GRE Root Word List

Without

Amoral, atheist, atypical

Off, away from, apart, down

Abduct, abhor, abolish

Sharp, bitter

Acid, acute, acrid

To do; to drive; to force; to lead

Agile, agitate, pedigouge (a teacher), synagouge

To, toward, near

Adjust, adjacent, address, addict

Other, another

Alternative, alibi, alter ego

Love

Amateur (engages in activity for pleasure rather than personal gain), amatory (of or pertaining to lovers or lovemaking), amorous (inclined to love, esp. sexual love)

To go; to walk

Ambient (moving freely), ambitious, ambassador (authorized messenger), ambulatory, (pertaining to or capable of walking), Perambulator (one who makes a tour of inspection on foot)

Both, more than one, around

Ambiguous, amphibian (any cold blooded vertebrate, the larva aquatic and adult terrestrial), ambidextrous

Of the life, mind, soul, spirit

Unanimous (in complete accord), animus (hostile feeling/attitude), equanimity (mental/emotional stability esp. under tension), magnanimous (generous in forgiving insult/injury)

Year

Annual, anniversary, annals (record of events, esp. yearly record), perennial (lasting for an indefinite amount of time), annuity (a specified income payable at stated intervals)

Before

Anterior (placed before), antecedent (existing, being, or going on before), antedate (precede in time), antediluvian (belonging to the period before biblical flood or very old fashioned)

Man, human

Anthropolgy (study orgins of humankind), android (robot, mechanical man), philanderer (cheater), androgen (any substance that promotes masculine characteristics)

Against

Antibody (protein naturally in blood serum that reacts to overcome the toxic efects of an antigen), antidote (remedy to counteract effects of disease/poison), antipodal (opp. side of globe)

Away

Apology, apostle (1 of 12 disciples sent forth by Jesus to preach gospel), apocalypse (revelation; discovery; disclosure), apogee (highest or most distant pt), apocryphal (of doubtful authorship/authenticity), apostasy (a total desertion of one's religion, principles, party, cause, etc)

Chief, principal, ruler

Architect, archenemy (chief enemy), anarchy (w/o gov), oligarchy (state/society ruled by a selected group)

Self

Automatic, autocrat (an absolute ruler), autonomy (independence, freedom)

To be; to have a particulat quality; to exist

Belittle (to regard something as less impressive than it actually is), bemoan (to express pity for), belie (to misrepresent, to contradict)

Good

Benefit, benign (having a kindly disposition), benediction (act of uttering a blessing)

Twice, double

Bipartisan (representing 2 parties)

To fall; to happen by chance

Accident, coindidence, decadent (decaying/deteriorating), cascade, recidivist (1 who repeatedly relapses, as into crime)

To sing

accent, recant (disavow a statement), incantation (chanting words purporting to have magical power)

To take; to get

Capture, susceptible, anticipate

Head; headlong

Capital (City/town that is official seat of gov.), disciple (1 who is a pupil of the doctrines of another), precipitate 9to hasten occurence of, bring about prematurely)

Heart

Cardiac, concord (agreement; peace amity), encourage

Flesh

Cut

Caste (hereditary social group, limited to people of same rank), castigate (to punish in order to correct), chastise (to discipline, esp. by corporal punishment), chaste (free from obscenity; decent)

To go; to yield; to stop

Antededent, concede (acknowledge as true/just/proper), cessation, incessant

Center

Concentrate, eccentric (off center), concentric (having a common center, as in circles or speres), centrifuge (an apparatus that rotates at high speeds and seperates substances of diff. densities using centrifugal force), centrist (of or pertaining to moderate political or social ideas)

To seperate; to judge; to distinguish; to decide

Discrete (detatched from others, seperate),ascertain (to make sure of; to determine), certitude (freedom from doubt)

Time

anachronism (obsolete or archaic form), chronometer (a timepiece with a mechanism to adjust for accuracy)

Around, on all sides

To cut

Scissors, precise, incisive (penetrating, cutting)

Shut, close

Claustrophobic, disclose, cloister (a courtyard bordered with covered walks, esp. in a religious institution), preclude (to prevent the presence, existence, or occurence of)

