GMAT vocabulary: evaluation and performance.
55 GMAT words about evaluation and performance — each with a definition, an example sentence, and a memory cue.
The GMAT doesn't quiz definitions, but its Verbal Reasoning and Data Insights passages assume you read words like these without slowing down — an unfamiliar term in a Critical Reasoning stem costs time you don't have. Studying a whole theme at once builds that recognition: you learn not just what each word means, but how it differs from its neighbors.
Read the definition, then the example, then the memory cue. Come back a few days later and cover the definitions — recalling a word cold is what fixes it, and rereading it is not. Prefer paper? The printable version has the same 55 words ready to print.
The 55 words
Alphabetical, grouped by letter. Everything in the Evaluation & Performance guide.
Aaccolade – assuage9 words
An award or privilege granted as a special honor or acknowledgment of merit
The researcher received the highest accolade in her field for groundbreaking work in genetics.
Memory cueAn accolade is applause made tangible as a medal or honor.
Sharp and forthright in speech or manner; biting; caustic
The critic's acerbic review of the opera spared neither the director's vision nor the lead soprano's performance.
Memory cueAcerbic words feel acidic: sharp enough to sting the listener.
The purchase of a company, asset, resource, or controlling ownership interest.
The acquisition gave the retailer access to a delivery network that would have taken years to build.
Memory cueDuring an acquisition, one company acquires and brings another business under its ownership.
Warned or reprimanded firmly; urged earnestly
The judge admonished the attorney for repeatedly interrupting opposing counsel during cross- examination.
Memory cueAn admonished student hears a firm warning meant to correct behavior.
The act of distributing limited resources among competing purposes or recipients.
The budget allocation favored maintenance because neglected equipment threatened to interrupt production across several departments.
Memory cueAllocation divides one resource pie into labeled slices for different uses.
The gradual reduction or allocation of a debt or intangible asset's amount over time.
The loan's amortization schedule showed how each monthly payment reduced principal as well as interest.
Memory cueAmortization slices one large amount into a timed row of smaller accounting portions.
Pacifying or placating by acceding to demands; bringing peace to
Appeasing the rival faction only emboldened them to make more extreme demands in subsequent negotiations.
Memory cueAppeasing an angry person means offering peace until hostility settles.
Approval or praise; official sanction
The young artist sought the approbation of the established critics.
Memory cueApprobation sounds like approval because it is official praise or approval.
To make an unpleasant feeling less intense; to satisfy or relieve
Nothing could assuage his guilt over the error that had cost the company millions.
Memory cueAssuage a burning worry by pouring soothing relief over it.
Ccalumny – conviction9 words
The making of false and defamatory statements about someone; slander
The candidate accused her opponent of spreading calumny to damage her reputation.
Memory cueCalumny is a calculated falsehood thrown to stain someone’s reputation.
To reprimand someone severely; to criticize harshly
The editorial castigated the government for its slow response to the crisis.
Memory cueA severe verbal lash represents castigating someone with harsh reprimand.
Sarcastic in a scathing and bitter way; capable of burning or corroding
Her caustic review of the novel left its author devastated.
Memory cueCaustic acid burns a surface; caustic words burn through bitter criticism.
To express severe disapproval of, especially in a formal statement
The ethics committee voted to censure the senator for violating campaign finance rules.
Memory cueFormal severe disapproval arrives as a red CENSURED stamp.
Evoking interest or attention in a powerfully irresistible way
The documentary presents a compelling case that systemic reforms are needed in the criminal justice system.
Memory cueA compelling idea is a magnet for attention: it pulls the audience in and convinces them.
Expressing praise and admiration
The review was almost entirely complimentary, praising the author's prose, structure, and depth of research.
Memory cueComplimentary words deliver a compliment filled with praise.
Something conceded or acknowledged, especially in an argument, while maintaining the overall position
The author's concession that her earlier model was flawed lent credibility to her revised theory.
Memory cueA concession yields one point without surrendering the entire argument.
