How to Build Vocabulary for GRE?

Your vocabulary skills are tested in the GRE Verbal Reasoning section of the exam. While it has proved to be difficult for many candidates (who are non-native English speakers), it is certainly possible to improve your performance through regular practice. A good vocabulary helps you to improve your score significantly in the verbal section. In this article, we will help you answer the question: how to increase vocabulary for GRE? Read on to learn more.We have listed below some important strategies which you can follow to enhance your vocabulary skills.

1. Read more

This is an important approach to help you in learning new words and understanding their usage. You can read well-written novels, journals, newspaper articles from renowned publications. All of these will help you in understanding the different writing styles of authors in addition to learning new words. The practice of reading and learning new words will also improve your knowledge of how the word is used in sentences.

 2. Look up the meaning of new words

Now that you have started reading and learning new words the next step will be to learn to look up the meaning of the words. You have an abundance of tools at your disposal to help you with this practice. You can check the internet, opt for a dictionary or thesaurus to search for the meaning of the words. GRE often evaluates your knowledge of definitions of new words and hence it is recommended that you learn the same. You could also find out the correct pronunciation, word origin, synonyms, and more while you learn the meaning of the words. A word can have more than one meaning or definition. So while you are learning a new word you must ensure to learn all the meanings associated with the word. One way to help you remember the definitions for these words is to phrase the definition in your own words. 

3. Implement using newly learnt words

Now that you have started learning new words it is time to start implementing using them in your daily life. This is a certain way to help you retain the newly learnt words. You can incorporate the words while making a presentation for work or sending an email to your colleagues or wherever you feel it could be relevant. Saying the words out loud will make you more confident about their usage. 

4. Target words frequently asked in GRE

There is a certain pattern to the questions which are frequently asked on the GRE. You could make a personal list of the words you repeatedly come across even on the mock tests. Writing them down will assist you in the process of memorizing the words easier. We recommend that you spend more time learning such high-frequency words. Additionally, this will also help you understand the difficulty level of the questions which are asked on the GRE exam.

5. Use Flashcards

Keep a list of new vocabulary words on your phone or in a notebook. Writing something down also makes it easier to memorize. The notes could contain words along with their definitions and examples of how it is used in a sentence. You have many online tools to help you create your own personalized flashcards as well. Ensure to practice using the flashcards on a regular basis. They also have an added benefit to help you test yourself periodically. 

6. Know the word origins

This is a crucial point to remember when preparing for the vocabulary section. Most of the words have identical word origins making it easier for you to remember and identify words that you may not have seen earlier. Learning the roots of words has proven to have added advantages of both raising your scores and saving time while navigating through the answer options.

7. Vocabulary quizzes

Quizzes are fun yet constructive ways to help improve your vocabulary skills. Taking these quizzes will help you understand your vocabulary levels and how much more practice you require. Most of these quizzes use words on the same complexity level as those asked in the GRE exam. Therefore you get accustomed to the different difficulty levels of the words.

We hope this article has helped you to understand more about what strategies to use and how to improve GRE vocabulary.

Good Luck!