SAT Vocabulary
Abate- Verb, subside or moderate
Aberrant- Adj., abnormal or deviant
Abject- Adj., wretched; lacking pride
Abstruse- Adj., obscure; profound, difficult to understand
Accolade- Noun, award of merit
Acquiesce- Verb, assent; agree without protesting
Acrimonious- Adj., bitter in words or manner
Adherent- Noun, supporter; follower
Adroit- Adj., skillful, nimble
Aesthetic- Adj., artistic, dealing with the appreciation of the beautiful
Aloof- Adj., apart; reserved; standoffish
Ameliorate- Verb, improve; make more satisfactory
Animosity- Noun, active enmity (means ill-will or hatred)
Antithesis- Noun, the opposite
Arid- Adj., dry; barren
Astute- Adj., wise, shrewd
Audacious- Adj., daring; bold
Bane- Noun, cause of ruin
Belie- Verb, contradict; give a false impression of something
Bland- Adj., soothing; mild; dull
affinity, noun
a natural liking for or attraction to a person, thing, idea, etc.
clairvoyant, adjective
having or claiming to have the power of seeing objects or actions
beyond the range of natural vision:
emulate, verb
(used with object)
to try to equal or excel; imitate with effort to equal or surpass:
expedite, verb
(used with object)
to speed up the progress of; hasten
impetuous, adjective
of, pertaining to, or characterized by sudden or rash action,
emotion
innocuous, adjective
not harmful or injurious; harmless:
mundane, adjective
of or pertaining to this world or earth as
contrasted with heaven; worldly; earthly:
penitent, adjective
feeling or expressing sorrow for sin or
wrongdoing and disposed to redemption.
propensity, noun
a natural inclination or tendency: a propensity to
drink too much.
regressive, adjective a tendency to regress or move backward
Blasphemy- Noun, irreverence; sacrilege; cursing
Capricious- Adj., fickle; incalculable
Censure- Verb, blame; criticize
Charlatan- Noun, quack; pretender to knowledge
Condone- Verb, overlook voluntarily; forgive
Conflagration- Noun, great fire
Contentious- Adj., quarrelsome
Crescendo- Noun, increase volume or intensity, as in a musical
passage; climax
Cursory- Adj., casual; hastily done
Daunt- Verb, intimidate; frighten
Debunk- Verb, expose something as nonsensical or false
Depravity- Noun, corruption; wickedness
Deride- Verb, ridicule; make fun of
Despondent- Adj., depressed; gloomy
Didactic- Adj., teaching; instructional
Discordant- Adj., not harmonious; conflicting
Discursive- Adj., digressing; rambling
Divergent- Adj., moving in different directions from one common point
Dubious- Adj., doubtful; questionable
Effervescent- Adj., exuberant; bubbly and excited
Enigma- Noun, puzzle; mystery
Ephemeral- Adj., short-lived; fleeting
Erudite- Adj., learned; scholarly
Exacerbate- Verb, to make worse
Extol- Verb, praise; glorified
Fastidious- Adj., difficult to please; squeamish
Fortuitous- Adj., accidental; by chance
Furtive- Adj., stealthy; sneaky
Galvanize- Verb, stimulate by shock; stir up; revitalize
Garrulous- Adj., loquacious; wordy; talkative
Glib- Adj., fluent; facile; slick
Grandiose- Adj., pretentious; high-flown; ridiculously exaggerated
Gregarious- Adj., sociable
Gullible- Adj., easily deceived or cheated
Hackneyed- Adj., commonplace; trite
Harass- Verb, annoy by repeated attacks; torment
Hedonist- Noun, one who believes that pleasure is the sole aim in life
Heyday- Noun, time of greatest success; prime
Hone- Verb- sharpen
Idiosyncrasy- Noun, individual trait, usually odd in nature; eccentricity
Ignominy- Noun, deep disgrace; shame or dishonor
Impecunious- Adj., without money
Impel- Verb, drive or force onward
Impetuous- Adj., violent; hasty; rash
Impromptu- Adj., without previous preparation; off the cuff; on the
spur of the moment
Impudence- Noun, bold disrespect or rudeness
Incongruous- Adj., not fitting; absurd
Infinitesimal- Adj., exceedingly small; so small as to be almost
nonexistent
Intrepid- Adj., fearless
Irascible- Adj., irritable; easily angered
Judicious- Adj., sound in judgement; wise
Juxtapose- Verb, to place side by side
Kindle- Verb, start a fire; inspire
Laud- Verb, praise
List- Verb, tilt; lean over
Loquacious- Adj., talkative
Lucid- Adj., easily understood; clear; intelligible
Lurid- Adj. wild; sensational; graphic; gruesome
Magnanimous- Adj., generous
Malign- Verb, speak evil of; bad mouth; defame
Meek- Adj., quiet and obedient; spiritless
Meticulous- Adj., very careful; attentive to details
Miser- Noun, one who saves greedily
Morose- Adj. ill-humored; sullen; melancholy
Nebulous- Adj., vague; hazy; cloudy
Notoriety- Noun, disrepute; ill-fame
Novice- Noun, beginner
Nuance- Noun, shade of difference in meaning and color
Obtuse- Adj., blunt; stupid
Omniscient- Adj., all knowing; having complete knowledge
Opulence- Noun, extreme wealth; luxuriousness; abundance
Ostentatious- Adj., showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention
Paragon- Noun, model of perfection
Parsimony- Noun, stinginess; excessive frugality
Paucity- scarcity; lack
Perfunctory- Adj., superficial; not thorough
Pernicious- Adj., very destructive
Polemical- Adj., aggressive in verbal attack; disputatious
Prattle- Verb, babble
Provocative- Adj., arousing anger or interest; annoying
Pugnacity- Noun, combativeness; disposition to fight.
Quandary- Noun, dilemma
Quell- Verb, extinguish; put down; quiet
Rancor- Noun, bitterness; hatred
Raze- Verb, destroy completely
Recalcitrant- Adj., obstinalely stubborn; determined to resist authority;
unruly.
Replete- Adj., filled to the brim or to the point of being stuffed;
abundantly supplied
Repudiate- Verb, disown; disavow
Resplendent- Adj., dazzling; glorious; brilliant.
Reticent- Adj., reserved; uncommunicative; inclined to be silent
Rudimentary- Adj., not developed; elementary; crude
Sagacious- Adj., perceptive; shrewd; having insight
Shrewd- Adj., clever; astute
Swindler- Noun, a cheat
Slothful- Adj., lazy
Soporific- Adj., causing sleep
Spurious- Adj., false; counterfeit
Strident- Adj., loud and harsh; insistent
Succinct- Adj., breif; terse; compact
Supercilious- Adj., arrogant; condescending; patronizing
Supersede- Verb, cause to be set aside; replace; make obsolete
Surreptitious- Adj., secret; furtive; sneaky; hidden
Sycophant- Noun, servile; flatterer; yes man
Taciturn- Adj., habitually silent; talking little
Tangential- Adj., peripheral; only slightly connected; digressing
Trepidation- Noun, fear; nervous apprehension
Termination- Noun, end
Trite- Adj., hackneyed or commonplace
Unkempt- disheveled; uncared for in appearance
Usurp- Verb, seize another’s power or rank
Vilify- Verb, slander
Veracity- Noun, truthfulness
Virtuoso- Noun, highly skilled artist
Willful- Adj., intentional; headstrong; stubbornly set on getting one’s
Way
Whimsical- Noun capricious (means fickle); fanciful
Zealot- Noun, fanatic; person who shows excessive zeal