GRE Words for Praise and Criticism: Roots and Mnemonics

The GRE constantly tests whether a sentence is praising or attacking something. Learning the two camps together — words that lift up and words that tear down — makes the connotation obvious the moment you spot the word.

Laud (to praise highly). From Latin laudare, "to praise" (the root of "applaud" and "laudable"). Hook: you applaud what you laud.

Extol (to praise enthusiastically). From Latin extollere, ex- ("up") + tollere ("to raise"). To extol is literally to raise something up. Hook: extol = "extra tall," lifting praise high.

Denigrate (to attack the reputation of; belittle). From Latin denigrare, "to blacken," from niger, "black." To denigrate is to blacken someone's name. Hook: denigrate shares its root with "Niger/negro" (black) — you darken a reputation.

Disparage (to speak of as unimportant; belittle). From Old French desparagier, originally "to marry below one's rank," from des- ("away") + parage ("rank, equality," from Latin par, "equal"). To disparage is to treat someone as beneath their equals. Hook: dis-PAR — knocking someone below par.

Vilify (to speak abusively about). From Latin vilis, "cheap, base," + facere, "to make." To vilify is to make someone seem vile. Hook: vil-ify = make vile.

Lambaste (to criticize harshly). Origin uncertain, likely combining dialectal "lam" and "baste," both meaning "to beat." Hook: to lambaste is a verbal beating.

Sentence Equivalence pairs synonyms: "denigrate" with "disparage," or "laud" with "extol." A clue word like "although" or "despite" usually signals that the blank flips the sentence's direction, so spotting praise-vs-criticism connotation lets you eliminate half the choices quickly.

Verbloom groups these by connotation and drills them inside sentences, so you learn not just the definition but the charge — positive or negative — that the GRE actually tests.