Magoosh 200 Most Important Words Flashcards
** Alacrity**
eager willingness to do something
the more alacritous (adjective form) you are when you’re learning GRE vocabulary, the better you will do.
Prosaic
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).
Veracity
truthfullness
Paucity
Lack of something
Maintain
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
feel remorse
Word roots are often misleading. This word does not mean with triteness (con- meaning with). To be contrite is to feel remorse.
Laconic
few words
Another word that sounds different from what it means. A person is described as laconic when he/she says very few words.
Pugnacious
a person who is pugnacious likes to aggressively argue about everything
Disparate
If two things are fundamentally different, they are disparate
verbal skills and math skills are disparate, and as such are usually tested separately, the GRE being no exception
Egregious
standing out in a bad way
‘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
harmless and doesn’t produce any ill effects
Everyone found Nancy’s banter innocuous-– except for Mike, who felt like she was intentionally picking on him.
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.
Candid
A straightforward and honest look at something is a candid one
Even with a perfect stranger, he was candid and would rarely hold anything back.
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.
Erratic
Unpredictable, often wildly so, erratic is reserved for pretty extreme cases.
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
pours out in abundance
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
Still in existence; surviving
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 \u2018is\u2019 between the \u2018x\u2019 and the \u2018t\u2019 in extant. This gives you existant(don\u2019t 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.
Auspicious
favorable
Despite an auspicious beginning, Mike\u2019s road trip became a series of mishaps, and he was soon stranded and broke next to his wrecked automobile.
Enervate
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
speak vaguely, usually with the intention to mislead or deceive.
Ambivalent
when you are ambivalent you have mixed or conflicting emotions about something
“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
diligent and careful
If you are sedulously studying for the GRE, you are studying diligently and carefully\u2014making flashcards, writing down important words and formulas, and, of course, checking out the Magoosh blog every day.
Stem
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
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 \u2013weeds grew unchecked in the front yard.
Checkered
Marked by periods of varied fortune or discreditable incidents: “his checkered past”.
Having a pattern of alternating squares of different colors.
Raft
a large number of something
Despite a raft of city ordinances passed by an overzealous council, noise pollution continued unabated in the megalopolis.
Involved
complicated, and difficult to comprehend
The physics lecture became so involved that the undergraduate’s eyes glazed over.
Retiring
be shy, and have the inclination to retract from company.
Nelson always was the first to leave soirees-\u2013 rather than mill about with \u201Cfashionable\u201D 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
If something is of moment, it is significant
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\u2019s writing career, and, within a few years, the public quickly forgot his foray into theater arts.
Base
contemptible and ignoble
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).
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\u2014the 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
Fell indeed means terribly evil.
Imagine an evil person who cuts down trees, and then falls himself. Well, that image is capturing three different definitions of fell\u2014to cut down a tree, the past tense of fall (we all know that) and evil. Yes, I know, fell can\u2019t possibly mean evil\u2026but the English language is a wacky one.
Arch
to be deliberately teasing
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, \u201Che shrugged off her insults because he knew she was only being arch\u201D 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\u2019s 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?
Tender
offer it up
Tender is a verb, and it does not mean to behave tenderly. When you tender, something you offer it up. For instance, when you tender your resignation, you hand in a piece of paper saying that you are resigning.
Intimate
suggest something subtly
Just as tender doesn’t relate to two people in love, neither does intimate, at least on the GRE. The secondary meaning for intimate is to suggest something subtly.
Wanting
Wanting means lacking. So, if your knowledge of secondary meanings is wanting, this post is a perfect place to start learning.
Becoming
Another secondary meaning that changes parts of speech, becoming an adjective. If something is becoming, it matches nicely.
Her dress was becoming and made her look even more beautiful.
Start
The secondary meaning for start is somewhat similar to the common meaning. To start is to suddenly move or dart in a particular direction.
Fleece
The woolly coat of a sheep or goat.
Obtain a great deal of money from (someone), typically by overcharging or swindling them.
If you are thinking Mary Had a Little Lamb (fleece as white as snow), you have been fleeced by a secondary meaning. To fleece is to deceive.
** Telling**
If something is telling, it is significant and stands out.
For instance, let’s say you are not really sure if you are going to take the GRE
Wax
Melting wax will only lead you astray.
The secondary meaning for wax is to increase. The opposite of wax is to wane.
Check
To check is to limit, and is usually used to modify the growth of something.
When government abuses are not kept in check, a ruling body is likely to become autocratic.
