Learn GRE Words with Mnemonics and Cartoons for the 2026 GRE!
Below, you'll find a list of about 44 previous GRE words of the day, along with simple definitions, clever mnemonics, and example sentences. It's a great way to memorize vocabulary, since it gives your brain a "hook" to associate the definition of a word with. You'll find some of these to be hard to forget!
Table of Contents
How to use these GRE words of the day
This page is meant to be low-effort and high-return. Here’s the simplest routine that actually works:
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Look at the cartoon first. (That’s the “hook.”)
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Cover the definition and try to recall it. If you can’t, reread it and try again.
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Say the word out loud once or twice. (Yes, seriously.)
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Write your own sentence (even a dumb one). If you can use the word, you know it.
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Review the word later using spaced repetition:
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later the same day
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2 days later
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1 week later
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If you want the spaced repetition done for you automatically, that’s what my app is for. If you want it free, Quizlet works—you just have to be the spaced-repetition algorithm yourself.
If you like this learning style, make sure to check out my GRE vocab cartoons app, which illustrates 1359 words and word roots with funny cartoons like this:
Download Vince's GRE Vocab Cartoons for iPhone / iOS here and downloadfor Android here, or use the buttons below.
Does GRE vocabulary still matter on the 2026 GRE?
Yep.
The GRE Verbal section has three question types: Reading Comprehension, Text Completion, and Sentence Equivalence. Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence are basically “vocab + logic” questions—so the more words you know, the fewer questions feel like coin flips.
The goal isn’t to memorize every obscure word in the English language. It’s to build a vocabulary big enough that you can focus on the reasoning instead of panicking over one brutal word.
GRE Vocabulary Pictures on Quizlet (free!)
Don't feel like shelling out 3 bucks for my app? I also posted all of these GRE vocab cartoons on Quizlet - for free. The main drawback of Quizlet is that it lacks the app's spaced repetition algorithm, but otherwise, the flashcards are the same. Quizlet also, not surprisingly, has a quiz feature that you might enjoy.
GRE Vocabulary Quiz
BTW, I post vocabulary cartoons on my Instagram (@GRE_vocab_cartoons) along with fun vocab quizzes each week! Test your vocab skills and reinforce the meaning of the words with my vocab cartoons. This is a fun, low-key way to learn GRE words if you're just starting to study for the GRE. If you follow me, feel free to slide into my DMs and say hi. Below is a screen from one of my Instagram story GRE vocabulary quizzes.
GRE Vocabulary Videos
I've also made a bunch of GRE vocabulary videos in the form of YouTube shorts - each short is about 8 seconds long. The link is to my YouTube short playlist. It's another entertaining way to learn new GRE vocabulary words. These are all hand-drawn!
(Above: My YouTube vocabulary short for the word "abject".)
I also made a video of me narrating a bunch of my favorite vocabulary flashcards. Just click on psycho Tom Cruise there to check it out. I promise some of these will make you laugh!
(Above: Vince narrates 93 GRE vocab cartoons.)
GRE Word Of The Day: Scrupulous
scrupulous (adjective): having integrity; being exact.
Think: scrape the poop
If you were scrupulous, you would have scraped the poop from your dog off my lawn without my asking.
Synonyms: principled, conscientious, conscionable
GRE Word Of The Day: Recapitulate
recapitulate (verb): to summarize.
Think: recap
The recap on the nightly news recapitulated the major events of the day.
Synonyms: encapsulate, epitomize, synopsize
GRE Word of the Day: Querulous
querulous (queer-yuh-lus) (adjective): whiny.
Think: quarrel with us.
We’d hang out with you more, but you’re so querulous that you always want to quarrel with us!
GRE Word of the Day: Partisan
partisan (adjective): having allegiance to a particular side or cause, usually without question.
Think: party’s son.
The chairman of the Democratic party’s son was unsurprisingly partisan in his political views.
GRE Word of the Day: Nascent
nascent (adjective): recently formed or developed.
Think: new car scent.
I jumped into the nascent BMW that had just come off the assembly line and smelled the bestnew car scent I’d ever smelled.
Synonyms: incipient, budding
GRE Word of the Day: Minatory
minatory (adjective): threatening.
Think: Minotaur.
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur – a creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man – was minatory because it ate people.
synonyms: baleful, foreboding, portentous, dire
Want more GRE vocab cartoons?
Try my app or Instagram!
GRE Word of the Day: Lachrymose
lachrymose (lack-kruh-mos) (adjective): tearful; mournful.
Think: lack Christmas.
If you lack Christmas presents, I don’t blame you for being lachrymose.
Fun fact: your tear ducts are your lacrimal glands.
