GRE Vocabulary Master Guide

The GRE Verbal Reasoning section tests sophisticated vocabulary that graduate students encounter in academic reading. This guide provides strategies and essential words to maximize your score.

Understanding GRE Vocabulary

What Makes GRE Vocabulary Unique

Unlike the SAT, the GRE emphasizes:

Graduate-level academic vocabulary
Precise shades of meaning between similar words
Words from formal writing (academic journals, literary criticism)
Abstract and technical terms
Etymology and word roots for inference

Score Impact: Vocabulary directly affects 3/6 question types:

Text Completion (1-3 blanks)
Sentence Equivalence (choose 2 synonyms)
Reading Comprehension (vocabulary in context)

Essential GRE Word Categories

1. Praise & Criticism

Praise (Positive):

Laudable - Deserving praise and commendation
Exemplary - Serving as a desirable model
Meritorious - Deserving reward or praise
Commendable - Deserving praise and approval
Venerable - Commanding respect due to age or character

Mild Criticism:

Pedantic - Overly concerned with academic learning
Dogmatic - Stubbornly insisting on opinions as fact
Derivative - Imitative and not original

Strong Criticism:

Reprehensible - Deserving condemnation
Deplorable - Shockingly bad
Egregious - Outstandingly bad; shocking
Abhorrent - Inspiring disgust and loathing
Pernicious - Having a harmful effect in a gradual way

2. Support & Opposition

Support:

Corroborate - Confirm or give support to evidence
Substantiate - Provide evidence to support or prove
Bolster - Support or strengthen
Advocate - Publicly recommend or support
Espouse - Adopt or support a cause or belief
Proponent - A person who advocates for something

Opposition:

Refute - Prove a statement wrong
Rebut - Claim or prove something is false
Undermine - Erode the base or foundation
Debunk - Expose the falseness of an idea
Gainsay - Deny or contradict
Antagonist - A person who actively opposes

3. Abundance & Scarcity

Abundance:

Copious - Abundant in supply or quantity
Plethora - A large or excessive amount
Profuse - Abundant; exuberant
Prolific - Producing much fruit or many offspring
Surfeit - An excessive amount of something
Replete - Filled or well-supplied with something

Scarcity:

Paucity - The presence of something in small quantities
Dearth - A scarcity or lack of something
Scant - Barely sufficient
Meager - Lacking in quantity or quality
Sparse - Thinly dispersed or scattered

4. Change & Stability

Change:

Mutable - Liable to change
Volatile - Liable to change rapidly and unpredictably
Fluctuate - Rise and fall irregularly
Mercurial - Subject to sudden changes of mood
Capricious - Given to sudden changes of mood or behavior
Vacillate - Waver between different opinions

Stability:

Immutable - Unchanging over time; unable to be changed
Steadfast - Resolutely firm and unwavering
Constant - Occurring continuously over time
Tenacious - Not readily letting go; persistent
Resolute - Admirably purposeful and determined

5. Truth & Deception

Truth:

Candid - Truthful and straightforward
Frank - Open, honest, and direct
Veracious - Speaking or representing truth
Forthright - Direct and outspoken
Guileless - Innocent and without deception

Deception:

Duplicity - Deceitfulness; double-dealing
Mendacious - Given to lying
Chicanery - Trickery to achieve a political or legal purpose
Obfuscate - Make unclear or obscure
Disingenuous - Not candid or sincere
Perfidious - Deceitful and untrustworthy

6. Pride & Humility

Pride (often negative):

Arrogant - Having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
Haughty - Disdainfully proud
Pompous - Affectedly grand or self-important
Hubris - Excessive pride or self-confidence
Vainglorious - Excessively proud of oneself

Humility:

Modest - Unassuming in estimation of one's abilities
Diffident - Modest or shy due to lack of self-confidence
Self-effacing - Not claiming attention for oneself
Unassuming - Not pretentious or arrogant

GRE Study Strategy

3-Month Study Plan

Month 1: Foundation (Weeks 1-4)

Daily: 30 minutes

Learn 10 new words/day from high-frequency lists
Study word roots, prefixes, suffixes
Create flashcards with:
- Definition
- Example sentence
- 2-3 synonyms
- Etymology (if helpful)

Weekly: 2 hours

Complete 20 practice Text Completion questions
Review all words from the week
Read one article from The Economist or Scientific American

Month 2: Deepening (Weeks 5-8)

Daily: 45 minutes

Learn 8 new words/day
Review 20 old words
Practice Sentence Equivalence questions

Weekly: 3 hours

Take one full Verbal section (20 questions)
Analyze every question you missed
Create a "trouble words" list
Read academic journal abstracts in your field

Month 3: Refinement (Weeks 9-12)

Daily: 1 hour

Learn 5 new words/day
Review 30-40 old words
Practice mixed question types

Weekly: 4 hours

Take two full Verbal sections
Review all vocabulary-related errors
Read GRE-level passages for comprehension
Final review of all learned words

Using Word Roots

Learn these high-yield roots:

BEN/BON (good):

Benevolent, Benefit, Benign, Bonus

MAL/MALE (bad):

Malevolent, Malicious, Malady, Malign

VER (truth):

Veracious, Verify, Veracity, Veritable

DIC/DICT (speak/say):

Predict, Contradict, Dictate, Edict

CRED (believe):

Credible, Incredible, Credentials, Credulity

EU (good):

Euphemism, Eulogy, Euphoria, Euthanasia

DYS (bad):

Dysfunctional, Dystopia, Dyslexia

GRE Question Strategies

Text Completion Strategy

For 1-blank questions:

Read the sentence carefully
Look for context clues (contrast, support, cause/effect)
Predict a word before looking at choices
Eliminate wrong answers
Test remaining choices by substituting them

Example:

The professor's explanation was so _____ that even students unfamiliar with the topic could understand the complex theory.

