Essential SAT Vocabulary

Alexis B. (United States of America)
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171 words 4 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. idolatry
    the worship of objects or images as gods
  2. adulterate
    make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance
  3. emanate
    give out, as breath or an odor
  4. garish
    tastelessly showy
  5. immutable
    not subject or susceptible to change or variation
  6. diadem
    an ornamental jeweled headdress signifying sovereignty
  7. bucolic
    devoted to raising sheep or cattle
  8. redolent
    having a strong pleasant odor
  9. impecunious
    not having enough money to pay for necessities
  10. sedition
    an illegal action inciting resistance to lawful authority
  11. gratuitous
    unnecessary and unwarranted
  12. onus
    a burdensome or difficult concern
  13. impious
    lacking piety or reverence for a god
  14. caveat
    a warning against certain acts
  15. ebullient
    joyously unrestrained
  16. elixir
    a substance believed to cure all ills
  17. desiccated
    thoroughly dried out
  18. cessation
    a stopping
  19. juxtapose
    place side by side
  20. kinetic
    relating to the motion of material bodies and their forces
  21. garrulous
    full of trivial conversation
  22. fetish
    sexual desire in which gratification depends on some object
  23. scintillate
    emit or reflect light in a flickering manner
  24. lachrymose
    showing sorrow
  25. fissure
    a long narrow depression in a surface
  26. epitome
    a standard or typical example
  27. languid
    lacking spirit or liveliness
  28. delineated
    represented accurately or precisely
  29. legerdemain
    an illusory feat
  30. libertine
    unrestrained by convention or morality
  31. gumption
    fortitude and determination
  32. kismet
    fate or fortune
  33. regress
    go back to a previous state
  34. garner
    assemble or get together
  35. milieu
    the environmental condition
  36. fastidious
    giving careful attention to detail
  37. blandishment
    flattery intended to persuade
  38. debauchery
    a wild gathering
  39. bilious
    relating to a digestive juice secreted by the liver
  40. paradigm
    a standard or typical example
  41. necromancy
    conjuring up the dead, especially for prophesying
  42. badinage
    frivolous banter
  43. halcyon
    a mythical bird said to breed at the winter solstice
  44. malapropism
    misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar
  45. bombast
    pompous or pretentious talk or writing
  46. orthography
    representing the sounds of a language by written symbols
  47. recoil
    spring back; spring away from an impact
  48. panache
    distinctive and stylish elegance
  49. saturnine
    bitter or scornful
  50. endemic
    native to or confined to a certain region
  51. mendacious
    given to lying
  52. obviate
    do away with
  53. paroxysm
    a sudden uncontrollable attack
  54. deign
    do something that one considers to be below one's dignity
  55. flaunt
    display proudly
  56. shibboleth
    a favorite saying of a sect or political group
  57. elicit
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
  58. aggrandize
    embellish; increase the scope, power, or importance of
  59. hallow
    render holy by means of religious rites
  60. perdition
    the place or state in which one suffers eternal punishment
  61. chaff
    material consisting of seed coverings and pieces of stem
  62. aesthetic
    characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste
  63. empirical
    derived from experiment and observation rather than theory
  64. germane
    relevant and appropriate
  65. hermetic
    completely sealed or airtight
  66. meretricious
    tastelessly showy
  67. flaccid
    drooping without elasticity
  68. hospice
    a lodging for travelers
  69. egregious
    conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
  70. ratiocinate
    reason methodologically and logically
  71. foment
    try to stir up
  72. cataract
    disease that involves the clouding of the lens of the eye
  73. depravity
    moral perversion; impairment of virtue and moral principles
  74. attribute
    a quality belonging to or characteristic of an entity
  75. celerity
    a rate that is rapid
  76. alimentary
    of or providing nourishment
  77. congenial
    suitable to your needs
  78. discourse
    an extended communication dealing with some particular topic
  79. primordial
    having existed from the beginning
  80. remuneration
    paying for goods or services or to recompense for losses
  81. attenuate
    become weaker, in strength, value, or magnitude
  82. mutable
    capable of or tending to change in form or quality or nature
  83. ethereal
    characterized by lightness and insubstantiality
  84. encomium
    a formal expression of praise
  85. tactile
    of or relating to or proceeding from the sense of touch
  86. ascetic
    someone who practices self denial as a spiritual discipline
  87. sectarian