Qualify
To qualify is to limit
I love San Francisco.
I love San Francisco, but it is always windy.
(You have just qualified your love for San Francisco)
In the context of the GRE, the concept of qualification is usually found in the Reading Comprehension passage. For example, an author usually expresses qualified approval or some qualified opinion in the passage. As you may have noticed, the authors of reading comprehension passages never feel 100% about something. They always think in a nuanced fashion. Therefore, they are unlikely to be gung-ho or downright contemptuous. That is, they qualify, or limit, their praise/approval/disapproval.
Miserly vs. Frugal
Monte was no miser, pinching each penny, but was simply frugal, wisely spending the little that he earned.
This is one of the most commonly confused pairs. These words, despite popular opinion, are not the same. Frugal has a positive connotation, i.e. you spend money wisely, and miserly has a negative connotation, i.e. you pinch every penny.
Prevaricate vs. Variance
To prevaricate is to speak in an evasive way. Prevaricate does not mean to vary before; indeed, it is totally unrelated to variance, which simply means the quality of varying. A good synonym for prevaricate is equivocate. And that’s no lie.
The cynic quipped, “There is not much variance in politicians; they all seem to prevaricate”.
Histrionic vs. History
Histrionic is totally unrelated to history. It comes from the Latin for actor. To be histrionic is not to have a penchant for bad Pacino or Brando imitations, but to be overly theatrical.
Though she received a B- on the test, she had such a histrionic outburst that one would have thought that she’d been handed a death sentence.
Demur vs. Demure
To demur is a verb meaning to object or show reluctance.
Wallace dislike the cold, so he demurred when his friends suggested they going skiing in the Alps.
To be demure is to be modest and shy. This word refers to a woman, so don’t call a man demure, as they will surely demur.
Beatific vs. Beautiful
A beatific person is one who radiates bliss. This person is so happy, they almost seem blessed and holy (think of a saint, of the Buddha). As for beautiful, well you may be beatific if you are beautiful, or you may be totally unhappy. The two words are totally unrelated.
Perfunctory vs. Preemptive vs. Peremptory
Ever done dishes before? As far as daily experiences go, this one represents the nadir for most. As a result, when we do dishes, we do them in a routine way. We are hardly inspired.
To do something in such a manner is to be perfunctory. The word also carries with it the connotation of carelessness. That is, if you do something in which you are merely going through the motions, you are probably not doing your best (as far as my perfunctory dish-cleaning goes, my wife can attest to this).
To act before someone else does is to act preemptively.
Just as Martha was about to take the only cookie left on the table, Noah preemptively swiped it.
Preemptive is often times heard in a political context. A country that strikes before another country can do so is launching a preemptive strike.
If you are peremptory you are bossy and domineering.
My sister used to peremptorily tell me to do the dishes, a chore I would do perfunctorily or avoid doing altogether.
Indigent vs. Indigenous vs. Indignant
Indigent word means poor, having very little means.
In the so-called Third World, many are indigent and only a privileged few have the wherewithal to enjoy material luxuries.
Indigenous means relating to a certain area. Plants and animals are often indigenous, as are people.
The flora and fauna indigenous to Australia are notably different from those indigenous to the U.S—one look at a duckbill platypus and you know you’re not dealing with an opossum.
Imagine you are waiting in line to order your morning coffee. Right as you are about to order a nice steaming cup, someone cuts in front of you and places an order for six people. How would you feel? Indignant.
Indignant means to feel anger over a perceived injustice. And you don’t want to be indignant the day of the test, when ETS just happens to pick that one word you always end up confusing with another word.
**Errant vs. Arrant vs. Errand vs. Err **
To be errant is to be wandering, not sticking to a circumscribed path.
Unlike his peers, who spent their hours studying in the library, Matthew preferred errant walks through the university campus to help his brain function.
Arrant means complete and utter. It usually modifies a noun with a negative connotation, e.g. liar, fool, etc. An arrant fool, Lawrence surprised nobody when he lost all his money in a pyramid scheme that was every bit as transparent as it was corrupt
. An errand is a small chore. Maria carried out her errands with dispatch, completing most before noon.
To err is (surprise!) make an error. He erred in thinking that errant and arrant were synonyms.
Artless vs. Artful vs. Artifice
Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet\u2026surely they relate to the second word, and definitely not the first, which would be reserved for people like me who reached their artistic apotheosis with the drawing of stick-figures. Well, as far as the GRE is concerned, neither word relates to art (both in the lower case and upper case sense).
