![\"Manhattan](\"http:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2017\/02\/2-22-17-blog-1.png\")
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Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free? We\u2019re not kidding! <\/i><\/b>Check out our upcoming courses here<\/i><\/b><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Some researchers estimate that there are as many as a million words in the English language. However, you won\u2019t see words like <\/span>mylohyoid<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>ekphrasis<\/span><\/i>, or <\/span>cotyledon <\/span><\/i>on the GRE. In fact, even though English has a huge number of extremely rare words, the GRE almost never tests them. Instead, it focuses on a set of words we\u2019ll call <\/span>rare but reasonable.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Rare but reasonable<\/span><\/i> words are words like <\/span>impenetrable<\/span><\/i> or <\/span>harmonious<\/span><\/i>. They aren\u2019t as common as <\/span>cat<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>dog<\/span><\/i>, but you\u2019re reasonably likely to see them in an academic journal or an erudite news article. These words are much more likely to appear on your GRE than the extremely rare words. In fact, within the set of academic vocabulary, the GRE tests the <\/span>more<\/span><\/i> common words much more often than the rarer ones. It\u2019s hard to give exact statistics, but our research suggests that you\u2019re more likely to see <\/span>ubiquitous<\/span><\/i> (which is fairly common) on the GRE than <\/span>tendentiousness<\/span><\/i> (which is quite rare), for example. <\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s good news, if you already know the more common academic vocabulary words. These words are high-value, and knowing them is very likely to help you out. However, there\u2019s a flip side: it\u2019s no big deal if you can\u2019t define <\/span>hymnody<\/span><\/i>, but if you\u2019re missing some of the heavy-hitting words, that could hurt you on test day. On top of that, some of the GRE\u2019s favorite words to test are the fairly common ones that we like to think we know, but actually don\u2019t. Here are a few of the best.<\/span><\/p>\n Qualified: <\/b>This word, like most of the words on this list, has two meanings. Somebody who\u2019s <\/span>qualified<\/span><\/i>, well, they have qualifications! You might describe someone as a <\/span>qualified doctor<\/span><\/i> or a <\/span>qualified pilot<\/span><\/i>. However, what\u2019s a <\/span>qualified success<\/span><\/i>? It\u2019s <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> a particularly good success. In fact, a <\/span>qualified<\/span><\/i> success is one that\u2019s only partially successful. Likewise, <\/span>qualified praise<\/span><\/i> is praise that isn\u2019t completely enthusiastic. And to <\/span>qualify a claim <\/span><\/i>or a <\/span>statement<\/span><\/i> means adding caveats or exceptions to it, or not standing behind it 100%. <\/span><\/p>\n Apparent: <\/b>If your intelligence is <\/span>apparent<\/span><\/i>, that means it\u2019s obvious for anyone to see. On the other hand, if a GRE vocabulary question starts off like this:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe governor was apparently intelligent, but\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n then, in the second half of the sentence, we\u2019re going to hear about the governor doing something totally boneheaded. Depending on context, <\/span>apparent<\/span><\/i> can refer to something that\u2019s clear and obvious, or to something that only <\/span>seems<\/span><\/i> to be true. Here\u2019s an example from the 5lb. Book of GRE Practice Problems<\/a> that uses this trick:<\/span><\/p>\n The apparent simplicity of a cup of coffee __________ the dizzying number of hours of toil required to produce it, from months of cultivation of the bean tree to painstaking refinement in highly sophisticated machinery.<\/span><\/p>\n Measured<\/b>: This word is so common that many of us wouldn\u2019t think to put it on a flashcard. However, it has a clever second meaning that the GRE loves to use. If your tone of voice is <\/span>measured<\/span><\/i>, that doesn\u2019t mean that someone\u2019s taken measurements of it. A <\/span>measured attitude<\/span><\/i> or a <\/span>measured voice<\/span><\/i> is one that\u2019s calm, thoughtful, and steady. It\u2019s a near-synonym with the adjective <\/span>restrained<\/span><\/i> \u2013 which also has two meanings!