To shout; to cry out

Clamor, disclaim (to deny interest in or connection with), proclaim (to announce or declare in an official way)

To lean toward

Proclivity (inclination, bias), recline, decline, climax

With, together

Connect, compatible, conciliate (to placate, win over), commensurate (suitable in measure, proportionate)

Running a course

Incursion (a hostile enterance into a place, esp. suddenly), cursory (going rapidly over something, hasty, superficial), recur, curriculum, courier (a messenger traveling in haste to bear news)

To grow

Accrue (to be added as a matter of periodic gain), create, increment (something added/gained), accretion (an increase by natural growth)

To believe; to trust

Incredible, credentials, credo (any formula/belief ), credulity (willingness to believe or trust too readily), credit (trustworthiness)

Hidden

Crypt (a subterranean chamber), apocrychal (of doubtful authorship/authority), cryptology (the science of interpreting secret writings, codes, ciphers) cryptography (procedures of making and using secret writing)

To lie down

Succumb (to give away to superior force; yield), incubate (sit on to hatch), incumbent (holding an indicated position), recumbent (lying down; reclining; leaning)

Blame

Culpable (deserving blame or censure), inculpate (to charge with fault), mea culpa (through my fault; my fault)

To teach

Doctrine (particular principle advocated, as of a gov. or religion), indoctrinate (to imbue a person with learning), docile, didactic (intended for instruction)

Away, off, down, completely, reversal

Deferential (respectful; to yield to judgement), defame (attack good name of), decipher, descend

People

Epidemic, endemic (peculiar to a particular people or locality), pandemic (general, universal), demographics (vital and social statistics of pop.s)

Apart, through

Dialogue, diagnose (find problem through symptoms), dilatory (inclined to delay or procrastinate), dichotomy (division into 2 parts, kinds, etc.)

To say; to tell; to use words

Dictionary. predict, verdict, interdict (to forbid; prohibit)

Worth

Dignity, dignitary (a person who holds a high rank or office), deign (to think fit or in accordance with one's dignity), condign (well deserved; fitting; adequate) Disdain (to look upon or treat with contempt)

Away from, apart, reveral, not

Disseminate (to scatter or spread widely; promulgate), dissipate (to scatter wastefully)

Opinion

Orthodox (sound or concrete in opinion or doctrine), paradox (an opinion or statement contrary to accepted opinion) Dogma (system of tenets, as of a church)

Suffer, pain

Condolence (expression of sympathy), indolence (state of being lazy or slothful), doleful, dolorous (full of pain/sorrow, grievous)

To give

Donate, pardon, antidote (something that prevents or counteracts ill effects), anecdote (short narrative about interesting event), endow (to provide with a permanent fund)

Doubt

Indubitable (unquestionable)

To lead

Abduct, conduct (personal behavior, way of acting), conducive (contributive, helpful), induce (to lead or move by influence), induct (to install in a position with formal ceremonies), produce

Hard

Endure, durable, duress (compulstion by threat, coercion), dour (sullen, gloomy), duration

Faulty, abnormal

Dystrophy (faulty or inadequate nutrition or development), dyspepsia (impaired digestion), dyslexia, dysfunctional

Out, out of, from, former, completely

Extricate (to disentangle, release), exonerate (to free or declare free from blame), efface (to rub or wipe out; surpass, eclipse)

Upon

Epidemic, epilogue (a concluding part adding to a literary work), epidermis (outer layer of skin), epigram (a witty or pointed saying tersely expressed), epithet (a word or phrase, used invectively as a term of abuse)

Equal, even

Equation (the act of making equal), adequate (equal to the requirement), equidistant (equally distant), iniquity (gross injustice; wickedness)

To wander

Err, erratic (deviating from accuracy or correctness), arrant (downright, thorough, notorious)

Becoming

Adolescent, obsolescent (becoming obsolete), incandescent (glowing with heat), convalescent, reminiscent

Good, well

Euphemism (pleasant term for something unpleasant), eulogy, eugenics (improvement of qualities of race by control of inherited characteristics), euthanasia (killing a person painlessly esp. 1 that has painful disease), euphony (pleasantness of sound)

