GRE Vocab Mnemonics Flashcards
Abashed
Embarrassed
Think BASHFUL the dwarf
When Snow White kisses him, BASHFUL gets so ABASHED that he blushes.
Abase
To humiliate or degrade
Think Give up A BASE
When you are making out with someone, if you give up A BASE too quickly, then you just ABASE yourself.
Abate
To reduce
Think REBATE
It may be annoying to have to mail it in, but the REBATE on the new cell phone will ABATE its cost.
Aberration
An exception or departure from the norm.
Think A BARE ASIAN
Seeing A BARE ASIAN would be ABERRATION - Asians usually wear clothes.
Abeyance
Temporary inactivity; suspension
Think “OBEY” ENDS
When our lieutenant’s command to OBEY ENDS, our work plans are held in ABEYANCE because we are lazy.
Abhors
Hates
Think AB-WHORE
Daria ABHORS the tube-top-wearing blonde who stole her boyfriend and refers to her as an “AB-WHORE”.
Abject
Miserable; wretched; hopeless
Think REJECTS
If she REJECTS my marriage proposal, I will be ABJECT, with nothing to live for.
Abnegate
To give up something; to deny oneself something
Think ABS NEGATED
If you ABNEGATE food, the fat covering your ABS will be NEGATED
Abomination
Something awful
Think BOMB A NATION
it is an ABOMINATION to BOMB a NATION.
Aboriginal
Existing since the beginning
Think ORIGINAL
In Australia, the ORIGINAL natives are the Aborigines - they are ABORIGINAL since they were its first inhabitants.
Abort
To end prematurely
Think ABORTION
An ABORTION can ABORT a pregnancy.
Abound
To be numerous
Think ABUNDANT
Kangaroos ABOUND in Australia; they are ABUNDANT, bouncing around wherever you look.
Abridge
To shorten
Think A BRIDGE
A BRIDGE would ABRIDGE my commute, which involves driving around the canyon.
Abrogate
To get rid of; to abolish
Think A BROKEN GATE
After my 120 lb. mastiff decided to ABROGATE the barrier to the kitchen and eat from the garbage, we were left with A BROKEN GATE.
Abscission
The shedding of leaves, flowers, or fruits
Think SCISSORS
Instead of waiting for the grapes to drop off of vines, speed up the ABSCISSION by getting out there with a pair of SCISSORS.
Absolve
To free from guilt; to forgive
Think DISSOLVE
Catholics believe that confessing to a priest will DISSOLVE their guilt and ABSOLVE them from sin.
Abstemious
Sparing or moderate
Think ABSTINENCE
The health teacher knew that if he told students to ABSTEMIOUS, some of them would still get pregnant, so he urged them to practice ABSTINENCE.
Abstruce
Hard to comprehend
Think ABSTRACT and CONFUSING
The ABSTRACT strudel directions will CONFUSE the new cook because they are ABSTRUSE.
Abysmal
Awful
Think PEPTO-BISMOL
When I had food poisoning, my stomach felt so ABYSMAL that I had to drink a bottle of PEPTO-BISMOL.
Accede
To express approval for; to give into
Think AGREED
Since we all ACCEDE to the plan to seed the garden, it looks like we are AGREED.
Acerbic
Harsh; biting
Think ACIDIC
On American Idol, Simon Cowell’s criticism was ACERBIC the point of being ACIDIC.
Acidulous
Somewhat harsh
Think ACID-ISH
I like Sour Patch Kids because their ACIDULOUS taste is ACID-ISH without being too painful.
Acqusitive
Eager to acquire and possess; greedy
Think A SQUID VISITED
An ACQUISITIVE SQUID VISITED my house and wrapped his arms around all of my valuable Chinese porcelain.
Acrimonious
Bitter
Think A CRIME ON US
Committing A CRIME ON US makes us ACRIMONIOUS.
Acumen
Insightfulness
Think ACCURATE MEN
In business, ACCURATE MEN usually have ACUMEN.
Adamant
Stubborn; unyielding
Think ADAM…DAMN IT!
God was ADAMANT that ADAM not return to the Garden of Eden: “I said no, DAMN IT!”
Adept
Very skilled
Think ADAPT
Mountain lions can ADAPT to almost any climate and environment; they are ADEPT at survival.
Admonished
Warned to do what’s best
Think ADD MONISTAT
“ADD MONISTAT to your body if you are suffering from a vaginal yeast infection,” the ad ADMONISHED.
Adorned
Decorated
Think ADD ORNAMENTS
If you adore Christmas, then you probably enjoy ADORING your horn by ADDING ORNAMENTS to your tree.
Adroit
Skillful
Think A DROID
A DROID is an ADROIT cell phone since it can do so much.
Adulation
Excessive admiration
Think ADULT ADORATION
The grown ADULT’S ADORATION of role playing video games could only be called ADULATION.
Adulterate
To corrupt; to make impure
Think ADULTERY
In the Bible, God said, “Thou shalt not commit ADULTERY” because an affair will ADULTERATE a marriage.
Aegis
Protection
Think EGG US!
