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The most common GRE vocabulary words are <\/span>rare but reasonable<\/span><\/i>. The vocab questions don\u2019t test the simplest GRE Vocabulary words, like <\/span>cat<\/span><\/i> or <\/span>go<\/span><\/i>. They also don\u2019t test the hardest GRE Vocabulary words, like <\/span>conodont<\/span><\/i><\/a> or <\/span>acnestis<\/span><\/i><\/a>. The words tested on the GRE fall between these two extremes. They aren\u2019t words that you see every day, but you\u2019ll eventually run into them if you read plenty of high-quality writing\u2014which is one thing the GRE is testing for! <\/span><\/p>\n The most common GRE vocabulary words are \u201cacademic\u201d words, of which English has many, and pretty much any academic word is fair game on the GRE. Odds are, you won\u2019t see any of the same vocabulary words as someone who takes the GRE a month later. That makes it futile to try to list the \u201cmost common GRE vocabulary words\u201d: since there are so many different possibilities, and since everyone sees different problems on the GRE, there\u2019s no way to predict which words you might see! However, you\u2019re not out of luck. If you choose your study resources wisely, you can maximize the odds that you\u2019ll know the words you need. <\/span><\/p>\n A good starting place for GRE vocabulary is the 500 Essential GRE Words. <\/span>You can get this set of words as a stack of paper flashcards here<\/span><\/a>, and that\u2019s a good choice if you\u2019re planning to <\/span>add your own imagery and examples to your flashcards<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n To develop this list of words, we started with the words that had appeared in published official GRE problems. Then, we analyzed those words and found that they had a number of common characteristics. Based on this, we were able to add additional words that might not appear in the <\/span>Official Guide to the GRE<\/span><\/a>, but that were very likely to appear on the GRE in general. To boost your GRE vocabulary, start with this set of words, then move to the <\/span>500 Advanced GRE words<\/span><\/a>, which are rarer but still useful. You can also use the Manhattan Prep GRE app, which contains both!<\/span><\/p>\n What follows is a sample of common GRE vocabulary words that have appeared in published problems in the past. That doesn\u2019t mean that they\u2019ll appear on <\/span>your<\/span><\/i> GRE. However, this list will give you a sense of what you might see on your GRE\u2014and how much vocabulary you need to learn! Look at these words as a sampling of GRE vocabulary\u2014enough to get a taste of what to expect. We\u2019ve divided them up based on the difficulty of the problems in which they initially appeared. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Imminent: <\/span><\/i>Something that\u2019s <\/span>imminent<\/span><\/i> is about to happen in the near future. You might have heard the phrase \u201cimminent danger\u201d: it refers to danger that\u2019s immediately present, as opposed to danger that might cause problems in the future. An approaching tidal wave is an <\/span>imminent<\/span><\/i> danger, while rising sea levels are less imminent.<\/span><\/p>\n Extraneous: <\/span><\/i>A long, dull textbook might contain a lot of <\/span>extraneous<\/span><\/i> information: information that\u2019s not really relevant to the topic. Extraneous means irrelevant or unrelated.<\/span><\/p>\n Erroneous:<\/span><\/i> This word is related to the word <\/span>error<\/span><\/i>. In fact, it means \u201cwrong.\u201d One common phrase is \u201cerroneous judgment\u201d: an erroneous judgment is an incorrect one. For instance, you might make an erroneous judgment of someone\u2019s character based on their appearance.<\/span><\/p>\n Insular<\/span><\/i>: This GRE vocabulary word generally refers to a group of people, such as a community or a family. An <\/span>insular<\/span><\/i> group is one that doesn\u2019t welcome people or ideas from the outside. The word comes from the same root as <\/span>island<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>peninsula<\/span><\/i>: think of an insular group as being similar to an island, where it\u2019s difficult for new people and ideas to come in and out.<\/span><\/p>\n Prosaic: <\/span><\/i>Something that\u2019s <\/span>prosaic<\/span><\/i> is ordinary and everyday. This word is the opposite of <\/span>glamorous <\/span><\/i>or <\/span>exciting<\/span><\/i>, and it could be a synonym of <\/span>quotidian<\/span><\/i> or <\/span>humdrum<\/span><\/i>. It comes from the same root as the word <\/span>prose<\/span><\/i>: prose is ordinary, everyday writing, as opposed to poetry.<\/span><\/p>\n Partial<\/span><\/i>: This looks like a straightforward word, but it\u2019s on this list because of its second definition. Partial can refer to a part of a whole, but it can also serve as the opposite of the word <\/span>impartial<\/span><\/i>. In that sense, <\/span>partial<\/span><\/i> means \u2018biased\u2019 or \u2018favoring one side over the other.