To be artful means to be cunning and wily.
To have artifice is to be artful. Perhaps you\u2019ve readDickens, and remember The Artful Dodger. The titular artful dodger did not have a penchant for watercolors, but was instead a devious, wily lad. This trait, presumably, allowed him to dodge tricky situations.
If somebody is artless, on the other hand, that person is innocent, guileless. It should come as little surprise, then, that the literary canon is absent an artless dodger, as he would be too innocent and naive to dodge much of anything. Finally, artful and artless can refer back to the original usage of art. Therefore, Picasso is artful and I am artless. However, the GRE rarely, if ever, tests this definition.
Expurgate vs. Expunge
They both mean to remove, but in different ways. To expurgate means to remove objectionable material. If you\u2019ve ever watched a rated-R film that has been adapted for prime time, you’ll probablynote that all those F-words (factitious, facetious, and fatuous)have been removed. That’s expurgation(think of the beep).
To expunge simply means to wipe out or remove any trace off. Many people who commit petty crimes have those crimes expunged from their records, given that person doesn\u2019t decide to start running everyother red-light. So, if you\u2019ve been a good driver over the last 10 years, then that one incident when 85became the new 65\u2026well, that\u2019s probably been expunged from your record.
**Censure vs. Censor **
Speaking of beeping out the F-word, we have a synonym for expurgate: censor. Censure, the much more common GRE word, has nothing to do with removing objectionable words and/or material. However, if you decide to start dropping the F-bomb in public\u2014and I don\u2019t mean facetious\u2014then you can easily expect someone to censure you. To censure someone is to express strong disapproval of that person.
Ponderous vs. Imponderable
Ponder means to think over. So, ponderous must mean thinking. However, this is not the case. Ponderous is derived from ‘pondus’, which means weight (think of a pound). So, to be ponderous means to be weighed-down, and to move slowly and in a labored fashion.
Imponderable is not the opposite of ponderous. It actually relates to thinking. An imponderable is something that is impossible to estimate, fathom or figure out. Say a child was to ask, “How long would it take driving in a car to go from one end of the universe to the other?” Unless you have a really big calculator(and a very fast car)then the answer to this question would be imponderable.
Kowtow
Nope, kowtow is not a giant truck for pulling bovines, but a word that comes from the imperial courts of China. When a person kowtowed to the emperor, or any eminent mandarin for that matter, he or she knelt and touched the ground with his or her forehead. Such a gesture was intended to show respect and submission.
Today, kowtow has a negative connotation and implies that a person is acting in a subservient or sycophantic manner.
He kowtowed to his boss on even the most trivial matters that the boss herself soon became nauseated by his sycophancy.
Powwow
No, it\u2019s not kowtow’s cousin - in fact, this word sprung from American soil, namely the Algonquin tribe of North America. A powwow was quite a hootenanny of a time and involved a big party of dancing and dining between tribes. Strangely, today’s meaning is a lot more subdued, and far less fun. Any informal discussion or colloquyis regarded as a powwow. You and your co-worker can have a mid-afternoon powwow over coffee. A political leader can have a powwow with his cronies (I’m presuming they’d favor cigars over coffee).
Junta
Junta means to join and comes via Portugal and Spain. But this joining was in no way peaceful. Whenever a military group joined forces to usurp the existing regime, they would form a military junta. Today, junta can refer to the aggressive takeover by a group.
Imbroglio
It may sound like an exotic vegetable or a pungent pasta dish, but it’s neither. Imbroglio comes to us via mid-18th century Italian and has nothing to do with the kitchen. Instead it is related to the verb ‘embroil’ and describes a confusing, and potentially embarrassing, situation. The chef cook-off featured one gourmand who had the unfortunate distinction of mixing the wrong broths, creating off-putting dishes on an imbroglio that viewers will not soon forget.
**Juggernaut **
To many, this word was forever immortalized in X-Men 2, when one of the main characters, Juggernaut, ran through walls, pulverizing them. This power to knock over and destroy anything in its path can also be traced to the original juggernaut, a word that comes to us via Hindi. A juggernaut was a large temple vehicle-and when I mean large I mean humongous-under which followers of Krishna would supposedly throw themselves.
Today, the word juggernaut doesn’t necessarily include any grisly sacrifices, but refers to any large force that cannot be stopped.
