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Greek Roots/prefix > GRE Power Vocab - A > Flashcards

GRE Power Vocab - A Flashcards

1
Q

Abate

A

v. to lessen in intensity or degree

Abatement is a lessening in amount or degree

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2
Q

Aberrant

A

Adj. deviating from the norm

Someone or something aberrant is an aberration

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3
Q

Abjure

A

v. to renounce or reject solemnly; to recant; to avoid

for a related word see recant

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4
Q

Abrogate

A

v. to abolish or annul by authority; put down

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5
Q

Abscission

A

n. act of cutting off or removing

Abscise means to cut off or remove

Abscission can also mean the actual cut itself

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6
Q

Abscond

A

v. to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide

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7
Q

Abstain

A

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

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8
Q

Abstruse

A

adj. hard to understand

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9
Q

Accolade

A

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

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10
Q

Accretion

A

n. growth, increase by successive addition, build up

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11
Q

Acerbic

A

adj. having a sour or bitter taste or character

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12
Q

Acumen

A

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

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13
Q

Admonish

A

v. to reprove; to express warning or disapproval

an admonition is a warning or a scolding and admonitary means expressing warning or disapproval

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14
Q

Adroit

A

adj. adept, dexterous

Maladroit means clumsy or bungling

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14
Q

Adulation

A

n. excessive praise; intense adoration

An adulator is someone who shows excessive admiration or devotion

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14
Q

Advocate

A

v. to argue for or support a cause

a person who advocates for soemthing is call an advocate, the noun form is pronounced differently

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14
Q

Adumbrate

A

v. to foreshadow vaguely, intimate, suggest, or outline sketchily

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14
Q

Adulterate

A

v. to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients

Adulteration is the process or effect of adulterating. Unadulterated, appropriately enough, means pure

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14
Q

Aesthetic

A

adj. dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful

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15
Q

Aggrandize

A

v. to increase in intensity, power, or prestige; to make appear greater

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16
Q

Alacrity

A

n. eager and enthusiastic willingness

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17
Q

Alchemy

A

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

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18
Q

Alloy

A

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

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19
Q

Amalgamate

A

v. to combine several elements into a whole

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20
Q

Ambiguity

A

n. uncertainty in meaning

the adjective form od the word is ambiguous

be careful ambiguity is frequently confused with ambivalence

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21
Q

Ambivalence

A

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)

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22
Q

Ameliorate

A

v. to make better or more tolerable

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23
Q

Amenable

A

adj. agreeable; responive to suggestion

comes the same root word as amen (expression of agreement or approval)

24
Q

Anachronism

A

n. something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context

25
Q

Anathema

A

n. a solemn or ecclesiastical (religious) curse; accursed or thoroughly loathed person or thing

26
Q

Anodyne

A

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

27
Q

Anomaly

A

n. deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality

28
Q

Antagonize

A

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

29
Q

Antipathy

A

n. aversion, dislike

Antipathetic means showing a strong adversion

30
Q

Antithetical

A

adj. diametrically opposed, as in antithesis

the antithesis is the opposite of something

31
Q

Apathy

A

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

32
Q

Apocryphal

A

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

33
Q

Apogee

A

n. farthest or highest point; culmination; zenith

Perigee is the lowest or closest point, or the nadir

related word: nadir

34
Q

Apostate

A

n. one who abandons long-held religious or political convictions, a betrayer of a cause

35
Q

Apotheosis

A

n. deification, glorification to godliness, the perfect example

36
Q

Apposite

A

adj. appropriate, pertinent, relevant, apropos

37
Q

Apprise

A

v. give notice to, inform

38
Q

Approbation

A

n. an expression of approval or praise

to approbate is to approve something officially. Disapprobation is an expression of disapproval

39
Q

Appropriate

A

v. to take for one’s own use, confiscate

40
Q

Arabesque

A

n. complex, ornate design

an arabesque is also a position in ballet, and is sometimes used metaphorically in this sense

41
Q

Arcane

A

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

42
Q

Archaic

A

adj. outdated; associated with an earlier, perhaps more primitive time

43
Q

Arduous

A

adj. strenuous, taxing, requiring significant effort

44
Q

Arrant

A

adj. impudent; in every way, being completely such, barefaced, utter

don’t confuse with errant which means itinerant

45
Q

Arrest

A

v. to suspend; to engage

arresting meansholding one’s attention

46
Q

Articulate

A

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

47
Q

Artless

A

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

48
Q

Ascetic

A

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

49
Q

Asperity

A

n. severity, rigor; roughness, harshness; acrimony, irritability

50
Q

Aspersion

A

n. an act of defamation or maligning

51
Q

Assiduous

A

adj. diligent, hardworking

52
Q

Assuage

A

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)

53
Q

Astringent

A

adj. having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe

54
Q

Attenuate

A

v. to rarefy, weaken or make thinner, lessen

for related word see rarefy

55
Q

Audacious

A

adj. daring and fearless; recklessly bold

Audacity is the quality of being audacious

56
Q

Augury

A

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

57
Q

August

A

adj. majestic, venerable

58
Q

Auspice

A

n. protection or support, patronage

auspice can also mean sign or portent

59
Q

Auspicious

A

adj. favorable, propitious, successful, prosperous

60
Q

Austere

A

adj. without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic

Austerity can also mean rigid economy. If used in this sense, it is often followed by measures

61
Q

Avarice

A

n. greed, especially for wealth

Avaricious means greedy

62
Q

Aver

A

v. to state as afact; to confirm or support

63
Q

Axiom

A

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

Greek Roots/prefix (24 decks)

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