You probably know that the Verbal section of the GRE has a lot of complex vocabulary. But how do you know which words you need to know? If you’ve been looking for the best GRE vocabulary list out there, look no further—we’ve got it!

What makes this list the best one around? It strategically synthesizes the best expert GRE lists with words from official GRE practice material. We’ll let you in on the whole process and then present the 357 GRE words you need to know.

How We Made This GRE Word List

Well, first we opened our magical GRE grimoire. Just kidding! First, we combed through all available official GRE practice material and flagged all the words that might slip a student up. All of those words were pulled into their own list. Words that appeared at least twice were automatically pulled into the final vocab list.

Then, we found GRE vocabulary lists from major test prep companies and sites—Barron’s, Magoosh, Kaplan, Manhattan GRE, and the Princeton Review. We combined all of those lists with our own GRE word list from the practice material. Finally, all words that appeared 3+ times across the test prep lists and GRE practice material were pulled into the final vocabulary list. Then we defined them in clear, to-the-point ways.

This left us with 357 battle-tested GRE vocabulary words, ready for you to study!

The 357 Best GRE Vocab Words

Without further ado, I present the 357 best GRE vocabulary words, in alphabetical order. Definitions begin with part of speech. Additional definitions go on a second line.

Word Definition abate v. to diminish in intensity v. to cause to diminish in intensity aberrant adj. diverging from the standard type abjure v. to reject or renounce abscond v. to leave secretly, evading detection abstain v. to voluntarily refrain from doing something acumen n. keen judgment and perception admonish v. scold or to advise firmly adulterate v. to contaminate or make impure by introducing inferior elements advocate v. to recommend, support, or advise n. one who advocates aesthetic adj. concerned with the nature of beauty and art affectation n. fake or artificial behavior, often meant to impress or conceal the truth aggrandize v. enlarge or increase, esp. wealth, power, reputation alacrity n. promptness and eagerness alleviate v. to relieve a problem or ease a burden amalgamate v. to combine to or mix together ambiguous adj. unclear adj. open to multiple interpretations ambivalent adj. having mixed or contradictory feelings about someone or something ameliorate v. to improve or mitigate a situation amenable adj. easily convinced or persuaded anachronism n. something old-fashioned n. something appearing in a time period where it does not belong analogous n. comparable n. appropriate for analogy anoint v. to choose for a particular office or position v. to use oil on a person in a religious ceremony anomaly n. an exception or unusual case antipathy n. strong dislike or hatred antithetical adj. contrary to the very nature of apathy n. state of total disinterest or unenthusiasm appease v. to placate v. to satisfy (an appetite, a need) arbitrary adj. seemingly chosen or designated without reason or purpose arcane adj. secret or known only to a select group archaic adj. old-fashioned adj. no longer in the common usage arduous adj. difficult, taxing, requiring considerable effort articulate adj. exhibiting considerable communication skills, well-spoken artless adj. without artifice adj. natural, untrained ascetic adj. austere or self-denying assuage v. to provide relief from an unpleasant feeling v. to satisfy a need or appetite astonishment n. total surprise, shock audacious adj. very bold or presumptuous austere adj. severe, unadorned avarice n. greed aver v. to assert or allege banal adj. boring, cliché belie v. give a false impression (intentional or unintentional) in word, appearance, or deed benign adj. gentle, harmless biased adj. prejudiced, displaying partiality bolster v. to shore up or support bombastic adj. overblown, theatrical brazen adj. bold or open to the point of shocking adj. shameless bucolic adj. pastoral, rustic, countryfied burgeon v. flourish, bloom, expand or increase quickly cacophony n. loud and chaotic noise calumny n. lie or slander candid adj. honest, open canon n. accepted rules and tenets of a discipline n. sacred works/scripture; in this sense it is also used to refer to notable literary and artistic works of a culture or discipline capacity n. the capability to perform a particular action or fulfill a given function n. the total amount a container can hold n. a particular position or role (i.e. “she served in an advisory capacity”) capricious adj. mercurial, unpredictable, whimsical castigate v. to scold or berate strongly catalyst n. something that speeds up a process or causes action caustic adj. corrosive adj. bitterly sarcastic censure v. to express intense condemnation chauvinist