Outside, beyond

Extradite (to hand over -a person accused of crime- to the state), extrasensory (derived by means other than known senses), extrapolate (to estimate -unknown facts or values- from know date

Speak

Fable, affable (friendly/couteous), ineffable (too great for description in words; that which may not be uttered), famous, defame

To do; to make

Factory, faction (small dissenting group within a larger one, esp. in politics), prolific (producing many offspring or much output), configuration (maner of arrangment, shape), ratify (to confirm or accept by formal consent), effigy (sculpture or model of person), counterfeit

To bring; to carry; to bear

Offer, confer (to grant, bestow), referendum (to vote on political question open to the entire eloctorate), proffer (to offer)

To boil; to bubble

Fervor (passion, zeal), fervid (ardent, intense), effervescent (with the quality of giving off bubbles of gas)

Faith, trust

Confide, affidavit (written statement on oath), fiduciary (of a trust; held or given in trust), infidel (disbeliever in the supposed true religion)

End

Final, confine, definitive (decisive, unconditional, final), infintesimal (infinitely or very small)

To burn

Flammable, flambeau (a lighted torch), flagrant (blatant, scandalous), conflagration (a large destructive fire)

To bend

Deflect (to bend or turn aside from a purpose), inflect (to change or vary pitch of), reflect, genuflect (to bend knee, esp. in worship)

To flow

Fluid, fluctuate, effluence (flowing out of as in light/electricity), confluence (merging into one), mellifluous (pleasing, musical)

Before

Forestall (to prevent by advance action), forthright (straightforward, outspoken, decisive)

Chance

Fortune, fortuitous (happening by luck)

Fortify, fortissimo (very loud), forte (strong point, something a person does well)

To break

Fracture, fragment, refractory (stubborn, unmanageable, rebellious), infringe (to break or violate as in a law)

To pour

Profuse (lavish, extravagant, copious), fusillade (continuous discharge of firearms or outburst of criticism), suffuse (to spread throughout or over from within), infusion (infusing; liquid extract so obtained)

Birth, creation, race, kind

Carcinogenic (producing cancer), congenital (existing or as such from birth), progeny (offspring, descendants), miscegenation (interbreeding of races)

Know

Agnostic, ignore, incognito (with one's name/identity concealed), prognosis (forecast, especially of disease)

To step

Progress, agressive, degrade (humiliate/dishonor, reduce to lower rank), digress (to depart from main subject) egress (going out; way out), regress

Pleasing

Ingratiate (to bring oneself into favor), gratuity

To stick

Coherent (logically consistent; having waves in phase and of one wavelength), adhesive, inherent, adherent, heredity

Different:

Heterogeneous (of other orgin; not originating in the body), heterodox (different from acknowledged standard; holding unorthodox opinions or doctrines)

Same

Homonym (1 of 2 or more words spelled and pronounced alike but in different meaning), homeostasis (relatively stable state of equilibrium)

Over, excessive

Hyperbole (purposeful exaggeration for effect), hyperglycemia (abnormally high concentration of sugar in the blood)

Under, beneath, less than

Hypodermic (relating to parts beneath the skin), hypocritical (affecting virtuous or qualitites that one does not have)

One's own

Idiot, idiom (a language, dialect, or style of speaking particular to a people, idiosyncrasy (peculiarity of temperament, eccentricity)

In, into

Embrace, enclose, influx (the act of flowing in; inflow), implicit, incarnate (given a bodily, esp. a human, form), indigenous (native/natural)

Not, without

Inactive, innocous (not harmful/injurious), indolence (showing a disposition to avoid extertion; slothful), impartial (not partial or biased), indigent (deficient in what is requisite)

Between, among

Interim (a temporary or provisional arrangement; meantime), interloper (one who intrudes in the domain of others)m intersperse (to scatter here and there)

To throw; to throw down

Inject (To place quality etc. where needed in something), conjecture (formation of opinion or incomplete information), abject (utterly hopeless, humiliating, or wretched)

To meet; to join

Subjugate (to conquer), rejoinder (to reply, retort), junta (usually military- clique taking power after a coup d'etat)

To swear

Perjury (willful lying while under oath), abjure (to renounce under oath or to beg or command)

