50 GRE Root Words You Should Know

Some people tout learning GRE word roots as the key to conquering the vocab questions on
the Verbal section. But are they correct?

In this comprehensive introduction to root words for GRE Verbal, we’ll introduce the root word
strategy, consider the pros and cons, and make our own recommendation about how to best use
and study root words in your own prep plan. Plus, we have a list of some common word roots
that you may find useful for the GRE!

GRE Root Words: the Strategy

Root words (also called word roots) are smaller, more basic words or word parts that are
modified by prefixes and suffixes to make more complex words. For example, “flam-” is a root
word meaning “fire or burning,” which can be combined with various prefixes and suffixes to
make words like “inflammable,” “flaming,” “aflame,” “flamboyant,” “inflammatory,” and so on.

The idea behind learning root words for GRE Verbal is that if you memorize a whole bunch of
root words, prefixes, and suffixes, and their meanings, you’ll then be able to combine those parts
into a number of more complicated words and figure out the meaning from the combination.
This strategy thus allows you to memorize a smaller number of word parts but still dramatically
expand your vocabulary via the combination of those parts. It should also help you to decipher
unfamiliar words when you encounter them based on your knowledge of the component parts
of words.

But does this strategy actually work?

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Pros and Cons to GRE Root Words

There are both pros and cons to the root words GRE strategy. We’ll go over both here.

Pros
  Knowing common prefixes, suffixes, and other word parts will help you decipher
unfamiliar words when you encounter them on the GRE.

 There are some roots that are component parts of a huge number of words, so you can
theoretically gain at least a small level of familiarity with tons of words just by learning a
few roots. This can make learning root words an efficient vocabulary enhancement
strategy.

Cons

 Some roots that are very similar or identical in sound have very different meanings. For
example, the Greek root “arch” (or “archi”) means most important or principal, and
forms a part of the words archenemy, patriarch, archon, and monarch. But another Greek
root “arch” (or “archa” or “archi”) also means old or ancient, and forms a part of the
words archaic and archaeologist. It’s very easy to get confused!

 Additionally, because English has borrowed words from many different language families,
words that sound alike may have completely different origins and roots. For example, the
word “manual” comes from the Latin root “man,” meaning “hand.” However, the
similar-sounding word “manna” comes from Old English “manna” meaning “a
providentially provided substance” tracing all the way back to the Hebrew root “man-
” meaning “substance exuded from the tamarisk tree.” This means it is very easy to
ascribe a totally incorrect meaning to an unfamiliar word.

 Also, even if you deploy your knowledge of prefixes, suffixes, and roots perfectly, with
no mistakes, it’s still only going to get you at a vague approximation of the actual
meaning of a word, and you’ll have no idea how to use it in context. Essentially,
knowing word roots won’t help you memorize actual entire vocab words, which is
critical for the GRE.

So, what’s the conclusion on the GRE root words strategy? GRE vocabulary questions require you
to be able to identify the best word for a specific context with a lot of precision. You need to not
only recognize specific words, but also understand exactly how to use them. Essentially, you need
to increase your functional vocabulary—the number of words that you confidently and correctly
use in a sentence.

Unfortunately, as we can see from the pros and cons of this strategy, root words can really only
ever give you a vague impression of a word on their own. Because root words don’t really give
you a precise handle on specific complex vocabulary words, root words should not be your
complete vocabulary strategy on the GRE.

However, that doesn’t mean that root words, prefixes, and suffixes have no utility as part of a
GRE prep plan. We’ll discuss how to best incorporate them in your study plan in the next
section.
Root words are just one tool in your arsenal.

GRE Root Words: How to Study Them

Root words, prefixes, and suffixes can form a valuable ancillary part of your vocabulary strategy.
There’s some benefit in devoting a small amount of vocabulary studying time to learning some of
the most major roots, prefixes, and suffixes. They can provide some clues if you end up with
some really unfamiliar words on GRE test day and will make any guessing you do a little more
educated. So you might consider making a few (like 50) GRE root words flashcards to drill as a
small subset of your larger, word-focused vocabulary strategy.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you will actually learn some root words naturally through
expanding your vocabulary. As you expand the pool of words that you know, you will start to
notice patterns of words that sound alike (or have parts that sound alike) and have similar
meanings. For example, you may notice that pathos, empathy, antipathy, and apathetic all have
to do with emotions and affect. This is because they all share the Greek root “path,” meaning
feeling or emotion. But you don’t necessarily need to know the specific root or its origins to pick
up on the fact that words with “path” in them often have to do with affect and emotions.