\u2019 Judges are supposed to be <\/span>impartial<\/span><\/i>; a <\/span>partial<\/span><\/i> judge would probably do a poor job. You can associate this word with the words <\/span>partisan<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>prejudiced<\/span><\/i>, which are near-synonyms.<\/span><\/p>\n Ubiquitous: <\/span><\/i>A <\/span>ubiquitous <\/span><\/i>thing is something that shows up frequently and is all over the place. For instance, coffee shops and rain are both <\/span>ubiquitous<\/span><\/i> in Seattle. Smartphones and the internet are <\/span>ubiquitous<\/span><\/i>. An experience or a phenomenon can also be described as ubiquitous: a <\/span>ubiquitous<\/span><\/i> danger is one that\u2019s always lurking around the corner no matter what you\u2019re doing.<\/span><\/p>\n Propagate<\/span><\/i>: This word literally refers to breeding something, such as an animal or plant. However, the GRE often uses it in a more metaphorical sense. To propagate an idea or a belief is to spread it widely around to other people. In this sense, <\/span>propagate<\/span><\/i> is a synonym of <\/span>disseminate<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>promulgate<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n Quotidian: <\/span><\/i>This word is the big brother of <\/span>prosaic<\/span><\/i>, which we saw earlier in the list. Literally, it refers to something that happens every day. However, it is typically used to describe something as mundane, ordinary, or unglamorous.<\/span><\/p>\n Restive<\/span><\/i>: <\/span>Restive<\/span><\/i> tricks a lot of GRE test-takers because of its resemblance to words like <\/span>rest<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>restful<\/span><\/i>. However, <\/span>restive<\/span><\/i> is actually related to <\/span>restless<\/span><\/i>! It refers to something or someone that\u2019s fidgety, on edge, tense, or unable to keep still. You may see this word used to refer to a <\/span>restive crowd<\/span><\/i>, which is a crowd that\u2019s starting to lose its cool and become confrontational.<\/span><\/p>\n Pernicious<\/span><\/i>: This word means <\/span>harmful<\/span><\/i>. However, it\u2019s worth your while to learn exactly how it\u2019s used. Something that\u2019s pernicious isn\u2019t just harmful; it\u2019s typically harmful in a particular way. It\u2019s not outright dangerous or violent, but rather, it causes a subtle or gradual type of harm. A blow to the head isn\u2019t <\/span>pernicious<\/span><\/i>, but something like heart disease or the influence of social media might be. A good synonym for <\/span>pernicious<\/span><\/i> is <\/span>insidious<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n Diffident<\/span><\/i>: This word refers to a type of personality. A <\/span>diffident<\/span><\/i> person rarely speaks up; he might be described as timid or reluctant.<\/span><\/p>\n Learning GRE Vocabulary<\/b><\/p>\n Learning GRE vocabulary words is a tough but important task. Your next step should be to read our <\/span>tips for learning GRE vocabulary<\/span><\/a>. Find a good source of words to learn\u2014the 500 Essential GRE Words are a good starting place!\u2014and go through and remove the ones you already know by heart. Then, read about the <\/span>spaced repetition strategy<\/span><\/a> to learn how and when to study words effectively. If you start now, you can master 50 or more new words per week between now and test day.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The most common GRE vocabulary words are rare but reasonable. The vocab questions don\u2019t test the simplest GRE Vocabulary words, like cat or go. They also don\u2019t test the hardest GRE Vocabulary words, like conodont or acnestis. The words tested on the GRE fall between these two extremes. They aren\u2019t words that you see every […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[474284,921840,7,733451,733445,12,13],"tags":[1363347,194],"yst_prominent_words":[1363229,1363224,1363340,1363338,1363337,1363342,1363230,1363344,1362627,1363319,1363336,1363341,1363343,1363339,1363345,1363346,1362797,1363331,1362949,1362692],"class_list":["post-12383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-studiers","category-gre-prep-2","category-how-to-study","category-life-hacks","category-study-tips-2","category-verbal","category-vocabulary","tag-common-vocabulary-words","tag-gre-vocabulary-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12383","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\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12383"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12985,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12383\/revisions\/12985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12383"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=12383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Basic Common GRE Vocabulary Words<\/b><\/h4>\n
Medium Common GRE Vocabulary Words<\/b><\/h4>\n
Tricky Common GRE Vocabulary Words<\/b><\/h4>\n