SAT_and_GRE_Vocabulary_Study_Guide - List of 1,000 Common SAT and GRE Vocabulary Words with Latin and Greek Roots

Sep 14, 2026

A vocabulary study guide built around Latin and Greek roots, explaining how word origins help infer meanings for SAT and GRE questions. The guide introduces common roots (e.g., crypt, ab-, agr-, ambi-, ambul-, ami-, anim-, capt-) and shows how each root contributes to multiple test-relevant words. Each entry pairs the root breakdown with a definition and an example sentence, enabling faster recognition, stronger retention, and more confident guesswork during reading and test practice.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages81

Reading Time3 h 24 min

AccessFree to download

Root-based Vocabulary Study for SAT and GRE

Learning Greek and Latin roots to deduce meanings

Vocabulary entries (roots, definitions, example sentences)

1 List of 1,000 Common SAT and GRE Vocabulary Words with Latin and Greek Roots Much of the English language is derived from Greek and Latin roots. These roots are found throughout many words on the SAT and GRE vocabulary questions. In order to learn the most amount of words and be able to deduce what unknown words mean on the test, it is important to learn these roots. For instance the root “crypt” means hidden or secret so the word “cryptic” means “puzzling, or secret”Ab-‐, a-‐, abs-‐ away -‐Abrasive: rough, coarse, harsh Ab: away Ras: scrape, shave Ive: like “The teacher had an abrasive nature and was often harsh in her critiques.” -‐Abasement: humilation, degradation Ab: away ment: act of , result “Our coach abased us when we made mistakes on the court” -‐Abrogate: cancel, deny, repeal Ab: away Rog: ask Ate: to make “Since I found the book cheaper, I abrogated my original order” -‐Abstain: desist, go without, withdraw Ab: away St: stand “During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food during the daylight hours” -‐Abstemious: self denying, sparing in diet Ab: away ous: characterized by “Tina thought she needed to lose weight so she adopted an abstemious diet” -‐Abdicate: to give up ab: away dict: say, speak ate: to make “The prince didn’t feel qualifed to be king so he abdicated the throne in favor of his little brother” -‐Abduction: a carrying away of a person against his will ab: away duct: lead ion: act of , state of, result of “The child was thought to be abducted, but it turned out he had just wandered off Copyright © 2016 by BWS Education Consulting, Inc. 2 -‐Abjure: to recall, recant or repudiate under oath ab: away jur: law, justice “The witness later recanted his statement because they found ouot he was lying”Abrade: to wear away the surface or some part of by friction ab: away rad: scrape, shave “The button’s on Casey’s phone were abraded from constant texting”Abeyance: a state of suspension or temporary inaction ab: away ance: action, process ,state “The committee couldn’t come to a decision so the problem was held in abeyance”Abnormal: not conformed to the ordinary rule or standard ab: away al: relating to “Kelly’s behavoir of blowing off homework was abnormal for a straight A student”Manufacture: the making or producing of anything manu: hand act: do “The company manufactured products for the electronics company”Activate: to cause to function act: do ate: cause, make “The screen lite up because pressing the button activated the computer”Aerial: of pertaining to, or like the air aer: air al: pertaining to “Birds are considered aerial animals”Aeronaut: one who naviagtes the air aero: air naut: ship “The hot air balloon dirver was an aeronaut”Aeronautics: the art or practice of flying aircraft aer: air naut: ship ic: like, pertaining to “Jet pilots must go through aeronautics training.” Aerostat: a balloon or other apparatus floating in or sustained by the air aer: air stat: stationary, still “The helium balloons were aerostat” Agr-‐ farming Agrarian: pertainng to land Copyright © 2016 by BWS Education Consulting, Inc. 3 agr: farming ian: native of, pertaining to “The agrarian products were sold at the farmer’s market” Ambi-‐,amphi both, on both sides, around Ambidextrous: having the ability of using both hands ambi: both dextr: right ous: full of “Sam switched easily between his hands while dining showing his ambidextrity”Ambiguous: having a double meaning ambi: both ous: full of “The agreement between the countries was ambiguous and lead to many more conficts”Amphibious: living both on land and in water amphi: both bi: two ous: full of “Since frogs can move between land and sea they are amphibious”Ambul-‐ walk, move Perambulate: to walk about per: through ambul: walk, move ate: to make “The dog perambulated around the

FAQs

How does learning Latin and Greek roots help on the SAT and GRE?

The guide explains that many English words come from Greek and Latin roots, which appear across SAT and GRE vocabulary items. Knowing roots helps deduce the meanings of unfamiliar words during the test.

What does each vocabulary entry include in this guide?

Entries break the word into Latin/Greek components, provide the meaning of each root, then give the overall word definition along with an example sentence.

Can example sentences improve vocabulary retention?

Yes. The guide pairs definitions with contextual examples, showing how the word meaning is used in real sentences to support understanding and memorization.

Sep 14, 2026

Uploaded by Arica Lee