GMAT Vocabulary List

A-List

abaft
(adv.) on or toward the rear of a ship
The passengers moved abaft of the ship so as to escape the fire in the
front of the ship.
abnegation
(n.) a denial
The woman's abnegation of her loss was apparent when she began to
laugh.
abrogate
(v.) to cancel by authority
The judge would not abrogate the law.
abysmal
(adj.) very deep
The abysmal waters contained little plant life.
accretion
(n.)growth by addition; a growing together by parts
With the accretion of the new members, the club doubled its original size.
acquiesce
(v.) to agree without protest
The group acquiesced to the new regulations even though they were
opposed to them.
acrimony
(n.) sharpness or bitterness in language or manner.
The acrimony of her response was shocking.
addled
(adj.) rotten
The egg will become addled if it is left unrefrigerated.
adjure
(v.) solemnly ordered
The jurors were adjured by the judge to make a fair decision.
aggrandize
(v.) to make more powerful
The king wanted to aggrandize himself and his kingdom.
aghast
(adj.) astonished; amazed; horrified; terrified; appalled
Stockholders were aghast at the company's revelation.
allegory
(n.) a symbolic description
allude
(v.) to refer indirectly to something
The story alludes to part of the author's life.
allure
(v.; n.) to attract; entice; attraction; temptation; glamour
Singapore's allure is its bustling economy.
amass
(v.) to collect together; accumulate
Over the years the sailor has amassed many replicas of boats.
ameliorate
(v.) to improve or make better
A consistent routine of exercise has shown to ameliorate health.
amiss
(adj.; adv.) wrong; awry; wrongly; in a defective manner
Seeing that his anorak was gone, he knew something was amiss .
anaphylaxis
(n.) an allergic reaction
The boy's severe anaphylaxis to a series of medications made writing
prescriptions a tricky proposition.
anoint
(v.) to crown; ordain;
A member of the monarchy was anointed by the king.
apocryphal
(adj.) counterfeit; of doubtful authorship or authenticity
The man who said he was a doctor was truly apocryphal.
apposite
(adj.) suitable; apt; relevant
Discussion of poverty was apposite to the curriculum, so the professor
allowed it.
apprehensive
(adj.) fearful; aware; conscious
The nervous child was apprehensive about beginning a new school year.
approbatory
(adj.) approving or sanctioning
The judge showed his acceptance in his approbatory remark.
arduous
(adj.) laborious, difficult; strenuous
Completing the plans for the new building proved to be an arduous affair.
aromatic
(adj.) having a smell which is sweet or spicy
arrogate
(v.) to claim or demand unduly
The teenager arrogated that he should be able to use his parent's car
aseptic
(adj.) germ free
askance
(adv.) a sideways glance of disapproval
The look askance proved the guard suspected some wrongdoing.
asperity
(n.) harshness
The man used asperity to frighten the girl out of going.
aspersion
(n.) slanderous statement; a damaging or derogatory criticism
The aspersion damaged the credibility of the organization.
assay
(n.) to determine the quality of a substance.
Have the soil assayed.
assiduous
(adj.) carefully attentive; industrious
It is necessary to be assiduous if a person wishes to make the most of
his time at work.
astringent
(n.; adj.) a substance that contracts bodily tissues; causing contraction;
tightening; stern, austere
astute
(adj.) cunning; sly; crafty
The astute lawyer's questioning convinced the jury of the defendant's
guilt.
atrophy
(v.; n.) to waste away, as from lack of use; to wither; failure to grow
A few months after he lost his ability to walk, his legs began to atrophy.
The atrophy of the muscles was due to the injury.
augment
(v.) to increase or add to; to make larger
They needed more soup so they augmented the recipe.
august
(adj.) to be imposing or magnificent
The palace was august in gold and crystal.
austere
(adj.) having a stern look; having strict self-discipline
The old woman always has an austere look about her.
aver
(v.) to affirm as true
The witness was able to aver the identity of the defendant.
awry
(adj; adv.) crooked(ly); uneven(ly); wrong; askew
Hearing the explosion in the laboratory, the scientist realized the
experiment had gone awry.
azure
(adj.) the clear blue color of the sky
The azure sky made the picnic day perfect.

