The GRE Verbal Reasoning Test: Warm-up Words: Warm-up, List 3

This list of warm-up words features common words on the test that you're probably familiar with. Brush up on these words first to make sure that you start off strong while taking the GRE.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. abate
    become less in amount or intensity
    The next day the rain abated and commenced a silent drizzle. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party
  2. admonish
    scold or reprimand; take to task
    “Don’t talk about your father like that on Christmas Eve. Shame on you,” Mrs. Meecham admonished. The Great Santini
  3. anarchy
    a state of lawlessness and disorder
    Soon, more windows will be broken, and the sense of anarchy will spread from the building to the street on which it faces, sending a signal that anything goes. The Tipping Point
  4. asylum
    a shelter from danger or hardship
    From the very first days, the most pressing need was to secure asylum for those in danger of death. The House of the Spirits: A Novel
  5. austere
    of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor
    From the walls, the painted eyes of former Directors seemed to follow him, their faces austere, their lips unmoving. The Reader
  6. celestial
    of or relating to the sky
    Like contemporary astrologers, the Olmec, Maya, and Zapotec believed that celestial phenomena like the phases of the moon and Venus affect daily life. 1491
  7. complacent
    contented to a fault with oneself or one's actions
    The only other bear that they had encountered was sleek and fat as butter, complacent and sleepy, his thoughts obviously already running on hibernation, and quite uninterested in strange animals. The Incredible Journey
  8. confounded
    perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements
    Lydia sat confounded and speechless for several minutes after he finished. The Serpent King
  9. deride
    treat or speak of with contempt
    The greenwitches derided the philosophers as joyless old men afraid of magic, and the philosophers, not surprisingly, protested that they found much joy in the real world. Ash
  10. diffuse
    spread out; not concentrated in one place
    Without electrical forces, there would no longer be things in the universe—merely diffuse clouds of electrons, protons and neutrons, and gravitating spheres of elementary particles, the featureless remnants of worlds. Cosmos
  11. enhance
    make better or more attractive
    I slurp my coffee as we travel, finding that the cream and sugar greatly enhance its flavor. Mockingjay
  12. exhort
    spur on or encourage especially by cheers and shouts
    She kept up her screeching all the way through, exhorting Mr Coombes to greater and still greater efforts, and the awful thing was that he seemed to be responding to her cries. Boy: Tales of a Childhood
  13. futile
    producing no result or effect
    My mom says it’s time for me to give up now, and that what I’m doing is futile. The Sun Is Also a Star
  14. impede
    be a hindrance or obstacle to
    He was carrying something in both hands, but his back was to her, impeding a view of what he held. Fablehaven
  15. incorporate
    make into a whole or make part of a whole
    This confederacy incorporated six widely dispersed nations comprising thousands of agricultural villages and hunting grounds in what are currently known as New York, Pennsylvania, and Quebec. An Indigenous People’s History of the United States
  16. insensible
    barely able to be perceived
    This type of water loss is called insensible water loss because a person is usually unaware of it. Anatomy and Physiology
  17. placid
    not easily irritated
    Meanwhile, placid and happy, Blanca was in splendid health for the first time in her life. The House of the Spirits: A Novel
  18. subside
    wear off or die down
    Then the anguish subsided for a moment, as water withdraws briefly to dash itself once more against the rocks: he knew that it subsided only to return. Go Tell It on the Mountain
  19. wary
    marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
    He darted a wary glance at the false door, not knowing whether to feel hopeful or afraid. The Golden Goblet
  20. wistful
    showing pensive sadness
    “I wish,” she said, giving them a smile that was almost wistful. Chasing Vermeer
Created on Wed Nov 30 12:58:53 EST 2022 (updated Thu Jan 12 14:58:54 EST 2023)

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