What kind of vocabulary is tested on the GRE?

The GRE focuses on high-level, academic vocabulary. You won’t necessarily need to know obscure words, but you should be familiar with words commonly used in graduate school settings and academic writing.

How important is vocabulary for the GRE?

Vocabulary is extremely important for the GRE verbal reasoning section. The GRE tests your ability to understand and use words in context. A strong vocabulary will help you solve Sentence Equivalence, Text Completion, and Reading Comprehension questions with ease.

How many words should I learn for the GRE?

It’s not about memorising a specific number of words. Instead, focus on learning the most frequently tested GRE words and understanding their meanings and their use. Aim for 1000–3000 high-priority GRE words.

Which vocabulary list is best for GRE?

The best vocabulary list for the GRE is the Yocket GRE Essential List, which focuses on high-frequency words that are commonly tested and crucial for achieving a strong score.

Top 120 GRE Vocabulary Words [Spring 2025]

Imagine yourself confidently solving the Sentence Equivalence questions, Text Completion passages, and Reading Comprehension with a deep understanding of the text. That’s the power a strong GRE vocabulary puts in your hands.

But the GRE verbal reasoning section might seem like a vocabulary challenge you’re about to face alone. This blog is here to help, providing you with 120+ essential GRE vocabulary words to make your test prep journey a little easier.

This list isn’t just a collection of random words. We’ve curated these over 120 words specifically to target the high-frequency GRE vocabulary you’ll encounter on test day. By familiarising yourself with these words and their meanings, you’ll be well on your way to acing the verbal reasoning section and achieving your target GRE score.

How Does the GRE Test Vocabulary Work?

The GRE’s verbal reasoning section puts your vocabulary to the test. This two-part section holds a significant weight on your overall verbal score. Be prepared to answer 27 questions divided into two sections: the first with 12 questions and the second with 15. You’ll be given 18 minutes to complete the first section and 23 minutes for the second.

The GRE tests your vocabulary in three main question formats: Sentence Equivalence, Text Completion, and Reading Comprehension.

GRE Sentence Equivalence gives you two answer choices, and your task is to pick the two that create sentences with a meaning similar to the original one.
GRE Text Completion presents you with a passage containing one or two blanks. Your job is to choose the answer choices that fit best and complete the overall meaning of the passage.
GRE Reading Comprehension passages often contain GRE vocabulary words you’ll need to understand to answer the related questions correctly. These questions assess your grasp of the passage’s content.

120+ Essential GRE Vocabulary Words

Explore Top 120 GRE vocabulary list featuring essential GRE words to improve your score.

