Hard SAT Vocab

abate

make less active or intense

abstemious

sparing in eating and drinking; temperate

abstruse

difficult to understand

accolade

praise, an award

acquire

to gain ownership of something

adroit

skillful

adulation

excessive praise or admiration or flattery

aesthetic

pertaining to beauty

affable

friendly, courteous, amiable , easily approachable

alleviate

make easier to endure; lessen

aloof

reserved, distant, withdrawn, indifferent manner

anecdote

short account of an incident (especially a biographical one)

anomaly

irregularity, a person or something that is unusual

apocryphal

untrue; made up

arable

fit for growing crops

arbitrary

based on or subject to individual discretion or preference or sometimes impulse or caprice, Unreasonable; based on one's wishes or whims without regard for reason or fairness

arbitrator

judge

arid

extremely dry; without water

arrogance

pride; haughtiness

articulate

express or state clearly by pronunciation

ascetic

practicing self-denial; avoiding physical pleasures and comforts; austere; Ex. ascetic life of Buddhist monks; N. asceticism

assuage

to soothe

astute

clever; of keen penetration or discernment

atrophy

to waste away

attribute

explain; relate to a cause

audacious

bold, adventurous, recklessly daring

austere

strict, forbiddingly stern

avarice

greediness for wealth

banal

obvious and dull

beguile

to trick, deceive

bleak

grim, cheerless, gloomy, desolate, bare

blighted

damaged; destroyed; ruined

bolster

support and strengthen

cacophonous

harsh sounding, unpleasant and discordant sound

cajole

to persuade with false promises and flattery; coax

calculated

carefully thought out in advance

capricious

impulsive and unpredictable, changing one's mind quickly and often

caricature

a representation of a person that is exaggerated for comic effect

carping

finding fault

censure

harsh criticism or disapproval

charlatan

fraud; quack; con man

clemency

leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice; mercy

cliche

a worn-out idea or overused expression

coalesce

to fuse or unite

coercion

use of force to get someone to obey

composure

mental calmness

comprehensive

including all or everything

concede

admit,, acknowledge defeat

condone

overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse

conflagration

a large destructive fire

confound

confuse; puzzle

contend

To fight, struggle; to compete; to argue

corroborate

to confirm; to back up with evidence

corrode

to wear away gradually

corrugated

Wrinkled

criterion

standard used in judging

cryptic

mysterious; hidden; secret

culpable

deserving blame

daunt

(v) to overcome with fear, intimidate; to dishearten, discourage

debunk

to expose the falseness of something

decorum

proper behavior

deference

courteous regard for people's feelings, respect

deplore

regret strongly; lament

depravity

moral corruption, a wicked or perverse act

deprecate

to disapprove regretfully, to belittle, to express mild disapproval

desiccate

to dry out

detrimental

harmful; damaging

devious

straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way;

devise

(v.) to think out, plan, figure out, invent, create

diligence

hard work

discount

disregard; dismiss

discrepancy

a difference between conflicting facts or claims or opinions, (n.) a difference, a lack of agreement

discrimination

unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice

disdain

to regard with scorn

disperse

distribute loosely

disseminate

to spread widely

dogmatic

opinionated

dormant

inactive, sleeping

dubious

doubtful

dupe

to fool someone, a person easily tricked

duplicity

double-dealing, hypocrisy, (n): treachery, deceitfulness

duration

(n.) the length of time that something continues or lasts

ebullient

enthusiastic

eccentric

a person with an unusual or odd personality

eclectic

selecting from various sources

edify

to instruct morally and spiritually

elated

in high spirits; exultantly proud and joyful

elegy

a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead

elicit

call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses)

emaciated

extremely thin; wasted away

embellish

to decorate, to make beautiful with ornamentation

emulate

to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model

enervate

weaken mentally or morally

engender

to cause, to produce, to create

enhance

increase; improve

enigma

a puzzle, mystery, or riddle

ephemeral

lasting a very short time

equivocal

ambiguous; intentionally misleading

esoteric

intended for or understood by only a small group

excerpt

take out of a literary work in order to cite or copy