The terms and information in our ASVAB Word Knowledge Study Guide will help you improve your ASVAB score in this section. Let’s get this party started!

When you join the US military, you must complete certain evaluations to help you navigate your major specialization in the military branches. Applicants, like all other military branches, must pass the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), which is traditionally divided into ten test subjects. The results of the test will help determine your eligibility to join or initially enlist in the Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, Army, National Guard, and other services.

Word knowledge is included in all other tests, and it is equally important in determining an aspiring applicant’s eligibility. Furthermore, it is widely regarded as one of the most important domains to pursue because it will pre-define your vocabulary skills, particularly in times of military operations that rely on verbal deliberations, and honing such skills is a necessary step in leading or supporting a specific military operation.

Our FREE 2025 ASVAB practice test is a great way to get ready for the upcoming exam! To break up the monotony of traditional study methods, thousands of ASVAB practice questions are gamified round by round. Furthermore, many ASVAB full tests will assist you in familiarizing yourself with the actual test format. Our website now has the ASVAB Study Guide 2025 for all 9 parts! Let’s begin practicing right away!

What Is Included In The ASVAB Word Knowledge Test?

The ASVAB Word Knowledge section measures your knowledge and understanding of the word meaning both individually used and when included in a sentence. You may find it difficult to remember a specific word since the English language is so rich. However, our ASVAB word knowledge practice tests are designed and simulated as the actual test to help you adapt to the test format. Improving your language and vocabulary usage will help you both prepare for the ASVAB test and boost your communication ability in your career and personal life.

Your Word Knowledge score is a part of the AFQT score that will determine if you are qualified to enroll in the military. Then, how many word knowledge questions are on the ASVAB? You have to answer 16 questions in 8 minutes on the CAT-ASVAB test, while the paper-and-pencil version asks 35 questions in 11 minutes.

As we continue with the course, take note of these two primary types of questions included in the test:

Literal Definition of a word

These questions let you choose between a set of words that may define the pre-given word.

Example 1:

Nefarious most nearly means,

A. Kindness

B. Thoughtfulness

C. Worthy

D. Evil

With the given choices above, the answer would be D. Evil. Always read the other words to know if it is likely synonymous or antonymous with the given word.

Example 2:

Flabbergasting most nearly means,

A. Plain

B. Dumbfounding

C. Simple

D. Mundane

The answer above would be “B. Dumbfounding.” Like the first note, always read the other given words to know if they are similar in nature and definition.

Example 3:

Idyllic most nearly means,

A. Picturesque

B. Dreadful

C. Flawed

D. Atrocious

It is apparent that the answer would be A. Picturesque, considering that the majority of the given words are antonymous with the questioned word.

Emphasized (italicized or underlined) Term

Unlike the first type of question, the emphasized word would be the crux of the question which can be answered by determining how it was utilized in the pre-given sentence.

Example 1:

Tim told his best friend, Cole,” Break a leg, bro!”

A. You’re a loser

B. Good luck

C. Good riddance

D. You’re welcome

It would be “B. Good Luck.” Break a leg is a common idiom that expresses your support to a certain someone.

Example 2:

As Gary finished the exam, he told his seatmate, Bryan,” Oh dude, the test was indeed a piece of cake.”

A. Difficult

B. Mind-boggling

C. Easy

D. Strong

The answer is “C. Easy.” Like the first example, the phrase “ A piece of cake is a common idiomatic expression used by many people when expressing ease in doing a particular work.

Core Topics To Study/Ponder

Having much knowledge about basic to advanced grammatical appendices is a fundamental setting that is necessary for you to adapt upon taking all ASVAB tests to properly analyze the set of pre-given questions. Among these technical and grammatical components are; roots, suffixes, and prefixes.

Take note: There’s no need to memorize all of the succeeding terms but it’s more convenient to familiarize the entirety of the grammatical components for accurate deliberation.

To put it into perspective, if you’re aware that “anti” means “opposite/against” then you’d be able to figure out that “anti-Covid 19” means a notion against the concurrent Covid-19.

