Ask and you shall receive! Based on the many requests from our students (thank you, as always, for your suggestions!), we’ve compiled the best of our word lists into a free GRE resource.
This one-stop vocabulary resource for the GRE in eBook form will help you get ready for the GRE Verbal anytime, anywhere.
Our GRE vocabulary ebook includes:
- Instructions on how to use our very popular GRE vocabulary lists
- How to not use GRE vocabulary word lists!
- Themed lists, organized by category
- 300+ of the most common GRE vocabulary words
- Recommended resources for finding/learning new words
- A total of 102 pages!
Feel free to share with friends, print it out, and use it to learn some new vocabulary words on the go. Let us know if you have any suggestions or feedback (love it? hate it? let us know!) by leaving us a comment below.
And we have a general GRE eBook as well!
If you’d like printable flashcards, check out GRE Vocabulary Flashcards eBook!
For a PDF of all the words found on our flashcard app, check out this topic on our FAQ page!
I really like learning from your vocabulary flashcards app but there’s a major inconvenience faced by almost all users I think i.e There is not option to add a note with a flashcard, so to do the same we have to use any other software and there we have to write word,meaning,notes on our own. Why don’t you guys include such a feature in your app so that it becomes really easy for us to learn vocabulary.
HI Jash,
Thank you for this feedback! I will pass it along to our product and content teams. We do not currently have a note feature on our flashcards, and we are a small team with a lot of projects, so I’m not sure if we will be able to develop one any time soon. One option is to use an app like Quizlet to create your own flashcards and write your notes there. We think that the act of creating your own notecards can be very beneficial because it gives you more experience with each word. Thanks for reaching out with this feedback, and I hope you continue to enjoy learning from our flashcards!
The document says that it’s from 2012- Is this the most updated vocab list that Magoosh provides? It’s a great list that I’d like to study but I can’t help but think it may be outdated and that I should be looking elsewhere for my word list.
This definitely isn’t the most updated vocab that Magoosh provides. For word lists that are updated on a regular, ongoing basis, you can use our flashcard app or our vocabulary builder app.
With that said, the mix of words on the GRE has changed surprisingly little over the last several years. So this eBook can also be a useful GRE vocab study tool.
I was reading your vocabulary instructions and I found this sentence.
“Remiss in his duty to keep the school functioning efficiently, the principle was relieved of his position after only three months.”
Do you know about PRINCIPLE and PRINCIPAL?
Hi José!
First, thank you so much for pointing this out. You’re absolutely right that the correct word should be “principal.”
It looks like this is a small error on our part, and we’re sorry about that! I’ll let our content team know about this so they can look into fixing it. 🙂
With that said, I’m happy to go over the difference between “principle” and “principal” a little bit more.
Principal
adj. First, highest, or foremost in importance, rank, worth, or degree; chief. See Synonyms at chief.
n. One who holds a position of presiding rank, especially the head of an elementary school or high school.
Principle
n. A basic truth, law, or assumption: the principles of democracy.
I hope that clears up any confusion here! Principal is the right word because it refers to a person–specifically a person who is the head of a school.
Does your GRE plan include the video as to how to memorize vocabulary, such as memory triggers or mnemonics.
We definitely include multiple lessons on techniques for both memorizing vocabulary and understanding vocabulary in context. 🙂
Hi! The e-book is so great! I love understanding where the words come from – knowing the origin really helps me remember the words. However, it’s a bit hard to find the actual definition within the description of where the word came from or what the definition actually is not. It would be super helpful to have the definition explicitly written out right before the background information about the word. The reason I think the definition should be first is because sometimes the incorrect definition of the word that is presented for contrast can stick with me rather than the actual definition, which comes later on (and is a bit hard to find). That would make this e-book PERFECT!
Thanks!!
Exactly. I felt the same. “…contrast can stick with me rather than the actual definition…”
page 58: a jingoist is a noun, not an adjective :D.
Thank you guys so much, learning a lot, not just for the test, also the background of some words is nicely explained!
Keep going guys!
The example for ambivalent has a slight mistake, it seems. See if you can spot it. 😉
Sam was ambivalent about studying for the GRE because it ate up a lot of her time, yet he learned many words and improved at reading comprehension.
It took a lot of ??? time, yet ?? learned?
A friend spotted this error, though.
Thanks a lot for this!
Hi Kunal,
Thanks for your keen eye for detail! I’ve sent this issue to our content improvement team, but since the eBook is a large resource, I think it’ll take a little while to get the update. You have sharp eyes–I hope this serves you well on the GRE! 🙂
Today ,for the first time I was reading the content and found this mistake.
Her and he …..
This mistake is not yet resolved.
Kindly correct it.
Thanks for the material
Hi Richa,
Thanks for reminding us about this issue–it’s always helpful to hear this sort of feedback from students! We are a small team with a lot of projects, so even though this is on our to-do list, we may not be able to fix it immediately. I hope you understand and are still able to get some good use out of our Vocabulary eBook! 🙂
Hi! Does this Ebook contain the same vocabulary words in the Magoosh GRE Vocabulary words iPhone application?
Hi Annette,
Yes! The words in both resources are the same, but they are organized differently. The flashcards application is organized by frequency and difficulty of the words, while the eBook is organized by theme.
I believe your definition of ‘begs the question’ is not totally correct, although that is the way it is used in the vernacular.
According to these sources, it means to use circular reasoning:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question
http://www.wordreference.com/definition/beg
End BTQ abuse 🙂
http://begthequestion.info/
In which context do you think this phrase will show up on the GRE?