Napoleon was considered a juggernaut, until he decided to invade Russia in winter; within weeks his once seemingly indomitable army was decimated by cold and famine
Schadenfreude
Schadenfreude is one of those words that at first glance may seem gratuitous. After all, do we really need a word that literally translates from the German as harm-joy? Unfortunately, a twisted quirk of human nature is that we can sometimes take joy in the suffering of others. Luckily, German has provided us a word to use if we ever see someone cackling sardonically at the suffering of others.
From his warm apartment window, Stanley reveled in schadenfreude as he laughed at the figures below, huddled together in the arctic chill.
**Amuck **
To run amuck is to run about frenzied. While this word comes to us via Malay, you don’t have to live onthe Malaysian peninsula to witness people running amuck. Wherever the bowl-cut teen-idol went, his legions of screaming fans ran through the streets amuck, hoping for one glance at his boyish face.
Pariah
This word means an outcast. It comes from Hindi, one of the most prominent languages spoken in India. While India is on the other side of the world (at least from where I’m sitting), it should come as nosurprise that we have acquired words from Hindi. After all, the British (remember, the people who “invented” English) colonized India and greatly influenced her for more than a century. The influencewent both ways, as we now have words like pundit, meaning an expert in a particular area. And any pundit on geography and linguistics can tell you that another common language spoken in India is English.
Nabob
This word is fun to say. It definitely wouldn’t be fun to see on the GRE, if you didn’t know what itmeant. So let’s make sure that doesn’t happen. A nabob is a wealthy, influential person. This word alsocomes from Hindi, and was originally used by Indians to describe a wealthy British person living in India. While it is not as common as pundit and pariah, nabob applies to many living here in the U.S., though I don’t think it a good idea to call Donald Trump a nabob to his face.
Bwana
This word comes from Swahili and means master. The word was originally from Arabic, and meant father.
Zeitgeist
Okay, German is by no means a distant tongue, or for that matter, an exotic one. Zeitgeist, however, doesn’t look anything like your typical English word. Translated literally from German, zeitgeist means “time-ghost”. In terms of an actual definition, zeitgeist means spirit of the times. Each decade has its own zeitgeist-the 1990’s was a prosperous time in which the promise of the American Dream never seemed more palpable. The zeitgeist of the 2000’s was a curious admixture of fear and frivolity; when we were not anxious over the state of the economy and the world, we escaped into reality T.V. shows, either those on popular networks or the ones we would create ourselves on YouTube.
Sangfroid
This word literally means cold-blooded. It is defined as calmness and poise, especially in trying situations.
Parvenu
This is a person who has recently acquired wealth, and has therefore risen in class.
**Demur **
Demur is a verb. It means to object. Demur should not be confused with demure, which as an adjective means coy. They both come from around the time of the Norman Conquest (though the Anglophiles may have demurred to use either).
**Arriviste **
This word is a synonym with parvenu. It came into the language much more recently, circa 1900.
Melee
I learned melee early in my life, because I had the peculiar misfortune of having a surname that rhymes with it. While none of this schoolyard teasing resulted in any melees, it’ll behoove you to know that itmeans a wild, confusing fight or struggle. Oh, and it comes from French (rhyming similarities aside, my last name is not derived from French).
Let’s see if I can weave them all into a coherent sentence: Despite the scornful stares from entrenched aristocrats, the parvenu walked blithely about the palace grounds, maintaining his sangfroid and demurring to enter into the melees that the snobbish were so fond of baiting arrivistes into.
Oui!
And here are two more-still French, but with a slight Cajun flavor!:
**Lagniappe **
This word looks like it got jumbled up while I was typing. Believe it or not, lagniappe is not the result of errant fingers on my part, but comes to us from Louisiana. In Cajun country, in the 19th Century, a lagniappe was any unexpected gift. By no means a common GRE word, if lagniappe happens to show up on the test, then consider it an unexpected gift.
**Picayune **
Picayune would make for a good 2,000-dollar jeopardy clue, one which would probably read something like this: :Don’t trifle with us-this word comes from Cajun country via France and refers to a 19th century coin of little value.”What is picayune?”, would be the correct answer (thanks, Alex!). Derived from Cajun via Provencal France, picayune refers not only to a coin but also to an amount that is trifling or meager. It can also refer to a person who is petty. Therefore, if I’m being picayune, I’m fussing over some trivial point.
