people sitting in a library

GRE Vocabulary Words

English Vocabulary · GRE Live Review Preview

GRE Vocabulary Words

The GRE Verbal Reasoning measure asks test takers to understand and evaluate written material, analyze relationships among ideas, and use evidence within a sentence or passage. Reading Comprehension, Text Completion, and Sentence Equivalence all reward careful attention to connotation, contrast, logic, and precise word choice—not isolated memorization alone.

This independently authored 800-word beta curriculum prioritizes vocabulary identified in Magoosh’s official public GRE vocabulary ebook, then draws on advanced KSSR entries that have already passed English safety and structure audits. Additional official and public GRE references guide test alignment and editorial review. Overlap with SAT and advanced school-level vocabulary is intentional because the tests share academic language. Pages containing words 1–500 include five cloze questions; every word remains visible, editable in Vocabulary Studio, and available for private difficult/learned tracking. This unofficial resource is not endorsed by or affiliated with ETS.

Open the basic text version — works without JavaScript and is suitable for printing.

Your private study tools

Track your learning with My Vocabulary

Use the three small controls beside any word. Your choices stay attached to your account and appear in your My Vocabulary record.

  • Star a difficult word to practise it again.
  • Check a word when you have learned it.
  • Add a note with a memory clue, synonym, or reminder.

These controls work during your free visits and save privately on this browser. Sign in to move them into your account’s My Vocabulary record.

Printable study sheet

Create a PDF worksheet

Choose any start-to-end page range and meaning language, then include or omit each practice section.

Include practice sections
800 words
Words 106–140 of 800
#WordDetailsMeaningSample sentence
106corroborateverb
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: corroborate is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

1. bekräfta 2. bestyrka 3. styrkaPhone records corroborate the witness's timeline.
107counterintuitiveadjective
Study

Field: GRE science and social-science vocabulary

Word study: Suffix focus: -ive commonly forms an adjective meaning having a quality or tendency.

kontraintuitivThe counterintuitive result improved efficiency by slowing the process.
108adulationnoun
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Suffix focus: -ation commonly forms a noun naming an action, process, or result.

1. kryperi 2. rövslickeriThe actor distrusted the sudden adulation that followed one successful film.
109alacritynoun
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Suffix focus: -ity commonly forms a noun naming a quality, state, or condition.

fartThe volunteers responded with alacrity when extra help was requested.
110prosaicadjective
Study

Field: GRE literature, history, and humanities

Word study: Base-form focus: prosaic is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

prosaiskThe mystery ends with a prosaic explanation.
111affinitynoun
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Suffix focus: -ity commonly forms a noun naming a quality, state, or condition.

1. affinitet 2. samhörighetMina felt an affinity for stories about determined explorers.
112affirmverb
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: affirm is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

bekräftaThe ruling will affirm every citizen's right to peaceful assembly.
113agnosticadjective
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: agnostic is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

agnostiskThe software is platform agnostic and works on several operating systems.
114allegeverb
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: allege is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

påståInvestigators allege that the contractor concealed safety defects.
115veracitynoun
Study

Field: GRE literature, history, and humanities

Word study: Suffix focus: -ity commonly forms a noun naming a quality, state, or condition.

1. sanningsenlighet 2. sanning 3. uppriktighetDocuments from several sources support the account's veracity.
116alludeverb
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: allude is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

1. anspela 2. alluderaThe poem may allude to an ancient myth without naming it.
117allusionnoun
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Suffix focus: -sion commonly forms a noun naming an action, process, or result.

1. allusion 2. anspelningThe title contains an allusion to a well-known folktale.
118aloofadjective
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: aloof is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

reserveradHis aloof manner made cooperation seem unlikely.
119altruismnoun
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Suffix focus: -ism often names a belief, system, movement, or practice.

altruismThe anonymous donation was an act of genuine altruism.
120ameliorateverb
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: ameliorate is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

förbättraThe new drainage system should ameliorate flooding in the valley.
121amnestynoun
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: amnesty is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

amnestiThe government offered amnesty to people who surrendered banned equipment.
122anachronismnoun
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Suffix focus: -ism often names a belief, system, movement, or practice.

anakronismA digital wristwatch would be an anachronism in a film set in 1800.
123anarchynoun
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: anarchy is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

anarkiThe collapse of local authority briefly led to anarchy.
124anecdotaladjective
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: anecdotal is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

anekdotiskThe claim rests on anecdotal reports, not a controlled study.
125anomalynoun
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: anomaly is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

1. anomali 2. avvikelseScientists rechecked the instrument after detecting an anomaly in the data.
126antecedentnoun
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: antecedent is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

föregångareThe historian traced the law's antecedent to a colonial ordinance.
127nefariousadjective
Study

Field: GRE transitions and expression of ideas

Word study: Suffix focus: -ous commonly forms an adjective meaning full of or characterized by.