This is a good question! 🙂
I don’t know the philosophical orientation of the ETS test makers, so it is hard to say. The incorrect usage of “beg the question” is so widespread that I believe it is only a matter of time before both definitions of it are accepted despite one being the historically correct one and the other being, as you mention, essentially tautology.
I would like to say the GRE will only use the correct one, but I think the safer assumption should be that you need to determine the true intention through context, which makes reading comprehension and grammar knowledge very key! I hope that helps a little. 🙂
This e-book is amazing!!! But it only has hundreds of words in it? Are you planning to update it? Please say yes~~~
Hi Xiangji,
We only wanted a finite number of words in the eBook so that we could encourage students who master those to move on with reading in context and learning words through active reading strategies! You might want to get started with this blog post for more information. 🙂
Hi,
I am planning to take the GRE exam somewhere around mid July. For the Vocabulary preparation, I am relying entirely on Magoosh flashcards, Magoosh vocab e book and Barron’s 800 word list (as I do not have much time left). Do you think that will suffice? Please advise.
Hi Minx,
While this is a tough question to provide a concrete answer for, I can certainly offer you some guidance 😀
Here’s the tricky part: whether or not our flashcards are enough for you personally depends entirely on your starting vocabulary. The GRE can include many, many other words than what is on our list (or any list) of GRE vocabulary, and that is why reading extensively is VERY important no matter what level your vocabulary is at. 🙂
While studying vocabulary is certainly an essential element, try not to think of the GRE as a simple vocabulary test. There’s no specific number of words you have to learn in order to reach a specific score. In part, this is because the GRE tests English vocab in general, not just “GRE words,” and even then, there’s more involved! That being said, the flashcards, paired with practice questions and reading, can definitely be a fantastic tool in making a score improvement—there’s no doubt about that! The most important thing is that you do a lot of reading from outside sources, such as the New York Times, the Economist, and the New Yorker, in addition to learning vocabulary from flashcards. It’s important to see vocab words in their natural habitat, so to speak 🙂
So, work through the Magoosh flashcard decks, make your own flashcards of words you don’t know as you practice reading, and you will be on the right path 🙂
I hope this helps!
Search for string – “under which followers of Krishna would supposedly throw themselves.” is a wrong interpretation of Hindu philosophy. Instead, people use to walk in front of the large temple
The English word ‘juggernaut’ was coined with the same assumption though
i am unable to download it please help me……..
Hi Abhinandan,
I’m sorry to hear you’re having trouble downloading our Vocabulary eBook. I just checked out the link to download the file, and it works fine for me. I’d recommend trying to download the file using a different or checking your download settings, especially if you are also having trouble downloading pdfs from other sites.
I hope this helps, at least a little. 🙂
Thank you very much..that helps a lot..:)
On page 22, at Demur Vs Demure section, in the example sentence : Wallace dislike the cold……….. I think it should be either dislikes or disliked.
Hi there! I just checked it out and you’re right that something is off. I’ve sent this through our content improvement process for the team to look at. Thanks for having such a sharp eye for detail! 🙂
than god i finally find magoosh book its great
It’s great to hear that you’re enjoying our Vocabulary eBook! Happy studying 🙂
On page 12, it is written:- veracity means ‘truthful’. I think it should be ‘truthfulness’.
Hi there! Thanks for writing about this. 🙂 I agree with you and I will send your comments on to our content improvement team. 🙂
On this page I saw a word ‘vocabualry’. Is it a misspelling?
Hi Victor,
That is a misspelling! Thanks for catching that one! 🙂 I just made the fix.
All the best,
Dani
on page 89 – example sentence for ‘remiss’ – ‘Remiss in his duty to keep the school functioning efficiently, the principle was relieved of his position after only three months.’ ‘Principle’ to be corrected to ‘principal’
You’re right! Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Nisha. I’ve submitted this typo to our Content Improvement team, so that they can make corrections and upload an amended PDF.
I am heavily indebted to this vocab ebook as I am to Magoosh for their helpful guidance through the GRE overview book and reviews of tons of study material. Not only are the words in the book listed an excellent and fairly comprehensive collection but the language elucidating their usage is also extremely useful in recapitulating one’s vocabulary. A capital dose of humour with an incredible variety of examples, it illustrates the way a vocab book ought to be written. I have taken the GRE but I am still going to revise this book every now and then. It’s that good.
Being a working professional, I did not have the time to take formal training but as mentioned, I am indebted to Magoosh for the free resources. I am certain that instructors who can prepare such test material are wholly capable of significantly bolstering test scores as they claim to.
I scored 170 Verbal and 167 in Quant i.e. 337. Essay scores awaited.
hello Abhinav, congratulations. Please i want to write the gre but i am scared. Can u share your experience in the gre with me. my email is bonezechika@gmail.com
Hi Abhinav,
Congratulations!!
Kindly share your GRE preparation strategy with me Waiting for your response.
You can revert on guptamonica16@gmail.com
Brilliant indeed !!!!! Congratulations !!!
which ivy league uni you are in ????
I’ve been perusing through the guide and I noticed the description of jejunum was incorrect. It is found under the definition of “jejune” in the guide.
Hi Eve,
Thanks for catching that one! I’ll make note of this error for our team to fix.
Best,
Dani
Hey Magoosh,
Please can you help figure out that whether vocabulary building tactics i adapted is right or not?
I give here an example..
