GRE Word Roots: A Comprehensive Guide to Building Vocabulary, Exams of Economics

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GRE Word Roots

Verbal Reference and Additional Practice

There are other problems w ith using roots to pinpoint a definition. Looking at the etym ology o f a word is a great trick if you know Greek, Latin, or French. For example, DEM in Greek means “people.” DEM ocracy essentially means government o f the people. N eat and tidy. R ight? Sure, but first you w ould have to know w hat D E M means. It helps if you study and learn where there are exceptions.

Example: The word venal. The root VEN/VENT means “to com e” or “to move toward.” B ut venal means cor rupt or capable o f being bought. A dventure, convene, event, avenue, advent, and circum vent clearly spring from the root meaning. Venal is a bit o f a stretch.

Example: The word pediatrician has PED for a root. PED has to do w ith the foot. B ut a pediatrician is a children’s doctor. A podiatrist is a foot doctor.

As it turns out, the etym ology o f a word is m erely a good trick. It can help you to figure out and rem em ber the m eaning of a word. B ut it w on’t w ork every time, and it certainly can’t provide the basic definition o f a word. It m ay even put you on the w rong track.

So w h y bother? Because if you don’t have a clue w hat a word means, you have to start somewhere. R oots are an efFIC acious place to begin (FIC: to do, to make).

Word Roots

COMMON ROOTS

T h e com m on roots are explain ed here, in alphabetical order. For each root, w e ’ve provided definitions o f som e words co n tain ing the root. For the last w ord in each list, w e u sed the w ord in a sam ple sentence instead o f defining it. See i f yo u can figure out the m ean in g o f the w ord based on its root.

A : W ith o u t amoral: neither moral nor im m oral atheist: one w ho does not believe in God atypical: not typical anonym ous: o f unknown authorship or origin apathy: lack o f interest or emotion atrophy: the wasting away o f body tissue anom aly: an irregularity agnostic: one w ho questions the existence o f God The glob o f paint resting on the canvas was rather am orphous.

A B /A BS: off, aw ay from , apart, dow n abduct: to take by force abhor: to hate, detest abolish: to do away w ith, make void abstract: conceived apart from concrete realities, specific objects, or actual instances abnorm al: deviating from a standard abdicate: to renounce or relinquish a throne abstinence: forbearance from any indulgence o f appetite abstruse: hard to understand; secret, hidden The behavior o f M aurice, the painter, was so aberrant that the dealer felt compelled to not show his work.

A C /A C R : sharp, bitter acid: something that is sharp, sour, or ill natured acute: sharp at the end; ending in a point acerbic: sour or astringent in taste; harsh in temper exacerbate: to increase bitterness or violence; aggravate acrid: sharp or biting to the taste or smell acrim onious: caustic, stinging, or bitter in nature M aurice, however, had a great deal o f financial acum en and convinced the dealer to accept his peculiarities.

ACT/AG : to do; to drive; to force; to lead agile: quick and w ell coordinated in movement; active, lively agitate: to move or force into violent, irregular action litigate: to make the subject o f a lawsuit prodigal: wastefully or recklessly extravagant p ed a go gu e: a teacher syn a gogu e: a gathering or congregation o f Jews for the purpose o f religious worship The dealer hoped his exacting standards w ould not be compromised by his decision to w ork w ith M aurice.

AD /AL: to, tow ard, near adapt: adjust or modify fittingly adjacent: lying near, close, or contiguous; adjoining addict: to give oneself over, as to a habit or pursuit adm ire: to regard w ith wonder, pleasure, and approval address: to direct a speech or w ritten statement to adhere: to stick fast; cleave; cling adjoin: to be close or in contact w ith advocate: to plead in favor o f The dealer, after w atching M aurice w ork a room, had to adm it that M aurice had no small am ount o f personal allure.