English is one of the most promiscuous languages, absorbing languages as unrelated as Sanskrit and Finnish into its bulging lexicon. By extension, I\u2019d also warn against relying on Latin/Greek roots to figure out what unfamiliar words mean. Thwarting a root-based approach even more is the fact that English not only takes from any language it stumbles across, but that it blithely appropriates a person’sname, trimming a few letters here and there (adding the Latin -ian, or -esque for true mongrel effect), and then begets a Franken-word that would confound the most seasoned etymologist. Adapting a name in such a fashion results in an eponym. What makes eponyms fascinating-and even more random-is that just about anyone can bequeath the world his or her name: a fictional anti-hero who thought windmills were dragons; a jingoistic veteran of Napoleon’s army; an author with apenchant for absurdity, and an aversion to bureaucracy. Of course, for GRE purposes we do not need to know that a jeroboam is a massive wine bottle named for an ancient Israeli king (who apparently was quite the wino). So I have culled from a list of eponyms those that may actually show up test day.
**Mesmerize **
Franz Mesmer, an Austrian physician prominent the turn of the 19th century, was renowned for hypnotizing people. His method included kneeling near a patient, touching his/her knees and looking into the person’s eyes (I’m curious if he ever proposed to one of his clients). Today, we have the word mesmerize, which doesn’t necessarily mean to hypnotize (though it could), but is used figuratively and means to hold spellbound. The plot and the characters were so well developed that many viewers were mesmerized, unable to move their eyes from the screen for even a single second.
**Gerrymander **
No, this word does not pertain to a large salamander named Gerry - though I suppose it could. Gerrymander is actually far more interesting than that.
Elbridge Gerry was the vice president of James Madison, the 4th president of the United States. Elbridge had an interesting idea. To get elected a president had to win a certain number of districts. So Elbridge came up with the following plan: if he partitioned a city in a certain way he could ensure that the president would win the majority of the votes from that district. The end result was a city that was split up into the oddest arrangement of districts. And can you guess what a map of the city, gerrymandered, looked like? Yep, a salamander.
Today the use of gerrymander hasn’t changed too much, and refers to the manipulation of boundaries to favor a certain group.
Hector
If you remember reading Homer\u2019s Iliad, you may remember Hector, a muscular, daunting force (some of you may more vividly recall Eric Bana from the movie Troy).
As people were intimidated around Hector, it makes sense that the word ‘hector’ means to bully or intimidate. The boss’s hectoring manner put off many employees, some of whom quit as soon as they found new jobs.
Pollyannaish
Like Hector, Pollyannaish comes from fiction. However, in this case we are dealing with a relatively recent work, that of Eleanor Porter who came up with a character named Pollyanna. Pollyanna was extremely optimistic and so it is no surprise that Pollyannaish means extremely optimistic. Even in the midst of a lousy sales quarter, Debbie remained Pollyannaish, never losing her shrill voice and wide smile, even when people hung up on her.
Chauvinist
Many have heard this word, and some may even have a visceral reaction to the word. However, this word is actually misused. A chauvinist is not a male who chugs beers, watches too much football, and demeans women. That would be a male chauvinist. So what is a chauvinist, unadorned by any adjective?
Well, Nicolas Chauvin, a one-time recruit in Napoleon’s army, used to go about town, thumping his chest about how great France was. In its modern day incantation, chauvinism can also mean anyone who thinks that their group is better than anybody else’s group. You can have male chauvinists, political party chauvinists, and even female chauvinists.
Pyrrhic
King Pyrrhus had the unfortunate luck of going up against the Romans. Some would say that he was actually lucky in that he actually defeated the Romans in the Battle of Asculum. Pyrrhic was perhaps more ambivalent, quipping, “One more such victory will undo me.”
So any win that comes at so great a cost that it is not even worth it is a pyrrhic victory.
Malapropism
This is definitely one of my favorite eponyms. While the provenance is nowhere nearly as interesting as those of other eponyms, the word perfectly describes a lapse that any of us is capable of making, especially those studying for the GRE.
Ms. Malaprop was a character in a play The Rivals by the largely forgotten George Sheridan. She was known for mixing up similar sounding words, usually to comic effect. Indeed, she would utter the words with complete aplomb that those listening were unsure if she’d even mixed up words in the first place. Her favorite Spanish dance was the flamingo (note: the dance in question is the flamenco; a flamingo is a salmon-colored bird known both for its elegance and tackiness).
GRE malapropisms aren’t quite so silly as Ms. Malaprop mixing up a bird and a Spanish dance, but I’ll domy best. See if you can spot the GRE malapropisms below.
The graffiti artist was indicated for defecating the church with gang signs.
Picasso was a protein artist, able to mix elements of African art with the oven guard.