Egregious…I am used to search it in four dictionary…
1.vocabulary.com… for candid explanation and synonyms
2.MW learner’s dictionary.. for simple definition and easy and terse examples
3.Mnemonic dictionary…to have a look at mnemonics of that word and also for synonyms
4.Oxford learner dictionary(using it less)…for easy sentences for that word
After understanding I am used to prepare list in ‘Memrise.com'(so that i can come back to there after few days) like as following manner from my understanding-
Word …(Egregious)
Definition.. (very bad and easily noticed) and mnemonic(if I found word not easy to recall)
Synonyms… (gross,glaring,flagrant,crying)
Collocations only… (egregious-behavior,violation of rules,comments,injustice,acts etc.)
It takes approximately 6-10 minutes for one word to absorb and learn like that. So capacity of learning has become limited to 15 words at cost of 2-3 hour.
NOW my Questions are
–> “Am i going on right path for GRE point of view or I am wasting too much time on one word?(If yes then mention what should be modification in method otr other method which I should use.)”
–>”I have 2 and half months for preparation of GRE so is learning vocabulary by such method helpful to ace gre or I should adapt approach to understand contextual use of word only by 1 or 2 examples like magoosh flashcard app and go for next word ?”
–> “Should I go for synonyms as I mentioned above ? or all synonyms are not useful at gre test ?”
–> “What should i use for revision of words….will meaning be enough for recalling words or word list with details as i am preparing above is perfect way to prepare ?”
I AM VERY CONFUSED as you can see above in my writing and i have read a lot about Magoosh and have come with hope that Magoosh helps me for sure unlikely as other sites who never replies.
I am very grateful if you help me to sort out this enervating issue about preparing method of vocabulary.
Thanks in advance
Hi Nilu,
I observed that the mode of preparation that you are using is very similar to one that i am for the past 2 months. I have done extensive googling – tried and tested various methods. Hence thought of sharing my experiences.
The method that you are using –
1) Even though the time spent per word is more, the words stick; time taken in revision gets drastically reduced.
2)If you are among the people who cannot rely on “cramming” – this should be the better approach as compared to “flash cards”. Furthermore, this approach is more enjoyable.
3)This way, the risk of “spatial memory” is less.
4)GRE is not entirely Vocabulary. Please bear this in mind. You cannot learn all the words that English has produced. Set some tangible goal. I am following the barron’s lists. First i mastered the 100, then the 330, and now doing the 1100. Once you achieve your target, you can use the guessing route for any freshly encountered word.
5)Learn actively – passive reading is not effective. Think aloud. Phrase new sentences. Connect the new word to the already learnt one.
6)Use any method that you find comfortable to revise – this can be online or using a hard copy or maintaining a simple .doc file. This way, you can revise casually but effectively.
Hope you find it useful.
– Jayaraj.
It is great that you replied, JAYRAJ !
Here is a question if any find suitable to answer.
I am following vocabulary.com for explain meaning and for synonyms and example sentences( magoosh 1000 and e-book for now). Only problem(now after your help) is that when I get word like say
egregious from flashcard or e-book of magoosh ,I search for its meaning and sentence example in vocabulary.com which seems ok. But when comes to synonyms ,there multiple of them in vocabulary.com (which I prefer to use over wordnik.com)
If I decide not learn them then it is fine but as in gre they are important, I try to learn them and that makes 3-5 words to learn for 1 of magoosh word taking more time. Also I have no knowledge of usability of synonyms because as example ‘CRYING is not synonym of EGREGIOUS(I we see contextually)’ but vocabulary.com is showing such. So it is confusing too in that way and to resolve it what I have to do is only learn that word too from same site separately which takes more time.
All in all thing is that I see 1 word from magoosh app, understand it from vocabuly.com then go to synonyms from same site and try to remember them. So it take more time for 1 word and results into less learning of word from your app.
Should I only learn one word with given meanig in magoosh e-book or flashcard and go to next word (this way I make 20-30 words per day )OR one word then its all synonyms and then next word (this way I make only few word 5-10 but with all synonyms however as I say in example I may not be aware from exact use of all synonyms which may be used in different situations-for that i have to learn them disparately) ?
Help me in this matter. It will be very grateful.
Hi Nilu,
IMHO, It all boils down to the level of expertise that you are trying to achieve or the amount of efforts/time you are willing to invest.
I conjecture that, the tricky questions that require you/us to know the nuanced meanings of a word would be very rare. Hence, i would suggest you to be economical in the amount of time you spend on learning “Too Many” meanings of a word.
The approach i would suggest? – Learn FEW words perfectly and a LOT superficially. In most situations the connotation would be sufficient to understand the direction that the passage is taking and then guessing the answer.
PLEASE ALSO FOCUS ON ACCLIMATISING YOUR EAR TO ELOQUENT WRITING.
Read a lot. Read quality content. Read the “GRE article of the month” that Magoosh suggests.
Wish you success.
Jayaraj
This site helps us to memorise all the GRE Words
This book is helpful, and I think it seems more “nuanced” than Kaplan.
One thing, check (n./v.) shows up twice in the same section (pg 18 and 23-24) (but seem to address different meanings). Could these be combined under one section?
Thank you very much for the book. This and your app was very much helpful in my GRE preparation. I would suggest you to update the book from time to time incorporating new words such as ubiquitous which I came across in both PowerPrep exams. The way all words in the book are written with context and funny examples helped me a lot, rather than the boring flash cards. Amazingly thought up lines, I think I will always remember words like perfunctory (for the dishes), vituperation (for the sergeant spitting on young cadets), raft(for the raft of rafts) and many more.
