gre week 1 Flashcards
abase
(verb)
uh-BASE
Also abased (adj), abasement (noun)
Definition: Degrade or humble; to lower in rank, status, or esteem
Usage: After messing up at work, the man faced a thorough abasement from his boss; when he realized he had forgotten his own wedding anniversary, he further abased himself in front of his wife.
Related Words: Defame (attack the reputation of), Belittle (put down, disparage)
Memory Trick: Abasement means degradation or lowering of status—that is, abasement makes you feel like you should go hide in a basement.
abeyance
(noun)
uh-BAY-enss
Definition: Temporary suspension, inactivity
Usage: The baseball player’s contract negotiations are in abeyance while doctors try to determine whether his injuries will heal in time for the season.
Related Words: Hiatus (break or gap in an activity), Dormant (inactive, resting), Deferment or Deferral (postponement)
More Info: Abeyance generally occurs in the expression “in abeyance.” Real estate is in abeyance when no one owns it or the owner is unknown.
abreast
(adj)
uh-BREST
Definition: Side-by-side. The more common “abreast of” means keeping up with, staying aware of, or remaining equal in progress with.
Usage: As the professor walked abreast down the street with her mentor, she was amazed that the old man, long since retired, still kept abreast of all the latest developments in neurobiology.
Related Words: Conversant with (familiar by use or study), well versed in (experienced, skilled)
More Info: You are conversant with a topic about which you know enough to have an intelligent conversation. Well versed is stronger, implying some expertise. Keeping abreast of a topic implies that you are continually updating your knowledge.
abscission
(noun)
ab-SIZZ-zhun
Definition: Cutting off; sudden termination; the separation of leaves, petals, or other parts from a plant or animal
Usage: The abscission of leaves from the trees is normal in fall. / An inflamed appendix calls for an immediate surgical abscission.
Related Words: Ablation (removal of growths, etc., by surgery or other mechanical means)
More Info: “Ab” means “away.” The “scissio” root in abscission means “cut” and is the same as in scissors, excise (cut out or censor), and incision (cut into).
abscond
(verb)
ab-SCOND
Definition: Depart suddenly and secretively
Usage: A robber absconds with stolen goods. People who eat in a restaurant and run out without paying—or criminals who jump bail—could also be said to be absconding.
Related Words: Decamp (to depart from camp, or to abscond)
More Info: “Ab” means “away” and the rest of abscond comes from a Latin word meaning “to put.”
abyss
(noun)
uh-BISS
Definition: A deep and vast space or cavity; anything profound or infinite
Usage: Walking a tightrope over an active volcano, the acrobat was terrified of falling into the abyss. / Now recovering, the patient remembered her experience with clinical depression as an abyss of hopelessness.
Related Words: Chasm, Crevasse, Fissure, Gorge are all words for deep openings in the earth, and can be used metaphorically (a fissure in a personal relationship, the chasm between cultures, etc.).
More Info: The 1989 classic science fiction movie The Abyss is about a diving team that encounters an underwater alien species.
accede
(verb)
ack-SEED
Also accedence (noun)
Definition: Agree, give consent; assume power (usually as “accede to”)
Usage: While the Englishman was a strong believer in democracy, he had to accede that watching Prince Charles someday accede to the throne would indeed be exciting.
Related Words: Assent also means agree or give in.
More Info: When Prince Charles accedes to the throne, he will be succeeding (taking power after) Queen Elizabeth
accretion
(noun)
uh-CREE-shun
Also accrue (verb)
Definition: Gradual increase; an added part or addition
Usage: He was pleased by the accretion of money in his portfolio. / Some charitable funds keep the principal in their accounts untouched and use only the accretion for philanthropic purposes.
Related Words: Augment (grow larger), Agglomerate (form into a mass or cluster, join together)
More Info: Bank accounts accrue interest. Good deeds, ideally, accrue rewards.
acerbic
(adj)
uh-SER-bick
Definition: Sour; harsh or severe
Usage: Lemons are acerbic. Harsh comments are also acerbic, like putting lemon juice on a wound.
