GRE Vocabulary Prep: 6 Ways to Build & Master Words for Your Best Score

Pavithra Srinivasan

07/07/2025

16 min read

Preparing for the GRE might seem like crossing a never-ending ocean. Trying to tackle the vast and complex bank of GRE Vocabulary, in particular, can be a little demotivating. But mastering Vocabulary is the key not only to cracking this exam but also to making it into one of the top universities in the world! Want a faster way to drill these words than flashcards on paper? Our GRE vocabulary app turns GRE vocabulary into quick, gamified daily practice: 1,800+ words, free.

Exams like the GRE, which help you gain admission overseas, try to check your language competence by way of testing your vocabulary. Increased vocabulary can be of help in an English-speaking country. Hence, the test focuses on developing a diverse set of vocabulary.

Like a guiding compass, our experts at Galvanize Test Prep would like to help you gain an edge in the GRE by giving you a few pointers on how to improve your vocabulary!

Problems That You Usually Face with GRE Vocabulary

Talking to our students while preparing a suitable study plan for them has given us an insight into the challenges they face when it comes to the GRE Vocabulary. Here are some of the most common difficulties:

• Confused by words that are synonymous with each other
• Using words in the wrong context
• Inability to reproduce words from one’s memory

Listed below are a few ways that can help you tackle these problems in no time!

6 Ways to Build Your GRE Vocabulary

Regular practice equals consistent progress!
Whenever you have a bunch of words to memorize, you need to find easier ways to learn them by heart. A few tricks up your sleeve can go a long way in keeping you on track with your GRE Vocabulary prep. Also, each student learns differently, and hence, you can always adapt these tips to your learning style! However, it is important to follow a routine with small, attainable goals and work diligently and regularly toward meeting them. Now, here are some ways you can make the best use of your prep time and efficiently expand your vocabulary!

1. Learning through apps – Vocabulary Builder

Most of us spend hours on our phones every day. Can we use this time for something more productive and make it fun at the same time?

Galvanize’s GRE Vocabulary App is an engaging application designed especially to help learners retain words in their memory with more ease. You can use it on the go, anywhere, anytime. It has a Vocabulary list of about 1800 words divided into 60 sets that can help you build a strong vocabulary for tests like the GRE.

• We understand our learners’ needs! Feedback is important, and you get one after every quiz to emphasize the areas you have to work on!
• Before you start any set, you will be asked to sort out words you already know to focus on the new ones.
• The app helps you learn words through context, everyday examples, pictures, and quizzes!

2. Making up hints with mnemonics

When you have a hard time remembering difficult words, you can relate the words to pictures or something personal so that they stick in your memory.

For example,
The word ‘abstain,’ meaning restraining oneself from doing something, can be remembered by linking it with ‘stain,’ meaning dirt, which you must not get on your clothes.

The word ‘laudable’ can be linked to the word ‘lord’, who deserves praise. This will help you arrive at the true meaning of the word, deserving praise and commendation.

To distinguish between ‘regret’ and ‘sorrow’ is sometimes difficult because they can both be used in a sad situation. Hence, you can remember ‘regret’ by linking it with a moment when you missed the chance to try something new, and ‘sorrow’ with the memory of losing something important to you.

Although this method might seem juvenile, it can work wonders in keeping your brain hooked. It is this personalized touch that can help retain words in your memory and improve your GRE vocabulary.

3. Bringing words under an umbrella

If a lot of words seem synonymous with each other or tend to have a common subject, then categorize those words together.

For example,
Jubilation, Delight, Exuberance, and Glee can all come under the category ‘Happy’. When you do this, it is easier to organize them for learning.

4. Gathering high-frequency words

If you are having a hard time figuring out where to start, you can look for popular lists of words that commonly appear in competitive exams like the GRE. High-frequency word lists, such as Barron’s, can help kick off your vocabulary learning. Use these words during conversations and in your day-to-day communication for effective learning. You can also start with the 1800+ words on the Galvanize’s GRE Vocabulary Builder app, which has been compiled by language experts who have reviewed past exams.

5. Reading the right books

Books like Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis and Merriam-Webster’s Vocabulary Builder can give an overview of how root words can help in building one’s vocabulary. These books explain how to use common word systems to break down new words and expand your vocabulary.

6. Using GRE Flashcards

An old but tried and true method for mastering GRE vocabulary is using flashcards to learn new words. Of course, you can make your own or use one of the dozens of resources found online. Some might contain pictures to describe each new word, and there are even quizzes available to test your knowledge. Peer learning through quizzes can also work as a motivational factor.

Revisit, Revise, Relearn

It is important to go back to the words you learned regularly in order for them to remain in your working memory.

When you revisit, you will know if all your exercises have been fruitful in boosting your knowledge edge base.

When you revise, some words that may have slipped your memory can be refreshed.