Great blogs. Keep it up! 🙂
Hi KD,
While there are no plans to update the eBook, many high-frequency words that didn’t make it to the eBook are part of Vocabulary Wednesday, our weekly blog series. Not only will you get a definition/explanation of each word, but you’ll also get a video linked to each post. I stay on top of GRE’s latest publications, so I’m always sure to include words (like ubiquitous) that start popping up with increased frequency. (I also do my best to thread in zany mnemonics :)). Here is a link to these posts:
https://magoosh.com/gre//?s=vocab%20wednesdays
Alternatively, if you encounter a GRE word “in the wild”, to see if it has been featured on Vocab Wednesday, enter the word along with “Magoosh” into the Google search box. If the word is part of a blog post, it’ll be sure to be one of the top few hits.
Hope that helps, and enjoy your vocabulary studies. Happy Magoosh can be a part of them 🙂
Giving the background stories behind the words is the best idea I’ve ever seen. Great work, thanks
The book has been extremely helpful, I enjoy reading the explanations on every word. They really seem to embed in my brain. 😉
Thank you. The book is brilliant. I have been able to remember the words much better than the flashcards. Also strenuous words are used to define them. Thanks for the book. Is there a latest version?
Hi, Piyush! The link we have in the post is definitely the most current version :).
Auspicious job done by your team. I love the books and will surely read them whole .l
Thanks a lot
Thank you, Swapneel! 🙂 I’m so glad that you’re making good use of our free eBooks. Good luck with your prep!
Best,
Rita
thankyouuuu all the makerss of this vocab, you all made vocab learning easier than the word easy 🙂
Kudos on coming up with such a brilliant compilation! This book is a huge help. What I loved is how the explanations keep going back to words you come across early on in the book to jog your memory. Another brilliant aspect of this book is that though only about 300 odd words have been explained, many more challenging (and GRE-friendly) words keep popping up in the explanations and examples.
One suggestion would be to highlight these words,if possible at all, to prompt the reader to check out their meaning. That way, when one is glancing through the e-book to revise, they won’t miss out on those words as well.
Once again-thank you and keep up the good work!
Thanks a lot for the book. Very nicely written and was fun to read.
The vocab ebook is an incredible resource, and, as far as content goes, I have no complaints. However, there are numerous minor grammatical errors (mostly subject-verb agreement and missing words) that could be easily fixed with proof reading. A quick ctrl+f search didn’t yield any similar suggestions, but I apologize if this issue has already been pointed out.
This ebook is just what is needed. I am currently using Vocabulary.com to learn these words 70+ words at a time. Just type them into a list and learn as you go. Learnt 41 words yesterday and it was really good. Thanks for the Ebook. Currently on 150 on my Verbal, hoping this strategy will help boost my score by 10+ points. Good luck to everyone.
Awesome to hear that Saheed!
Remember, in addition to words, to read lots of stuff on aldaily.com. Make sure to always think of the answer before looking at the answer choices and 10+ can definitely be yours.
Good luck 🙂
I have seen lot of stuff on aldaily.com could you please suggest which article subjects would be most similar to GRE type questions?
Hi,
I’ve been studying the ebook of vocab from you guys, and it’s amazing.
I wondered if you might add to the word “auspicious” that it is commonly used in a phrase “auspicious number”. It really helped me to remember it.
Thank you so much for making this book!
– Elena
Hello,
I took the GRE earlier this year and scored 308(150 V, 158 Q, 4 AWA) using the Magoosh prep software. I will be retaking the exam this August since i would like to apply to A+ schools as well. For this i require to get a score which is 315 and above. Please guide me for the same. As you see, i need to improve my math as well as verbal. I am finding it difficult to approach this systematically.
Also your vocabulary ebook is great! I am loving this approach to vocabulary! 😀 Thank you so much!
Hey,
I have thoroughly gone through this book and I really liked the way similar words were grouped under same section. I found this book more effective than flashcards. Flashcards are about memorizing words, but here in this book either the history behind the word is discussed(especially the eponym section) or an ingenious way is discussed to remember the word making it much easy for the students. I would request you to update this book with the “Vocal Wednesday” articles that are not included in the book.
Thank You
Magooshian
Thanks Bikram (“Magooshian” :0),
So that is a great idea! As soon as we increase the flashcard words, the first place we’ll look is the ebook (not quite sure when we’ll do so, but it is inevitable :).
Glad you liked the ebook. It def. comes down to learning styles. I prefer the deep context provided here–though it’s great to be able to combine the two (so hopefully we’ll get the ebook words into flashcard form soon).
This is awesome. Congrats! I hope this will help me to improve my verbal score! Greetings from Brazil! 🙂
Hi Paulo,
Good luck! I hope the ebook will be helpful (though it might be hard to focus in the next month with all the World Cup action :))
Hi Chris,
That will be the hardest part, absolutely!
🙂
I need an eBook for vocabulary preparation, would you help me to get the eBook.
Thank you for your works in this website. I will try to use this book, and I hope my score be better next time.
You are welcome 🙂
today i joined your page… this will help me a lot to prepare vocabulary portion . thank you 🙂
You are welcome!
You’ll want to straighten out these pronouns in the Vocab E-Book. 😉
“Demur means to object or express reluctance to do something. Demur should not be confused with demure, which as an adjective that means coy. They both come from around the time of the Norman Conquest (though the Anglophiles may have demurred to use either).
When asked if **she** wanted to visit the war torn region without a translator by **his** side, the journalist demurred.”
Really enjoying this study tool, though! Thank you!
I’ve been going through the vocab pdfs during my study. On page 23 of the Magoosh vocab e-book, the word ‘fleece’ is defined as ‘to deceive’, which isn’t incorrect, but doesn’t fully encapsulate the word. There has to be some mention of money (e.g. ‘to obtain money from someone by swindling them’). The sentence that puts the word in context subtly suggests this, but it is not explicitly stated in the definition.