1. skändlig 2. gudlösInvestigators uncovered a nefarious scheme to sell forged medicine.
128apathynoun
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: apathy is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

apatiVoter apathy can weaken public accountability.
129aphorismnoun
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Suffix focus: -ism often names a belief, system, movement, or practice.

aforismThe essay opens with an aphorism about patience and power.
130appeaseverb
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: appease is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

1. blidka 2. stilla 3. lugnaA minor concession did little to appease the angry residents.
131approbationnoun
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Suffix focus: -ation commonly forms a noun naming an action, process, or result.

godkännandeThe proposal won the approbation of several respected researchers.
132arbitraryadjective
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: arbitrary is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

1. godtycklig 2. arbiträrThe deadline seemed arbitrary because no schedule depended on it.
133arcaneadjective
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: arcane is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

1. esoterisk 2. mystisk 3. hemligThe manual explains arcane legal terms in plain language.
134archaicadjective
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: archaic is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

1. arkaisk 2. ålderdomligThe translator replaced each archaic expression with a modern equivalent.
135ardentadjective
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: ardent is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

ivrigAn ardent conservationist, Lee spent weekends restoring wetlands.
136arduousadjective
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Suffix focus: -ous commonly forms an adjective meaning full of or characterized by.

1. jobbig 2. besvärlig 3. ansträngandeRestoring the storm-damaged archive was an arduous task.
137articulateverb
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: articulate is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

artikuleraThe witness struggled to articulate exactly what she had observed.
138asceticadjective
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: ascetic is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

asketThe monk followed an ascetic routine of simple meals and few possessions.
139assiduousadjective
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Suffix focus: -ous commonly forms an adjective meaning full of or characterized by.

flitigThrough assiduous research, the biographer verified every quotation.
140assimilateverb
Study

Field: GRE words in context and precision

Word study: Base-form focus: assimilate is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context.

assimileraReaders need time to assimilate several competing explanations.

Vocabulary reading and practice

Evidence Against Intuition

Reading practice for pages 4–6. Five relevant words are highlighted.

English reading

During a research briefing, Dr. Malik carefully delineated the difference between correlation and cause. Her result seemed counterintuitive, so the committee asked for an independent analysis. A second laboratory was able to corroborate the central finding. With appropriate deference to the new evidence, the project’s strongest critic had to construe the result differently because his earlier explanation no longer fit the data. The discussion changed because the participants treated revision as a strength rather than a defeat.

Swedish translation

Under en forskningsgenomgång beskrev dr Malik noggrant skillnaden mellan korrelation och orsak. Hennes resultat verkade strida mot intuitionen, så kommittén bad om en oberoende analys. Ett andra laboratorium kunde bekräfta det centrala fyndet. Med vederbörlig hänsyn till de nya bevisen var projektets starkaste kritiker tvungen att tolka resultatet på ett annat sätt, eftersom hans tidigare förklaring inte längre stämde överens med uppgifterna. Diskussionen förändrades eftersom deltagarna såg revidering som en styrka snarare än ett nederlag.

Reading comprehension

1. Why does the committee request another analysis?

The result seems counterintuitive, so the committee wants independent evidence.

2. What does the second laboratory do?

It corroborates the central finding.

3. Why must the critic construe the result differently?

His earlier explanation no longer fits the data.

Vocabulary quiz

Choose the dictionary equivalent for each of 5 selected words.

About GRE Verbal Reasoning

The GRE Verbal Reasoning measure examines how well test takers understand and evaluate written material, recognize relationships among words and concepts, and analyze how parts of a sentence work together. Its three principal verbal question types are Reading Comprehension, Text Completion, and Sentence Equivalence.

Vocabulary matters on the GRE, but memorizing a definition is only the beginning. Strong preparation also connects each word to its connotation, common contrasts, near-synonyms, and role in an argument. Use the examples, readings, and quizzes here to practise choosing words from evidence in the sentence, then use official ETS material to learn the precise test format.

ETS test overview

Sources and curriculum references

These references guide selection and calibration. Definitions, sample sentences, readings, questions, and teaching notes are independently written and reviewed.