AL/ALI/ALTER: other, another alternative: a possible choice alias: an assumed name; another name alibi: the defense by an accused person that he was verifiably elsewhere at the time o f the crim e w ith w hich he is charged alien: one born in another country; a foreigner alter ego: the second self; a substitute or deputy altruist: a person unselfishly concerned for the welfare o f others allegory: figurative treatment o f one subject under the guise o f another O f course, M aurice being M aurice, he still m anaged to find him self in a serious altercation w ith a potential buyer.

Word Roots

A N T I: against antibody: a protein naturally existing in blood serum, that reacts to overcome the toxic effects o f an antigen antidote: a rem edy for counteracting the effects o f poison, disease, etcetera antiseptic: free from germs; particularly clean or neat antipathy: aversion antipodal: on the opposite side o f the globe “Goodness, I hadn’t m eant to be antisocial,” Mr. R ockebeller rejoindered.

APO : aw ay apology: an expression o f one’s regret or sorrow for having wronged another apostle: one o f the 12 disciples sent forth by Jesus to preach the gospel apocalypse: revelation; discovery; disclosure apogee: the highest or most distant point apocryphal: o f doubtful authorship or authenticity apostasy: a total desertion o f one’s religion, principles, party, cause, etcetera “You are the apotheosis o f graciousness,” the dealer groveled.

A R C H / A R C H I/ A R C H Y : chief, p rin cip al, ru le r architect: the devisor, maker, or planner o f anything archenem y: chief enemy m onarchy: a government in w hich the supreme power is lodged in a sovereign anarchy: a state or society w ithout government or law oligarchy: a state or society ruled by a select group Fortunately, they were abruptly interrupted by some one not very high up in the gallery hierarchy.

A U T O : self autom atic: self-moving or self-acting autocrat: an absolute ruler autonom y: independence or freedom “H elp!” the underling cried out. “M aurice is dead. There must be an autopsy!” And so the gallery event came to a close.

BE: to b e; to have a p articu lar q u ality; to exist belittle: to regard something as less impressive than it apparently is bem oan: to express pity for bew ilder: to confuse or puzzle com pletely belie: to misrepresent; to contradict A bigail was bem used by the flirtations o f the hand some young man to her right.

BEL/BELL: w ar antebellum : before the w ar rebel: a person w ho resists authority, control, or tradition belligerent: warlike, given to w aging w ar His bellicosity belied his charm.

BEN /BO N : good benefit: anything advantageous to a person or thing benign: having a kindly disposition benediction: act o f uttering a blessing benevolent: desiring to do good to others bonus: something given over and above w hat is due bona fid e : in good faith; w ithout fraud He is either, she thought, a true bon vivant, or a benefi cent man w ho prefers to hide his good works beneath a tacky exterior.

B I: tw ice, double binoculars: involving two eyes biennial: happening every two years bilateral: pertaining to or affecting two or both sides bilingual: able to speak one’s native language and another w ith equal facility bipartisan: representing two parties “You know,” A bigail’s friend whispered in her ear,“I have heard h e’s a bigam ist.” She paused. “Those poor wives.”

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Verbal Reference and Additional Practice

CA D /CID : to fall; to happen b y chance accident: happening by chance; unexpected coincidence: a striking occurrence o f two or more events at one time, apparently by chance decadent: decaying; deteriorating cascade: a waterfall descending over a steep surface recidivist: one w ho repeatedly relapses, as into crim e Pierre spoke w ith a lovely cadence.

C A N T /C E N T /C H A N T : to sing accent: prom inence o f a syllable in terms of pronunciation chant: a song; singing enchant: to subject to m agical influence; bewitch recant: to w ithdraw or disavow a statement incantation: the chanting o f words purporting to have m agical power incentive: that w hich incites action W hen the cantor stood up to sing, even Pierre was struck dumb.

CAP/CIP/CEPT: to take; to g et capture: to take by force or stratagem anticipate: to realize beforehand; foretaste or foresee susceptible: capable o f receiving, admitting, undergoing, or being affected by something em ancipate: to free from restraint percipient: having perception; discerning; discriminating precept: a commandment or direction given as a rule o f conduct An incipient awe filled the synagogue as the mesmer ized congregation listened.

CA P/CA PIT/C IPIT: head, head lo n g capital: the city or town that is the official seat o f government disciple: one w ho is a pupil o f the doctrines o f another precipitate: to hasten the occurrence of; to bring about prem aturely precipice: a cliff w ith a vertical face capitulate: to surrender unconditionally or on stipulated terms caption: a heading or title Immediately after the service, one woman, acting precip itously, threw her arms around the cantor to thank him.

C A R D / C O R D / C O U R : h eart cardiac: pertaining to the heart encourage: to inspire w ith spirit or confidence concord: agreement; peace, am ity discord: lack o f harm ony between persons or things concordance: agreement, concord, harm ony The cantor was cordial in his response, though clearly headed for a coronary.

C A R N : flesh carnivorous: eating flesh carnage: the slaughter o f a great num ber o f people carnival: a traveling amusement show reincarnation: rebirth o f a soul in a new body incarnation: a being invested w ith a bodily form Though nothing o f an intim ate carnal nature had occurred, Ms. Levinsohn regretted her spontaneous display.

C A ST /C H A ST : cut cast: to throw or hurl; fling caste: a hereditary social group, lim ited to people of the same rank castigate: to punish in order to correct chastise: to discipline, esp. by corporal punishment chaste: free from obscenity; decent C hastened by the cantor’s surprised expression, Ms. Levinsohn determ ined she w ould have to control her impulsivity.

CED/CEED/CESS: to go; to y ie ld ; to stop antecedent: existing, being, or going before concede: to acknowledge as true, just, or proper; admit predecessor: one who comes before another in an office, position, etcetera cessation: a tem porary or complete discontinuance incessant: w ithout stop As Ms. Levinsohn strolled home, her embarrassment began to recede.

Verbal Reference and Additional Practice

C O /C O L /C O M /C O N : w ith , together connect: to bind or fasten together coerce: to com pel by force, intim idation, or authority com patible: capable o f existing together in harm ony collide: to strike one another w ith a forceful impact collaborate: to w ork w ith another, cooperate conciliate: to placate, w in over com m ensurate: suitable in measure, proportionate She simply promised herself that she w ould be more congenial in the future.

C R E /C R E SC /C R E T : to grow accrue: to be added as a m atter o f periodic gain creation: the act o f producing or causing to exist increase: to make greater in any respect increm ent: something added or gained; an addition or increase accretion: an increase by natural growth H er enthusiasm for this idea reached a crescendo.

C R E D : to believ e; to trust incredible: unbelievable credentials: anything that provides the basis for b elief credo: any formula o f b elief credulity: willingness to believe or trust too readily credit: trustworthiness She gave no other life goal any credence.

C R Y P : h idden crypt: a subterranean chamber or vault apocryphal: o f doubtful authorship or authenticity cryptology: the science o f interpreting secret writings, codes, ciphers, and the like cryptography: procedures o f m aking and using secret w riting To her few friends, however, she rem ained cryptic about her new approach to life.

C U B / C U M B : to lie dow n cubicle: any small space or compartm ent that is partitioned off succum b: to give away to superior force; yield incubate: to sit upon for the purpose o f hatching incum bent: holding an indicated position recum bent: lying down; reclining; leaning Shortly thereafter, Ms. Levinsohn discovered that to be generous all the tim e was rather cum bersom e.

C U L P : blam e culprit: a person guilty for an offense culpable: deserving blame or censure inculpate: to charge w ith fault m ea culpa: through m y fault; m y fault She then decided to exculpate herself o f all wrong doing.

C O U R / C U R : run n in g; a course recur: to happen again curriculum : the regular course o f study courier: a messenger, traveling in haste, bearing news excursion: a short jo u rn ey or trip cursive: handw riting in flowing strokes w ith the letters jo in ed together concur: to accord in opinion; agree incursion: a hostile entrance into a place, esp. suddenly cursory: going rapidly over something; hasty; superficial C oncurrently, she enrolled in a course, entitled “H ow To Get W hat You Want O ut o f Life.”

DE: away, off, dow n, com pletely, reversal descend: to move from a higher to a lower place decipher: to make out the m eaning; to interpret defile: to make foul, dirty, or unclean defam e: to attack the good name or reputation of deferential: respectful; to yield to judgm ent delineate: to trace the outline of; sketch or trace in outline Ginny deferred to the director’s view.

Word Roots

DEM: people dem ocracy: government by the people epidem ic: affecting at the same tim e a large num ber o f people, and spreading from person to person endem ic: peculiar to a particular people or locality pandem ic: general, universal dem ographics: vital and social statistics o f populations To her, he was a dem agogue.

DI/DIA: apart, through dialogue: conversation between two or more persons diagnose: to determ ine the identity o f something from the symptoms dilate: to make w id er or larger; to cause to expand dilatory: inclined to delay or procrastinate dichotom y: division into two parts, kinds, etcetera Ginny slipped on the diaphanous gown, hoping finally to garner his full attention.

D IC/D IC T/D IT: to say; to tell; to use words dictionary: a book containing a selection o f the words o f a language predict: to tell in advance verdict: judgm ent, decree indite: to compose or w rite, as in a speech interdict: to forbid; prohibit B ut he m erely told her to move stage left, a direction she did not dare contradict.

D A C/D O C : to teach doctor: someone licensed to practice m edicine; a learned person doctrine: a particular principle advocated, as o f a government or religion indoctrinate: to im bue a person w ith learning docile: easily m anaged or handled; tractable didactic: intended for instruction She had docum entation attesting to her great promise, after all.

DO G /D O X: opinion orthodox: sound or correct in opinion or doctrine paradox: an opinion or statement contrary to accepted opinion dogm a: a system o f tenets, as o f a church Ginny was nothing less than dogm atic on the subject o f her own excellence.

D O L: suffer, pain condolence: expression o f sympathy w ith one who is suffering indolence: a state o f being lazy or slothful doleful: sorrowful, m ournful dolorous: full o f pain or sorrow, grievous Ginny occasionally suffered from the doldrums, though, as success was not exactly knocking on her door.

DIGN: w orth dignity: nobility or elevation o f character; worthiness dignitary: a person who holds a high rank or office deign: to think fit or in accordance w ith one’s dignity condign: w ell deserved; fitting; adequate disdain: to look upon or treat w ith contempt Anxious to appear dignified, she moved to the spot w ith deliberate grace.

DIS/DIF: aw ay from , apart, reversal, not disperse: to drive or send off in various directions dissem inate: to scatter or spread w idely; promulgate dissipate: to scatter wastefully dissuade: to deter by advice or persuasion diffuse: to pour out and spread, as in a fluid Ginny wished to disassociate herself from the other less talented players.

D O N /D O T/D O W : to give donate: to present as a gift or contribution pardon: kind indulgence, forgiveness antidote: something that prevents or counteracts ill effects anecdote: a short narrative about an interesting event en d ow : to provide w ith a perm anent fund H er best role so far had been that o f a young dow ager in some N oel C ow ard-like play.

D U B : doubt dubious: doubtful dubiety: doubtfulness indubitable: unquestionable Ginny w ould not allow doubtfulness into her consciousness.

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Word Roots

FAB/FAM: speak fa b le: fictional tale, esp. legendary affable: friendly, courteous ineffable: too great for description in words; that w hich must not be uttered fa m o u s: w ell known, celebrated defam e: attack good name of Lola was an infam ous liar.

FAC/FIC/FIG/FAIT/FEIT/FY: to do; to m ake fa cto ry: building for manufacture o f goods fa ction : small dissenting group w ithin larger one, esp. in politics deficient: incom plete or insufficient prolific: producing m any offspring or m uch output configuration: m anner o f arrangem ent, shape ratify: to confirm or accept by formal consent effigy: sculpture or m odel o f person counterfeit: im itation, forgery She was quite fa cile w hen it came to uttering falsehoods.

FER: to b rin g ; to carry; to bear offer: to present for acceptance, refusal, or consideration confer: to grant, bestow referendum : to vote on a political question open to the entire electorate proffer: to offer proliferate: to reproduce; produce rapidly She could be vociferous too, especially w hen the lie was an im portant one.

FERV: to b o il; to bubble ferv o r: passion, zeal fer v id : ardent, intense effervescent: w ith the quality o f giving off bubbles o f gas Then again, Lola was also quite fe rv e n t w hen speak ing the truth.

FID: faith, trust confide: to entrust w ith a secret affidavit: w ritten statement on oath fid elity : faithfulness, loyalty fid u cia ry: o f a trust; held or given in trust infidel: disbeliever in esp. the supposed true religion She had but one confidant w ith w hom she was always honest.

FIN: end fin a l: at the end; com ing last confine: to keep or restrict w ithin certain limits; imprison definitive: decisive, unconditional, final infinite: boundless; endless infinitesim al: infinitely or very small Lola felt a strange affinity for B rigitte.

FLAG/FLAM: to burn fla m e : ignited gas flam m able: easily set on fire fla m b ea u : a lighted torch flagra nt: blatant, scandalous conflagration: large destructive fire B rigitte could be quite fla m b oya n t.

FLECT/FLEX: to b end deflect: to bend or turn aside from a purpose flex ib le: able to bend w ithout breaking inflect: to change or vary pitch o f reflect: to throw back gen u flect: to bend knee, esp. in worship She also spoke w ith an odd inflection.

FLU /FLU X : to flow flu id : substance, esp. gas or liquid, capable o f flowing freely flu ctu a tion : something that varies, rising and falling effluence: flowing out o f (light, electricity, etcetera) confluence: m erging into one m ellifluous: pleasing, musical She wore diamonds everywhere, as if to announce her affluence.

Verbal Reference and Additional Practice

FO RE : before foresigh t: care or provision for future foresh a d ow : be w arning or indication o f (future event) foresta ll: to prevent by advance action forthright: straightforward, outspoken, decisive Lola could fo retell that B rigitte was headed for trouble.

FO R T : chance fo rtu n e: chance or luck in human affairs fortu n a te: lucky, auspicious It was, Lola believed, fortu itou s that they had met.

FO R T : strength fo r tify : to provide w ith fortifications; strengthen fortissim o: very loud B ut it was fortitu d e that kept them together, as they really had nothing significant in common.

FR A /FR A C /FR A G /FR IN G : to break fracture: breakage, esp. o f a bone fra gm en t: a part broken off fractious: irritable, peevish refractory: stubborn, unmanageable, rebellious infringe: to break or violate (law, etcetera) In fact, their relationship m ight have fractured years ago if it hadn’t been for one im portant thing.

FU S: to p our profu se: lavish, extravagant, copious fu silla d e: continuous discharge o f firearms or outburst o f criticism suffuse: to spread throughout or over from w ithin diffuse: to spread w idely or thinly infusion: infusing; liquid extract so obtained B rigitte and Lola share the same blood type, w hich was fortunate; w hen Lola needed a transfusion, Britte volunteered a pint, earning effusive praise from her new best friend.

GEN: b irth , creation, race, kind gen ero u s: giving or given freely gen etics: study o f heredity and variation among animals and plants gen d er: classification roughly corresponding to the two sexes and sexlessness carcinogenic: producing cancer congenital: existing or as such from birth p rogen y: offspring, descendants m iscegenation: interbreeding o f races W alter was a gen ia l little fellow.

GN/GNO: know agnostic: person who believes that existence o f God is not provable ignore: to refuse to take notice of ignoram us: a person lacking knowledge, uninform ed recognize: to identify as already known incognito: w ith one’s name or identity concealed prognosis: forecast, especially o f disease diagnose: to make an identification o f disease or fault from symptoms His cognitive powers were advanced for his age.

G RA T: p leasing gratefu l: thankful ingratiate: to bring oneself into favor gratu ity: m oney given for good service gracious: kindly, esp. to inferiors; merciful Still, one day, he was accused o f being an ingrate.

G RA D /G RESS: to step progress: forward movement aggressive: given to hostile act or feeling degrade: to hum iliate, dishonor, reduce to lower rank digress: to depart from m ain subject egress: going out; way out This caused him to regress, ultim ately resulting in his inability to read until the age o f ten.

Verbal Reference and Additional Practice

IN T E R : b etw een , am ong interstate: connecting or jointly involving states interim : a tem porary or provisional arrangement; meantime interloper: one who intrudes in the domain o f others interm ittent: stopping or ceasing for a time intersperse: to scatter here and there W hen asked, “D on’t you have an original thought? D on’t you think?” Paris w ould quickly interject “Yes! O f course! W hat do you think?”

JE C T : to throw ; to throw dow n inject: to place (quality, etcetera) where needed in something dejected: sad, depressed eject: to throw out, expel conjecture: formation o f opinion on incomplete information abject: utterly hopeless, hum iliating, or wretched B laine’s arrow followed a dangerous trajectory.

JO IN / JU N C T : to m eet; to jo in ju n ction : the act o f joining; combining adjoin: to be next to and joined w ith subjugate: to conquer rejoinder: to reply, retort ju n ta : (usually m ilitary) clique taking power after a coup d’etat. H er conjugal relationship, you see, was unsatisfactory.

J U R : to sw ear p erju ry: w illful lying w hile on oath abjure: to renounce on oath adjure: to beg or command This is w hy she ended up in front o f a ju ry.

LECT/LEG: to select, to choose collect: to gather together or assemble elect: to choose; to decide select: to choose w ith care eclectic: selecting ideas, etcetera from various sources M idge had a predilection for tall men.

LEV: lift, lig h t, rise relieve: to m itigate; to free from a burden alleviate: to make easier to endure, lessen relevant: bearing on or pertinent to information at hand levee: embankm ent against river flooding H er friends noted this fact w ith considerable levity.

LO C /LO G /LO Q U : w ord, speech dialogue: conversation, esp. in a literary work elocution: art o f clear and expressive speaking p rologu e: introduction to poem , play, etcetera eu logy: speech or w riting in praise o f someone colloquial: o f ordinary or fam iliar conversation grandiloquent: pompous or inflated in language W henever M idge m et a tall man, she w ould display a scintillating and loquacious side.

L U C /L U M /L U S: lig h t illustrate: to make intelligible w ith examples or analogies illum inate: to supply or brighten w ith light illustrious: highly distinguished translucent: perm itting light to pass through lackluster: lacking brilliance or radiance lucid: easily understood, intelligible H er countenance would, in fact, become lum inous.

LU D /LU S: to play allude: to refer casually or indirectly illusion: something that deceives by producing a false impression o f reality ludicrous: ridiculous, laughable delude: to mislead the m ind or judgm ent of, deceive elude: to avoid capture or escape defection by p relu d e: a prelim inary to an action, event, etcetera Ultim ately, the conversation w ould lead to a roman tic interlude.

LU T/LAV/LU V: to w ash lavatory: a room w ith equipm ent for washing hands and face dilute: to make thinner or w eaker by the addition o f w ater p o llu te: to make foul or unclean d elu ge: a great flood o f w ater antediluvian: before the biblical flood; extrem ely old Afterwards, M idge w ould engage in a ritual ablution, so as to be ready for her next tall paramour.

Word Roots

M A G /M A J/M A X : b ig m agnify: to increase the apparent size o f m agnitude: greatness o f size, extent, or dimensions maxim um : the highest amount, value, or degree attained m agnanim ous: generous in forgiving an insult or injury maxim: an expression o f general truth or principle C. J.W arn er’s m agniloquent m anner put off all o f his employees.

M AL/M ALE: bad, ill, evil, w ro ng m alfunction: failure to function properly m alicious: full o f or showing m alice m align: to speak harmful untruths about, to slander m alady: a disorder or disease o f the body m alfeasance: misconduct or w rongdoing often com mitted by a public official m alediction: a curse O f course, his m alodorousness, w hich made it difficult to stand near him, didn’t help.

