GRE word list - V

vacillate to sway through lack of equilibrium:FLUCTUATE, OSCILLATE

vacuous marked by lack of ideas or intelligence:STUPID, INANE
vagary an erratic, unpredictable, or extravagant manifestation, action, or notion
one who has no established residence and wanders idly from place to place
vagrant
without lawful or visible means of support
vague not thinking or expressing one's thoughts clearly or precisely
valediction an act of bidding farewell
valiant possessing or acting with bravery or boldness:COURAGEOUS
valid logically correct
vanquish to defeat in a conflict or contest
vapid lacking liveliness, tang, briskness, or force:FLAT, DULL
vaporize to convert (as by the application of heat or by spraying) into vapor
the fact, quality, or state of being variable or variant: DIFFERENCE,
variance
VARIATION
varnish to apply varnish to
vault a room or compartment for the safekeeping of valuables
vaunt to make a vain display of one's own worth or attainments:BRAG
veer to change direction or course
vehement marked by forceful energy:POWERFUL
capable of being bought or obtained for money or other valuable
venal consideration:PURCHASABLE; especially :open to corrupt influence and
especially bribery:MERCENARY
vendor one that sell especially as a hawker or peddler
a layer of wood of superior value or excellent grain to be glued to an inferior
veneer
wood
venerate to regard with reverential respect or with admiring deference
vengeful serving to gain vengeance
of a kind that can be remitted:FORGIVABLE, PARDONABLE; also :meriting no
venial
particular censure or notice:EXCUSABLE
poisonous matter normally secreted by some animals (as snakes, scorpions,
venom
or bees) and transmitted to prey or an enemy chiefly by biting or stinging
ventilate to examine, discuss, or investigate freely and openly:EXPOSE
veracious TRUTHFUL, HONEST
verbatim being in or following the exact words:WORD-FOR-WORD
verbose containing more words than necessary:WORDY
verdant green with growing plants
verdict the finding or decision of a jury on the matter submitted to it in trial
verify to establish the truth, accuracy, or reality of
vernacular The standard native language of a country or locality
versatile having many uses or applications
versed acquainted through study or experience; knowledgeable or skilled
versemonger
a disordered state in which the individual or the individual's surroundings
vertigo
seem to whirl dizzily
the spirit and enthusiasm animating artistic composition or
verve
performance:VIVACITY
a tube or canal (as an artery) in which a body fluid is contained and
vessel
conveyed or circulated
a bodily part or organ that is small and degenerate or imperfectly developed
vestigial in comparison to one more fully developed in an earlier stage of the
individual, in a past generation, or in closely related forms
veteran an old soldier of long service
veto an authoritative prohibition:INTERDICTION
vex to bring trouble, distress, or agitation to
capable of living; especially :capable of surviving outside the mother's womb
viable
without artificial support
vibrant oscillating or pulsating rapidly
performed or suffered by one person as a substitute for another or to the
vicarious
benefit or advantage of another:SUBSTITUTIONARY
vicious having the nature or quality of vice or immorality:DEPRAVED
vicissitude change (esp. from good to bad); change of fortune
victimize to subject to deception or fraud:CHEAT
vigilant alertly watchful especially to avoid danger
vignette a brief incident or scene (as in a play or movie)
vigor active bodily or mental strength or force
vilify to utter slanderous and abusive statements against:DEFAME
vim robust energy and enthusiasm
vindicate to free from allegation or blame
vindictive disposed to seek revenge:VENGEFUL
violate to do harm to the person or especially the chastity of; specifically :RAPE
virility the quality or state of being virile:a:MANHOOD b:manly vigor:MASCULINITY
virtuoso an experimenter or investigator especially in the arts and sciences:SAVANT
virtuous morally excellent:RIGHTEOUS
virulent marked by a rapid, severe, and malignant course
viscous having a glutinous consistency:VISCID
visionary incapable of being realized or achieved:UTOPIAN
vista a distant view through or along an avenue or opening:PROSPECT
capacity to live and develop; also :physical or mental vigor especially when
vitality
highly developed
vitiate to make faulty or defective:IMPAIR
vitrify to convert into glass or a glassy substance by heat and fusion
vitriolic bitterly scathing; caustic
vituperative uttering or given to censure:containing or characterized by verbal abuse
vivacious lively in temper, conduct, or spirit:SPRIGHTLY
vivid having the appearance of vigorous life or freshness:LIVELY
vociferous marked by or given to vehement insistent outcry