Just a suggestion! 🙂 Thank you for producing these resources. They are so helpful!
Hi Melissa,
You’re totally right! Thanks for catching that :). Fleece definitely is always related to money (and deception, of course!). We will make the change in the book :).
Hey Jenny!
I just emailed you the eBook as an attachment. 🙂 Happy studying!
Hello Rachel,
Could you please e-mail a copy of the ebook to me also. I too cannot download it from the given link.
Thanks!
Just emailed it to you. 🙂
Can u kindly e-mail it to me as well? Will be grateful
Done! 🙂
I have yet to take the GRE, but so far, during my preparations, I am absolutely thrilled with the Magoosh Vocabulary book! I can honestly say that this is so well-developed and organized. The example sentences and general layout of the book has aided in permanently remembering a majority of the words that I have been learning (and re-learning!). I am thrilled! I look forward to continuing to take practice exams with Magoosh and the GRE! 🙂
Welcome to the team, DeAnna! 🙂
Thank you so much!
Amazing material you guys have made. It helped me immensely preparing from the text. I scored a 326(V156) with 20 days of preparation. I had no clue how to start of with my preparation when I happened to come across magoosh. Went through the blog to select which books to read and which tests to give. And the mobile app was excellent! You guys are doing a great job!
That’s awesome, Rakesh! Congrats! 🙂
Hello. I’ve finished studying this 250 words ebook. It is of great help. I just started with 1000 words flashcards. They are of great help, but I miss his humorous explanation. The words in the flashcards are available on website as sets with explanation. So is there an ebook updated with his explanation and 1000 words?
Unfortunately, we don’t have an updated eBook with the 1000 words, but if you’re a fan of Chris’s fun explanations (and understandably so :)), then I’d recommend checking out his Vocab Wednesday series: https://magoosh.com/gre/2019/best-and-worst-gre-word-lists/
I’m taking words from this vocabulary book, the Kaplan 900 words list, and various useful words I found on dictionary.com. Will that be enough vocabulary for the test? I’m making multiple lists on quizlet of all the words. Should I just stick with what I have or is it actually worth it for me to sift through all the vocabulary Wednesday words that you have previously posted?
Hi, Justin
That is plenty of words– I think it would be fine to focus on reviewing those for now, just so you don’t get too overwhelmed! 🙂
Best,
Margarette
I won’t get overwhelmed since I’ve got until September 7th to take the test and I’m good at learning vocabulary. Are you sure those will be sufficient though?
Yes, definitely! The Magoosh online flashcard app has 1000+ vocabulary words. That plus Manhattan is plenty :).
Best,
Margarette
I need your flashcard as PDF for 1000 words. I can not be online for using it. I it possible?
Hi, Simon
Yes, once you download the PDF, you do not need to be online to read it! 🙂
Best,
Margarette
You guys rock!! This is by far the best vocab learning material I’ve ever seen. For those who are looking for offline version of vocab flash cards, I recommend manhattan GRE vocab flash cards.
Hi, Ryan
Yes, the Manhattan ones are great! 🙂
We also have printable flashcards: https://magoosh.com/gre/2013/gre-vocabulary-flashcards/
and a website for online flashcards: http://gre.magoosh.com/flashcards
I hope that helps!
Best,
Margarette
Hey Magoosh! Thanks for the awesome e-book. I went through the book thoroughly and it helped me learn the actual context where the words can be used. I just started my prep with this ebook and I have a little query;at the end, you mentioned some books, newspapers for reading. But these 250-300 aren’t enough, so what is the best book to learn new words, which has decent number of words? I wouldn’t mind about the context as of now, because I want to learn new words first, and then learn context using the sources you’ve mentioned. So would you suggest me a book that fits my needs?Thanks in advance.
Hi, Naveen
We actually just launched a free flashcard site that has 1000+ vocabulary words: http://gre.magoosh.com/flashcards. For books, we recommend checking out the book/magazine/newspaper recommendations at the end of the eBook! 🙂
Best,
Margarette
I checked the website. I’m suggesting Magoosh to every GRE aspirant. And I have a small suggestion for you. The blog is little less organized. I couldn’t find that there is a website for flashcards you aforementioned. Thanks for the awesomeness.
Hi, Naveen
It looks like you’ve found the website, but just in case, here’s the link! : http://gre.magoosh.com/flashcards 🙂
Best,
Margarette
Never thought I’d be forced to comment in public about Justin Bieber, but maybe cut him some slack, and do without the claim that he is not mellifluous? In my opinion, the slander is puerile, and just adds to unwarranted hatred (which we have enough of).
Other than that, this is extremely helpful, (and humorous). Thank you guys.
I’m currently learning vocabulary through Barron’s 1100 Words You Need To Know. My test date is June 27 and Currently, I’m doing 20 words per day (1 week per day according to the text). I’m on week 20. I was wondering if I should stop using that book and focus on the words in this eBook or whether the majority of the words in the Barron book are contained within this eBook… what do you think? Thanks! 🙂
Hi Niraj,
Keep up on the Barron’s 1100. Many of those words show up in the eBook. Of course it wouldn’t hurt to skim the ebook. If you already learned the words, seeing them again will only reinforce them.
Good luck on your test!
Hey,
I noticed you guys suggest quizlet. Why not generate the most common 300 GRE words (that you have so kindly created) and put it on quizlet? That way when we all go on it we can just search MAGOOSH GRE LIST to get ball rolling.
Hi Nick,
We are just about to release the Magoosh flashcards, so you’ll be able to get 250 flashcards along with example sentences. It will be out in this month :)!
oh my goodness, the detailed word meanings are soooooooooo good. you should do it for all gre vocab words. please please please.
please,
all gre words. please!
