3/1/13

The Top 20 Most Common GRE Words | Magoosh GRE Blog

offers hundreds of GRE video lessons and practice questions. Go there now. Sign up or log in to Magoosh GRE Prep.

Magoosh GRE Blog Everything you need to know about the GRE
Search...
All Posts Math Verbal Book Reviews eBooks Study Schedules Video Lessons Testimonials Write for us

The Top 20 Most Common GRE Words

By CHRIS LELE on May 19, 2011 in Verbal, Vocabulary, Vocabulary Word Lists

Tw eet Like 0 9

subm it

Email Okay, I know, every list purports to be the Top 10 or 20 Most Common GRE words. Just study those words and, voila, youll get the coveted 800 verbal score. While no list can truly be the definitive list of top GRE words, the ones below have been culled from my years as a GRE instructor. These are words that Ive constantly encountered in ETSs published materials. Knowing these 20 most common words can only help your chances of doing well test day. Not knowing these words, on the other hand, is a liability come test day.

Extant (adj.) in existence. Few documents antedating the advent of papyrus are extant today.

Ephemeral (adj). short-lived Youtube has made fame truly ephemeral. Just ask Rebecca Black.
magoosh.com/gre/2011/the-top-20-most-common-gre-words/ 1/12

3/1/13

The Top 20 Most Common GRE Words | Magoosh GRE Blog

Test yourself: Click here to try a question using ephemeral from our GRE product.

Capricious (adj.) unpredictable, whimsical Because Martha was so capricious her friends felt they could not rely on her. Test yourself: Click here to try a question using capricious.

Corroborate (v.) to confirm, make stronger Three witnesses were able to corroborate Lucys alibi that she had been at the bowling alley at the time of the murder.

Loquacious (adj.) talkative Nancy was so loquacious her friends usually didnt like to watch a movie with her.

Esoteric (adj) known to a select few Many jazz artists once deemed esoteric have emerged due to the greater access users have to avant-garde music on-line. Test yourself: Click here to try a practice question using esoteric.

Erudite (adj.) scholarly A Rhodes Scholar, Max was a true erudite, and a formidable opponent on Jeopardy. Test yourself: Click here to try a practice question using esoteric from our GRE product.

Pragmatic (adj.) practical Edna never cared for abstract thinking and preferred the pragmatic world of business, in which every action, ideally, has an intended consequence. Test yourself: Click here to try a practice question using pragmatic.

Ambivalent (adj.) having contradictory feelings Erin was ambivalent about her freshman year in college; her classes were fascinating but she missed her high school friends.

Soporific (adj.) inducing sleep Professors Moores lectures were soporific to the point that students, before they nodded off in class, would usually quip, Its time for Professor Bore.
magoosh.com/gre/2011/the-top-20-most-common-gre-words/ 2/12

3/1/13

The Top 20 Most Common GRE Words | Magoosh GRE Blog

Prolific (adj.) producing or creating abundantly Irving Berlin had one of the most prolific careers in song-writing history; dozens of his hundreds of tunes are familiar to us. Anyone dreaming of a White Christmas?

Auspicious (adj.) favorable The teams run for the pennant started auspiciously with 24 wins. Two starting pitchers snapped their elbows mid-season, clearly an inauspicious sign.

Sanguine (adj.) cheerful; optimistic A Yale graduate with a 4.0, she was sanguine about finding a job right out of college.

Enervate (v.) to weaken; drain the energy from Sitting in the windowless room, the tropical humidity soaking through the walls, I was enervated before noon.

Magnanimous (adj.) big-hearted; generous Upon receiving his first Wall Street paycheck, Jerry was so magnanimous he not only bought his Mom a car, he bought his Dad one too.

Mercurial(adj.) 1. Changing ones personality often and unpredictably. 2. Animated, sprightly One never knew exactly what the professors class would be like; he was so mercurial that many of his Elizabeth 339. See how. Click here students thought of just him scored as two a different people.

1
Tw eet

Belligerent (adj.) Inclined to fighting After a few drinks Stevie was convivial; after two six-packs he became belligerent, challenging anyone around him to a head-butting contest.

9
Like

Fastidious (adj.) nitpicky

subm it

A fastidious eater, Herman would only eat the center of anything he touched. As a result, his plate was strewn with the remnants of his dinner, an eyesore for the hapless dinner guest.

reddit Email Reticent (adj.) tightlipped, not prone to saying much, reluctant Paul was reticent and preferred observing others mannerisms.

magoosh.com/gre/2011/the-top-20-most-common-gre-words/

3/12

3/1/13

The Top 20 Most Common GRE Words | Magoosh GRE Blog

Inculpate (adj.) to charge with wrong-doing; accuse To inculpate Eddy with the murder was absurd; hed been bowling with Lucy.

And Dont Forget Come back to this post in a few days, and see how many of these top 20 most common GRE words you can recall. Remember, unless you quiz yourself on newly acquired material, you are likely to forget whatever it is you learned. Come on, dont be ambivalent. Read my approach to GRE vocabulary to understand why practice makes perfect. And check out our GRE prep product if you are looking for more practice.

By the way, students who use Magoosh GRE improve their scores on average by 8 points on the new scale (150 points on the old scale.) Click here to learn more.

About the Author Chris Lele has been helping students excel on the GRE, GMAT, and SAT for the last 10 years. He is the Lead Content Developer and Tutor for Magoosh. His favorite food is wasabi-flavored almonds.

How to Stay Focused on the GRE Both Old and New Can I Use a Calculator on the New GRE?

4 Responses to The Top 20 Most Common GRE Words

1. johnnys19 July 16, 2012 at 10:56 am # In the soporific example, I think that the correct form is nodded off and not nooded off. Malapropism or what? Reply

Chris July 18, 2012 at 4:22 pm # Ha! Good catch Reply 2. clpgabv@hotmail.com November 10, 2011 at 9:46 pm # I knew all of them. Im taking the GRE tomorrow. ;s Reply . I think its just a typo or my bad Scottish accent creeping into my prose!

Trackbacks/Pingbacks
magoosh.com/gre/2011/the-top-20-most-common-gre-words/ 4/12