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Vocabulary Words

Vocabulary words worth learning, grouped into lists you can study in one sitting — SAT and GRE words, words by Latin and Greek root, words by language of origin, and themed collections. Turn any list into flashcards or a quiz, free.

Vocabulary words by difficulty

Advanced vocabulary: Words to sound smarter
15 words
Precise, sophisticated words that sharpen everyday writing and speech — each one worth knowing exactly, not just recognising.

Exam vocabulary words — SAT, GRE, TOEFL, IELTS

ACT vocabulary words
20 words
The ACT leans on vocabulary-in-context more than isolated hard words — this list covers the words that actually turn up in ACT passages and questions.
GRE vocabulary words
38 words
GRE vocabulary sits a level above SAT — more abstract, more precise, and less forgiving. This list is pitched at that level, not recycled from an easier exam.
IELTS vocabulary words
21 words
IELTS rewards precise academic vocabulary used correctly, not obscure words used awkwardly — this list focuses on words that genuinely raise a band score.
SAT vocabulary words
26 words
The literary, rhetorical vocabulary the SAT actually tests — words that show up repeatedly in real reading passages, not a random word dump.
TOEFL vocabulary words
20 words
TOEFL doesn't test obscure literary words — it tests the vocabulary of real academic English: lectures, textbooks, research. This list matches that register.

Level

A1 vocabulary words
300 words
Words at CEFR level A1 — the first words a beginner learns — each with its definition.
A2 vocabulary words
300 words
Words at CEFR level A2 — everyday words for elementary learners — each with its definition.
B1 vocabulary words
299 words
Words at CEFR level B1 — the core vocabulary of an intermediate speaker — each with its definition.
B2 vocabulary words
299 words
Words at CEFR level B2 — the vocabulary of a confident upper-intermediate speaker — each with its definition.
C1 vocabulary words
300 words
Words at CEFR level C1 — advanced vocabulary for fluent speakers — each with its definition.
C2 vocabulary words
300 words
Words at CEFR level C2 — the most advanced vocabulary, at near-native level — each with its definition.
The 100 most common English words
90 words
The 100 most frequently used words in English, ranked by how often they actually appear in written and spoken use, each with its definition.
The 1000 most common English words
869 words
The 1000 most frequently used words in English, ranked by how often they actually appear in written and spoken use, each with its definition.
The 2000 most common English words
1687 words
The 2000 most frequently used words in English, ranked by how often they actually appear in written and spoken use, each with its definition.
The 500 most common English words
442 words
The 500 most frequently used words in English, ranked by how often they actually appear in written and spoken use, each with its definition.
The 5000 most common English words
4078 words
The 5000 most frequently used words in English, ranked by how often they actually appear in written and spoken use, each with its definition.

Vocabulary words by language of origin

Words with Arabic origins
199 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Arabic — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with Celtic origins
265 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Celtic — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with Chinese origins
90 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Chinese — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with Dutch origins
143 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Dutch — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with French origins
298 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to French — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with German origins
300 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to German — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with germanic origins
116 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Germanic — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with Greek origins
300 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Greek — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with hebrew origins
155 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Hebrew — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with Hindi & Urdu origins
60 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Hindi & Urdu — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with Italian origins
255 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Italian — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with Japanese origins
267 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Japanese — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with Korean origins
34 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Korean — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with Latin origins
300 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Latin — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with Malay & tagalog origins
27 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Malay & Tagalog — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with old & middle English origins
297 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Old & Middle English — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with old Norse origins
183 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Old Norse — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with Persian origins
65 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Persian — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with Portuguese origins
54 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Portuguese — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with Sanskrit origins
225 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Sanskrit — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with scandinavian origins
55 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Scandinavian — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with slavic origins
108 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Slavic — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with Spanish origins
300 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Spanish — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with Turkish origins
14 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Turkish — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.
Words with yiddish origins
12 words
Every word in the dictionary traced back to Yiddish — a real, growing list pulled straight from each word's etymology, not hand-picked.

