The GRE Verbal Reasoning Test: Challenge Words: Challenge, List 4

This list of challenge words features some of the hardest words that you will encounter in the Verbal Reasoning section of the GRE. These are words that typically appear less frequently across different academic disciplines, so you are less likely to have encountered them before. Master these difficult words and watch your GRE score soar!
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. abstemious
    marked by temperance in indulgence
    The advice to omit needless words should not be confused with the puritanical edict that all writers must pare every sentence down to the shortest, leanest, most abstemious version possible. The Sense of Style
  2. ambivalent
    uncertain or unable to decide about what course to follow
    The time of action is upon us, but I remain ambivalent as to what action I should take. Challenger Deep
  3. behemoth
    someone or something that is abnormally large and powerful
    They saw no hulking behemoth capable of the enormous sound they had heard. Fablehaven
  4. captious
    tending to find and call attention to faults
    “I wish you’d learn to put the caps back on things properly when you’re finished using them,” she said in a tone she fully meant to sound captious. Franny and Zooey
  5. disingenuous
    not straightforward or candid
    Pretending to be happy about it compounds my irritation and makes me feel disingenuous. New York Times (Feb 14, 2019)
  6. doggerel
    a comic verse of irregular measure
    Some of the verse is patriotic doggerel in a variety of languages, with translations in English that mock supernationalist silliness. Seattle Times (Jan 11, 2012)
  7. ebullient
    joyously unrestrained
    The game was resumed the next day and Bobby, feeling ebullient because he was in a winning position, agreed to play on the main stage. Endgame
  8. effete
    excessively self-indulgent, affected, or decadent
    Subtle thought and fine manners — powerful tools no matter to what ends they are put — are still dismissed as unnecessary refinement, effete and pretentious. Washington Post (Jun 2, 2017)
  9. endemic
    native; originating where it is found
    There were two or three varieties, but each subtype was markedly distinct, and each was endemic to one particular island. The Gene
  10. exculpate
    pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
    No evidence emerged linking the man to the crime at the school in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw, and some testimony exculpated him. Washington Times (Dec 18, 2019)
  11. fracas
    a noisy, angry argument or fight between people
    Many players jumped into the fracas and even more punches were thrown. Seattle Times (Jun 27, 2022)
  12. fulsome
    unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating
    He turned away few requests and received fulsome gratitude in return. Big Science
  13. maelstrom
    a violent commotion or disturbance
    They battled across the green Abbey lawns, right through the center of the maelstrom of warring creatures. Redwall
  14. modicum
    a small or moderate or token amount
    During the 1980s Fischer made a number of impressive ascents that earned him a modicum of local renown, but celebrity in the world climbing community eluded him. Into Thin Air
  15. nonplussed
    filled with bewilderment
    Perplexed, Harry looked to Hermione for help, but she shook her head, apparently as nonplussed as he was. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
  16. rebus
    a puzzle consisting of pictures representing words
    “Well, my uncle gave me Mr. Lemoncello’s Phenomenal Picture Word Puzzler for Chanukah and I can’t figure out this one rebus.” Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics
  17. recondite
    difficult to understand
    In any case the data are often expressed in so mathematically recondite a form that they are unintelligible to the majority of historical profession. Forbes (Jun 18, 2013)
  18. rubric
    an authoritative rule of conduct or procedure
    Last revised in 2016, the document offers a rubric for what science the biomedical community agrees is worthy, and which projects are off-limits. Scientific American (May 27, 2021)
  19. saturnine
    showing a brooding ill humor
    The man who glowered before him conformed to the classic stereotype of Marine barber Ben had envisioned in his mind: the face was saturnine, pock-marked, and the mouth was grim. The Great Santini
  20. zealot
    a fervent and even militant proponent of something
    Season 1’s Klingons, obsessed with maintaining purity and dominating other worlds, were written to resemble a certain strain of political zealot. Salon (Jan 20, 2019)
Created on Wed Nov 30 17:33:36 EST 2022 (updated Thu Jan 12 15:08:24 EST 2023)

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