Official SAT Vocabulary List

Terms in this set (528)

v. subside; decrease, lessen. Rather than leaving immediately, they waited for the storm to abate.

v. condense or shorten, Because the publishers felt the public wanted a shorter version of War and Peace they proceeded to abridge the novel.

adj. sparing in eating and drinking; temperate. Concerned whether her vegetarian son's abstemious diet provided him with sufficient protein, the worried mother pressed food on him.

adj. Theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational. To him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal.

adj. obscure; profound; difficult to understand. Baffled by the abstruse philosophical texts assigned in class. Dave asked Lexy to explain Kant's Critique of Pure Reason.

adj. easy to approach; obtainable. We asked our guide whether the ruins were accessible on foot.

v. applaud; announce with great approval. The NBC sportscasters acclaimed every American victory in the Olympics and decried every American defeat.

n. award of merit. In Hollywood, an "Oscar" is the highest accolade.

v. recognize; admit/ Although Iris acknowledged that the Beatles' tunes sounded pretty dated nowadays, she still preferred them to the hip-hop songs her brothers played.

v. assent;agree without protesting. Although she appeared to acquiesce to her employer's suggestions, I could tell she had reservations about the changes he wanted made.

adj. sharp; bitterly pungent. The acrid odor of burnt gunpowder filled the room after the pistol had been fired.

adj. bitter in words or manner. The candidate attacked his opponent in highly acrimonious terms.

n. flattery; admiration. The rock star thrived on the adulation of is groupies and yes men.

n. opponent. The young wrestler struggled to defeat his adversary.

n. unfavorable fortune; hardship; a calamitous event. According to the humorist Mark Twain, anyone can easily learn to endure adversity, as long as it is another man's.

v. urge; plead for. THe abolitionists advocated freedom for the slaves.

adj. artistic;dealing with or capable of appreciation of the beautiful. The beauty of Tiffany's stained glass appealed to Esther's aesthetic sense.

adj. easily approachable; warmly friendly. Accustomed to cold, aloof supervisors, Nicholas was amazed at how affable his new employer was.

n. positive assertion; confirmation; solemn pledge by one who refuses to take an oath. Despite Ton's affirmations of innocence, Aunt Polly still suspected he had eaten the pie.

v. gather; accumulate. Before the Wall Street scandals, dealers in so-called junk bonds managed to aggregate great wealth in short periods of time.

v. calm; pacify.

v. relieve. This should alleviate the pain; if it does not, we shall have to use stronger drugs.

adj. apart; reserved. Shy by nature, she remained aloof while all the rest conversed.

adj. unselfishly generous; concerned for others. In providing tutorial assistance and college scholarships for hundreds of economically disadvantaged youths, Eugene Lang performed a truly altruistic deed.

adj. capable of using either hand with equal ease. His ambiguous instructions misled us; we did not know which road to take.

n. the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes. Torn between loving her parents and hating them the next, she was confused by the ambivalence of her feelings.

adj. formless; lacking shape or definition. As soon as we have decided on our itinerary, we shall send you a copy; right now, our plans are still amorphous.

adj. having an error involving time in a story. The reference to clocks in Julius Caesar is anachronistic: clocks did not exist in Caesar's time.

n. short account of an amusing or interesting event. Rather than make concrete proposals for welfare reform, President Reagan told anecdotes about poor people who became wealthy despite their impoverished backgrounds.

n. active enmity. He incurred the animosity of the ruling class because he advocated limitations of their powers.

n. irregularity. A bird that cannot fly is an anomaly.

n. hostility; active resistance. Barry showed his antagonism toward his new stepmother by ignoring her whenever she tried talking to him.

adj. antiquated; extremely ancient. Looking at his great aunt's antique furniture, which must have been cluttering up her attic since the time of Noah's flood, the young heir exclaimed, "Heavens! How positively antediluvian!"

n. medicine to counteract a poison or disease. When Marge's child accidentally swallowed some cleaning fluid, the local poison control hotline instructed Marge how to administer the antidote.

n. aversion; dislike. Tom's extreme antipathy for disputes keeps him from getting into arguments with his temperamental wife. Noise in any form is antipathetic to him. Among his other antipathies are honking cars, boom boxes, and heavy metal rock.

adj. old-fashioned; obsolete. Philip had grown so accustomed to editing his papers on word processors that he thought typewriters were too antiquated for him to use.

