HESI A2 Vocabulary: 100 High-Yield Medical Terms to Know

No section on the HESI A2 gives you more points per hour of study than Vocabulary. The section is huge, 50 questions in 50 minutes, but the tested material is a finite list of words that repeat every year. Students who study the list systematically score in the mid 80s, while students who skip it leave easy points on the table.

This guide gives you 100 high-yield terms in four organized groups, plus the word roots and prefixes that let you decode words you have never seen. Pair this list with our HESI A2 grammar guide and you cover both English sections of the exam.

Why the Vocabulary Section Is Your Easiest Win

The Vocabulary and General Knowledge section asks you to define words, pick synonyms, or choose the word that fits a sentence. About half of the words are health care terms, and the rest are general academic words you will hear in nursing school lectures and clinicals.

Because the list is finite, this is the highest return section for your study time. The official HESI A2 study resources from Elsevier call it a section you "bank" rather than one you fight through: learn the words once, review them with flashcards, and the points are yours.

Word Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes That Decode New Words

You will not have seen every word on the exam, but most unfamiliar words are built from parts you can learn. These appear constantly:

Word part	Meaning	Example
a-, an-	Without, not	Anemia (without enough blood)
anti-	Against	Antibiotic (against bacteria)
bio-	Life	Biology (study of life)
brady-	Slow	Bradycardia (slow heart rate)
dys-	Difficult, painful	Dyspnea (difficult breathing)
endo-	Inside	Endocrine (glands that release inside)
hyper-	Above normal	Hypertension (high blood pressure)
hypo-	Below normal	Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
-itis	Inflammation	Gastritis (inflamed stomach)
macro-	Large	Macrophage (large white blood cell)
micro-	Small	Microorganism (tiny organism)
-ology	Study of	Pathology (study of disease)
patho-	Disease	Pathogen (disease-causing agent)
peri-	Around	Peripheral (around the outside)
post-	After	Postoperative (after surgery)
pre-	Before	Preoperative (before surgery)
tachy-	Fast	Tachycardia (fast heart rate)
trans-	Across	Transfusion (blood transferred across)

100 High-Yield Terms to Know

Study these in groups of 25. Say the word aloud, write the definition, and test yourself the next day. The lists are the ones HESI A2 takers see most often.

Health Care and Medical Terms (1-25)

Term	Definition
Acute	Sudden onset or short duration, as in acute pain
Chronic	Long-lasting or recurring over time
Benign	Not harmful or not cancerous
Malignant	Harmful, invasive, or cancerous
Diagnosis	Identification of a disease from its signs and symptoms
Prognosis	Predicted course and outcome of a disease
Etiology	The cause of a disease or condition
Symptom	A sign of illness reported by the patient
Syndrome	A group of symptoms that occur together
Prophylaxis	Treatment or action that prevents disease
Contraindication	A reason not to use a treatment
Exacerbation	Worsening of a condition
Remission	A period when symptoms improve or disappear
Palliative	Relieving symptoms without curing the disease
Idiopathic	Of unknown cause
Iatrogenic	Caused by medical treatment
Systemic	Affecting the whole body
Localized	Limited to one area
Pathophysiology	How disease alters normal body function
Homeostasis	The body's stable internal balance
Metabolism	All chemical processes that sustain life
Excretion	Removal of waste from the body
Secretion	Release of a substance by a gland or cell
Ingestion	Taking food or substances into the body
Absorption	Movement of nutrients into the bloodstream

Anatomy and Biology Terms (26-50)

