GRE Power Vocab - A Flashcards
Abate
v. to lessen in intensity or degree
Abatement is a lessening in amount or degree
Aberrant
Adj. deviating from the norm
Someone or something aberrant is an aberration
Abjure
v. to renounce or reject solemnly; to recant; to avoid
for a related word see recant
Abrogate
v. to abolish or annul by authority; put down
Abscission
n. act of cutting off or removing
Abscise means to cut off or remove
Abscission can also mean the actual cut itself
Abscond
v. to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide
Abstain
v. to refrain from an activity
the act of abstaining is called abstinence
Abstemious is a related word meaning marked by moderation, particularly where food and drink are concerned
Abstruse
adj. hard to understand
Accolade
n. an expression of praise; an award
The woed accolade comes from a French word meaning to embrace, which, logically enough comes from the same root as collar. You can also associate lade with laud (meaning praise), though they probably don’t have the same etymological backgrounds
Accretion
n. growth, increase by successive addition, build up
Acerbic
adj. having a sour or bitter taste or character
Acumen
n. quick, keen, or accurate knowledge or insight
you probably know several words with acu in them that mean “sharp”. Acute is frequently used to describe sharp pain and sharp angles (less than 90 degrees). People with good acumen are often described as being sharp. These words come from the latin root acus, which means needle
Admonish
v. to reprove; to express warning or disapproval
an admonition is a warning or a scolding and admonitary means expressing warning or disapproval
Adroit
adj. adept, dexterous
Maladroit means clumsy or bungling
Adulation
n. excessive praise; intense adoration
An adulator is someone who shows excessive admiration or devotion
Advocate
v. to argue for or support a cause
a person who advocates for soemthing is call an advocate, the noun form is pronounced differently
Adumbrate
v. to foreshadow vaguely, intimate, suggest, or outline sketchily
Adulterate
v. to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients
Adulteration is the process or effect of adulterating. Unadulterated, appropriately enough, means pure
Aesthetic
adj. dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful
Aggrandize
v. to increase in intensity, power, or prestige; to make appear greater
Alacrity
n. eager and enthusiastic willingness
Alchemy
n. a magical or wonderful transformation
Alchemy was originally a medieval science aimed at changing metals, particularly into gold and silver, and the creation of a remedy that could cure all diseases. Though alchemy wouldn’t be considered science today, alchemists did make some important strides in understanding chemistry
An alchemist practices or studies alchemy
Alloy
v. to commingle; to debase by mixing with something inferior
Alloy can also be a noun, in which case it is the misture itself, as in an aloy between sitcom and game show
unalloyed means pure
Amalgamate
v. to combine several elements into a whole
Ambiguity
n. uncertainty in meaning
the adjective form od the word is ambiguous
be careful ambiguity is frequently confused with ambivalence
Ambivalence
n. the quality of having opposing ideas or feelings
Ambivalent is the adjective form of ambivalence
ambicanlence can also mean uncertainty (particularly about what course one should follow)
Ameliorate
v. to make better or more tolerable
Amenable
adj. agreeable; responive to suggestion
comes the same root word as amen (expression of agreement or approval)
Anachronism
n. something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context
Anathema
n. a solemn or ecclesiastical (religious) curse; accursed or thoroughly loathed person or thing
Anodyne
adj. soothing
Anodyne can also be a noun, spelled the same way, and meaning something that assuages or allays pains, or comforts
related words: emollient and mollify
Anomaly
n. deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality
Antagonize
v. to irritate or cause hostility
Antagonize has the greek root agon which means contest The hero’s rival or adversary in a play is called the antagonist. the hero is called protagonist
Antipathy
n. aversion, dislike
Antipathetic means showing a strong adversion
Antithetical
adj. diametrically opposed, as in antithesis
the antithesis is the opposite of something
Apathy
n. lack of interest of something
the adjective form is apathetic
Apathy shares a root with the word pathos, which means feeling. the prefix a- means without
Apocryphal
adj. of dubious authenticity or origin; spurious
The Apocrypha were religious writings that were not included in the Bible because they weren’t considered canonical by the Protestant church of the day, or their authenticity was in question
Apogee
n. farthest or highest point; culmination; zenith
Perigee is the lowest or closest point, or the nadir
related word: nadir
Apostate
n. one who abandons long-held religious or political convictions, a betrayer of a cause
Apotheosis
n. deification, glorification to godliness, the perfect example
Apposite
adj. appropriate, pertinent, relevant, apropos
Apprise
v. give notice to, inform
Approbation
n. an expression of approval or praise
to approbate is to approve something officially. Disapprobation is an expression of disapproval
Appropriate
v. to take for one’s own use, confiscate
Arabesque
n. complex, ornate design
an arabesque is also a position in ballet, and is sometimes used metaphorically in this sense
Arcane
adj. mysterious, abstruse, esoteric, knowable only to initiates
Arcana are deep secrets. The singular is arcanum, but it’s almost always used in the plural
Archaic
adj. outdated; associated with an earlier, perhaps more primitive time
Arduous
adj. strenuous, taxing, requiring significant effort
Arrant
adj. impudent; in every way, being completely such, barefaced, utter
don’t confuse with errant which means itinerant
Arrest
v. to suspend; to engage
arresting meansholding one’s attention
Articulate
v. to enunciate or pronounce clearly; to express oneself clearly
as an adjective, articulate is used to describe someone who can articulate ideas clearly. pronunciation changes but not the spelling
Artless
adj. completely without guile; natural, without artificiality
the opposite of artless is artful
artful can also mean showing art or skill, and artless can mean without skill, but the definitions above are the ones more liekly to be tested on the gre
Ascetic
n. one who practices rigid self-denial, especially as an act of religious devotion
Ascetic can also be an adjective, meaning austere or stark
Asceticism is the adherence to or belief in ascetic practices. to learn about practices an ascetic would not espouse, see hedonism
Asperity
n. severity, rigor; roughness, harshness; acrimony, irritability
Aspersion
n. an act of defamation or maligning
Assiduous
adj. diligent, hardworking
Assuage
v. to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify
assuage is used to descirbe the lessening or easing of things that cause pain or distress, so you don’t assuage happiness or good humor (unless they’re causing you pain in some way)
Astringent
adj. having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe
Attenuate
v. to rarefy, weaken or make thinner, lessen
for related word see rarefy
Audacious
adj. daring and fearless; recklessly bold
Audacity is the quality of being audacious
Augury
n. omen, portent, the reading of omens
Augur means to predict if it is used as a verb, and the person or thing doing the foretelling if it’s used as a noun
August
adj. majestic, venerable
Auspice
n. protection or support, patronage
auspice can also mean sign or portent
Auspicious
adj. favorable, propitious, successful, prosperous
Austere
adj. without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic
Austerity can also mean rigid economy. If used in this sense, it is often followed by measures
Avarice
n. greed, especially for wealth
Avaricious means greedy
Aver
v. to state as afact; to confirm or support
Axiom
n. a universally recognized principle; a generally accepted or common saying
the adjective form of this word is axiomatic, which means generally accepted or taken as a given