M A N : hand m anual: operated by hand m anufacture: to make by hand or m achinery em ancipate: to free from bondage m anifest: readily perceived by the eye or the understanding m andate: an authoritative order or command Oddly, however, C. J. W arner considered it m andatory that each o f his employees w ear cologne.

M IN : sm all m inute: a unit o f tim e equal to one-sixtieth o f an hour, or sixty seconds m inutiae: small or trivial details m iniature: a copy or m odel that represents something in greatly reduced size dim inish: to lessen dim inution: the act or process o f diminishing A m inim al amount w ould do.

M IN : to pro ject, to h an g over em inent: tow ering above others; projecting im m inent: about to occur; im pending prom inent: projecting outward p reem in ent: superior to or notable above all others Still, no m atter how he or his employees smelled, C. J. had a m inatory effect on everyone he met.

M IS/M IT : to send transmit: to send from one person, thing, or place to another em issary: a messenger or agent sent to represent the interests o f another interm ittent: stopping and starting at intervals rem it: to send m oney rem ission: a lessening o f intensity or degree It’s safe to say all who worked for C. J. prayed for his dem ise.

M IS C : m ixed m iscellaneous: made up o f a variety o f parts or ingredients m iscegenation: the interbreeding o f races, esp. m arriage between w hite and nonwhite persons prom iscuous: consisting o f diverse and unrelated parts or individuals W hile it is true that emotions are generally m iscible, w hen it came to the staff o f C. J. Warner, there were no m ixed feelings.

M O N /M O N IT : to rem in d ; to w arn m onum ent: a structure, such as a building, tower, or sculpture, erected as a m em orial m onitor: one that admonishes, cautions, or reminds sum m on: to call together; convene adm onish: to counsel against something; caution rem onstrate: to say or plead in protect, objection, or reproof C. J. him self had a prem onition one day.

M O R P H : shape am orphous: w ithout definite form; lacking a specific shape m etam orphosis: a transformation, as by m agic or sorcery anthropom orphism : attribution o f human characteris tics to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena C. J. changed from an endom orph to an ectom orph w ithin a few weeks.

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Word Roots

O M N I: all om nibus: an anthology o f the works o f one author or o f w ritings on related subjects om nipresent: everywhere at one time om nipotent: all powerful His leader, he was convinced, had great powers o f om niscience.

PAC/PEAC: peace appease: to bring peace to p a cify: to ease the anger or agitation o f pacifier: something or someone that eases the anger or agitation o f pact: a formal agreement, as between nations George considered him self a pacifist.

PAN: all, everyone panoram a: an unobstructed and w ide view o f an extensive area p an egyric: formal or elaborate praise at an assembly p a n op ly: a w ide-ranging and impressive array or display p a n th eon : a public building containing tombs or memorials o f the illustrious dead o f a nation pandem ic: widespread, general, universal The pandem onium that typically accompanies w ar made him cringe.

PA R: equal par: an equality in value or standing p a rity: equally, as in amount, status, or character apartheid: any system or caste that separates people according to race, etcetera disparate: essentially different He disparaged all those w ho supported aggressive action overseas.

PA R A : n e x t to, beside parallel: extending in the same direction parasite: an organism that lives on or w ithin a plant or animal o f another species, from w hich it obtains nutrients p arod y: to im itate for purposes o f satire parable: a short, allegorical story designed to illustrate a moral lesson or religious principle paragon: a m odel o f excellence paranoid: suffering from a baseless distrust o f others G eorge’s best friend joined the paramilitary, mistaken ly assuming he w ould never see battle.

PAS/PAT/ PATH: feelin g, suffering, disease sym pathy: harm ony or o f agreem ent in feeling em pathy: the identification w ith the feelings or thoughts o f others com passion: a feeling o f deep sympathy for someone struck by misfortune, accompanied by a desire to alleviate suffering dispassionate: devoid o f personal feeling or bias im passive: showing or feeling no emotion sociopath: a person whose behavior is antisocial and w ho lacks a sense o f moral responsibility He was badly hurt in action, w hich only served to fuel G eorge’s antipathy for war.

