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Coalesce

hardNeutral tone

koh-uh-LES

verb

Definition

to come together to form one unified whole

Memory hook

COALESCE sounds like 'coal + ess'β€”imagine separate lumps of COAL melting and growing together into one solid mass.

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Word roots

coalescereβ€” to grow together(Latin (co- 'together' + alescere 'to grow'))

Learning roots unlocks whole word families. Study common GRE root words.

Examples

β€œThe scattered protest groups gradually coalesced into a single political movement.”
β€œOver millions of years, dust and gas coalesced into the planets we see today.”

Test yourself

Fill in the blank with the right word:

β€œThe scattered protest groups gradually ______ into a single political movement.”
Show answer

coalesced

Synonyms

mergeunitefuseconsolidate

Antonyms

disperseseparatefragmentscatter

Categories

View all Unity words

GRE Tip

Coalesce is a hard-difficulty GRE word. On the GRE, you might see it paired with synonyms like "merge" or "unite" in Sentence Equivalence questions. Look for contrast clues (however, despite, although) that signal the opposite meaning. Words like "disperse".

Read: How to Memorize GRE Words That Actually Stick

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