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GRE ANTONYMS

Test 01
1. VOLUBLE - vociferous; garrulous; talkative; fluent
A. capacious – huge; roomy; sizeable
B. involuntary - instinctive; spontaneous; unintentional
C. discursive
D. taciturn – reticent; aloof; silent; introverted
E. tender – affectionate; loving; fond; kindhearted
Explanation: Someone voluble talks a lot; someone taciturn does not say much.

2. FISSION
A. contrition – repentance; penitence; sorrow
B. split – crack; divide
C. joining – amalgamation; union; unification; fusion
D. spinning – whirling; rotating; rotary
E. ramification – consequence; implication; outcome
Explanation: Fission is splitting; hence, joining is the opposite.

3. PAINSTAKING - thorough; meticulous; scrupulous; careful; particular

A. perfunctory – unthinking; obligatory; dutiful (antonym: thoughtful)
B. soothing - comforting; calming; gentle (antonym: irritating)
C. meticulous – careful; painstaking; detailed (antonym: careless)
D. mellifluous – smooth; honeyed (antonym: harsh)
E. routine – custom; habitual; usual
Explanation: Painstaking means being thorough; perfunctory means doing something in a superficial manner.

4. SUSPECT - deduce; infer

A. indubitable – definite; certain; surefire (antonym: questionable)
B. doubtful – cynical; hesitant; unsure; suspicious
C. indomitable – strong; unconquerable; stubborn; tough
D. persistent – determined; constant; importunate; continual (antonym: feeble)
E. knowledgeable – conversant; educated; erudite
Explanation: Something suspect is to be doubted; something indubitable cannot be doubted.

5. PROTRACTED - prolonged; extended; lingering; expanded

A. expeditious – speedy; hasty; swift
B. extenuated
C. egalitarian – democratic; unrestricted; uncensored
D. temporal – chronological; wordly; sequential
E. engender – create; produce; provoke
Explanation: Something protracted drags on and on; something expeditious is done speedily.

6. IMPLEMENT - execute; employ

A. establish – create; launch; ascertain
B. rescind – withdraw; void (antonym: reinstate)
C. fabricate – manufacture; formulate (antonym: destroy)
D. placate- pacify; calm; mollify (antonym: enrage)
E. draft – breeze; outline
Explanation: To implement something (such as a law) is to use it; to rescind is to cancel.

7. SMOTHER - suffocate; choke; asphyxiate; oppress

A. coddle – pamper; indulge; cosset
B. swathe – enfold; sheathe; swaddle
C. mire – swamp; morass; mud
D. perpetuate – enable; complete; achieve
E. stoke – strengthen; encourage; fuel
Explanation: To smother (a fire or a debate, for example) is to put it out; to stoke (a fire or a debate) is to build it
up or add fuel to it.
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8. PAUCITY - scarcity; dearth

A. glut – superfluity; overabundance; excess (antonym: shortage)
B. sufficiency – competence; adequacy
C. artifice – pretense; deceit; ruse
D. precinct – sector; division; quarter
E. intricacy – complexity; obscurity; convolution
Explanation: Paucity is shortage; glut is excess

9. AVOUCH
A. dilate – widen; expand; enlarge (antonym: contract)
B. conserve – protect; preserve; marmalade (antonym: destroy)
C. defer – postpone; adjourn; suspend (antonym: bring forward)
D. ingest – swallow; consume; gulp
E. recant – renounce; deny; revoke
Explanation: To avouch is to affirm (a statement etc.); to recant is to retract a statement.

10. PREDILECTION - fondness; preference; weakness; tendency

A. disinclination – reluctance; unwillingness; aversion (antonym: inclination)
B. vocation – art; craft; career; trade
C. jubilee –anniversary; celebration; festivity
D. disturbance – commotion; interruption; annoyance
E. estrangement – division; separation; rupture
Explanation: A predilection is an inclination towards or a strong liking for; a disinclination is a lack of
inclination.

11. PUGNACIOUS – aggressive; belligerent; truculent (antonym: peaceable)

A. avaricious – greedy; rapacious; avid; materialistic
B. bellicose – belligerent; aggressive; pugnacious; confrontational
C. docile – passive; submissive; meek
D. persnickety – fussy; fastidious; difficult/hard to please; particular
E. demeaning – humiliating; corrupting; shameful (antonym: dignified)
Explanation: Someone pugnacious is aggressive; someone docile is gentle and not aggressive.

