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VOCABULARY LISTS > USER LISTS

SAT Common Vocabulary 153 words

September 17, 2008 By Tim N. (Palm City, FL)
Most common vocabulary on the SAT test.

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Definitions Notes & Examples Words Only
  1. abbreviate
    shorten
  2. abstinence
    the trait of abstaining (especially from alcohol)
  3. adulation
    servile flattery; exaggerated and hypocritical praise
    extreme praisernflattery
  4. adversity
    a state of misfortune or affliction
  5. aesthetic
    concerning or characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste
  6. amicable
    characterized by friendship and good will
  7. anachronistic
    chronologically misplaced
  8. anecdote
    short account of an incident (especially a biographical one)
  9. anonymous
    having no known name or identity or known source
  10. asylum
    a shelter from danger or hardship
  11. benevolent
    showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding and generosity
  12. camaraderie
    the quality of affording easy familiarity and sociability
  13. censure
    harsh criticism or disapproval
  14. circuitous
    deviating from a straight course
  15. clairvoyant
    someone who has the power of clairvoyance
  16. collaborate
    work together on a common enterprise of project
  17. compassion
    a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering
  18. compromise
    an accommodation in which both sides make concessions
  19. condescending
    (used of behavior or attitude) characteristic of those who treat others with condescension
  20. conditional
    imposing or depending on or containing a condition
  21. conformist
    someone who conforms to established standards of conduct (especially in religious matters)
  22. congregation
    the act of congregating
  23. convergence
    the act of converging (coming closer)
  24. deleterious
    harmful to living things
  25. demagogue
    a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular passions and prejudices
  26. digression
    a turning aside (of your course or attention or concern)
  27. diligent
    quietly and steadily persevering especially in detail or exactness
  28. discredit
    the state of being held in low esteem
  29. disdain
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
  30. divergent
    tending to move apart in different directions
  31. empathy
    understanding and entering into another's feelings
  32. emulate
    strive to equal or match, especially by imitating
  33. enervating
    causing debilitation
  34. enhance
    increase
  35. ephemeral
    anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form
  36. evanescent
    tending to vanish like vapor
  37. exasperation
    actions that cause great irritation (or even anger)
  38. exemplary
    worthy of imitation
  39. extenuating
    partially excusing or justifying
  40. florid
    elaborately or excessively ornamented
  41. fortuitous
    occurring by happy chance
  42. frugal
    avoiding waste
  43. hackneyed
    repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
  44. haughty
    having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy
  45. hedonist
    someone motivated by desires for sensual pleasures
  46. hypothesis
    a tentative insight into the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena
  47. abridge
    lessen, diminish, or curtail
  48. reference frame
    a system that uses coordinates to establish position
  49. high priest
    a senior clergyman and dignitary
  50. misfortune
    an unfortunate state resulting from unfavorable outcomes
  51. pertain
    be relevant to
  52. agreeable
    conforming to your own liking or feelings or nature
  53. out-of-date
    old; no longer valid or fashionable
  54. short account
    a brokerage account of someone who sells short (sells securities he does not own)
  55. nameless
    being or having an unknown or unnamed source
  56. opponent
    someone who offers opposition
  57. exterminator
    someone who exterminates (especially someone whose occupation is the extermination of troublesome rodents and insects)
  58. hardworking
    characterized by hard work and perseverance
  59. sanctuary
    a consecrated place where sacred objects are kept
  60. friendly
    characteristic of or befitting a friend
  61. sympathy
    a relation of affinity or harmony between people; whatever affects one correspondingly affects the other
  62. patronizing
    (used of behavior or attitude) characteristic of those who treat others with condescension
  63. provisional
    under terms not final or fully worked out or agreed upon
  64. contingent
    determined by conditions or circumstances that follow
  65. harmful
    causing or capable of causing harm
  66. rabble-rouser
    a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular passions and prejudices
  67. digress
    wander from a direct or straight course
  68. scorn
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
  69. dishonor
    a state of shame or disgrace
  70. variant
    something a little different from others of the same type
  71. augment
    enlarge or increase
  72. momentary
    lasting for a markedly brief time
  73. fleeting
    lasting for a markedly brief time
  74. irritation
    the act of troubling or annoying someone
  75. frustration