Term	Definition
Anterior	Toward the front of the body
Posterior	Toward the back of the body
Superior	Above or toward the head
Inferior	Below or toward the feet
Medial	Toward the midline of the body
Lateral	Away from the midline
Proximal	Closer to the trunk
Distal	Farther from the trunk
Superficial	Near the body surface
Erythrocyte	Red blood cell
Leukocyte	White blood cell
Thrombocyte	Platelet, a cell that helps blood clot
Plasma	The liquid part of blood
Hemoglobin	The oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells
Artery	A vessel that carries blood away from the heart
Vein	A vessel that carries blood back to the heart
Capillary	A tiny vessel where gas and nutrient exchange occurs
Neuron	A nerve cell
Axon	The part of a neuron that sends signals
Dendrite	The part of a neuron that receives signals
Synapse	The gap between neurons where signals pass
Enzyme	A protein that speeds up chemical reactions
Antibody	A protein that defends against specific invaders
Pathogen	A microorganism that causes disease
Metastasis	Spread of cancer to other parts of the body

Academic and General Knowledge Words (51-75)

Term	Definition
Abate	To become less intense or severe
Aberrant	Departing from what is normal or expected
Abstain	To hold back or choose not to do something
Admonish	To warn or scold firmly
Adverse	Unfavorable or harmful
Advocate	To support or argue in favor of
Affinity	A natural attraction or liking
Alleviate	To make pain or difficulty less severe
Ambivalent	Having mixed or conflicting feelings
Analogous	Similar in some way, comparable
Anomaly	Something that deviates from the norm
Apathetic	Lacking interest or emotion
Arbitrary	Based on random choice rather than reason
Augment	To make larger or stronger
Austere	Severe or plain in appearance
Benevolent	Kind and well meaning
Candid	Honest and direct
Capricious	Given to sudden changes of mood or behavior
Censure	To criticize or officially condemn
Coherent	Logical and well organized
Complacent	Smugly self-satisfied, not anxious about risk
Concede	To admit something is true or grant a point
Concise	Short and to the point
Consensus	General agreement
Corroborate	To support with evidence

Personality and Behavior Words (76-100)

Term	Definition
Docile	Easily taught or managed
Dogmatic	Stating opinions as absolute truths
Ebullient	Full of energy and enthusiasm
Eclectic	Drawing from many different sources
Eloquent	Fluent and persuasive in speech
Emulate	To imitate in order to match or surpass
Erudite	Having deep knowledge, scholarly
Esoteric	Understood by only a few
Exuberant	Overflowing with excitement
Fastidious	Very attentive to detail, hard to please
Feasible	Possible and practical to do
Flippant	Not showing serious respect
Fluctuate	To rise and fall irregularly
Formidable	Inspiring fear or respect through size or strength
Frugal	Careful with money or resources
Futile	Pointless, unable to succeed
Garrulous	Excessively talkative
Gregarious	Sociable and outgoing
Hackneyed	Overused and unoriginal
Haphazard	Lacking order or planning
Hyperbole	Exaggerated statements not meant literally
Idiosyncrasy	A distinctive personal quirk
Implacable	Impossible to calm or satisfy
Incredulous	Unwilling to believe, skeptical
Indifferent	Having no interest or concern

How to Study Vocabulary for the HESI A2

Vocabulary responds to repetition, and flashcards are the fastest tool. Here is a plan that takes about 15 minutes a day:

• Learn 15 to 20 words per day, and always review yesterday's set before learning today's.
• Use flashcards with the word on one side and the definition plus a sample sentence on the other.
• Group words by theme, as this guide does, because the brain remembers related words better.
• Learn the word parts table first, then use it to guess meanings before checking the definition.
• Take practice questions on vocabulary daily, since the exam phrasing, such as asking for a synonym, is part of the skill.

When you are ready to test yourself, our HESI A2 prep page includes vocabulary practice tests that mirror the real section, and our full HESI A2 study guide shows how vocabulary fits into your overall plan.

Final Thoughts

The Vocabulary section is the cheapest score improvement on the HESI A2. The word list is finite, the question format is simple, and the section rewards short daily review sessions more than any other section on the exam. Learn the word parts, work through the 100 terms in this guide, review with flashcards, and you will walk into test day with one section already handled.