n. lack of caring; indifference. A firm believer in democratic government, she could not understand the apathy of people who never bothered to vote.

adj. untrue; made up. To impress his friends, Tom invented apocryphal tale of his adventures in the big city.

v. pacify or soothe; relieve. Tom and Jody tried to appease the crying baby by offering him one toy after another, but he would not calm down until they appeased his hunger by giving him a bottle.

n. fear. His nervous glances at the passersby on the deserted street revealed his apprehension.

adj. fit for growing crops. The first settlers wrote home glowing reports of the New World, praising its vast acres of arable land ready for the plow.

adj. capricious; randomly chosen; tyrannical. Tom's arbitrary dismissal angered him; his boss had no reason to fire him. He threw an arbitrary assortment of clothes into his suitcase and headed off, not caring where he went.

adj. antiquated. "Methinks," "thee," and "thou" are archaic words that are no longer part of our normal vocabulary.

adj. intense; passionate; zealous.

n. slander; slur; derogatory remark.

v. ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger).

adj. subordinating the individual to the state; completely dominating another's will.

adj. self-governing. Although the University of California at Berkeley is just one part of the state university system, in many ways Cal Berkeley is autonomous, for it runs several programs that are not subject to outside control.

n. greediness for wealth.

n. firm dislike.

v. prevent; turn away.

adj. hackneyed; commonplace; trite; lacking originality.

v. mislead or delude; pass time.

v. contradict; give false impression.

adj. generous; charitable.

v. leave to someone by a will; hand down.

adj. cold and cheerless; unlikely to be favorable.

v. support; reinforce.

n. conciseness.

v. support; prop up.

adj. discordant; inharmonious.

v. coax; wheedle.

adj. deliberately planned; likely.

n. frankness; open honesty.

adj. unpredictable; fickle; fanciful.

adj. finding fault.

v. criticize severely; punish.

v. blame; criticize.

n. quack; pretender to knowledge.

n. indirect or roundabout expression

n. phrase dulled in meaning by repetition.

v. combine; fuse.

n. use of force to get someone to obey.

adj. pertaining to conversational or common speech.

adj. easily burned.

v. honor the memory of.

v. assemble; gather; accumulate.

n. self-satisfaction; smugness.

adj. serving to complete something.

n. readiness to yield; conformity in fulfilling requrements.

n. mental calmness.

adj. thorough; inclusive.

v. admit; yield.

adj. reconciling; soothing.

adj. brief and compact.

v. overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse.

n. flowing together; crowd.

v. confuse; puzzle.

v. surmise; guess.

n. general agreement.

n. compulsion; repression of feelings.

v. struggle; compete; assert earnestly.

adj. quarrelsome.

v. compress or shrink; make a pledge; catch a disease.

v. approach; tend to meet; come together.

n. judgement that someone is guilty of a crime; strongly held belief.

adj. gracious; heartfelt.

v. confirm; support.

v. destroy by chemical action

adj. wrinkled; ridged.

n. belief on slight evidence; gullibility; naivete.

n. standard used in judging.

adj. mysterious; hidden; secret.

adj. deserve blame.

adj. casual; hastily done.

v. shorten; reduce.

v. weaken; enfeeble.

v. expose as fals, exaggerated, worthless, etc; ridicule.

n. propriety; orderliness and good taste in manners.

n. courteous regard for another's wish.

n. humiliation; debasement; degeneration.

v. remove water from; dry out.

v. portray; depict; sketch.

v. condemn; criticize.

v. regret; disapprove of.

v. dethrone; remove from office.

n. extreme corruption; wickedness.

v. express disapproval of; protest against; belittle.

v. ridicule; make fun of.

adj. unoriginal; derived from another source.

adj. depressed; gloomy.

adj. emotionally removed; calm and objective; physically unconnected.

n. something that discourages; hindrance.

adj. harmful; damaging.

adj. roundabout; erratic; not straightforward.

v. think up; invent; plan.

adj. wordy; rambling; spread out (like a gas).

n. wandering away from the subject.

n. steadiness of effort; persistent hard work.

n. lessening; reduction in size.

adj. mentally quick and observant; having insight.

adj. not harmonious; conflicting.

v. disregard; dismiss.

n. formal discussion; conversation.

n. lack of consistency; difference.

adj. able to see differences; prejudiced.

v. view with scorn or contempt.

n. unwillingness.

v. put away from consideration; reject.

n. difference; condition of inequality.

adj. argumentative; fond of arguing.

