A good vocabulary is crucial to acing Verbal section in GRE, CAT, SAT and other such exams. In this series of articles, we have compiled 1000 words that frequently feature in competitive exams. Spread over 25 lists of 40 words, these lists offer you a chance to learn the most essential English words.
Each word in the list is accompanied with its meaning and followed by a usage example. The words are categorized on three levels: 1, 2 and 3, according to the degree of difficulty. Go through the word lists and strengthen your vocabulary database.
Level 1: Let’s get warmed up
| Compassion: A deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering |
| The Dalai Lama practises what he preaches, universal kindness and compassion. |
| Debacle: A sudden and violent collapse |
| The convention was an utter debacle. |
| Degrade: Reduce in worth or character |
| He was degraded to a lower rank. |
| Depict: Give a description of |
| Children’s books often depict animals as gentle creatures. |
| Genre: A style of expressing yourself in writing |
| His genre is horror writing. |
| Refute: Overthrow by argument, evidence, or proof |
| The opposite party refuted the results of the poll. |
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Level 2: Let’s take it up a notch
| Candid: Characterized by directness in manner or speech |
| In private I gave them my candid opinion about the atmosphere in the office. |
| Cliché: A trite or obvious remark |
| I’ve learnt that the cliché about life not being fair is true. |
| Cog: A subordinate who performs an important but routine function |
| He was a small cog in a large machine albeit an important one. |
| Egghead: An intellectual |
| Eggheads can be easily found in universities. |
| Flabbergasted: As if struck dumb with astonishment and surprise |
| I was amazed and flabbergasted by my perfunctory dismissal by my parents. |
| Hirsute: Having or covered with hair |
| We saw a large hirsute Scot with an aggressive blustery personality. |
| Naïve: Inexperienced |
| He is so naive he’ll believe anything I tell him. |
| Nonentity: The state of not existing |
| She was written off after the election as a nonentity. |
| Pensive: Deeply or seriously thoughtful |
| He suddenly looked sombre and pensive. |
| Repugnant: Offensive to the mind |
| His actions were improper and repugnant to others in the family. |
| Snooze: Sleeping for a short period of time |
| It is a good exercise to snooze in office when the boss is away. |
| Unsavoury: Morally offensive |
| I have heard some unsavoury stories about that man. |
| Vehemently: In a vehement manner |
| He vehemently denied the accusations against him. |
| Vivacious: Vigorous and animated |
| Folk dances are vivacious and colourful. |
| Whet: Make keen or more acute |
| A delicious aroma from the kitchen whetted our appetite. |
| Wince: Drawback, as with fear or pain |
| He tightened his grip on her arm till she winced in pain |
Level 3: Time to be a master
| Aberrant: Markedly different from an accepted norm |
| Teachers do not expect aberrant behaviour from their wards. |
| Acme: The highest point |
| His work is the acme of cinematic art. |
| Apparition: A ghostly appearing figure |
| Apparitions can be scary, especially at night. |
| Catharsis: Release of emotional tensions. |
| It is important for patients of depression to undergo catharsis. |
| Copious: Large in number or quantity |
| He drank copious quantities of tea and coffee. |
| Dexterity: Adroitness in using the hands |
| She showed her dexterity with a needle and thread. |
| Eclectic: Selecting what seems best of various styles or ideas |
| He is a collector of rare and eclectic paintings. |
| Effrontery: Audacious (even arrogant) behaviour that you have no right to |
| He had the effrontery to turn up at my doorstep at two in the morning. |
| Epitome: A standard or typical example |
| The old lady was the epitome of sophistication. |
| Equanimity: Steadiness of mind under stress |
| Judges are supposed to maintain their equanimity in crucial cases. |
| Gaunt: Very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold |
| The gaunt old woman aroused a lot of pity in everyone. |
| Grotesque: Ludicrously odd |
| There were statues of grotesque mythical creatures in the garden. |
| Mien: Dignified manner or conduct |
| His mild manner and aristocratic mien was very imposing. |
| Oodles: A large number or amount |
| He is filled with oodles of ideas which are never implemented. |
| Ort: A morsel left at a meal. |
| The poor feed themselves on orts and morsels leftover by their masters. |
| Quiescent: Not active or activated |
| A lot of volcanoes in the world are in their quiescent state right now. |
| Stupor: Marginal consciousness |
| He was drinking himself into a stupor every night. |
| Venial: Warranting only temporal punishment |
| If he had faults, they were venial ones. |
Vocabulary Preparation Series
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