Related Words: Caustic (capable of burning or corroding; extremely critical or sarcastic), Acrid (sharp or biting, pungent), Astringent (biting, severe; a skin cleaning fluid that clears pores)
More Info: An acerbic taste is sour and an acrid taste is unpleasantly bitter, but when used metaphorically, both words mean harsh, critical.
acidulous
(adj)
uh-SID-joo-luss
Definition: Slightly acid or sour; sharp or caustic
Usage: Grapefruit juice is acidulous. / I’m skipping Thanksgiving this year just to avoid my mother’s acidulous comments about what she thinks I ought to be doing with my life.
Related Words: Acerbic (sour, harsh or severe)
More Info: In Latin, “acidus” meant sour, so “acidulus,” a diminutive version, meant “slightly sour.”
acumen
(noun)
ACK-yoo-men
Definition: Keen, quick, accurate insight or judgment
Usage: His political acumen allowed him to bargain behind the scenes and get bills passed despite being in the minority party.
Related Words: Perspicacity (acuteness of perception)
More Info: Acumen comes from a Latin word for “needle”—hence the idea of being mentally “sharp.”
adulterate
(verb)
uh-DULL-ter-ayt
Definition: Make impure by adding inappropriate or inferior ingredients
Usage: Some bars adulterate top-shelf liquor by pouring cheaper brands into the more expensive brands’ bottles.
Related Words: Taint (contaminate, corrupt), Debase (reduce in quality or dignity)
More Info: Adulterate is indeed related to adultery (cheating on one’s spouse)— both come from a Latin word meaning “to defile.”
adumbrate
(verb)
AD-um-brayt or uh-DUM-brayt Also adumbration (noun)
Definition: Give a rough outline of; foreshadow; reveal only partially; obscure
Usage: When I took on the lead role in the movie, I agreed not to give away the plot, but I suppose I could give a brief adumbration of the premise.
More Info: Adumbrate contains the root “umbra,” Latin for “shadow.” It may seem that “give an outline of” and “obscure” are opposites, but think of it this way —to adumbrate is to give a shadowy, vague picture of something, which could mean giving more information (if starting with nothing) or obscuring information (if starting with a clear picture) in order to reach that point.
aerie
(noun)
AIR-ee or EYE-ree
Definition: Dwelling or fortress built on a high place; the nest of a bird of prey, such as an eagle or hawk, built on a mountain or cliff
Usage: The billionaire smoked a cigar out his window and watched the riots in the streets below, safe in the aerie of his penthouse apartment.
Related Words: Stronghold (a well fortified place, especially the central place of a controversial group, as in “Police raided the smugglers’ stronghold.”)
More Info: Aerie may also be spelled aery, eyrie, or eyry. It shares an origin with “airy,” coming from a Latin word pertaining to an open field.
albeit
(conjunction) al-BEE-it
Definition: Although, even though
Usage: The village leader was illiterate albeit highly intelligent. / The trip was exciting, albeit brief.
Related Words: Notwithstanding (in spite of, although, all the same —“Notwithstanding the video of his crime, he was acquitted on a technicality”)
More Info: Albeit is a shortening of “although it be.”
aloof
(adj)
uh-LOOF
Definition: Distant physically or emotionally; reserved; indifferent
Usage: Perceiving her parents as cold and aloof, the child was naturally drawn to her warm, genial aunt.
Related Words: Detached (impartial or aloof), Standoffish (cold, unfriendly) More Info: A common stereotype is that dogs are affable, while cats are aloof.
amalgamate
(verb)
uh-MAL-guh-mayt
Definition: Blend, merge, or unite
Usage: The Amalgamated Transit Union is so called because it contains many local unions of bus operators, subway operators, baggage handlers, etc. / When turning her life story into a memoir, she amalgamated two important relatives into a single character, even amalgamating their names (Mary and Rose) into the character “Aunt Mary Rose.”
