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 to learn 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 veracious. 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 the 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).
Thank you for teaching these words in a much friendly and easy way. Though few words are already known, it was still good to read them. It was like a revision.
Thanks! I’m glad these posts are helpful – I enjoy writing them!
Yesterday i took the Trainee engineer test, and “Egregious” was there. Thanks a lot Chris for your post.
Coincidences are great! Hopefully, on the GRE test you will have similar luck!
This is a nice list of words. I find these words in almost every GRE Vocab list. Thanks for making these words understood in a much easier way…
Great! I am happy that people enjoy learning words this way. I’ve never been a fan of tedious, interminable vocab lists. I figure it is much better to talk about words in a way that is fun and engaging.
You’re a smart dude, Chris.
What’s your academic background/area of specialty if it’s no secret?
Definitely not a secret
I studied psychology at U.C.L.A, with an emphasis on the brain and learning. Though I chalk up my verbal ability to the copious reading I did outside of class!
Thanks a lot for these, they are really helpful. Please continue!
You are welcome!
Would you please put a high frequency word list survey for magoosh users whom had taken the exam each month. By this we can assume how important is knowing certain lists an future members can get a clear picture of the highly used words worldwide.
Thanks
Hi A.A.,
Those who take the test are not allowed to share anything they saw on the test. If ETS traces any leaks back to a someone that person can kiss any grad school dreams good by. Essentially, telling other people the words that show up on the GRE is cheating. (This is a big reason the GRE is paper-based in Asia–many were using cheating scams such as this to get near perfect verbal scores).
So if you come across a website that shares such information, then you are cheating as well. I’m not sure how ETS would catch you but taking such a gamble is not worth it
.
Chris,
Thank you for your answer
It is not cheating because I am narrowing down the words that have been cumulatively showed more than others. If those people who work in ETS are lazy to make a bank of questions, it does not mean I am a cheater. I am a smart student who wants to make the best out his study plan. All of us know that those words can be used in different contexts. In my opinion, this is the real challenge. Thanks
Abdullah,
ETS is def. not lazy. Every student who takes the GRE must sign and a form saying that he/she will not share anything on the test with anyone. The form explicitly says that if a person is found discussing content, then that charges can be brought against that person.
If Magoosh users were to do so, they would not only imperil their chances of getting into university but they would be in breach of the law. By extension, Magoosh, in serving as a forum with leaked information on it, would also be in breach of the law, and ETS would most likely take Magoosh to court.
So nobody is lazy here. Any forum that features students sharing content–even if it’s just a vocabulary word that can be employed in different contexts–is breaking the law.
actually I am looking for some new vocabulary today that i could use for tomorrow as I want to share it in my colleague.
then i was accidentally lost on your page and I was amazed by the newest word i found like the Alacrity.although some are not so new but very familiar.
on the other way i would to thanks Chris for this page. It helps me a lot.I will be happy to read and learn more in the coming months or year.
Hi RR.,
Great! I’m happy you found the Magoosh blog
. I’ll be putting up hundreds of new words over the coming months. Stay tuned!
Thank you Chris. I am a big fan of your work. I will be waiting for the next group of words.
You’re welcome
.