To wash

Deluge (a great flood of charges), antediluvian (before the biblical flood; extremely old), ablution (act of cleaning)

To select, to choose

Collect, elect, predilection (preference, liking)

Lift, light, rise

Relieve, levee (embankment against flooding), levity (humor, frivolity, gaiety)

Word, speech

Dialogue, elocution (art of clear and expressive thinking), grandiloquent (pompousor inflated in language), loquacious (talkative)

Light

Lucid, lackluster (lacking brilliance/radiance), translucent

To play

Allude (to refer to casually/indirectly), ludicrous, delude (to mislead the mind or judgement of, decieve), elude, prelude (a preliminary to an action)

Big

Magnify, magnate (a powerful or influential person), magnanimous (generous in forgiving an insult or injury), maxim (an expression of general truth or principle)

Bad, ill, evil, wrong

Malign (to speak harmful untruths about, to slander), malady (disorder or disease of the body), maladroit (clumsy, tactless), malapropism (humorous misuse of a work), malfeasance (misconduct or wrongdoing, often commited by a public official), malediction (a curse)

Hand

Manual, mandate (an authorative order, command), manufacture, manifest (readily percieved by the eye or the understanding)

Small

Minutiae (small or trivial details), diminution (act of diminishing)

To send

Transmit, emmisary (a messenger or agent sent to represent the interests of another), remit (to send money), remission

Mixed

Miscellaneous, micegenation (the interbreeding of races, esp. between a white and non white person), promiscuous (consisting of diverse and unrelated parts or individuals-?)

To remind; to warn

Monument, monitor, summon, admonish (to counsel against something; caution), remonstrate (to say or plead in protest or dissaproval, urge reasons against)

Shape

Amorphous (without definite form, lacking specif shape), metamorphosis, anthropomorphism (attribution of human characteristics to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena)

Change

Commute (to substitute; exchange; interchange-?), transmutation (the act of changing from one form into another), permutation (a complete change; transformation), immutable (unchangeable, invariable)

To be born

Natural, native, naive, cognate (related by bood; having a common ancestor), renaissance (rebirth, esp. referring to culture), nascent (starting to develop)

Harm

Innocent, noxious (injurious or harmful to health or morals), innocuous (harmless)

Rule, order

Gastronomy (the art or science of good eating), taxonomy (the science, laws, or principles of classification), autonomy (self goverance)

Name

Synonym, nominal (existing in name only; negligible), nomenclature (a system of names; systematic naming), acronym (a word formed from the initial letters of a name)

To announce

Pronounce, renounce (to give up, esp. by formal announcement)

New

Novice, renovate, neologism (a newly coined word, expression, or phrase), neophyte (a recent convert), nouveau riche (one who has lately become rich)

Toward, to, against, over

Obese, obstinate (stubbornly adhering to an idea, inflexible), oblique (having a slanting or sloping direction), obstreperous (noisily defiant, unruly), obtuse (not sharp, pointed, or acute in any form), obfuscate (to render indistinct or dim; darken), obsequious (overly submissive)

All

Omnibus (an anthology of the works of one author or of writings on related subjects), omniscient (having infinite knowledge), omnipotent (all powerful), omnipresent

Peace

Appease, pacify, pact

All, everyone

Panorama, panegyric (formal or elaborate praise at an assembly), panoply (a wide-ranging and impressive array or display), pantheon (a public building containing tombs or memorials of the illustrious dead of a nation), pandemic

Equal

Parity (equally, as in amount, status, or character), apartheid (any system or caste that separates people according to race, etc.), disparage (to belittle, speak disrespectfully about), disparate (essentially different)

Next to, beside

Parallel, parasite, parody(to imitate for purposes of satire), parable (a short, allegorical story designed to illustrate a moral lesson or religious principle), paragon (a model of excellence)

Feeling, suffering, disease

Sympathy (harmony or agreement in feeling), empathy (identification with the feelings of others), dispassionate (devoid of personal feeling or bias), impassive (showing or feeling no emotion)

Few, little, poor

Paucity (smallness of quantity; scarcity; scantiness), pauper (a person without any personal means of support), pusillanimous (lacking courage or resolution), puerile (childish, immature)