To accept or allow behavior that is considered morally wrong or offensive
The university refused to condone the use of artificial intelligence to produce student essays.
Memory cueTo condone wrongdoing is to let it pass as acceptable.
A firmly held belief or opinion
She argued with such conviction that even her skeptics found themselves reconsidering long-held assumptions.
Memory cueA conviction is a belief held firmly enough to withstand pressure.
Ddeferential – disparaged9 words
Showing deference; respectful and yielding to the judgment of another
The junior diplomat's deferential manner during the negotiations concealed a sharp tactical mind.
Memory cueA deferential speaker bows respectfully to someone else’s authority or judgment.
To publicly declare to be wrong or evil; to condemn openly
Human rights organizations denounced the government's use of force against peaceful demonstrators.
Memory cueDenounce wrongdoing by declaring it publicly beneath a loud WRONG sign.
To express disapproval of; to belittle
She tended to deprecate her own achievements, attributing her success to luck.
Memory cueA downward red thumb expresses deprecation and disapproval.
The allocation of a tangible asset's cost over its useful life, reflecting use and aging.
Annual depreciation spread the machine's purchase cost across the years in which it helped produce goods.
Memory cueDepreciation lowers a machine's book- value staircase one accounting period at a time.
To express contempt for; to ridicule or mock
Critics derided the proposal as impractical and hopelessly idealistic.
Memory cueDerision points and laughs in order to express contempt.
A forceful and bitter verbal attack against someone or something
The columnist launched a diatribe against the proposed legislation.
Memory cueA diatribe is a long, forceful stream of bitter verbal attack.
Strong disapproval, typically on moral grounds
The community expressed its disapprobation of the proposal by attending the town hall meeting in record numbers.
Memory cueDisapprobation delivers a stern moral thumbs-down against wrongful conduct.
The feeling that someone or something is unworthy of consideration; contempt
The aristocrat made no effort to conceal her disdain for what she considered the vulgarity of commercial art.
Memory cueDisdain turns up its nose and throws away the respect medal.
Regarded or represented as being of little worth; belittled
The architect's contemporaries disparaged his designs as impractical, but today his buildings are celebrated as visionary.
Memory cueA disparaged achievement is talked down as though worth very little.
Eencomium – extolled6 words
A speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly
The biography reads more like an encomium than a balanced account of the leader's life.
Memory cueAn encomium is praise expanded into an entire speech or essay.
The act of approving, supporting, or sustaining
The scientist's endorsement of the new vaccine carried enormous weight with a skeptical public.
Memory cueAn endorsement adds a public stamp of approval and support.
Criticizing severely; censuring harshly
The editorial delivered an excoriating critique of the government's failure to prepare for the pandemic.
Memory cueAn excoriating review verbally strips the target with severe criticism.
Serving as a desirable model; representing the best of its kind
The school's exemplary test scores attracted national attention and prompted other districts to study its methods.
Memory cueAn exemplary model stands on the standard's highest pedestal for others to copy.
To praise enthusiastically
The review extolled the novel's innovative structure and richly drawn characters.
Memory cueTo extol is to lift someone high on a tower of enthusiastic praise.
Praised enthusiastically and at length
The poet was extolled by contemporaries as the voice of a generation, though later critics were less generous.
Memory cueThe tribute extolled the hero with lengthy, enthusiastic praise.
Ggoaded – gratuitous2 words
Provoked or annoyed to stimulate some action or reaction
Goaded by the opposition's taunts, the usually composed minister made an intemperate remark she later regretted.
Memory cueA pointed goad provoked the reluctant animal into action.
Uncalled for; lacking good reason; unwarranted
The reviewer criticized the film for its gratuitous violence, which added nothing to the plot.
Memory cueA gratuitous insult arrives uncalled for and without good reason.
Hhedged1 word
Qualified or limited with conditions or restrictions; cautiously stated
The scientist's hedged conclusions—full of qualifiers and caveats—reflected the genuine uncertainty of the data.
Memory cueA hedged claim builds cautious qualifications around its risky central statement.
