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GRE Vocab > GRE Vocab Mnemonics > Flashcards

GRE Vocab Mnemonics Flashcards

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GRE® Vocabulary flashcards
0
Q

Abashed

A

Embarrassed

Think BASHFUL the dwarf

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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”.

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6
Q

Abject

A

Miserable; wretched; hopeless

Think REJECTS

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

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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

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8
Q

Abomination

A

Something awful

Think BOMB A NATION

it is an ABOMINATION to BOMB a NATION.

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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.

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10
Q

Abort

A

To end prematurely

Think ABORTION

An ABORTION can ABORT a pregnancy.

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11
Q

Abound

A

To be numerous

Think ABUNDANT

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

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12
Q

Abridge

A

To shorten

Think A BRIDGE

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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17
Q

Abstruce

A

Hard to comprehend

Think ABSTRACT and CONFUSING

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

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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.

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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.

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20
Q

Acerbic

A

Harsh; biting

Think ACIDIC

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

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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.

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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.

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23
Q

Acrimonious

A

Bitter

Think A CRIME ON US

Committing A CRIME ON US makes us ACRIMONIOUS.

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24
Q

Acumen

A

Insightfulness

Think ACCURATE MEN

In business, ACCURATE MEN usually have ACUMEN.

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25
Q

Adamant

A

Stubborn; unyielding

Think ADAM…DAMN IT!

God was ADAMANT that ADAM not return to the Garden of Eden: “I said no, DAMN IT!”

26
Q

Adept

A

Very skilled

Think ADAPT

Mountain lions can ADAPT to almost any climate and environment; they are ADEPT at survival.

27
Q

Admonished

A

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
Q

Adorned

A

Decorated

Think ADD ORNAMENTS

If you adore Christmas, then you probably enjoy ADORING your horn by ADDING ORNAMENTS to your tree.

29
Q

Adroit

A

Skillful

Think A DROID

A DROID is an ADROIT cell phone since it can do so much.

30
Q

Adulation

A

Excessive admiration

Think ADULT ADORATION

The grown ADULT’S ADORATION of role playing video games could only be called ADULATION.

31
Q

Adulterate

A

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
Q

Aegis

A

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
Q

Aesthetic

A

Relating to beauty

Think ATHLETIC body

If you are ATHLETIC, then you are likely to have a body that is AESTHETICally pleasing.

34
Q

Affable

A

Friendly

Think LAUGHABLE

Since they want tourists to feed them, zoo GIRAFFES are so AFFABLE that it’s LAUGHABLE.

35
Q

Affectation

A

An artificial way of behaving

Think A FAKE FICTION

Madonna’s phony English accent is an AFFECTATION; it is A FAKE FICTION.

36
Q

Aggrandized

A

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
Q

Aghast

A

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
Q

Algorithm

A

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
Q

Alleviate

A

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
Q

Altruistic

A

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
Q

Amalgamate

A

Unify; join parts to a whole

Think GUM

After breaking the vase, MALCOLM used GUM to AMALGAMATE the pieces back together.

42
Q

Ameliorated

A

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
Q

Amenable

A

Willing; cooperative

Think AMEN-ABLE

After he shouted, “AMEN!” I was able to tell that he was AMENABLE to my plan.

44
Q

Amicable

A

Friendly

Think HAMMOCK-ABLE

When AMY reminded me that her HAMMOCK was ABLE to hold two people, I knew that she was AMICABLE.

45
Q

Amortize

A

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
Q

Anachronism

A

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
Q

Anathema

A

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
Q

Anile

A

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
Q

Animosity

A

Hatred; hostility

Think ENEMY CITY

During the war, I accidentally parachuted into the ENEMY CITY and was met with ANIMOSITY.

50
Q

Antedate

A

To come before

Think AUNTIE ANTE-(before) DATE

Chances are that your ANTIE has a birth DATE that ANTEDATE yours.

51
Q

Antediluvian

A

Ancient; primitive

Think ANTI-DILDO-LOVIN’

Only someone with ANTEDILUVIAN views on sex would be ANTI-DILDO-LOVIN’.

52
Q

Antipode

A

The exact opposite

Think ANTI-POLE

The North POLE is the ANTIPODE to the South POLE - you might say they are ANTI-POLES.

53
Q

Antithesis

A

Opposite

Think ANTI-THESIS

You got a “D” on your essay because your examples argued for the ANTITHESIS of your introduction’s THESIS.

54
Q

Apace

A

Quickly

think KEEP PACE

The Indy 500 racer’s pit crew changed his tires APACE so he could KEEP PACE with the leaders.

55
Q

Apartheid

A

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
Q

Aplomb

A

Confidence

Think THE BOMB

If you are APLOMB, you think you are the BOMB.

57
Q

Apocryphal

A

Of doubtful truthfulness

Think APOCALYPSE predictions

The prediction that the APOCALYPSE would happen in 2012 turned out to be APOCRYPHAL.

58
Q

Apoplectic

A

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
Q

Apothegm

A

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
Q

Apotheosis

A

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
Q

Apposite

A

Appropriate

Think A POSITIVE SITE

Wikipedia is A POSITIVE SITE because it is APPOSITE for all kinds of research.

62
Q

Approbation

A

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)

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