GRE Cards Deck M Flashcards
makeshift
noun, adj
Definition: A temporary, often improvised, substitute (noun); improvised for temporary use (adj)
Usage: Lost in the woods for over 24 hours, the children were eventually found sleeping under a makeshift tent made from branches and old plastic bags. / I don’t have a ladder, but I can stack up some boxes as a makeshift.
More Info: The expressions “thrown together” or “slapped together” express a similar idea of “making do” with the resources on hand. To “jury rig” something is to assemble it quickly with whatever materials you have available.
malleable
adj
Definition: Able to be bent, shaped, or adapted
Usage: The more malleable the material, the easier it is to bend into jewelry—and the easier it is to damage that jewelry.
Related Words: Tractable, pliable, and plastic can also mean physically bendable, or metaphorically bendable, as in “easily influenced or shaped by others.” Mutable means changeable.
More Info: Malleable comes from a Latin word for “hammer” and thus shares a root with mallet.
maverick
noun
Definition: Rebel, individualist, dissenter, Person who thinks or behaves in an independent way
Usage: Most cop movies feature heroes who are maverick police officers, breaking all the rules, blowing things up, and getting their guns confiscated by the chief—but ultimately saving the day.
Related Words: “Lone wolf” and “loose cannon” are expressions with similar meanings (although “loose cannon” implies that the person might do something crazy or dangerous).
More Info: Samuel Maverick was an American pioneer who didn’t brand (that is, show ownership by marking with a hot iron) his calves. In ranching lingo, a maverick is still an unbranded animal. Just as a maverick calf doesn’t bear a mark of ownership, a political maverick doesn’t belong to any party.
mendacious
(adj)
Also mendacity (noun)
Definition: Lying, habitually dishonest
Usage: She was so mendacious that, when she broke the television, she blamed it on her Little brother.Her mendacity knows no bounds!
Related Words: Disingenuous (insincere, not genuine), Dissembling (misleading, concealing the truth, acting hypocritically), Prevaricating (misleading or lying)
More Info: Mendacious comes from a root for “defect, fault” that also gives us mend and amendment, which relate to fixing faults.
mercurial
adj
Definition: Quickly and unpredictably changing moods; fickle, flighty
Usage: It’s tough being married to someone so mercurial. I do pretty much the same thing every day—some days, she thinks I’m great, and other days, the exact same behaviors make her inexplicably angry.
Related Words: Erratic (inconsistent, wandering, having no fixed course)
More Info: Mercurial comes from the idea that people born under the planet Mercury are quick but volatile.
metamorphosis
(noun)
Also metamorphose (verb)
Definition: A complete change or transformation (in biology, a change such as a caterpillar becoming a pupa and then a butterfly)
Usage: Many reality show competitions are based on the idea of a contestant undergoing a metamorphosis, such as through dieting, exercise, life coaching, rehab, or plastic surgery—or all of the above.
More Info: “Meta” means “change” and “morph” means “shape” (morphology is the branch of biology dealing with form and structure of organisms). When people use “morph” as a short form of metamorphose (“Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”), they have actually used the wrong part of the word; the television heroes should be the Mighty Meta Power Rangers.
meticulous
adj
Definition: Taking extreme care in regards to details; precise, fussy
Usage: As a surgeon, of course Mom needs to be highly meticulous in her work—she gets things right down to a fraction of a millimeter. But this also means that when it’s her night to cook, she’s sometimes a little too meticulous—no one really needs a meatloaf to be cut into an absolutely perfect rectangular prism.
Related Words: Finicky or Fastidious (excessively particular, hard to please), Exacting (very severe in making demands; requiring precise attention)
mitigate
verb
Definition: Make less severe; lessen or moderate (damage, grief, pain, etc.)
Usage: Sadly, his illness could not be cured, but the nurses made every effort to mitigate the symptoms.
Related Words: Ameliorate, Palliate, and Alleviate are near-synonyms, all of which could take the place of mitigate in the sentence above.
More Info: Exacerbate and aggravate are antonyms, referring to making something worse.
modest
adj
Definition: Humble; simple rather than showy; decent (esp. “covering up” in terms of dress); small, limited
Usage: The reporter was surprised that the celebrity lived in such a modest house, one that looked just like every other plain, two-story house on the block. / She was being paid modest salary for her first job out of college.
Related Words: Paltry (extremely small or worthless, insultingly small—in terms of money, often “a paltry sum”)
More Info: Many students know modest as in “a modest outfit” (one that doesn’t show too much) and are confused by references to “modest beginnings”—a person from a modest or humble background grew up poor (or relatively poor).
mollify
verb
Definition: Calm or soothe (an angry person); lessen or soften
Usage: The cellular company’s billing practices were so annoying to customers that the customer service representatives spent every workday mollifying angry customers.
Related Words: Appease, Placate, and Assuage are near-synonyms.
More Info: Mollify shares a root (“soften”) with emollient, an ointment or lotion.
monotony
noun
Definition: Sameness or repetitiousness to the point of being boring; lack of variation, uniformity, esp. repetition in sound
Usage: The monotony of working on a factory assembly line made her feel as though she would go insane from boredom.
Related Words: Tedium (that which is tiresome due to being too long, dull, or slow, as in The plot moved at a tedious pace).
More Info: Monotone comes from Latin parts for “one tone,” like a dial tone on an old-fashioned phone, or a very boring public speaker. Now, we can use monotony for things other than sound—for instance, studying vocabulary can get a little monotonous if you don’t make an effort to keep it interesting by writing your own fun sentences, practicing with friends, and thinking about the gloriousness of a high GRE score.
moreover
adverb
Definition: Besides; in addition to what was just stated
Usage: You are fired. Moreover, the police are coming to arrest you for theft.
Related Words: Furthermore is a synonym. Both words can be used to begin a new independent clause after a semicolon, as in, We need additional studies to confirm our results; furthermore, we need funding for those studies.
mores
noun
Definition: Customs, manners, or morals of a particular group
Usage: An American in Saudi Arabia should study the culture beforehand so as to avoid violating deeply conservative cultural mores.
Related Words: Ethos (the character, personality, or moral values specific to a person, group, time period, etc.)
More Info: Pronounce this word as two syllables (rhymes with “more ways”).
mundane
adj
Definition: Common, ordinary, everyday
Usage: James had been excited to visit France for the first time, but she was soon disappointed at how mundane the stay with her relatives was: they shopped at the market, cooked dinner, chatted with one another, and occasionally went shopping.
Related Words: Quotidian can simply mean daily, or can have the more negative meaning of mundane.
More Info: Mundane comes from a root for “world” (the same root that gives us the Spanish el mundo and French le monde), the idea being that “earthly” things are below spiritual things.
machination or machinations
noun, usually plural
Definition: Crafty schemes or plots
Usage: It’s cute to think that teen idols became famous because their talent was simply so great that the music industry reached out to them, but usually, any teen idol is the product of intense coaching and parental machinations.
Related Words: Collude (conspire; cooperate for illegal or fraudulent purposes), Cabal (a conspiratorial group)
More Info: The verb form machinate has the same meaning (to machinate to overthrow the government). It’s just a coincidence that machinations looks a little like Machiavelli, but machinating is quite Machiavellian!
maelstrom
noun
Definition: Violent whirlpool; any chaotic, turbulent situation
Usage: The Smiths lost their houseboat in a maelstrom, but were at least thankful that they weren’t on the boat at the time and thus escaped the violent storm at sea. / After having been homeschooled her whole life, the first week of college was a maelstrom of social events, orientations, and business.
Related Words: Tumult (a commotion, uprising, riot, or violent outburst), Din (loud, confused noise), Clamor (noisy uproar, as from a crowd), Hubbub (loud noise, confusion)
More Info: The unusual spelling of maelstrom is due to its Dutch origins.
magnanimous
(adj)
Also magnanimity (noun)
Definition: High-minded, noble, lofty; generous in forgiving others, free of resentment
Usage: The twins were so different from one another—while Andrea was petty and vengeful and would hold a grudge for years, Marina was quite magnanimous, easily forgiving insults or slights, and simply rising above the petty bickering and cliquish behavior of our high school.
