Englishindex.org - Commonly Confused GRE words

Englishindex.org | Vocabulary | High-Frequency GRE Vocabulary | Commonly confused GRE words

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These 100 word pairs are useful for GRE Verbal Reasoning, particularly Text Completion, Sentence Equivalence, and Reading Comprehension. They include words with similar spellings, pronunciations, or meanings that can lead to incorrect answers.

A. Commonly Confused GRE Words (1–25)

Abjure vs. Adjure — Abjure: formally renounce; Adjure: earnestly urge or command.
Abrogate vs. Arrogate — Abrogate: officially abolish; Arrogate: claim without justification.
Adverse vs. Averse — Adverse: unfavorable or harmful; Averse: strongly opposed.
Affect vs. Effect — Affect: influence (verb); Effect: result (noun), or bring about (verb).
Allude vs. Elude — Allude: refer indirectly; Elude: escape or avoid.
Amend vs. Emend — Amend: improve or change; Emend: correct errors in a text.
Ambivalent vs. Ambiguous — Ambivalent: having conflicting feelings; Ambiguous: having multiple possible meanings.
Amity vs. Enmity — Amity: friendship; Enmity: hostility.
Appraise vs. Apprise — Appraise: evaluate; Apprise: inform.
Arcane vs. Archaic — Arcane: mysterious or understood by few; Archaic: very old or outdated.
Ascent vs. Assent — Ascent: upward movement; Assent: agreement.
Ascetic vs. Austere — Ascetic: practicing strict self-denial; Austere: severely simple or strict.
Attenuate vs. Accentuate — Attenuate: weaken; Accentuate: emphasize.
Banal vs. Baneful — Banal: unoriginal or commonplace; Baneful: harmful or destructive.
Belie vs. Belittle — Belie: give a false impression of; Belittle: make something seem unimportant.
Beneficent vs. Beneficial — Beneficent: doing good or showing kindness; Beneficial: producing a favorable result.
Causal vs. Casual — Causal: relating to cause and effect; Casual: informal or not deliberate.
Censor vs. Censure — Censor: suppress or remove objectionable material; Censure: strongly criticize.
Climactic vs. Climatic — Climactic: relating to a climax; Climatic: relating to climate.
Collaborate vs. Corroborate — Collaborate: work together; Corroborate: confirm with evidence.
Complacent vs. Complaisant — Complacent: excessively self-satisfied; Complaisant: eager to please.
Complement vs. Compliment — Complement: complete or enhance; Compliment: express praise.
Connote vs. Denote — Connote: suggest an additional meaning; Denote: indicate a direct meaning.
Conscience vs. Conscious — Conscience: moral awareness; Conscious: awake or aware.
Contemptible vs. Contemptuous — Contemptible: deserving contempt; Contemptuous: expressing contempt.

B. Intermediate GRE Confusing Words (26–50)

Credulous vs. Credible — Credulous: too ready to believe; Credible: believable.
Dearth vs. Death — Dearth: scarcity; Death: end of life.
Defuse vs. Diffuse — Defuse: reduce danger or tension; Diffuse: spread widely.
Deleterious vs. Delirious — Deleterious: harmful; Delirious: mentally confused or extremely excited.
Demur vs. Demure — Demur: object or hesitate; Demure: modest or reserved.
Deprecate vs. Depreciate — Deprecate: express disapproval; Depreciate: decrease in value.
Discreet vs. Discrete — Discreet: tactful or careful; Discrete: separate or distinct.
Disinterested vs. Uninterested — Disinterested: impartial; Uninterested: lacking interest.
Elicit vs. Illicit — Elicit: draw out a response; Illicit: illegal or forbidden.
Eminent vs. Imminent — Eminent: distinguished or famous; Imminent: about to happen.
Empathy vs. Sympathy — Empathy: understanding another's feelings from their perspective; Sympathy: feeling concern or compassion.
Emigrate vs. Immigrate — Emigrate: leave one's country to settle elsewhere; Immigrate: enter another country to settle.
Endemic vs. Epidemic — Endemic: regularly present in a particular region; Epidemic: spreading unusually rapidly or widely.
Enervate vs. Energize — Enervate: weaken or drain energy; Energize: give energy.
Ensure vs. Insure — Ensure: make certain; Insure: provide insurance coverage.
Exacerbate vs. Exasperate — Exacerbate: make a problem worse; Exasperate: irritate intensely.
Exculpate vs. Inculpate — Exculpate: clear from blame; Inculpate: implicate in wrongdoing.
Explicit vs. Implicit — Explicit: clearly stated; Implicit: implied rather than directly stated.
Flaunt vs. Flout — Flaunt: display ostentatiously; Flout: openly disregard a rule.
Flounder vs. Founder — Flounder: struggle ineffectively; Founder: fail or collapse.
Fortuitous vs. Fortunate — Fortuitous: happening by chance; Fortunate: lucky or favorable.
Gregarious vs. Egregious — Gregarious: sociable; Egregious: shockingly bad.
Historic vs. Historical — Historic: important in history; Historical: relating to the past.
Ingenious vs. Ingenuous — Ingenious: clever and inventive; Ingenuous: innocent, sincere, or unsophisticated.
Imply vs. Infer — Imply: suggest indirectly; Infer: conclude from evidence.

