SAT Vocabulary
disperse to spread widely |
corrupt to change from good to bad |
hypocrite a person who claims to be what he is not |
contentious quarrelsome, fond of arguing |
contemporary modern |
contrite regretful, feeling guilt |
innate inborn, present at birth |
deplore to regret |
impartial fair, not favoring either side |
vulnerable easy to injure or harm |
conventional traditional, ordinary |
extricate to free from difficulty |
atrophy to waste away |
denounce to criticize publicly |
monotony a dull sameness |
innovative original, new |
inclination tendency, preference |
endorse to support |
debilitate to weaken |
superficial shallow; on the surface |
innocuous harmless |
apathy lack of emotion or concern |
novel new or different |
commend to praise |
ephemeral short-lived |
guile trickiness; deceptiveness |
esoteric understood by only a few |
meager lacking in quantity or quality |
taciturn quiet, untalkative |
succinct brief |
assuage to ease, relieve, or lessen |
quiescence inactivity |
obscure difficult to understand; difficult to see |
ascend to move upwards |
capricious tending to change one’s mind suddenly |
vigor strength, energy |
compatible capable of working in harmony |
extol to praise highly |
petulant irritable, touchy |
acrimony bitterness |
cultivate to grow; to improve |
disparage to put down, to belittle |
erratic wandering, inconsistent |
beneficial helpful, good |
levity excessive lightness of behavior or feeling |
ameliorate to make better, to improve |
deride to laugh at, make fun of cruelly |
bane something that harms or destroys |
anarchy disorder, absence of government control |
provincial narrow-minded, unsophisticated |
soluble capable of being dissolved |
conspicuous obvious, readily apparent |
consolidate to join together, merge |
extraneous not essential, not related to |
expunge to remove, erase |
trifling unimportant |
objective not affected by personal feeling |
plausible believable, reasonable |
vacillate to change one’s mind continually |
steadfast firm, sure |
castigate to criticize or punish severely |
unwitting not aware, unintentional |
amicable friendly |
elucidate to make clear |
revise to correct or improve |
comprehensible capable of being understood |
ascetic rejecting physical comforts |
cryptic secret, mysterious |
venerate to respect |
ostentatious showy, intended to impress |
bias preference, prejudice |
augment to add to, increase |
vivid lifelike, intense |
pessimism a tendency to expect the worst |
enhance to improve |
munificent very generous |
miser a person who saves money excessively |
revere to respect, admire |
pacifist a person who favors peace |
incontrovertible indisputable, undeniable |
alacrity eagerness, cheerful willingness |
garner to get; to acquire |
penury extreme poverty |
peripheral on or having to do with the outer edge |
proclivity tendency, leaning |
recalcitrant disobedient, resisting authority |
volatile highly unstable; explosive |
ambiguous having more than one meaning |
tolerance respect for the ways and views of others |
embellish to decorate; to add fictitious details to |
efface to erase; to make less noticeable |
undulating moving in a wavelike manner |
brusque rudely brief |
plagiarism the theft of someone else’s ideas |
preclude to make impossible, prevent |
bungler a clumsy person |
dissonance disagreement; lack of harmony |
distend to expand, extend |
willful ser norn |
confound to confuse |
predilection preference, liking |
torpor inactivity |
hackneyed overused, stale |
invective an insulting or abusive expression |
uniform identical, similar |
banal unoriginal, stale |
consequence result, outcome |
tangible real, capable of being touched |
penchant liking |
stagnate to lie motionless |
exasperate to anger or irritate |
placate to calm the anger of |
bolster to support, prop up |
instigate to provoke to action |
kindle to excite, stir up |
emaciated starved; extremely thin |
opaque impenetrable by light |
fitful irregular; inconsistent |
irascible short-tempered, irritable |
circumspection caution |
civil polite, courteous |
loathe to hate, scorn |
score the written form of a piece of music |
morose sad, sorrowful |
unprecedented never before known or experienced |
mundane ordinary; commonplace |
refined polite, well-bred |
assiduous working devotedly and carefully |
amass to pile up, collect |
pulverize to demolish |
fervor intense emotion |
recluse one who lives alone; a hermit |
retain to keep |
diffident timid, lacking self-confidence |
reserve a tendency to hold oneself back |
extrinsic not essential; from the outside |
arid dry |
abet to encourage, urge on |
exonerate to free from blame |
