Elite SAT Vocabulary 1–500

Words 1–50

  • bide (v) – to remain in a condition or state; to wait

  • consent (v) – to approve; to agree; to yield

  • volition (n) – a conscious choice or decision

  • nascent (adj) – coming into being; being born

  • amplify (v) – to make larger

  • lurid (adj) – causing shock or horror; tastelessly vivid; glowing like fire through a haze

  • own (v) – to admit, esp. taking personal responsibility for one’s actions or thoughts

  • collude (v) – to plot secretly for a deceitful or illegal purpose

  • tally (v) – to count; to add

  • disarray (n) – confusion; disorder

  • tepid (adj) – moderately warm; lacking force or enthusiasm

  • conjecture (n) – an inference or conclusion based on incomplete evidence

  • pious (adj) – exhibiting reverence and religious observation

  • abet (v) – to encourage, assist, or support, usually in wrongdoing

  • interloper (n) – one who interferes with the affairs of others; a meddler

  • subsequent (adj) – happening afterward; following in order

  • surmise (v / n) – to infer by intuition or slender evidence; such an inference

  • jot (v / n) – to write briefly and hastily; a very small amount

  • discern (v) – to perceive and understand so as to make distinctions

  • blight (n) – a plant disease; something that impairs growth, progress, or prosperity

  • voluble (adj) – talkative

  • divine (adj) – related to a god; supremely good or beautiful

  • premonition (n) – sense of a future event; a warning in advance

  • proverbial (adj) – well-known because widely repeated

  • grave (adj) – serious; dignified; formal

  • rejoinder (n) – an answer, esp. to another answer

  • deploy (v) – to station or assemble troops or forces in position

  • codify (v) – to organize (laws, rules, etc.) into a system

  • relent (v) – to become less severe; to give in

  • loathe (v) – to dislike greatly

  • cumbersome (adj) – clumsy or difficult to manage

  • affected (adj) – behaving in an artificial way to impress people

  • skittish (adj) – nervous; easily frightened

  • colloquial (adj) – appropriate to spoken language; informal

  • scenario (n) – outline for a planned series of events; summary of a work of fiction

  • drastic (adj) – extreme; severe

  • inept (adj) – without skill; absurd or foolish

  • multifarious (adj) – having many different parts or forms; numerous and varied

  • efficacy (n) – the power to produce the desired effect

  • dissonant (adj) – harsh and disagreeable in sound

  • brusque (adj) – abrupt and curt of manner

  • ambiance (n) – environment

  • voluminous (adj) – having great size or fullness

  • vanquish (v) – to defeat, esp. totally

  • pilfer (v) – to steal a small amount

  • disdain (n) – a feeling of contempt

  • reconcile (v) – to make friendly again; to settle a dispute; to make incompatible things fit together

  • banish (v) – to drive away; to force to leave a place by official decree

  • vacillate (v) – to swing back and forth

  • morose (adj) – sour-tempered and inclined to be silent

  • dichotomy (n) – a division into two contrasting or non-overlapping parts

Words 51–100

  • assail (v) – to attack; to assault

  • propitious (adj) – presenting favorable circumstances

  • eclectic (adj) – composed of materials from various sources

  • dapper (adj) – neatly dressed; trim; stylish

  • audible (adj) – able to be heard

  • quiescent (adj) – inactive, often suggesting a temporary state

  • extol (v) – to praise highly and lavishly

  • ritual (n) – ceremonial act; a customary procedure

  • emulate (v) – to copy someone; to imitate

  • discrepancy (n) – lack of agreement; difference

  • manifest (adj) – obvious; very clear; evident

  • chauvinism (n) – unreasoning and boastful devotion to one’s country or sex

  • shade (n) – a small variation; nuance; a small amount

  • furtive (adj) – characterized by secretive behavior

  • semblance (n) – outward form or appearance

  • euphemism (n) – substitution of an agreeable word or phrase for one that might offend

  • lopsided (adj) – larger or shaped differently on one side than the other

  • antiseptic (adj) – free from germs; thoroughly clean

  • subjective (adj) – based on personal experience or feeling, not on external evidence

  • pale (v) – to decrease in relative importance

  • facile (adj) – with effortless ease; superficial; without proper care

  • incarcerate (v) – to restrict by imprisonment; to keep in prison

  • resilient (adj) – able to recover quickly

  • passive (adj) – unresisting; submissive

  • dismantle (v) – to take apart

  • integrate (v) – to form into a unified whole

  • mendacious (adj) – lying; false, esp. habitually

  • blasphemy (n) – an act that shows contempt for God or religious matters

  • elude (v) – to escape from (by daring or skill); to escape understanding

  • redoubtable (adj) – fearsome; formidable

  • sweltering (adj) – oppressively hot and humid

  • detest (v) – to hate

  • palatable (adj) – pleasant or acceptable to the taste

  • gala (adj / n) – festive; a lavish social event

  • quarters (n) – place of residence; assigned station (military/naval)

  • eccentric (adj) – unconventional; odd

  • stigma (n) – a sign of disgrace; a mark that lowers reputation

  • immerse (v) – to cover completely in a liquid; to engage wholly

  • inception (n) – commencement; beginning; origin

  • quaint (adj) – odd, esp. in an old-fashioned way

  • propound (v) – to suggest for consideration; to propose

  • insinuate (v) – to hint

  • nocturnal (adj) – occurring at night

  • agrarian (adj) – related to farming

  • eerie (adj) – causing inexplicable fear or uneasiness, often supernatural

  • ruthless (adj) – having no compassion or pity

  • ultimatum (n) – a final demand or statement of terms

  • abase (v) – to lower in rank or prestige

  • knack (n) – a specific talent for doing something difficult to teach

(Sections continue in the same bullet-point format, covering every word and definition through 500 – relentless (adj): harsh; pitiless; persistent.)