SAT Vocab

Premeditated

done deliberately; planned in advance

Lieu

in the place of

Trite

lacking in freshness or effectiveness

Unambiguous

not ambiguous : clear, precise

Spurious

not being what it purports to be; false or fake.

Equitable

dealing fairly and equally

Tumultuous

making a loud, confused noise; uproarious.

Formidable

strong and powerful

Delineate

describe or portray (something) precisely.

Elucidate

make (something) clear; explain.

Undulate

move or go with a smooth up-and-down motion.

Proliferation

rapid increase in numbers.

Vicissitude

a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant

Aggrandized

to make great or greater

Ruminated

think deeply about something.

Supplant

supersede and replace.

Appease

to bring to a state of peace, quiet, ease, calm, or contentment; pacify; soothe:

Burnish

polish (something, especially metal) by rubbing.

Eschew

to avoid habitually especially on moral or practical grounds.

Inexorable

impossible to stop or prevent.

Contemptible

deserving contempt; despicable.

Eclectic

deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.

Odious

extremely unpleasant; repulsive.

Repudiates

refuse to accept or be associated with

Proclaims

announces officially or publicly

Recants

to withdraw or repudiate

Foretell

predict (the future or a future event)

Tenuous

having little substance or strength

Nuanced

having or characterized by subtle and often appealingly complex qualities, aspects, or distinctions

Incongruous

not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings or other aspects of something

Posthumous

occurring, awarded, or appearing after the death of the originator

Tangential

diverging from a previous course or line; erratic

Ambivalent

having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone

Ambiguous

doubtful or uncertain especially from obscurity or indistinctness

Dearth

scarcity that makes dear

Philanthropy

the desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed especially by the generous donation of money to good causes.

Endow

provide with a quality, ability, or asset

Absconded

leave hurriedly and secretly, typically to avoid detection of or arrest for an unlawful action such as theft

Satiate

satisfied to the full

Remunerate

pay (someone) for services rendered or work done

Vernacular

the language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region

Putative

commonly accepted or supposed

Awry

away from the appropriate, planned, or expected course; amiss

Terse

sparing in the use of words; abrupt

Sublime

elevate to a high degree of moral or spiritual purity or excellence

Aggregate

form or group into a class or cluster

Sacrosanct

(especially of a principle, place, or routine) regarded as too important or valuable to be interfered with

Bemused

perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment.

Nihilism

the rejection of all religious and moral principles, in the belief that life is meaningless

Prudent

acting with or showing care and thought for the future

Perfunctory

(of an action or gesture) carried out with a minimum of effort or reflection

Predilection

a tendency to think favorably of something in particular; partiality; preference

Rancor

bitterness or resentfulness, especially when long-standing

Contingent

subject to chance

Magnanimity

the fact or condition of being magnanimous; generosity

Languor

the state or feeling, often pleasant, of tiredness or inertia

Avarice

extreme greed for wealth or material gain

Industry

hard work

Parsimony

the quality of being overly sparing with money

Insularity

ignorance of or lack of interest in cultures, ideas, or peoples outside one's own experience

Liberality

the quality of giving or spending freely

Ontological

relating to the branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being

Paradoxically

in a way that seems impossible or difficult to understand because of containing two opposite facts or characteristics

Enigmatic

difficult to interpret or understand; mysterious

Exacerbating

make (a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling) worse

Mitigating

having the effect of making something bad less severe, serious, or painful

Turpitude

depravity; wickedness

Unfettered

not controlled or restricted

Insipid

lacking flavor

Innocuous

producing no injury; harmless

Intrinsic

belonging naturally; essential

Inscrutable

impossible to understand or interpret

Monotony

the quality of wearisome constancy, routine, and lack of variety

Dissonance

lack of harmony among musical notes

Axiom

a statement or proposition which is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true

Denigrate

criticize unfairly; disparage

Ameliorate

to make or grow better or more tolerable

Rustic

made in a plain and simple fashion

Contemporary

living or occurring at the same time

Parochial

relating to a church parish

Veneration

great respect; reverence

Munificence

the quality or action of being lavishly generous; great generosity

Benign

gentle and kindly

Digress

leave the main subject temporarily in speech or writing

Carp

to find fault or complain querulously or unreasonably

Querulous

complaining in a petulant or whining manner

Truncate

shorten the duration or extent of

Candor

unreserved, honest, or sincere expression

Aberration

something that differs from the norm

Abhor

to hate, detest

Acrimony

bitterness, discord

Disseminate

to spread widely

Ethereal

heavenly, exceptionally delicate or refined

Malevolent

wanting harm to befall others

Propriety

the quality or state of being proper, decent

Quagmire

a difficult situation

Quell

to control or diffuse a potentially explosive situation

Recalcitrant

defiant, unapologetic

Recapitulate

to sum up, repeat

Scathing

sharp, critical, hurtful