12. CLEMENT – balmy; gentle; soft (antonym: wintry)

A. fervid
B. harsh – cruel; callous
C. feisty – lively; energetic
D. sibilant
E. invasive – enveloping; persistent; omnipresent; insidious (antonym: contained)
Explanation: Clement weather is favorable weather; harsh weather is unfavorable.

13. PROVIDENCE – fate; luck; destiny; divine intervention

A. prodigality
B. inundation – deluge; flood; stream; sea (antonym: trickle)
C. fatality – fate; casualty; death
D. profundity – depth; wisdom; greatness; complexity
E. antipathy – opposition; aversion; hostility
Explanation: Providence can mean foresight or economy; prodigality is wastefulness and is the opposite of
economy.

14. HIDEBOUND - narrow-minded; conventional (antonym: broadminded)

A. raucous – harsh; strident; rasping
B. rational – lucid; sane; cogent; coherent; based on reason
C. covetous – envious; jealous; desirous; greedy
D. penitent – remorseful; apologetic; rueful
E. innovative – inventive; pioneering; novel; modern
Explanation: Someone hidebound is fixed and rigid and hence is not innovative.

15. SLIGHT - trivial; unimportant; slender (antonym: considerable)

A. fear – terror; trepidation; apprehension
B. praise – eulogize; commend; honor
C. taper – diminish; narrow; decrease
D. bolster – boost; reinforce; augment; sustain; support
E. tout – flaunt; publicize; peddle; hype
Explanation: A slight is a minor insult, and so praise is a suitable opposite.
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16. FEASIBLE - possible; viable; practicable; realistic

A. plausible – reasonable; believable; conceivable
B. pernicious – destructive; deadly; malicious; harmful (antonym: harmless)
C. rudimentary – basic; simple; elementary; undeveloped
D. impracticable - not viable; unfeasible; impossible (antonym: viable)
E. tendentious
Explanation: Something feasible is possible, or likely to work; something impracticable is not likely to work.

17. PLATITUDE - cliché; inanity; dullness; boredom; insipidity

A. common feeling
B. exciting event
C. original expression
D. modern approach
E. contemporary saying
Explanation: A platitude is an unoriginal saying, and hence is not an original expression.

18. XENOPHOBIC - chauvinistic; intolerant; racist

A. moribund - declining ; waning; dilapidated
B. broadminded – tolerant; permissive; modern
C. querulous – argumentative; confrontational; cantankerous; grouchy
D. congenial – friendly; amiable; affable
E. unafraid – fearless; undaunted; bold
Explanation: Someone xenophobic is afraid of strangers and certainly not broadminded.

19. PERVASIVE - invasive; persistent; omnipresent (antonym: contained)

A. limpid
B. jarring – harsh; loud; raucous (antonym: soft)
C. scarce – insufficient; rare; sparce; meager
D. irregular – unequal; asymmetrical
E. proactive – practical; passive; positive
Explanation: Something pervasive is found everywhere, and is therefore not scarce.

20. ABRASIVE
A. morose – miserable; gloomy; depressed; pessimistic
B. captious
C. glaucous
D. complaisant
E. fatuous – stupid; childish; idiotic; inane
Explanation: A person who is abrasive in manner annoys people; someone complaisant is willing to please
others.

Test 02
1. INORDINATE - excessive; undue; unwarranted; immoderate; unreasonable
A. moderate – reasonable; modest; sensible; judicious (antonym: extreme)
B. excessive – extreme; unwarranted; disproportionate; undue (antonym: moderate)
C. venal
D. mundane – ordinary; routine; humdrum
E. preternatural
Explanation: Something inordinate is excessive; something moderate is not excessive.

2. CONTENTIOUS
A. irascible – irritable; hot-tempered; petulant
B. jaundiced – pessimistic; cynical; skeptical
C. placatory – soothing ; comforting (antonym: hostile; antagonistic; aggressive)
D. unrequited – unanswered; unreciprocated; unreturned
E. antipathetic – opposed; antagonistic (antonym: sympathetic)
Explanation: Something contentious will cause argument; something placatory will reduce anger or dissent.

