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

GRE Power Vocab - C Flashcards

1
Q

Cacophony

A

n. harsh, jarring, discordant sound, dissonance

for a related word dissonance

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2
Q

Cadge

A

v. to sponge, beg, or mooch

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3
Q

Cajole

A

v. to inveigle, coax, wheedle, sweet talk

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4
Q

Calumniate

A

v. to slander, make a false accusation

Calumny means slander, aspersion

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5
Q

Canny

A

adj. careful, cautious, knowing

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6
Q

Canon

A

n. an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature

Canonical means following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards

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7
Q

Capricious

A

adj. inclined to change one’s mind impulsively; erractic; unpredictable

having caprices (suddent changes of mind or actions) makes you capricious, which then means that you can be described as tending toward capriciousness

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8
Q

Cardinal

A

adj. of basic importance or consequence; primary

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9
Q

Carnality

A

n. something relating to the body or flesh

Carnal desires are those that relate to bodily or sexual appetite

It may seem a little odd, but the word carnage is related - it means physical remains

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10
Q

Castigation

A

n. severe criticism or punishment

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11
Q

Catalyst

A

n. a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing that causes change

To catalyze is to act as a catalyst, to bring about

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12
Q

Causality

A

n. the relationship between cause and effect

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13
Q

Caustic

A

adj. burning or stinging; causing corrosion

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14
Q

Censure

A

v. to criticize severely; to officially rebuke

n. a judgment involving condemnation; the act of blaming or condemning

Censorious is an adjective that means tending to or expressing censure

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15
Q

Chaos

A

n. a condition of confusion or unpredictability

Chaotic is an adjective that describes a state of chaos

Originally, the Greek word for chaos meant space, or emptiness (think chasm), but now it has more to do with disorder

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16
Q

Chary

A

adj. wary; cautious; sparing

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16
Q

Chasten

A

v. to chastise or correct; subdue

Chastened as an adjective means corrected, punished, or humbled

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17
Q

Chauvinist

A

n. one blindly devoted to a group of which one is a member

a male chauvinist believes in the inferiority of women to men. This term is often followed by the word pig

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18
Q

Chic

A

adj. stylish and fashionable; sophistication in dress

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19
Q

Chicanery

A

n. trickery or subterfuge

20
Q

Chimera

A

n. an illusion

Chimera was a fire-breathing monster in Greek mythology; body was an amalgam of different animals and seeing one was a bad omen. These negative connotations do not remain

Chimerical means illusory or improbable

21
Q

Choleric

A

adj. tending toward anger

22
Q

Churlish

A

adj. boorish, vulgar, loutish; difficult and intractable

a churl is someone who is churlish

23
Q

Circumscribe

A

v. to enclose within bounds; limit or confine, especially narrowly

24
Q

Clangorous

A

adj. making a loud, resonant sound

25
Q

Coalesce

A

v. to come together; to fuse or unite

26
Q

Coda

A

n. concluding section to a musical or literary piece, something that concludes or completes

27
Q

Cogent

A

adj. appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing

28
Q

Color

A

v. to cahnge as if by dyeing, influence, distort, or gloss over

this definition is often tested on the GRE

29
Q

Commensurate

A

adj. matching, corresponding, or proportionate in degree, size, amount, or other property

30
Q

Complaisance

A

n. the willingness to comply with the wishes of others

Complaisant means showing a willingness to please

don’t be confused with complacent, which means self-satisfied

31
Q

Confound

A

v. to cause to be confused; to frustrate

con- (com-) often means joining or bringing things together. Confound means to mix together or confuse things. To be confused is to be confounded

32
Q

Connoisseur

A

n. an informed and astute judge in matters of taste; expert

33
Q

Consequential

A

adj. pompous, self-important

the primary definition is logically following; important

34
Q

Contemn

A

v. to scorn or despise

don’t confuse with condemn which seems very similar but means to pronounce judgement against

35
Q

Contentious

A

adj. argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement

36
Q

Contiguous

A

adj. sharing a border; touching; adjacent

37
Q

Contrite

A

adj. regretful; penitent; seeking foregiveness

Contrition is regret or remorse

38
Q

Convention

A

n. a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude

39
Q

Convoluted

A

adj. complex or complicated

40
Q

Corrigible

A

adj. capable of being set right, correctable, reparable

Corrigibility, a noun, is the capacity to be set right

the opposite of corrigible is incorrigible, meaning not reformable, uncontrolable, recalcitrant

41
Q

Countenance

A

v. to approve of or tolerate

Countenance can also be a noun, in which case it means mein, face, composure

42
Q

Cozen

A

v. to deceive, beguile, hoodwink

for related word, see guile

43
Q

Craven

A

adj. contemptibly fainthearted, pusillanimous, lacking any courage

44
Q

Credulous

A

adj. tending to believe too readily; gullible

45
Q

Crescendo

A

n. a gradual increase in intensity, particularly in music

usually, cresendo is used to describe music or sound, but it can be used in more figurative ways as well

46
Q

Culpable

A

adj. deserving blame

Culpability is blameworthiness

for a related word, see exculpate

47
Q

Cynicism

A

n. an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness

Some who displays cynicism is called a cynic

Greek Roots/prefix (24 decks)

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