n. someone who believes prejudicially that their own group is the superior one chicanery n. trickery or deception chronological adj. ordered by time coalesce v. to come together, esp. from disparate parts cogent adj. clearly laid out and persuasive commensurate adj. in accordance with, proportional compelling adj. captivating adj. very persuasive comprehensive adj. complete and thorough condone v. to approve or allow confound v. to confuse or astonish connoisseur n. an expert in a particular subject matter area, usually relating to the fine arts or cultural pursuits consequential adj. as a result of adj. significant or memorable construe v. to interpret consumption n. utilization (esp. of a resource) contend v. assert or claim v. grapple with contentious adj. controversial adj. involving conflict contrite adj. remorseful convoluted adj. roundabout, not straightforward copious adj. plentiful or abundant cosmopolitan adj. of or relating to a city or urban area adj. sophisticated covet v. to desire something that does not belong to you craft n. cunning n. skill craven adj. cowardly to the point of being shameful credence n. belief or trust credulous adj. gullible, naïve decorum n. appropriate behavior or good manners deference n. respect or polite submission deflect v. divert or cause to ricochet deftness adj. skill, acumen adj. manual dexterity delineate v. to describe very accurately v. to clearly demarcate a boundary v. to render an outline demur v. to object or raise concerns denigrate v. say negative things about, particularly in a defamatory way deride v. to mock or ridicule derivative adj. imitates another work in a way that is unoriginal or uninspiring desiccate v. to dry out completely v. to suck out the vitality and passion desultory adj. halfhearted adj. inconsistent or random detachment n. objectivity or aloofness determinant n. a strong factor in an outcome diatribe n. a rant or angry speech denouncing someone or something didactic adj. educational or with an instructive purpose; often includes an element of moralizing diffident adj. shy, timid, or reserved due to a lack of confidence dilettante n. someone with an amateur, nonserious interest in something dirge n. funeral or mourning lament n. any sad, slow song disabuse v. to dispel someone’s illusions or false impressions about something discern v. to perceive discrepancy n. inconsistency disinterested adj. objective, unbiased adj. not invested in the outcome disparage v. to belittle disparate adj. dissimilar to such a degree that comparison is not possible dispassionate adj. impartial or cool disregard v. to ignore or pay no attention to dissemble v. to mislead or conceal the truth, esp. with respect to one’s motives disseminate v. to spread widely (esp. information) dissonance n. a clash between two elements that don’t blend well diverge v. to split apart, esp. a road or path dogma n. the official beliefs or tenets of particular sect or group dupe v. to deceive or fool ebullient adj. cheerful, enthusiastic, excited eccentric adj. quirky or unusual eclectic adj. composed of a variety of styles, themes, motifs, etc. efficacy n. effectiveness elegy n. sad poem or song, often in remembrance of someone deceased elicit v. to provoke a response eloquence adj. persuasive and articulate speech eminent adj. well-known, respected, distinguished empirical adj. based on evidence emulate v. to imitate or attempt to equal in accomplishment enervate v. to exhaust or drain of energy engender v. to cause or give rise to enhance v. intensify, increase, augment entitlement n. belief that one deserves things one has not earned n. the rights one is afforded under the law ephemeral adj. short-lived or transient equable adj. even-tempered adj. not given to much change or variation equivocate v. to use ambiguous language in order to mislead or deceive erroneous adj. incorrect erudite adj. learned eschew v. avoid or abstain from esoteric adj. obscure, arcane estimable adj. deserving respect, esteem, and admiration eulogy n. memorial speech for one who has passed, normally given at a funeral exacerbate v. to make worse exacting adj. challenging, demanding, grueling exculpate v. to exonerate or vindicate exigent adj. urgent or pressing exonerate v. to clear of charges of wrongdoing expatiate v. to elaborate on something in great detail explicate v. to explain in detail exposition n. a thorough explanation n. a public show or fair extraneous adj. irrelevant or superfluous extrapolate v. to estimate or conjecture about the future based on presently available information or facts facetious adj. glib or flippant facilitate v. to make something easier or simpler fallacious adj. relying on a fallacy and thus incorrect/misinformed fastidious adj. meticulous adj. invested in cleanliness fluctuate v. to shift without apparent pattern foment v. to foster unrest or discontent forestall v. to hold off or try to