{"id":12714,"date":"2020-01-29T14:31:49","date_gmt":"2020-01-29T14:31:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/?p=12714"},"modified":"2020-01-29T14:32:39","modified_gmt":"2020-01-29T14:32:39","slug":"5-quick-gre-vocab-hacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/blog\/5-quick-gre-vocab-hacks\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Quick GRE Vocab Hacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GRE<\/p>\n

Perhaps more than any other kind of studying for the GRE, <\/span>vocabulary practice<\/span><\/a> directly translates into one\u2019s <\/span>GRE verbal score<\/span><\/a>. For those of you feeling less than enthusiastic about memorizing hundreds of esoteric vocabulary words, take heart: there\u2019s some interesting research that shows your vocabulary continues to grow throughout your life. If you use your GRE study to turbocharge that process, these words will likely stay in your memory through to your eventual senescence. Maybe you\u2019ll use this vocabulary to sound super smart. Maybe you\u2019ll just use it to call out your pretentious friends when they\u2019re showing off.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One way or another, knowing lots of words is a powerful skill. In this entry, I\u2019m going to share 5 quick tips for memorizing vocabulary for the GRE quickly, painlessly, and permanently.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tip #1: Make little stories<\/b><\/h3>\n

The human brain is an incredible tool.\u00a0 It\u2019s also a tool shaped by its history and evolution. If you think about the needs of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, it makes sense that our memory is really good at remembering faces, places, and things. It\u2019s always been in the interest of our survival to remember things like:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUrg with big stick is bad and want to hit me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSabertooth Tiger in cave.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGood berries in red bush next to river.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Such memories\u2014vivid, concrete, rooted in actual places\/people\/things\u2014had direct survival value for our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Our brains evolved to remember them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, our brains are much less receptive to intricate abstract or symbolic information\u2014stuff like physics equations or the exact wording of page 200 of Paradise Lost. Also unfortunately, GRE vocabulary words tend to fall into this 2<\/span>nd<\/span> more abstract category.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We humans are a clever bunch, though.\u00a0 Try this: if you want to remember a difficult and abstract vocabulary term, turn it into a story. For our purposes here, a good story is one that involves a person, an action, and an object.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>For example, take the word \u201c<\/span>probity<\/b>.\u201d\u00a0 \u201c<\/span>Probity<\/span><\/a>\u201d means honesty, or moral integrity.\u00a0 To remember this, you could think about morality and goodness and all sorts of related concepts.\u00a0 But concepts in and of themselves are not very memorable.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, write out a little story:<\/span><\/p>\n

The professional wrestler displayed a complete lack of probity when he stole an imperial probe and ran away to Italy. Finally, he confessed to the priest\u2014a man with much more probity than him.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

My story includes a person (the wrestler) stealing an object (the probe) and running away to Italy (an action).\u00a0 Your brain can remember these things easily. If you tie them in somehow to sounds or meanings related to your vocabulary word, you\u2019ll be in great shape to remember it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip #2: Get weird<\/b><\/h3>\n

You may have noticed that my last sentence went a little off the rails.\u00a0 Not only was it a story, but it was a pretty weird story too. There\u2019s actually a reason for that\u2014your brain best remembers stuff that\u2019s shocking, weird, or funny.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Writing about a faceless guy acting with probity isn\u2019t very memorable. Imagining your sweet old grandmother getting in a bar fight and robbing a bank without one iota of probity\u2014that\u2019s much more memorable. In general, try to write vocabulary sentences about something that makes you laugh, something that\u2019s totally absurd, or even something shocking. Write them about friends, family members, or celebrities. In fact, a good goal would be to make a flashcard deck so shocking that you\u2019d be embarrassed if your mother found it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an example with the word \u201c<\/span>apocryphal<\/b>.\u201d\u00a0 \u201c<\/span>Apocryphal<\/span><\/a>\u201d means dubious, doubtful, or otherwise probably untrue:<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Phil told an apocryphal tale on national TV, claiming that the apocalypse would come in 2012. There was no apocalypse, but Dr. Phil\u2019s apocryphal tale earned him some excellent TV ratings that week.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure why Dr. Phil would ever say such a thing on national TV, but the idea of it is pretty weird. The strangeness of this sentence is actually quite helpful in making the memory of \u201capocryphal\u201d stick with you.<\/span><\/p>\n

I have an old notebook full of sentences like this from the first time I studied for the GRE, nearly a decade ago now. I must have spent 5 minutes per sentence coming up with these, but I still remember a bunch of weird old stories today. I wrote a wild tale about a <\/span>mercurial<\/span><\/a> teacher in my elementary school. There was a bawdy sentence about a Mr. Clean telling <\/span>ribald<\/span><\/a> jokes. The world <\/span>querulous <\/span><\/a>also wouldn\u2019t stick with me until I wrote something about a bunch of peevish squirrels. Strangely enough, years later, I remember not only what these words mean, but many of the strange tales that helped me memorize them.\u00a0 <\/span>Just make sure not to let things get totally out of hand\u2026.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Tip #3: Do a ditty<\/b><\/h3>\n