3. BUOYANT - optimistic; happy

A. ebullient – happy; cheerful (antonym: sad)
B. morose - gloomy
C. prescient – clairvoyant; perceptive; discerning
D. feral – uncultivated; natural (antonym: cultivated)
E. bland – tasteless; weak; ordinary (antonym: spicy; tame)
Explanation: Someone in a buoyant mood is optimistic and happy; someone morose is gloomy.
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5. MODERN - contemporary
A. moribund – declining; waning
B. antediluvian – obsolete; old-fashioned
C. salutary – beneficial; constructive
D. hidebound – narrow-minded; conservative; conventional (antonym: broadminded)
E. burgeoning - promising; escalating (antonym: dwindling)
Explanation: Something modern is not old-fashioned. Antediluvian means very old-fashioned.

6. OVERBEARING
A. sly- clever; furtive
B. industrious – productive; conscientious; assiduous (antonym: indolent)
C. hortatory
D. servile
E. subterranean – profound; cavernous; yawning (antonym: shallow)
Explanation: Someone overbearing is very domineering; someone servile is excessively humble

7. TRANSPARENT - obvious; clear; visible (antonym: opaque)

A. noisome
B. preponderant
C. ineluctable
D. esoteric – obscure; mysterious
E. diurnal
Explanation: Something transparent is obvious; something esoteric is obscure.

8. INQUIETUDE – disturbed state

A. temerity –boldness; impudence; impertinence (antonym: reticence)
B. punctiliousness
C. decency – decorum; affability
D. serenity – peace and calm
E. excision – elimination; expurgation; removal (antonym: insertion)
Explanation: Inquietude is a disturbed state; serenity is peace and calm.

9. STOLID - impassive; dull; indifferent; slow-witted

A. tractable
B. refractory
C. ineligible
D. diaphanous
E. volatile
Explanation: Something stolid is resistant to change; something volatile changes readily.

10. NONCOMBATANT
A. stalwart
B. warrior
C. proletarian
D. jester
E. correspondent
Explanation: A noncombatant does not fight; a warrior is a fighter.

11. PUERILE – childish; immature; infantile; silly; trifling (antonym: mature)

A. profound
B. modish
C. sheepish
D. regular
E. capricious
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Explanation: Something puerile is childish and silly; something profound is deeply meaningful.

12. SERPENTINE
A. spacious - roomy airy drudgery (antonym: cramped)
B. voluptuous
C. straight
D. equable
E. inerrant
Explanation: Serpentine means convoluted and winding and is therefore not straight.

13. CAUSTIC
A. inept
B. lurid
C. treacle
D. putative
E. tawdry
Explanation: Something caustic is sharply attacking; something treacly is too sentimental.

15. OBTUSE
A. prone
B. magnanimous
C. ineffable
D. perspicacious
E. dithering
Explanation: Someone obtuse is mentally dull; someone perspicacious is mentally sharp (insightful).

16. UPSHOT
A. palisade
B. gradient
C. inception
D. declivity
E. exclusion
Explanation: The upshot of a matter is the outcome; the inception is the beginning.

17. ESCHEW
A. prepossess
B. sear
C. taunt
D. jettison
E. embrace
Explanation: To eschew is to shun and avoid, and is the opposite of to embrace (to welcome).

18. GRATE
A. ravel
B. pacify
C. shear
D. traffic
E. pummel
Explanation: To grate on someone's nerves is to annoy them; to pacify is to appease.

19. ELLIPSIS
A. solecism – error; mistake; blunder; gaffe; blooper
B. tautology
C. eradication – abolition; purge; annihilation; obliteration; suppression
D. epistaxis
E. deception – trickery; fraud; ruse; sham; con
Explanation: Ellipsis is an error in which something is missed out; tautology is a form of redundancy (saying the
same thing twice).

20. LATITUDE
A. heading – caption; course; route
B. evolution – development; progress
C. limitation – curb; restraint
D. distance – aloofness; remoteness (antonym: warmth)
E. longevity – durability; endurance
Explanation: Giving someone latitude allows them scope to do things their own way, whereas limitation restricts
the scope.
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