    of or relating to a subdivision of a larger religious group
  88. peregrination
    traveling or wandering around
  89. accoutrement
    accessory or supplementary item of clothing
  90. contrived
    showing effects of planning or manipulation
  91. hubris
    overbearing pride or presumption
  92. platitude
    a trite or obvious remark
  93. scullion
    a kitchen servant employed to do menial tasks
  94. quotidian
    found in the ordinary course of events
  95. prognosticate
    make a prediction about; tell in advance
  96. stringent
    demanding strict attention to rules and procedures
  97. haughty
    having or showing arrogant superiority
  98. sanctimonious
    excessively or hypocritically pious
  99. imbroglio
    an intricate and confusing interpersonal situation
  100. venerate
    regard with feelings of respect and reverence
  101. antediluvian
    of or relating to the period before the biblical flood
  102. bourgeois
    being of the property-owning class
  103. indefeasible
    not liable to being annulled or voided or undone
  104. paladin
    someone who fights for a cause
  105. tangential
    of superficial relevance if any
  106. mercurial
    liable to sudden unpredictable change
  107. exculpate
    pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
  108. salubrious
    promoting health
  109. vicissitude
    a variation in circumstances or fortune
  110. squelch
    suppress or crush completely
  111. matriculate
    enroll as a student
  112. tyro
    someone new to a field or activity
  113. arcane
    requiring secret or mysterious knowledge
  114. trenchant
    having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought
  115. pulchritude
    physical beauty, especially of a woman
  116. pander
    yield to; give satisfaction to
  117. puerile
    displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity
  118. otiose
    serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being
  119. aleatory
    dependent on chance
  120. asperity
    harshness of manner
  121. unimpeachable
    beyond doubt or reproach
  122. inveigh
    complain bitterly
  123. lionize
    assign great social importance to
  124. allay
    lessen the intensity of or calm
  125. vitiate
    make imperfect
  126. recalcitrant
    stubbornly resistant to authority or control
  127. exegesis
    an explanation or critical interpretation
  128. ameliorate
    make better
  129. profligate
    unrestrained by convention or morality
  130. renunciation
    the act of sacrificing or giving up or surrendering
  131. penultimate
    next to the last
  132. bumpkin
    a person who is awkward, uncultured, or unsophisticated
  133. toady
    a person who tries to please someone to gain an advantage
  134. culpable
    deserving blame or censure as being wrong or injurious
  135. hortatory
    giving strong encouragement
  136. benign
    kind in disposition or manner
  137. orotund
    overly formal and pompous in style
  138. blithe
    carefree and happy and lighthearted
  139. soporific
    inducing sleep
  140. pervasive
    spreading or spread throughout
  141. frenetically
    in a very agitated manner; as if possessed by an evil spirit
  142. recrimination
    mutual accusations
  143. indecorous
    lacking propriety and good taste in manners and conduct
  144. corroborate
    give evidence for
  145. propensity
    a natural inclination
  146. condescending
    characteristic of those who treat others with arrogance
  147. compunction
    a feeling of deep regret, usually for some misdeed
  148. sepulcher
    a chamber that is used as a grave
  149. bellicose
    having or showing a ready disposition to fight
  150. wizened
    lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
  151. rhapsodize
    say with great enthusiasm
  152. physiognomy
    the human face
  153. voluble
    marked by a ready flow of speech
  154. revel
    take delight in
  155. umbrage
    a feeling of anger caused by being offended
  156. epiphany
    a usually sudden insight, perception, or understanding of something
  157. assiduous
    marked by care and persistent effort
  158. panacea
    hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases
  159. misanthrope
    someone who dislikes people in general
  160. appellation
    identifying words by which someone or something is called
  161. peripatetic
    traveling especially on foot
  162. coagulate
    change from a liquid to a thickened or solid state
  163. jurisprudence
    the branch of philosophy concerned with the law
  164. tutelary
    providing protective supervision
  165. malevolent
    wishing or appearing to wish evil to others
  166. supercilious
    having or showing arrogant superiority
  167. prominent
    conspicuous in position or importance
  168. gustatory
    of or relating to the sense of taste
  169. scion
    a descendent or heir
  170. extirpate
    destroy completely, as if down to the roots
  171. autonomy
    political independence
Created on Thu Sep 19 16:19:06 EDT 2013 (updated Thu Sep 19 17:09:22 EDT 2013)

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