So the bottom line on GRE root words is that it’s not a good strategy for your entire vocabulary
prep, but a small amount of root word work with some major roots, prefixes, and suffixes can
help you when you need to guess or decipher something unfamiliar on the Verbal section.

I advise making GRE root words flashcards and to use the waterfall method to drill. I also advise
you to study these separately from your main vocab words, so you don’t get confused.

In the next section we offer 50 roots, prefixes and suffixes you should drill for the GRE.

50 Common Word Roots for the GRE

Below find a list of 50 common word roots, prefixes, and suffixes that may help you on the GRE,
as well as some words that use each of those roots. This list was drawn up by looking at what
roots appeared repeatedly on official GRE prep materials.

Root, Prefix, or
Meaning Examples
suffix
a- without amoral, amorphous, asexual
ambi- on both sides ambidextrous, ambivalent
ante- before or in front antecedent, antedate
anti- against antipathy, antisocial

aqu/aqua- water aquatic, aqueous, aquarium, aqueduct

bene- good benefit, benediction, benevolent

bi- two bifurcate, biannual, bisect
bio- life biology, biography, biome
cede/ceed go or yield precede, exceed, recede

circum- around circumscribe, circumnavigate, circumvent

contra- against or opposite contradiction, contraception, controversy

cycl circle bicycle, cyclical

de- reduce or remove deescalate, defenestrate, decelerate

di-, dis- apart or away digress, disappear, diverge

dict speak or say edict, dictation, dictator, prediction, contradiction

dox belief orthodox, paradox, heterodox

du-, duo- two dual, duology, duochrome
em-, en- into, in embrace, enclose, encircle

esce becoming coalesce, adolescence, obsolescent, tumescent

ex- out or way exit, exhale, extirpate, exile

extra-, extro- beyond or outside extraordinary, extraterrestrial
fid/e faith bonafide, fidelity, confide
before, previously,
fore forestall, before, forebear, forebode, forecast
earlier

gram writing, letters diagram, grammar, epigram, telegram

graph writing, recording stenography, autograph, graphics

heterosexual, heterozygous, heterogeneous,

hetero- different
heterodox

homo- same homogenous, homosexual, homologous

hyper- excessive hyperactive, hyperbole

hypo- under, below hypothermia, hypocrite, hypoglycemic

inter- between intercede, interlude

intra-/intro- inside, within introvert, intramural, intravenous
junct joining juncture, conjunction, disjunct
-less without listless, aimless, heartless
-logy the study of biology, geology, psychology
mal, male bad, evil malediction, malice
mis- bad or incorrect misprint, misbehave, misstep
-ness state of being likeness, greatness
non- not, without nonfiction, nonresident
ob- against or before obdurate, obfuscate
omni- all, everything omnipotent, omniscient, omnivorous

pedi, pede foot pedestrian, pedicure

phil love or affinity bibliophile, philanthropy
pre- before or earlier pretest, preamble
pro- before or forward proceed, prologue
re- again, backwards reaction, rebound, reuse
sub- under or lower submarine, subprime

temp time temporal, contemporary, temporarily

tort twist tortuous, contortion

trans- across or beyond transnational, transit

un- not or opposite unimpressive, unwanted, unwarranted

Review: Root Words for GRE Verbal

The idea behind the GRE root words strategy is that you learn a number of root words, prefixes,
and suffixes and then are able to combine those parts into a huge number of different words and
know their approximate meanings from what all the word parts mean.

Unfortunately, this can only ever get you a fairly vague understanding of most words. The GRE
really requires that you have specific knowledge of individual words and exactly how to use
them.

However, while this learning root words doesn’t work super-well as a main GRE vocab strategy,
it can be useful to learn some key roots, prefixes, and suffixes. These will help you be more
equipped to deal with unfamiliar words and make educated guesses on test day.

We recommend using our list of 50 roots, prefixes, and suffixes above!