prevent fortuitous adj. fortunate and lucky frugal adj. economical, thrifty gainsay v. deny or oppose galvanize v. to prod someone into action garrulous adj. talkative gauche adj. socially inept, inappropriate, or awkward germane adj. relevant to the matter at hand glib adj. talking volubly, but carelessly or insincerely gregarious adj. sociable, genial guile n. craftiness and cunning hackneyed adj. cliché, trite, banal harangue n. diatribe or rant hedonism n. the pursuit of pleasure hierarchical adj. arranged in rank order or hierarchy homogenous adj. uniform, identical hyperbole n. obvious exaggeration for effect iconoclast n. a person who attacks traditional religious and cultural institutions ideological adj. relating to a particular belief system or theory imminent adj. about to happen immutable adj. unchangeable impair v. to hinder or weaken someone or something impediment n. barrier, hindrance, or obstruction imperturbable adj. remaining calm under any circumstance implacable adj. unforgiving adj. relentless implicit adj. implied or insinuated without being directly stated imprudence n. bad judgment impudent adj. disrespectful inadvertent adj. by accident or unintentional Inchoate adj. rudimentary, in the beginning stages inconclusive adj. indeterminate or unresolved indebted adj. owing money adj. owing gratitude to someone or something indefatigable adj. cannot be made tired indolent adj. lazy adj. idle infer v. to conclude from implicit evidence (as opposed to explicit facts) ingenuous adj. naïve or innocent inimical adj. harmful or hostile Innocuous adj. harmless inscrutable adj. enigmatic, incomprehensible insipid adj. bland, uninspired, inane insular adj. tight-knit and isolated; uninterested in matters outside one’s immediate sphere intensive adj. concentrated and in-depth intermediary n. a go-between intimate adj. close (as in a relationship) adj. particularly private v. to imply intractable adj. unmanageable adj. stubborn or obstinate intransigent adj. uncompromising, obstinate intrepid adj. bold and adventurous inveterate adj. ingrained, habitual invulnerable adj. indestructible, impervious to harm irascible adj. irritable, testy, touchy irresolute adj. wishy-washy, hesitant laconic adj. taciturn, reserved, succinct laud v. to praise laudable adj. praiseworthy litigation n. legal proceedings loquacious adj. talkative lucid adj. clear and coherent luminous adj. full of light magnanimity n. generosity and nobility of spirit maladroit adj. clumsy, awkward, inept malign adj. evil or harmful v. to speak negatively about someone or something malleable adj. pliant or pliable adj. easily influenced maverick n. an unorthodox person or rebel mendacity n. untruthfulness, dishonesty mercurial adj. easily changeable, fickle meticulous adj. paying close attention to detail misanthrope n. person who hates humanity mitigate v. to improve a painful, unpleasant, or negative situation modest adj. not boastful adj. not overly showy mollify v. placate monotony n. boredom and repetition mundane adj. everyday, boring munificent adj. very generous naïve adj. inexperienced or gullible nascent adj. just beginning or in the early stages neglect v. to abandon or leave uncared-for nonplussed adj. confused and baffled notoriety n. fame for doing something negative or criminal nuance n. subtle shades of difference obdurate adj. stubborn, obstinate obscure adj. mysterious or not well-known v. to cover something up or make it more difficult to perceive obsequious adj. overly fawning and helpful in a way that is disingenuous obstinate adj. stubborn, uncompromising obviate v. to forestall the need for something v. to prevent occlude v. to block or obstruct occult n. the mystical and supernatural offset v. to counterbalance or counteract olfactory adj. relating to smell or the sense of smell omniscience n. the quality or state of being all-knowing onerous adj. difficult or burdensome opaque adj. not see-through; blocking light opportunism n. the practice of taking advantage of opportunities as they arise without particular concern for morality or ethics opprobrium n. criticism or condemnation oscillate v. to swing back and forth between two points, poles, or positions ostentatious adj. overly showy in a way that is gaudy or vulgar outstrip v. to overtake or outrun overshadow v. to literally cast a shadow over v. to appear more notable than painstaking adj. attentive to detail, meticulous partial adj. incomplete partisan n. a devoted supporter of a group, cause, or person patent adj. blatant, obvious paucity n. scarcity, poverty pedantic adj. overly concerned with irrelevant detail, fussy pedestrian adj. boring, monotonous, run-of-the-mill perfidy n. treachery or deceit perfunctory adj. done without much effort, care, or thought peripheral adj. on the edge or periphery; not centrally important permeate v. to pervade or penetrate throughout perseverance