The GRE Verbal Reasoning Test: Warm-up Words: Warm-up, List 8

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. antecedent
    a preceding occurrence or cause or event
    One ridiculous accident which happened about this time is worth mentioning, not because it had any consequences or antecedents, but because it was somehow the sort of thing which happened to Lancelot. The Once and Future King
  2. ardor
    feelings of great warmth and intensity
    His ardor eventually cools, especially since I ignore his passionate glances and pedal blithely on my way. The Diary of a Young Girl
  3. bolster
    support and strengthen
    I want to draw from his strength to bolster my own as it wavers in fear of what the future holds. Internment
  4. capricious
    determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity
    If we are a slow-baking cake, the world surrounding us is a capricious oven changing every minute. Scientific American (Feb 6, 2020)
  5. complement
    make perfect or supply what is wanting
    We complemented each other in all the important ways and made a great team. While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement
  6. craven
    lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful
    Even now, Jon could not decide whether the maester had stayed because he was weak and craven, or because he was strong and true. A Game of Thrones
  7. embellish
    add details to
    Mark embellished the tale a little more each time he’d told it. The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)
  8. estimable
    deserving of honor and respect
    Every other nation has folk traditions of men who were poor but extremely wise and virtuous, and therefore more estimable than anyone with power and gold. Slaughterhouse-Five
  9. flux
    a state of constant change
    Amar, my initiation instructor, taught us that our fear landscapes were always in flux, shifting with our moods and changing with the little whispers of our nightmares. Allegiant
  10. ingenuous
    lacking in sophistication or worldliness
    Uncomplicated, brightly colored and almost childlike in style, the animations lend ingenuous sweetness to a difficult situation. Los Angeles Times (Apr 24, 2015)
  11. motley
    consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds
    We parked among a motley collection of farm wagons and gigs and dogcarts pulled up higgledy-piggledy on the grassy field adjoining the many tents. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
  12. plumb
    examine thoroughly and in great depth
    In his earnestness, Dr. Luzan kept delving further into my psyche, plumbing the depths. Native Speaker
  13. propensity
    a natural inclination
    The dark circles under my eyes spoke to the rooster’s propensity for early morning announcements. Hattie Big Sky
  14. reticent
    reluctant to draw attention to yourself
    These private comments were more often far more expressive than those his reticent public persona allowed. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
  15. satiate
    fill to satisfaction
    Thanksgiving cheese boards are the perfect way to satiate your guests a few hours before the hot dishes are ready. Salon (Nov 18, 2021)
  16. spectrum
    a broad range of related objects, values, or qualities
    The bus was packed with a motley group of men and women who represented the spectrum of ages, neighborhoods, backstories, and motivations. The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates
  17. stigma
    a symbol of disgrace or infamy
    You must make a commitment to winning the remaining games or be prepared to have the stigma of being called a loser attached to your team for the rest of history. Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream
  18. stolid
    having or revealing little emotion or sensibility
    From the point of view of a mayfly, human beings are stolid, boring, almost entirely immovable, offering hardly a hint that they ever do anything. Cosmos
  19. transient
    lasting a very short time
    Marriage and friendship forge enduring bonds while travel and business lead to transient ties, yet all persist to some degree, passed between generations like genetic traits. Seattle Times (Feb 12, 2022)
  20. vindictive
    disposed to seek revenge or intended for revenge
    Internet users were outraged at what seemed to be a case of a vindictive corporation’s punishing an employee who dared to demand the pay he was owed. New York Times (Apr 25, 2020)
Created on Wed Nov 30 13:55:32 EST 2022 (updated Thu Jan 12 14:59:51 EST 2023)

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