GRE Word of the Day: Inculcate
inculcate (in-cull-kate) (verb): to teach by constant repetition and warning.
Think: in cult.
In the cult of Scientology, they inculcated Tom Cruise until he was brainwashed.
Synonyms: imbue, ingrain, inoculate
GRE Word of the Day: Hidebound
hidebound (adjective): ultra-conservative; inflexible.
Think: hide-bound.
The Republican candidate’s views were sohidebound that a hide-bound caveman dressed in animal skins would probably vote for him.
GRE Word of the Day: Grandstand
grandstand (verb): to show off.
Think: handstand.
Be honest: if you’re doing a handstand, you’re doing it to grandstand.
GRE Word of the Day: Fecund
fecund (fee-cund) (adjective): fruitful; inventive.
Think: feces under.
Spreading manure, or feces, under your crops as fertilizer will lead to a more fecund harvest.
GRE Word of the Day: Ebullient
ebullient (e-bully-ent) (adjective): lively and cheerful.
Think: Red Bull
After I chugged a giant Red Bull, my fatigue lifted and I became ebullient.
Etymology: from the Latinebullire –to bubble out.
GRE Word of the Day: Dilatory
dilatory (dill-a-tory) (adjective): slow to act.
Think: delay.
If I have to write a paper, I’m dilatory and will delay starting it until the night before it’s due.
GRE Word of the Day: Celerity
celerity (sa-lear-ity) (noun): quickness
Think: accelerate
After Cee Lo switched to an all-celery diet, he lost 30 lbs. His celerity increased as did his ability to accelerate.
GRE Word of the Day: Baleful
baleful (bale-full) (adjective): threatening harm.
Think: Christian Bale.
I’m not a big Christian Bale fan – he always has a baleful look on his face – like he wants to fight you.
synonyms: pernicious, foreboding, minatory, portentous, dire
GRE Word of the Day: Acquisitive
acquisitive (ac-quis-i-tive) (adjective): eager to acquire and possess; greedy
Think: acquire
The acquisitive billionaire wanted to acquire every company he saw.
Synonyms: mercenary; rapacious; avaricious
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Behemoth
behemoth (bee-HEE-muth) (noun): something huge
Think: beast mammoth
One really large beast was the woolly mammoth, a behemoth that lived during the ice age.
Synonyms: mastodon; dreadnought
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Wizened
wizened (wise-end) (adjective): shrunken and wrinkled, usually due to age
Think: wizard
Wizards like Gandalf and Dumbledore are usually wizened since they’re really old.
Synonyms: withered; gnarled
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Vociferous
vociferous (vo-ci-fur-us)(adjective): loud
Think: voice for us
The announcer’s loud voice, for us, was too vociferous.
Synonyms: caterwauling; obstreperous; yawping
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Ubiquitous
ubiquitous(you-bick-quit-us)(adjective): existing everywhere
Think: you big quidditch
You big quidditch fans have made the Harry Potter sport ubiquitous on college campuses.
Synonyms: quotidian; universal
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Variegated
variegated(vary-ig-ated) (adjective): varied
Think: varied
The autumn leaves in Vermont are known for their variegated colors; last year, they varied from red to yellow to orange.
Synonyms: prismatic; multihued; polychromatic
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Trepidation
trepidation (treh-pid-a-shun)(noun): fear
Think: trap
The haunted house filled me with trepidation; I feared a trap would be sprung on me at any moment.
Synonyms: consternation; foreboding
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Solipsistic
solipsistic (soul-lip-sis-stick)(adjective): being extremely self centered
Think: sold lipstick
The model whose image sold lipstick became solipsistic due to all the compliments she received.
Synonyms: egocentric
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Repugnant
repugnant (re-pug-nant) (adjective): gross
Think: ugly pug
Although some people thinkpugs’ upturned faces and wheezing are cute, many find the breed to be repugnant.
Synonyms: abhorrent; odius; noisome
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Quiescent
quiescent (qui-es-sent) (adjective): at rest
Think: quiet
The hibernating bear was both quiet and quiescent.
Synonyms: torpid; inert
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Peripatetic
peripatetic (perry-pat-tet-ick)(adjective): wandering; traveling; constantly moving from place to place
Think: pitter-patter
The mouse in my house is peripatetic since I’m constantly hearing the pitter-patter of his little feet in the walls.
Synonyms: vagrant; ambulatory; gallivanting
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Obstreperous
obstreperous (ob-strep-er-is)(adjective): stubbornly resistant to control; noisy
Think:strep
The bacteria that cause strep throat are so obstreperous that many people take antibiotics for the condition.
Synonyms: caterwauling; vociferous; blatant
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Nugatory
nugatory (nugget-tori) (adjective): unimportant
Think: McNuggets
Eating chicken McNuggets is nugatory for good health; their health benefits could be said to be negative.
