SAT 2026 Real Vocab

hinder

to obstruct or delay something

adhere

stick to + cling to, or, believe in and follow the practices of

haphazard

lacking any obvious principle of organization

premeditated

thought out or planned beforehand

fruitless

unproductive or useless

rudimentary

involving or limited to basic principles

surmised

suppose that something is true without having evidence to confirm it

contrived

deliberately created rather than arising naturally or spontaneously

rebut

claim or prove that (evidence or an accusation) is false

intuitive

having or showing an ability to understand something immediately without needing proof or conscious reasoning

constitute

be (a part) of a whole, establish by law

coincide

occur at or during the same time

fluctuate

rise and fall irregularly in number or amount

attribute

verb: regard something as being caused by. noun: a quality or feature regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone or something

innocuous

not harmful or offensive

novel

new or unusual in an interesting way

benign

gentle and kindly, (of a disease) not harmful in effect

quarrel

a heated argument or disagreement

paucity

the presence of something only in small or insufficient quantities or amounts; scarcity

profusion

an abundance or large quantity of something

verisimilitude

the appearance of being true or real

corollary

a proposition that follows from one already proved

buttress

a projecting support of stone or brick built against a wall

foster

encourage, promote

germinate

sprout, develop, take root

precarious

uncertain, dangerous

inconspicuous

unobtrusive, unnoticeable

prudent

wise, showing care

overt

done openly, not hidden

cordial

friendly, genial, affable, amiable

inadvertent

accidental, unintentional

antecedent

predecessor, precursor, happened previously

impending

about to happen, imminent

perpetual

eternal, never-ending

tentative

unconfirmed, uncertain

warranted

justified, vindicated

prominent

important, well known

discounted

deduct, disregard

exploit

use, take advantage of

sanction

penalty, OR, permission

ameliorate

improve, redress, rectify

postulate

suggest

evince

reveal

homogeneous

of the same kind, alike

tenuous

very weak, slight

contentious

controversial, debated, heated

conspicuous

clear, visible, obvious

manifest

obvious, show

scrutinize

examine, inspect closely

exacerbate

make worse

redress

improve, rectify, ameliorate

epitomize

be a perfect example of

preclude

prevent from happening, make impossible

correlation

connection, association (when one increases, the other increases. --> negative correlation (or inverse correlation, same thing) would mean when one increases, the other decreases)

averse

opposed to

offset

to balance or counter-balance something

permeate

spread throughout, pervade

sensitive

quick to detect or respond to slight changes

facilitate

make easier

indistinguishable

identical, can't tell the difference between two things

reprieve

pardon, spare, a little break

esteem

respect and admiration, typically for a person

mitigate

alleviate, reduce, diminish

vignette

short description

rectify

to correct, improve, redress, ameliorate

retain

to keep, to hold onto

subdue

overcome, or bring under control

resolute

determined

usurp

seize, take over

ineffectual

ineffecient, ineffective

arduous

difficult, strenuous

painstakingly

meticulous, scrupulous

obligate

compel, commit, bind, require, oblige

demarcate

separate, divide, set boundaries or limits of

reconstituted

having been formed again, returned to its original state, restored

conflate

combine (two or more texts, ideas, etc.) into one, confuse into one

derive

obtain something from

coalesce

unite, combine, merge

desultory

casual, halfhearted, cursory

spurious

false, fake,

veritable

true, real

notional

existing only in theory or as a suggestion or idea

patina

gloss, rust, surface accumulation of stuff from passing of time

stagnant

still, motionless

lexical

relating to the words or vocabulary of a language

cultivate

prepare and use (land) for crops or gardening

marginalize

treat (a person, group, or concept) as insignificant

reprise

repeat

inherent

innate, inborn, built-in, born with

refute

disprove, prove something to be wrong

discernible

perceptible, visible, detectable

polarize (polarizing)

divide into two sharply contrasting groups

melancholy

sadness

saturated

filled to capacity

indecipherable

not able to be read or understood

ornamental

serving as a decoration or for aesthetic purposes rather than a practical function

obscure

(adj) unclear, uncertain, unknown, ALSO: to hide or conceal (verb)

intricate

very complicated or detailed

inexplicable

unable to be explained

mystifying

utterly bewildering or perplexing