Hi MS,
Thanks for the plaudits!
I’ll get there eventually — all GRE words that is. At about 6 a week, in another two years I shall have almost all the words that could show up on the GRE in blog form (ready for an uber-vocab e-book :)).
Hi Team Magoosh,
This ebook is a great work. Appreciate the work gone into it.
As I was goin through it, I got this doubt.
#########
Start
The secondary meaning for start is somewhat similar to the common meaning. To start is to suddenly move or dart in a particular direction.
#########
is this similar to ‘startled’. Can they both be used interchangeably?
Hi Vijay,
Yes! That’s a great mnemonic device :). ‘Startled’ is definitely consistent with the second definition of ‘start.’
Hey,
The book is great and very helpful ! i have been practicing GRE vocab for almost 4 months now. I have my GRE next month. My math score is excellent but my vocab scores during practice tests are bad! I always go wrong with the triple blank or two blank questions when i get one option right and the other wrong. I am getting nervous because of this 🙁 and i still see new words which confuse me. Would you recommend any technique to understand words better?
Thanks,
Hi Vibha,
Those three-blank questions definitely are tough. While vocabulary is part of the problem, convoluted sentence structure is usually a big part of the problem. Learning how words such as ‘notwithstanding, ‘for all…’, ‘anything but’ function in sentences can help you decode two- and three-blank TCs much faster.
In the instructional material/questions, I know Manhattan GRE focuses on this, and I know we (Magoosh) do as well. The other companies don’t really do a very good job. I’d recommend doing a lot more practice with TCs at this level.
Let me know if that helps. And if you are already doing something similar, let me know, and I can help you find other ways to improve your verbal performance.
Good luck :)!
Hello,
Great book!!! Wish i had gone through this before.
I gave GRE in May-2012 and got a score of 305( 157-Quant, 148-Verbal, 3.5 – Essays). I have 2.5 years of experience in HP R&D and good academics throughout. People told me that with this score I wont be able to get into top 15-20 colleges. So, i am planning to take GRE again. Is it a good idea? Or is this score good enough?
If not, how can i improve my Verbal? Last time i felt i screwed up verbal due to lack of practice.
Hi, Vardhaman
The top 15-20 colleges in the US are very competitive since they receive many applications from many highly-qualified students, so if you have the time to study for and take the exam again, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have higher scores.
Some extra information for you to consider:
https://magoosh.com/gre/2011/should-i-retake-the-gre/
http://gre.magoosh.com/score-guarantee 😉
For Verbal I would definitely recommend going through the eBook above, and especially following the advice at the end of it about doing plenty of outside reading, as well as working on more practice questions, as you mentioned!
I hope that helps, feel free to let us know if you have any other questions!
Best,
Margarette
Hi, Vardhaman
Could you please tell us if you are admitted at the top 20 colleges with this score? Did the preparation help you to improve your GRE score?
Thank you in advance!
Wow, this e-book was SO helpful! I was feeling pretty stressed out by my inability to learn and retain new vocabulary, but I don’t know. The way you guys designed this… it just sticks! Thank you guys.. I REALLY appreciate it 😀
Thanks, Michelle! We’re glad you like it! We worked hard to make it as effective as possible, we know vocab can be tough! 🙂
Best,
Margarette
Hey, thanks so much for this ebook! Quick question, how reliable is it to study from this ebook in terms of vocabulary? That is, how exactly were the words chosen for this prep? I’ve heard some brands of books were better than others, and I would hate to study off this and find that none of the words here appeared on the GRE (mainly because I don’t have enough time to study). Thanks in advance!
Hi Janine,
That’s a good point! Cramming words that you are less likely to see test day isn’t helpful. The ebook words were mostly chosen for their likelihood to show up on the GRE. Sometimes I throw in obscure words because they fit the topic well (I can’t imagine anyone seeing ‘bwana’ test day). Often, I will point out that such words are obscure.
As for the common words in the ebook, well over a dozen showed up on the latest practice test (and these questions were from the last year during which time most of the words on the site were live!). Here is a link to a post I wrote about it:
https://magoosh.com/gre/2019/best-and-worst-gre-word-lists/
Hi Magoosh, I have improved my vocabulary using flash cards and Princeton review’s word smart. Now I want to do some practice of text completion and sentence equivalence. Which book do you think would provide the best practice . Is Manhattan’s sentence equivalence and text completion a good option?
Hi Sab,
Actually, I wouldn’t rely on Manhattan’s books. It relies too much on obscure vocabulary and, as a result, it does not mimic the test very well. We (that’s Magoosh) recently uploaded hundreds of SE/TC, thereby already adding to our large number. Beyond ETS we are always a good place for SE/TC practice :).
Hi,
I started preparing for GRE (mainly Verbal) about 1 1/2 months back. I completed magoosh verbal book, and Kaplan GRE word list (500 words) but still the marks that I get in the exam is pretty low and most words are still new to me.
Initially I got 147 in GRE Verbal Kaplan but now my marks have decreased to just 144. Please help me. I am really worried as my GRE is on 27th August.
Regards,
Srikant Aggarwal
HI Srikant,
The GRE is definitely a test of will, esp. learning vocabulary. Do not think of your lower score as failure; it is an opportunity to learn more words. Be zealous and hunt down as much GRE vocab as possible. And when you miss a practice question because of vocab, learn those words. In a month, you should be able to boost your vocab so that many of the words test day aren’t new to you.
Good luck!
Thanks a lot for this addition.
