Usage & nuance
Using “pan” well
In this sense pan is informal and specific to reviews or public judgment, unlike the broader censure or disparage. Do not confuse it with the everyday noun for a cooking vessel.
Keep going
See all More GRE words starting with P
pacify
to calm or soothe someone who is angry or agitated
paean
a song or expression of joyful praise or triumph
painstaking
done with careful and thorough effort
palatable
agreeable to the taste or acceptable to the mind
palatial
resembling a palace in size or grandeur
palingenesis
rebirth, regeneration, or renewal into a new existence
palliate
to ease the severity of something without curing it
pallid
pale or lacking vitality and color
Common questions
Questions about “pan”
Pan (verb) means to criticize something harshly and unfavorably
Here is pan used in an example sentence: "Critics panned the film for its incoherent plot and wooden acting." Another example: "Critics panned the novel for its wooden dialogue and predictable plot."
Common synonyms for pan include lambaste, censure, disparage, excoriate.
Antonyms of pan include praise, extol, laud, commend.
On the GRE, pan clusters with lambaste, censure, disparage, and excoriate, opposing praise, extol, laud, and commend.
Yes. Pan is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.
Learn words the way the GRE tests them.
Vocabulary sticks when you meet it in real sentences. Practise these words inside text completion and sentence equivalence questions.