Go ahead, try to EGG US - our house has the AEGIS of the police, since my dad’s a cop.
Aesthetic
Relating to beauty
Think ATHLETIC body
If you are ATHLETIC, then you are likely to have a body that is AESTHETICally pleasing.
Affable
Friendly
Think LAUGHABLE
Since they want tourists to feed them, zoo GIRAFFES are so AFFABLE that it’s LAUGHABLE.
Affectation
An artificial way of behaving
Think A FAKE FICTION
Madonna’s phony English accent is an AFFECTATION; it is A FAKE FICTION.
Aggrandized
Made greater; enhanced
Think A GRAND-SIZED
I AGGRANDIZED my social status by throwing a lavish party - it gave me A GRAND-SIZED reputation.
Aghast
Struck by fear or amazement
Think A GHOST
I was AGHAST when I looked in the mirror and saw a GHOST standing next to me.
Algorithm
A mathematical formula or procedure
Think AL GORE’S RHYTHN
It is an inconvenient truth that, on the dance floor, AL GORE’S RHYTHM is a dull and predictable as a computer ALGORITHM.
Alleviate
To soothe or lessen the severity
Think ALEVE
Allison’s headache was so bad that she took four ALEVE pills to ALLEVIATE the pain.
Altruistic
Unselfish concern for others
Think ALWAYS TRUE STICK
My wingman is ALTRUISTIC: he’s ALWAYS TRUE to me and will STICK by my side when I hit on chicks - even if he’s not interested in any of them.
Amalgamate
Unify; join parts to a whole
Think GUM
After breaking the vase, MALCOLM used GUM to AMALGAMATE the pieces back together.
Ameliorated
Made better
Think EMILIO RATED
EMILIO RATED my pasta as a 10 out of 10, which AMELIORATED my fear that I had ruined it.
Amenable
Willing; cooperative
Think AMEN-ABLE
After he shouted, “AMEN!” I was able to tell that he was AMENABLE to my plan.
Amicable
Friendly
Think HAMMOCK-ABLE
When AMY reminded me that her HAMMOCK was ABLE to hold two people, I knew that she was AMICABLE.
Amortize
To gradually pay off or reduce
Think A MORTGAGE
Unless you have a ton of money, when you buy a house, you probably AMORTIZED the loan with a A MORTGAGE.
Anachronism
Something belonging to a different time period
Think INACCURATE CHRONOLOGY
The movie has something INACCURATE about its CHRONOLOGY: a caveman wearing a watch - a huge ANACHRONISM.
Anathema
Something hated; a curse
Think A NASTY ANEMA
If a patient is constipated, then A NASTY ENEMA may follow, which can be ANATHEMA for the nurse.
Anile
Senile
Think SENILE
I knew my Aunt Ann was ANILE to the point of being SENILE when she asked to go swimming in the Nile
Animosity
Hatred; hostility
Think ENEMY CITY
During the war, I accidentally parachuted into the ENEMY CITY and was met with ANIMOSITY.
Antedate
To come before
Think AUNTIE ANTE-(before) DATE
Chances are that your ANTIE has a birth DATE that ANTEDATE yours.
Antediluvian
Ancient; primitive
Think ANTI-DILDO-LOVIN’
Only someone with ANTEDILUVIAN views on sex would be ANTI-DILDO-LOVIN’.
Antipode
The exact opposite
Think ANTI-POLE
The North POLE is the ANTIPODE to the South POLE - you might say they are ANTI-POLES.
Antithesis
Opposite
Think ANTI-THESIS
You got a “D” on your essay because your examples argued for the ANTITHESIS of your introduction’s THESIS.
Apace
Quickly
think KEEP PACE
The Indy 500 racer’s pit crew changed his tires APACE so he could KEEP PACE with the leaders.
Apartheid
The policy of separating groups based on race
Think APART TO HIDE
In South Africa, APARTHEID kept blacks APART TO HIDE them from racist whites.
Aplomb
Confidence
Think THE BOMB
If you are APLOMB, you think you are the BOMB.
Apocryphal
Of doubtful truthfulness
Think APOCALYPSE predictions
The prediction that the APOCALYPSE would happen in 2012 turned out to be APOCRYPHAL.
Apoplectic
Enraged
Think APU EPILEPTIC
In the Simpsons, when Nelson robbed his Quickie Mart, Apu shook with APOPLECTIC rage as if he was having a EPILEPTIC seizure.
Apothegm
A short, wise remark
Think POCKET THE GUM
“POCKET THE GUM!” is a good APOTHEGM to remember if you are training to be a jewelry store robber.
Apotheosis
A perfect example
Think A POTENT THESIS
My professor said he gave me only A in the class because my paper was the APOTHEOSIS of a persuasive essay: it had A POTENT THESIS.
Apposite
Appropriate
Think A POSITIVE SITE
Wikipedia is A POSITIVE SITE because it is APPOSITE for all kinds of research.
Approbation
Approval; praise
Think APPROVE PROBATION
Maybe the best APPROBATION I ever received was when the judge finally APPROVED me for PROBATION.
