UWorld Top 100 Digital SAT Vocab

abate

to lessen or reduce in intensity

abet

to help or encourage, usually in wrongdoing

abhor

to hate or detest

abnegate

to give up or renounce (a right, power, or desire)

abscond

to leave secretly and quickly, often to avoid capture

advocate

to publicly support or argue for (v.); a supporter (n.)

allude

to refer to something indirectly

ambiguity

the quality of being open to more than one interpretation

analogy

a comparison between two things based on a shared feature

apprehend

to understand or grasp; also, to arrest

articulate

to express clearly (v.); able to speak clearly (adj.)

bane

a cause of great distress or ruin

bereft

lacking something needed; deprived (often of a loved one)

bias

an unfair preference for or against something

berate

to scold harshly

brevity

shortness of time or length; conciseness

cache

a hidden store of items

capitalize

to take advantage of an opportunity

capitulate

to give in or surrender

credible

believable; trustworthy

corroborate

to confirm or support with evidence

complacent

self-satisfied and unaware of possible problems

construe

to interpret the meaning of something

contentious

likely to cause argument; controversial

covet

to strongly desire something, especially another's

dearth

a lack or shortage

debunk

to expose as false

defunct

no longer existing or functioning

didactic

intended to teach, often with a moral lesson

delegate

to assign a task to someone else (v.); a representative (n.)

dispel

to make a feeling, belief, or myth go away

doctrine

a set of beliefs taught by a group

dogma

beliefs presented as undeniably true by an authority

eclectic

drawing from a wide variety of sources or styles

embezzle

to steal money one has been trusted with

elicit

to draw out a response or information

empirical

based on observation or experiment, not theory

emulate

to imitate, especially in order to equal or surpass

espouse

to adopt or support a cause or belief

extort

to obtain something by force or threats

expedite

to speed up a process

extraneous

irrelevant; coming from outside

equivocal

unclear or ambiguous, often deliberately

fallacy

a mistaken belief or faulty reasoning

fortuitous

happening by chance, often luckily

flagrant

conspicuously or shockingly obvious (of wrongdoing)

foil

to prevent from succeeding (v.); a character who contrasts with another (n.)

grandiloquent

pompous or overly grand in speech or writing

gratuitous

unnecessary or unjustified; also, given free

hapless

unlucky

hegemony

dominance of one group or nation over others

heterogeneous

made up of diverse, different parts

hubris

excessive pride or self-confidence

idiosyncrasy

a peculiar habit or trait specific to a person

impetuous

acting quickly without thinking; impulsive

impute

to attribute (usually blame) to someone

incumbent

the current holder of an office (n.); required as a duty (adj.)

incite

to provoke or stir up action

insurgent

a rebel against authority

licentious

disregarding moral or legal rules, especially sexual ones

linchpin

the person or thing holding something together

litigate

to take a dispute to court

maxim

a short statement of a general truth or rule of conduct

multifarious

having many varied parts or forms

nadir

the lowest point

noxious

harmful or poisonous

opine

to state one's opinion

ostensible

appearing or claimed to be true, but possibly not

ostracism

exclusion from a group or society

paradigm

a typical model or pattern; a framework of thinking

partisan

a strong supporter of a party or cause; biased

pejorative

expressing disapproval or contempt

penchant

a strong liking or tendency

placid

calm and peaceful

prerogative

an exclusive right or privilege

prompt

to cause or encourage (v.); done without delay (adj.)

prosecute

to bring legal action against; to carry out

quaint

charmingly old-fashioned

quixotic

idealistic in an unrealistic, impractical way

refute

to prove something is false

relegate

to move to a lower position or less important status

requisition

an official demand or request for something

sanctity

holiness; the state of being sacred or inviolable

sanguine

optimistic and confident

spur

to urge on or encourage (v.); a stimulus (n.)

sanctuary

a place of safety or refuge

solicit

to ask for or request

serendipity

finding valuable things by happy chance

surreptitious

done secretly or sneakily

tirade

a long, angry speech

torpid

sluggish; lacking energy

torrent

a strong, fast flow (of water, words, etc.)

travesty

a ridiculous or shocking distortion of something

ubiquitous

found everywhere

undermine

to weaken gradually or secretly

utilitarian

designed to be useful rather than attractive

veracity

truthfulness

vestige

a trace of something that is disappearing or gone

vilify

to speak about someone in an abusive, disparaging way

warrant

to justify or make necessary (v.); a legal authorization (n.)