SAT Vocabulary

quiescent

quiescent

quiet; still; inactive

reticent

not talking much; reserved

diffuse

spread out, not concise; wordy

garrulous

talkative; loquacious

voluble

talking a great deal with ease; glib

contemptuous

lacking respect; scornful

haughty

having a great pride in oneself and dislike for others

insolent

boldly disrespectful in speech or behavior; rude

ostentatious

having to do with showing off; pretentious

supercilious

looking down on others; proud and scornful

insipid

lacking flavor or taste; unexciting

platitude

quality of being dull; an obvious remark uttered as if it were original

affable

easy to talk to; easy to approach, friendly; kind; amiable

congenial

compatible; having kindred needs or tastes; sympathetic

convivial

sociable, outgoing in a festive way, especially when pertaining to eating and drinking; fond of good company

gregarious

sociable, outgoing

jocular

liking to be with people, joke around with them and have fun

levity

lightheartedness; gaiety; carefree disposition, particularly when not appropriate

cantankerous

bad-tempered; quarrelsome

captious

made for the sake of quarreling; quibbling

polemical

inclined to argue or debate; controversial

munificent

very generous

prodigal

wasteful; lavish

squander

to spend money (or time) in a wasteful, uncaring fashion

austere

having great economy; showing self-control when it comes to foregoing luxuries, frills; stern in manner or appearance avarice greed

mercenary

greedy for self-gain; thinking only of money-making

parsimonious

overly thrifty or miserly

penurious

stingy; relating to great poverty, destitution

conflagration

a huge fire, an inferno

iniquitous

showing a lack of fairness; wicked; vicious

odious

loathsome; evil; revolting in a disgusting way

pernicious

very destructive or harmful, usually in an inconspicuous and relentless way

rancorous

deeply hateful or spiteful; malicious

censure

to criticize strongly

deprecate

to show mild disapproval

aloof

uninterested; showing no concern; emotionally removed or distant

listless

lacking interest in something, usually because of illness, fatigue, or

phlegmatic

hard to get excited or emotional; calm

indolent

lazy; not wanting to do any work

languor

weak or lifeless feeling

lassitude

a tired feeling, usually resulting from depression or too much work

lethargic

having little or no energy

soporific

sleep-inducing; sleepy

obsequious

obeying or performing a service for someone in an overly attentive manner

slavish

slave-like; overly humble; involving very hard work

sycophant

a self-server who tries to gain the favor of others through the use of flattery or by being overattentive

ardent

full of passion and emotion

effervescent

lively; full of uplifted spirit; vivacious

adamant

unwilling to bend; unyielding

dogged

stubborn; determined

hidebound

strongly-opinionated; narrow-mindedly stubborn

intractable

stubborn; hard to manage

obdurate

resistant to persuasion or softening; stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing

recalcitrant

stubborn; disobedient; defiant

resolve

firmness, determination

cacophony

lack of harmony; loud and unpleasant noise; a racket

din

ongoing loud sound; noise

euphony

pleasing sound

mellifluous

sweet and smooth-sounding

raucous

coarse-sounding; loud and unruly

strident

shrill; high-pitched

vociferous

loud and noisy regarding one's own voice, especially shouting; demandingly clamorous

adulate

to praise or flatter too greatly; fawn over

panegyrize

to praise a person or event in a formal speech or in writing; to praise highly

abstemious

holding back from eating or drinking too much

alimentary

relating to food and nourishment

delectable

delicious

emaciated

very, very thin due to lack of adequate food

epicurean

having to do with relishing the pleasure of eating and drinking ( epicure)

ravenous

very hungry

voracious

greedy; gluttonous; ravenous; insatiable

chary

cautious; wary

conscientious

relating to doing what one knows is right; scrupulous

exacting

requiring a great deal of care or effort; painstaking

gingerly

very carefully

heedful

paying careful attention to

scrupulous

showing great care and honesty, based on personal belief of what is right and proper

itinerant

wandering about; tending to move around, travel

peripatetic

moving or walking about; itinerant

archaic

old; from a much earlier time; antiquated

furtive

sneaky

sly

underhanded, furtive

surreptitious

done or made in a secret, stealthy way

ascetic

a person who refrains from indulging in earthly pleasures

charlatan

a fraud; a quack or imposter

raconteur

a skillful storyteller

frivolous

not having substance or a sense of importance or seriousness; silly; trivial; trifling

peripheral

only marginally connected to what is truly important; minor or incidental; relating to the field of vision

astute

sharp-minded; very clear

prudent

careful, cautious, and wise

shrewd

insightful; clever

acrid

bitter, harsh

ascetic

a person who refrains from indulging in earthly pleasures

convalesce

to recover from an illness

imprudent

careless; rash

ponderous

very heavy or bulky; dull or lifeless

candor

honesty, sincerity

gratify

to please or indulge

hamper

to hinder; to prevent something from happening

intrepid

fearless