B-List

baroque
(adj.) extravagant; ornate; embellished
The baroque artwork was made up of intricate details which kept the
museum-goers enthralled.
bastion
(n.) a fortified place or strong defense
The strength of the bastion saved the soldiers inside of it.
batten
(v.) to gain
The team could only batten by drafting the top player.
bauble
(n.) a showy yet useless thing
The woman had many baubles on her bookshelf.
beholden
(adj.) indebted to
The children were beholden to their parents for the car .
behoove
(v.) to be advantageous; to be necessary
It will behoove the students to buy their textbooks early.
bellicose
(adj.) quarrelsome; warlike
The bellicose guest would not be invited back again.
bemuse
(v.) to preoccupy in thought
The girl was bemused by her troubles.
bereft
(v.; adj.) to be deprived of; to be in a sad manner; hurt by someone's
death
The loss of his job will leave the man bereft of many luxuries.
beseech
(v.) to ask earnestly
The soldiers beseeched the civilians for help.
besmirch
(v.) to dirty or discolor
The soot from the chimney will besmirch clean curtains.
betroth
(v.) to promise or pledge in marriage
biennial
(adj.; n.) happening every two years; a plant which blooms every two
years
blighted
(adj.) causing frustration or destruction
The blighted tornado left only one building standing in its wake.
blithe
(adj.) happy; cheery; merry; a cheerful disposition
The wedding was a blithe celebration.
bode
(v.) to foretell something
The storm bode that we would not reach our destination.
brevity
(n.) briefness; shortness
On Top 40 AM radio, brevity was the coin of the realm.
brindled
(adj.) mixed with a darker color
In order to get matching paint we made a brindled mixture.
broach
(v.) to introduce into conversation
Broaching the touchy subject was difficult.
brusque
(adj.) abrupt in manner or speech
His brusque answer was neither acceptable nor polite.
bumptious
(adj.) arrogant
bungler
(n.) a clumsy person
The one who broke the crystal vase was a true bungler.
burgeon
(v.) to grow or develop quickly
The tumor appeared to burgeon more quickly than normal.
burlesque
(v.; n.) to imitate in a non-serious manner; a comical imitation
His stump speeches were so hackneyed, he seemed to be burlesquing of
his role as a congressman.
burly
(adj.) strong; bulky; stocky
The lumberjack was a burly man.
burnish
(v.) to polish by rubbing
The vase needed to be burnished to restore its beauty.

C-List

cabal
(n.) a group of persons joined by a secret
The very idea that there could be a cabal cast suspicion on the whole
operation.
callow
(adj.) being young or immature
With the callow remark the young man demonstrated his age.
calumny
(n.) slander
I felt it necessary to speak against the calumny of the man's good
reputation
canard
(n.) a false statement or rumor
The canard was reported in a scandalous tabloid.
candid
(adj.) honest; truthful; sincere
People trust her because she's so candid.
cant
(n.) insincere or hypocritical statements of high ideals;
caprice
(n.) a sudden, unpredictable or whimsical change (capricious:(adj.) changeable; fickle)
captious
(adj.) disposed to find fault
A captious attitude often causes difficulties in a relationship.
carte blanche
(n.) unlimited authority
The designer was given carte blanche to create a new line for the fall.
cascade
(n; v.) waterfall; pour; rush; fall
The hikers stopped along the path to take in the beauty of the rushing
cascade.
catharsis
(n.) a purging or relieving of the body or soul
He experienced a total catharsis after the priest absolved his sins.
cavil
(v.) to bicker
The children are constantly cavil
censure
(n.; v.) a disapproval; an expression of disapproval; to criticize or
disapprove of
chaffing
(n.) banter; teasing
The king was used to his jesters good-natured chaffing.
chagrin
(n.) a feeling of embarrassment due to failure or disappointment
To the chagrin of the inventor, the machine did not work.
charlatan
(n.) a person who pretends to have knowledge; an impostor; fake
The charlatan deceived the townspeople.
chicanery
(n.) trickery or deception
The swindler was trained in chicanery.
chimera
(n.) an impossible fancy
Perhaps he saw a flying saucer, but perhaps it was only a chimera.
choleric
(adj.) cranky; cantankerous; easily moved to feeling displeasure
chortle
(v.) to make a gleeful, chuckling sound
citadel
(n.) a fortress set up high to defend a city
cloture
(n.) a parliamentary procedure to end debate and begin to vote
coalesce
(v.) to grow together
The bride and groom coalesced their funds to increase their collateral.
coda
(n.) in music, a concluding passage
coddle
(v.) to treat with tenderness
A baby needs to be coddled