I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve had the experience of getting a song stuck in your head.\u00a0 Music can be so memorable that it embeds itself in our grey matter completely against our will.\u00a0 If you want to make a vocabulary word more memorable, give it rhymes, alliteration or other musical qualities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Take a look at this example with the word \u201c<\/span>chary<\/b><\/a>\u201d which means \u201cwary\u201d or \u201ccautious:\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

There once was a man named Larry<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Who hid himself from anything scary<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

He was afraid of the dark<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

And frightened of dogs who bark<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Even my chihuahua made him chary<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll admit, this isn\u2019t the best poem I\u2019ve ever written. Luckily, the quality of the writing matters a lot less than the presence of rhymes and alliteration tied in with the word \u201cchary.\u201d The word means something related \u201cwary\u201d and \u201cscary.\u201d The play with sounds in \u201cchary chihuahua\u201d is also helpful. Of course, rhymes and song can get pretty cheesy, and you may feel somewhat goofy writing sentences or poems like this one. \u00a0 That said, as long as you don\u2019t post your embarrassing rhymes on the internet (like I\u2019m doing), you\u2019ve got nothing to worry about.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip #4: Use the roots<\/b><\/h3>\n

Okay, word nerds, this could easily become your favorite way to memorize vocabulary.\u00a0 We\u2019ve put together a pretty thorough list of GRE-worthy roots in <\/span>our verbal strategy guide<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 If you memorize one of these roots, you\u2019ve often got a colorful way to remember 5-6 vocabulary words all in one hit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an excerpt about the root \u201canim-\u201c which comes from the old latin word \u201canimus\u201d meaning \u201cspirit\u201d or \u201cbreath.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\"gre<\/p>\n

In a list like this, there\u2019s so much to play around with. You can imagine animated cartoons or ghostly spirits for each of the words. You can write crazy run-on sentences, melding a few of these words into one big memory: \u201cTrue magnanimity often requires bravery and sacrifice, something the puny, pusillanimous coward struggles to achieve; perhaps meditation could give him a little more equanimity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A word of advice\u2014if you\u2019re going to memorize the roots to master your GRE vocabulary, start early. There are approximately 70 roots in the <\/span>Manhattan Prep Verbal Strategy Guide<\/span><\/a>, and those 70 words correspond to approximately 300 GRE vocabulary words.\u00a0 This is a great way to jump-start your word collection.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip #5: Steal some ideas<\/b><\/h3>\n

Finally, and most importantly, don\u2019t try to do all of this vocabulary work on your own.\u00a0 There are tons of great apps and resources out there. If you haven\u2019t already installed it, try the <\/span>Manhattan Prep App<\/span><\/a> on your phone. Check out websites like <\/span>Anki<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>vocabulary.com<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>mnemonicdictionary.com<\/span><\/a>. I also use a little daily reminder app called <\/span>knudge.me<\/span><\/a> that sends vocabulary words straight to the notifications on my phone every day.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Acquiring the vocabulary you need to ace the GRE is a formidable task, but it\u2019s one that you can quickly cut down to size if you study efficiently. Whatever method you try, make sure you aren\u2019t just plowing through the words on autopilot. Trust me, it\u2019s so much faster and so much more fun to try some quick vocab hacks like those outlined here.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>RELATED: <\/b>Most Common GRE Vocabulary Words<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget 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

\n

\"tom<\/p>\n

Tom Anderson<\/i><\/b><\/a> is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in New York, NY.<\/i><\/b> He has a B.A. in English and an M.S. in education. Tom started his teaching career as a\u00a0 New York City Teaching Fellow and is currently a Math for America Fellow. Outside of teaching the GRE and the GMAT, he is an avid runner who once (very unexpectedly) won a marathon. <\/span><\/i>Check our Tom\u2019s upcoming GRE prep offerings here.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Perhaps more than any other kind of studying for the GRE, vocabulary practice directly translates into one\u2019s GRE verbal score. For those of you feeling less than enthusiastic about memorizing hundreds of esoteric vocabulary words, take heart: there\u2019s some interesting research that shows your vocabulary continues to grow throughout your life. If you use your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":173,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[168,188,191,1364973],"yst_prominent_words":[1364962,1364968,1362627,1363319,1363336,1364951,1362672,1364963,1364961,1363501,1362691,1363754,1364972,1364971,1362797,1363321,1363331,1362949,1364969,1362692],"class_list":["post-12714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gre-strategies","tag-gre-strategies-2","tag-gre-verbal","tag-gre-vocab","tag-gre-vocab-strategies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12714","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\/173"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12714"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12718,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12714\/revisions\/12718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12714"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=12714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}