SAT Vocab

Abstemious

Moderate in eating or drinking.

Abrogate

To formally repeal or abolish.

Abstruse

Difficult to understand.

Acquiesce

To accept reluctantly but without protest.

Admonish

To warn or reprimand.

Adumbrate

To suggest or outline vaguely.

Alacrity

Eager willingness.

Ameliorate

To improve or make better.

Anachronism

Something placed in the wrong time period.

Anodyne

Something that relieves pain or tension.

Antithetical

Directly opposed.

Apocryphal

Of doubtful authenticity.

Arbitrary

Based on random choice rather than reason.

Ascetic

Practicing strict self-discipline.

Assuage

To relieve or ease.

Astringent

Sharp or severe in tone.

Bellicose

Aggressive and hostile.

Capricious

Given to sudden changes.

Castigate

To criticize harshly.

Circumvent

To find a way around.

Clandestine

Done secretly.

Coalesce

To merge together.

Cogent

Clear and convincing.

Conflagration

A large destructive fire.

Conjecture

An opinion based on incomplete evidence.

Connoisseur

An expert judge.

Conundrum

A confusing problem.

Copious

Abundant in supply.

Corollary

A proposition that follows logically.

Cryptic

Mysterious or obscure.

Cursory

Hasty and not thorough.

Deference

Respectful submission.

Didactic

Intended to teach a lesson.

Diffident

Lacking confidence.

Dilatory

Intended to delay.

Disparate

Fundamentally different.

Dissemble

To conceal motives.

Dogmatic

Stubbornly asserting opinions.

Eclectic

Derived from many sources.

Efface

To erase or wipe out.

Efficacy

Ability to produce a result.

Egregious

Outstandingly bad.

Emulate

To imitate in order to match.

Enervate

To weaken or drain energy.

Equivocal

Ambiguous or uncertain.

Esoteric

Understood by only a few people.

Exculpate

To clear from blame.

Extemporaneous

Spoken without preparation.

Facetious

Treating serious issues humorously.

Fallacious

Based on mistaken reasoning.

Fastidious

Very attentive to detail.

Fatuous

Silly or pointless.

Garrulous

Excessively talkative.

Grandiloquent

Pompous in speech.

Hackneyed

Overused and unoriginal.

Iconoclast

Someone who challenges traditions.

Impetuous

Acting without thinking.

Implacable

Unable to be appeased.

Inchoate

Not fully formed.

Incredulous

Unwilling to believe.

Indolent

Lazy or avoiding work.

Insidious

Gradually harmful.

Intrepid

Fearless and adventurous.

Inundate

To overwhelm with things.

Inveterate

Long-established habit.

Juxtapose

To place side by side for contrast.

Laconic

Using very few words.

Loquacious

Very talkative.

Mendacious

Dishonest.

Mitigate

To make less severe.

Nebulous

Vague or unclear.

Obdurate

Stubbornly refusing to change.

Obfuscate

To make unclear.

Obsequious

Excessively obedient.

Opaque

Hard to understand.

Ostentatious

Showy or flashy.

Paradox

A seemingly contradictory statement.

Paragon

A perfect example.

Paucity

A scarcity or lack.

Pedantic

Overly concerned with minor details.

Perfunctory

Done with little interest.

Permeate

To spread through.

Pertinent

Relevant to the matter.

Placate

To calm anger.

Pragmatic

Practical rather than theoretical.

Precarious

Dangerously unstable.

Preclude

To prevent from happening.

Prolific

Producing many works.

Propensity

A natural tendency.

Prosaic

Dull or ordinary.

Prudent

Acting with careful judgment.

Quell

To suppress.

Recalcitrant

Stubbornly resistant.

Recondite

Little known or obscure.

Redundant

Unnecessarily repetitive.

Reticent

Reserved and quiet.

Sanguine

Optimistic or positive.

Scrutinize

To examine closely.

Specious

Plausible but misleading.

Sporadic

Occurring irregularly.