Iinvective1 word
Insulting, abusive, or highly critical language
The debate devolved into personal invective rather than substantive policy discussion.
Memory cueInvective throws verbal stones made of insults and abusive criticism.
Llambasting – laudable3 words
Criticizing harshly; attacking verbally with great force
The editorial spent three columns lambasting the governor's record on education, sparing no detail.
Memory cueLambasting pounds a target with forceful, harsh verbal criticism.
To praise highly; to extol
Critics were quick to laud the director's bold visual style, though some found the screenplay lacking.
Memory cueLaud an achievement by lifting it high on a tower of praise.
Deserving praise and commendation
While the goals of the initiative are laudable, the execution has been deeply flawed.
Memory cueA laudable achievement deserves a raised trophy of praise.
Mmollify1 word
To appease the anger or anxiety of someone; to calm or soothe
The company offered full refunds in an attempt to mollify dissatisfied customers.
Memory cueMollify an angry person by lowering the heat with calm reassurance.
Oopprobrium1 word
Harsh criticism or censure; public disgrace arising from shameful conduct
The politician faced widespread opprobrium after the scandal became public.
Memory cueOpprobrium is public shame delivered through harsh collective condemnation.
Ppalatable – propitiate3 words
Acceptable or satisfactory; pleasant to taste
The committee revised the proposal to make it more palatable to the opposition.
Memory cueA palatable proposal is easy enough for the mind or palate to accept.
The amount of useful output produced from a given quantity of labor, time, or resources.
New scheduling software increased productivity because technicians completed more repairs during the same number of hours.
Memory cueProductivity is the output pile produced from one fixed basket of inputs.
To win or regain the favor of someone by doing something that pleases them
The company offered generous severance packages to propitiate the laid-off workers.
Memory cueTo propitiate an angry person, offer something pleasing to regain favor.
Rrebuke – reverence3 words
To express sharp disapproval or criticism of someone
The supervisor's public rebuke of the employee was considered unnecessarily harsh.
Memory cueA rebuke is a sharp verbal red mark of disapproval.
Felt deep respect or admiration for
The philosopher was revered by students and colleagues alike for both his intellectual brilliance and his personal integrity.
Memory cueA revered teacher is held high in deep respect and admiration.
Deep respect and admiration
The reverence with which the community regarded the ancient forest made the logging proposal especially controversial.
Memory cueReverence bows quietly before someone or something held in deep respect.
Ssardonic – scathing2 words
Grimly mocking or cynical; disdainfully humorous
His sardonic commentary on the proceedings amused some but offended many.
Memory cueA sardonic smile bends humor into grim, disdainful mockery.
Witheringly harsh; severely critical
The peer reviewer's scathing critique of the manuscript identified fundamental flaws in the study's experimental design.
Memory cueA scathing review feels hot enough to wither its target.
Uunsparing1 word
Mercilessly severe; showing no mercy or restraint
The autobiography is unsparing in its self-criticism, offering no excuses for the mistakes the author made.
Memory cueUnsparing criticism holds nothing back and shows no mercy.
Vvenerate – vitriolic3 words
To regard with great respect; to revere
The community venerated the founder, preserving her home as a historic landmark.
Memory cueVenerate a figure by bowing before a pedestal of great respect.
To speak or write about in an abusively disparaging manner; to defame
The press campaign sought to vilify the opposition candidate with unsubstantiated accusations.
Memory cueVilify someone by covering their name with abusive, degrading words.
Filled with bitter criticism or malice; caustic and hostile
The vitriolic exchange between the two candidates dominated the evening news.
Memory cueVitriolic criticism burns like acid with bitter hostility.
Wwithering1 word
Devastating; intended to make someone feel mortified or humiliated; intensely destructive
The critic delivered a withering assessment of the novel, calling it the most self-indulgent book of the year.
Memory cueA withering rebuke makes confidence shrivel under devastating force.
The printable Evaluation & Performance guide has all 55 words, ready to print. All 10 themes (550 words) are on the guide index; to drill them interactively, use the GMAT flashcards.