vogue popular acceptation or favor:POPULARITY
volatile characterized by or subject to rapid or unexpected change
volition an act of making a choice or decision; also :a choice or decision made
voluble characterized by ready or rapid speech:GLIB, FLUENT
voluminous having or marked by great volume or bulk:LARGE also :FULL
voluptuous given to or spent in enjoyments of luxury, pleasure, or sensual gratifications
an act or instance of disgorging the contents of the stomach through the
vomit
mouth; also :the disgorged matter
voracious excessively eager:INSATIABLE
votary a devout or zealous worshiper
vouch to summon into court to warrant or defend a title
vulgar lacking in cultivation, perception, or taste:COARSE
GRE word list - W
waffle to talk or write foolishly:BLATHER
wag WIT, JOKER
wan suggestive of poor health:SICKLY, PALLID
wane to fall gradually from power, prosperity, or influence
want grave and extreme poverty that deprives one of the necessities of life
wanton playfully mean or cruel:MISCHIEVOUS
wardrobe a room or closet where clothes are kept:CLOTHESPRESS
warmonger one who urges or attempts to stir up war:JINGO
to turn or twist out of or as if out of shape; especially :to twist or bend out of
warp
a plane
to guarantee to a person good title to and undisturbed possession of (as an
warrant
estate)
marked by keen caution, cunning, and watchful prudence especially in
wary
detecting and escaping danger
wastrel one who dissipates resources foolishly and self-indulgently:PROFLIGATE
waterproof impervious to water; especially :covered or treated with a material
watershed a crucial dividing point, line, or factor:TURNING POINT
1. to treat or rub with wax usually for polishing or stiffening 2. to increase in
wax phase or intensity ,used chiefly of the moon, other satellites, and inferior
planets
waylay to lie in wait for or attack from ambush
to unite (metallic parts) by heating and allowing the metals to flow together
weld
or by hammering or compressing with or without previous heating
welter to be in turmoil
wheedle to influence or entice by soft words or flattery
whet to make keen or more acute:EXCITE, STIMULATE
whiff a quick puff or slight gust especially of air, odor, gas, smoke, or spray
whimsical resulting from or characterized by whim or caprice; especially :lightly fanciful
wholesome promoting health or well-being of mind or spirit
wicked morally very bad:EVIL
wily full of wiles:CRAFTY
wince to shrink back involuntarily (as from pain):FLINCH
windbag an exhaustively talkative person
windy VERBOSE, BOMBASTIC
winnow to remove (as chaff) by a current of air
generally pleasing and engaging often because of a childlike charm and
winsome
innocence
wit mental capability and resourcefulness:INGENUITY
 one that is credited with usually malignant supernatural powers; especially :a
witch woman practicing usually black witchcraft often with the aid of a devil or
familiar:SORCERESS
to remove (money) from a place of deposit;to become socially or emotionally
withdraw
detached
to become dry and sapless; especially :to shrivel from or as if from loss of
wither
bodily moisture
withhold to refrain from granting, giving, or allowing
to become dry, shrunken, and wrinkled often as a result of aging or of failing
wizen
vitality
to move or proceed with an irregular rocking or staggering motion or
wobble
unsteadily and clumsily from side to side TREMBLE, QUAVER
woo to sue for the affection of and usually marriage with:COURT
wordsmith a person who works with words; especially :a skillful writer
of, relating to, or devoted to this world and its pursuits rather than to religion
worldly
or spiritual affairs
worship extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem
wrangler a ranch hand who takes care of the saddle horses; broadly :COWBOY
wretched (adj.) miserable or unhappy; causing distress
a formal written document; specifically :a legal instrument in epistolary form
writ
issued under seal in the name of the English monarch
cleverly and often ironically or grimly humorous also having a bent or twisted
wry
shape or condition
GRE word list - Y
to open the mouth wide usually as an involuntary reaction to fatigue or
yawn
boredom
to surrender or relinquish to the physical control of another:hand over
yield
possession of
yoke to join as if by a yoke
GRE word list - Z
zeal eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something:FERVOR
zest keen enjoyment:RELISH, GUSTO
one of a series of short sharp turns, angles, or alterations in a course; also
zigzag
:something having the form or character of such a series
to arrange in or mark off into zones; specifically :to partition (a city,
zone borough, or township) by ordinance into sections reserved for different
purposes (as residence or business