Word	Meaning	Example Sentence
Abate	To lessen in intensity or degree	The storm abated, and the sun came out.
Abjure	To formally renounce or reject something	The king abjured his claim to the throne.
Abridge	To shorten	The publisher had to abridge the novel for the children's edition.
Acumen	Sharply insightful; keen judgement	The detective’s sharp acumen helped crack the case.
Alleviate	To relieve	Taking aspirin can alleviate a headache.
Amalgamate	To merge or combine into one; unite	The company will amalgamate its two marketing departments for better efficiency.
Amicable	Friendly; peaceable	The neighbours reached an amicable agreement regarding the property line.
Apathy	Lack of interest or emotion	The student's apathy towards learning was evident in his grades.
Appal	Shock or horrify	The brutality of the war appalled the entire world.
Appease	To calm or pacify someone by giving them what they want	The king tried to appease the angry mob with promises of reform.
Apprehensive	Feeling anxious or fearful; worried	John was apprehensive about his upcoming presentation.
Belligerent	Hostile and aggressive	The belligerent customer argued with the store manager.
Benevolent	Kind-hearted	The benevolent woman spent her weekends volunteering at the shelter.
Bolster	To support or strengthen	The new evidence helped bolster their case in court.
Bombastic	Pompous; inflated language	The politician’s bombastic speeches failed to impress the voters.
Cacophony	Harsh, discordant mixture of sounds	The city streets were filled with the cacophony of traffic.
Cadence	The rhythm or flow of sound	The poet used cadence to create a musical effect in his verses.
Candour	Frankness; openness in speech	He appreciated her candour during their conversation.
Capitulate	To surrender	The army had no choice but to capitulate to the enemy forces.
Capricious	Unpredictable; impulsive	Her capricious nature made it difficult to anticipate her actions.
Caustic	Severely critical or sarcastic; harsh	The comedian’s caustic remarks left the audience squirming.
Cogent	Convincing; reasonable	She presented a cogent argument in favour of her proposal.
Conspicuous	Easy to see or notice; prominent	Her bright red dress made her conspicuous in the crowd.
Conundrum	A difficult problem or question	The conundrum of balancing work and family life is a common challenge.
Debilitate	To weaken	The illness debilitated him, and he was unable to work.
Deleterious	Harmful; damaging	Smoking has deleterious effects on one’s health.
Delineate	To describe or portray precisely	The artist delineated the features of the landscape.
Dilemma	A situation where a difficult choice must be made between two equally undesirable options	He faced a dilemma: accept the promotion and move away or stay in his current city and miss out on the opportunity.
Disdain	Contempt; scorn	She looked at him with disdain after his rude comment.
Disingenuous	Insincere or misleading; lacking in candour	Her disingenuous apology only made things worse.
Disparate	Fundamentally different; unrelated	The two sisters had disparate interests and hobbies.
Dogmatic	Asserting opinions as if they were facts	His dogmatic attitude made it difficult to have a constructive discussion.
Effusive	Warmly enthusiastic and expressive	She gave her best friend an effusive hug.
Egregious	Outstandingly bad; shocking	The team’s performance was egregious, resulting in a humiliating defeat.
Elicit	To draw out or evoke a response	The teacher used open-ended questions to elicit thoughtful answers from her students.
Eloquent	Fluent or persuasive in speaking or writing	The speaker delivered an eloquent speech that moved the audience to tears.
Enervate	To weaken or sap the energy of something; make powerless	The long commute enervated her, leaving her too tired to cook dinner.
Enigmatic	Mysterious; puzzling	The enigmatic smile on her face left everyone curious.
Ephemeral	Lasting for a very short time	The beauty of the cherry blossoms is ephemeral.
Exacerbate	To make something worse; intensify	The argument only exacerbated the already tense situation.
Facetious	Treating serious issues with inappropriate humour	His facetious remarks during the meeting were not appreciated.
Fastidious	Very attentive to detail; meticulous	She was fastidious about keeping her house clean.
Fervent	Intensely passionate or earnest	He was a fervent supporter of human rights.
Fortuitous	Happening by chance or luck	It was fortuitous that she found the lost keys.
Furtive	Secretive; sly	The thief cast a furtive glance around before stealing the jewels.
Garrulous	Excessively talkative	The garrulous old man told stories for hours.
Gregarious	Sociable	Mark was gregarious and made friends easily at the party.
Hapless	Unfortunate; unlucky	The hapless traveller lost his wallet on the trip.
Haughty	Arrogant	The haughty aristocrat looked down on those she considered beneath her.
Histrionic	Overly dramatic; theatrical	Her histrionic reaction to the news startled everyone.
Hubris	Excessive pride or self-confidence	His hubris led to his downfall in the end.
Imbibe	To drink or absorb	He imbibed too much wine at the party and ended up having a headache the next day.
Impasse	A situation in which progress is impossible; a deadlock	The negotiations reached an impasse.
Impassive	Showing no emotion or feeling; indifferent	The actor remained impassive despite the chaos unfolding around him.
Impetuous	Acting without thinking	His impetuous decision led to regret later on.
Imprudent	Lacking good judgement; unwise	It was imprudent of her to go swimming alone in the dark.
Incandescent	Emitting light as a result of being heated	The incandescent bulb illuminated the room.
Incessant	Continuing without interruption	The incessant noise from the construction site was annoying.
Ineffable	Too great or extreme to be expressed in words	The beauty of the sunset was ineffable.
Ingenious	Clever, original, and inventive	The engineer’s design for the bridge was ingenious and solved a major obstacle.
Innuendo	An indirect or suggestive remark	His innuendo implied that she was responsible for the mistake.
Insidious	Proceeding in a gradual, subtle way	The insidious disease went undetected until it was too late.
Interminable	Seemingly endless; very long and tiring	The meeting seemed interminable, dragging on for hours.
