HARDEST WORDS / VOCABULARY (GRE,
GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, SAT, ACT, AP, IB) |
2026 UPDATED STUDY GUIDE WITH
DEFINITIONS, EXAMPLES, AND PRACTICE
QUESTIONS
| GRADED A+ | GUARANTEED SUCCESS
Updated 2026 Questions and Answers
100% Verified Exam Prep and Comprehensive
Rationales Included
,Collate collect and combine (texts, information, or sets of figures) in proper order
Vendetta a prolonged feud marked by bitter hostility
Gauche lacking social graces; tactless
Courier messenger
Malaise a sense of unease; depression
Persona Non Grata an unwelcome person
Depravity moral corruption; wickedness
Exculpatory clearing of guilt or blame
Rectify to correct; to make right
Odious extremely unpleasant; repulsive
Intransigent refusing to compromise; irreconcilable
Wunderkind a child prodigy
Kismet destiny; fate; fortune (one's lot in life)
Metastasize to spread injuriously
Rescind revoke, cancel, or repeal (a law, order, or agreement)
Zealot fanatic
Collateral additional but subordinate; secondary
Incorrigible bad beyond correction or reform
Penitent expressing remorse for one's misdeeds
Besot to infatuate; to make dull or stupid
,Milieu environment; setting
Dilettante someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic
Furtive attempting to avoid notice or attention, typically because of guilt or a belief that
discovery would lead to trouble; secretive
Dispel to clear away; to remove or get rid of, as if by scattering
Depose to remove from office or power
Debase to reduce in dignity or quality
Bastion a strong defense or fort
Eulogy a speech in praise of someone
Egregious outstandingly bad
Rut a habit or pattern of behavior that has become dull and unproductive but is hard
to change
Soporific sleep-inducing
Platitude a remark or statement, especially one with a moral content, that has been used
too often to be interesting or thoughtful
Quibble to argue or raise objections about a trivial matter
Bromide a trite and unoriginal idea or remark, typically intended to soothe or placate
Dispensation exemption from a rule or usual requirement
Roust to cause to get up or start moving; to rouse
Ephemeron something short-lived
Mugwump a person who is unable to make up his or her mind on an issue; a person who is
neutral on a controversial issue
Put-upon taken advantage of
Votive done in fulfillment of a vow or pledge
Phantasmagoria a sequence of real or imaginary images like those seen in a dream
, Goad provoke or annoy (someone) so as to stimulate some action or reaction
Messianic fervent or passionate
Sully damage the purity or integrity of; defile
Wayward difficult to control or predict because of unusual or perverse behavior
Flummox to confuse or perplex
Gripe express a complaint or grumble about something, especially something trivial
Perjure to lie under oath
Chatoyant changing in luster or color
Ire anger; wrath
Derelict abandoned; run-down
Intelligentsia intellectuals; members of the educated elite (often used derogatorily)
Abut border upon; adjoin
Gallivant go around from one place to another in the pursuit of pleasure or entertainment
Nacreous pearly; lustrous
Perestroika restructuring
Hardscrabble involving hard work and struggle
Curry Favor to seek to gain favor by flattery
Ignoramus an ignorant person
Obsequious marked by slavish attentiveness; excessively submissive, often for purely self-
interested reasons
Risible laughable
Ingratiate bring oneself into favor with someone by flattering or trying to please them
Docket a court's list of cases to be heard
Pithy concise and rich with meaning
Exonerate to clear of an accusation or charge; prove innocent
GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, SAT, ACT, AP, IB) |
2026 UPDATED STUDY GUIDE WITH
DEFINITIONS, EXAMPLES, AND PRACTICE
QUESTIONS
| GRADED A+ | GUARANTEED SUCCESS
Updated 2026 Questions and Answers
100% Verified Exam Prep and Comprehensive
Rationales Included
,Collate collect and combine (texts, information, or sets of figures) in proper order
Vendetta a prolonged feud marked by bitter hostility
Gauche lacking social graces; tactless
Courier messenger
Malaise a sense of unease; depression
Persona Non Grata an unwelcome person
Depravity moral corruption; wickedness
Exculpatory clearing of guilt or blame
Rectify to correct; to make right
Odious extremely unpleasant; repulsive
Intransigent refusing to compromise; irreconcilable
Wunderkind a child prodigy
Kismet destiny; fate; fortune (one's lot in life)
Metastasize to spread injuriously
Rescind revoke, cancel, or repeal (a law, order, or agreement)
Zealot fanatic
Collateral additional but subordinate; secondary
Incorrigible bad beyond correction or reform
Penitent expressing remorse for one's misdeeds
Besot to infatuate; to make dull or stupid
,Milieu environment; setting
Dilettante someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic
Furtive attempting to avoid notice or attention, typically because of guilt or a belief that
discovery would lead to trouble; secretive
Dispel to clear away; to remove or get rid of, as if by scattering
Depose to remove from office or power
Debase to reduce in dignity or quality
Bastion a strong defense or fort
Eulogy a speech in praise of someone
Egregious outstandingly bad
Rut a habit or pattern of behavior that has become dull and unproductive but is hard
to change
Soporific sleep-inducing
Platitude a remark or statement, especially one with a moral content, that has been used
too often to be interesting or thoughtful
Quibble to argue or raise objections about a trivial matter
Bromide a trite and unoriginal idea or remark, typically intended to soothe or placate
Dispensation exemption from a rule or usual requirement
Roust to cause to get up or start moving; to rouse
Ephemeron something short-lived
Mugwump a person who is unable to make up his or her mind on an issue; a person who is
neutral on a controversial issue
Put-upon taken advantage of
Votive done in fulfillment of a vow or pledge
Phantasmagoria a sequence of real or imaginary images like those seen in a dream
, Goad provoke or annoy (someone) so as to stimulate some action or reaction
Messianic fervent or passionate
Sully damage the purity or integrity of; defile
Wayward difficult to control or predict because of unusual or perverse behavior
Flummox to confuse or perplex
Gripe express a complaint or grumble about something, especially something trivial
Perjure to lie under oath
Chatoyant changing in luster or color
Ire anger; wrath
Derelict abandoned; run-down
Intelligentsia intellectuals; members of the educated elite (often used derogatorily)
Abut border upon; adjoin
Gallivant go around from one place to another in the pursuit of pleasure or entertainment
Nacreous pearly; lustrous
Perestroika restructuring
Hardscrabble involving hard work and struggle
Curry Favor to seek to gain favor by flattery
Ignoramus an ignorant person
Obsequious marked by slavish attentiveness; excessively submissive, often for purely self-
interested reasons
Risible laughable
Ingratiate bring oneself into favor with someone by flattering or trying to please them
Docket a court's list of cases to be heard
Pithy concise and rich with meaning
Exonerate to clear of an accusation or charge; prove innocent
