Magoosh 1 Flashcards
Alacrity
The GRE has a predilection for words that don’t really sound like what they mean. Alacrity is no exception. Many think the word has a negative connotation. Alacrity, however, means an eager willingness to do something.
So imagine the first day at a job that you’ve worked really hard to get. How are you going to complete the tasks assigned to you? With alacrity, of course.
An interesting correlation: the more alacritous (adjective form) you are when you’re learning GRE
vocabulary, the better you will do
Prosaic
Prosaic conjures up a beautiful mosaic for some. For others, the pro- is clearly positive. So if somebody or something is prosaic, it must surely be good.
Once again the GRE confounds expectations. Prosaic means dull and lacking imagination. It can be used to describe plans, life, language, or just about anything inanimate that has become dull (it is not used
to describe people).
A good mnemonic: prose is the opposite of poetry. And where poetry, ideally, bursts force with imagination, prose (think of text-book writing), lacks imagination. Hence, prose-aic.
Veracity
Veracity sounds a lot like voracity. Whereas many know voracity means full of hunger (the adjective form voracious is more common), few know veracity. Unfortunately, many confuse the two on the test.
Veracity means truthful. The adjective form, veracious, sounds a lot like voracious. So be careful.
Paucity
Paucity is a lack of something. In honor of paucity, this entry will have a paucity of words.
Maintain
The second definition of this word – and one the new GRE favors – is to assert. One can maintain their innocence. A scientist can maintain that a recent finding support her theory. The latter context is the one you’ll encounter on the GRE.
Contrite
Word roots are often misleading. This word does not mean with triteness (con- meaning with). To be contrite is to feel remorse.
Laconic
Another word that sounds different from what it means. A person is described as laconic when he/she says very few words.
I’m usually reminded of John Wayne, the quintessential cowboy, who, with a gravely intonation, muttered few words. As this allusion betrays may age more than anything else, think of Christian Bale in Batman.
Pugnacious
Much like a pug dog, which aggressively yaps at things near it, a person who is pugnacious likes to aggressively argue about everything. Verbally combative is another good way to describe pugnacious.
Disparate
If two things are fundamentally different, they are disparate. For instance, verbal skills and math skills are disparate, and as such are usually tested separately, the GRE being no exception.
Egregious
‘Greg’ is the Latin root for flock. At one point egregious meant standing out of the flock a positive way.
This definition went out of vogue sometime in the 16th century, after which time egregious was used ironically.
Thus for the last five hundred years, ‘egregious’ meant standing out in a bad way. In sports, an egregious foul would be called on a player who slugged another player (not including hockey, of course).
Innocuous
Something innocuous is harmless and doesn’t produce any ill effects. Many germs are innocuous. As are most bug bites. Even television, in small doses, is typically innocuous. Innocuous can also mean inoffensive. An innocuous question is unlikely to upset anyone.
Everyone found Nancy’s banter innocuous—except for Mike, who felt like she was intentionally picking on him.
Candid
A straightforward and honest look at something is a candid one. Many great photographers have created enduring work because they turn their respective lens on what is real. Whether these photos are from the Dust Bowl, the Vietnam War, or on the Arab Winter, they move us because they reveal how people felt at a certain moment.
A person can also be candid if they are being honest and straightforward with you.
Even with a perfect stranger, he was candid and would rarely hold anything back.
Erratic
Unpredictable, often wildly so, erratic is reserved for pretty extreme cases. An athlete who scores the winning point one game, and then botches numerous opportunities. The stock market. And your sleep,
especially if your stocks aren’t doing well, can become erratic.
Erratic can also mean strange and unconventional. Someone may be known for their erratic behavior.
Regardless of which meaning you are employing, you should not be erratic in your GRE prep.
Bleak
If one has a very depressing take on life, we say that person has a bleak outlook. Landscapes can be bleak (Siberia in April, the Texas of No Country for Old Men), and writers, too (Dostoevsky, Orwell).
Profuse
If something literally pours out in abundance we say it is profuse. This pouring is usually figurative. A person who apologies ceaselessly does so profusely. Perhaps a little more vividly, certain men who fail to button up their shirts all the way, let the world – perhaps not unwittingly – know of their profuse chest hair (which, on their part, should necessitate a profuse apology).
