GRE Confusing Words - Let's Enlist them here!

Ankita Katdare · 2011-06-12T18:33:14+00:00

Following are some of the easily confusable words on the GRE Word list: ambiguous and ambivalent emulate and imitate descry and decry engender and endanger deprecation and depreciation fission and fusion extant and extent corroborate and collaborate endemic and epidemic dissemble and disassemble indigenous and indigent ingenuous and ingenious infer and imply insensible and insensitive effect and affect viscous and vicious Could someone explain the difference in the meanings of the words in above pairs?

GRE Confusing Words - Let's Enlist them here!

Ankita Katdare

Administrator

Updated: Oct 26, 2024

Views: 923

Following are some of the easily confusable words on the GRE Word list:

ambiguous and ambivalent
emulate and imitate
descry and decry
engender and endanger
deprecation and depreciation
fission and fusion
extant and extent
corroborate and collaborate
endemic and epidemic
dissemble and disassemble
indigenous and indigent
ingenuous and ingenious
infer and imply
insensible and insensitive
effect and affect
viscous and vicious

Could someone explain the difference in the meanings of the words in above pairs?

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Ankita Katdare

Administrator • Jun 16, 2011

Ambiguous: unclear, double meaning
Ambivalent: Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone

emulate: match or surpass (a person or achievement), typically by imitation.
imitate: Take or follow as a model

descry: catch sight of, to discover by careful observation
decry: denounce publicly

engender: to bring into existence
endanger: to expose to danger/harm

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PraveenKumar Purushothaman

Member • Jun 16, 2011

deprecation: the act of expressing disapproval (especially of yourself)
depreciation: a decrease in price or value, "depreciation of the dollar against the yen", a communication that belittles somebody or something

fission: a nuclear reaction in which a massive nucleus splits into smaller nuclei with the simultaneous release of energy
fusion: the act of fusing (or melting) together, correction of an unstable part of the spine by joining two or more vertebrae; usually done surgically but sometimes done by traction or immobilization

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PraveenKumar Purushothaman

Member • Jun 16, 2011

extant: still in existence; not extinct or destroyed or lost
extent: the distance or area or volume over which something extends

corroborate: establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts
collaborate: work together on a common enterprise of project

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PraveenKumar Purushothaman

Member • Jun 16, 2011

endemic: a plant that is native to a certain limited area
epidemic: a widespread outbreak of an infectious disease; many people are infected at the same time

dissemble: make believe with the intent to deceive
disassemble: take apart into its constituent pieces

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PraveenKumar Purushothaman

Member • Jun 16, 2011

indigenous: originating where it is found
indigent: poor enough to need help from others
Something Sounding Similar: indecent: not in keeping with accepted standards of what is right or proper in polite society

ingenuous: characterized by an inability to mask your feelings; not devious
ingenious: showing inventiveness and skill

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PraveenKumar Purushothaman

Member • Jun 16, 2011

infer: believe to be the case
imply: express or state indirectly

insensible: incapable of physical sensation
insensitive: not responsive to physical stimuli

effect: an outward appearance
affect: the conscious subjective aspect of feeling or emotion

viscous: having the sticky properties of an adhesive
vicious: marked by deep ill will; deliberately harmful

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Ankita Katdare

Administrator • Jun 20, 2011

Confusing GRE Words - Enlist them here - 2

Viscous, Vicious

Restive, Restful

Indigenous, Indigent, Ingenious

Insensible, Insensitive

Elusive, Effusive

Corroborate, Collaborate

Endemic, Epidemic

Dissemble, Disassemble

Deprecate, Depreciate

Extant, Extent

Incredulous, Incredible

Descry, Decry

Flaunt, Flout

Write the difference in the meanings of above words in this thread.

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Whats In Name

Member • Jun 21, 2011

Re: Confusing GRE Words - Enlist them here - 2

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Viscous: Thick and sticky.
Eg:: Dark,Viscous blood.
Vicious: Violent and cruel.
Eg:: He suffered a vicious attack.
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Restive: Impatient,bored or dissatisfied.
Eg:: The audience grew restive.
Restful: Calm and Relaxed.
Eg:: Adjust the lighting so it is soft and restful.
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Elusive: Difficult to find,describe,remember or achieve.
Eg:: Elusiveness of her character.
Effusive: To express pleasure,gratitude,or approval in a very enthusiastic way.
Eg:: She greeted them effusively.
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Dissemble: To hide real emotions or intentions.
Eg:: Henry was not slow to dissemble when it served his purposes.
Disassemble: To take it to pieces.
Eg:: Disassemble the drill.
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Source::Collins Cobuild Advanced Dictionary of English
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Ankita Katdare

Administrator • Jun 28, 2011

Re: Confusing GRE Words - Enlist them here - 2

@WIN: That's nice. Why don't other CEans complete the full list? 😀

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PraveenKumar Purushothaman

Member • Jun 28, 2011

Re: Confusing GRE Words - Enlist them here - 2

We already had another 2-set words by AKD right??? Can we merge both these threads?

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Ankita Katdare

Administrator • Jun 28, 2011

@Praveen: Threads Merged. 👍

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