Philip Geer - Essential Words for the GRE

800 High-Frequency GRE Words

UNIT 1

abate v. to decrease; reduce

NASA announced that it would delay the launch of the manned, spacecraft until the radiation from the solar Jlares abated.

abdicate v. to give up a position, right, or power

Romulus Augustus, the last Western Roman emperor, was forced to abdicate the throne in 476 a.d ., and the Germanic chieftain Odovacar became the de facto ruler of Italy.

The appeals judge has abdicated his responsibility to review the findings of the high court.

Terms from the Arts, Sciences, and Social Sciences

de facto: in fact, whether by right or not; exercising power without being legally established (Latin: from the fact)

aberrant adj. deviating from what is normal

When a person's behavior becomes aberrant, his or her peers may become concerned that the individual is becoming a deviant.

Aberration is a noun meaning something different from the usual or normal.

For centuries, solar eclipses were regarded as serious aberrations in the natural order.

Terms from the Arts, Sciences, and Social Sciences

deviant: a person whose behavior differs from the accepted standards of society

abeyance n. temporary suppression or suspension

A good judge must hold his or her judgment in abeyance until all the facts in a case have been presented.

abject adj. miserable; pitiful

John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath portrays the abject poverty of many people during the Great Depression.

abjure v. to reject; abandon formally

Most members of the Religious Society of Friends (commonly known as the Quakers or Friends) abjure the use of violence to settle disputes between nations.

For a foreigner to become a U.S. citizen, he or she must take an oath abjuring allegiance to any other country and pledging to take up arms to defend it if required.

abscission n. the act of cutting; the natural separation of a leaf or other part of a plant

Two scientists, Alan G. Williams and Thomas G. Whitham, have hypothesized that premature leaf abscission is an adaptive plant response to herbivorous attack.

The verb abscise means to cut off or away.

The surgeon abscised a small growth on the patient's hand.

Terms from the Arts, Sciences, and Social Sciences

hypothesized: form a hypothesis, that is a proposition put forward as a starting point for further investigation

adaptive: relating to adaptation, an alteration in structure or habits by which a species improves its condition in relationship to its environment

herbivorous: feeding mainly on plants

abscond v. to depart secretly

A warrant is out for the arrest of a person believed to have absconded with three million dollars.

abstemious adj. moderate in appetite

Some research suggests that people with an abstemious lifestyle tend to live longer than people who indulge their appetites.

abstinence n. the giving up of certain pleasures

The monk^fTvoty of abstinence includes all intoxicating substances.

REVIEW 1 Matching

Match each word with its definition:

Fill-ins

Choose the best word to fill in the blank in each sentence.

abate abdicated aberrations abeyance abject abjured absconded abscission abstemious abstinence

The 90-year-old monarch _______________ the throne to allow his son

to become king.

Psychotherapy relies on psychological rather than physiological
approaches to curing mental _____________ .

Implementation of the new plan has been held in ________________

pending an investigation of its effectiveness to date.

Ms. Johnson's ______________ lifestyle helped her to amass a fortune.

The crew of the vessel waited for the storm to ________________ before

going on deck to make repairs.

The alcoholic's physician recommended total ________________ from

liquor for her patient.

The documentary filmmaker was accused of using misleading
footage to make it appear that nearly everyone in the country lived
in _____________ conditions.

The judge said he would reduce the convicted woman's sentence if
she _____________ all association with those convicted of treason.

Unit 2

abysmal adj. very bad

The abysmal failure of the free market system in Russia has led some people to argue that the planned economy of the Soviet Union, while not perfect, was better suited to Russia's history and culture than Western-style capitalism.

Terms from the Arts, Sciences, and Social Sciences

free market: an economic market in which the demand and supply of goods and services is either not regulated or is slightly regulated

planned economy: an economic system in which the production, allocation, and consumption of goods and services is planned in advance. Another term for planned economy is "command economy."

capitalism: an economic and political system in which a country's industry and trade are controlled by private owners rather than the government

accretion n. growth in size or increase in amount

In the 1960s, the American geophysicist Harry Hess conceived the idea of sea-floor spreading, a process in which the new crust in the ocean is continually generated by igneous processes at the crests of the mid-oceanic ridges, causing a steady accretion of the crust

Terms from the Arts, Sciences, and Social Sciences

geophysicist: one who specializes in the physics of the earth and its environment

igneous: in geology, relating to the formation of rocks by solidification from a molten state. The word igneous is from Latin ignis (fire).

accrue v. to accumulate; grow by additions

Regulating the growth of large companies when they begin to become monopolistic is a difficult task for government in a capitalist county; if it limits monopolies too much, the nation's firms could become less competitive than foreign companies that enjoy the advantages accruing from greater monopolies.

Terms from the Arts, Sciences, and Social Sciences

monopolistic: an economic market in which the demand and supply of goods and services is either not regulated or is slightly regulated

adamant adj. uncompromising; unyielding

Despite widespread opposition to his plan, the party's leader is adamant that it must move to the center to appeal to moderate voters.

adjunct n. something added, attached, or joined

Speed walking, cross-country running, and marathons are normally regarded as adjuncts of track and field athletics since races in these sports are not normally held on a track.

admonish v. to caution or reprimand

The judge admonished the jury to discount testimony that had been ruled inadmissible.

adulterate v. to corrupt or make impure

The unscrupulous company sells an adulterated version of the drug, and doesn't inform consumers that they are getting a less efficacious drug than they think they are getting.