3/5/2015

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

offershundredsofGREvideolessonsandpracticequestions.Gotherenow.
SignuporlogintoMagooshGREPrep.

MagooshGREBlog
EverythingyouneedtoknowabouttheGRE

Search...

AllPosts
Math
Verbal
eBooks
Flashcards
BookReviews
StudyPlans
Lessons
Testimonials
Community
Blogs

GREWordLists
ByCHRISLELEonMarch5,2013inVocabulary,VocabularyWordLists

Tweet
Like

2
17

71
1
submit

InundatedwithscoresofdifferentGREwordlists?Notsurewhichonetouse?Areyoudreadingcommitting
yourselftoonelistonlytofindoutitisnottherightone?
Toallayanysuchanxiety,Iaimtoanswerthosequestionsbyprovidinganoverviewofthepopularlistsout
there.Iwillalsodiscusshowtoandhownottouseawordlist.Butfirst,itbehoovesmetogiveyoureal
opinionofwordlistsfortheGREtheyrenottheHolyGrailofagoodvocabulary.

Abetterwaytolearnvocabulary
Insteadofgettingweigheddownwithlongwordliststhatdontreallydomuchbutleaveyourheadswimming
inuselessvocabulary,checkoutourfreeGREflashcards!
HereareseveralpostsIvewrittenonthetopicofvocablists:
NewGREVocabularyLists
http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

1/23

3/5/2015

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

HowtoStudyVocabularyfortheRevisedGRE

Alright,alright,youcameheretofindoutaboutsomewordlists,soherearemyreviews:

Kaplans900wordsGood
ThewordsfoundonthislistarehighfrequencyGREwords.Rememberthisdoesnotmeanthatifyoustudyall
900wordsyouwillknoweverywordthatwillshowuptestday.Farfromit.Butthisisagoodbeginning.
Toreallytakeadvantageofthiswordlistandanywordlist,forthatmatteristousequizlet.com.Thegood
newsisthatquizletalreadyhasthissetofflashcardsreadytogo.Ifyoudontknowalready,quizlet.comisan
excellent(andfree)onlineflashcardresource.Betteryet,eachwordlistcomeswithareadymadequiz.
Studyingthiswayisathousandtimesmoreeffectivethanlookingatalistofwords.

2
Tweet

17
Like

71

Kimberlyscoreda332!Seehow.

ClickHere

Barrons4,759wordsAvoid
Simplyput,thislistisoverkill.Ifyouslogthroughit,youwontknowthedifferencebetweenhighfrequency
andlowfrequencywords.Eventhoughthislistisalreadybuiltintoquizlet.com,skipit.

Barrons3500Avoid
ThisisawordlistfromtheBarronsprepguidefortheoldGRE.NoticeIsaidoldGRE.Someofthesewords
arenotapplicabletothenewGRE(theyarewordsthatpoppedupontheanalogysection).Thefactthat
BarronschosenottopublishthislistintheirnewGREguideistelling.
submit

reddit

Youalsowanttoavoidusingthislistbecauseitisextremelydullandtedious.Hundredsofwordsarecrammed
ononepage.Youreyeswillglazeoverquickly,yourbrainwillfallasleepyoumightaswellbeingwatching
daytimetelevision.
Perhapsmostimportantly,thedefinitionshereareveryvagueandnotatalladequateforthesenseofhowa
wordfunctionsincontext.ThatsprobablywhyBarronsdidnotincludethislistintheirnewguide.

Novas4500Definitelyavoid
ThislistisintheNovasverbalbook.LikeanythingNovareleasesforverbal,avoid.Thislistreallyisa
travestytoGREwordlists.Wordsarevaguelyandoftenmistakenlydefined.Wordsyoullneverseeare
lumpedtogetherwithhighfrequencywords.ThrowinthefactthatthisissimplyawordlistandIcanthinkof
nobetterwaytowasteonespreciousGREpreptimethanstudyingthislist.