adulterate to add impurities to |
aggregate to collect; to bring together |
prodigious immense; astonishing |
rescind to repeal, cancel |
derivative copied or adapted from others |
insipid dull, uninteresting |
engender to produce; to bring into existence |
conservative traditional; opposed to change |
impede to block, obstruct |
impose to establish by authority |
melancholy sad, depressed |
turbulent violently agitated, disturbed |
obtrusive obvious, highly noticeable |
dispatch promptness |
understate to express less strongly than appropriate |
indefatigable untiring, tireless |
ungainly clumsy, awkward |
culpable guilty; blameworthy |
jocular joking, jolly |
mercurial given to quick changes of mood |
nefarious evil |
neologism a newly invented word |
florid elaborately decorated; flowery |
incorporate to include |
|
Words |
Definitions
|
Homogeneous |
Made up of similar parts |
Audacity |
boldness |
Ambivalent |
Uncertain; having conflicting feelings |
Expedite |
To speed up |
Arable |
Fit to grow plants on |
Subtle |
Difficult to detect or understand |
Coherent |
Consistent; logically connected |
Censure |
To criticize |
Garrulous |
Talkative |
Flagrant |
Obvious, blatant |
Squander |
To waste; to spend foolishly |
Austere |
Strict; severely simple |
Tranquil |
Calm, peaceful |
Articulate |
Able to speak clearly and effectively |
Viable |
Workable; able to remain alive |
Gregarious |
Friendly, sociable |
Clemency |
Mercy; gentleness in punishing |
Burgeon |
To grow rapidly |
Inception |
Beginning |
Profuse |
Very abundant; giving freely |
Wither |
To become dry or lifeless |
Elicit |
To bring out, cause to happen |
Adulation |
Excessive praise |
Stolid |
Unemotional; not easily excited |
Indifferent |
Having no preference |
Dearth |
Scarcity, limited supply |
Altruistic |
Concerned for the welfare of others |
Vilify |
To speak ill of; to slander |
Furtive |
Secretive, stealthy |
Dissent |
To disagree |
Mitigate |
To relieve, lessen, alleviate |
Advocate |
To support; to speak in favor of |
Cognizant |
Aware |
Conform |
To fit in; to act in agreement with |
Virtue |
Moral excellence; good quality |
Eulogy |
High praise (usually for someone who has died) |
Acquiesce |
To give in |
Competent |
Capable; sufficiently skilled |
Censor |
To prevent publication of |
Contempt |
Strong dislike, scorn |
Buoyant |
Cheerful; capable of floating |
Prodigal |
Wasteful with money |
Tact |
Sensitivity, courtesy |
Resilient |
Capable of recovering quickly |
Monarch |
A ruler (such as a king or queen) |
Indulge |
To give in to (a desire) |
Dawdle |
To waste time |
Recant |
To take back (a statement) |
Parsimony |
Extreme stinginess |
Platitude |
A dull, overused remark |
Desultory |
Aimless, haphazard, unconnected |
Partisan |
Strongly supporting one party or cause |
Deplete |
To use up |
Discursive |
Rambling, unfocused |
Tyranny |
Absolute power that is often cruel |
Accolade |
Praise; a statement of approval |
Daunt |
To intimidate; to discourage |
Enigmatic |
Mysterious, puzzling |
Verbose |
Wordy |
Assess |
To evaluate, estimate |
Repudiate |
To reject |
Enervate |
To drain of energy |
Reprove |
To scold |
Vigilant |
Watchful, alert |
Raze |
To demolish |
Trivial |
Of little importance or significance |
Defame |
To harm the reputation of |
Depravity |
Wickedness, perversion |
Disseminate |
To spread widely |
Corrugated |
Converted with grooves or ridges |
Dogmatic |
Stubbornly certain in a belief |
Induce |
To cause |
Affable |
Friendly, pleasant |
Fetter |
To bind, restrain |
Paucity |
Fewness, scarcity |
Indigenous |
Native, originally from |
Meticulous |
Extremely careful and precise |
Candor |
Openness, honesty |
Dormant |
Asleep, inactive |
Inundate |
To flood, to overwhelm |
Prevalent |
Widespread, commonly accepted |
Fortuitous |
Accidental and lucky |
Abridge |
To shorten, condense |
Cordial |
Warmly pleasant |
Misanthrope |
A person who hates mankind |
Appeal |
Attraction |
Appease |
To calm, pacify |
Orthodox |
Traditional |
Facilitate |
To make easier |
Terse |
Brief |
Desecrate |
To violate the sacredness of |
Fallow |
Inactive, not in use |
Mollify |
To calm, comfort |
Strident |
Loud, harsh-sounding |
Antagonistic |
Hostile, conflicting |
Relevant |
Related to the matter at hand |
Accessible |
Easy to reach or understand |
Aversion |
Dislike |
Conviction |
A firm belief |
Rancor |
Resentment, hostility, spite |
Surly |
Rude, unpleasant |
Audible |
Capable of being heard |
Debase |
To reduce in quality or value |
Erudite |
Highly educated |
Saccharine |
Overly sweet or agreeable |
Surreptitious |
Done secretly, sneaky |
Skeptical |
Doubtful |
Dispassionate |
calm |