262 Sat Vocab Words You Must Know Flashcards
If you’re aiming for a high score, you’ll definitely want to spend some time learning key SAT words.
In this guide, we give you a comprehensive list of 262 of the most common SAT vocabulary words. We also explain how vocab is tested on the SAT, what types of questions you’ll see, and how to get the most out of your vocab prep.
medium difficulty
tested in the context of reading passages,
tested in the context of reading passages,
so you’ll get not just a sentence but an entire paragraph or passage to work with.
13% of the Reading section (or about seven questions) ask you to match a word with its correct meaning.
We call these
questions that require you to pick a single word or phrase in order to paraphrase or clarify part of a passage.
With these questions, you must understand what all the SAT vocab words mean so that you can choose the right answer.
you'll need to know the definitions of a variety of SAT vocabulary words,
such as “substantiated,†“freewheeling,†and “scandalous,†so that you can select the right answer choice.
yes—you will see vocab questions on Writing and Language.
While most questions in this section focus on grammar, transitions, and tense, you'll also get some vocab questions that ask you to replace SAT words in a passage; we call these Precision questions. In total, you’ll get three Precision questions, making up about 7% of the SAT Writing section.
Precision
In total, you’ll get three Precision questions, making up
about 7% of the SAT Writing section.
Here's an example of a Precision question (with the relevant part of the passage shown):
the 262 words and definitions we suggest memorizing
if you want to get high scores on SAT Reading and Writing.
abstract
painting.
abysmal
grade on my research paper!
acquisition
is easier for kids than it is for adults.
adapted
many foreign foods to better suit the tastes of Americans.
adapt
to their environments.
adept
at the violin.
adequate,
the company doubted whether he’d be a good fit.
advent
of the light bulb.
adversarial
attitude will make you many enemies in life.
advocate
for free higher education.
advocate
for cleaner energy practices.
aesthetic
decorations at the wedding reception made you feel as if you were a character in a fairy tale.
afford
to buy a new car.
afford
to lose any more pencils!
agitating
for better health care.
allows
citizens to speak freely.
alluded
to the problem at hand but didn’t say anything more about it.
altercation
with a stranger at the bar.
ambiguous
statement made me question whether she could be trusted.
ambitious,
she wants to be president someday.
ambivalence
prevented him from immediately signing the contract.
analogous
to spring onions.
annihilate
the group of rebels.
anomaly
and very rarely happens.
anticipated
it would be.
antipathy
toward the professor was obvious: she rolled her eyes whenever he entered the classroom.
apex
of our school year.
apprehension
to leave her house resulted in her missing the train.
articulated
her opinion on the price of the house.
artificial
flavors to make them taste fruity.
assertion
that sharks are mammals made everyone laugh.
austere
cabin in the middle of the woods.
austere
expression on her face.
austere
lifestyle, like that of monks, isn’t for everybody.
authenticity
of the suspect’s story.
avid
soccer fan.
basic
Russian before you can move on to the advanced level.
bears
a strong resemblance to your mother.
bear
her first child later this year.
bear
pumpkins this year.
bear
her complaining any longer!
benevolent
spirits.
bias
when investigating a crime.
bolster
the couch.
boost
in profits was a welcome change.
boost
profits, you need to cater to your customers.
brawl
broke out at school today after one student accused another of cheating.
brawled
for an hour.
brevity
of their time together made it all the more romantic.
candid
about his desire to become an actor.
candor,
especially when nobody else bothers to speak up.
capitalize
on your math skills by having your work the cash register.
captured
by the enemy.
captures
the ephemerality of life.
captured
by her beauty.
captured
the criminal three days after the incident.
civic
duty.
clinical
approach to situations allows her to handle them more effectively.
coarse,
as if it had never been washed.
coarse
way of speaking surprised the other members of royalty.
coincided
with my finals.
commissioned
by a rich merchant in 1589.
comparable
Huckleberry Finn.
competent
web developer to create a good website for our company.
complacent
with his life as a poet.
complements
this platter of gourmet cheese.
conceded.
