SAT Vocabulary Words

A collection of English voabulary words likely to appear on the SAT Reading and Writing Exam. Study hard!

Sapient

Wise and discerning in judgment

Abate

v. to become less active, less intense, or less in amount

Abysmal

adj. extremely bad

Adept

adj. having knowledge or skill (usu. in a particular area)

Ambiguity

n. Uncertainty or multiple interpretations.

Ameliorate

To improve or make better.

Analogous

adj. similar but not identical

Anomaly

n. something different from the norm

Antecedent

n. A preceding event or condition.

Arcane

adj. Mysterious or known by few.

Austere

adj. extremely plain

adj. stern and forbidding

adj. relating to self-denial

Candid

adj. direct, blunt

Circumvent

v. To find a way around.

Concede

v. To admit or yield.

Conflated

adj. Combined in a misleading way.

Contentious

adj. Causing disagreement or debate.

Contingent 

adj. Dependent on something else.

Corroborate

v. to provide evidence for; to back up (a claim)

Defunct

adj. No longer existing or functional.

Demarcate

v. To set boundaries or distinguish.

Desultory

adj. Lacking a clear plan or enthusiasm.

Pall

A cloth cover for a coffin or a tomb

Sententiously

Meaningfully

Lugubrious

Grievous or so

Dissipated

Dispelled, dispersed

Disparage

adj. Essentially different or unconnected.

Exacerbate

v. To make a problem worse.

Extraneous

adj. Unrelated or unnecessary.

Haphazard

adj. Lacking organization or planning.

Imminent

adj. About to happen soon.

Impending

adj. Approaching or about to happen.

Innocuous

adj. Harmless or inoffensive.

Latent

adj. Present but not active.

Misanthropic

adj. Disliking people or society.

Nuanced

adj. Having subtle differences.

Oust

v. to remove or force out of (usu. a position or office)

Outstrip

v. To surpass or exceed.

Paucity

n. A scarcity or lack.

Peripheral

adj. On the edge or outer part of something.

Postulate

v. To assume or propose a theory.

Pragmatic

adj. Practical and realistic.

Proponent

n. A supporter of a cause or idea.

Ramify

v. to split into two or more branches

Recalcitrant

adj. Stubbornly resistant to authority.

Recant

v. To take back a previous statement.

Reciprocate

v. To give in return.

Rectify

v. To correct or fix something.

Redress

v. To set right or remedy.

Replenish

v. To refill or restore.

Repudiate

v. To reject or disown.

Factitious

developed by effort; forced

Incontinently

helplessly, without self-control

Altrusitic

thoughtful of others; unselfish

Harlequin

A stock character in comedy and pantomime who wears a costume of many colors

Retaliate

v. To respond to an attack.

Sanction

v. To authorize or approve.

Sanguine

adj. Optimistic or hopeful.

Simulate

v. To imitate or replicate.

Speculate

v. To guess or theorize.

Spurious

adj. False or deceptive.

Surmised

v. To infer or guess.

Exemplify

v. To serve as a typical example of something.

Stymie

v. To hinder or block.

Synchronization

n. The process of coordinating events.

Tentative

adj. Uncertain or not fully decided.

Tenuous

adj. Weak or insubstantial

Ubiquitous

adj. Present everywhere.

Underscore

v. To emphasize.

Unobtrusive

adj. Not attracting attention

Verisimilitude

n. The appearance of being true or real.

Meretricious

adj. attractive in a showy way

Ineffable

adj. inexpressible

Ramifications

n. consequences, results

Turgid

adj. excessively complex in language

Debauchee

n. a depraved person

Dissipated

overindulging in sensual pleasures

Septic

sickening

Dilatory

tending to cause delay

Rancour

bitter resentment or ill will

Portentous

ominous and threatening

Expostulation

friendly protest

Truculent

fierce

Redolent

fragrant

Grall

greatly desired or sought

Interminable

endless

Amorphous

having no definite form

Ptomaine

bacterial

Cedling

to yield

Ineluctable

Inescapable or inevitable

Succoured

helped or relieved

Maelstrom

A violent confusion of feelings, ideas, or conditions

Hirsute

Shaggy and hairy

Welter

Wild disorder

Surfeit

an intemperate or immoderate indulgence in something

Vestige

a trace

Larrup

Thrash, beat

Ineradicably

Something that cannot be rooted out or gotten rid of

Turpitude

Shameful and wicked

Compunction

Remorse

Paroxysm

Severe, sudden attack