At the end of your revision, you might find that there are still a few words that are difficult to recall. You can then take those words back to your list and find another method to make these words stick in your mind.

Note that you do not have to stick to only one of these methods. Mnemonics, flashcards, and word lists can all be used in combination for mastering GRE vocabulary. Maybe some words are easier to remember through flashcards, but some complex ones might require mnemonics. Using a variety of methods can also help you retain a larger number of words in your memory.

The best way to ace the GRE Vocabulary is to be good with words. Here’s a resource that can help you do just that!

GRE Vocabulary Builder app: 1,800+ GRE words

Get a clear picture of the assessment with a free GRE practice test.

What do you have to do?

You are expected not just to read the text at face value but to interpret it as an essential part of comprehension.

You must use the given information to form a set of conclusions, based on which you must try to answer the given questions.

Thorough learning plays an important role. Your quickness in answering the questions can help you effectively tackle this exam, which has quite a harsh time constraint.

The best way to approach the GRE vocabulary-centered questions in the Verbal section is always to understand the content of the given paragraph or sentence first. Your goal must be to restore the coherence of the text. So, when going through the options, rule out words that have nothing to do with the topic or do not make logical sense in the context. Note that all the answer choices will make grammatical sense. Hence, only a complete understanding of the logic behind each question will help answer them accurately.

GRE Vocabulary Questions: 12 Practice Items with Answers

On the GRE, vocabulary is tested through two Verbal Reasoning question types. In Text Completion, a passage of one to five sentences has one to three blanks: a single blank has five answer choices, and two or three blanks have three choices each. In Sentence Equivalence, one sentence has one blank and six answer choices, and you pick the two that complete it with the same meaning. Neither type gives credit for a partly correct answer (ETS, GRE Verbal Reasoning, read 28 October 2026).

The 12 questions below were written by Galvanize for practice; none is an ETS item. Try each one before reading the answer. For Reading Comprehension and Quant items too, see our GRE sample questions with answers.

Text Completion: one blank

1. Far from being ______, the senator’s speech wandered through a dozen unrelated topics before it reached its point.
A) digressive  B) concise  C) eloquent  D) controversial  E) lengthy

Answer: B, concise. “Far from” sets up a contrast with “wandered through a dozen unrelated topics”, so the blank needs the opposite of rambling. “Digressive” and “lengthy” describe the speech as it was, which is the trap.

2. The critic’s review was so ______ that even the director’s harshest detractors felt it had gone too far.
A) measured  B) scathing  C) laudatory  D) ambivalent  E) perfunctory

Answer: B, scathing. If people who already disliked the director thought the review went too far, it must have been severely harsh. “Measured” and “ambivalent” are too mild, and “laudatory” means full of praise.

3. Because the evidence was largely ______, the jury was reluctant to convict on its strength alone: no witness had actually seen the crime.
A) circumstantial  B) incontrovertible  C) forensic  D) fabricated  E) contemporaneous

Answer: A, circumstantial. Circumstantial evidence points towards a conclusion without directly proving it, which matches “no witness had actually seen the crime”. Nothing in the sentence says the evidence was fake, so “fabricated” goes too far.

4. Her reputation for ______ was well earned: in thirty years at the firm she had never once missed a deadline or left a detail unchecked.
A) diffidence  B) profligacy  C) assiduousness  D) volatility  E) candor

Answer: C, assiduousness. The colon tells you the second half explains the first. Never missing a deadline and checking every detail describes careful, persistent effort, which is what assiduousness means.

Text Completion: two blanks

5. The scientist’s early findings were met with (i) ______, but as other laboratories (ii) ______ her results, the doubts gave way to acclaim.
Blank (i): A) skepticism  B) enthusiasm  C) indifference
Blank (ii): D) disputed  E) replicated  F) ignored

Answer: A and E, skepticism and replicated. “The doubts” refers back to blank (i), so the first reaction was skepticism, not indifference. Doubt turns into acclaim only when other labs confirm the results by reproducing them.

6. Although the chief executive was publicly (i) ______ about the merger, insiders noticed that he quietly sold a large share of his own stock, a move that suggested private (ii) ______.
Blank (i): A) sanguine  B) silent  C) hostile
Blank (ii): D) misgivings  E) confidence  F) greed

Answer: A and D, sanguine and misgivings. “Although” sets public and private views against each other. Selling his own shares hints that he privately doubted the deal, so in public he must have been optimistic (sanguine).

Sentence Equivalence: pick two

7. The professor’s explanation was so ______ that even first-year students followed it without difficulty.
A) lucid  B) abstruse  C) perspicuous  D) lengthy  E) erudite  F) cursory

Answer: A and C, lucid and perspicuous. Both mean clear and easy to understand. “Abstruse” means the opposite, and “erudite” means learned, which does not explain why beginners could follow it.