Prediction: Clear, simple, understandable
Answer: Lucid (easily understood; clear)

For 2-3 blank questions:

Start with the easiest blank (most context clues)
Fill in one blank at a time
Reread after each choice to ensure coherence
Eliminate answer combinations that don't work

Sentence Equivalence Strategy

Key insight: Both correct answers must create sentences with the same overall meaning, not just be synonyms.

Example:

The scientist's theory was _____, lacking empirical evidence.

A) Speculative
B) Conjectural
C) Innovative
D) Revolutionary
E) Theoretical
F) Groundbreaking

Correct: A & B
Why: Both mean "based on conjecture without firm evidence," creating equivalent meanings. C, D, E, F might describe theories but don't capture the "lacking evidence" aspect.

100 Highest-Yield GRE Words

Tier 1 (Must Know - Very High Frequency)

Group 1: Praise/Criticism Laudable, Exemplary, Commendable, Venerable, Reprehensible, Deplorable, Egregious, Pernicious

Group 2: Support/Opposition Corroborate, Substantiate, Bolster, Advocate, Refute, Undermine, Debunk, Gainsay

Group 3: Common/Rare Ubiquitous, Pervasive, Prevalent, Profuse, Scarce, Paucity, Dearth, Sparse

Group 4: Truth/Deception Candid, Forthright, Veracious, Guileless, Duplicity, Mendacious, Obfuscate, Disingenuous

Group 5: Simple/Complex Lucid, Perspicuous, Straightforward, Convoluted, Abstruse, Arcane, Esoteric, Opaque

Tier 2 (High Priority - Frequently Tested)

Abstract Concepts: Paradox, Anomaly, Dichotomy, Synthesis, Paradigm, Empirical, Anecdotal, Hypothesis

Behavior & Attitude: Pragmatic, Dogmatic, Zealous, Apathetic, Ambivalent, Indifferent, Fervent, Lukewarm

Communication: Articulate, Eloquent, Verbose, Taciturn, Loquacious, Reticent, Succinct, Prolix

Personality: Gregarious, Introverted, Affable, Aloof, Amiable, Churlish, Genial, Brusque

Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Sentence Equivalence

The politician's speech was _____, full of impressive words but lacking substance.

A) Eloquent
B) Bombastic
C) Grandiose
D) Articulate
E) Pompous
F) Cogent

Answer: B & E
Explanation: Both "bombastic" and "pompous" mean pretentiously inflated in speech, matching "impressive words but lacking substance."

Exercise 2: Text Completion (2-blank)

While the historian's research was (i), her writing style was surprisingly (ii), making the complex subject accessible to general readers.

Blank (i):
A) Superficial
B) Meticulous
C) Cursory

Blank (ii):
D) Abstruse
E) Lucid
F) Convoluted

Answer: B, E
Explanation: "While" signals contrast. If research was thorough (meticulous), writing style contrasts by being clear (lucid), making it "accessible."

Common GRE Traps

Trap 1: The "Almost Synonym"

Persistent vs. Stubborn:

Both mean "not giving up"
Persistent = positive (admirable determination)
Stubborn = negative (unreasonable refusal to change)

Context matters!

Trap 2: The Partial Fit

Example: "The evidence was _____; it provided some support but wasn't decisive."

❌ Trap: "Conclusive" (sounds academic)
✅ Correct: "Suggestive" (matches "some support but not decisive")

Trap 3: The Register Mismatch

Formal vs. Informal words:

"Purchase" vs. "Buy"
"Reside" vs. "Live"
"Inquire" vs. "Ask"

GRE uses formal academic register!

Final Study Tips

✅ Effective Strategies:

Use spaced repetition for flashcards
Learn words in semantic groups (synonyms/antonyms together)
Read GRE-level texts daily (The Economist, academic journals)
Practice with official ETS materials
Focus on words with multiple meanings

❌ Avoid These Mistakes:

Cramming 100 words the night before
Learning words without context
Ignoring word roots and etymology
Skipping practice questions
Studying only "exotic" words

Resources

Official ETS GRE Prep - Most accurate practice materials
Manhattan Prep GRE - Excellent word lists and strategies
Magoosh GRE Vocabulary - 1000-word flashcard app
WordWell Collections - Academic Vocabulary, Power Verbs
GRE subreddit - Community support and tips

Good luck with your GRE preparation! Remember: consistent, strategic study beats last-minute cramming every time.