InternetwordlistsBeware
Theseareadimeadozen,andoftentheypoachBarronswordlist.Othersarejustarandomwordlistfilled
witharchaicwordsoranalogywordsthatappearedontheoldGRE.Avoidtheselistsatallcosts.Notjust
becausethecontentisiffybutbecausetheyarestaticlists.
http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

2/23

3/5/2015

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

Magooshwordlistsonquizlet.comGood
Manyofthewordsthathaveappearedinourvocabularyebook(whichmeansVocabWednesdays)havebeen
convenientlysetupinquizlet.com.Sincewedontnecessarilyendorseanyoftheselists,youhavetosnoop
around.Butitseasy!JusttypeinMagooshGREintothesearchbox,andyouwillcomeupwithdifferentsetsof
Magooshflashcards.Someofthemalso,usewordsthatshowupinourproduct,wordsthatarealsohigh
frequencyvocabwords.

Howtouseawordlist
Thisisperhapsthemostimportantpartofusingawordlistdoingittherightway.Readingthroughaword
listofunknownwordsisthesinglemostineffectivewaytostudyvocabulary.Thatsrightineffective.Ifyou
catchyourselfstudyingthisway,stop.Dosomethingelse,anythingelseshortofcommittingamisdemeanor,
forreadingawordlisttrulyiscriminal.
Why?Whatswithallmyhyperbole?Well,ourbrainslearnfrombeingchallenged.Whatmostarewonttodois
toreadeachword,thenthedefinition.Atthatpoint,theythinktheyhavelearnedtheword.Afterall,the
definitionisrightthere.Theycarryonandbytheendofthewordlisttheythinktheyvelearnedsomething.
Ifyouweretoquizsuchaperson30minutesaftertheyvereadthelist,theywillrememberthedefinitionfor
veryfewwords.Theywillremembertheplacementofwords,Ohyes,stymiewasnexttoesoteri
something,uh).Askthemtoprovidethewordonceyoureadthedefinitionandyoumightaswellbeasking
themwhatthecapitalofEquatorialGuineais.

Whicheverlistyouendupusing,dontforgetquizlet.Ittakestheflashcardconcept(whichisbasedon
randomizedorder)andexpandsuponitbyofferingexcellentquizzes.Remember,thebrainlearnswhilebeing
challenged.

MorefromMagoosh
GREVocabularyList:CompoundWords
DifficultGREVocabulary
TestYourGREVocabularySkills
GREVocabWednesday:WordsfromtheDecemberArticleoftheMonth

Bytheway,studentswhouseMagooshGREimprovetheirscoresonaverageby8pointsonthenewscale
(150pointsontheoldscale.)Clickheretolearnmore.

AbouttheAuthor
ChrisLelehasbeenhelpingstudentsexcelontheGRE,GMAT,andSATforthelast10years.HeistheLead
ContentDeveloperandTutorforMagoosh.Hisfavoritefoodiswasabiflavoredalmonds.Followhimon
Google+!

http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

3/23

3/5/2015

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

HowLongistheGRE?
GREVocabWednesday:WhostheBoss?

26ResponsestoGREWordLists

1.
SirajMemonAugust6,2014at6:27am#
HiChris,
IamusingMagooshVocabbuilderandflashcards.DoIneedtouseanyothersourceaswellfor
words?
Reply

ChrisLeleAugust6,2014at11:57am#
IrecommendtheVocabWednesdayvideos.Sure,alotofthosewordsoverlap,butmanyof
thenewervideoscontainwordsnotfoundintheflashcards.Ifyouarestilllookingforwords,
youmightwanttocheckouttheManhattanGREflashcards(therewillbesignificantoverlap,
though).
Reply
2.
ZaraJuly19,2014at6:49pm#
HiChris!
HavebeenfollowingtheMagooshsiteforquitesometimenowandallyourpostshavebeenreally
helpful!ButImhavingahardtimedecidingwhichvocabbooktofollow.BetweenWordSmartand
theManhattanprep(1000words)whichdoyouthinkisbetterconsideringIhavetwoandahalf
monthsbeforemytestdateandneedtoscore160orabove?Whichonedoyousuggestwillhelp
mescorehighergivenIllalsogothroughtheMagooshflashcards?Also,ifyousuggestWordSmart,
shouldIgowithWordSmartforthenewGRE(around700words)orWordSmart1and2(1523
words).SorryforthelonglistofquestionsbutImprettylostatthemoment!
Thanks!
Reply