Intransigent	Unwilling to compromise or change one’s mind; stubborn	The intransigent leader refused to listen to any alternative solutions.
Jubilant	Extremely joyful	The team was jubilant after winning the championship.
Juxtapose	To place side by side for comparison	The artist juxtaposed light and dark in her paintings.
Kindle	To ignite	The teacher hoped to kindle an interest in science among her students.
Knell	The sound of a bell, especially when rung solemnly for a death or funeral	The knell of the church bell signalled the end of the service.
Laconic	Using few words; concise	The detective gave a laconic response to the question.
Lament	To mourn; express sorrow or regret	The villagers lamented the loss of their crops to the drought.
Languid	Lacking energy; slow and relaxed	The hot weather made him feel languid and sleepy.
Languish	To become weak or feeble	The plants began to languish during the drought.
Lethargic	Sluggish	After a heavy meal, he felt lethargic and sleepy.
Malaise	A general feeling of discomfort, illness, or uneasiness	A sense of malaise hung over the city after the natural disaster.
Meticulous	Paying great attention to detail; careful and precise	The scientist was meticulous in her lab work, ensuring accurate results.
Nebulous	Unclear; vague	The instructions were nebulous, leaving us confused.
Nonchalant	Appearing casually unconcerned or indifferent	He acted nonchalant about the news, but deep down, he was worried.
Oblivious	Unaware	She was so deep in thought that she was oblivious to her surroundings.
Obfuscate	To make something unclear or difficult to understand	The politician’s answer obfuscated the real issue rather than addressing it directly.
Obsequious	Obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree	The obsequious assistant always agreed with his boss.
Opaque	Not transparent; not allowing light to pass through	The windows were opaque, preventing anyone from seeing inside.
Ostensible	Apparent or seeming, but not necessarily true	His ostensible reason for being late was car trouble, but it was probably something else.
Ostentatious	Showy; intended to impress others	Her ostentatious display of wealth made others uncomfortable.
Paradigm	A typical example or pattern	The discovery was a paradigm shift in the field of medicine.
Pedantic	Overly concerned with minor details and rules; fussy	The professor’s pedantic lectures often bored his students.
Pernicious	Harmful	The pernicious effects of smoking are well-documented.
Plausible	Believable; credible	His explanation seemed plausible, given the circumstances.
Portentous	Suggesting the occurrence of something important or ominous	The dark clouds were a portentous sign of an approaching storm.
Precipitous	Sudden and steep; abrupt	The stock market took a precipitous drop after the bad news.
Precipitate	Sudden and steep; abrupt	The stock market took a precipitous drop after the bad news.
Quell	To suppress; put an end to	The police were called to quell the riot.
Querulous	Complaining	His querulous nature made him difficult to work with.
Rebuke	To criticise or express disapproval of someone or something	The teacher gently rebuked the student for talking in class.
Recondite	Difficult to understand; obscure	The book was filled with recondite philosophical concepts.
Reprehensible	Deserving criticism or condemnation	His actions were deemed reprehensible by society.
Resilient	Able to recover quickly from difficulties	Despite facing many setbacks, she remained resilient and optimistic.
Reticent	Reserved; reluctant to speak	She was reticent about discussing her personal life.
Sagacious	Wise	The sagacious old man gave valuable advice to the young prince.
Salient	Most noticeable or important	The salient features of the proposal were highlighted.
Sedulous	Showing great care and persistent effort	He was a sedulous student who always went above and beyond.
Solicitous	Showing care and concern for the welfare of others; attentive	The nurse was solicitous of the patient’s needs.
Soliloquy	A speech delivered by a character alone on stage	The actor delivered a powerful soliloquy that revealed his character's inner turmoil.
Stoic	Not showing feeling or emotion; unemotional	He remained stoic even when faced with great adversity.
Sumptuous	Rich, splendid, and luxurious	The king lived a sumptuous life in his palace.
Supercilious	Behaving as if one thinks one is superior to others; arrogant	The professor’s supercilious attitude alienated his students.
Superfluous	Unnecessary; more than enough	The extra decorations were superfluous and cluttered the room.
Surreptitious	Secretive; stealthy	She made a surreptitious exit from the party.
Taciturn	Reserved; uncommunicative	The taciturn man preferred listening to speaking.
Tenacious	Persistent	She was tenacious in her pursuit of a career in medicine.
Tenuous	Weak or unreliable; flimsy	The evidence supporting their claim was very tenuous.
Transient	Lasting for only a short time	The transient feeling of happiness soon faded away.
Ubiquitous	Being everywhere at the same time	In today’s world, smartphones are ubiquitous.
Unanimous	In complete agreement	The committee reached a unanimous decision.
Vacillate	To waver between different opinions or actions	He vacillated between accepting the job offer and staying in his current position.
Vehement	Showing strong feeling; passionate	He was vehement in his opposition to the proposal.
Venerable	Worthy of respect due to age, wisdom, or character	The venerable professor had taught at the university for over 50 years.
Wane	To decrease gradually in size or intensity	The moon’s brightness began to wane as it entered its last phase.
Wary	Cautious	She was wary of strangers offering her help.
Wistful	Yearning; longing with sadness	As she looked at the old photographs, she felt wistful.
Xenophile	A person who is attracted to foreign cultures or people	As a xenophile, she loved travelling and experiencing new cultures.
Xenophobia	Fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers	The rise of xenophobia in the country was concerning.
Yearn	To have a strong desire or longing	He yearned for adventure and travel.
Zeal	Enthusiasm	She tackled her new project with great zeal.
Zealous	Filled with zeal; fervent	The volunteers were zealous in their efforts to help.

