SAT Vocab

Abate (As I began my speech, my feelings of nervousness quickly abated.)

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

Abrupt (His abrupt departure surprised everyone.)

adj. Sudden and unexpected.

Abstract (Julie had trouble understanding the appeal of the abstract painting.)

adj. existing purely in the mind; not representing actual reality

Abysmal (I got an abysmal grade on my research paper!)

adj. extremely bad

Acceptable (The teacher deemed Sara's late assignment acceptable.)

adj. Satisfactory or permissible.

Accidental (The oil spill was purely accidental.)

adj. Happening by chance.

Accommodate (The Grand Hotel can accommodate up to 500 guests.)

v. To provide space or make adjustments.

Accuracy (The accuracy of the intern's report was impressive.)

n. The quality of being correct or precise.

Acknowledge (She refused to acknowledge her mistake.)

v. To recognize or admit the truth.

Acquired (Edmund had acquired a taste for fine wine.)

adj. Gained through effort or experience.

Adapt (Newly-released animals generally adapt to their environments over time.)

v. To adjust to new conditions.

Adept (Beth loves playing the piano, but she's especially adept at the violin.)

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

Adequate (Though his resume was adequate, the company doubted whether he'd be a good fit.)

adj. having sufficient qualifications to meet a specific task or purpose

Adhere (You must adhere to the rules if you don't want to get in trouble.)

v. To stick to or follow closely.

Adjust (He had to adjust his seat for comfort.)

v. To modify or change slightly.

Admire (I admire my mother's dedication to her work.)

v. To respect or look up to.

Advantageous (Speaking multiple languages is advantageous.)

adj. Beneficial or useful.

Advent (The world has never been the same since the advent of the light bulb.)

n. the arrival or creation of something

Advise (I advise you to study for the exam.)

v. To recommend or give guidance.

Aggravate (Scratching the rash will only aggravate it.)

v. To worsen or intensify.

Aggressive (The man's aggressive tone made everyone uneasy.)

adj. Forceful or overly assertive.

Allude (She alluded to the problem at hand but didn't say anything more about it.)

v. to make a secretive mention of something

Ambiguity (The ambiguity in his vague statement caused confusion.)

n. Uncertainty or multiple interpretations.

Ambivalence (Jessie felt ambivalence about moving to a new city.)

n. Mixed or conflicting feelings.

Ameliorate (The new policy aims to ameliorate working conditions for all employees.)

v. To improve or make better.

Amplify (The microphone will amplify your voice.)

v. To increase in size or effect.

Amusing (Jason's joke was quite amusing.)

adj. Entertaining or humorous.

Analogous (Green onions are considered analogous to spring onions.)

adj. similar but not identical

Annotate (Please annotate the medical text with your observations.)

v. To add notes or comments.

Announce (The CEO will announce the new policy tomorrow.)

v. To make a public statement.

Anomaly (This result is an anomaly and very rarely happens.)

n. something different from the norm

Antagonistic (His antagonistic behavior created tension at work.)

adj. Showing hostility or opposition.

Antecedent (The antecedent to the war was political unrest.)

n. A preceding event or condition.

Anticipate (Does the weatherman anticipate a rise in temperatures next week?)

v. To expect or predict.

Antipathy (Her antipathy toward the professor was obvious: she rolled her eyes whenever he entered the classroom.)

n. a strong feeling of dislike

Apex (The spring play was the apex of our school year.)

n. the highest point of something

Appropriate (Lily's velvet dress was appropriate for the formal occasion.)

adj. Suitable for a specific situation.

Approximate (The approximate cost is $50.)

adj. Nearly accurate or close to.

Arcane (The ancient book contained arcane knowledge.)

adj. Mysterious or known by few.

Arduous (The steep hike up the mountain was arduous.)

adj. Difficult and requiring effort.

Assemble (We need to assemble the bed if we want a place to sleep tonight.)

v. To gather or put together.

Austere (He lived in a small, austere cabin in the middle of the woods.

My boss had an austere expression on her face.

An austere lifestyle, like that of monks, isn't for everybody.)

adj. extremely plain

adj. stern and forbidding

adj. relating to self-denial

Avoid (Mara hates fighting, so she always tries to avoid conflict.)

v. To stay away from or prevent.

Beneficial (A balanced diet is beneficial to your health.)

adj. Producing good results.

Benevolent (Many cultures believe in benevolent spirits.)

adj. kind, generous

Bold (Elsie made a bold move by quitting her job.)

adj. Courageous or striking.

Borrow (Libraries will let you borrow books for several weeks.)

v. To take temporarily.

Buttress (The evidence will buttress his argument.)

v. To support or strengthen.

Bypass (We took a shortcut to bypass traffic.)

v. To go around or avoid.