More Info: The Latin “magnus” means “great” and gives us magniloquent (talking in an overly grand way), magnify, and many others. Think of magnanimous as meaning having a great spirit or a big heart.
magnate
noun
Definition: Very important or influential person, esp. in business
Usage: Many students pursue MBAs in hopes of becoming wealthy and powerful magnates; some students never quite make it there, instead spending their careers staring at spreadsheets and taking orders from magnates.
Related Words: Scion (descendent, heir—often used to describe the son of a rich, powerful man), baron (originally a British noble, but now used to describe a powerful businessperson, as in an oil baron or the robber barons of American history)
More Info: The Latin “magnus” means “great” and gives us magniloquent (talking in an overly grand way), magnanimous (high-minded, noble, forgiving), magnify, and many others.
malediction
noun
Definition: A curse
Usage: Getting periods every month is Malediction for woman.
Related Words: Imprecation is a synonym. Execration can mean a curse or cursing, but can also mean insulting or slandering. All three words can be used in the plural or not, with the same meaning—for instance, He was such a bitter person it seemed that only execration (or execrations) ever escaped his lips.
More Info: Mal means “bad,” of course. The root “dict” comes from “dicere” (to say) and also appears in dictator, dictionary, and indict (connect to a crime), as well as in malediction’s antonym, benediction (blessing).
malinger
(verb)
Also malingerer (noun)
Definition: Pretend to be sick, esp. to get out of work, duties, etc.
Usage: Malingering is a good way to avoid classes in school.
Related Words: To shirk is to evade your duties or try to get out of doing something. To skulk is to hide for a bad reason, such as avoiding work (or waiting to attack someone, etc.)
More Info: “Mal” means “bad,” and although malinger doesn’t actually come from linger (stick around, stay due to not wanting to leave), the idea of sticking around in a bad way (like malingerer Joey, above) is a good way to remember malinger.
manifest
(verb, adj)
Also manifestation (noun)
Definition: Obvious, apparent, perceptible to the eye (adj); to show, make clear, or prove (verb)
Usage: My superstitious aunt claims that she saw a manifestation of our deceased grandfather, who appeared during a thunderstorm to remind us to complete his wish of building a temple in our bungalow
. / Lupus is difficult to diagnose, but sometimes manifests as muscular weakness or joint pain.
More Info: As a noun, a manifest is a list of people or goods aboard a plane, ship, train, etc. A manifestation is often when something “under the surface” breaks out or becomes apparent: The protest was a manifestation of a long-brewing discontent.
mannered
adj
Definition: Having a particular manner, esp. an artificial one
Usage: Although he grew up in rural Ohio, sometime before he got his own makeover show on television he adopted a mannered way of speaking, as though he had grown up in some very odd corner of Victorian England.
Related Words: Affectation (fake behavior, such as in speech or dress, adopted to give a certain impression)
More Info: Mannered is often part of compound words, such as ill-mannered, which just means having bad manners.
mar
verb
Definition: Damage, spoil, ruin
Usage: The interior designer’s secret was to buy furnishings and fixtures that had been marred on the shop floor and therefore were sold at steep discounts; she would then fix the defects herself or add additional aging effects to the pieces.
Related Words: Vitiate (spoil, weaken, or corrupt), Deface (disfigure, mar the surface of)
martinet
noun
Definition: Person who adheres to rules extremely closely; strict disciplinarian
Usage: It was no fun growing up with a military officer. He was such a martinet he once made me do twenty pushups for being one minute late to bed.
Related Words: Doctrinaire (person who applies doctrine in an impractical or rigid and close-minded way), Jingoism (excessive, loud patriotism and aggressive, warlike foreign policy), Hawkish (advocating war), Chauvinism (fanatical patriotism or blind enthusiasm for military glory; undue or biased devotion to any group, cause, etc.)
More Info: After the general Jean Martinet, a French drillmaster