Child, education

Pedagogue (a teacher), pedant (one who displays learning ostentatiously)

Foot

Pedal, impede (to retard progress by means of obstacles or hindrances), podium, antipodes (places diametrically opposite each other on the globe)

To pay; to compensate

Penal (of or pertaining to punishment, as for crimes), punitive (inflicting, involving, or aiming at punishments), penance (a punishment undergone to express regret for a sin), penitent (contrite)

To hang; to weigh; to pay

Depend, stipend (periodic payment; fixed or regular payment), appendix (supplementary material at the end of a text), appendage (a limb or other subsidary that diverges from the central structure)

Completely

Persistent, perforate (to make a way through or into something), perplex (to cause to be puzzled over what is not understood), pertinacious (resolute), perspicacious (shrewd, astute)

Around

Perimeter (the border of a 2d figure), periscope (an optical instrument for seein objects in an obstructed field of vision), peripatetic (walking or traveling about; itinerant)

To go; to seek; to stride

Appetite, centripetal (moving toward the center), impetuous (characterized by sudden or rash action or emotion), petulant (showing sudden irritation, esp. over some annoyance)

Love

Philosophy, philatelist (one who loves or collects postage stamps), philology (the study of literary texts to establish their authenticity and determine their meaning), bibliophile (one who loves or collects books)

To please

Placid (pleasantly calm, peaceful), placebo, implacable (unable to be pleased), complacent (self-satisfied, unconcerned) complaisant (inclined or disposed to please)

To fill

Complete, supplement (something added to supply a deficiency), implement (instrument/tool/utensil for accomplishing work), replete (abundantly supplied)

To fold, twist, tangle, or bend

Complex, implicit (implied), implicate (to show to be involved, usually in an incriminating manner), duplicity (deceitfulness in speech or conduct, double dealing), supplicate (to make humble and earnest entreaty)

To put; to place

Component, expose, expound (to set forth in detail), juxtapose (to place close together side by side, esp. for contrast), repository (a receptacle or place where things are deposited)

To carry

Import, disport (to divert or amuse oneself), importune (to urge or press with excessive persistence)

After

Posthumous, posterior (situated at the rear), posterity (succeeding in future generations collectively), post facto (after the fact)

Before

Precarious (dependent on circumstances beyond ones control), precocious (unusally advanced or mature in mental development or talent), presentiment (foreboding), precedent (an act that serves an example for subsequent situations), precept (a common commandment given as a rule of action or conduct)

To take; to get; to size

Enterprise (a project undertaken), comprise (to include), reprisal (retaliation against an enemy), apprehend

Much, for, a lot

Prolific (highly fruitful), profuse (spending or giving freely), prodigious (extraordinary in size, amount, or extent), proselytize (to convert or attempt to recruit), propound (to set forth for consideration), provident (having or showing foresight)

To prove; to test

Opprobrium (the disgrace incurred by shameful conduct), reprobate (a depraved/wicked person), probity (honesty, high-mindedness)

To fight

Pugnacious (to quarrel or fight readily), impugn (to challenge as false), repugnant (objectionable or offensive), pugilist (a fighter or boxer)

To point; to prick

Compunction (a feeling of uneasiness for doing wrong), punctilious (strict or exact in the observance of formalities)

To seek

Acquire, conquest (vanquishment), querulous (full of complaints), perquisite (a gratuity, tip)

Quiet

Disquiet (lacking calm or peace), quiescence (the condition of being at rest, still, inactive)

To laugh

Derision (the act of mockery), risible (causing laughter)

To ask

Abrogate (to abolish by formal means), surrogate (person appointed to act for another), arrogate (to claim unwarrantably or presumptuously)

Sacred

Santion (authoritive permission or approval), execrable (abominable), sacrament (something regarded as possessing sacred character), Sanctify (to make holy)

To leap, to jump

Salient (prominent or conspicuous), insolent (boldly rude or disrespectful), desultory (at random, unmethodical)

To know

Unconscionable (unscrupulous), omniscient (knowing everything)

