SAT Vocab

Abstemious,Moderate in eating or drinking. The abstemious scholar avoided extravagant meals.

Abrogate,To formally repeal or abolish. The government voted to abrogate the outdated law.

Abstruse,Difficult to understand. The philosopher's argument was abstruse.

Acquiesce,To accept reluctantly but without protest. She acquiesced to the committee's decision.

Admonish,To warn or reprimand. The teacher admonished the student for cheating.

Adumbrate,To suggest or outline vaguely. The introduction adumbrates the author's argument.

Alacrity,Eager willingness. The students responded with alacrity.

Ameliorate,To improve or make better. The policy aims to ameliorate poverty.

Anachronism,Something placed in the wrong time period. The watch was an anachronism.

Anodyne,Something that relieves pain or tension. The speech offered anodyne reassurance.

Antithetical,Directly opposed. His views were antithetical to the theory.

Apocryphal,Of doubtful authenticity. The famous quote is probably apocryphal.

Arbitrary,Based on random choice rather than reason. The rule seemed arbitrary.

Ascetic,Practicing strict self-discipline. The ascetic monk lived simply.

Assuage,To relieve or ease. The apology assuaged their anger.

Astringent,Sharp or severe in tone. The critic wrote an astringent review.

Bellicose,Aggressive and hostile. The leader gave a bellicose speech.

Capricious,Given to sudden changes. The weather proved capricious.

Castigate,To criticize harshly. The editor castigated the writer.

Circumvent,To find a way around. Engineers circumvented the obstacle.

Clandestine,Done secretly. They held clandestine meetings.

Coalesce,To merge together. Small groups coalesced into one movement.

Cogent,Clear and convincing. The essay made a cogent argument.

Conflagration,A large destructive fire. The conflagration spread rapidly.

Conjecture,An opinion based on incomplete evidence. Scientists made a conjecture.

Connoisseur,An expert judge. She is a connoisseur of classical art.

Conundrum,A confusing problem. The paradox posed a conundrum.

Copious,Abundant in supply. The researcher collected copious notes.

Corollary,A proposition that follows logically. The theory has an important corollary.

Cryptic,Mysterious or obscure. The note contained a cryptic message.

Cursory,Hasty and not thorough. The inspection was cursory.

Deference,Respectful submission. The student spoke with deference.

Didactic,Intended to teach a lesson. The novel is sometimes didactic.

Diffident,Lacking confidence. The diffident student avoided speaking.

Dilatory,Intended to delay. The lawyer used dilatory tactics.

Disparate,Fundamentally different. The study examined disparate cultures.

Dissemble,To conceal motives. He dissembled to avoid blame.

Dogmatic,Stubbornly asserting opinions. His dogmatic views discouraged debate.

Eclectic,Derived from many sources. Her music taste is eclectic.

Efface,To erase or wipe out. Time effaced the markings.

Efficacy,Ability to produce a result. Scientists tested the drug's efficacy.

Egregious,Outstandingly bad. The error was egregious.

Emulate,To imitate in order to match. She hoped to emulate her mentor.

Enervate,To weaken or drain energy. The heat enervated the runners.

Equivocal,Ambiguous or uncertain. His answer was equivocal.

Esoteric,Understood by only a few people. The lecture covered esoteric topics.

Exculpate,To clear from blame. Evidence exculpated the suspect.

Extemporaneous,Spoken without preparation. The speech was extemporaneous.

Facetious,Treating serious issues humorously. His facetious tone annoyed them.

Fallacious,Based on mistaken reasoning. The claim was fallacious.

Fastidious,Very attentive to detail. The editor was fastidious about grammar.

Fatuous,Silly or pointless. The remark was fatuous.

Garrulous,Excessively talkative. The garrulous guest spoke nonstop.

Grandiloquent,Pompous in speech. His grandiloquent language sounded artificial.

Hackneyed,Overused and unoriginal. The phrase sounded hackneyed.

Iconoclast,Someone who challenges traditions. The scientist was an iconoclast.

Impetuous,Acting without thinking. His impetuous decision caused trouble.

Implacable,Unable to be appeased. The critic remained implacable.

Inchoate,Not fully formed. The idea was inchoate.

Incredulous,Unwilling to believe. She was incredulous at the claim.

Indolent,Lazy or avoiding work. The indolent worker ignored tasks.

Insidious,Gradually harmful. The disease spread insidiously.

Intrepid,Fearless and adventurous. The intrepid explorer crossed deserts.

Inundate,To overwhelm with things. The office was inundated with messages.

Inveterate,Long-established habit. He is an inveterate reader.

Juxtapose,To place side by side for contrast. The exhibit juxtaposes ancient and modern art.

Laconic,Using very few words. His reply was laconic.

Loquacious,Very talkative. The loquacious guest dominated conversation.

Mendacious,Dishonest. The witness gave a mendacious statement.

Mitigate,To make less severe. Laws aim to mitigate pollution.

Nebulous,Vague or unclear. The proposal remained nebulous.

Obdurate,Stubbornly refusing to change. The manager remained obdurate.

Obfuscate,To make unclear. The jargon obfuscated meaning.

Obsequious,Excessively obedient. The assistant sounded obsequious.

Opaque,Hard to understand. The explanation remained opaque.

Ostentatious,Showy or flashy. His ostentatious display drew attention.

Paradox,A seemingly contradictory statement. The claim seemed a paradox.

Paragon,A perfect example. She is a paragon of patience.

Paucity,A scarcity or lack. There was a paucity of evidence.

Pedantic,Overly concerned with minor details. The professor sounded pedantic.

Perfunctory,Done with little interest. He gave a perfunctory apology.

Permeate,To spread through. The smell permeated the room.

Pertinent,Relevant to the matter. She asked a pertinent question.

Placate,To calm anger. The manager placated the customer.

Pragmatic,Practical rather than theoretical. They chose a pragmatic solution.

Precarious,Dangerously unstable. The ladder stood precariously.

Preclude,To prevent from happening. Lack of funds precluded expansion.

Prolific,Producing many works. The prolific author wrote dozens of books.

Propensity,A natural tendency. She has a propensity for curiosity.

Prosaic,Dull or ordinary. The explanation felt prosaic.

Prudent,Acting with careful judgment. Saving money was prudent.

Quell,To suppress. Authorities quelled the unrest.

Recalcitrant,Stubbornly resistant. The recalcitrant student refused instructions.

Recondite,Little known or obscure. The topic was recondite.

Redundant,Unnecessarily repetitive. The sentence felt redundant.

Reticent,Reserved and quiet. The reticent student rarely spoke.

Sanguine,Optimistic or positive. She remained sanguine about results.

Scrutinize,To examine closely. Scientists scrutinized the data.

Specious,Plausible but misleading. The claim was specious.

Sporadic,Occurring irregularly. The rain was sporadic.

Spurious,False but appearing real. The results were spurious.

Tacit,Understood without being stated. They had a tacit agreement.

Tenacious,Persistent. The tenacious athlete refused defeat.

Tenuous,Weak or flimsy. The argument was tenuous.

Truculent,Aggressively hostile. His truculent tone caused conflict.

Ubiquitous,Present everywhere. Smartphones are ubiquitous.

Vacillate,To waver between choices. She vacillated before deciding.

Vindicate,To clear from blame. Evidence vindicated her.

Voracious,Having a huge appetite. He is a voracious reader.

Zealous,Passionately enthusiastic. Volunteers were zealous supporters.