Extant
Many think this word means extinct. Extant is actually the opposite of extinct.
Despite many bookstores closing, experts predict that some form of book dealing will still be extant generations from now.
A great mnemonic is to put the word ‘is’ between the ‘x’ and the ‘t’ in extant. This gives you existant (don’t mind the misspelling).
Contentious
This GRE word does not mean content, as you could have probably guessed. It comes from the word contend, which means to argue. If you are contentious, you like to argue.
Contentious is a very common GRE word, so unless you want me to become contentious, memorize it now!
Auspicious
This word sounds very sinister. Auspicious is actually the opposite and means favorable.
Despite an auspicious beginning, Mike’s road trip became a series of mishaps, and he was soon stranded and broke next to his wrecked automobile.
The opposite, inauspicious, is also common on the GRE.
Enervate
Most people think this words means to energize. It actually means to sap the energy from.
John preferred to avoid equatorial countries; the intense sun would always leave him enervated after he’d spent the day sightseeing.
Equivocate
People tend to think that equivocate has to do with equal. It actually means to speak vaguely, usually with the intention to mislead or deceive. The related word unequivocal also can be confusing. To state something unequivocally is to state it in such a way that there is no room for doubt.
Ambivalent
Students often believe that to be ambivalent towards something is to be indifferent. The truth is almost the opposite. See, when you are ambivalent you have mixed or conflicting emotions about something.
Imagine somebody asked you how it was studying for the GRE.
You could say, “I am ambivalent about studying for the GRE because it ate up a lot of time. On the plus
side, I did learn many words and improved my reading comprehension.”
Sedulous
I am not quite sure why students can never seem to remember the definition for this word. Perhaps the sed- reminds them of sitting and being idle. To be sedulous, however, is to be anything but idle. If you are sedulously studying for the GRE, you are studying diligently and carefully—making flashcards, writing down important words and formulas, and, of course, checking out the Magoosh blog every day.
Stem
To stem means to hold back or limit the flow or growth of something. You can stem bleeding, you (can attempt to) stem the tide. Do not stem the flow of vocabulary coursing through your brains. Make sure to use these words whenever you can.
To stem the tide of applications, the prestigious Ivy requires that each applicant score at least 330 on the Revised GRE.
Blinkered
If you blink a lot you are likely to miss something. Indeed, your view would be very limited. Extending this meaning, we get the definition of blinkered: means to have a limited outlook or understanding.
In gambling, the addict is easily blinkered by past successes and/or past failures, forgetting that the outcome of any one game is independent of the games that preceded it.
Check
To check something is to stop its growth (similar to stem but with more of a focus on growth than flow).
If something is left unchecked, then it grows freely.
Deserted for six months, the property began to look more like a jungle and less like a residence –weeds grew unchecked in the front yard.
Checkered
The meaning of checkered is completely unrelated to the meaning of check above– very tricky, so be sure to know the difference between the two. A checkered past is one that is marked by disreputable happenings.
One by one, the presidential candidates dropped out of the race, their respective checkered pasts – from embezzlement to infidelity – sabotaging their campaigns.
Raft
A raft is an inflatable boat. It can also mean a large number of something. I know – it doesn’t really make much sense. But a good mnemonic – imagine a large number of rafts and you have a raft of rafts.
Involved
We are involved in many things, from studying to socializing. For something to be involved, in terms of the GRE definition, means it is complicated, and difficult to comprehend.
The physics lecture became so involved that the undergraduate’s eyes glazed over.
Retiring
Sure, many dream of the day when they can be retiring (preferably to some palatial estate with a beachfront view). The second definition does not necessarily apply to most. To be retiring is to be shy, and have the inclination to retract from company.
Nelson always was the first to leave soirees—rather than mill about with “fashionable” folk, he was retiring, and preferred the solitude of his garret.
Expansive
Yes, expansive means expansive. It also means communicative, and prone to talking in a sociable manner.
After a few sips of cognac, the octogenarian shed his irascible demeanor and became expansive, speaking fondly of the “good old days”.
