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