Hi, Vandana
You’re very welcome! 🙂
Hi Chris,
Needed some advice. I am a Magoosh product user and I seem to be positively struggling with the gre vocab words used in the sentences. As in if I haven’t seen them before, then its difficult to decipher the meaning too based on etymology or any other technique. This, despite the fact that I am quite a voracious reader. At the same time I realize that English as a vast language always throws up words that will be new. How would you suggest to best counter these? Especially considering the fact that I am giving the GRE on August 14th.
Hi Saagar,
With so little time left, you can only so many words. Perhaps a better piece of advice is to remember that you can still answer a question correctly without knowing every word in a question. Oftentimes the GRE will drop a difficult word in their, such as ‘untenable’ and ‘antinomianism’ – neither of which you actually have to know to answer the question correctly. So keep a cool head and work on understanding the sentence.
Good luck!
Wow thank you so much! perfect book. Appreciate the heart to share such stuff online that too for free.
You’re very welcome, Murali! 🙂
Hi! This is such a great way to put up the tricky words!!! Impressive! Thanks a lot…immensely appreciated!
Thanks, Aditi! We’re glad you like it! 🙂
Best,
Margarette
Hi my name is ahmed. I have taken the Revised GRE two times but unfortunately my verbal score is very poor. I got these scores
1st time verbal 137 Quantitive 152
2nd time Verbal 138 Quantitive 157
I can’t believe that I am so poor in verbal. Could you please suggest me the best book for verbal.
For Verbal a great place to start is our general Ebook – therein you will find book reviews and ways to approach the verbal section. Speaking of which, the vocabulary ebook – this is the thread for it – also provides helpful tips to bring your score out of the 130’s. The link below is for the Ebook:
https://magoosh.com/gre/gre-ebook/
Good luck your third time around, and let me know if you have any questions along the way!
Love the guide! But I have one question so far. This example in the book kind of confuses me logically…
Erratic – Unpredictable (in extreme cases), strange, unconventional…
“Regardless of which meaning you are employing, you should be erratic in your GRE prep.”
I’d think you should be the opposite of erratic–consistent, planned, regular, etc.
Hi Laila,
That is clearly a typo, which we didn’t catch. You are right: one should NOT be erratic in ones GRE prep :).
Thanks!
Suggested edit: On page 11 of the GRE Vocab book, I think the second “veracious” is meant to be “voracious.” Unless you meant to use the same word twice?
Hi, Ksenia
You’re right, that was a typo, and we’ve fixed it. Thank you for letting us know! 🙂
Thanks for sharing this for free. Best vocabulary book I have so far. With the examples to help me memorize words, I feel some of the confusing words got rooted on my head now. Thanks
Hi, Julius
Great, we’re happy to hear it! 🙂 If you like the Vocab eBook style of teaching words, remember to check in to the blog every week for Vocab Wednesday!
Best,
Margarette
hi chris
Could you please check this website out because I’m confused wether I should use this website for mnemonics or not.
http://www.mnemonicdictionary.com
Thanks
Hi Jay,
My take on it is this: this link helps give you inspiration for your own mnemonics. But trying to memorize somebody else twisted mnemonic, unless it is spectacularly clever and elegant, is not the way to go. The mnemonics that work best are often the ones we come up with. But as I said–come up with your own and then see what others have come up. Such a process may help you refine your mnemonic thus making it even more memorable.
Hope that helps!
Chris and Marg. How about an Ebook on math tips and strategies?
Hmmm…I’m thinking the current Magoosh ebook is pretty good. It gives a breakdown of strategies. Have you checked that out yet? If so, maybe you can let us know what we should add :).
Galvanize: ” . . . want to get an indolent rodent moving with an electric shock” This is really disgusting and inhumane. Very disappointed!!!
Hi Tahlia,
We messed up. We definitely should not have included that as an example. I’m sorry. We’ve removed it from eBook. Thanks for pointing it out!
Bhavin
Thank you for taking care of this issue. Still love Magoosh as should all other GRE test takers =o)
On my part I thought that this was a great example! I loved it!
It’s incredible that such a great ebook is free thank you
You’re welcome! 🙂
Best,
Margarette
Ma’am,
can you give examples to the various contexts of “beg a question”?
Hopefully this link will help:
https://magoosh.com/gre/2011/gre-vocabulary-list-words-with-multiple-meanings/
In short, ‘begging the question’ relates to when people are discussing a matter and a person asks another person a question that assumes something without warrant.
Hope that helps 🙂
Thank you Sir ; so “beg the quetion” is to assume something asked in the question
Exactly! You got it :).
For instance, if I were to ask you, “When did you sign up for the GRE?”, I am begging the question by assuming that you’ve signed up for the GRE.
Thank you Sir
Hi margerette
The vocab ebook is really good. Exactly what i needed. Is the math one out yet? If yes could you please post tell me the link?
Thanks
Yes, here it is: https://magoosh.com/gre/2012/gre-math-formula-ebook/
I hope you like it!
When will be the math formula e-book published.Can’t wait for it anymore.:(..Please kindly release it soon.
Hi, Shuddha
We’re shooting for next Wednesday, so check back on the blog next week! Sorry for the wait 🙂
Best,
Margarette
Here it is, sorry for the wait!: https://magoosh.com/gre/2012/gre-math-formula-ebook/ 🙂
hi Margarette
amazing job. i am not preparing for GRE but i have wonderful time using your book to boost my word power. Congrats. i love it. Thanks a lot
No problem, I’m glad you’ve been finding it helpful! 🙂
I have just started the book.It is simply awesome.Great work.Looking forward for more help from you experts and join your course.
