SAT Vocab

making a claim

advance

to put forward a claim

assert

to put forward an argument or state that something is true

conjecture

n. hypothesis; v. hypothesize

(pre)supposition

an idea assumed beforehand about a subject

surmise

to assume; draw a conclusion without strong evidence

supporting a claim

to strengthen or support something

bolster

to provide support for an argument (morale/confidence wise)

buttress

to provide support for an argument (adding external reinforcement)

substantiate

to provide evidence to support or prove a claim

corroborate

to confirm or support a claim

validate

to prove the accuracy of a claim

recognizing a claim

concede

to admit that an opposing claim is true or valid

acknowledge

to accept or admit the validity of a claim

questioning a claim

rebut

to offer an argument against a claim believed to be false

refute

to prove that a claim is false

thinking about a claim

grapple with

to try to deal with or understand a difficult problem

ruminate about

to think deeply about; to turn something over in one’s mind

infer

to deduce or concede from evidence and reasoning

supporting, criticizing, and doubting a claim

proponent

person who supports a claim or course of action

detractor

person who criticizes a claim or course of action

skeptic

person who questions or doubts a claim

Core Vocabulary

abrupt

sudden or unexpected

adamant

extremely stubborn; fixed in one’s viewpoint

abundant

plentiful

accentuate

to make more noticeable or prominent

acclaim

enthusiastic and public praise

adaptation

a change made to accommodate new circumstances

advantageous

creating favourable circumstances

aesthetic

related to the study or appreciation of beauty

affecting

touching the emotions; moving

affinity

a strong attraction or liking

ambiguous

unclear; open to more than one interpretation

ambivalence

having mixed feelings

ameliorate

to make better; improve

amorphous

shapeless; synonym for “nebulous”

analogy

a comparison intended to provide clarificatiojn

animosity

strong feelings of dislike or hatred

anomaly

deviation from the norm; atypical

antithetical

characterized by extreme contrast

appease

to make peace by giving into demands

appraise

to assess the value or quality of something

approximate

close but not completely accurate

augment

to increase

austere

very plain, without decoration

catalyze

to cause or speed up a reaction

catastrophic

utterly disastrous

cease

to stop, halt

circumvent

to find a way around, avoid

cite

to quote or reference from a work to support an argument

coalesce

to come together to form a single mass

coarseness

roughness, harshness

collaboration

the act of working with another person or people

commonplace

common, ordinary

comprise

to include, contain

confine

to restrict within a limited area

confound

to utterly confuse, baffle

consensus

general agreement

conspicuous

clearly visible, noticeable

consumption

the process of eating or using up

contingent

dependent upon; subject to

contrive

to think up

copious

abundant; plentiful

credible

believable

credulous

easily fooled

debacle

a complete failure; fiasco

deplete

to diminish

despondent

feeling depressed

deviation

departure from what is normal

dexterous

physically skilled, especially with one’s hands

discernible

visible; detectable

discord

general disagreement

disparate

very different

disperse

to scatter

disposition

inherent personality or character trait

diverge

to move apart

domestication

the process of taming an animal or cultivating a wild plant

draconian

excessively harsh laws, rules, and punishments

eccentric

highly odd or unconventional (person)

eclipse

to overshadow or block

elicit

to draw out, usually a response

elusive

difficult to find, catch, or achieve

engender

to cause or give rise to

engulf

to overwhelm; surround completely

enhance

to improve or intensify

ephemeral

very brief; short lived

equitable

fair

erratic

unpredictable; not regular

evade

to escape or avoid

evince

to reveal or show one’s feelings

exacerbate

to make worse

excavation

the process of digging up, usually a historic site

exorbitant

extreme and excessive

explicit

stated directly and with complete clarity

exploit

to take advantage of