Personal SAT List

posit

to suggest or assume something as true for reasoning; propose; assert; hypothesize

eclectic

drawn from many sources, styles, or ideas; varied; diverse; wide-ranging

buttress

to support, strengthen, or reinforce an argument, idea, or structure; bolster; substantiate

surmise

to infer or guess based on limited evidence; conjecture; suppose

reconcile

to restore peace; to make conflicting ideas/facts consistent; to accept something unpleasant

discord

disagreement, conflict, tension, or lack of harmony; strife; dissension

recant

to formally take back or withdraw a previous statement, belief, or accusation; retract

bevy

a large group or collection; array; assortment; flock

copious

abundant; existing in large amounts; plentiful; ample

profusion

a very large amount or abundance; overflowing quantity; lavish display

dearth

a scarcity or lack of something needed; shortage; paucity

paucity

a small or insufficient amount; scarcity; dearth; lack

fauna

the animals of a particular region, habitat, or time period; wildlife

vestige

a remaining trace, remnant, or sign of something that once existed

predilection

a preference, liking, or tendency toward something; inclination; propensity

assuage

to make an unpleasant feeling or need less intense; soothe; alleviate; relieve

mollify

to calm someone’s anger or irritation; pacify; appease; soothe

irreproachable

so good or proper that it cannot reasonably be criticized; blameless; impeccable

innocuous

harmless; not likely to cause injury, damage, or offense; benign; inoffensive

punctilious

extremely careful about details, rules, manners, or proper behavior; meticulous

prescient

able to predict or sense what will happen; showing foresight; prophetic

antithetical

directly opposed or completely contrary to something; incompatible; contradictory

ephemeral

lasting for a very short time; temporary; fleeting; transitory

equivocal

ambiguous, unclear, or open to multiple interpretations; inconclusive

preclude

to prevent something from happening or make it impossible; rule out; block

peripheral

on the edge; not central; minor, secondary, or nonessential

misconstrue

to misunderstand or interpret something wrongly; misread; distort

nebulous

vague, unclear, hazy, or poorly defined; cloudy

obdurate

stubbornly refusing to change; hardened against persuasion; inflexible

tenuous

weak, flimsy, thin, fragile, or poorly supported; shaky; precarious

vacillate

to waver between choices or opinions; be indecisive; fluctuate

austere

severe or stern; plain and without luxury; economically restrained

corollary

a result, consequence, or conclusion that naturally follows from something else

contrive

to devise or invent cleverly; to arrange artificially or sneakily; to manage despite difficulty

disposition

a person’s usual temperament; tendency; inclination; arrangement

engender

to cause, produce, or give rise to something; generate; provoke

evince

to show, reveal, or make clear; display; demonstrate

inextricable

impossible to separate, untangle, or disentangle; inseparable; intertwined

laconic

using very few words; brief, terse, concise

curt

rudely brief or abrupt; brusque; short; clipped

succinct

expressed clearly in few words; concise; compact

mercurial

quickly and unpredictably changing in mood, opinion, or behavior; volatile; capricious

precipitate

to cause something to happen suddenly; trigger; as adjective, rash or hasty

ver / veri

truth; seen in verify, veracity, verdict, verisimilitude

vers / vert

turn; seen in reverse, convert, divert, incontrovertible

vern / vernal

spring; seen in vernal and vernal equinox

vit / viv

life or alive; seen in vital, vitality, vitamin, vivid, revive, vivacious, survive

de-

down, away, off, remove, reverse, or reduce; seen in descend, deactivate, dehydrate, devalue

cogn

know, learn, or recognize; seen in cognition, recognize, cognizant, incognito

exude

to give off or release slowly; to radiate or strongly display a quality

sent / sens

feel, perceive, think, or be aware; seen in sentiment, sentient, sensation, consent, dissent

spec / spect / spic

look, see, or observe; seen in inspect, spectator, perspective, conspicuous, circumspect

seq / sequ / secut

follow; seen in sequence, consequence, subsequent, consecutive, obsequious

terr / terra

earth or land; seen in terrain, terrestrial, subterranean, extraterrestrial, territory

austerity

severe simplicity; lack of luxury; strict economic restraint; sternness

bent

a natural tendency, inclination, talent, or leaning; also physically curved

constitution

basic governing laws; physical health; composition or makeup of something

couch

to express or frame something in a particular way; often “couched in”

doctor

to treat medically; a physician/scholar; as verb, to falsify or tamper with

embroider

to decorate fabric with stitching; to embellish or exaggerate a story

exploit

to use effectively; to take unfair advantage of; as noun, a bold or impressive act

hobble

to walk with difficulty; to restrict, weaken, or impede progress

nonplussed

confused, puzzled, or unsure how to respond; traditionally means perplexed

unqualified

not having required skills; or complete, absolute, and not limited by conditions

reparative

intended to repair, restore, or make amends for harm; restorative; corrective

qualified

limited, modified, or restricted by conditions; not absolute or wholehearted; also means having the necessary skills or experience

perfunctory

done with minimal effort or care as a routine duty; halfhearted; cursory; superficial

spurious

false, fake, or not genuine; based on faulty reasoning or logic; illegitimate; bogus

prescriptive

dictating rules or how something should be done; laying down strict guidelines; directive

repudiate

to reject, disown, or refuse to accept as valid; to deny, renounce, or cast off

gratuitous

(adj.) Given or done without good reason; uncalled for; unwarranted. Also: given freely, without charge.

portent

(n.) A sign or warning that something momentous is about to happen; an omen.

parsimony

(n.) Extreme unwillingness to spend money or use resources; stinginess; frugality. Also: economy of means; using the simplest explanation.

ameliorate

(v.) To make something bad or unsatisfactory better; to improve.

indefatigable

(adj.) Incapable of being tired out; tireless; persistently energetic.

fastidious

(adj.) Very attentive to accuracy and detail; meticulous. Also: hard to please; excessively concerned with refinement.

ineffable

(adj.) Too great or extreme to be expressed in words; indescribable. Also: not to be uttered; taboo.

zephyr

(n.) A soft, gentle breeze. Also: a fine, lightweight fabric.

presage

(v.) To be a sign or warning of; to foreshadow or predict. (n.) An omen or foreboding.

nascent

(adj.) Just coming into existence; beginning to develop; emerging.

rhapsodize

(v.) To speak or write about something with extravagant enthusiasm.