SAT Vocabulary

Abandon

Give up completely. (verb)

Abate

Become less intense or widespread. (verb)

Abet

Encourage or assist. (verb)

Accede

Agree to a demand. (verb)

Berate

Scold or criticize. (verb)

Bovine

Of or relating to cattle. (noun/adjective)

Braggart

A person who boasts about achievements. (noun)

Burnish

Polish by rubbing. (verb)

Cache

A collection of similar items stored in a secret place. (noun)

Cacophony

Harsh discordant mixture of sounds. (noun)

Catalyst

Event causing something to happen (noun)

Censorious

Severely critical of others. (adjective)

Dearth

Scarcity or lack of something. (noun)

Demagogue

A political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires rather than reason. (noun/verb)

Diluvial

Of or relating to a flood. (adjective)

Dispassionate

Not influenced by strong emotion. (adjective)

Effluvia

An unpleasant or harmful odor. (noun)

Emulate

Match or surpass, typically by imitation (verb)

Epochal

Extremely significant. (adjective)

Expound

Explain or present. (verb)

Facile

Appearing comprehensive by ignoring the complexities of the situation. (adjective)

Fictive

Created by imagination. (adjective)

Flippant

Not showing a serious attitude. (adjective)

Gauche

Lacking grace. (adjective)

Gregarious

Outgoing or social. (adjective)

Grotto

Small cave or cave-like structure. (noun)

Hedonist

A person who believes the pursuit of pleasure is the most important aspect of life. (noun)

Heretical

Practicing religious heresy, belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious (especially Christian) doctrine. (adjective)

Hubris

Excessive pride. (noun)

Hypocrite

A person who says one thing and does another. (noun)

Ignoble

Not honorable in character. (adjective)

Imbibe

Drink alcohol (verb)

Imperious

Assuming power without justification. (adjective)

Importunate

Persistent. (verb/adjective)

Jettison

Throw or drop from an airplane or ship. (noun/verb)

Jocular

Humorous or playful. (adjective)

Junta

Military group that rules after taking by force. (noun)

Kismet

Destiny. (noun)

Lexicon

Vocabulary of a person. (noun)

Licentious

Immoral. (adjective)

Limber

Flexible. (noun/verb/adjective)

Loquacious

Talkative. (adjective)

Malapropism

Mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding word. (noun)

Malfeasance

Wrongdoing. (noun)

Mawkish

Sentimental in a sickening way. (adjective)

Misnomer

Wrong or inaccurate name in the designation. (noun/verb)

Modicum

Small or minimal portion. (noun)

Mote

Tiny piece of a substance. (verb/noun)

Necromancy

Practice of communicating with the dead. (noun)

Nihilism

Rejection of religion (noun)

Nomenclature

The choosing of names for things. (noun)

Novel

Fictitious prose narrative. (adjective/noun)

Obfuscate

To confuse. (verb)

Olfactory

Of or relating to the sense of smell. (adjective)

Opprobrious

Expressing scorn. (adjective)

Ostracize

Exclude from a society or group. (verb)

Palatial

Resembling a palace. (adjective)

Pandemic

Disease prevalent over an entire country or multiple countries. (noun/adjective)

Paramount

More important than anything else. (adjective)

Patrician

An aristocrat. (adjective/noun)

Polyglot

Knowing or using several languages. (adjective/noun)

Prestidigitation

Magic tricks performed for entertainment. (noun)

Provincial

Of or concerning a province or country. (adjective/noun)

Rancor

Bitterness or resentfulness. (noun)

Rarefy

To make or become less dense or solid. (verb)

Recapitulate

Summarize and state again the main points. (verb)

Refute

Prove to be wrong or false. (verb)

Repose

A state of rest. (noun/verb)

Resilient

Able to withstand. (adjective)

Revile

Criticize in an abusive manner. (verb)

Rife

Of common occurrence. (adjective/adverb)

Sanctimonious

Making a show of being morally superior. (adjective)

Scrupulous

Diligent attention to detail. (adjective)

Sedition

conduct or speech inciting people to rebel. (noun)

Sinecure

Position requiring little or no work. (noun)

Stint

Supply an inadequate amount of something. (verb/noun)

Sybarite

Self-indulgent person. (noun)

Tawdry

Showy but cheap. (adjective)

Tenacious

Keep a firm hold on something. (adjective)

Terse

Abrupt and sparing in the use of words. (adjective) {negative connotation}

Tout

Attempt to sell something by aggressively pestering. (noun/verb)

Trounce

Defeat heavily in a contest. (verb)

Tutelage

Authority over someone or something. (noun)

Unconscionable

Not right or reasonable. (adjective)

Untoward

Unexpected. Often inappropriate. (adjective) {negative connotation}

Usury

Lending money at unlawful rates. (noun)

Vehemently

Showing strong feelings. (adverb)

Veritable

Using as an intensifier for truth. (adjective)

Vilify

Write or speak in an abusively disparaging way. (verb)

Vociferous

Vehement. (adjective)

Wan

Pale with the appearance of illness. (adjective)

Wield

Hold and use typically a weapon or tool. (verb)

Winsome

Attractive appearance or character. (adjective)

Wry

Using dry or mocking humor. (verb/adjective)

Xenophobe

Person showing fear or dislike for people of different countries. (noun)

Yeoman

A man holding and cultivating a field. (noun)

Yen

Japanese monetary unit. (verb/noun)

Yowl

A loud wailing cry. (verb/noun)

Zenith

Peak. (noun)

Zephyr

Soft gentle breeze. (noun)