Magoosh Common Gre Words 1

Front 1

Gregarious

Back 1

adj. Sociable

Hint 1

from Latin gregarius (from grex, greg- ‘a flock’) + -ous.

Front 2

Artful

Back 2

adjective: exhibiting artistic skill

Hint 2

origin: Art = art

-ful = full of

Front 3

Acrimony

Back 3

noun: bitterness and ill will

Hint 3

mid 16th century (in the sense ‘bitter taste or smell’): from French acrimonie or Latin acrimonia, from acer, acri- ‘pungent, acrid.’

Front 4

Demur

Back 4

verb: to object or show reluctance

Hint 4

Middle English (in the sense ‘linger, delay’): from Old French demourer (verb), demeure (noun), based on Latin de- ‘away, completely’ + morari ‘delay.’

Front 5

Censure

Back 5

verb: to express strong disapproval

Hint 5

ate Middle English (in the sense ‘judicial sentence’): from Old French censurer (verb), censure (noun), from Latin censura ‘judgment, assessment,’ from censere ‘assess.’

Front 6

Frugal

Back 6

adjective: not spending much money (but spending wisely)

Hint 6

mid 16th century: from Latin frugalis, from frugi ‘economical, thrifty,’ from frux, frug- ‘fruit.’

Front 7

Commensurate

Back 7

adjective: to be in proportion or corresponding in degree or amount

Hint 7

mid 17th century: from late Latin commensuratus, from com- ‘together’ + mensuratus, past participle of mensurare ‘to measure.’

Front 8

Venality

Back 8

noun: the condition of being susceptible to bribes or corruption

Hint 8

From: venal

vend- For sale

-al pertaining to

Front 9

intimate

Back 9

verb: to suggest something subtly

Hint 9

early 17th century (as a noun): from late Latin intimatus, past participle of Latin intimare ‘impress, make familiar,’ from intimus ‘inmost.’

Front 10

harangue

Back 10

noun and verb: a long pompous speech; a tirade

Hint 10

Middle French harangue < Italian ar (r) inga speech, oration, noun derivative of ar (r) ingare to speak in public, verbal derivative of aringo public square < Gothic *hriggs ring1; (v.) < Middle French haranguer < Italian ar (r) ingare

Front 11

impertinent

Back 11

adjective: being disrespectful; improperly forward or bold

Hint 11

not belonging. See im-2, pertinent

Front 12

prevaricate

Back 12

verb: to speak in an evasive way

Hint 12

past participle of praevāricārī to straddle something, (of an advocate) collude with an opponent's advocate, equivalent to prae- pre- + vāricāre to straddle, derivative of vārus bent outwards, bow-legged

Front 13

amalgam

Back 13

noun: a mixture of multiple things

Hint 13

Middle English amalgam (e) < Middle French < Medieval Latin < dialectal Arabic al the + malgham < Greek málagma softening agent, equivalent to malak- (stem of malássein to soften) + -ma noun suffix

Front 14

qualify

Back 14

verb: to make less severe; to limit (a statement)

Hint 14

to provide with proper or necessary skills, knowledge, credentials, etc.; make competent:to qualify oneself for a job.2.to modify or limit in some way; make less strong or positive:

Front 15

disinterested

Back 15

adjective: unbiased; neutral

Hint 15

dis = away

interested

Front 16

Parochial

pa·ro·chi·al

Back 16

adjective: narrowly restricted in scope or outlook

Hint 16

late Middle English: from Old French, from ecclesiastical Latin parochialis ‘relating to an ecclesiastical district,’ from parochia (see parish).

Front 17

Undermine

Back 17

verb: to weaken

Front 18

iconoclast

i·con·o·clast

Back 18

noun: somebody who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions

Hint 18

Greek eikonoklastēs, from eikōn ‘likeness’ + klan ‘to break.’

