25 GRE Words Found in Official ETS Practice Materials
These 25 words occur in ETS's public GRE sample questions or explanations. Their presence is verified, but it does not predict any future test form.
ETS does not publish a magic vocabulary list. This smaller set has a narrower, verifiable claim: every headword appears in ETS's public sample-question PDF. Inflected forms have been normalized to dictionary headwords where appropriate.
to make something seem less important or noticeable
The policy debate should not overshadow the study's central finding.
to show that a claim or result is unsound
One anomalous trial does not automatically invalidate the model.
to make an idea clearer
The comparison helps illuminate the author's larger point.
to improve or increase a quality
Labels can enhance a graph's readability.
to make something difficult to understand or see
Technical jargon can obscure a simple conclusion.
to emphasize the importance of something
The repeated image underscores the poem's central tension.
the quality of seeming reasonable or likely
The new evidence increased the hypothesis's plausibility.
complete confidence that something is true
The limited sample prevents certainty about the result.
lack of depth or thoroughness
The review criticized the analysis for its superficiality.
in a way too slight to be noticed
The shoreline curves imperceptibly toward the east.
without a steady or predictable pattern
The archive was updated irregularly during its first year.
in an unstable or insecure way
The agreement rested precariously on one disputed assumption.
in a persistent way that does not ease
The critic relentlessly questioned the study's narrow sample.
following established or traditional ideas
The essay begins with an orthodox account before challenging it.
a person whose habits and opinions sit cheerfully outside the ordinary
The village eccentric mowed his lawn in a dinner jacket, rain or shine.
so minor or unimportant as to be hardly worth any attention
He dismissed the missing dollar as a trifling error not worth chasing down.
based on what is generally accepted or traditional
The architect rejected a conventional floor plan.
introducing a new idea or method
The device was innovative even though its materials were familiar.
to make a bad situation better
Targeted grants may ameliorate the shortage.
to find out or establish something for certain, especially through investigation
Investigators worked for weeks to ascertain the exact cause of the fire.
to identify the nature or cause of a problem
The report diagnoses the delay but proposes no remedy.
to make a problem worse
A vague rule could exacerbate the existing confusion.
to fail to notice or consider
A rushed reader may overlook the sentence's contrast word.
to become or make something worse
Cutting maintenance would worsen the backlog.
having the opposite of the intended effect
Adding more steps would be counterproductive.
Learn each word as part of a relationship. Pair ameliorate with exacerbate, orthodox with innovative, and plausibility with certainty.