Prefixes

To make things clear, the subsequent terms are common prefixes along with their equivalent definition and how it is used in common words.

bene – good – beneficiary

Sample sentence: John is a beneficiary of an international scholarship.

de – opposing term – delimitation

Sample sentence: The research should have its own limit and delimitation manner.

dis – refuse, opposing factor of – disentangle

Sample sentence: Gwyn tried to disentangle the twisted rope.

em- / en – cause to happen – empower – enlist

Sample sentence: You’ll soon be empowered after enlisting in the service.

in- – inside tern – input

Sample sentence: You must always consider the raw inputs and subsequent outputs.

inter – between certain concepts – intermediary

Sample sentence: Jesus is the intermediary between humanity and the Almighty Father.

mid – in between or middle spot – midterms

Sample sentence: It’s crucial to pass the midterms with flying colors.

mis – wrongly, contradictory – misconception

Sample sentence: World as it is, bears a common misconception about life and death.

non – not – non-existent

Sample sentence: Chloe’s best friend is no less than a non-existent being that only resides in her imagination.

over – beyond, over – oversee

Sample sentence: The military force is established to oversee peace.

re – again – revitalize

Sample sentence: The essence of brotherhood revitalizes the sense of belongingness.

semi – initial, halfway – semi-bald

Sample sentence: Joe went to his barber and asked for a semi-bald cut.

under – beneath, below, under – underlying

Sample sentence: Every conflict has its own underlying reason.

Suffixes

Common suffixes along with their meaning word application:

-able – having the capacity – breakable

Sample sentence: True love is not a breakable bond.

-al – relevance – relational

Sample sentence: It’s nice to have an improved relational thinking style.

-ence – instance of activity – commence

Sample sentence: The proctor remarked,” Let the exam commence!”

-ation –manner or process – evolution

Sample sentence: The evolution of man is predicted to be a paradox of life.

-ful – plenty/filled with – wonderful

Sample sentence: Life is indeed a wonderful journey.

-ist – one who epitomizes – specialist

Sample sentence: Our neighbor is a resident medical specialist.

-less – not having, the act of post-removal– boneless

Sample sentence: Have you ever tried boneless milkfish?

-let – small version – piglet

Sample sentence: The mother pig was walking alongside her three piglets.

-ment – act/progress of – development

Sample sentence: Humanity is now at the edge of AI development.

-ness – bearing a certain characteristic – holiness

Sample sentence: We shall abide by the holiness of God’s word.

-er / -or – one who acts or perform – operator

Sample sentence: Mr. Doe is a tractor operator in West Virginia.

Roots

Common Roots along with their meaning and word application:

The common roots are words that are the primary origin of other words attached with either a prefix- (before a word) or -suffix (after a word).

bio – means ‘life’ – Biology

cede – going towards – precede

corp – a part of a single body – incorporation

dict – utterance – dictionary

domine – overwhelm/ overcome – domination

form – figure/shape – formulation

fract – breakage/scattered – refraction

graph – outlining – Telegraph

path – experience or feeling – Telepathy

press – deviate – suppress

tract – pulling action – retraction

vok – stimulate or call – evoke

Essential ASVAB Word Knowledge List

Below are the most frequent words that may appear on your ASVAB Word Knowledge exam:

abandon: forsake; leave behind
abate: become less in amount or intensity
abdicate: give up power, duties, or obligations
abhorrent: offensive to the mind
abound: exist in large quantities
abridge: lessen, diminish, or curtail
abscond: run away, often taking something or somebody along
abundant: present in great quantity
acute: ending in a sharp point
adversary: someone who offers opposition
affect: have an influence upon
aggravate: make worse
allot: give out
amateur: someone who pursues a study or sport as a pastime
ambient: completely enveloping
amity: a state of friendship and cordiality
anomie: lack of moral standards in a society
anticipate: regard something as probable or likely
appraise: consider in a comprehensive way
arcanum: information is known only to a special group
obscure: not clearly understood or expressed
vague: lacking clarity or distinctness
limber: easily bent
inertia: the tendency of something to stay in rest or motion
ambiguous: having more than one possible meaning
frugal: avoiding waste
corrugated: shaped into alternating parallel grooves and ridges
vestibule: a large entrance or reception room or area
jetty: protective structure extending from the shore into the water
eulogy: a formal expression of praise for someone who has died
satchel: luggage consisting of a small case with a flat bottom
glut: supply with an excess of
slander: words were falsely spoken that damage the reputation of another
vicious: having the nature of evildoing
immerse: cause to be submerged
lofty: of imposing height; especially standing out above others
accost: approach and speak to someone aggressively or insistently
despicable: morally reprehensible
carcass: the dead body of an animal
debonair: having a sophisticated charm
spondee: a metrical unit with stressed-stressed syllables
spontaneous: said or done without having been planned in advance
momentous: of very great significance
offish: lacking cordiality; unfriendly
transpose: change the order or arrangement of
fasting: abstaining from food
inflexible: resistant to being bent
perish: pass from physical life
adept: having or showing knowledge and skill and aptitude
competent: properly or sufficiently qualified, capable, or efficient
economical: using the minimum of time or resources for effectiveness
shrine: a place of worship associated with something sacred
incentive: a positive motivational influence
levelheaded: exercising or showing good judgment
reluctant: not eager
hostile: characterized by enmity or ill will
surmount: get on top of; deal with successfully
barred: preventing entry or exit or a course of action
warily: in a manner marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
grating: unpleasantly harsh in sound
vagrant: a wanderer with no established residence or means of support
scrappy: full of fighting spirit
dilemma: state of uncertainty in a choice between unfavorable options
menagerie: a collection of live animals for study or display
unaccustomed: not habituated to; unfamiliar with
fluorescent: emitting light during exposure to external radiant energy
rodent: relatively small placental mammals
humorous: characterized by the power to evoke laughter
notary: someone empowered to certify a document’s validity
knead: use your hands to mix and work something into a uniform mass
bliss: a state of extreme happiness
impulsive: without forethought
interject: speak abruptly, especially as an interruption
jargon: technical terminology characteristic of a particular subject
tight: closely constrained or constricted or constricting
consequence: a phenomenon that is caused by some previous phenomenon
obliterate: remove completely from recognition or memory
unison: the state of corresponding exactly
turmoil: a violent disturbance
wary: marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
impair: make worse or less effective
ravage: cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
perpetual: continuing forever or indefinitely
chide: scold or reprimand severely or angrily
savory: pleasing to the sense of taste
inhabit: live in; be a resident of
fidget: move restlessly
massive: containing a great quantity of matter
flaunt: display proudly
hoist: raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help
clumsy: lacking grace in movement or posture
frail: physically weak
utilize: put into service
zest: a tart spicy quality
prosperous: in fortunate circumstances financially
defy: resist or confront resistance
wheeze: the act of breathing with a husky or whistling sound
luminous: softly bright or radiant
incinerate: become reduced to ashes
calligraphy: beautiful handwriting
prestige: a high standing achieved through success or influence
profane: grossly irreverent toward what is held to be sacred
whim: an odd or fanciful or capricious idea
thrift: extreme care in spending money
malign: speak unfavorably about
boggy: (of soil) soft and watery
eccentric: conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual
haughty: having or showing arrogant superiority
augment: enlarge or increase
sublime: of high moral or intellectual value
hypocrite: a person who professes beliefs that he or she does not hold
hygienic: tending to promote or preserve the health
err: make a mistake
parity: functional equality
glorify: praise or honor

Conclusion

Finally, the ASVAB Word Knowledge Study Guide is a wonderful resource for anyone preparing for the ASVAB Word Knowledge part. This guide includes a thorough overview of the types of questions you might expect to see on the exam, approaches to these problems, as well as words to know for the ASVAB. You can improve your exam performance by using the ASVAB Word Knowledge Study Guide to build a stronger understanding of vocabulary and word usage. Furthermore, the practice questions and quizzes contained in the guide can assist you in identifying areas that require additional review and practice.

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