v. distribute; spread; scatter (like seeds).

v. expand; swell out.

adj. differing; deviating.

n. teachings, in general; particular principle (religious, legal, etc.) taught.

v. provide written evidence.

adj. opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal.

adj. questionable; filled with doubt.

n. someone easily fooled.

n. double-dealing; hypocrisy.

adj. showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm.

adj. composed of elements drawn from disparate courses.

v. instruct; correct morally.

n. inner excitement or exuberance; bubbling from fermentation or carbonation.

adj. excessively self centered; self important; conceited.

adj. overjoyed; in high spirits.

n. poem or song expressing lamentation.

v. draw out by discussion.

n. expressiveness; persuasive speech.

v. explain; enlighten.

adj. evasive; baffling; hard to grasp.

adj. thin and wasted.

v. adorn; ornament.

v. correct; correct by a critic.

v. imitate; rival.

v. approve; support.

v. increase; improve.

n. puzzle; mystery.

n. ill will; hatred.

adj. short-lived; fleeting.

n. calmness of temperament; composure.

adj. fair; impartial.

adj. ambiguous; intentionally misleading.

adj. mistaken; wrong.

adj. learned; scholarly.

adj. hard to understand; known only to the chosen few.

n. expression of praise, often on the occasion of someone's death.

n. mild expression in place of an unpleasant one.

adj. fleeting; vanishing.

v. worsen; embitter.

v. raise in rank or dignity; praise.

n. selected passage (written or musical).

v. scold with biting harshness; strip the skin off.

v. put into effect; carry out.

adj. serving as a model; outstanding.

v. serve as an example of; embody.

adj. thorough; comprehensive.

adj. invigorating and refreshing; cheering.

v. acquit; exculpate.

adj. suitable; practical; politic.

adj. totally clear; definite; outspoken.

v. make use of, sometimes unjustly.

adj. explanatory; serving to explain (informative, factual).

v. praise; glorify

adj. not essential; superfluous.

v. free; disentangle.

n. overflowing abundance; joyful enthusiasm; flamboyance; lavishness.

v. hep bring about; make less difficult.

adj. false; misleading.

adj. plowed but not sowed; uncultivated.

n. excessive zeal; extreme devotion to a belief or cause.

adj. difficult to please; squeamish.

v. comprehend; investigate.

adj. practical.

v. cut or knock down; bring down (with a missile).

n. glowing ardor; intensity of feeling.

adj. spasmodic; intermittent.

adj. conspicuously wicked; blatant; outrageous.

adj. ruddy; reddish; flowery.

adj. lacking in seriousness; self-indulgently care-free; relatively unimportant.

n. thrift; economy.

adj. stealthy; sneaky.

adj. loquacious; wordy; talkative.

adj. like a glacier; extremely cold.

n. someone who eats too much.

adj. given freely; unwarranted; uncalled for.

n. seriousness.

n. deceit; duplicity; wiliness; cunning.

adj. easily deceived.

adj. commonplace; trite.

adj. sturdy; robust; able to stand inclement weather.

n. pride; arrogance; distressing, traumatic.

n. one who believes that pleasure is the sole aim in life

n. opinion contrary to popular belief; opinion contrary to accepted religion.

n. arrangement by rank or standing; authoritarian body divided into ranks.

adj. of the same kind.

adj. pretending to be virtuous; deceiving.

adj. based on assumptions or hypotheses; supposed.

adj. attacking cherished traditions.

n. individual trait, usually odd in nature; eccentricity.

n. deep disgrace; shame or dishonor.

adj. deceptive; not real.

adj. unchangeable.

v. injure; hurt.

adj. faultless.

adj. without money.

v. hinder; block; rain; delay.

adj. incapable of being pacified.

adj. unlikely unbelievable.

v. put into effect; supply with tools.

adj. invulnerable.

n. impertinence; insolence.

v. dispute or contradict (often in an insulting way); challenge; gainsay.

adv. unintentionally; by oversight; carelessly.

adj. silly; senseless.

adj. not essential; minor

adj. cutting; sharp.

v. arouse to action; goad; motive; induce to the exist.

adj. tending to include all

adj. not fitting; absurd.

inconsequential

adj. insignificant; unimportant.

incontrovertible

adj. indisputable; not open to question.

adj. not correctable.

adj. unmoved or unconcerned by; mediocre.

adj. choosing at random; confused.

v. persuade; bring about.

