The 1000 Most Common SAT Words

abase

To humiliate, degrade

Abate

To reduce, lessen

abdicate

To give up a position, usually one of leadership

abduct

to kidnap, take by force

aberration

something that differs from the norm

abet

To aid, help, encourage

abhor

to hate, detest

abide

1. To put up with

2. To remain

abject

Wretched, pitiful

abjure

to reject, renounce

abnegation

denial of comfort to oneself

abort

to give up on a half-finished project or effort.

abridge

1. To cut down, shorten

2. Shortened

abrogate

to abolish, usually by authority

abscond

to sneak away and hide

absolution

freedom from blame, guilt, sin

abstain

To freely choose not to commit an action

abstruse

hard to comprehend

accede

To agree

accentuate

To stress, highlight

accessible

obtainable, reachable

acclaim

high praise

accolade

high praise, special distinction

accommodating

helpful, obliging, polite

accord

an agreement

accost

to confront verbally

accretion

Slow growth in size or amount

Acerbic

Biting, bitter in tone or taste

acquiesce

to agree without protesting

acrimony

bitterness, discord

acumen

keen insight

acute

1. sharp, severe

2. having keen insight

adamant

impervious, immovable, unyielding.

adept

extremely skilled

adhere

1. To stick to something

2. to follow devoutly.

admonish

to caution, criticize, reprove

adorn

to decorate

Adroit

skillful, dexterous

adulation

extreme praise

adumbrate

to sketch out in a vague way (the coach ___ a game plan, but none of the players knew precisely what to do.)

adverse

antagonistic, unfavorable, dangerous (Because of ___ conditions, the hikers decided to give up trying to climb the mountain.)

advocate

1. To argue in favor of something (Arnold ___ turning left at the stop sign, even though everyone else thought we should turn right.

2. a person who argues in favor of something (In addition to wanting to turn left at every stop sign, Arnold was also a great ___ of increasing national defense spending.)

Aerial

somehow related to the air (We watched as the fighter planes conducted ___ maneuvers.)

Aesthetic

artistic, related to the appreciation of beauty (We hired Susan as our interior decorator because she has such a fine ___ sense)

affable

friendly, amiable (People like to be around George because he is so ___ and good-natured.)

affinity

a spontaneous feeling of closeness. (Jerry didn’t know why, but he felt an incredible ___ for Kramer the first time they met.)

affluent

rich, wealthy (Mrs. Grebelski was ___, owning a huge house, three cars, and an island near Maine)

affront

an insult (Bernardo was very touchy, and took any slight as an ___ to his honor.)

aggrandize

to increase or make greater (Joseph always dropped the names of the famous people his father knew as a way to ___ his personal stature.)

aggregate

1. a whole or total (The three branches of the US government form an ___ much more powerful than individual parts.)

2. To gather into a mass (The dictator tried to ___ as many people into his army as he possibly could)

aggrieved

distressed, wronged, injured (the foreman mercilessly overworked his ___ employees.)

agile

quick, nimble (the dogs were too slow to catch the ___ rabbit)

agnostic

believing that the existence of God cannot be proven or disproven (Joey’s parents are very religious, but he is ___)

agriculture

farming (It was a huge step in the progress of civilization when tribes left hunting and gathering and began to develop more sustainable methods of obtaining food, such as ___.)

aisle

a passageway between rows of seats (Once we got inside the stadium we walked down the ___ to our seats.)

alacrity

eagerness, speed (For some reason, Chuck loved to help his mother whenever he could, so when his mother asked him to set the table he did so with ___.)

alias

a false name or identity (He snuck past the guards by using an ___ and fake ID)

allay

to soothe, ease (The chairman of the Federal Reserve gave a speech to try to ___ investor's fears about an economic downturn)

allege

to assert, usually without proof (The policeman alleged that Marshall committed the crime, but after the investigation turned up with no evidence, Marshall was set free.)

alleviate

to relieve, make more bearable. (This drug will ___ the symptoms of the terrible disease, but only for a while.)

allocate

to distribute, set aside (The mayor ___ 30 percent of the funds for improving the town’s schools.)

aloof

reserved, distant (The scientist could sometimes seem ___, as if he didn’t care about his friends or family, but really he was just thinking about quantum mechanics.)

