SAT Vocabulary: A New Approach - Core Words and Claim Cluster

A collection of 250 challenging core vocabulary words and key 'claim' cluster terms used in the Reading and Writing modules of the Digital SAT, based on SAT Vocabulary: A New Approach by Larry Krieger and Erica L. Meltzer.

Advance

To put forward a claim.

Assert

To put forward an argument or state that something is true.

Conjecture

A hypothesis (noun) or to hypothesize (verb).

(Pre)supposition

An idea assumed beforehand about a subject.

Surmise

To assume or draw a conclusion without strong evidence.

Bolster

To provide support for an argument.

Buttress

To provide support for an argument.

Substantiate

To provide evidence to support or prove a claim.

Corroborate

To confirm or support a statement or claim.

Validate

To prove the accuracy of a claim or confirm the truth of a claim.

Concede

To admit that an opposing claim is true or valid.

Acknowledge

To accept or admit the validity of a claim.

Rebut

To offer an argument against a claim believed to be false.

Refute

To prove that a claim is false.

Grapple with

To try to deal with or understand a difficult problem.

Ruminate about

To think deeply about or turn something over in one's mind.

Infer

To deduce or conclude from evidence and reasoning.

Proponent

A person who supports a claim, course of action, theory, or project.

Detractor

A person who criticizes or puts down a claim, course of action, or innovation.

Skeptic

A person who questions or doubts a claim or theory.

Abrupt

Sudden or unexpected.

Adamant

Extremely stubborn, insistent, or fixed in one's viewpoint.

Abundant

Plentiful.

Accentuate

To make more noticeable or prominent.

Acclaim

Enthusiastic and public praise.

Adaptation

A change made to accommodate new circumstances.

Advantageous

Creating favorable circumstances.

Aesthetic

Related to the study or appreciation of beauty.

Affecting

Touching the emotions; moving.

Affinity

A strong attraction or liking.

Ambiguous

Unclear; open to more than one interpretation.

Ambivalence

Having mixed feelings.

Ameliorate

To make better; improve.

Amorphous

Shapeless; synonym for 'nebulous'.

Analogy

A comparison intended to provide clarification.

Animosity

Strong feelings of dislike or hatred.

Annotate

To make notes to help explain or clarify.

Anomaly

Deviation from the norm; atypical.

Antithetical

Characterized by extreme contrast.

Appease

To make peace by giving into demands.

Appraise

To assess the value or quality of something.

Approximate

Close but not completely accurate.

Augment

To increase.

Austere

Very plain, without decoration.

Catalyze

To cause or speed up a reaction.

Catastrophic

Utterly disastrous.

Cease

To stop or halt.

Circumvent

To find a way around; avoid.

Cite

To quote or reference from a work to support an argument.

Coalesce

To come together to form a single mass.

Coarseness

Roughness, harshness.

Collaboration

The act of working with another person or people.

Commonplace

Common, ordinary.

Comprise

To include, contain.

Confine

To restrict within a limited area.

Confound

To utterly confuse, baffle.

Consensus

General agreement.

Conspicuous

Clearly visible; noticeable.

Consumption

The process of eating or using up.

Contingent

Dependent upon; subject to.

Contrive

To think up.

Copious

Abundant; plentiful.

Credible

Believable.

Credulous

Easily fooled.

Debacle

A complete failure; fiasco.

Deplete

To diminish.

Despondent

Feeling depressed.

Deviation

Departure from what is normal.

Dexterous

Physically skilled, especially with one's hands.

Discernible

Visible; detectable.

Discord

General disagreement.

Disparate

Very different.

Disperse

To scatter.

Disposition

Inherent personality or character trait.

Diverge

To move apart.

Domestication

The process of taming an animal or cultivating a wild plant.

Draconian

Excessively harsh laws, rules, and punishments.

Eccentric

Highly odd or unconventional (person).

Eclipse

To overshadow or block.

Elicit

To draw out, usually a response.

Elusive

Difficult to find, catch, or achieve.

Engender

To cause or give rise to.

Engulf

To overwhelm; surround completely.

Enhance

To improve or intensify.

Ephemeral

Very brief; short-lived.

Equitable

Fair.

Erratic

Unpredictable; not regular.

Evade

To escape or avoid.

Evince

To reveal or show one's feelings.

Exacerbate

To make worse.

Excavation

the process of digging up, usually a historic site.

Exorbitant

Extreme and excessive.

Explicit

Stated directly and with complete clarity.

Exploit

To take advantage of.

Exposure

Contact with someone or something.

Fabricate

To invent or make up, typically with intent to deceive.

Façade

(false) exterior.

Foster

to encourage or promote something typically seen to be good.

Fruitful/Fruitless

Productive/unproductive.

Galvanize

To energize, spur into action.