Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

GRE Vocab > GRE Vocab Mnemonics > Flashcards

GRE Vocab Mnemonics Flashcards

(63 cards)

Start Studying
0
Q

Abashed

A

Embarrassed

Think BASHFUL the dwarf

When Snow White kisses him, BASHFUL gets so ABASHED that he blushes.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
1
Q

Abase

A

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.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Abate

A

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.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Aberration

A

An exception or departure from the norm.

Think A BARE ASIAN

Seeing A BARE ASIAN would be ABERRATION - Asians usually wear clothes.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Abeyance

A

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.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Abhors

A

Hates

Think AB-WHORE

Daria ABHORS the tube-top-wearing blonde who stole her boyfriend and refers to her as an “AB-WHORE”.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Abject

A

Miserable; wretched; hopeless

Think REJECTS

If she REJECTS my marriage proposal, I will be ABJECT, with nothing to live for.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Abnegate

A

To give up something; to deny oneself something

Think ABS NEGATED

If you ABNEGATE food, the fat covering your ABS will be NEGATED

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Abomination

A

Something awful

Think BOMB A NATION

it is an ABOMINATION to BOMB a NATION.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Aboriginal

A

Existing since the beginning

Think ORIGINAL

In Australia, the ORIGINAL natives are the Aborigines - they are ABORIGINAL since they were its first inhabitants.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Abort

A

To end prematurely

Think ABORTION

An ABORTION can ABORT a pregnancy.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Abound

A

To be numerous

Think ABUNDANT

Kangaroos ABOUND in Australia; they are ABUNDANT, bouncing around wherever you look.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Abridge

A

To shorten

Think A BRIDGE

A BRIDGE would ABRIDGE my commute, which involves driving around the canyon.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Abrogate

A

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.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Abscission

A

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.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Absolve

A

To free from guilt; to forgive

Think DISSOLVE

Catholics believe that confessing to a priest will DISSOLVE their guilt and ABSOLVE them from sin.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Abstemious

A

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.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Abstruce

A

Hard to comprehend

Think ABSTRACT and CONFUSING

The ABSTRACT strudel directions will CONFUSE the new cook because they are ABSTRUSE.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Abysmal

A

Awful

Think PEPTO-BISMOL

When I had food poisoning, my stomach felt so ABYSMAL that I had to drink a bottle of PEPTO-BISMOL.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Accede

A

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.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Acerbic

A

Harsh; biting

Think ACIDIC

On American Idol, Simon Cowell’s criticism was ACERBIC the point of being ACIDIC.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Acidulous

A

Somewhat harsh

Think ACID-ISH

I like Sour Patch Kids because their ACIDULOUS taste is ACID-ISH without being too painful.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Acqusitive

A

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.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Acrimonious

A

Bitter

Think A CRIME ON US

Committing A CRIME ON US makes us ACRIMONIOUS.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Acumen
Insightfulness Think ACCURATE MEN In business, ACCURATE MEN usually have ACUMEN.
25
Adamant
Stubborn; unyielding Think ADAM...DAMN IT! God was ADAMANT that ADAM not return to the Garden of Eden: "I said no, DAMN IT!"
26
Adept
Very skilled Think ADAPT Mountain lions can ADAPT to almost any climate and environment; they are ADEPT at survival.
27
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.
28
Adorned
Decorated Think ADD ORNAMENTS If you adore Christmas, then you probably enjoy ADORING your horn by ADDING ORNAMENTS to your tree.
29
Adroit
Skillful Think A DROID A DROID is an ADROIT cell phone since it can do so much.
30
Adulation
Excessive admiration Think ADULT ADORATION The grown ADULT'S ADORATION of role playing video games could only be called ADULATION.
31
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.
32
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.
33
Aesthetic
Relating to beauty Think ATHLETIC body If you are ATHLETIC, then you are likely to have a body that is AESTHETICally pleasing.
34
Affable
Friendly Think LAUGHABLE Since they want tourists to feed them, zoo GIRAFFES are so AFFABLE that it's LAUGHABLE.
35
Affectation
An artificial way of behaving Think A FAKE FICTION Madonna's phony English accent is an AFFECTATION; it is A FAKE FICTION.
36
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.
37
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.
38
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.
39
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.
40
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.
41
Amalgamate
Unify; join parts to a whole Think GUM After breaking the vase, MALCOLM used GUM to AMALGAMATE the pieces back together.
42
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.
43
Amenable
Willing; cooperative Think AMEN-ABLE After he shouted, "AMEN!" I was able to tell that he was AMENABLE to my plan.
44
Amicable
Friendly Think HAMMOCK-ABLE When AMY reminded me that her HAMMOCK was ABLE to hold two people, I knew that she was AMICABLE.
45
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.
46
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.
47
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.
48
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
49
Animosity
Hatred; hostility Think ENEMY CITY During the war, I accidentally parachuted into the ENEMY CITY and was met with ANIMOSITY.
50
Antedate
To come before Think AUNTIE ANTE-(before) DATE Chances are that your ANTIE has a birth DATE that ANTEDATE yours.
51
Antediluvian
Ancient; primitive Think ANTI-DILDO-LOVIN' Only someone with ANTEDILUVIAN views on sex would be ANTI-DILDO-LOVIN'.
52
Antipode
The exact opposite Think ANTI-POLE The North POLE is the ANTIPODE to the South POLE - you might say they are ANTI-POLES.
53
Antithesis
Opposite Think ANTI-THESIS You got a "D" on your essay because your examples argued for the ANTITHESIS of your introduction's THESIS.
54
Apace
Quickly think KEEP PACE The Indy 500 racer's pit crew changed his tires APACE so he could KEEP PACE with the leaders.
55
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.
56
Aplomb
Confidence Think THE BOMB If you are APLOMB, you think you are the BOMB.
57
Apocryphal
Of doubtful truthfulness Think APOCALYPSE predictions The prediction that the APOCALYPSE would happen in 2012 turned out to be APOCRYPHAL.
58
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.
59
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.
60
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.
61
Apposite
Appropriate Think A POSITIVE SITE Wikipedia is A POSITIVE SITE because it is APPOSITE for all kinds of research.
62
Approbation
Approval; praise Think APPROVE PROBATION Maybe the best APPROBATION I ever received was when the judge finally APPROVED me for PROBATION.

GRE Vocab (2 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions