SAT Word List

Abate

to lessen in intensity or degree

Aberration

something that deviates from the norm

Abstain

to refrain from something

Adept

highly skilled or proficient

Admonish

to warn or reprimand gently

Advocate

to support a cause or policy

Affluent

wealthy

Alleviate

to make less severe

Ambiguous

having more than one meaning

Ambivalent

having mixed feelings

Amiable

friendly, good-natured

Anomaly

something unusual or unexpected

Antipathy

deep dislike

Apathy

lack of interest or emotion

Apprehensive

anxious or fearful

Arduous

difficult, requiring effort

Articulate

able to express ideas clearly

Assiduous

showing great care and perseverance

Astute

clever, perceptive

Austere

plain, strict in manner

Avid

very eager or enthusiastic

Banal

boring, unoriginal

Benevolent

kind, charitable

Bias

prejudice in favor of or against something

Bolster

to support or strengthen

Brevity

briefness

Cacophony

harsh, unpleasant mix of sounds

Candid

honest, straightforward

Capricious

unpredictable, impulsive

Cathartic

emotionally cleansing

Caustic

harsh, biting in tone

Censure

to criticize severely

Chastise

to scold or punish

Clandestine

secretive

Coerce

to force someone to do something

Complacent

self-satisfied, unaware of danger

Concise

brief and to the point

Concur

to agree

Condone

to overlook or accept behavior

Conspicuous

easily noticeable

Contend

to argue or assert

Contrive

to plan cleverly

Convoluted

complicated, difficult to follow

Copious

abundant

Credible

believable

Cursory

quick, not thorough

Debilitate

to weaken

Debunk

to expose as false

Deference

respectful submission to another’s opinion

Deft

skillful

Deliberate

done consciously and intentionally

Demeanor

outward behavior or appearance

Denounce

to condemn publicly

Deride

to mock

Desolate

empty, deserted

Detrimental

harmful

Devoid

completely lacking

Didactic

intended to teach

Diligent

hardworking and careful

Discrepancy

a difference between things that should be the same

Disdain

contempt, scorn

Disparage

to belittle

Disparate

different, unrelated

Disseminate

to spread widely (especially information)

Dissent

to disagree

Dogmatic

stubbornly opinionated

Dubious

doubtful

Eccentric

unconventional, quirky

Eloquent

fluent and persuasive in speech or writing

Elucidate

to make clear

Emulate

to imitate

Empirical

based on observation or experience

Endorse

to support

Enigma

a mystery

Enmity

hostility, hatred

Ephemeral

short-lived

Equitable

fair and impartial

Erratic

unpredictable

Erudite

scholarly, knowledgeable

Esoteric

intended for or understood by only a few

Euphemism

a mild term used to replace a harsh one

Exacerbate

to make worse

Exemplify

to illustrate by example

Exhort

to urge strongly

Exonerate

to free from blame

Facetious

joking inappropriately

Fallacious

based on a mistaken belief

Frivolous

not serious, silly

Frugal

careful with money, thrifty

Furtive

secretive

Garrulous

excessively talkative

Grandiose

overly grand or ambitious

Gregorious

sociable

Guile

sly or cunning intelligence

Hackneyed

overused, cliché

Hapless

unlucky

Harbinger

a sign of something to come

Hasten

to hurry

Hinder

to create obstacles

Hypothetical

based on a theory or assumption