The GRE Verbal Reasoning Test: Warm-up Words: Warm-up, List 6

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. aesthetic
    characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste
    Similarly, the holistic educator places music and the arts in a central position in a child’s education, emphasizing the artistic and aesthetic experiences that only the arts can bring. Music and the Child
  2. affinity
    a natural attraction or feeling of kinship
    A Patronus is a magical charm, a projection of all your most positive feelings, and takes the shape of the animal with whom you share the deepest affinity. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
  3. ambiguous
    having more than one possible meaning
    In this period the word ‘model’ is ambiguous: it can carry the modern meaning but more often it refers to a graphic representation, a plan or drawing. The Invention of Science
  4. copious
    large in number or quantity
    Egypt’s dry, sandy soil preserves papyrus scrolls very well—copious quantities of documents have survived. Circumference
  5. disinterested
    unaffected by concern for one's own welfare
    The traditional difference here is that disinterested means “unbiased,” while uninterested means “bored” or “lacking interest.” Woe Is I
  6. dissolution
    the termination or disintegration of a relationship
    During Season 2 of “The Show About the Show,” his marriage fell apart, and the show became a record of its dissolution. New York Times (Jun 29, 2021)
  7. diverge
    move or draw apart
    The crowd diverged at the bottom of the stairs, most heading to the World’s Fair, some going in the direction of the Wild West Show. The City Beautiful
  8. idolatry
    the worship of objects or images as gods
    In this worldview, to venerate elite artists is idolatry, but to worship popular artists is good for the soul. Salon (Dec 25, 2021)
  9. mitigate
    lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of
    “Our oceans are complex living systems that help feed millions, mitigate climate change and even yield lifesaving medicines.” New York Times (Nov 13, 2016)
  10. plaintive
    expressing sorrow
    Her last words ripped out of her in a wail, plaintive and piercing. When the Sea Turned to Silver
  11. purport
    have the often misleading appearance of being or intending
    It was unsigned, but there were several clear references which made it plain that Bunny Corcoran, or someone purporting to be him, was the author. The Secret History
  12. refute
    overthrow by argument, evidence, or proof
    Galileo refuted that argument by pointing out that if ice is held down under water and then released, its broad, flat shape doesn’t stop it pushing upwards through the water. The Scientists
  13. remonstrate
    argue in protest or opposition
    You remonstrate: “The answer’s not X but Y. You forgot to take account of this or that.” Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences
  14. repudiate
    refuse to acknowledge, ratify, or recognize as valid
    A few years later, in bankruptcy, Detroit tried to repudiate the $1.4 billion pension borrowing, calling it a sham transaction that used the dummy corporations to get around a legal debt limit. New York Times (Feb 16, 2021)
  15. sordid
    foul and run-down and repulsive
    The sordid conditions of its condemned—stowed away for decades, eight men to a 120-square-foot cell, sustained on filthy gruel and constantly recontaminating one another with disease—are the least of its horrors. Economist (Jul 14, 2016)
  16. supersede
    take the place or move into the position of
    With prospects for another collider to supersede it still decades away, the LHC is perhaps particle physicists’ best hope to discover what lies beyond the Standard Model. Scientific American (Apr 27, 2022)
  17. tout
    advertise in strongly positive terms
    He also touted the units’ open-concept living areas and garage parking as key selling points. Washington Post (May 10, 2022)
  18. undulate
    move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
    The water below undulated in shades of blue to green to purple in some spots. Shooting Kabul
  19. visage
    the human face
    The riders, too, were like nothing she had ever seen before: ethereal men and women with pale visages, their cheekbones so sharply sculpted that she could see their skulls through translucent skin. Ash
  20. volatile
    liable to lead to sudden change or violence
    Summertime riots had become an annual event in America’s inner cities, starting with the Los Angeles Watts conflagration in 1965, and the climate in Durham that spring was particularly volatile. The Best of Enemies
Created on Wed Nov 30 13:50:59 EST 2022 (updated Thu Jan 12 14:59:24 EST 2023)

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