PAU/PO/POV/PU: few, little, poor p o or: having little or no money, goods, or other means o f support p o v erty: the condition o f being poor pa u city: smallness o f quantity; scarcity; scantiness pauper: a person w ithout any personal means of support pusillanim ous: lacking courage or resolution George felt that wars could im poverish a society o f its resources.

PED: child, education p ed a go gu e: a teacher pediatrician: a doctor who prim arily has children as patients encyclopedia: book or set o f books containing articles on various topics, covering all branches o f knowledge or o f one particular subject He w ould behave as if he belonged on a pedestal and become quite pedantic w hen he explained his ideas.

PED/POD: foot p ed a l: a foot-operated lever or part used to control pedestrian: a person w ho travels on foot ex pedite: to speed up the progress o f im pede: to retard progress by means o f obstacles or hindrances p od iu m : a small platform for an orchestra conductor, speaker, etcetera antipodes: places diam etrically opposite each other on the globe There w ere many im pedim ents to G eorge’s happiness.

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Verbal Reference and Additional Practice

PEN/PUN : to pay; to com pensate p en a l: o f or pertaining to punishment, as for crimes p en a lty: a punishm ent imposed for a violation o f law or rule p u n itive: serving for, concerned w ith, or inflicting punishment p en a n ce: a punishment undergone to express regret for a sin p en iten t: contrite repine: to fret or complain B ut he continued to think he could rail at others w ith im punity.

PEND/PENS: to h an g; to w eig h t; to pay depend: to rely; to place trust in stipend: a periodic payment; fixed or regular pay com pensate: to counterbalance, offset indispensable: absolutely necessary, essential, or requisite appendix: supplementary m aterial at the end o f a text appendage: a limb or other subsidiary part that diverges from the central structure Finally, the pendulum began to swing in another direction.

PER: co m pletely persistent: lasting or enduring tenaciously perforate: to make a w ay through or into something perplex : to cause to be puzzled or bewildered over w hat is not understood peru se: to read w ith thoroughness or care perfunctory: perform ed m erely as routine duty pertinacious: resolute Natalie, a perspicacious young wom an, entered his life and quickly got the picture.

PERI: around perim eter: the border or outer boundary o f a two dimensional figure periscope: an optical instrum ent for seeing objects in an obstructed field o f vision peripatetic: w alking or traveling about; itinerant George, she realized, had only a peripheral under standing o f his own beliefs.

PET/PIT: to go; to seek; to strive appetite: a desire for food or drink com pete: to strive to outdo another for acknowledgm ent p etition : a form ally drawn request soliciting some benefit im petuous: characterized by sudden or rash action or emotion petu lan t: showing sudden irritation, esp. over some annoyance N atalie decided this was a propitious tim e to deter m ine w hat was really bothering George.

PH IL: love p h ilosop h y: the rational investigation o f the truths and principles o f being, knowledge, or conduct philatelist: one w ho loves or collects postage stamps p h ilolo gy: the study o f literary texts to establish their authenticity and determ ine their m eaning bibliophile: one who loves or collects books He seemed honest and so Natalie did not suspect George o f being a philanderer.

PLAC: to please placid: pleasantly calm or peaceful placebo: a substance w hich has no pharm acological effect but w hich acts to placate a patient who believes it to be a m edicine im placable: unable to be pleased com placent: self-satisfied, unconcerned com plaisant: inclined or disposed to please Natalie, not even slightly interested in placating George, simply asked “W h at’s really bugging you? It can’t just be war.”

PLE: to fill com plete: having all parts or elements deplete: to decrease seriously or exhaust the supply o f supplem ent: something added to supply a deficiency im plem ent: an instrument, tool, or utensil for accomplishing w ork replete: abundantly supplied George sighed and replied, “I suppose there are a plethora o f reasons for m y rage.”