Related Words: Agglomerate (collect into a mass), Aggregate (gather together), Commix (mix together), Conglomerate (anything made up of different kinds of materials; blended; to bring together), Consolidate (unite or combine, such as companies or debts)
ameliorate
(verb)
uh-MEE-lee-or-ayt
Definition: Improve; make better or more bearable
Usage: If you spill water on your computer keyboard, you can ameliorate the damage by leaving the keyboard upside down to try—it may still be ruined, but that’s still the best chance you’ve got of saving it.
Related Words: Mitigate, Palliate, and Alleviate are near-synonyms, all of which could take the place of “ameliorate” in the sentence above.
More Info: Ameliorate occasionally appears as meliorate (an Old English version), meaning exactly the same thing.
amortize
(verb)
AM-or-tize
Definition: Gradually pay off a debt, or gradually write off an asset
Usage: A mortgage is a common form of amortized debt—spreading the payments out over as long as 30 years is not uncommon. / On his company balance sheet, Joe amortized the value of his patent, estimating that the patent’s value as an asset would decline steadily over the course of the year as competitors patented competing products.
More Info: Amortize contains the root “mort,” meaning death. Amortization is when a financial obligation dies a long, slow death.
anachronism
(noun)
uh-NACK-roh-nizm
Also anachronistic (adj)
Definition: Something that is not in its correct historical time; a mistake in chronology, such as by assigning a person or event to the wrong time period
Usage: The Queen of England is a bit of an anachronism, with her old-fashioned pillbox hats. / Did you catch the anachronisms in the latest action blockbuster set in ancient Greece? One of the characters was wearing a wristwatch with his toga!
More Info: The prefix “ana“ means “against”, and “chron” means “time.” This is one word you can work out entirely with a knowledge of roots: anachronistic means “against time.”
abate
(verb)
uh-BAYT
Also abatement (noun)
Definition: Reduce, diminish
Usage: Her stress over spending so much money on a house abated when the real estate broker told her about the property’s 15 year tax abatement.
Related Words: Tax abatement is used in the same way as tax “relief”—that is, a partial discount. Subside is another word for lessening (a storm could abate or subside).
More Info: Abate comes from an Old French word for “beat, cast down” that also gives us batter (beat severely) and abattoir (slaughterhouse).
abdicate
(verb)
AB-di-cayt
Also abdication (noun)
Definition: Formally give up the throne (or some other power or responsibility)
Usage: King Edward VIII of England famously abdicated the throne in order to marry an American divorcée. / Parents can be charged with neglect for abdicating their responsibilities towards their children.
Related Words: Don’t confuse abdicate with dethrone and depose, which refer to forcing a leader from power. Abdication is voluntary.
More Info: Abdicate comes from the root “ab” (away) and “dic/dict” (proclaim), the latter of which also appears in dictator, dictionary, dictate, dictum, and indict.
aberrant
(adj)
AB-er-int
Also aberration (noun)
Definition: Abnormal, deviant
Usage: The teen’s aberrant behavior made his family suspect that he was using drugs. / Losing rather than gaining weight over the holidays is certainly an aberration.
Related Words: Anomaly (deviation from the norm, inconsistency), Outlier (a person on the fringe; a data point that lies outside the main pattern of data)
More Info: The prefix “ab” means “away”—in this case, away from what’s normal.
abhor
(verb)
ab-HORE
Definition: Detest, regard with disgust
Usage: “Go out with you?” she replied. “I abhor you! I would rather stab myself with a rusty bread knife than be your girlfriend!”
Related Words: Loathe, Abominate (synonyms), Antipathy (instinctive repugnance or aversion)
More Info: The prefix “ab” means “away”—if you abhor (or abominate) something, you want to get as far away from it as possible.
abjure
(verb)
ab-JOOR
Definition: Give up, renounce; repudiate, recant, or shun (especially formally or under oath) Usage: To become a citizen of the United States, you must abjure loyalty to the nation of your birth. / Since enrolling in that nutrition class, she has abjured sugar and saturated fats. Related Words: Forswear (reject or renounce under oath; swear falsely in court), Eschew (shun, avoid, abstain from)
More Info: Abjure can be used in the same way as renounce. You renounce worldly pleasures, a religion or family member, membership in a group, etc. It can also be used in the same way as repudiate, which is more often used with ideas, as in “Galileo repudiated the belief that the Sun revolves around the Earth.”
abrasive
(adj)
uh-BRAY-siv
Also abrade (verb)
Definition: Rough, suitable for grinding or polishing (such as sandpaper); causing irritation or annoyance
Usage: Could the inside of this mascot costume be any more abrasive? It’s rubbing my skin raw! I have some seriously abrasive remarks for whoever designed this thing.