ChrisLeleJuly21,2014at11:36am#
HiZara,
IthinkWordSmartisgreatareferencetool:youneedtolookupaGREwordyoudontknow,
andyouwanttogetadefinition,WordSmartisgreat.Youdont,however,wanttogo
throughthebook,wordforword.Sure,therearesomequizzestohelpwithretention,but
readingthroughabookwithwordsinalphabeticalorderisntthateffectiveforgettingwords
tostickinyourhead.
http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

4/23

3/5/2015

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

IdrecommendtheMGREflashcardsortheMagooshflashcards(whicharefree).Andnow,
withVocabulary.comdoingsuchanexcellentjobofdescribingwordsandprovidingexample
sentences(allforfree),WordSmarthaskindofbecomeobsolete.
HereisthelinktotheMagooshflashcards:https://gre.magoosh.com/flashcards/vocabulary
Letmeknowwhichcardsyoudecidetogowithandhowtheyworkout
Reply
3.
ImtiazSarwarOctober3,2013at10:25am#
HeyChris,
Ijustfoundyourbloganditsjustmindblowing.Speakingofwordlist,Iamonthehalfwayof
majortests1500word(1000+500).Haveyoufoundthatuseful?whatsyourtakeonmajortests
wordlist?Eagerlywaitingforyourreply!
Reply

ChrisLeleOctober3,2013at1:43pm#
HiImtiaz,
Gladyouvefoundthesitehelpful!
AsforwordlistsImnotafanatall.Idontrecommendthemingeneral(nothingagainst
majortestswordsspecifically!).Amuchbetterwaytolearnonethatstimulatesyourbrainis
usingflashcards.WehavefreeMagooshflashcards:
http://gre.magoosh.com/flashcards
Theflashcardseachhaveexamplesentencessothatyouareunderstandinghowawordworks
incontext.
Hopethathelps!
Reply
4.
CaitJune18,2013at6:21pm#
Hey.Iwaswonderingwhattheexactlinkforthequizletvocabsetsweshoulduseare?Thereareso
manysetsonthereandIamnotsurewhichistherightonetouse.
Reply

ChrisLeleJune19,2013at11:51am#
HiCait,
Thatisagoodquestion.Sincewehaventofficiallysanctionedanyofthem,thereisno
definitiveset.Basically,studentshavegonethroughourproductandtakenallthewordsthat
http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

5/23

3/5/2015

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

showup(oratleasttheonestheydidntknow).Sincethisleadstoabewilderingarrayof
choices,makingyourownset,usingjustthewordsyoustrugglewith,issometimesthewayto
go.
Asnippetofgoodnewsiswejustreleasedthemagooshflashcards,basedonthevocabularyin
theebook:http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grevocabularyflashcards/
Goodluck,andhopethosehelp!
Reply
5.
MaryamJune15,2013at1:57pm#
HiChris
IstudiedvocabularyusingtheeBook(whichwasexcellent,thankyouforthat!)aswellasthetop
300GREwordsfromQuizlet.WhatothersourcesshouldIuseforvocabularytocoverallthatis
neededinthisarea?
Thanks
Reply

ChrisLeleJune19,2013at11:53am#
HiMaryam,
Thatsagoodnumberofwords!
Tosupplementthosetherearetwowaystogo:
1)MGREflashcardssomeoverlapwiththewordsyouvestudied,butalotofnewonestooin
the500carddeck.
2)Barrons1100WordsYouNeedtoKnowalittlemoredynamicthanflashcards,andeven
moreexhaustivethanthefirstoption.
Onceyouvegonethrougheitherofthose,vocabshouldntbemuchofanobstacletestday.
Hopethathelps!
Reply
6.
CarmenJune10,2013at9:57am#
WhatisthebestwaytouseQuizletforlongwordlists?Itdoesnthaveanoptionforseparating
knownwordsfromunknownwordssoallthewordsaregivenequalattention.
Reply