<\/span><\/p>\n Arrest<\/b>: Speaking of <\/span>restrained<\/span><\/i>, the verb <\/span>arrest<\/span><\/i> is also likely to be used non-literally on the GRE. If you <\/span>arrest<\/span><\/i> a runaway train, you aren\u2019t taking it to jail \u2013 you\u2019re just bringing it to a halt. Excessive heat might <\/span>arrest <\/span><\/i>(stop) the growth of crops. The most common place to see this meaning is in the phrase <\/span>arrest someone\u2019s progress<\/span><\/i>, which just means stopping it. This is also where we get the phrase <\/span>cardiac arrest<\/span><\/i>, which is what happens when someone\u2019s heart stops beating. <\/span><\/p>\n Appropriate<\/b>: On the two GRE vocabulary problem types, Sentence Equivalence and Text Completion, <\/span>the answer choices are always all the same part of speech<\/span><\/i>. They might all be nouns, or all adjectives, but the test won\u2019t mix the two together. If you don\u2019t know this, and you see the word <\/span>appropriate<\/span><\/i> in the answer choices, you might assume that it\u2019s an adjective (meaning \u2018correct\u2019 or \u2018proper\u2019). However, if the other answer choices are all verbs, look twice. Appropriate must be being used as a verb, as well. When used as a verb, it has a totally different meaning: to <\/span>appropriate property<\/span><\/i> is to seize it from the owner, often by force, and to <\/span>appropriate a trademark<\/span><\/i> means taking it for your own without permission. Other words that have different meanings when used as different parts of speech: <\/span>flag <\/span><\/i>(noun or verb), <\/span>facility<\/span><\/i> (noun or adjective), and <\/span>intimate<\/span><\/i> (adjective or verb). If you spot these, make sure the meaning you\u2019re using matches the part of speech of the other answer choices. <\/span><\/p>\n The weirdest, toughest words aren\u2019t the most important ones on the GRE. Instead, the most important words are the ones you\u2019re most likely to see, and the ones that you don\u2019t know yet. These words, which are fairly common but quite tricky, fall into the overlap of those two sets for many students. Make flashcards for them now, and if you spot others that are similar, don\u2019t pass them by just because they seem easy! ?<\/span><\/p>\n Want more guidance from our GRE gurus? You can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free! We\u2019re not kidding. <\/i><\/b>Check out our upcoming courses here<\/i><\/b><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Chelsey Cooley<\/a> Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free? We\u2019re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here. Some researchers estimate that there are as many as a million words in the English language. However, you won\u2019t see words like mylohyoid, ekphrasis, or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,474284,921840,6,7,733445,12,13],"tags":[1362362],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-10024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-challenge-problems","category-current-studiers","category-gre-prep-2","category-gre-strategies","category-how-to-study","category-study-tips-2","category-verbal","category-vocabulary","tag-gre-vocab-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10024"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10078,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10024\/revisions\/10078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10024"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=10024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![\"Manhattan](\"\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2017\/02\/capture.png\")
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\nThe coffee is <\/span>apparently<\/span><\/i> simple, but this only seems to be the case. In fact, it\u2019s quite complex. (The correct answer here is <\/span>belies<\/span><\/i>, which fits the contrast between simplicity and complexity.)<\/span><\/p>\n
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\n![\"Chelsey](\"\/\/cdn2.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2015\/11\/chelsey-cooley-150x150.jpg\" "\\"Chelsey")
<\/a> is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Seattle, Washington.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/i><\/b>Chelsey always followed her heart when it came to her education. Luckily, her heart led her straight to the perfect background for GMAT and GRE teaching: she has undergraduate degrees in mathematics and history, a master\u2019s degree in linguistics, a 790 on the GMAT, and a perfect 170\/170 on the GRE.\u00a0<\/em><\/i>Check out Chelsey\u2019s upcoming GRE prep offerings here<\/a>.<\/em><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"