Note: This list is a valuable tool to help you learn new vocabulary, but it’s not a mandatory checklist. Focus on the words that you find interesting, and gradually build your vocabulary at your own pace.

6 Tips to Improve Your GRE Vocabulary

The verbal section of the GRE assesses a wide range of vocabulary words on test day. To ace it, building a strong foundation in GRE-level vocabulary is essential. Here are some proven strategies to improve your GRE vocabulary:

1. Read daily

Make reading a daily habit. Target sources that are known for using a rich vocabulary, such as reputable newspapers, academic journals, or classic literature. As you come across unfamiliar words, don’t just skip over them. Pause, jot them down, and look them up in a dictionary. Pay attention not just to the definition but also to the word’s part of speech and the different meanings it might have.

2. Befriend the dictionary

Don’t shy away from consulting a dictionary. Look up words you encounter in your reading or daily life. But go beyond just the basic definition. Explore synonyms, antonyms, and different contexts in which the word can be used. This will deepen your understanding and retention.

3. Leverage mnemonics

Mnemonics are memory aids that associate a new word with something familiar. Create silly sentences, rhymes, or visual imagery to connect the new word to something you already know. The wackier the connection, the easier it is to remember!

4. Utilise flashcards

Flashcards are a classic and effective tool for vocabulary building. Create your own flashcards with the GRE word on one side and its definition, part of speech, and a sample sentence on the other. Use spaced repetition techniques to review your flashcards regularly, focusing on words you tend to forget. Actively test yourself by covering the definition and trying to recall the word. This retrieval practice strengthens the memory pathways and improves your long-term retention.

5. Explore online resources

There are many online resources available to help you build your GRE vocabulary. Look for websites or apps that offer vocabulary lists, quizzes, and practice tests specifically designed for the GRE exam.

6. Practice makes perfect

Take practice tests under timed conditions to simulate the actual GRE experience. This will help you identify your vocabulary strengths and weaknesses. It will further allow you to focus your studies on areas that need improvement.

Suggested: GRE Vocabulary Flashcards

From the Desk of Yocket

The GRE vocabulary section demands a significant investment of time and memorization. Though it doesn’t require an encyclopaedic knowledge of obscure words, you might come across words that seem irrelevant to everyday conversation. However, there’s value in this challenge. The GRE isn’t just testing your vocabulary recall; it’s assessing your ability to grasp dense academic writing. A strong vocabulary reflects clear and precise communication. It’s a quality that’s appreciated in academic settings and beyond.

While memorization plays a role, a more effective approach involves actively engaging with the words. This could involve using them in practice writing, discussing them with fellow test-takers, understanding the root words and how they combine to form meaning, or even creating mind maps to connect them to related concepts. The focus is on understanding words in academic contexts, particularly those that can distinguish subtle shades of meaning. Additionally, Yocket GRE prep can significantly aid in your preparation by providing comprehensive study materials and GRE practice resources tailored to the GRE exam.