Learning by Antonyms

Learning GRE vocabulary isn’t easy, but it can get a little easier when you link the words you don’t know to something you already know. You already know thousands of words – may as well take advantage of them!

When you hit a GRE word you don’t recognize but that seems sort of familiar, you might want to ask yourself if you know the opposite of that word. Prefixes such as “dis”, “in”, or “im”, either added to or removed from the beginning of words, often change them to their opposite meaning.

Below is a list of 15 GRE words that you might not know, but that you likely could figure out by knowing their antonyms.

1. Enfranchise. I’ll admit that I don’t think I’ve ever used the word “enfranchise” in conversation. I’ve typed it twice in this article, which makes twice that I’ve typed it in, well, probably my life. But “disenfranchise”? That word is everywhere.

A disenfranchised group is deprived of a right, often related to voting. An enfranchised group, therefore, is given the right to vote (or be represented politically).

2. Ingenuous. “Ingenuous” gives us about 277,000 Google search results. “Disingenuous” gives us about 1.2 million. Most of us recognize that “disingenuous” means insincere or tricky, and if you were to guess based on that fact that “ingenuous” meant innocent or not tricky, you’d be right.

3. Maculated. What does it mean for something to be “maculated”? Before studying for the GRE, I wouldn’t have had any idea. But I know “immaculate” means perfectly clean, free of even a single speck or spot. So maculated probably means the opposite of that – and it does.

4. Intrepid. “Intrepid” you can think of as likely having a positive connotation, given that it’s a brand name. But if you don’t know what it means, drop the prefix and think about the “trepid” part. “Trepidation” is probably a word you know to mean fear, so isn’t it likely that “intrepid” means brave or fearless? It does.

5. Implacable. The dictionary definition of implacable is “unable to be placated”, clearly relying on the reader knowing the definition of “placated” to mean appeased or calmed.

6. Unfeigned. I wouldn’t consider “unfeigned” a commonly used word, but I bet that you’ve come across the word “feigned” in your regular day sometime recently. Something feigned is faked, so something unfeigned is un-faked; it’s authentic.

7. Disallow. Not shockingly, the little-used “disallow” means to reject, refuse, or dismiss something – to not allow it.
8. Disavow. When you “avow” something, like when you take your wedding vows, you assert it or confess it out in the open. So when you disavow it? You deny or renounce it.

9. Dispassionate. Sometimes people think, “passionate means you love it, so dispassionate means you hate it.” Nope. To be passionate about something is to have strong feelings about it. So to be dispassionate about something? Not to have strong feelings. A dispassionate person isn’t hateful, he’s calm and rational.

10. Finite. Okay, maybe you know the word “finite”. But it’s even more likely that you know “infinite” or “infinity”. From either of those, you could figure out that “finite” means limited or bounded – not unrestricted.

11. Ignoble. Noble can mean honorable or high in social class. As it’s opposite, ignoble can mean dishonorable or low in social class. Most of the time, “ig” at the beginning of the word isn’t a prefix, but rather part of a word taken from Latin.

12. Illimitable. Something that’s limitable can have limits placed on it. So something that’s illimitable? Can’t.

13. Peccadillo. “Peccadillo” is one of those words, at least for me, that I know I’ve heard before, but I can never quite think of what it means. Well, think of a word you likely already know: impeccable. “Impeccable” means flawless or faultless, either in behavior or appearance. So it basically means “without peccadilloes”, those little, unimportant minor offenses or flaws most of us make or have.

14. Permeable. I think that “impermeable” gets used more often than its antonym “permeable”. When something’s impermeable, nothing can penetrate it or pass through it. So when it’s permeable, other materials can pass through it. A plastic bag is impermeable to water; a t-shirt isn’t.

15. Dislodge. When something gets lodged somewhere, it gets stuck. Need to “dislodge” it? Un-stick it.

Sure, the GRE tests vocab, but memorizing words isn’t the only way to succeed (although it is a good idea). While you’re building your vocab, build your skills for figuring out the definitions of words. Looking for a root antonym that you know is one good skill!
What other GRE words did you learn by realizing that you knew the antonym? Please share in the comments!