Dan conceded to pranking his sister.
conceded
to pranking his sister.
conceived
in the early 1900s.
condone
her daughter's rebellious behavior.
conducive
to studying.
conducted
their research abroad last year.
conduct
yourself accordingly.
confided
all of her biggest secrets in her best friend.
confine
the use of this drinking fountain.
constituted
the civil rights movement.
contemplated
telling her teacher about the cheating student.
contends
that the US government will not negotiate with terrorists.
contradicts
his alibi.
controversial
debate take place.
conventional
life in the suburbs.
conveying
my thoughts in French.
convictions
prevent her from eating meat.
corroborates
her claim that she was absent from class that day.
counteract
the other ones.
counterargument
in your essay so that you can show you’ve considered the topic from all perspectives.
counterproductive:
it took us twice as long to get to the train station.
culmination
of the performance was unforgettable.
cultivate
their academic potential.
decreed
that Halloween would henceforth be a national holiday.
deference
to the elderly makes her the perfect candidate for an internship at the retirement center.
demonstrate
the dance move for me?
demonstrates
the author’s mournful tone.
demurred
at my request to transfer to a different department.
depleted
their supply of food.
desolate
landscape.
devised
a plan to make herself famous.
dilemma
is whether to pay for a commercial or not.
Diligence
and confidence will get you far in life.
diminish
after a few days.
discord
in the family.
disdain
that I immediately knew the job wouldn’t work out.
dismay,
he got an F on the test.
dismayed
by the town’s implementation of metered parking.
disparages
his or her employees.
dispatched
her daughter to their neighbor’s house.
diversification
of students at higher institutions.
dominion
over parts of Russia.
dominion
of the US.
dubious
since nobody knew where he’d come from.
eccentric
but still fun to be around.
egregious
mistake.
eloquent
but also extremely compelling.
eminent
magician came to perform at our local theater.
emit
oxygen.
emphatic
smile told me she was excited to ride the roller coaster.
empirical
evidence to support your claim.
endowed
him with the gift of healing.
endure
this wait any longer. Will Stanford accept or reject me?
entails
long nights and a heavy workload.
entrenched
in my memory.
enumerate
how many times I’ve had to remind my students when their papers are due.
envy
of her is quite obvious.
envies
her coworker's social skills.
erratic
after slipping on ice.
established
a law that made it illegal to drive after drinking any amount of alcohol.
established
a new branch in Chicago.
evoking
fear.
exacerbate
my knee injury.
excelled
especially in science.
exert
all of your energy at once.
expend
all your energy in the first half of a marathon.
exploited
its workers by paying them extremely low wages.
facilitate
students’ research and offer constructive criticism.
feasibility
of her project was doubtful; she’d have to go all the way to Antarctica and back before the school year ended.
Fiscal
policy is how the government uses money to influence the economy.
flourished
into a breathtaking garden.
fluctuate
on a daily basis, making it difficult to determine when to buy or sell one.
fomenting
political unrest.
foreseeable
future.
frankly
don’t see the point in learning to drive.
freewheeling
attitude often got him in trouble at work.
fundamental
part of an essay.
galvanizing
performance left everyone spellbound.
geriatric
medicine shortly after my grandfather passed away from cancer.
hostile
even.
hypothetical
situation.
ignominious
defeat.
impart
common sense to their children.
impartiality,
we require everyone to follow these general guidelines.
imposing
in its huge size and gothic architecture.
imposition,
could you proofread my paper?
imprudent
about money.
incited
anger in the crowd.
indifference
toward her brother upset their parents.
indulge
in cheesy romance movies.
infer
from this quotation that the writer didn’t care for “pretty†language.
innovative
and won her multiple awards.
inversion
of our own.
invoke
a demon.
irreconcilable,
giving them no choice but to break up.
lamented
her missed chance at going to Europe with her high school class.
lucrative
career, unless you’re J.K. Rowling.
malicious
spirit drove out the inhabitants from their home.
malleable
but only for so long.
melodramatic
play was well liked by the audience.
modest
house in the countryside.
modest
sum of money for my help at the company event.
modified
the gene so that it wouldn’t carry the disease.
novel
ways to approach the project.
nuances
of facial expressions.
objectivity
is of utmost importance.
obsolete
by now, but in fact they’re making a huge comeback.
omnipotent
beings who can control human destiny.
onset
of her career as a lawyer, things were looking up.
opined
at the company meeting.
ornate
silverware must be worth thousands of dollars!
ousted
their captain.
paramount
concern is the safety of our employees.
peculiar
feeling, as if someone was watching her.
perished
in the fire.
persecute
anyone who doesn’t agree with their views of the world.
Petulant
children are especially difficult to care for.
pinnacle
of classical music.
pitiable,
so I gave it some food and took it inside to care for it.
plausible,
but that doesn’t mean she’s telling the truth.
postulates
that romanticism and naturalism are actually interconnected.
potent
symbol of the US.
potent
—
pragmatic
to study engineering than it is to study philosophy.
predecessor
gave me many tips for running the office.
prescribe
a length of at least ten pages.
prescribe
you this medication before you can begin taking it.
principle:
treat others as you want them to treat you.
prohibited
in the US in the 1920s.
prompt.
