Essential Vocabulary for the GRE - Language & Literary Devices

the spoken form of a language specific to a certain region or people which is slightly different from the standard form in words and grammar

(linguistics) the way in which words and phrases are arranged to form grammatical sentences in a language

(in the grammar of some languages) a group of nouns, pronouns, or adjectives changing in the same way to indicate case, number, and gender

(grammar) a change in the structure of a word, usually adding a suffix, according to its grammatical function

(grammar) to show how a verb changes depending on number, person, tense, etc.

a change in normal word order, especially putting a verb before its subject

(grammar) a particular form of a pronoun, adjective, or noun that acts as the direct object of a verb or preposition, used in some languages such as Greek or Latin

(in the grammar of some languages) the form of a noun, pronoun, or adjective that is used when addressing a particular person or thing

relating to a grammatical case that is used to indicate possession, origin, or a close association

‌(of verbs) a form or mood that represents possibility, doubt, or wishes

(grammar) a specific form of a pronoun, adjective, or noun that is used to show by what means or by whom an action is done or to indicate the source of the action, found in some languages such as Latin or Sanskrit

(grammar) a specific form of a pronoun, adjective, or noun that shows the place of an action or where a person or thing is

(grammar) describing an adjective or noun following a linking verb and completing the meaning of the copula

a grammatical case used for the subject of a sentence or clause

(grammar)(of a noun or adjective) joined directly to a noun and modifying it, without a linking verb

(grammar) the mood of a verb that states a fact

(grammar) a function word that is used to form a question

(grammar) a gender of words that are neither masculine nor feminine

(grammar) a letter or group of letters added to the end or beginning of a word to change its meaning

the use of the same letter or sound at the beginning of the words in a verse or sentence, used as a literary device

a form of humor in which the words that someone says mean the opposite, producing an emphatic effect

a statement that implies or indirectly mentions something or someone else, especially as a literary device

humor, irony, ridicule, or sarcasm used to expose or criticize the faults and shortcomings of a person, government, etc.

a word or expression that is used instead of a harsh or insulting one in order to be more tactful and polite

(linguistics) a process by which a new word or inflection is formed according to existing rules and regulations

(of a person) able to express thoughts or ideas in a clear and consistent manner

the study of the origins and historical developments of words and their meanings

(of people) unable to express oneself clearly or easily

the redundant repetition of an idea using different words in a sentence or phrase

(linguistics) a branch of linguistics that deals with the sentences and the contexts in which they are used

the science and study of speech sounds and their production

the smallest unit of sound in a language that can distinguish meaning, often represented by a specific symbol in phonetic notation

(linguistics) the smallest meaningful unit of a language that does not necessarily stand alone and cannot be divided

(linguistics) a basic linguistic unit that is meaningful and underlies a set of words which are related through inflection

a variant pronunciation of a phoneme, which can occur due to phonetic differences in specific contexts or environments within a language

(grammar) the act of omitting a word or words from a sentence, when the meaning is complete and the omission is understood from the context

each of two or more words with the same spelling or pronunciation that vary in meaning and origin

(grammar) one of two or more words with the same pronunciation that differ in meaning, spelling or origin

(phonetics) a gliding speech sound formed by the combination of two vowels in a single syllable

a word that mimics the sound it represents