To write

Proscribe (to condemn as harmful or odious), ascribe (to credit or assign, as to a cause or course), conscription (draft), circumscribe (to draw a line around)

Apart

Secede (to withdraw formally from an association), sequester (to remove or withdraw into solitude or retirement), sedition (incitement of discontent or rebellion against a government)

To follow

Second, prosecute, non sequitur (an inference or a conclusion that does not follow from the premise)

To sit; to be still; to plan; to plot

Sediment (the matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid), dissident (disagreeing, as in opinion or attitude), residual (remaining, left over), subsidiary (serving to assit or supplement), insidious (intended to entrapt or beguile), assiduous (diligent, persistent, hard working)

To feel; to be aware

Dissent (to differ in opinion, esp. from the majority), sentinel (a person or thing that stands watch), insensate (without feeling or sensitivity)

To loosen; to free

Soluble (capable of being dissolved or liquefied), dissolute (indifferent to moral restraints), absolution (forgiveness for wrongdoing)

To look; to see

Circumspect (watchful and descreet, cautious), perspicacious (having keen mental perception and understanding), conspicuous (easily seen or noticed; readily observable), specious (deceptively attractive)

To stand; to be in place

Static (of bodies or forces at rest or in equilibrium), destitute (without means of subsistence), obstinate (stubbornly adhering to a purpose, opinion, or course of action), stasis (state of equilibrium cause by opposing equal forces), apostasy (renunciation of an object of one's prevoious loyalty)

Smooth

Suave, persuade, dissuade, assuage (to ease, relieve)

Below

Subliminal, subterfuge (an artifice or expedient used to evade a rule), supposition (the act of assuming)

Above

Superlative (the highest kind of order), supersede (to replace in power as by another person or thing), supercilious (arrogant, haughty, condescending, superfluous (extra, more than necessary), surmount (to get over or across, to prevail)

To be silent

Reticent (disposed to be silent or not to speak freely), tacit (unspoken understanding), taciturn (uncommunicative)

To hold

Tenacious (holding fast), abstention (the act of refraining voluntarily), tenure (the holding or possessing of anything), tenable (capable of being held, maintained, or defended), sustenancce (nourishment, means of livelihood), pertinacious (persistent, stubborn)

To stretch, to thin

Tension, tentative, tendentious (having a predisposition toward a point of view), distend (to expand by stretching), attenuate (to weaken or reduce in force), extenuating (making less serious by offering excuses), contentious (quarrelsome, disagreeable, belligerent)

God

Theocracy (a form of government is which a diety is recognized as the supreme ruler), theology (the study of divine things and the divine faith), apotheosis (glorification, glorified ideal)

To drag, to pull, to draw

Abstract (to draw or pull away from, remove), tractable (easily managed or controlled), protract (to prolong, draw out, extend)

Across:

Transgress (to violate a law, command, or moral code), intransigent (refusing to agree or compromise)

To use

Abuse, usurp (to seize and hold), utilitarian (efficient, functional, useful)

To come or to move toward

Convene (to assemble for some public purpose), venturesome (showing a disposition to undertake risks), contravene (to come into conflict with), adventitious (accidental)

Truth

Verdict, veracious (habitually truthful), verity (truthfulness), verisimilitude (the appearance or semblance of truth), aver (to affirm, to declare to be true)

Green

Verdant (green with vegetation; inexperienced), verdure (fresh, rich vegetation)

To turn

Controversy, revert, covert (hidden, clandestine), avert (to turn away from)

Life

Vivid, viable (capable of living), vivacity (the quality of being lively, animated, spirited), joie de vivre (French expression meaning joy of life), convivial (sociable)

To see

Evident, adviser, vista (a view or prospect)

Base, mean

Vilify (to slander, defame), revile (to criticize with harsh language), vile (loathsome, unpleasant)

Advocate, equivocate (to use ambiguous or unclear expressions), avocation (something one does in addition to a principle occupation), vociferous (crying out noisily), convoke (to call together), invoke (to call on a diety)

To wish

Voluntary, malevolent (characterized by expressing bad will), benevolent (characerized by expressing goodwill), volition (free choice, free will, act of choosing)

To eat

Voracious (to having a great appetite)