Unit 1: Essential SAT Vocabulary
Words 1 - 15
1. venerate v. to regard with respect, reverence, or as holy or sacred
SAT synonyms: deify, apotheosize, idolize, exalt
2. hackneyed adj. made unoriginal or commonplace by overuse
SAT synonyms: banal, trite, platitudinous, insipid
3. rancor n. bitter hatred, ill will or resentment, malice
SAT synonyms: acrimony, antipathy, animosity, enmity
4. florid adj. excessively showy, ostentatious OR ruddy, flushed
SAT synonyms: ornate, grandiloquent, gaudy, flamboyant
5. ephemeral adj. lasting a very short time, passing, fleeting
SAT synonyms: evanescent, transient, fugacious, transitory
6. surreptitious adj. stealthy, done in a sneaky or sly way, so as to avoid detection
SAT synonyms: clandestine, furtive, covert, veiled
7. deleterious adj. harmful to health, destructive, injurious, detrimental
SAT synonyms: pernicious, noxious, malignant, ruinous
8. aesthetic adj. pertaining to beauty or art, related to the appreciation of beauty
SAT synonyms: esthetic, artistic, tasteful, gorgeous
9. sanguine adj. cheerfully optimistic, confident OR reddish, ruddy
SAT synonyms: positive, assured, rubicund, rosy
10. solicitous adj. showing care and attention, especially in a worried or anxious way
SAT synonyms: concerned, attentive, devoted, earnest
11. vapid adj. lifeless, dull, boring, flat, empty OR lacking spirit, interest, or flavor
SAT synonyms: prosaic, vacuous, pedestrian, jejune
12. brusque adj. rough and abrupt in manner and speech
SAT synonyms: curt, dismissive, terse, abrupt
13. capricious adj. unpredictable, tending to change abruptly for no apparent reason
SAT synonyms: mercurial, impulsive, whimsical, fickle
14. credulous adj. gullible, unaffected simplicity, unsophisticated
SAT synonyms: dupable, naïve, uncritical, unwary
15. diffident adj. shy and timid due to lack of confidence, hesitant to speak or act
SAT synonyms: timorous, chary, insecure, unobtrusive
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