Front 19

Belie

be·lie

Back 19

verb: to give a false representation to; misrepresent

Hint 19

from be- ‘about’ + lēogan ‘to lie’

Front 20

innocuous

in·noc·u·ous

Back 20

adjective: harmless and doesn’t produce any ill effects

Hint 20

from Latin innocuus, from in- ‘not’ + nocuus ‘injurious’ (

Front 21

wanting

Back 21

adjective: lacking

Hint 21

the noun from Old Norse vant, neuter of vanr ‘lacking’; the verb from Old Norse vanta ‘be lacking.’ The original notion of “lack” was early extended to “need,” and from this developed the sense ‘desire.

Front 22

impertinent

im·per·ti·nent

Back 22

adjective: being disrespectful; improperly forward or bold

Hint 22

Latin impertinent- ‘not having reference to,’ from Latin in- ‘not’ + pertinere ‘pertain.’

Front 23

involved

in·volve

Back 23

adjective: complicated, and difficult to comprehend

Hint 23

late Middle English (in the senses ‘enfold’ and ‘entangle’; formerly also as envolve ): from Latin involvere, from in- ‘into’ + volvere ‘to roll.

Front 24

vindicate

vin·di·cate

Back 24

verb: to clear of accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt with supporting arguments or proof

Hint 24

(in the sense ‘deliver, rescue’): from Latin vindicat- ‘claimed, avenged,’ from the verb vindicare, from vindex, vindic- ‘claimant, avenger.’

Front 25

venerate

ven·er·ate

Back 25

verb: to respect deeply

Hint 25

from Latin venerat- ‘adored, revered,’ from the verb venerari

Front 26

Prevaricate

pre·var·i·cate

Back 26

verb: to speak in an evasive way

Hint 26

(in the sense ‘go astray, transgress’): from Latin praevaricat- ‘walked crookedly, deviated,’ from the verb praevaricari, from prae ‘before’ + varicari ‘straddle’ (from varus ‘bent, knock-kneed’).

Front 27

laconic

Back 27

adjective: (describes a person, speech, or style of writing) using very few words

Hint 27

(in the sense ‘Laconian’): via Latin from Greek Lakōnikos, from Lakōn ‘Laconia, Sparta,’ the Spartans being known for their terse speech.

Front 28

castigate

cas·ti·gate

Back 28

verb: to reprimand harshly

Hint 28

: from Latin castigare ‘reprove,’ from castus ‘pure, chaste.

Front 29

enervate

en·er·vate

Back 29

verb: to sap energy from

Hint 29

from Latin enervat- ‘weakened (by extraction of the sinews),’ from the verb enervare, from e- (variant of ex- ) ‘out of’ + nervus ‘sinew.’

Front 30

restive

Back 30

adjective: restless

Hint 30

from Old French restif, -ive, from Latin restare ‘remain.’ The original sense, ‘inclined to remain still, inert,’ has undergone a reversal; the association with the refractory movements of a horse gave rise to the current sense ‘fidgety, restless.’

Front 31

mercurial

mer·cu·ri·al

Back 31

adjective: (of a person) prone to unexpected and unpredictable changes in mood

Hint 31

from Latin mercurialis ‘relating to the god Mercury,’ from Mercurius ‘Mercury.’ Sense 1 of the adjective dates from the mid 17th century.

Front 32

harangue

ha·rangue

Back 32

noun: a long pompous speech; a tirade

verb: to deliver a long pompous speech or tirade

Hint 32

perhaps of Germanic origin. The spelling was later altered to conform with French harangue (noun), haranguer (verb).

Front 33

amorphous

a·mor·phous

Back 33

adjective: shapeless

Hint 33

amorphos ‘shapeless’ (from a- ‘without’ + morphē ‘form’)

Front 34

galvanize

gal·va·nize

Back 34

verb: to excite or inspire (someone) to action

Hint 34

(in the sense ‘stimulate by electricity’): from French galvaniser (see Galvani, Luigi).

Front 35

ambivalent

am·biv·a·lent

Back 35

adjective: mixed or conflicting emotions about something

Hint 35

from ambivalence (from German Ambivalenz ), on the pattern of equivalent .

