Additional words

Adept

skilled+

Affinity, Orientation, Predilection

liking for+

Assuage, Mollify, Placate

to calm, soothe+

Authentic

genuine+

Centrality

state of being central or essential+

Comprehensive

thorough, complete (NOT to be confused with comprehensible, which means “understandable”)+

Contingent

dependent upon+

Credibility

the quality of being trustworthy+

cultivate

grow, raise, e.g., crops+

Galvanize, Mobilize

to spur into action+

Idealized

represented as better than reality+

Infallible, Irreproachable

faultless, never wrong+

Ingenious

extremely clever+

Innocuous, Benign

harmless+

Innovative

new and groundbreaking+

Intricate

very complex and detailed+

Meticulous, Punctilious

extremely careful+

Mtigate

make less severe+

Multifaceted, Nuanced

detailed; involving or examining many aspects of a topic+

Prescient

able to foresee or predict future events+

Prevalent, Prevailing

widespread; generally accepted+

Ambiguous

unclear, open to interpretation-

Antithetical

directly opposing-

Conventional

traditional, what has always been done; usually has a negative connotation on the SAT-

Cursory, Ephemeral, Transitory

very brief, lasting only a short time-

Debacle

disastrous situation-

Detrimental

harmful-

Disparity (Disparate)

difference, gap-

Equivocal

uncertain, refusing to give a clear answer-

Exacerbate

make worse-

Haphazard

careless, random-

Immutable

unable to be changed-

Hinder, Impede, Inhibit, Preclude

prevent, block-

Impenetrable, Indecipherable

incomprehensible-

Inconsequential, Peripheral, Trivial

unimportant-

Misconstrue

misunderstand-

Nebulous

unclear (literally, cloudy)-

Obdurate, Obstinate

stubborn-

Ominous

threatening-

Orthodoxy

accepted theory or way of doing things-

Tenuous

weak-

Thwart

block, prevent (a plan or outcome)-

Vacillate, Waver

be indecisive; go back and forth-

Acquisition

something received or purchased

Aesthetic

related to beauty

Austere, Spare

very pain, undecorated

Commonplace, Mundane

ordinary, everyday

Corollary

a statement or condition that logically results from a proven argument

Conspicuous, Distinctive

striking

Contemporary

current

Correlation

direct relationship

Contrive

think up

Disposition

personality

Disseminate

to spread

Diverse, Heterogeneous / Homogenous

varied / consisting all of one thing

Engender

to give rise to

Epitome

essence

Evade

avoid (capture)

Evince

to make clear (a though or emotion)

Evoke

to bring to mind, e.g., an event or emotion

Excavate

dig up, unearth

Exploit

take advantage of

Ideology

belief system

Fluctuate

to go back and forth, be unstable

Hybrid

offspring of two different sources

Idiosyncratic

highly distinctive, unusual

Imminent, Impending

about to occur; unavoidable

Induce

bring about; cause to occur

Inextricable

completely joined; impossible to separate

Inherent, Innate, Intrinsic

inborn, existing in something by definition

Intuitive

without thought, done instinctively

Laconic, Succinct, Terse

using few words

Lineage

a family/genetic sequence

Magnitude

large size

Mercurial

changeable, constantly shifting

Monumental

immense

Mutable / Immutable

changeable / not changeable

Offhand

casual, done without thought

Outsized

disproportionate; exceptionally large

Pragmatic

practical

Precipitate

to set off; clause to occur

Preliminary

occurring before the main event

Reciprocate

to respond to an action or behavior with the same action/behavior

Revenue

income from sales

Scheme

plot or plan

Scrutinize

to examine very closely (something that cannot be understood is inscrutable)

Successor

person who inherits another’s position

Supplement

v—to add onto; n—an addition