Word Knowledge practice: ASVAB vocabulary questions
Ten vocabulary questions in two sets of five: a word alone or inside a sentence, and the choice closest in meaning. The real subtest leaves little time to think.
Correct answers
0 / 5
0 of 5 answered: the explanations appear below as you go.
| Subtests covered | WK |
Practice items written by Radif Partners for this site, not real ASVAB questions. A share of correct answers does not convert into a standard score or an AFQT percentile.
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · official sources read on October 22, 2026 · published formulas and tables
Word Knowledge (WK) is the ASVAB vocabulary subtest: each question shows a word, alone or in a short sentence, and asks which of four choices is closest in meaning. It is the fastest subtest of the test. The computer version gives 15 questions in 9 minutes, about 36 seconds per word, and the paper version 35 questions in 11 minutes, about 19 seconds. WK has no line of its own in the AFQT: it is combined with Paragraph Comprehension into Verbal Expression (VE), and VE counts twice in AR + MK + 2 × VE. With PC at 53 and average math, raising WK from 44 to 50 lifts the estimated VE from 47 to 51 and the AFQT from 42 to 50. VE also enters the Army GT, 3 Air Force areas and 2 Marine Corps line scores. The ten practice words here are chosen by Radif Partners; they are not real ASVAB items and a share of right answers is not a score.
What the Word Knowledge subtest asks
Each question is one word and four choices. Sometimes the word stands alone, as in "Candid most nearly means", sometimes it sits in a sentence, as in "The general's terse reply ended the meeting quickly". The ten words on this page are diligent, candid, terse, mitigate, abundant, tenacity, obsolete, feasible, meticulous and ambiguous: common enough in reports and newspapers, rare enough in daily speech to cause hesitation. The real subtest uses the same two formats, as the Official ASVAB sample questions show.
Speed: the shortest time per question on the test
According to the Official ASVAB fact sheet, the computer version gives 15 words in 9 minutes, about 36 seconds each, and the paper version 35 words in 11 minutes, about 19 seconds each. There is no time to reason at length: you either know the word, recognize a part of it, or use the sentence. That is why timed practice matters more here than on any math subtest. Run through a list of twenty words with a stopwatch and stop thinking after your time per word, even if you are unsure.
Traps in vocabulary questions
- Look-alike words. Mitigate (to lessen) is not militate (to act against). Candid (honest) has nothing to do with candy or candle. Read the word letter by letter before you answer.
- The opposite among the choices. For abundant, a list may offer scarce next to plentiful. The opposite is placed there because it is related to the word; a fast reader picks it by association.
- Tone in a sentence. In "the recruit's tenacity impressed the drill instructor", the word must be something an instructor admires, which rules out laziness or fear before you even know the word.
- A second meaning. Some words carry a common meaning and a formal one. Try each choice in the sentence; the right one keeps the sentence logical.
Word parts solve many unknown words. Ambi means both, so ambiguous is something with two possible meanings, unclear. Ob often means against or away, which helps with obsolete. Bene is good and mal is bad. Learn a few dozen of these and you will recognize a share of the words you have never seen.
Why WK weighs double
Your sheet prints WK, but the composites use Verbal Expression, a weighted mix of WK and Paragraph Comprehension. The 1997 score scale report gives the formula for the reference form, and the VE calculator applies it. Take a candidate with PC 53, AR 50 and MK 50. With WK 44, the estimated VE is 47 and the AFQT 42. With WK 50, VE becomes 51 and the AFQT 50, because VE counts twice in AR + MK + 2 × VE. VE also enters the Army GT (AR + VE), the Air Force areas M = AR + MC + AS + 2VE; A = MK + VE; G = AR + VE, and the Marine Corps line scores GT = AR + MC + VE; CL = MK + VE. Few hours of study move so many scores at once.
How to build vocabulary in a few weeks
Keep a notebook of words you meet in news articles, manuals and books, each with the sentence where you found it, and review it daily. Group words by root rather than alphabetically. Test yourself in the same format as the subtest: a word, four choices, a short time. Reading also trains Paragraph Comprehension, so the Paragraph Comprehension page is the natural partner of this one. When your verbal side is solid, the study plan page shows what remains to gain on the math side, and the practice test checks every subtest at once.