CAT/GRE/SAT/IBPS VOCABULARY WITH ROOT WORDS AND MNEMONICS-3

 

1. Goaded – urged or provoked

Root word: Old English gād = spear, pointed stick

Mnemonic:
“GOAD = poke with a stick to provoke.”

Picture idea:
Someone poking a bull with a stick.

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2. Circumvent – to go around, avoid

Root word:

• Latin circum = around

• Latin venire = to come

Mnemonic:
“CIRCUM (around) + VENT = go around a problem.”

Picture idea:
A person walking around a wall.

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3. Inimical – harmful, hostile

Root word: Latin inimicus = enemy

Mnemonic:
“INIMICAL = INI enemy medical → harmful.”

Picture idea:
A snake near a person symbolising danger.

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4. Diabolical – extremely wicked, devilish

Root word: Greek diabolos = devil, accuser

Mnemonic:
“DIA-BOLI-CAL = devil-like acts.”

Picture idea:
A devilish character smiling mischievously.

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5. Protrude – to stick out

Root word: Latin prov(trudere) = to thrust forward

Mnemonic:
“PROTRUDE = project out.”

Picture idea:
A nail sticking out of wood.

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6. Congruence – harmony, agreement, matching

Root word: Latin congruere = to agree, fit together

Mnemonic:
“CONGRUENT = things fitting perfectly.”

Picture idea:
Two identical shapes matching exactly.

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7. Hankering – strong desire or craving

Root word: Old English hanker = to have persistent desire

Mnemonic:
“HANKERING = hungry thinking repeatedly.”

Picture idea:
A person dreaming of food.

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8. Evanescent – quickly fading

Root word: Latin evanescere = to disappear

Mnemonic:
“EVANESCENT = even scent disappears quickly.”

Picture idea:
Mist or smoke fading away.

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9. Hapless – unlucky, unfortunate

Root word: Old English hap = luck or chance

Mnemonic:
“HAP-LESS = without luck.”

Picture idea:
A person under a broken ladder.

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10. Salacity (correct spelling: Salacity) – lustful, obscene desire

Root word: Latin salax = lustful

Mnemonic:
“SALACIOUS = sexual thoughts.”

Picture idea:
A cartoon heart-eyed face showing attraction.

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11. Byzantine – overly complex, complicated

Root word: From Byzantium (ancient city known for complex politics)

Mnemonic:
“BYZANTINE = confusing like a maze.”

Picture idea:
A confusing maze.

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12. Defile – to make dirty or corrupt

Root word: Latin de- = down + filum = to make foul

Mnemonic:
“DEFILE = make filthy.”

Picture idea:
Clean water being polluted by waste.

CAT/GRE/SAT/IBPS VOCABULARY WITH ROOT WORDS AND MNEMONICS-2

 

1. Burgeoning – rapidly growing

Root word: Old French bourgeon = bud, sprout

Mnemonic:
“BURGEON = a bud bursting out and growing fast.”

Picture idea:
A plant bud suddenly blooming.

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2. Cohesion – sticking together, unity

Root word: Latin cohaerere = to stick together

Mnemonic:
“COHESION = COllide & stick together.”

Picture idea:
Water droplets joining together.

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3. Accord – agreement, harmony

Root word: Old French acorder = to agree
(Latin accordare = to bring heart to heart)

Mnemonic:
“ACCORD = two hearts in agreement.”

Picture idea:
Two people shaking hands smiling.

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4. Militias – armed civilian groups

Root word: Latin miles = soldier

Mnemonic:
“MILES → MILITIA = people acting like soldiers.”

Picture idea:
Armed civilian group marching.

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5. Perpetrator – person who commits a crime

Root word: Latin perpetrāre = to carry out

Mnemonic:
“PERPETRATE = perform a bad act.”

Picture idea:
A masked person committing a crime and running away.

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6. Ignominiously – shamefully, disgracefully

Root word: Latin ignominia = disgrace

Mnemonic:
“IG-NO-MINIOUS = NO honour, only shame.”

Picture idea:
A person hanging their head in shame.