n. persistence in the face of obstacles peruse v. to read something carefully and closely v. to read something informally or quickly (context is critical for this word!) pervasive adj. found everywhere, widespread; often has a negative connotation phenomena n. things that happen phlegmatic adj. cool and unruffled pith n. the essential substance of something placate v. to calm, esp. an angry or upset person plastic adj. easily shaped or molded adj. made of plastic platitude n. a trite or cliché statement plausible adj. believable, reasonable plethora n. a surplus or overabundance of something plummet v. to fall quickly and far polarize v. to cause a sharp division between two groups polemical adj. angry, hostile, harshly critical pragmatic adj. practical precarious adj. uncertain or unstable preceded adj. went before precipitate v. to cause adj. hastily and not well-considered n. particulate matter formed within a solution precursor n. a forerunner prescient adj. knowing things before they happen, prophetic presumptuous adj. overly familiar; invades social boundaries prevail v. to succeed, esp. with respect to vanquishing an opponent v. to convince or persuade prevaricate v. to evade or deceive without outright lying pristine adj. untouched, clean, pure probity n. integrity and honor prodigal n. a reckless spender prodigious adj. enormous, immense, gigantic profligate adj. extravagant and wasteful, esp. in an immoral way proliferate v. to multiply and spread rapidly propitiate v. to obtain special favor from someone, esp. a powerful person or deity, by performing a pleasing action v. to appease someone who is angry propriety n. appropriateness, manners, decorum prospective adj. potential or likely adj. applicable to the future qualification n. credential n. a modifying statement quotidian adj. relating to the everyday or mundane rationalize v. to attempt to justify with reasons that are only superficially valid reconcile v. to bring into harmony v. to repair a relationship recondite adj. arcane or obscure refute v. to rebut or disprove relentless adj. never stopping, constant relevant adj. relating to the topic or issue at hand reproach v. to scold or express criticism repudiate v. to renounce or disown rescind v. to take back or retract (an offer or statement) respectively adv. in the sequential order previously given reticent adj. hesitant to speak adj. introverted or silent reverent adj. solemn and respectful rhetoric n. the art of effective communication (written or verbal) salubrious adj. health-promoting sanction v. to give official permission v. to impose a penalty for a particular action n. punishments imposed for breaking a regulation satiate v. to completely satisfy (with respect to hunger or appetite) secular adj. of or relating to the world or worldly matters (as opposed to religious ones) sediment n. material that settles at the bottom of a body of water sedulous adj. dedicated and careful simultaneous adj. occurring at the same moment solicitous adj. considerate, attentive soporific adj. makes sleepy sparse adj. scattered or scarce adj. austere and unadorned specious adj. spurious; appearing true but actually false sporadic adj. occasional or scattered spurious adj. fake or false stolid adj. calm and dependable subjective adj. open to personal interpretation; not based in objective fact substantiate v. to corroborate or give evidence of something subversive adj. meant to undercut established institutions or norms sufficient adj. enough for a given purpose superbly adv. excellently supine adj. laying back with the face upward (opposite position to prone) supplant v. to overtake or replace sycophant n. a fawning, insincere admirer synthesize v. to combine disparate parts into a coherent whole tacit adj. unspoken; implicit taciturn adj. reticent or reserved; tending towards silence temperance n. moderation and restraint, sometimes used to specifically describe abstinence from alcohol tenuous adj. weak, flimsy, insubstantial timorous adj. meek or timid tirade n. an angry rant torpor n. tiredness, lethargy tortuous adj. winding or twisty adj. complicated tractable adj. can be easily influenced or managed transient adj. passes quickly; short-lived ubiquitous adj. ever-present or universal unadorned adj. plain; unembellished undermine v. to weaken or compromise underscore v. to line underneath for emphasis v. to emphasize untenable adj. weak or unsupportable, esp. with respect to an opinion or situation vacillate v. to shift between multiple options or opinions venality n. the state of being capable of being bribed venerate v. to give a high degree of respect; may border on worship veracity n. Truth and factual accuracy verbose adj. long-winded; loquacious vexation n. state of being frustrated, irritated, or concerned. volatile adj. easily changeable or extreme; unstable whimsical adj. fanciful or capricious zeal n. passion or fervor