Pattern

10 letter words
300 words
Every 10-letter word in the dictionary, each with its definition — useful for Wordle, Scrabble and crossword solving.
11 letter words
300 words
Every 11-letter word in the dictionary, each with its definition — useful for Wordle, Scrabble and crossword solving.
12 letter words
299 words
Every 12-letter word in the dictionary, each with its definition — useful for Wordle, Scrabble and crossword solving.
3 letter words
299 words
Every 3-letter word in the dictionary, each with its definition — useful for Wordle, Scrabble and crossword solving.
4 letter words
298 words
Every 4-letter word in the dictionary, each with its definition — useful for Wordle, Scrabble and crossword solving.
5 letter words
299 words
Every 5-letter word in the dictionary, each with its definition — useful for Wordle, Scrabble and crossword solving.
6 letter words
300 words
Every 6-letter word in the dictionary, each with its definition — useful for Wordle, Scrabble and crossword solving.
7 letter words
299 words
Every 7-letter word in the dictionary, each with its definition — useful for Wordle, Scrabble and crossword solving.
8 letter words
299 words
Every 8-letter word in the dictionary, each with its definition — useful for Wordle, Scrabble and crossword solving.
9 letter words
300 words
Every 9-letter word in the dictionary, each with its definition — useful for Wordle, Scrabble and crossword solving.
Words that end with A
299 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter A, each with its definition.
Words that end with B
165 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter B, each with its definition.
Words that end with C
300 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter C, each with its definition.
Words that end with D
300 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter D, each with its definition.
Words that end with E
300 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter E, each with its definition.
Words that end with F
199 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter F, each with its definition.
Words that end with G
299 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter G, each with its definition.
Words that end with H
299 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter H, each with its definition.
Words that end with I
300 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter I, each with its definition.
Words that end with K
296 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter K, each with its definition.
Words that end with L
300 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter L, each with its definition.
Words that end with M
299 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter M, each with its definition.
Words that end with N
300 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter N, each with its definition.
Words that end with O
298 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter O, each with its definition.
Words that end with P
296 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter P, each with its definition.
Words that end with R
300 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter R, each with its definition.
Words that end with S
299 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter S, each with its definition.
Words that end with T
298 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter T, each with its definition.
Words that end with U
225 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter U, each with its definition.
Words that end with V
64 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter V, each with its definition.
Words that end with W
213 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter W, each with its definition.
Words that end with X
168 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter X, each with its definition.
Words that end with Y
300 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter Y, each with its definition.
Words that end with Z
127 words
Dictionary words ending in the letter Z, each with its definition.
Words that start with A
298 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter A, each with its definition.
Words that start with B
298 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter B, each with its definition.
Words that start with C
299 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter C, each with its definition.
Words that start with D
299 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter D, each with its definition.
Words that start with E
300 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter E, each with its definition.
Words that start with F
298 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter F, each with its definition.
Words that start with G
300 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter G, each with its definition.
Words that start with H
300 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter H, each with its definition.
Words that start with I
300 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter I, each with its definition.
Words that start with J
299 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter J, each with its definition.
Words that start with K
299 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter K, each with its definition.
Words that start with L
300 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter L, each with its definition.
Words that start with M
300 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter M, each with its definition.
Words that start with N
298 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter N, each with its definition.
Words that start with O
300 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter O, each with its definition.
Words that start with P
299 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter P, each with its definition.
Words that start with Q
137 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter Q, each with its definition.
Words that start with R
299 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter R, each with its definition.
Words that start with S
299 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter S, each with its definition.
Words that start with T
300 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter T, each with its definition.
Words that start with U
300 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter U, each with its definition.
Words that start with V
300 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter V, each with its definition.
Words that start with W
299 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter W, each with its definition.
Words that start with X
32 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter X, each with its definition.
Words that start with Y
236 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter Y, each with its definition.
Words that start with Z
139 words
Dictionary words beginning with the letter Z, each with its definition.