8. Despite his ______ manner in meetings, the manager was known to be generous and warm in private.
A) brusque  B) affable  C) curt  D) jovial  E) diffident  F) verbose

Answer: A and C, brusque and curt. “Despite” needs a contrast with “generous and warm”, so the blank means abrupt or rude. “Affable” and “jovial” are a matching pair too, but they agree with “warm” instead of contrasting with it.

9. The new policy was intended to ______ tensions between the two departments, but it only made them worse.
A) exacerbate  B) mitigate  C) document  D) alleviate  E) provoke  F) disclose

Answer: B and D, mitigate and alleviate. “But it only made them worse” means the aim was the opposite: to reduce the tension. “Exacerbate” and “provoke” describe what actually happened, which is the trap.

10. Critics dismissed the film’s plot as ______, noting that every twist could be predicted from the opening scene.
A) hackneyed  B) innovative  C) trite  D) convoluted  E) poignant  F) ambiguous

Answer: A and C, hackneyed and trite. A plot whose every twist can be predicted is overused and unoriginal. “Convoluted” means too complicated, which would make the twists harder to predict, not easier.

11. The diplomat’s ______ reply avoided committing her government to any course of action.
A) equivocal  B) forthright  C) evasive  D) hostile  E) gracious  F) prompt

Answer: A and C, equivocal and evasive. A reply that commits to nothing is deliberately unclear or avoids the question. “Forthright” means direct and is the opposite.

12. Once considered ______, the theory is now accepted by nearly every researcher in the field.
A) orthodox  B) heterodox  C) unconventional  D) fashionable  E) obsolete  F) rigorous

Answer: B and C, heterodox and unconventional. “Once… now accepted” means the theory used to be outside mainstream opinion. “Orthodox” is the opposite. “Obsolete” has no partner among the choices with the same meaning, and in Sentence Equivalence a choice without a partner cannot be correct.

How to approach GRE vocabulary questions

• Read the whole sentence first and predict the blank in your own words before you look at the choices.
• Mark the signal words. “Although”, “despite” and “far from” signal a contrast, while a colon or “because” signals an explanation.
• In Sentence Equivalence, check that both of your choices fit the sentence. A synonym pair that does not fit (like affable and jovial in question 8) is a common trap.
• In two- and three-blank items, start with the blank that has the most clues around it, then check that the whole passage makes sense with every blank filled.

Want to try these question types under timed conditions? Take the free GRE mock test to see how your Verbal score stands today.

Apart from the above-mentioned tips, what other ways exist that can help you build a strong GRE vocabulary? Let us look at them now!

Read from a Wide Range of Sources

As a GRE aspirant, you should be reading from a wide range of sources—be it books, articles, publications, or magazines. But why do we recommend this?

Read articles of different genres and topics.

This is the best thing you can do while reading to build your vocabulary. Reading from a wide range of sources exposes you to different styles of writing, various patterns of thought, and, most importantly, different topics. Since the GRE itself curates its questions from different subjects and fields, acclimatizing yourself to such texts will help in processing such advanced content much faster. You will accumulate a lot of knowledge by reading articles from different genres and will also become familiar with the jargon used within that particular genre.

For example, if you are reading articles from Psychology, then you will start to recognize concepts such as catatonic states, schizophrenia, neuroplasticity, and psychosis. However, not just any text will do. The content that you consume must utilize the advanced and complex language that is found in the GRE. Hence, articles from the Guardian, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Scientific American, etc., are great sources to begin with.

Word Curiosity and Contexts

Whenever you read anything and come across a particular word that you may not be familiar with, we recommend you search for its meaning and, upon understanding its usage, reread the text in which you found it. This will help reinforce this word in your memory. Not only would you have learned the meaning, but you would have also understood its usage in a given sentence, which will further help in vocabulary retention.

Be curious about the meaning of unfamiliar words, and do not get intimidated by them. After all, words are abstract concepts used to help us communicate, not frighten us.

Watch English TV Series and Documentaries

The best way to learn any language is to expose oneself to it as much as possible. Well-written English TV series and documentaries will help you build your arsenal of words, excitingly and engagingly. Try to watch without the use of subtitles, and listen carefully to the dialogue as it is being spoken. Pick up new words and look up their meanings. This is another effective way to learn.

Do not consider vocabulary building to be a chore. When we attach the word ‘task’ to anything, we tend to lose interest and motivation and begin procrastinating. Take it one step at a time, and let your curiosity lead you. It can’t always be fun, but it need not always be boring or monotonous either. It’s all about your approach and the strategies you employ. Think of words as little decoders, helping you unravel those complicated English passages!

Improving your vocabulary will not only help you ace the GRE but is also essential to thriving in an English-speaking country. This level of mastery is what GRE Verbal Reasoning tests.