ChrisLeleJune10,2013at1:01pm#
http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

6/23

3/5/2015

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

Ooohthatissortofaproblem.Hmmmperhapsyoucouldmakeaseparateflashcardlistout
ofthosethatyoumiss.Soifthereareabout30wordsthatyouconstantlymixup,youcould
createTrickyWords#1list.
Hopethathelps!
Reply
7.
SamairaMay10,2013at7:51am#
Hi,
Juststumbledacrossyoursitetoday.Yourpostsaresuperhelpful.
Onequickquestion.BetweenWordPowerMadeEasybyNormanLewisandBarrons1100which
onedoyouthinkisbetter?Whichonedoyousuggestshouldsufficefortheprep?
Reply

ChrisLeleMay10,2013at1:52pm#
HiSamaira,
Personally,IliketheBarrons1100bookbetter.AllthewordsarepotentialGREwords,
whereasNormanLewissbooksometimesincludesnonGREwordssimplybecausetheyfitthe
category.Also,Barrons1100hasmoredynamicquizzesandforcesyoutothinkaboutthe
wordsincontext.Basically,itsbetterforselfstudying.
Hopethathelps!
Reply
8.
AlexMarch11,2013at9:58am#
HiChris,
ImwonderingifyouhavereadBarrons601words?Ifyouhave,howisitcomparedtoBarrons
1100?
Thanksalot!
Reply

ChrisLeleMarch11,2013at3:50pm#
HiAlex,
IactuallyhavenotbutIllpickupacopynowthatyoumentionedit!
Ifitisjustasgoodandthose601wordsareasreallyGREcentricthenperhapsthe601is
thewaytogo(halfthenumberofwords:)).
Reply
http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

7/23

3/5/2015

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

9.
ArunMarch5,2013at8:51pm#
Chris,
CanyousharetheofficialMagooshQuizletFlashcardset?WhenIsearchinQuizletforthestring
Magoosh,Iget296SetsofFlashcards
Reply

MargaretteMarch6,2013at11:56am#
Hi,Arun
WeactuallydonothaveanofficialsetofMagooshflashcardsonQuizletallofthe296sets
werecreatedbyourstudents! Ilookedthroughthem,thisseemslikethebestone:
http://quizlet.com/19881356/magooshgreflashcards/.
Itincludesexamplesentences,fulldefinitions,andhasalotofwords,whichisgreat.
Somealternatives:
1.Iwouldrecommendcreatingyourownflashcardsetorlistofwordsthatyoustumbleupon
whileyourestudyingwithMagooshorreadingtheblog,sincethewordsthatyoudoanddo
notknowwillnotbethesameasanyoneelses!Also,manymanystudentshavetoldmethat
makingtheirownlistswasveryhelpfultotheminreallyrememberingthewordsontestday.
2.Wereworkingonofficial,printableMagooshflashcardsforallofthewordsinourVocabulary
eBook,buttheywillnotbereadyforatleastamonth.
Ihopethathelps!Letusknowifyouhaveanyotherquestionsalongtheway:).
Best,
Margarette
Reply

AchintNigamMarch8,2013at1:20am#
Thelinkprovideddoesnotwork,itshowsSorry,thecreatoroftheflashcardset
magooshGREhaslimitedaccesstojusthisorherself.
Reply

MargaretteMarch8,2013at2:37pm#
Hi,Achint(andArun!)
Sorryaboutthat!WhenIwasbrowsingithadbeenpublic,itlookslikethecreator
musthaveadjustedhis/hersettings.
Thisoneisverygood(includespictures,synonyms,andexamples)andisamixof
Magoosh/Barronswords:http://quizlet.com/17008908/072012grevocabprep8
http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

