GRE Cards Deck K Flashcards
keen
adj
Definition: Sharp, piercing; very perceptive or mentally sharp; intense (of a feeling)
Usage: Dogs have a keen sense of smell. / As homecoming queen, she had experienced the envy of others, but their jealousy only grew more keen when she was selected for a small role in a movie.
Related Words: Acumen (keen, quick, accurate insight or judgment), Astute (shrewd, very perceptive), Perspicacity (acuteness of perception)
More Info: Keen comes from the same root as “can” (to be able)—if there’s a job to do, a keen person can probably get it done!
kudos
noun
Definition: Praise, honor, congratulations
Usage: “Kudos on your amazing GRE score!” said the teacher. / While the critics weren’t impressed, the play received plentiful kudos from the audience.
Related Words: Plaudits (applause, approval), Laudation (praise), Panegyric (formal, lofty, or elaborate praise), Paean (song of praise, triumph, or thanks)
kindle
verb
Definition: Ignite, cause to begin burning; incite, arouse, inflame
Usage: It’s hard to kindle a campfire when it’s so damp out. / Although they were apart, the lovers’ passion was only further kindled by the love letters they wrote to one another.
Related Words: Incendiary (starting fire; inflaming the senses or arousing rebellion)
More Info: Kindling, also called tinder, is material for lighting a fire (such as twigs or straw). Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader is probably so called because it (in theory) ignites a love of reading or knowledge.
kinetic
adj
Definition: Pertaining to motion
Usage: Marisa told her mother what she had learned in science class: a ball sitting on a table has potential energy, but a ball falling towards the ground has kinetic energy.
More Info: Kinetic contains a root for motion that appears in many other words that you don’t need to memorize, but now can easily puzzle out—kinesthetic learners prefer to learn through physical activity. Patients with dyskenesia have trouble with movement. You could major in kinesiology in preparation for being a coach or gym teacher.
knell
noun, verb
Definition: The sound made by a bell for a funeral, or any sad sound or signal of a failure, death, ending, etc. (noun); to make such a sound (verb)
Usage: The Senate minority leader’s speech was a death knell for the bill; all hope of bipartisan cooperation was lost.
Related Words: Dirge (A funeral or mourning song or poem), Requiem (musical service or hymn for the dead), Threnody (poem or song of mourning), Elegy (song or poem of sorrow, esp. for a deceased person)
More Info: Don’t confuse knell with knoll, a small hill (as in the “grassy knoll” supposedly involved in JFK’s assassination).
