SAT Power Vocab

Vocabulary flashcards for SAT preparation.

Abstruse

Hard to understand.

(adj) The professor’s explanation of quantum mechanics was so abstruse that only a few students could follow it.

Acquisitive

Seeking or tending to acquire; greedy.

(adj) The company’s acquisitive strategy led it to buy every promising startup in the sector.

Acute

Sharp; shrewd; discerning.

(adj) Her acute sense of hearing allowed her to notice the faintest footsteps in the hallway.

Advocate

A person who argues in favor of a position or cause; to argue in favor of a position or cause.

(noun) As an advocate for mental-health reform, she spends weekends lobbying lawmakers at the capitol.

Affront

An insult; a deliberate act of disrespect.

(noun) Skipping the host’s toast was taken as an affront by the entire wedding party.

Alleviate

To relieve, usually temporarily or incompletely; to make bearable; to lessen.

(verb) A cup of ginger tea can alleviate mild nausea during long flights.

Allocate

To distribute; to assign; to allot.

(verb) The grant committee will allocate the remaining funds to community arts programs.

Ambiguous

Unclear in meaning; confusing; capable of being interpreted in different ways.
(adj) The wording of the contract was so ambiguous that both parties believed it favored them.

Ambivalent

Undecided; having opposing feelings simultaneously.

(adj) He was ambivalent about moving abroad—excited for adventure yet reluctant to leave family behind.

Amenable

Obedient; willing to give in to the wishes of another; agreeable.

(adj) After some coaxing, the normally stubborn toddler became amenable to trying a new vegetable.

Amiable

Friendly; agreeable.

(adj) The new neighbor was so amiable that by evening she had already invited the entire block over for lemonade.

Amoral

Lacking a sense of right and wrong; neither good nor bad, neither moral nor immoral; without moral feelings.

(adj) The artificial-intelligence system made amoral decisions, focusing solely on statistical outcomes without regard for ethical considerations.

Amorous

Feeling loving, especially in a romantic sense; in love; relating to love.

(adj) The artificial-intelligence system made amoral decisions, focusing solely on statistical outcomes without regard for ethical considerations.

Amorphous

Shapeless; without a regular or stable shape; blob-like.
(adj) The cloud of ink spread in the water, forming an amorphous shape that shifted constantly.

Anachronism

Something out of place in time or history; an incongruity.

(noun) The presence of a smartphone on the medieval banquet table was an anachronism that made the audience laugh.

Analogy

A comparison of one thing to another; similarity.

(noun) The teacher used the analogy of a library’s card catalog to explain how computer file directories are organized.

Anecdote

A short account of a humorous or revealing incident; a story.

(noun) He began the lecture with a lighthearted anecdote about his first day as a rookie teacher to put the students at ease.

Annex

To add or attach.

(verb) The city council voted to annex the neighboring suburb, extending municipal services to its residents.

Anomaly

An unusual occurrence; an irregularity; a deviation.

(noun) A 90-degree day in the middle of November is an anomaly in this normally cool climate.

Anthology

A collection, especially of literary works.

(noun) The course’s required reading included an anthology of contemporary short stories from writers around the globe.

Anthropomorphic

Ascribing human characteristics to nonhuman animals or objects.

(adj) The children giggled at the anthropomorphic cat in the cartoon, who walked on two legs and spoke perfect English.

Antipathy

A firm dislike; a dislike.

(noun) His longstanding antipathy toward olives meant he picked them off every slice of pizza before eating.

Antipodal

Situated on opposite sides of the Earth; exactly opposite.

(adj) Although they share the same birthday, the twins have antipodal personalities—one is boldly adventurous while the other is quietly studious.

Antithesis

The direct opposite.

(noun) Her calm, measured response was the antithesis of his impulsive outburst during the debate.

Apathy

Lack of interest; lack of feeling.

(noun) Voter apathy was so widespread that less than half the electorate bothered to cast a ballot in the local election.

Apprehensive

Worried; anxious.

She felt apprehensive about starting her new job in a foreign country.

Ascertain

To determine with certainty; to find out definitely.

(verb) The engineer ran several tests to ascertain the precise source of the equipment failure.

Assimilate

To take in; to absorb; to learn thoroughly.

(verb) Immigrants often need time to assimilate into a new culture, adopting its customs and language.

Astute

Shrewd; keen in judgment.

(adj) The astute investor spotted the market opportunity and bought shares just before the price surged.

Asylum

Refuge; a place of safety.

(noun) The dissident sought political asylum abroad after receiving threats in his home country.

Autocratic

Ruling with absolute authority; extremely bossy.

(adj) An autocratic leader makes decisions without input from others, often centralizing power and control.

Autonomous

Acting independently.

(adj) The Mars rover is equipped with autonomous navigation software that lets it choose its own path around obstacles.