adj. not effective; unable to produce a desired result.

adj. inactive; lacking power to move.

adj. relentless; unyielding; implacable.

adj. clever; resourceful.

adj. firmly established by nature of habitat.

n. change; intoduction of something new.

adj. lacking in flavor; dull.

adj. bankrupt; unable to repay one's debts.

v. urge; start; provoke.

n. narrow-mindedness; isolated.

adj. insurmountable; unbeatable.

n. uprightness; wholeness.

v. come between.

adj. unruly; stubborn' unyielding.

v. overwhelm; flood; submerge.

v. turn upside down or inside out.

adj. resulting in an unexpected and contrary outcome.

adj. impossible to recover or regain; irreparable.

adj. said or done in jest.

adj. brief and to the point.

adj. slow; sluggish.

v. grieve; express sorrow.

n. languor; weariness.

adj. generous; openhanded; extravagant; wasteful.

adj. drowsy; dull.

n. lack of seriousness; lightness.

v. liter or dawdle; continue or persist.

adj. lacking in spirit or energy.

adj. flexible; supple.

adj. very high.

adj. wild; sensational; graphic; gruesome.

adj. abundant; rich and splendid; fertile.

adj. hateful; spiteful.

adj. damaged; disfigured.

n. preoccupation with physical comforts and things.

v. wind or turn its course.

adj. interested in money or gain.

adj. capricious; changing; fickle.

adj. systematic.

adj. excessively careful; painstaking; scrupulous.

n. merriment; laughter.

n. one who hates mankind.

adj. stingy; mean.

n. wrong name; incorrect designation.

v. appease; moderate.

adj. ill-humored; sullen; melancholy.

n. picture made of colorful small inlaid tiles.

adj. worldly as opposed to spiritual; everyday.

adj. very generous.

adj. very wicked.

v. cancel out; nullify; deny.

n. indifference; lack of concern; composure.

n. disrepute; ill fame.

n. something new; newness.

n. shade of difference in meaning or color; subtle distinction.

v. nourish; educate; foster.

v. destroy completely.

n. obscurity; forgetfulness.

v. darken; make unclear.

adj. stubborn; hard to control or treat.

adj. hateful; vile.

adj. threatening.

adj. dark; not transparent.

n. individual who sacrifices principles for expediency by taking advantage of circumstances.

n. person who looks on the good sidee.

n. extreme wealth; luxuriousness; abundance.

n. public speaker.

adj. excessively or elaborately decorated.

adj. showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention.

n. one opposed to force; antimilitarist.

n. social outcast.

n. humorous imitation; spoof; takeoff; travesty.

n. stinginess; excessive frugality.

adj. one-sided; prejudiced; committed to a party.

n. severe poverty; stinginess.

adj. superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care or enthusiasm.

adj. marginal; outer.

adj. very destructive.

v. make something last; preserve from extinction.

adj. pervading; spread throughout every part.

n. belief that life is basically bad or evil; gloominess.

n. observable facts; subjects or scientific investigation.

n. lover of mankind; doer of good.

adj. adj. calm; not easily disturbed.

n. religious devotion; godliness.

n. hidden danger; concealed trap.

adj. concise; meaningful; substantial; meaty.

v. pacify; conciliate.

adj. aggressive in verbal attack; disputatious.

adj. weighty; unwieldy.

adj. practical (as opposed to idealistic); concerned with the practical worth or impact of something.

adj. uncertain; risky.

v. make impossible; eliminate.

adj. advanced in development.

n. creature that seizes and devours another animal; person who robs or exploits others.

n. former occupant of a post.

adj. overconfident; impertinently bol; taking liberties.

adj. ostentatious; pompous; making unjustified claims; overly ambitious.

adj. widespread; generally accepted.

adj. wasteful; reckless with money.

v. vioulate; descrate; treat unworthily.

adj. dissipated; wasteful; wildly immoral.

adj. deep; not superficial; complete.

n. overabundance; lavish expenditure; excess.

n. rapid growth; spread; multiplication.

adj. abundantly fruitful.

adj. pertaining to a province; limited outlook; unsophisticated.

adj. cautious; careful.

n. soft, wet, boggy land; complex or dangerous situation from which it is difficult to free oneself.

adj. limited; restricted.

v. extinguish; put down; quiet.

adj. fretful; whining.

adj. at rest; dormant; temporarily inactive.

v. wander aimlessly (physically or mentally).

n. bitterness; hatred.