Moment
A moment is a point in time. We all know that definition. If something is of moment, it is significant and important (think of the word momentous).
Despite the initial hullabaloo, the play was of no great moment in Hampton’s writing career, and, within a few years, the public quickly forgot his foray into theater arts.
Base
When the definition of this word came into existence, there were some obvious biases against the lower classes (assuming that lexicographers were not lower class). It was assumed that those from the base, or the lowest, class were without any moral principles. They were contemptible and ignoble. Hence, we have this second definition of base (the word has since dropped any connotations of lower class). She was not so base as to begrudge the mendicant the unwanted crumbs from her dinner plate.
Imbibe
Literally, to imbibe is to drink, usually copiously. Figuratively, imbibe can refer to an intake of knowledge or information.
The professor was a fountain of erudition, and we imbibed his wisdom.
Plato imbibed Socrates’ teachings to such an extent that he was able to write volumes of work that he directly attributed, sometimes word for word, to Socrates.
Inundate
Speaking of floods, inundate is a synonym for deluge. Figuratively, to be inundated means to be overwhelmed by too many people or things.
Once inundated with 5,000 vocabulary words, GRE students now have to contend with somewhat fewer words.
The newsroom was inundated with false reports that only made it more difficult for the newscasters to provide an objective account of the bank robbery.
Scintillating
If something gives off sparks, such as when photons collide, it is said to scintillate. Figuratively, scintillating describes someone who is brilliant and lively.
Richard Feynman was renowned for his scintillating lectures—the arcana of quantum physics was made lucid as he wrote animatedly on the chalkboard.
Benighted
If the sky darkens, and becomes night, it is, unsurprisingly, benighted. However, if a people are benighted (this word is usually reserved for the collective), that group falls in a state of ignorance.
Far from being a period of utter benightedness, The Medieval Ages produced some inestimable works of theological speculation.
Galvanize
Need to strengthen steel by giving it a final coat? Or, perhaps you need to motivate somebody? Well, in both cases, you would literally be galvanizing. Figuratively, to galvanize is to excite to action or spur on.
At mile 23 of his first marathon, Kyle had all but given up, until he noticed his friends and family holding a banner that read, “Go Kyle”; galvanized, he broke into a gallop, finishing the last three miles in less than 20 minutes.
Hedge
If you are really into horticulture—which is a fancy word for gardening—you’ll known hedges are shrubs, or small bushes that have been neatly trimmed. If you know your finance, then you’ve probably heard of hedge funds (where brokers make their money betting against the market). Hedge can also be used in a verb sense. If you hedge your bets, you play safely. If you hedge a statement, you limit or qualify that statement. Finally, hedge can also mean to avoid making a direct statement, as in equivocating.
Flush
What word means to turn red (especially in the face), to send down the toilet, to be in abundance, and to drive out of hiding? Yep, it’s flush, which has all four of these totally unrelated definitions.
Fell
Imagine an evil person who cuts down trees, and then falls himself. Well, that image is capturing three different definitions of fell—to cut down a tree, the past tense of fall (we all know that) and evil. Yes, I know, fell can’t possibly mean evil…but the English language is a wacky one. Fell indeed means terribly evil.
Arch
You have arches in architecture, or at a well-known fast-food restaurant. You can arch your back, or a bow. Arches are even a part of your foot. But, did you know that to be arch is to be deliberately teasing, as in, “he shrugged off her insults because he knew she was only being arch” Finally, arch as a root means chief or principal, as in archbishop.
Beg
Commonly, when we think of begging, we think of money, or a favor. But, one can also beg a question, and that’s where things start to get complicated. To beg a question can mean to evade a question, invite an obvious question, or, and this is where it starts to get really tricky, to ask a question that in itself makes unwarranted assumptions.
For instance, let’s say you are not really sure if you are going to take the GRE. If somebody asks you when you are going to take the GRE, then that person is assuming you are going to take the GRE. That is, they are begging the question. If you avoid giving a direct answer, then you are also begging the question (albeit in a different sense). Which finally begs the question, how did this whole question begging business get so complicated in the first place?