C. Advanced GRE Confusing Words (51–75)

Impugn vs. Impute — Impugn: challenge as false or dishonest; Impute: attribute something to someone.
Incipient vs. Insipid — Incipient: beginning to develop; Insipid: dull or lacking flavor.
Indigent vs. Indignant — Indigent: extremely poor; Indignant: angry about perceived injustice.
Inimical vs. Inimitable — Inimical: hostile or harmful; Inimitable: impossible to imitate.
Insidious vs. Invidious — Insidious: gradually harmful and difficult to detect; Invidious: likely to cause resentment or unfairly discriminatory.
Intractable vs. Intransigent — Intractable: difficult to manage or solve; Intransigent: unwilling to compromise.
Irascible vs. Irritable — Irascible: easily provoked to anger; Irritable: easily annoyed.
Laudable vs. Laudatory — Laudable: deserving praise; Laudatory: expressing praise.
Loath vs. Loathe — Loath: reluctant; Loathe: strongly dislike.
Luxuriant vs. Luxurious — Luxuriant: growing abundantly; Luxurious: extremely comfortable or expensive.
Mendacious vs. Mendicant — Mendacious: dishonest; Mendicant: a beggar or someone dependent on charity.
Meretricious vs. Meritorious — Meretricious: superficially attractive but lacking genuine value; Meritorious: deserving praise or reward.
Mitigate vs. Militate — Mitigate: make less severe; Militate: exert a strong influence, usually against something.
Negligent vs. Negligible — Negligent: careless; Negligible: too insignificant to matter.
Obdurate vs. Obtuse — Obdurate: stubbornly resistant; Obtuse: slow to understand.
Obsequious vs. Obstreperous — Obsequious: excessively submissive or flattering; Obstreperous: noisy and difficult to control.
Ostensible vs. Ostentatious — Ostensible: apparent or stated, possibly concealing the truth; Ostentatious: showy or designed to impress.
Palatable vs. Palpable — Palatable: pleasant or acceptable; Palpable: easily perceived or felt.
Palliate vs. Pallid — Palliate: relieve symptoms without curing the cause; Pallid: pale or lacking vitality.
Perquisite vs. Prerequisite — Perquisite: an additional benefit or privilege; Prerequisite: something required beforehand.
Perspicacious vs. Perspicuous — Perspicacious: having keen insight; Perspicuous: clear and easy to understand.
Politic vs. Political — Politic: prudent or tactful; Political: relating to government or politics.
Precede vs. Proceed — Precede: come before; Proceed: continue or move forward.
Prescribe vs. Proscribe — Prescribe: recommend or officially direct; Proscribe: forbid.
Presumptive vs. Presumptuous — Presumptive: based on reasonable expectation or presumption; Presumptuous: excessively bold or overconfident.

D. High-Level GRE Confusing Words (76–100)

Prodigal vs. Prodigious — Prodigal: recklessly wasteful; Prodigious: extraordinarily large or impressive.
Profligate vs. Prolific — Profligate: extravagantly wasteful or immoral; Prolific: highly productive.
Puerile vs. Puissant — Puerile: childish or immature; Puissant: powerful.
Rebut vs. Refute — Rebut: argue against a claim; Refute: disprove a claim.
Recalcitrant vs. Recondite — Recalcitrant: stubbornly disobedient; Recondite: obscure or difficult to understand.
Reluctant vs. Reticent — Reluctant: unwilling; Reticent: reserved or unwilling to speak freely.
Restive vs. Restful — Restive: restless or resistant to control; Restful: peaceful or relaxing.
Reverent vs. Reverend — Reverent: showing deep respect; Reverend: a title used for a member of the clergy.
Salacious vs. Salubrious — Salacious: showing excessive interest in sexual matters; Salubrious: healthy or health-promoting.
Sanguine vs. Sanguinary — Sanguine: optimistic; Sanguinary: involving bloodshed.
Sensuous vs. Sensual — Sensuous: appealing to the senses, often aesthetically; Sensual: relating to physical or sexual pleasure.
Specious vs. Spacious — Specious: superficially convincing but misleading; Spacious: having plenty of room.
Tacit vs. Taciturn — Tacit: understood without being expressed; Taciturn: habitually quiet or reserved.
Tenacious vs. Tenuous — Tenacious: persistent or determined; Tenuous: weak, slight, or insubstantial.
Tortuous vs. Torturous — Tortuous: winding or excessively complicated; Torturous: causing severe suffering.
Trenchant vs. Truculent — Trenchant: sharply effective or penetrating; Truculent: aggressively defiant or hostile.
Turgid vs. Turbid — Turgid: swollen or pompously worded; Turbid: cloudy or muddy.
Venal vs. Venial — Venal: corruptible through bribery; Venial: relatively minor or forgivable.
Veracious vs. Voracious — Veracious: truthful; Voracious: extremely eager or hungry.
Voluble vs. Volatile — Voluble: speaking fluently and at length; Volatile: unstable or rapidly changeable.
Wary vs. Weary — Wary: cautious; Weary: tired.
Waive vs. Wave — Waive: voluntarily give up a right or requirement; Wave: move back and forth.
Ephemeral vs. Ethereal — Ephemeral: short-lived; Ethereal: delicate, otherworldly, or heavenly.
Epitome vs. Epitaph — Epitome: perfect example of something; Epitaph: inscription honoring someone who has died.
Secede vs. Succeed — Secede: formally withdraw from an organization or state; Succeed: achieve success or come after.