SAT Vocabulary

amoral

lacking a sense of right and wrong

amorphous

shapeless

circumnavigate

to sail or to travel all the way around the world

circumscribe

to draw a line around; to set the limits; to define; to restrict

circumspect

cautious

circumvent

to get around something in a clever, occasionally dishonest way

distinguish

to tell apart; to cause to stand out

magnate

a rich, powerful, or very successful business person

metamorphosis

a magical change in form; a striking or sudden change

omniscient

all-knowing; having infinite wisdom

periphery

the outside edge of something

benediction

an expression of kindness; a blessing

benefactor

one who performs an act of kindness

beneficent

performing acts of charity

beneficiary

one who receives a benefit

benign

kind and gentle

burgeon

to expand; to flourish

maladapted

not adapted well to the environment

malaise

a general sense of unease

malcontent

dissatisfied

malfeasance

misconduct

malice

a desire to harm others

malpractice

harmful actions; especially by a doctor or lawyer

ambidextrous

equally skilled with both hands

ambivalent

to have two or more conflicting emotions

ambiguous

unclear in meaning

equivocal

intentionally ambiguous

advocate

a person who argues in favor of a position

equanimity

composure; calm

equation

a statement asserting the equality of two expressions

equidistant

equally distant

equilateral

sharing equal sides

equitable

fair and just (equally treated)

evoke

to call forth

invoke

to call upon a higher power

irrevocable

something that cannot be stopped

provoke

to cause, especially by speaking words (ex. causing discussion)

vociferate

to speak loudly

vociferous

talking a lot or loudly

placid

calm and gentle

placebo

medicine that can make you feel calm and healed

complacent

satisfied with the current situation and uninterested in change

complaisant

having a desire to please others

congregate

to come together

dextrous

skillful

elusive

hard to pin down; evasive

encroach

to make gradual or stealthy inroads into; to trespass

implacable

impossible to calm or soothe

impede

to obstruct to interfere with; to delay

invoke

to entreat or pay for; to call on as in prayer

irrevocable

irreversible

placate

to calm or soothe

redundant

unnecessarily repetitive

thwart

to prevent from being accomplished

volition

will; conscious choice

anachronism

something out of place in time or history; an incongruity

analogy

a comparison of one thing to another; similairty

antipathy

firm dislike, a dislike

apathy

lack of interest; lack of feeling

androgens

in biology, male hormones

androgynous

relating to something that contains both male and female characteristics, or that has ambiguous characteristics

android

a robot that appears to be human or male

anthropocentric

a worldview that tends to put human beings at the center

anthropomorphic

a perspective that tends to assign human characteristics to plants or animals

chronic

occurring often and repeatedly over a period of time; lasting a long time

chronicle

a record of events in order of time; a history

empathy

identification with the feelings or thoughts of another

eulogy

a spoken or written tribute to a person, especially a person who has just died

misanthropic

hating mankind

neologism

a new word or phase; a new usage of a word

pathology

the science of diseases

pathos

that which makes people feel pity or sorrow

philanthropy

love of mankind, especially by doing good deeds

sophomoric

juvenile; childishly goofy