Related Words: Caustic (capable of burning or corroding; extremely critical or sarcastic), Excoriate (to rub the skin off of; to criticize very harshly)
More Info: Like caustic and excoriate, abrasive can be used literally or metaphorically. You scrub a dirty pan with something abrasive, such as steel wool. Harsh criticism is abrasive, like being scrubbed with steel wool.
abridge
(verb)
uh-BRIDGE
Also abridged (adj)
Definition: Reduce or lessen; shorten by omitting parts throughout while retaining the main idea
Usage: Our romantic vacation was abridged when the babysitter called to say that the kids were sick and we should come home. / Audio books are almost always abridged, since few people want to listen to a 200-hour book.
Related Words: Truncate (shorten by cutting off a part)
Memory Trick: When you abridge a book, you cut out sections from all over (hopefully without being too obvious)—that is, you create a bridge from the last part you kept in to the next part you kept in, so people don’t notice the missing bits. An abridged book still tells the whole story; a truncated book is missing the ending!
abstain
(verb)
ab-STAIN
Also abstemious (adj.)
Definition: Hold back, refrain (especially from something bad or unhealthy); decline to vote
Usage: The church board voted on whether to hold an abstinence rally to encourage young people not to become sexually active; while most members voted in favor, one voted against and two abstained, with one abstainer commenting that, as far as she knew, the church’s teens were pretty abstemious already.
Related Words: Temperance (moderation, holding back), Teetotaler (a person who abstains from alcohol), Forbear (hold back or abstain from)
More Info: Abstain is usually followed by “from” (vegetarians forbear meat or abstain from meat).
acme
(noun)
ACK-mee
Definition: Summit, peak, highest point
Usage: The acme of my vacation was when I finally climbed to the acme of the mountain and enjoyed the gorgeous vista.
Related Words: Summit, Pinnacle (synonyms), Apex (vertex, tip, point), Apogee (high point, point at which the moon is furthest from the Earth)
More Info: Acme, Summit, Pinnacle, and Apex are all popular names for businesses: Apex Locksmith, Pinnacle Home Security, etc. (Acme is especially popular, since it occurs early in the phone book).
activism
(noun)
ACK-ti-vizm
Also activist (noun)
Definition: The practice of pursuing political or other goals through vigorous action, often including protests and demonstrations
Usage: Lindsay’s parents had a hard time accepting that, after incurring $100,000 in student loans, their daughter had decided to enter the low-paying field of environmental activism.
Related Words: Advocacy (pleading for, recommending), Champion (one who defends or supports, as a cause)
More Info: Activism is often considered noble, but judicial activism—going beyond interpreting existing laws to actually using court decisions to create new public policies—is often controversial.
adhere
(verb)
ad-HERE
Definition: Stick (to), such as with glue, or to a plan or belief
Usage: I have a message board that adheres to my refrigerator with magnets; on it, I’ve written some affirmations to help me adhere to my diet plan.
Related Words: Abide by (follow, conform to), Cohere (become united, hold together as part of the same mass)
More Info: Use adhere for attaching two different kinds of things together, and cohere for things of the same kind (good cookie dough coheres instead of crumbles).
admonish
(verb)
ad-MAHN-ish
Also admonition (noun)
Definition: Mildly scold; caution, advise, or remind to do something
Usage: She was an exacting boss who upbraided an employee for jamming the copier, yet she merely admonished her five-year-old for the same offense.
Related Words: Reprove, upbraid, reprimand, and rebuke are all harsher forms of criticism than admonish.