8/23

3/5/2015

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

magooshbarronflashcards/
Ihopethathelps
Best,
Margarette
Reply

VazMarch10,2013at10:18am#
Howaboutthishttp://quizlet.com/17008908/072012grevocabprep8
magooshbarronflashcards/?Hasaround1104(words+idioms)..Doubtis,
arethesereallyfrombarronsorjustsomerandomword
Reply

MargaretteMarch11,2013at10:27am#
Hi,Vaz
Isntthatthesamelink?Unfortunately,aswithanythingpublished
unofficiallyontheweb,youcantreallyknowwhetherthosewordsare
fromBarronsunlessyouhavethebookyourself,butIthinkthewords
looksprettygood
Best,
Margarette
Reply

VazMarch12,2013at6:25pm#
HiMargarette,
Thanksforpointingout.Thatwasawronglink.Belowisthe
correctone:
http://quizlet.com/5370392/1100wordsyouneedtoknowflash
cards/
Reply
10.
PranithaVangalaMarch5,2013at7:23pm#
Thanksforyourinputonthecumbersomewordlists.WhataboutBarrons1100words?
Reply

ChrisLeleMarch6,2013at12:04pm#
http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

9/23

3/5/2015

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

Thatsagreatquestion!IactuallydidnteventhinkoftheBarrons1100asawordlist.Itisso
dynamicquizzes,matching,incontextidentifyingthatitismoreofavocabularybook.That
said,definitelyuseit:).
Reply

VananMarch6,2013at7:12pm#
HowaboutWordPowerMadeEasybyNormanLewis.IfImdonewiththisbook
thoroughly,willitsufficefortheVocab.partoftheGRE?PlzhelpoutChris!
Thanks!
Reply

Magooshblogcommentpolicy:Tocreatethebestexperienceforourreaders,wewillapproveand
respondtocommentsthatarerelevanttothearticle,generalenoughtobehelpfultootherstudents,
concise,andwellwritten!:)Ifyourcommentwasnotapproved,itlikelydidnotadheretothese
guidelines.IfyouareaPremiumMagooshstudentandwouldlikemorepersonalizedservice,youcanuse
theHelptabontheMagooshdashboard.Thanks!

LeaveaReply
Name(required)
Email(willnotbepublished)(required)
Website

Comment

SubmitComment

Notifymeoffollowupcommentsviaemail

http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

10/23

3/5/2015

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

MagooshGRENewsletter
ReceiveGREresourcesinyouremail!

EmailAddress

Subscribe

StudyPlansandSchedules
1WeekStudySchedule
1MonthStudySchedule(Daily)
1MonthStudySchedule(Weekly)
6090DayStudySchedule(Weekly)
90Day(Beginners/Daily)
90Day(MathFocused/Daily)
90Day(VerbalFocused/Daily)
90Day(Advanced/Daily)
6MonthStudySchedule(Weekly)
6Month(MathBeginners/Daily)
6Month(AdvancedMath/Daily)

http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

11/23

3/5/2015

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog
FindusonFacebook

Magoosh
Like

Magoosh
22hrs

AreyoutakingtheGMAT?Findoutwhat
scoreyouneedinournewinfographic!

GMATScoresforTop
BusinessSchools
12,046peoplelikeMagoosh.

Facebooksocialplugin

GREisaregisteredtrademarkofEducationalTestingService(ETS).ThiswebsiteisnotendorsedorapprovedbyETS.

2015MagooshGREBlog.AllRightsReserved.
PoweredbyWordPress.Designedby

Expand
nextprevious
Close
Previous
0/0
Next

http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

12/23

3/5/2015

http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

13/23

3/5/2015

http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

14/23

3/5/2015

http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

15/23

3/5/2015

http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

16/23

3/5/2015

http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

17/23

3/5/2015

http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

18/23

3/5/2015

http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

19/23

3/5/2015

http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

20/23

3/5/2015

http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

21/23

3/5/2015

http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

22/23

3/5/2015

http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/grewordlists/

GREWordLists|MagooshGREBlog

23/23