v. rave; talk excitedly ; scold; make a grandiloquent speech.

v. approve formally; confirm; verify.

adj. harsh and shrill; disorderly and boisterous.

adj. extremely hungry.

v. destroy completely.

n. refutation; response with contrary evidence.

v. disclaim or disavow; retract a previous statement; openly confess error.

n. hermit; loner.

v. narrate or tell; count over again.

v. set right; correct.

adj. superfluous; repetitious; excessively wordy.

v. banish to an inferior position; delegate; assign.

n. temporary moderation of disease symptoms; cancellation of a debt; forgiveness or pardon.

n. guilt; self-reproach.

v. abandon; disown; repudiate.

v. drive away; disgust.

adj. filled to the brim or to the point of being stuffed; abundantly supplied.

adj. deserving blame.

v. reprove severely; rebuke.

v. censure; rebuke.

v. disown; disavow.

adj. loathsome; hateful.

n. self-control; formal but distant manner.

adj. accepting one;s fate; unresisting; patiently submissive.

n. determination; resolve.

determination; firmness of purpose.

n. interval of relief; time of rest; delay in punishment.

adj. dazzling; glorious; brilliant.

n. moderation or self-control; controlling force; restriction.

n. reserve; uncommunicativeness; inclination to silence.

v. withdraw; take back.

adj. respectful; worshipful.

n. daydream; musing.

adj. pertaining to effective communication; insincere in language.

adj. vigorous; strong.

n. person celebrated for wisdom.

v. approve; ratify.

adj. cynically mocking; sarcastic.

v. soak thoroughly.

adj. tasty; pleasing, attractive, or agreeable.

adj. meager; insufficient.

adj. conscientious; extremely thorough.

v. examine closely and critically.

n. isolation; solitude.

adj. requiring sitting.

adj. slavish; cringing.

n. doubter; person who suspends judgement until the evidence supporting a point of view has been examined.

adj. slow; lazy; lethargic.

adj. gloomy; depressing; dark; drab.

adj. sleep-causing; marked by sleepiness.

adj. occurring irregularly.

adj. false; counterfeit; forged; illogical.

v. reject; scorn.

adj. motionless; stale; dull.

adj. unchanging; lacking development.

adj. loyal; unswerving.

adj. unruffled; impassive; dull.

adj. loud and harsh; insistent.

v. make numb; stun; maze.

adj. yielding; timid.

adj. occupying a lower rank; inferior; submissive.

adj. occupying a lower rank; inferior; submissive.

v. settle down; descend; grow quiet.

v. establish by evidence; verify; support.

adj. brief; terse; compact.

adj. trivial; shallow.

adj. unnecessary; excessive; overabundant.

v. replace; usurp.

v. satiate; stuff; indulge to excess in anything.

adj. secret; furtive; sneaky; hidden.

adj. impressionable; easily influenced; having little resistance, as to a disease; receptive to.

v. experience; support; nourish.

n. servile flatterer; bootlicker; yes man.

adj. habitually silent; talking little.

adj. equivalent in effect or value.

v. moderate; tone down or restrain; toughen (steel).

n. firmness; persistence.

adj. hesitant; not fully worked or developed; experimental; not definite or positive.

adj. earthly (as opposed to celestial); pertaining to the land.

adj. worn through till the threads show; shabby and poor.

v. prosper; flourish.

n. extended scolding; denunciation; harangue.

n. lethargy; sluggishness; dormancy.

n. calmness; peace.

adj. momentary; temporary; staying for a short time.

n. fear; nervous apprehension.

adj. trivial; unimportant.

adj. hackneyed; commonplace.

v. cut the top off.

n. state of violent agitation.

n. great commotion and confusion.

v. weaken; sap.

n. sameness; monotony.

adj. disheveled; uncared for in appearance.

adj. novel; unparelleled.

adj. unjustified; groundless; undeserved.

v. seize another's power or rank.

v. waver; fluctuate.

v. turn into vapor (steam, gas, fog, etc.).

adj. practical or workable; capable of maintaining life.

n. active strenth.

v. clear from blame; exonerate; justify or support.

n. highly unskilled artist.

adj. extremely poisonous; hostile; bitter.

adj. changeable; explosive; evaporating rapidly.

adj. fluent; glib; talkative.

adj. capricious; fanciful.

n. witty saying; wisecrack.

adj. twisted; with a humorous twist.

n. fanatic; person who shows excessive zeal.

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