altercation

a dispute, fight (Jason and Lionel blamed one another for the car accident, leading to an ___)

amalgamate

to bring together, unite (Because of his great charisma, the presidential candidate was able to ___ all democrats and republicans under his banner.)

ambiguous

uncertain, variably interpretable (Some people think Caesar married Cleopatra for her power, others believe he was charmed by her beauty. His actual reasons are ___.)

ambivalent

having opposing feelings (My feelings about Calvin are ___ because on one hand he is a loyal friend, but on the other, he is a cruel and vicious thief.)

ameliorate

to improve (The tense situation was ___ when sam proposed a solution everyone could agree upon)

amenable

willing, compliant (Our father was ___ when we asked him to drive us to the farm so we could go apple picking)

amenity

an item that increases comfort (Bill Gates’s house is stocked with so many ___, he never has to do anything for himself.)

amiable

friendly (An ___ fellow, Harry got along with just about everyone.)

amicable

friendly (Claudia and Jimmy got divorced, but ___ and without hard feelings.)

amorous

showing love, particularly sexual (Whenever Albert saw Mariah wear her slinky red dress, he began to feel quite ___)

amorphous

without definite shape or type. (The effort was doomed from the start, because the reasons behind it were so ___ and hard to pin down)

anachronistic

being out of correct chronological order (In this book you’re writing, you say that the Pyramids were built after the Titanic sank, which is ___).

Analgesic

Something that reduces pain (Put this ___ on the wound so that the poor man at least feels a little better.)

Analogous

Similar to, so that an analogy can be drawn. (Though they are unrelated genetically, the bone structure of whales and fish are quite ___.)

anarchist

one who wants to eliminate all government (An ___, Carmine wanted to dissolve every government everywhere.)

anathema

a cursed, detested person ( I never want to see that murderer. He is an ___ to me.)

anecdote

a short, humorous account (After dinner, Marlon told and ___ about the time he got his nose stuck in a toaster)

anesthesia

loss of sensation (When the nerves of his spine were damaged, Mr. Hollins suffered ___ in his legs.)

Anguish

extreme sadness, torment (Angelos suffered terrible ___ when he learned that Buffy had died while combating a strange mystical force of evil.)

animated

lively (When he begins to talk about drama, which is his true passion, he becomes very ___.)

annex

1. to incorporate territory or space. (After defeating them in battle, the Russians ___ Poland)

2. A room attached to a larger room or space (He likes to do his studying in a little ___ attached to the main reading room in the library.

annul

to make void or invalid (After seeing its unforeseen and catastrophic effects, Congress sought to ___ the law.)

anomaly

something that does not fit into the normal order (“that rip in the space-time continuum is certainly a spatial ___.” said Spock to Captain Kirk.)

Anonymous

being unknown, unrecognized (Mary received a love poem from an ___ admirer.)

antagonism

hostility (Superman and Bizarro Superman shared a mutual ___ and often fought.)

antecedent

Something that came before (The great tradition of Western culture had its ___ in the culture of Ancient Greek.)

anthology

a selected collection of writings, songs, etc…(the new ___ of Bob Dylan songs contains all his greatest hits and a few songs that you might never have heard before.)

Antediluvian

ancient (The ___ man still believed that Eisenhower was president of the United States and that hot dogs cost a nickel.)

antipathy

a strong dislike, repugnance (I know you love me, but because you are a liar and a thief, I feel nothing but ___ for you.)

antiquated

old, out of date (That ___ car has none of the features, like power windows and steering, that make modern cars so great.)

Antiseptic

clean, sterile (The ___ hospital was very bare, but its cleanliness helped to keep patients healthy.)

antithesis

the absolute opposite (Your values, which hold war and violence in the highest esteem, are the ___ of my pacifist beliefs.)

anxiety

intense uneasiness (When he heard about the car crash, he felt ___ because he knew that his girlfriend had been driving on the road where the accident occured.)

apathetic

lacking concern, emotion (Uninterested in politics, Bruno was ___ about whether he lived under a capitalist or communist regime.)

Apocryphal

fictitious, false, wrong (Becasue I am standing before you, it seems obvious that the stories circulating about my demise are ___.)

Appalling

inspiring shock, horror, disgust (The judge found the murderer’s crimes and lack of remorse ___)

appease

to calm, satisfy (When the child cries, the mother gives him candy to ___ him.)

Appraise

to assess the worth or value of (A realtor will come over tonight to appraise our house.)