The possibility of a scholarship prompted him to apply to Harvard.
prompted
him to apply to Harvard.
promulgate
an amnesty with the neighboring countries.
prosecuted
yesterday.
qualitative
change in her paintings.
quantitative
analysis.
quirk
is his love of old marbles.
ramified
throughout the world in the twentieth century.
rash
decision to pass the car nearly resulted in a crash.
raw
talent as a singer, but he needs to work on his performance skills.
raw
fish.
readily
available at different points in the race.
reconsideration
of her performance resulted in her victory.
reform
made it so that only those 18 and older can legally drive.
reformed
its vague policies on marijuana use.
refuted
the professor’s claim in class.
reinforce
the structure.
reluctantly
agreed to see the horror movie with his friends.
renounced
her position yesterday.
renounced
his friend after he caught her stealing money from him.
reproached
her daughter’s school for making students come in during a blizzard.
repudiated
his son’s marriage.
repudiated
her son once she found out he’d married someone without telling her.
retention
can make you weigh more on certain days.
satiated
after eating a snack.
savvy
when it comes to using public transportation.
scandalous
politician decided it was best to resign from office.
scorn
those who use improper grammar.
scrupulous
proofreader and never miss an error.
scrutinized
her students’ essays.
secrete
a sticky substance called sap.
sentiment
that you should never give out your passwords to anyone.
sheer
you could clearly see inside the house.
simple
even a first grader can solve it.
simple
beauty of the ocean is what makes it memorable.
sinister
demons could harm humans.
solidarity
with other female students by refusing to wear the school’s sexist uniform.
spawn
in ponds.
spawned
an ongoing debate among his family members.
spurred
others to act.
squalid
cabin needed a new roof and an exterminator.
stark
landscape, I felt a keen sense of isolation.
static.
Her life has been static for the past three years.
static
for the past three years.
subordinate
officers work every day.
subordinate
will check you in.
subordinate
me to the role of receptionist!
subsequently
went home.
substantial
amount of money beneath the park bench.
substantiate
their theories whenever possible.
subtle
hint of irritation.
sufficient
for our move.
surly
fellow who wasn’t afraid to start a fight.
surmount
the language barrier by using a translation app.
susceptible
to certain illnesses than adults are.
tactful
attitude toward our class made her one of my favorite teachers.
taut
and ready to be fired.
teeming
with germs.
temperament,
making her intimidating to most people.
tentative
location for our wedding is Hawaii.
transparent
as regular window glass is.
transparent
about her plans to end her marriage.
treacherous,
but they continued on regardless.
Tremendous
news! You don’t have to repay your loans!
ubiquitous
these days.
unadorned,
it was by far her favorite one on the rack.
undermine
their children.
underscore
the overall meaning of the passage.
undulate
their stomachs.
unilateral
decision was deemed unfair by the other party involved.
unjust
—
unmitigated
disaster!
unveil
our plans for the new company project on Sunday.
urge
to tell his parents about his acceptance to Columbia but decided against it.
urged
her sister to apply to Stanford.
validate
your feelings for me.
viability
of the solution is questionable.
vital
that you respond by the deadline.
vow
to never eat chocolate again.
warrant
breaking the law.
yield
exceeded 10,000.
yield
to oncoming traffic.
yielded
many unique-looking vegetables.
make flashcards.
This lets you control which SAT words you study and even randomizes them so that you don't accidentally memorize words in a predetermined order.
With this method, you'll get to see all the words in your deck, going over the most challenging words more often than the ones you already know or sort of know.
30-50 cards each.
Starting Stack.
Know It
don’t
Struggled
pile as so:
Working
all
You now know all the SAT words and their meanings in your deck!
Repeat this waterfall method with the other decks you make so that you can learn even more critical SAT vocab words.
make a new vocab list containing only the words you don’t know.
f you know a word or are fairly sure you’ll be able to recognize it on test day, skip it and instead focus on
digital flashcards.
Anki
it’s important to study those most likely to appear on test day.
The best way to study SAT vocabulary is to make flashcards and use the waterfall method. This ensures you know all the words in your deck and aren’t glossing over any difficult ones.
test out what you’ve learned in the context of full-length practice tests.
Nearly all the words in our list above come from official SAT practice tests, so you’re guaranteed to come across them in some form!
Want more tips on how to study SAT vocabulary words?
our expert tips for memorizing SAT words fast
Aiming for a high SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score?
getting a perfect Reading score
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