Top 100 HSPT Vocabulary Words

Abate

reduce or lessen

Abandon

to give up completely

Aberration

something unusual, different from the norm.

Abet

to encourage or support

Abstain

to refrain from doing something

Abrogate

to abolish or render void

Aesthetic

pertaining to beauty

Abstemious

moderate in appetite

Anachronistic

Chronologically misplaced

Acrimonious

Exhibiting harshness or sharpness in speech or mood

Asylum

sanctuary, a place of safety

Banal

lacking in freshness, originality and vigor

Bias

a prejudice towards something or against something

Belie

to give a false idea of

Brazen

bold

Belligerent

engaged in war

Camaraderie

togetherness, a group dynamic of trust

Cabal

a small group of persons engaged in plotting

Capacious

very large, spacious

Callous

unfeeling or insensitive

Clairvoyant

can predict the future, see things that others can't

Cantankerous

ill-natured, quarrelsome

Compassion

sympathy

Captious

quick to find fault about trifle

Condescending

patronizing, arrogance

Chauvinist

someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he/she belongs, an extreme patriot

Conformist

someone who follows the majority

Clamorous

very loud/noisy

Deleterious

harmful, destructive

Deference

submitting to the wishes or judgement of another

Digression

straying from the main point

Delectable

very pleasing (esp. in food)

Discredit

dishonor someone, prove something untrue

Demeanor

behavior; bearing

Divergent

moving apart, going in different directions, scoring inconclusive on the Aptitude Test

Edict

a public command or proclamation issued by an authority

Emulate

following someone else's example

Effete

no longer productive; lacking in, worn out

Ephemeral

fleeting, temporary

Elicit

to draw out

Exemplary

outstanding

Elucidate

to make clear

Forbearance

patience, restraint

Facade

front or face, especially of a building

Fortuitous

lucky, fortunate

Fallacious

unsound; misleading; deceptive

Fraught

filled with

Flaccid

lacking firmness

Ghastly

horrible; deathlike

Grimace

a distortion of the face to express and attitude or feeling

Hedonist

person who acts in pursuit of pleasure

Harbinger

a forerunner; ail announcer

Impetuous

rash, impulsive

Immaculate

spotless; pure

Inconsequential

without concise, trivial, doesn't matter

Impeccable

faultless

Intrepid

fearless

Imprecation

a curse

Jubilation

extreme happiness or joy

Latent

hidden; present but not fully developed

Longevity

long, particularly when describing life

Maudlin

Sentimental to the point of tears

Nonchalant

casual, calm, at ease

Oblivious

forgetful, absent-minded

Orator

speaker

Obviate

to prevent, dispose of, or make unnecessary

Parched

lacking water, dried up

Panacea

a remedy for all ills

Pragmatic

practical

Paraphrase

to rewrite the meaning or idea of a piece of writing using other words

Pretentious

being self-important, thinking you are better than others

Pecuniary

pertaining to money

Prosaic

ordinary

Pensive

sadly thoughtful

Provocative

causes a fuss, inflammatory, likely to get people riled up

Peruse

to read carefully

Querulous

irritable, prone to argument

Radical

one who advocates for extreme basic changes

Reclusive

hermit, withdrawn

Recapitulate

to restate in brief, concise form

Renovate

to make new, rebuild

Refute

to prove incorrect or false

Reverence

deep respect

Sallow

sick

Sanguinary

bloody

Spurious

false, untrue

Scourage

to punish severely; to afflict; to whip

Substantiate

to confirm, prove

Scrutinize

to observe carefully

Superficial

shallow

Supernatural

Entities and actions that transcend the natural world of cause and effect.

Sleazy

flimsy and cheap

Surreptitious

secret

Tactful

polite

Tangible

real; actual

Transient

temporary, short-lived

Vanquish

to subdue or conquer

Vindicate

to free from blame

Wary

careful, watchful

Zenith

the highest point