Calibrate (The scientist had to calibrate the instrument to ensure his measurements were accurate.)

v. To adjust for precision.

Candid (Josh is candid about his desire to become an actor.)

adj. direct, blunt

Carelessly (He carelessly left his keys on the bus.)

adv. Without caution.

Catastrophic (The catastrophic hurricane destroyed dozens of homes.)

adj. Disastrous or causing great damage.

Cause (The fire's cause is still unknown.)

n. A reason for an action or event.

Characterization (The novel's characterization was deep and complex.)

n. The way a character is described.

Circumvent (They found a loophole to circumvent the rule.)

v. To find a way around.

Coincidence (Meeting my neighbor at the airport was a coincidence.)

n. A surprising and unexpected event.

Collaboration (The scientists' collaboration led to a breakthrough.)

n. Working together on a task.

Commercialization (The commercialization of the product increased sales.)

n. The process of making something a business.

Committed (Ava is committed to her studies and always wants top grades.)

adj. Dedicated to a cause or task.

Common (It's very common for students to feel stressed before exams.)

adj. Occurring frequently or shared.

Compelling (The debater gave a compelling argument.)

adj. Captivating or persuasive.

Competent (Noah has worked at this job for a long time and is a competent engineer.)

adj. Having the necessary ability or skill.

Complementary (The artist and the engineer have skills that are complementary in the project.)

adj. Enhancing or completing another.

Complexity (The complexity of the 1,000 piece puzzle made it challenging.)

n. The state of being intricate or complicated.

Compose (Jordan plans to compose a new symphony.)

v. To create or write.

Compound (The traffic was compounded by bad weather.)

v. To intensify or combine.

Comprise (The book comprises ten chapters.)

v. To consist of or include.

Conceal (Luca tried to conceal his disappointment.)

v. To hide or keep secret.

Concede (She conceded that she was wrong during the argument.)

v. To admit or yield.

Conceptualize (In this lab, scientists conceptualize new theories on viruses.)

v. To form an idea or concept.

Concerning (The news about the approaching hurricane is quite concerning.)

adj. Causing worry or distress.

Condition (The car I bought is in excellent condition.)

n. The state of something.

Confident (Michael Jordan is confident in his abilities as a basketball player.)

adj. Feeling sure or self-assured.

Conflated (The two issues were conflated in the argument.)

adj. Combined in a misleading way.

Conform (The alternative rocker refuses to conform to societal norms.)

v. To comply with rules or expectations.

Consensus (The team finally reached a consensus on the decision.)

n. General agreement.

Consistent (My grandmother's knitting is always consistent in quality.)

adj. Acting in the same way over time.

Conspicuous (Veronica's red dress was conspicuous in the crowd.)

adj. Easily noticed or standing out.

Constant (The criminal lived in constant fear that he'd be found out.)

adj. Occurring continuously.

Contentious (Politics are highly contentious these days.)

adj. Causing disagreement or debate.

Contingent (Our family ski trip is contingent on the weather.)

adj. Dependent on something else.

Contradict (The camera footage contradicts his alibi.)

v. to be in contrast with

Contrived (The movie's plot felt contrived and unrealistic.)

adj. Artificial or overly planned.

Controversial (The judge's decision to free the criminal was highly controversial.)

adj. Causing public disagreement.

Cordially (The two old friends greeted each other cordially.)

adv. In a warm or friendly manner.

Corroborate (The note signed by her father corroborates her claim that she was absent from class that day.)

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

Corrosive (The corrosive chemical has ruined the paint on my car.)

adj. Gradually destructive or harmful

Costly (The mistake was a costly one and caused the company to go bankrupt.)

adj. Expensive or requiring sacrifice.

Counteract (This ingredient seems to counteract the other ones.)

v. to work in opposition to

Critical (The review was highly critical of the film.)

adj. Expressing analysis or judgment.

Criticize (My father tends to criticize others harshly.)

v. To express disapproval.

Deceptive (The advertisement was deceptive in its claims of weight loss.)

adj. Misleading or dishonest.

Deciding (The final goal was the deciding factor in the match.)

adj. Determining or influencing an outcome.

Decisive (My boss's decisive leadership helped solve our company's crisis.)

adj. Conclusive or firm.

Deficient (I feel as though the sources for my paper are deficient.)

adj. not enough in degree or amount

Defunct (After people stopped using fax machines, the fax company became defunct.)

adj. No longer existing or functional.

Delegate (A good leader knows how to delegate responsibilities.)

v. To assign tasks or authority to others.

Deliberation (After much deliberation, they made their decision.)

n. Careful consideration or discussion.

Delicate (The delicate glass sculpture broke easily.)

adj. Fragile or requiring careful handling.