Barron’s SAT I Basic Word List Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards based on the Barron's SAT I Basic Word List, providing definitions for high-impact verbal terms.

abase

lower; humiliate

aberrant

abnormal or deviant

abeyance

suspended action

abject

wretched; lacking pride

abjure

renounce upon oath

abnegation

repudiation; self-sacrifice

abstinence

restraint from eating or drinking

abstruse

obscure; profound; difficult to understand

accolade

award of merit

acquiesce

assent; agree without protesting

acrimonious

bitter in words or manner

acumen

mental keenness

adulation

flattery; admiration

aesthetic

artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciation of the beautiful

alacrity

cheerful promptness

altruistic

unselfishly generous; concerned for others

anachronistic

having an error involving time in a story

anarchy

absence of governing body; state of disorder

anomaly

irregularity

antipathy

aversion; dislike

apathy

lack of caring; indifference

arcane

secret; mysterious; known only to the initiated

ascetic

practicing self-denial; austere

assuage

ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger)

audacious

daring; bold

austere

forbiddingly stern; severely simple and unornamented

autonomous

self-governing

banal

hackneyed; commonplace; trite; lacking originality

belligerent

quarrelsome

benevolent

generous; charitable

cacophonous

discordant; inharmonious

capricious

unpredictable; fickle

charlatan

quack; pretender to knowledge

circumspect

prudent; cautious

coalesce

combine; fuse

cogent

convincing

complacency

self-satisfaction; smugness

decorum

propriety; orderliness and good taste in manners

deference

courteous regard for another's wish

delineate

portray; depict; sketch

disseminate

distribute; spread; scatter (like seeds)

dogmatic

opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal

ebullient

showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm

eclectic

composed of elements drawn from disparate sources

efface

rub out

eloquence

expressiveness; persuasive speech

elusive

evasive; baffling; hard to grasp

ephemeral

short-lived; fleeting

equivocal

ambiguous; intentionally misleading

erudite

learned; scholarly

esoteric

hard to understand; known only to the chosen few

exacerbate

worsen; embitter

exonerate

acquit; exculpate

extol

praise; glorify

fastidious

difficult to please; squeamish

garrulous

loquacious; wordy; talkative

gregarious

sociable

guile

deceit; duplicity; wiliness; cunning

hackneyed

commonplace; trite

hedonist

one who believes that pleasure is the sole aim in life

homogeneous

of the same kind

immutable

unchangeable

impeccable

faultless

implacable

incapable of being pacified

inadvertently

unintentionally; by oversight; carelessly

indolent

lazy

ineffable

unutterable; cannot be expressed in speech

inexorable

relentless; unyielding; implacable

innocuous

harmless

insipid

lacking in flavor; dull

intrepid

fearless

judicious

sound in judgment; wise

laconic

strong men of few words; brief and to the point

loquacious

talkative

nadir

lowest point

nefarious

very wicked

obdurate

stubborn

obsequious

slavishly attentive; servile; sycophantic

paucity

scarcity

perfunctory

superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm

provincial

pertaining to a province; limited in outlook; unsophisticated

spurious

false; counterfeit; forged; illogical

venerate

revere

zealot

fanatic; person who shows excessive zeal