School Related GRE Vocabulary Words

Hopefully there are a lot of GRE words you learned in school – particularly because lots of GRE words come from literature, science, mathematics, music and art, and foreign languages. You probably even studied many of them when and if you studied for the SAT and ACT.

But some GRE vocab words aren't learned in the school curriculum, but in the language of school itself. Here are fifteen words whose content is related to school.

(1) Expel. Most of us know the word “expel” in terms of school – the greatest threat a school has to offer is to expel you, or kick you out.

That’s the context in which we’re used to hearing “expel”, but it could apply any time someone is deprived of his or her membership or even anytime something is removed, gotten rid of, or thrown out. You can expel a gum wrapper from your car window, or expel a drunkard from a bar, for example.

(2) Punctuate. You probably remember learning about punctuation, marks such as commas or periods that you put within text. So yes, to punctuate something means to add punctuation to it. But it also means to occur at intervals throughout a period of time, or to be peppered with.

For example, US history has been punctuated by the passing of Constitutional amendments. They happen sometimes, and when they do, they interrupt or change the course of history. Someone’s speech can be punctuated with curse words, or someone’s life can be punctuated by bad break-ups.

(3) Tardy. “Tardy” is a word I’ve never heard used outside of a school setting. My high school, and all other high schools I know of, didn’t mark you “late”: they marked you “tardy”. Tardy means delayed or late, but it’s not just students who can be tardy. You can send a tardy reply to an email, or a bus can make a tardy arrival at the bus stop.

(4) Valediction. Most of us know that the valedictorian is the student with the best GPA, but that’s sort of a coincidence. That student is not called the valedictorian because he or she has the best grades – he or she is called the valedictorian because he or she gives the valedictory, or valediction, at the graduation ceremony (and is chosen for that job because of his or her good grades).

So what’s a valediction? That “diction” root should tell you it has something to do with speech, and it does – it’s a saying of goodbye. The valediction speech at graduation is a spoken goodbye to high school. So if you wave to someone in valediction, for example, you’re waving goodbye.

(5) Matriculate. When you matriculate in a school, you enroll there. “Matriculate” is also a noun; it is a person who is enrolled at a school. It is sometimes, but rarely, used more broadly to mean that you are recorded in an official register or record.

(6) Agenda. An agenda can be an appointment calendar – a physical item you can hold. It can also be a list of items or topics you plan to cover in a class or meeting. A syllabus would be some form of agenda.

On broader and less literal terms, it can be someone’s plan. So for example, it might be my agenda to get my child to better his vocabulary when I purchase him books he enjoys, or you might take someone to dinner with the agenda of getting him to join your book club. So it’s both a list and a plan, in almost any meaning those words have.

(7) Peer. A peer is a contemporary – someone your own age or of your own ability level. You go to school with your peers.

“Peer” is the root of some other vocab words, such as “peerless”, which unsurprisingly means “without any equal”. If a peer is someone who is on your level, something that is peerless is not on the same level as anything else – it’s better.

(8) Mentor. Maybe you had an official mentor when you were in school. Maybe you served as a mentor to a younger or less experienced student. A mentor is an advisor, someone who offers his or her experience to advise or train others. (“Mentor” is also a verb meaning to give advice or training to another.)

(9) Studious. You can see the root word “study” right in “studious”: to be studious means to study hard.

(10) Pedagogue. Okay, this is probably not a word you learned in school. Unless you went to Ed school, in which case, you heard it a lot. A pedagogue is a teacher – and not in a good way. It’s generally someone who is overly strict or pedantic: picture a teacher from 1920, making students write lessons by rote on chalk slates, hitting them with a ruler if they mispronounce a memorized poem. That’s a pedagogue.

By contrast, pedagogy is any method or practice of teaching – it doesn’t have a negative connotation. They way someone teaches math is his or her pedagogy. New pedagogies are introduced all the time in the world of teaching: teaching with computer games, for example, or emphasizing hands-on learning. While “pedagogue” has a negative connotation, “pedagogy” has neither a good or bad connotation.

(11) Prodigy. Have you ever heard the expression “child prodigy”? A prodigy is someone who has special abilities or qualities – it’s usually used to describe a child. A kid who can play Mozart on the piano at the age of six would be a prodigy, and so would a ten-year-old who was attending MIT.

(12) Taunt. To taunt someone is to tease or insult them. Similarly, a taunt is the insult or teasing word itself. Maybe everyone doesn’t associate “taunt” with a school experience, but probably almost all of us either remember taunting someone or being taunted at least once – probably both!

In a less literal meaning, you might be taunted by a thing or an idea. If you are trying to eat healthily, the cupcakes in the break room might taunt you. If you made a bad stock pick and lost a lot of money, the memory of that choice might taunt you every day when you look at your bank account.

(13) Graphite. Graphite is the material in pencils that we usually call “lead”. Because lead is, you know, toxic. The word “graphite” is often used to refer to the color of graphite as well – a dark grey.

(14) Dismiss. You probably have a fond memory of the words “early dismissal”, so you know that to “dismiss” someone means to let them leave or to send them away. One can also be dismissed from formal service. In a less conventional but still often-used meaning, dismiss also means to close out or leave a computer screen or program.

(15) Sage. A sage is a wise person, often one you seek out for advice. He or she doesn't have to be old, but a sage often is. Do you have a teacher you remember particularly seeking out for his or her wisdom or advice? Here’s a bit of sage advice for you: give that teacher a call and say thank-you.