SAT Word of the Day

Vocabulary Words on the SAT Exam

sat-word-of-the-dayLearning new words and improving your vocabulary is the first step to developing better communication skills.

These skills will carry you forward in both your academic and professional careers.

That’s why there is a vocabulary section on the SAT exam. It’s important to learn these life skills.


100 Most Common SAT Word List

Here is a list of the most common SAT words that are often tested on the SAT vocabulary exam.

  1. Abandon – give up completely
  2. Abate – become less intense or widespread
  3. Abet – encourage or assist
  4. Accede – accent or agree to a demand
  5. Berate – scold or criticize
  6. Bovine – of or relating to cattle
  7. Braggart – a person who boasts about achievements
  8. Burnish – polish by rubbing
  9. Cache – a collection of similar items stored in a secret place
  10. Cacophony – harsh discordant mixture of sounds
  11. Catalyst – substance the increases the rate of chemical reaction
  12. Censorious – severely critical of others
  13. Dearth – scarcity or lack of something
  14. Demagogue – a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires rather than reason
  15. Diluvial – of or relating to a flood
  16. Dispassionate – not influenced by strong emotion
  17. Effluvia – an unpleasant or harmful odor
  18. Emulate – match or surpass
  19. Epochal – extremely significant
  20. Expound – explain or present
  21. Facile – appearing comprehensive by ignoring the complexities of the situation
  22. Fictive – created by imagination
  23. Flippant – not showing serious attitude
  24. Gauche – lacking grace
  25. Gregarious – outgoing or social
  26. Grotto – small cave or cave-like structure
  27. Hedonist – person who believes the pursuit of pleasure is the most important aspect of life
  28. Heretical – practicing religious heresy
  29. Hubris – excessive pride
  30. Hypocrite – a person who says one thing and does another
  31. Ignoble – not honorable in character
  32. Imbibe – drink alcohol
  33. Imperious – assuming power without justification
  34. Importunate – persistant
  35. Jettison – throw or drop for an airplane or ship
  36. Jocular – humorous or playful
  37. Junta – military group that rules after taking by force
  38. Kismet – destiny
  39. Lexicon – vocabulary of a person
  40. Licentious – immoral
  41. Limber – flexible
  42. Loquacious – talkative
  43. Malapropism – mistaken use of a word in place of a similar sounding word
  44. Malfeasance – wrongdoing
  45. Mawkish – sentimental in a sickening way
  46. Misnomer – wrong or inaccurate name in designation
  47. Modicum – small or minimal portion
  48. Mote – tiny piece of a substance
  49. Necromancy – practice of communicating with the dead
  50. Nihilism – rejection of religion
  51. Nomenclature – the choosing of names for things
  52. Novel – fictitious prose narrative
  53. Obfuscate – to confuse
  54. Olfactory – of or relating to the sense of smell
  55. Opprobrious – compressing scorn
  56. Ostracize – exclude from a society or group
  57. Palatial – resembling a palace
  58. Pandemic – disease prevalent over an entire country or multiple countries
  59. Paramount – more important than anything else
  60. Patrician – an aristocrat
  61. Polyglot – knowing or using several languages
  62. Prestidigitation – magic tricks performed for entertainment
  63. Provincial – of or concerning a province or country
  64. Rancor – bitterness or resentfulness
  65. Rarefy – to make or become more dense or solid
  66. recapitulate – summarize and state again the main points
  67. Refute – prove to be wrong or false
  68. Repose – a state of rest
  69. Resilient – able to withstand
  70. Revile – criticize in an abusive manner
  71. Rife – of common occurrence
  72. Sanctimonious – making a show of being morally superior
  73. Scrupulous – diligent attention to details
  74. Sedition – conduct or speech inciting people to rebel
  75. Sinecure – position requiring little or no work
  76. Stint – supply inadequate amount of something
  77. Sybarite – self indulgent person
  78. Tawdry – showy but cheap
  79. Tenacious – keep a firm hold on something
  80. Terse – sparing in use of words
  81. Tout – attempt to sell something by aggressively pestering
  82. Trounce – defeat heavily in a contest
  83. Tutelage – authority over someone or something
  84. Unconscionable – not right or reasonable
  85. Untoward – unexpected
  86. Usury – lending money at unlawful rates
  87. Vehemently – showing strong feeling
  88. Veritable – using as an intensifier
  89. Vilify – write or speak in an abusively disparaging way
  90. Vociferous – vehement
  91. Wan – pale with appearance of illness
  92. Wield – hold and use typically a weapon or tool
  93. Winsome – attractive appearance or character
  94. Wry – using dry or mocking humor
  95. Xenophobe – fear or dislike for people of different countries
  96. Yeoman – a man holding and cultivating a field
  97. Yen – Japanese monetary unit
  98. Yowl – loud waining cry
  99. Zenith – peak
  100. Zephyr – soft gentle breeze

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