    an act of hindering someone's plans or efforts
  76. outstanding
    of major significance or importance
  77. flushed
    having the pinkish flush of health
  78. ornate
    marked by elaborate rhetoric and elaborated with decorative details
  79. thrifty
    mindful of the future in spending money
  80. cliched
    repeated regularly without thought or originality
  81. arrogant
    having or showing feelings of unwarranted importance out of overbearing pride
  82. inconsequential
    lacking worth or importance
  83. inevitable
    incapable of being avoided or prevented
  84. integrity
    an undivided or unbroken completeness or totality with nothing wanting
  85. intrepid
    invulnerable to fear or intimidation
  86. intuitive
    spontaneously derived from or prompted by a natural tendency
  87. jubilation
    a feeling of extreme joy
  88. lobbyist
    someone who is employed to persuade legislators to vote for legislation that favors the lobbyist's employer
  89. longevity
    the property of being long-lived
  90. mundane
    found in the ordinary course of events
  91. nonchalant
    marked by blithe unconcern
  92. novice
    someone new to a field or activity
  93. opulent
    rich and superior in quality
  94. orator
    a person who delivers a speech or oration
  95. ostentatious
    intended to attract notice and impress others
  96. parched
    dried out by heat or excessive exposure to sunlight
  97. perfidious
    tending to betray; especially having a treacherous character as attributed to the Carthaginians by the Romans
  98. precocious
    characterized by or characteristic of exceptionally early development or maturity (especially in mental aptitude)
  99. pretentious
    making claim to or creating an appearance of (often undeserved) importance or distinction
  100. procrastinate
    postpone doing what one should be doing
  101. prosaic
    lacking wit or imagination
  102. prosperity
    the condition of prospering; having good fortune
  103. provocative
    serving or tending to provoke, excite, or stimulate; stimulating discussion or exciting controversy
  104. prudent
    careful and sensible; marked by sound judgment
  105. querulous
    habitually complaining
  106. rancorous
    showing deep-seated resentment
  107. reclusive
    withdrawn from society; seeking solitude
  108. reconciliation
    the reestablishing of cordial relations
  109. renovation
    the act of improving by renewing and restoring
  110. resilient
    recovering readily from adversity, depression, or the like
  111. restrained
    under restraint
  112. reverence
    a feeling of profound respect for someone or something
  113. sagacity
    the mental ability to understand and discriminate between relations
  114. scrutinize
    examine carefully for accuracy with the intent of verification
  115. spontaneity
    the quality of being spontaneous and coming from natural feelings without constraint
  116. spurious
    plausible but false
  117. submissive
    inclined or willing to submit to orders or wishes of others or showing such inclination
  118. substantive
    having a firm basis in reality and being therefore important, meaningful, or considerable
  119. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
  120. superficial
    of, affecting, or being on or near the surface
  121. superfluous
    more than is needed, desired, or required
  122. suppress
    to put down by force or authority
  123. surreptitious
    marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed
  124. tactful
    having or showing a sense of what is fitting and considerate in dealing with others
  125. tenacious
    stubbornly unyielding
  126. transient
    lasting a very short time
  127. venerable
    profoundly honored
  128. vindicate
    show to be right by providing justification or proof
  129. wary
    marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
  130. trivial
    (informal) small and of little importance
  131. unavoidable
    impossible to avoid or evade:"inescapable conclusion"
  132. honesty
    the quality of being honest
  133. decency
    the quality of conforming to standards of propriety and morality
  134. fearless
    oblivious of dangers or perils or calmly resolute in facing them
  135. instinctive
    unthinking; prompted by (or as if by) instinct
  136. exultation
    the utterance of sounds expressing great joy
  137. pompous
    puffed up with vanity
  138. run-of-the-mill
    not special in any way
  139. inflammatory
    arousing to action or rebellion
  140. irritable
    easily irritated or annoyed
  141. withdrawn
    tending to reserve or introspection
  142. profound
    situated at or extending to great depth; too deep to have been sounded or plumbed
  143. impulsive
    without forethought
  144. phony
    fraudulent; having a misleading appearance
  145. meek
    humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness
  146. elusive
    skillful at eluding capture
  147. sly
    marked by skill in deception
  148. ambiguous
    having more than one possible meaning
  149. stealthy
    marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed
  150. diplomatic
    relating to or characteristic of diplomacy
  151. persistent
    stubbornly unyielding
  152. resolute
    firm in purpose or belief; characterized by firmness and determination
  153. antagonistic
    characterized by antagonism or antipathy