Front 36

profligate

prof·li·gate

Back 36

adjective: spending resources recklessly or wastefully

Hint 36

(in the sense ‘overthrown, routed’): from Latin profligatus ‘dissolute,’ past participle of profligare ‘overthrow, ruin,’ from pro- ‘forward, down’ + fligere ‘strike down.’

Front 37

anomalous

a·nom·a·lous

Back 37

adjective: not normal

Hint 37

from Greek anōmalos (from an- ‘not’ + homalos ‘even’) + -ous.

Front 38

chastise

chas·tise

Back 38

verb: to reprimand harshly

Hint 38

apparently formed irregularly from the obsolete verb chaste (see chasten).

Front 39

calumny

cal·um·ny

Back 39

noun: making of a false statement meant to injure a person’s reputation

Hint 39

late Middle English: from Latin calumnia

calvi- to decieve

Front 40

egregious

e·gre·gious

Back 40

adjective: standing out in a negative way; shockingly bad

Hint 40

Latin egregius ‘illustrious,’ literally ‘standing out from the flock,’ from ex- ‘out’ + grex, greg- ‘flock.’ The derogatory sense (late 16th century) probably arose as an ironical use

Front 41

frugal

fru·gal

Back 41

adjective: not spending much money (but spending wisely)

Hint 41

from Latin frugalis, from frugi ‘economical, thrifty,’ from frux, frug- ‘fruit.’

Front 42

extant

ex·tant

Back 42

adjective: still in existence (usually refers to documents)

Hint 42

(in the sense ‘accessible, able to be publicly seen or reached’): from Latin exstant- ‘being visible or prominent, existing,’ from the verb exstare, from ex- ‘out’ + stare ‘to stand.’

Front 43

veracious

ve·ra·cious

Back 43

adjective: truthful

Hint 43

from Latin verax, verac- (from verus ‘true’) + -ious.

Front 44

upbraid

up·braid

Back 44

verb: to reproach; to scold

Hint 44

upbrēdan ‘allege (something) as a basis for censure,’ based on braid in the obsolete sense ‘brandish.’

Front 45

ambiguous

am·big·u·ous

Back 45

adjective: open to more than one interpretation

Hint 45

(in the sense ‘indistinct, obscure’): from Latin ambiguus ‘doubtful’ (from ambigere ‘waver, go around,’ from ambi- ‘both ways’ + agere ‘to drive’) + -ous.

Front 46

equivocal

e·quiv·o·cal

Back 46

adjective: confusing or ambiguous

Hint 46

from late Latin aequivocus, from Latin aequus ‘equally’ + vocare ‘to call.’

Front 47

aberration

ab·er·ra·tion

Back 47

noun: a deviation from what is normal or expected

Hint 47

from Latin aberratio(n-), from aberrare ‘to stray’ (see aberrant).

Front 48

parsimonious

Back 48

adjective: extremely frugal; miserly

Hint 48

parcimony < Latin parsimōnia, parcimōnia frugality, thrift, equivalent to parsi- (combining form of parsus, past participle of parcere to economize) or parci- (combining form of parcus sparing) + -mōnia -mony

Front 49

ingenuous

in·gen·u·ous

Back 49

adjective: to be naïve and innocent

Hint 49

from Latin ingenuus, literally ‘native, inborn,’ from in- ‘into’ + an element related to gignere ‘beget.’ The original sense was ‘noble, generous,’ giving rise to ‘honorably straightforward, frank,’ hence ‘innocently frank’ (late 17th century).

Front 50

betray

be·tray

Back 50

verb: to reveal or make known something, usually unintentionally

Hint 50

from be- ‘thoroughly’ + obsolete tray ‘betray,’ from Old French trair, based on Latin tradere ‘hand over.’ Compare with traitor.

Front 51

auspicious

aus·pi·cious

Back 51

adjective: favorable, the opposite of sinister

Hint 51

Latin auspicium "divination by observing the flight of birds