100 Most Common SAT
Word List
Here is a list of the most common SAT
words that are often tested on the SAT
vocabulary exam.
1. Abandon – give up completely
2. Abate – become less intense or
widespread
3. Abet – encourage or assist
4. Accede – accent or agree to a
demand
5. Berate – scold or criticize
6. Bovine – of or relating to cattle
7. Braggart – a person who boasts
about achievements
8. Burnish – polish by rubbing
9. Cache – a collection of similar
items stored in a secret place
10. Cacophony – harsh discordant
mixture of sounds
11. Catalyst – substance the
increases the rate of chemical
reaction
12. Censorious – severely critical of
others
13. Dearth – scarcity or lack of
something
14. Demagogue – a political leader
who seeks support by appealing
to popular desires rather than
reason
15. Diluvia – of or relating to a flood;
glacial drift
16. Dispassionate – not influenced by
strong emotion
17. Effluvia – an unpleasant or
harmful odor
18. Emulate – match or surpass
19. Epochal – extremely significant
20. Expound – explain or present
21. Facile – appearing
comprehensive by ignoring the
complexities of the situation
22. Fictive – created by imagination
23. Flippant – not showing serious
attitude
24. Gauche – lacking grace
25. Gregarious – outgoing or social
26. Grotto – small cave or cave-like
structure
27. Hedonist – person who believes
the pursuit of pleasure is the
most important aspect of life
28. Heretical – practicing religious
heresy
29. Hubris – excessive pride
30. Hypocrite – a person who says
one thing and does another
31. Ignoble – not honorable in
character
32. Imbibe – drink alcohol
33. Imperious – assuming power
without justification
34. Importunate – persistent
35. Jettison – throw or drop for an
airplane or ship
36. Jocular – humorous or playful
37. Junta – military group that rules
after taking by force
38. Kismet – destiny
39. Lexicon – vocabulary of a person
40. Licentious – immoral
41. Limber – flexible
42. Loquacious – talkative
43. Malapropism – mistaken use of a
word in place of a similar
sounding word
44. Malfeasance – wrongdoing
45. Mawkish – sentimental in a
sickening way
46. Misnomer – wrong or inaccurate
name in designation
47. Modicum – small or minimal
portion
48. Mote – tiny piece of a substance
49. Necromancy – practice of
communicating with the dead
50. Nihilism – rejection of religion
51. Nomenclature – the choosing of
names for things
52. Novel – fictitious prose narrative
53. Obfuscate – to confuse
54. Olfactory – of or relating to the
sense of smell
55. Opprobrious – compressing
scorn
56. Ostracize – exclude from a
society or group
57. Palatial – resembling a palace
58. Pandemic – disease prevalent
over an entire country or multiple
countries
59. Paramount – more important than
anything else
60. Patrician – an aristocrat
61. Polyglot – knowing or using
several languages
62. Prestidigitation – magic tricks
performed for entertainment
63. Provincial – of or concerning a
province or country
64. Rancor – bitterness or
resentfulness
65. Rarefy – to make or become
more dense or solid
66. recapitulate – summarize and
state again the main points
67. Refute – prove to be wrong or
false
68. Repose – a state of rest
69. Resilient – able to withstand
70. Revile – criticize in an abusive
manner
71. Rife – of common occurrence
72. Sanctimonious – making a show
of being morally superior
73. Scrupulous – diligent attention to
details
74. Sedition – conduct or speech
inciting people to rebel
75. Sinecure – position requiring little
or no work
76. Stint – supply inadequate amount
of something
77. Sybarite – self-indulgent person
78. Tawdry – showy but cheap
79. Tenacious – keep a firm hold on
something
80. Terse – sparing in use of words
81. Tout – attempt to sell something
by aggressively pestering
82. Trounce – defeat heavily in a
contest
83. Tutelage – authority over
someone or something
84. Unconscionable – not right or
reasonable
85. Untoward – unexpected
86. Usury – lending money at
unlawful rates
87. Vehemently – showing strong
feeling
88. Veritable – using as an intensifier
89. Vilify – write or speak in an
abusively disparaging way
90. Vociferous – vehement
91. Wan – pale with appearance of
illness
92. Wield – hold and use typically a
weapon or tool
93. Winsome – attractive appearance
or character
94. Wry – using dry or mocking
humor
95. Xenophobe – fear or dislike for
people of different countries
96. Yeoman – a man holding and
cultivating a field
97. Yen – Japanese monetary unit
98. Yowl – loud wining cry
99. Zenith – peak
100.
Zephyr – soft gentle
breeze