Synonym: piddling; futile
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Maelstrom
maelstrom (mail-strom) (noun): something violently powerful; a whirlpool
Think: mail-storm.
Spam emails flock to my inbox like a maelstrom; reading the mail storm would suck up all of my time.
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Lurid
lurid(lure-id) (adjective): melodramatic; sensational; shocking.
Think: lure in.
Thelurid neon silhouette of a naked woman was designed tolure inlonely gentlemen.
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Jocose
jocose (joe-coase) (adjective): given to joking.
Think: joke coach.
The first thing I look for when I’m hiring ajoke coach is ajocose personality.
Synonyms: jocund
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Importune
importune (im-poor-tune) (verb): to nag; to persistently insist.
Think: I’m poor tune.
The homeless man singing on the subwayimportunedus for money with his “I’m poor tune”.
synonyms: beseech, entreat, implore
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Hubris
hubris (hew-briss) (noun): excessive pride or self-confidence.
Think: huge breasts.
After getting implants, the girl developed hubris because her huge breasts attracted all kinds of attention.
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Gumption
gumption (GUMP-shin) (noun): drive; initiative; courage
Think: Forrest Gump.
Forrest Gump showed gumption by playing football, starting a shrimp business, and running across the country.
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Fastidious
fastidious (fass-TID-e-us) (adjective): difficult to please; having a meticulous attitude
Think: fast to tidy.
Myfastidiousroommate gets mad if I am notfast to tidyup after myself.
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Eschew
eschew (ess-SHOE) (verb): to avoid.
Think: Ah-choo!
Eschew people who say “Ah–choo!” unless you want to catch a cold.
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Diffident
diffident (DIFF-i-dent) (adjective): hesitant to speak due to lack of confidence
Think: difficult dentures
I’m only diffident because my difficult dentures make it hard to speak clearly.
synonyms: demure, retiring, self-effacing
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Cacophony
cacophony(cah-COUGH-o-knee) (noun): unpleasant, loud sounds.
Think: cough.
All the coughs from the tuberculosis ward formed a sickening cacophony.
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Badger
badger (BADGE-er) (verb): to annoy or pester
Think: bad jerk
Good jerks can get laughs, but abad jerk will justbadger you with his attempts at humor.
synonyms: harry, heckle, plague
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Aberration
aberration (ab-ur-A-shun) (noun):something unusual or unexpected
Think: a bare Asian
A bare Asianwould be an aberration; Asians usually wear clothes.
synonyms: anomaly, oddity
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Abate
abate(uh-BATE)(verb):to lessen or reduce.
Think: rebate
The mail-inrebateon my new mobile phone willabate the high cost.
synonyms:ebb, subside, wane
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Abashed
abashed(uh-BASHED)(adjective): embarrassed.
Think: Bashful
Bashful the dwarf was so abashed when Snow White kissed him that he blushed.
synonyms:discomfited, disconcerted, fazed
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Abase
abase(uh-BASE)(verb): todegrade.
Think: a base
When making out with someone, if you give up a base too quickly then you just abase yourself.
synonyms:debase, lessen, vitiate
GRE Vocabulary Mnemonic of the Day: Clangorous
clangorous (CLANG-or-us)(adjective): noisy.
Think: clang
I love my son, but his third-grade orchestra is soclangorous that it sounds like they’re all justclanging on their instruments instead of playing the music.
synonyms: clamorous, clattering, uproarious
GRE Word of the Day FAQ
How many GRE vocabulary words should I learn per day?
If you’re studying seriously, 10–20 new words/day is a reasonable range if you’re also reviewing old words. If you’re not reviewing, it doesn’t matter how many you “learn”—you’re just scrolling.
Are these words enough for a high verbal score?
This page is a starter set. For a high verbal score, you’ll want a larger pool of words plus a system (spaced repetition + lots of exposure in context).
What’s the fastest way to stop forgetting GRE words?
Two things: (1) spaced repetition, and (2) using the word in your own sentence. Recognition is easy. Recall is what the GRE actually punishes.
Should I learn word roots too?
Yes. Roots don’t replace vocabulary—but they let you make educated guesses when you see an unfamiliar word on test day.
Is Quizlet or an app better?
Quizlet is great and free. The downside is you have to manage review timing yourself. Apps with spaced repetition make it harder to “feel productive” while forgetting everything.
Do you offer help if vocab is my weak spot?
Yes—if you want help building a vocabulary plan that fits your schedule (and doesn’t collapse after four days), check out my GRE verbal tutoring or online GRE tutoring.
If you enjoyed this free guide, check out Vince's other free GRE resources.
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