What Should I Do With This GRE Vocabulary List?

The first thing to do with this list is to look it over to identify any words you don’t know or are confused by. If you aren’t 100% confident that you can use a word correctly in a sentence, study it! Of course, you don’t need to study words that you are already totally solid on. That would be a waste of time.

Once you know which words you don’t know, you need to learn them! We provide quick and easy definitions for memorization purposes. And the best way to memorize a lot of vocab words is to make flashcards! Luckily, we’ve made them for you. If you’d rather study your flashcards online, I recommend Quizlet. You can make a free account and use various tools to study your own flashcard sets.

However, while a level of rote familiarity with the words is important, knowing how the words are actually deployed in context will help you on the test. To help with this, try reading publications with lots of GRE vocabulary, like The Atlantic, the New York Times, and The Economist. This will help you see how lots of words are deployed in actual writing. You can also use a plug-in for your browser that highlights GRE vocabulary words, like Pervasive GRE for Chrome.

So, once you know which words from the list you still need to know, you have two necessary prongs of attack. On one hand, you need to memorize the words and definitions with flash cards. On the other hand, you need to make sure you know how the words are used in context by finding articles where the words are deployed. In the next section, we’ll discuss the best way to study vocabulary flashcards.

How Do I Study All These Flashcards?

Now that you have the goods, how do you get them to deliver for you? Once you print out the flashcards, we advise using the waterfall method to study.

Let’s say that you have 100 flashcards in a pile.

You’ll go through the cards one by one. For each card where you know the definition easily, you’ll put it in your “Know It” pile. If you don’t know the definition, put it in your “Struggled” pile.

When you’ve gone through all the words, pick up the “Struggled” pile. Next you’ll go through this pile. For words where you know the definition, place them in a second “Know It” pile next to but not combined with the first “Know It” pile. For words you don’t know, make a new “Struggled” pile.

Repeat this process, placing new “Know It” piles in a row from left to right. This creates your “waterfall.” Repeat this until the “Struggled” pile only has 4-5 words.

Now, you’ll move back up the waterfall. Start with the last “Struggled” pile and go through it repeatedly until you know all the words in the pile. Then, add the most recent (the rightmost) “Know It” pile.

Go through those words. If you miss any, go through the entire pile again until you get all of them right.

Seems brutal, but it will guarantee that you learn those words! Continue this process until you get all the way back up the waterfall. This means you know all the words!

This is the best method to drill vocab flashcards because you study the words you don’t know as well much more than if you just studied the entire stack over and over. For more details on the waterfall method and using flashcards to study, check out our complete guide to GRE vocab flashcards.

Key Takeaways: Learning GRE Vocab Words

GRE words can make a real difference in your Verbal score: studying our GRE word list of these 357 essential GRE vocab words will help you be fully prepared for success on the test!

The first step is to look through our list and identify all the words you aren’t 100% solid on. Then, make sure you both know those words in context and study them as flashcards.

To memorize the words in flashcards, use the waterfall method. You’ll have a GRE-ready vocabulary in no time!

What’s Next?

Try our GRE flashcards or our GRE PDFs for more great vocabulary practice!

Have more questions about the GRE? Get a complete guide to the GRE format, check out an expert guide to what’s covered on the GRE, and learn how the GRE is really scored!

If you need more resources for prepping, get a list of the best GRE prep books, the four best GRE question of the day sites, and all the complete official ETS practice tests!

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