Benediction

A blessing; an utterance of good wishes.

(noun) The priest offered a heartfelt benediction before the newlyweds walked back up the aisle.

Benefactor

One who provides help, especially in the form of a gift or donation.

(noun) A generous benefactor donated the funds needed to build a new science wing at the school.

Benevolent

Generous; kind; doing good deeds.

(adj) The benevolent donor paid off every outstanding lunch debt at the elementary school.

Benign

Gentle; not harmful; kind; mild.

(adj) The biopsy confirmed the growth was benign, allowing the patient to breathe a sigh of relief.

Bluster

To roar; to be loud; to be tumultuous.

(verb) The storm began to bluster through the trees, shaking the branches with its fierce winds.

Bombast

Pompous or pretentious speech or writing.

(noun) The politician’s speech was loaded with patriotic bombast but offered no concrete policy details.

Brawn

Big muscles; great strength.

(noun) His impressive brawn made him the obvious choice to move the heavy furniture up the stairs.

Brevity

The quality or state of being brief in duration.

(noun) The editor praised the article’s brevity, noting it conveyed all the key facts in just three concise paragraphs.

Burgeon

To expand; to flourish.
(verb) The number of independent bookstores began to burgeon after the neighborhood revitalization project took hold.

Callous

Insensitive; emotionally hardened.

Candor

Truthfulness; sincere honesty.

Castigate

To criticize severely; to chastise.

Cerebral

Brainy; intellectually refined.

Chronic

Occurring often and repeatedly over a period of time; lasting a long time; inveterate.

Chronicle

A record of events in order of time; a history.

Circumnavigate

To sail or travel all the way around.

Circumscribe

To draw a line around; to set the limits; to define; to restrict.

Circumspect

Cautious.

Circumvent

To get around something in a clever, occasionally dishonest way.

Complacent

Self-satisfied; overly pleased with oneself; contented to a fault.

Congregate

To come together.

Conspicuous

Easily seen; impossible to miss.

Contiguous

Side by side; adjoining.

Contraband

Smuggled goods.

Contretemps

An embarrassing occurrence; a mishap.

(noun) An awkward contretemps arose when the keynote speaker’s phone rang loudly in the middle of her own presentation.

Corrugated

Shaped with folds or waves.

Cosmopolitan

At home in many places or situations; internationally sophisticated.

Credulous

Eager to believe; gullible.

Culpable

Deserving blame; guilty.

Debase

To lower in quality or value; to degrade.

Debilitate

To weaken; to cripple.

Debunk

To expose the nonsense of.

Decry

To put down; to denounce.

Defame

To libel or slander; to ruin the good name of.

Deference

Submission to another's will; respect; courtesy.

Defile

To make filthy or foul; to desecrate.

Defunct

No longer in effect; no longer in existence.

Degenerate

To break down; to deteriorate.

Degrade

To lower in dignity or status; to corrupt; to deteriorate.

Deign

To condescend; to think it in accordance with one's dignity (to do something).

Dejected

Depressed; disheartened.

Denomination

A classification; a category name.

Denounce

To condemn openly.

Deplete

To decrease the supply of; to exhaust; to use up.

Deplore

To regret; to condemn; to lament.

Deride

To ridicule; to laugh at contemptuously.

Despondent

Extremely depressed; full of despair.

Dextrous

Skillful; adroit.

(adj) The dextrous watchmaker repaired the tiny gears without even needing a magnifying glass.

Dictum

An authoritative saying; an adage; a maxim; a proverb.

Disdain

To regard with contempt.

Disparage

To belittle; to say uncomplimentary things about, usually in a somewhat indirect way.

Disparate

Different; incompatible; unequal.

Distinguish

To tell apart; to cause to stand out.

Dogmatic

Arrogantly assertive of unproven ideas; stubbornly claiming that something (often a system of beliefs) is beyond dispute.

Dubious

Full of doubt; uncertain.

Elite

The best or most select group.

Elocution

The art of public speaking.

Elusive

Hard to pin down; evasive.

Empathy

Identification with the feelings or thoughts of another.

Empirical

Relying on experience or observation; not merely theoretical.

Encroach

To make gradual or stealthy inroads into; to trespass.

Ephemeral

Lasting a very short time.

Epitome

A brief summary that captures the meaning of the whole; the perfect example of something; a paradigm.

Equanimity

Composure; calm.

Equitable

Fair.

Equivocal

Ambiguous; intentionally confusing; capable of being interpreted in more than one way.

Erudition

Impressive or extensive knowledge, usually achieved by studying and schooling; scholarly knowledge.

(noun) The historian’s erudition showed in his ability to cite obscure primary sources from memory.

Eulogy

A spoken or written tribute to a person, especially a person who has just died.