Thanks, Gaurav! 🙂
Super useful! However, isn’t “amuck” on page 27 supposed to be “amok”? And on the same page, I think you mean “grisly” under the explanation for “juggernaut”, not “grizzly” like the bear…
Thanks for catching ‘grizzly.’ That is clearly incorrect, and it should now be fixed in the eBook.
‘Amuck’ can also be spelled ‘amok.’
Let us know if you come across any other typos :).
Hi all,
just thought I would share an idea that I had about learning vocab. I have been reading scientific american and i decided to leave a post about one of the articles! What a great way to find something I had an opinion on and take a few extra minutes to incorporate GRE words. The article was about a scientist discovering that the epidemic of obesity in weight-loss has to do with simply too much food consumption
Here is what I posted:
This is not an esoteric concept. What I see having worked in the health field, at a weight-loss facility is what Chow has discovered. It is very simply calories in vs. calories out. Many people are addicted to bad carbs and sugar. This addiction is very similar to other addictions alcohol, drugs etc. The body is an amazing machine and anyone can overcome this issue. It seems like most Americans want a “magic pill” to fix their weight problem. It seems they are missing alacrity to correct their weight problem. My opinion, what do I do? Eat healthy, educate yourself on food products, avoid heavy carbs before bed, indulge, but not every day. Little changes that are sustainable are going to make a difference in your weight. Just like what kind of oil/gas you put in your car, the food you put in your body affects the way you feel. Food is fuel, the right kind can energize the wrong kind enervates. I am not trying to draft a polemic here, just my candid thoughts
Great post!
And a perfect use of GRE words as well :). I like how you took the gumption and posted on the site itself.
And what you say is no polemic – losing weight is not about some miracle diet. It’s about eating nutritious food, avoiding highly processed food, and simply not eating to much!
“And it’s free So feel free to share with friends, print it out, and use it to learn some new vocabulary words on the go. Enjoy!”
That’s the very definition of open source: take the fruits of our labor, learn yourself, improve upon it and share alike. Thanks for this! I’m confident with my verbal skills and this should prove useful as an eleventh hour revision before the test.
You’re welcome, I’m glad we could help! Good luck on your exam! 🙂
Hi Margarette,
😀 First kudos for u r Blog. Let me accept that am very addicted to your site and regularly checking for new posts from proffessional like you. This is a good work and will fetch me alot. Thank you so much and for your precious suggeestions.
No problem, nani! You’re very welcome, and I’m glad we could help 😀
Great eBook.
Page 56: A Critical Reasoning question will you do one of a number of things…
Think you meant A Critical Reasoning question will *do you* one of a number of things
Page 59: “by the way, I made up these fish facts, so I do not think they actually apply to the natural word”. Think you meant to say “world”
Hi, Rahul
I think these are both in the general eBook, not the vocabulary one, right? We’ve fixed both mistakes and updated the PDF, so everything should be correct now: https://magoosh.com/gre/gre-ebook. Thanks for pointing those out! Let us know if you find anything else, and we can make the changes right away. 🙂
Best,
Margarette
Ah thanks for mentioning this. I had no idea that there was a Vocab eBook too! Just downloaded it – cannot wait to go through all pages! Lots of thanks! Any other eBooks being offered for free on your site?
I plan to go through all first and then get the full package – I feel it would be best for me to do that given I want to take the exam this fall.
I took a practice test with no studying whatsoever and scored a 155 on math and a 141 on verbal. I’m sure with this package – I’ll be well above 165 in both areas. Thanks again!
Hi, Rahul
Currently we just have those two eBooks up, but we’re working on a Math formulas one right now, and we have a few others on our list as well. Let us know if you have any requests for other eBook topics!
Depending on when in the Fall you’ll be taking your exam, I’d recommend using one of our study plans: https://magoosh.com/gre/gre-study-guides-and-plans/.
I hope that helps! 🙂 Let me know if you have any other questions.
Best,
Margarette
Great Book
Could there be another publish on Reading comprehension with 100 important questions???
For a collection of questions, we’d probably just recommend signing up for our premium subscription 😉
Its amazing job from Magoosh team and compilation of Math formula sheet is really valuable for GRE aspirants.
Thanks,
Thanks, Vignesh! We’ll have the Math formulas eBook out soon, too.
This book is too good to be free.. I feel that these kinds of e-books and other added goodies must be available only to magoosh customers. I know, I sound a little mean, but, seriously, this book is too good to be free. Thanks Magoosh
Haha, I’d have to say that this is the best compliment we’ve gotten on the book so far! The lists are available to the public on various places around the blog– all we did was organize them all into one place to make it a bit easier to use, so we didn’t think it would be fair to charge for it 🙂
This is one of the best sites i have ever come across. Am totally addicted to ur blogs and invaluable materials, keep up ur good work like this 🙂
Thank you! We’re happy to hear it 🙂
Hey where is the like button ? 😀
It should be on the left? For Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Reddit!
What about making a new e-book on just quantitative portion with very difficult problems.Please compile this book with all of the important math formulas so that it will be highly useful for students and they can have a closer look at this book before the exam day.
Hi, Shuddha
That’s next on our list! We’ll have it up in a few weeks 🙂
Best,
Margarette
Yes, this will be very helpful…good call!!
Good call!! i.e.shuddha’s comment regarding an e-book on different math problems and must know formulas.
Thank you Magoosh. Although there are many resources out there for GRE but you got me overwhelmed with powerful tools. This book is an amazing work.
haha I’m glad we’re overwhelming you, in a good way! Let us know if you have any suggestions for the next eBook topic 🙂
This is just excellent!
Thanks, Aparna, we’re glad you like it! 🙂
Great addition.
Thanks, Muhammad! 🙂