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7. Anguish – severe mental pain or distress

Root word: Latin angere = to choke, to distress

Mnemonic:
“ANGUISH = feeling tightly ‘choked’ by sadness.”

Picture idea:
A person holding head in pain.

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8. Stranded – stuck with no way to move

Root word: Old Norse strond = shore, edge

Mnemonic:
“STRANDED = stuck alone, no transport.”

Picture idea:
A broken car in the desert.

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9. Baffling – confusing, puzzling

Root word: Probably Scottish origin baffle = confuse

Mnemonic:
“BAFFLING = brain feels baffled = ??”.

Picture idea:
A man scratching his head in confusion.

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10. Rostering – making work or duty schedules

Root word: Old French rostre = list, roster

Mnemonic:
“ROSTER = duty LIST.”

Picture idea:
A duty timetable on a wall.

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11. Upheaval – sudden violent change

Root word:

• up = upward

• heave = lift violently

Mnemonic:
“UP + HEAVE = things thrown up suddenly.”

Picture idea:
Earth cracking during an earthquake.

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12. Waiver – giving up a right or claim

Root word: Old French gaiver = to abandon

Mnemonic:
“WAIVER = wave away your rights.”

Picture idea:
A person signing a waiver form.

CAT/GRE/SAT/IBPS VOCABULARY WITH ROOT WORDS AND MNEMONICS-1

 

1. Plethora – excess, too much

Root word: Greek plēthos = fullness, crowd

Mnemonic:
“PLETHora = PLENTY o’ra” → plenty of something.

Picture idea:
A room overflowing with money and gold.

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2. Unfathomable – impossible to understand or measure

Root word: Old English fæðm = outstretched arms, depth (measure of sea)

Mnemonic:
“Cannot FATHOM = cannot measure or understand.”

Picture idea:
A person staring into a bottomless deep ocean.

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3. Antediluvian – very ancient, before the flood

Root word:

• Latin ante = before

• Latin diluvium = flood

Mnemonic:
“ANTE (before) + DILUVIAN (flood) = before the flood.”

Picture idea:
Dinosaurs and ancient people before a huge flood.

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4. Susceptibility – likelihood of being affected

Root word: Latin suscipere = to take up, receive

Mnemonic:
“Susceptible = easy to ‘receive’ illness or influence.”

Picture idea:
A shield breaking and allowing germs to enter.

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5. Stigma – mark of disgrace or shame

Root word: Greek stizein = to mark or tattoo

Mnemonic:
“STIGMA = STICKER mark of shame.”

Picture idea:
A person stamped with a visible mark.

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6. Impersonation – pretending to be someone else

Root word:

• Latin im- = into

• Latin persona = character, mask

Mnemonic:
“IMP = fake + PERSON = fake person act.”

Picture idea:
A man wearing a celebrity mask.

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7. Intrusive – disturbing, entering without permission

Root word: Latin intrudere = to thrust in

Mnemonic:
“INTRUSIVE = ENTER forcefully.”

Picture idea:
Someone pushing open a door suddenly.

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8. Hostile – unfriendly, aggressive

Root word: Latin hostis = enemy

Mnemonic:
“HOSTIS = HOSTILE enemy behaviour.”

Picture idea:
Two people shouting angrily at each other.

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9. Ramifications – complex consequences, branches of effects

Root word: Latin ramus = branch

Mnemonic:
“RAMIFICATIONS = RAMUS (branches) of results.”

Picture idea:
A tree branch splitting into many branches.

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10. Contention – conflict, disagreement

Root word: Latin contendere = to stretch, strive, fight

Mnemonic:
“CONTENT-ion = people ‘contend’ or fight.”

Picture idea:
Two people in a tug-of-war.

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11. Transcend – go beyond limits

Root word:

• Latin trans = beyond

• Latin scandere = to climb

Mnemonic:
“TRANS + SCEND = climb beyond.”

Picture idea:
A person climbing above clouds and mountains.

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12. Malleable – easily shaped or influenced

Root word: Latin malleus = hammer

Mnemonic:
“MALLEABLE = can be shaped by a MALLET (hammer).”

Picture idea:
A hammer shaping soft clay or metal.

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