SAT Vocab A-E

Abate

reduce in amount, degree, or intensity

Aberration

deviation from the normal or typical

Abstain

to voluntarily refrain from doing something

Adept

highly skilled or proficient

Adversity

hardship or misfortune

Aesthetic

relating to beauty or appearance

Alacrity

cheerful readiness or willingness

Alleviate

to make less severe

Ambiguous

unclear or open to multiple interpretations

Ambivalent

having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas

Anachronistic

out of date; not in the correct time period

Anecdote

a short, amusing or interesting story

Antagonize

to provoke hostility

Antithesis

the direct opposite

Apathy

lack of interest or concern

Apprehensive

anxious or fearful about the future

Arbitrary

based on random choice rather than reason

Arduous

difficult and tiring

Articulate

able to express ideas clearly

Astute

perceptive; clever

Audacious

bold, daring, or fearless

Austere

strict, severe, or plain

Authentic

genuine; real

Avarice

greed for wealth

Banal

boring, trite, or unoriginal

Benevolent

kind, charitable

Benign

gentle or harmless

Bequeath

to hand down or pass on (especially in a will)

Berate

to scold or criticize harshly

Bolster

to support or strengthen

Brevity

shortness of time or conciseness

Boisterous

noisy, energetic, and cheerful

Brazen

shamelessly bold

Burgeon

to grow or develop rapidly

Cacophony

harsh, jarring sound

Cajole

to persuade with flattery or gentle urging

Candor

honesty, frankness

Capricious

unpredictable, impulsive

Censure

strong disapproval or criticism

Chronic

continuing for a long time or recurring

Clairvoyant

having the ability to see the future

Coerce

to force or compel

Complacent

self-satisfied to a fault

Concise

brief and to the point

Concur

to agree

Condone

to overlook or forgive

Conducive

favorable to, likely to bring about

Conformist

someone who follows traditional standards or customs

Congenial

pleasant, friendly

Conjecture

a guess or hypothesis

Consensus

general agreement

Conspicuous

easy to notice; obvious

Contempt

scorn, disdain

Contrite

remorseful; apologetic

Convoluted

complex and difficult to follow

Copious

abundant; plentiful

Credible

believable; trustworthy

Cursory

hasty and superficial

Debacle

a sudden and ignominious failure

Debilitate

to weaken

Debunk

to expose as false

Decorum

proper behavior or conduct

Deference

respect and submission

Deficient

lacking in some necessary quality

Definitive

conclusive; final

Deleterious

harmful

Demeanor

outward behavior or bearing

Demure

modest, shy

Denounce

to publicly criticize

Deplore

to regret or disapprove of

Deprecate

to belittle or express disapproval

Deride

to mock or ridicule

Despondent

hopeless or dejected

Detrimental

causing harm or damage

Devoid

lacking or empty

Didactic

intended to instruct

Digress

to stray from the topic

Diligent

hardworking, careful

Disdain

contempt, scorn

Disparage

to belittle or speak badly of

Disparate

essentially different in kind

Disseminate

to spread widely

Dissent

to disagree, or the disagreement itself

Dissuade

to persuade not to do something

Dubious

doubtful; questionable

Duplicity

deceitfulness; double-dealing

Eccentric

odd, unconventional

Eclectic

from a variety of sources

Eloquent

fluent and persuasive in speech

Elusive

difficult to find, catch, or understand

Empathy

understanding others' feelings

Empirical

based on observation or experience

Enervate

to weaken or drain energy

Engender

to cause or give rise to

Enhance

to improve or intensify

Enigma

a mystery or puzzle

Ephemeral

lasting a very short time

Equanimity

mental calmness, especially under stress

Equitable

fair and impartial

Erratic

unpredictable or inconsistent