More Info: You can also admonish someone to do something, as in “The GRE instructor admonished her students to study vocabulary every day.”
adverse
(adj)
AD-verss
Also adversity (noun)
Definition: Opposing, harmful
Usage: Pioneer women persevered despite adverse circumstances, even when fording a river—baby in one arm, leading a horse with the other—against an adverse current.
Related Words: Antagonistic (hostile, acting in opposition)
More Info: Adverse appears in “adverse criticism,” although that expression is a bit redundant. Adverse is also related to adversary (an opponent, foe).
advocate
(verb, noun)
AD-voh-kayt (v), AD-voh-kit (n)
Definition: Speak or argue in favor of (verb); a person who pleads for a cause or on behalf of another person (noun)
Usage: I cannot possibly vote for a candidate who advocates oil drilling in federally protected nature preserves. / Children often have advocates appointed to represent them in court.
Related Words: Proponents, Exponents, or Champions are all people who advocate for a cause.
More Info: Advocate contains the root “voc,” meaning “to call.” This root also appears in vocal, invoke, etc.
aesthetic
(adj, noun)
ess-THEH-tick
Also aesthete (noun)
Definition: Concerning the appreciation of beauty or good taste, pertaining to the science of what is beautiful (adj); a sense of beauty and taste of a particular time and place (noun)
Usage: The twins were so different—one possessed a truly baroque aesthetic, preferring golden, gilded decor. The other lived in a world of pure logic, untouched by any aesthetic sense whatsoever; art did not move him, his house was bare, and he married his wife solely because she was a master of calculus.
More Info: The meaning of aesthetic can range from the academic study of beauty (aesthetics) to performing manicures, the work of an aesthetician. Don’t confuse aesthetic with ascetic (pertaining to a simple, austere life with no luxuries, such as that of a monk; a person who leads such a life).
affable
(adj)
AFF-uh-bull
Also affability (noun)
Definition: Warm and friendly, pleasant, approachable
Usage: The professional wrestler played at belligerence in the ring, but in real life, he was quite an affable fellow—sociable, easy-going, and always ready to lend a hand.
Related Words: Amiable, Cordial, and Genial are synonyms.
More Info: The opposite of affable could be standoffish, discourteous, or distant.
affectation
(noun)
aff-eck-TAY-shun
Also affected (adj)
Definition: Fake behavior (such as in speech or dress) adopted to give a certain impression
Usage: I’m annoyed whenever Americans move to England and suddenly start speaking with an affected British accent; such affectations, when practiced by celebrities, are only likely to alienate their fans.
Related Words: Artifice (trickery, especially as part of a strategy)
More Info: In slang, some people call affected behavior “being a poser” (or poseur).
aggrandize
(verb)
uh-GRAND-ize
Also self-aggrandizing (adj)
Definition: Make greater; exaggerate
Usage: I can’t stand when my coworker aggrandizes her role in our group projects. / Stop it with your constant self-aggrandizing—we don’t care how many automobiles you own!
Related Words: Augment (to make larger)
More Info: An opposite of self-aggrandizing could be self-deprecating or self-effacing.
aggregate
(verb, adj)
AG-gruh-gayt (v), AG-gruh-git (n)
Definition: Gather together, amount to (verb); constituting a whole made up of constituent parts (adj)
Usage: While some of the company’s divisions did better than others, in aggregate, we made a profit. / Concrete is created when crushed rock or glass is aggregated with cement; in aggregate, concrete is stronger than cement alone.
Related Words: Agglomerate (collect into a mass), Consolidate (unite, combine, firm up—you can consolidate loans or consolidate power)
More Info: Aggregate can be used in the same sense as a gross amount. Gross or aggregate sales are the total amount from all sources.
alacrity
(noun)
uh-LACK-rit-tee
Definition: Cheerful or speedy willingness
Usage: Any boss wants an employee to respond with alacrity to his or her requests, handling them promptly and with enthusiasm.
Related Words: Brisk (speedy, energetic, vigorous), Sprightly (lively, full of spirit)
More Info: Alacrity has an adjective form, alacritous, but phrases like “full of alacrity” or “with alacrity” are much more common.