Vocabulary words by Latin and Greek root

Words with the root "-graphy"
9 words
Every dictionary word built on "-graphy" — meaning "writing or recording" — pulled straight from the headword, not hand-picked.
Words with the root "-itis"
8 words
Every dictionary word built on "-itis" — meaning "inflammation" — pulled straight from the headword, not hand-picked.
Words with the root "-ology"
28 words
Every dictionary word built on "-ology" — meaning "the study of" — pulled straight from the headword, not hand-picked.
Words with the root "auto-"
19 words
Every dictionary word built on "auto-" — meaning "self" — pulled straight from the headword, not hand-picked.
Words with the root "bio-"
19 words
Every dictionary word built on "bio-" — meaning "life" — pulled straight from the headword, not hand-picked.
Words with the root "geo-"
26 words
Every dictionary word built on "geo-" — meaning "earth" — pulled straight from the headword, not hand-picked.
Words with the root "micro-"
10 words
Every dictionary word built on "micro-" — meaning "small" — pulled straight from the headword, not hand-picked.
Words with the root "photo-"
14 words
Every dictionary word built on "photo-" — meaning "light" — pulled straight from the headword, not hand-picked.
Words with the root "poly-"
8 words
Every dictionary word built on "poly-" — meaning "many" — pulled straight from the headword, not hand-picked.
Words with the root "tele-"
26 words
Every dictionary word built on "tele-" — meaning "distant" — pulled straight from the headword, not hand-picked.

Themed vocabulary word lists

Words about emotion & character
13 words
The right word for a feeling or a personality trait says more than three vague ones — this list covers the vocabulary of emotion and character in real depth.

Which vocabulary words are worth learning first?

The ones you will actually meet. A word that appears once in a century of writing is a curiosity; a word that turns up in every broadsheet leader is a tool. These lists are built from frequency data, so the exam sets carry the words those exams genuinely favour and the themed sets carry words you meet in that subject rather than words that merely sound impressive.

If you are preparing for a test, start with the exam list and work down it. If you are building general vocabulary, the root lists are the better investment — learning that spect means "look" unlocks inspect, prospect, circumspect and forty more at once.

How to study a vocabulary word list without forgetting it

Reading a list top to bottom is the least effective thing you can do with it. Space the words out, meet each one several times across days rather than minutes, and always meet it inside a sentence. Every list here becomes flashcards in one tap, and every word links to its full entry with pronunciation, examples and word origins.

You can also drop any list straight into Vocabulary Flow and scroll it — the same vocabulary words, one at a time, with no session to commit to.

Frequently asked questions about vocabulary word lists

How many vocabulary words should I learn for the SAT?
Around 500 well-chosen words covers most of what the test rewards. Learning 3,000 rarely pays — the exam tests whether you can read a passage, not whether you memorised a dictionary. Work one exam list properly rather than three badly.
What are Latin and Greek root word lists for?
They teach the parts words are built from, so one root unlocks dozens at once. Learning that "spect" means look gives you inspect, prospect, spectator and circumspect together, including words you have never seen before.
Can I turn a vocabulary word list into flashcards?
Yes — every list converts to a flashcard deck in one tap, and you can print or export it. You can also scroll any list in Vocabulary Flow if you would rather meet the words one at a time than sit down to a study session.
What is the difference between GRE and SAT vocabulary words?
GRE words skew more academic and abstract; SAT words skew toward the vocabulary of argument and analysis you meet in reading passages. There is real overlap, so learning one set gives you a head start on the other.
Are these vocabulary lists suitable for IELTS and TOEFL?
Yes. The IELTS and TOEFL sets are built around academic and everyday English rather than rare words, which is what those tests actually measure. Pair them with the bilingual feeds if English is not your first language.

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