.