Quisling
We’ve all heard of the Nazis. Some of you may have even heard of the Vichy government, which was apuppet regime set up by the Nazis in France during WWII. Few of us, however, know that Germany also tried to turn Norway into a puppet regime. In order for Germany to take over Norway, it needed an inside man, a Norwegian who would sell his country out for the Nazis.
This man was Viktor Quisling. For arrant perfidy, he has been awarded the eponym quisling, which means traitor.
**Byzantine **
Okay, I cheated a little on this one. Byzant was not a medieval philosopher (nor an industrious ant). The word ‘byzantine’ is not derived from a person’s name, but from Byzantium, an ancient city thatwas part of the Byzantine Empire (the word can also refer to the empire itself). Specifically, Byzantium was known for the intricate patterns adorning its architecture. Bulbous domed turrets were emblazoned with ornate latticing (think of the towers on a Russia church).
The modern usage of byzantine refers not to architecture per se, but to anything that is extremely intricate and complex. It actually carries a negative connotation.
Getting a driver’s license is not simply a matter of taking a test; the regulations and procedures are so byzantine that many have found themselves at the mercy of the DMV.
**Kafkaesque **
By day, Franz Kafka filed papers at an insurance office, and by night churned out dark novels, which suggested that the quotidian world of the office was actually far more sinister. Mainly, his novels were known for the absurd predicaments of their main characters (who often went by nothing more than a single initial).
Today, we have the word Kafkaesque, that refers to the absurdity we have to deal with living in a world of faceless bureaucracies. So next time you are put on hold for three hours and then volleyed back in forth between a dozen monotone-voice employees, think to yourself, hey this is Kafkaesque.
Quixotic
Don Quixote is perhaps one of the most well-known characters in all of literature. I suppose there is something heartbreaking yet comical at a man past his prime who believes he is on some great mission to save the world. In fact, Don Quixote was so far off his rocker that he thought windmills were dragons.
As a word that means somebody who mistakes windmills for dragons would have a severely limited application, quixotic has taken the broader meaning of someone who is wildly idealistic. It is one thing to want to help end world hunger; it is another to think you can do so on your own. The latter would be deemed quixotic.
Maudlin
Mary Magdalene was the most important female disciple of Jesus. After Jesus had been crucified, she wept at his tomb. From this outward outpouring of emotion, we today have the word maudlin. Whereas Mary’s weeping was noble, maudlin has taken on a negative connotation. A person who is maudlin cries in public for no good reason, and is oftentimes times used to describe one who’s tried to finish a jeroboam alone, andnow must share with the stranger sitting next to them all of his deepest feelings.
Panglossian
Interestingly, there is another eponym for literature that has a very similar meaning: Panglossian. Derived from Dr. Pangloss from Voltaire’s Candide, Panglossian carries a negative connotation, implying blind optimism.
Despite the fact that his country had been marred by a protracted civil war, Victor remained ever Panglossian, claiming that his homeland was living through a Golden Age.
Galvanize
Like many late 18th Century scientists, Luigi Galvani was fascinated with electricity (you may recall a certain Ben Franklin who had a similar penchant). Galvani’s breakthrough came a little more serendipitously than playing with metal in lightning storms-he noticed that an electric current passing through a dead frog’s legs made those legs twitch. This observation sparked-pardon the pun-a series of connections: could it be that electric shock could cause muscles to twitch? Today, galvanize can mean to shock but in a different sense than through raw electricity. To galvanize is to shock or urge somebody/something into action.
The colonel’s speech galvanized the troops, who had all but given up.
Supercilious
Cilia are small, thick hairs. One area on our bodies that contain cilia is our eyebrows. Supercilious is derived from the rising of these brows. Of course a word that means raising one’s eyebrows would probably have limited use. It’s what the raising of eyebrows connotes. Apparently, to be supercilious is to be haughty and disdainful. That is, when we look down at someone in a demeaning way, we might be tempted to lift our brows.
Protean
Nope, I have not spelled protein incorrectly (don’t worry—carbohydrates will not show up next on the list!). Protean is an eponym derived from the Greek god Proteus, he who could change into shape or forms at will. To be protean, however, does not mean you wow party guests by shifting into various kinds of lawn furniture. The consummate adaptability implied by the word is used to describe a person’s ability. So an actor, musician, or writer who is very versatile is protean.
Peter Sellers was truly a protean actor—in Doctor Strangelove he played three very different roles: a jingoist general, a sedate President and a deranged scientist.
