Studying for the SATs can be a trying experience. One easy way to raise your score is to memorize SAT vocabulary words. Since the sentence completion questions in the Critical Reading section test your ability to recognize words in context, knowing more words will go a long way towards raising your Critical Reading Score. Here is a simple list of the 100 most common SAT vocabulary words to get you started on the path towards improving your vocabulary skills and raising your overall SAT score.
The Critical Reading Section of the SAT has both a reading comprehension component and an SAT vocabulary component. The sentence completion questions, which ask you to select a word from a multiple choice list, test your knowledge of the definition of common words.
Certain SAT vocabulary words are tested over and over again in the sentence completion questions. By learning these frequently tested words, you are increasing the odds of knowing the vocabulary required of you on test day.
The 100 words below are a great starting point to help improve your SAT vocabulary words. Remember, the more words you know, the better you will do.
- abate: reduce or lesson
- abdicate: give up a position
- aberration: something unusual, different from the norm
- abhor: to really hate
- abstain: to refrain from doing something
- adversity: hardship, misfortune
- aesthetic: pertaining to beauty
- amicable: agreeable
- anachronistic: out of the context of time, out of date
- arid: very dry
- asylum: sanctuary, place of safety
- benevolent: friendly, helpful
- bias: a prejudice towards something or against something
- boisterous: enthusiastic, loud
- brazen: bold
- brusque: short, rude
- camaraderie: togetherness, trust, group dynamic of trust
- canny: careful
- capacious: very large, spacious
- capitulate: surrender
- clairvoyant: can predict the future
- collaborate: work together
- compassion: sympathy
- compromise: meeting in the middle, settling differences
- condescending: patronizing
- conditional: contingent upon something else, contingent upon
- conformist: someone who follows the majority
- convergence: coming together
- deleterious: harmful
- demagogue: rabble-rousing leader
- digression: straying from main point
- diligent: hard-working, dedicated
- discredit: dishonor someone, prove something untrue
- disdain: to regard with scorn
- divergent: moving apart, going in different directions
- empathy: feeling someone else’s feeling
- emulate: following someone else's example
- enervating: tiring
- ephemeral: fleeting, temporary
- evanescent: not lasting long
- exemplary: outstanding
- extenuating: something that makes the situation not as bad
- florid: ornate
- forbearance: patience, restraint
- fortitude: strength
- fortuitous: lucky
- foster: promote, aid
- fraught: filled with
- frugal: thrifty
- hackneyed: clichéd
- haughty: being arrogant, talking down to people
- hedonist: person who acts in pursuit of pleasure
- hypothesis: unproven theory, educated guess
- impetuous: rash, impulsive
- impute: to assign or attribute to someone
- inconsequential: without consequence, trivial, doesn't matter
- inevitable: unavoidable, definitely going to happen
- intrepid: fearless
- intuitive: knowing something by instinct
- jubilation: extreme happiness, joy
- lobbyist: person who takes one side or the other, and persuades government officials
- longevity: long (particularly long life)
- mundane: boring, ordinary
- nonchalant: casual, calm, at ease
- opulent: wealthy
- orator: speaker
- ostentatious: flaunting wealth
- parched: freed from water, dried up
- perfidious: disloyal
- pragmatic: practical
- precocious: gifted/talented beyond one's years
- pretentious: being self important, thinking you are better than others
- procrastinate: to delay, often unnecessarily
- prosaic: ordinary
- prosperity: wealth
- provocative: causes a fuss, inflammatory, likely to get people riled up
- prudent: careful, wise
- querulous: irritable, prone to argument
- rancorous: hateful, unpleasant
- reclusive: hermit, withdrawn
- reconciliation: coming back together after a disagreement
- renovation: being new, being redone
- restrained: controlled, not free
- reverence: deep respect
- sagacity: wisdom
- scrutinize: to look at carefully
- spontaneous: being impulsive, acting without thinking
- spurious: false, untrue
- submissive: mild, meek
- substantiate: to confirm, prove
- subtle: shy, small, not showy
- superficial: shallow
- superfluous: unnecessary, too much
- surreptitious: secret
- tactful: polite
- tenacious: persistent stubborn
- transient: temporary, impermanent
- venerable: respectable because of its age
- vindicate: to free from blame
- wary: careful, watchful
Tips for Learning SAT Vocabulary Words
Learning vocabulary words can be difficult. Here are some tips to help learn these 100 words, and any other SAT vocabulary words you may come across in the future:
- Make flashcards with unfamiliar words
- Use new vocabulary words in a sentence
- Make a tape recording of yourself reading the word and the definition
- List the words in groups of positive, negative and related words
More SAT Vocabulary Words
Now that you have a starting point, here are some links to additional SAT vocabulary words so you can continue to increase your vocabulary prior to the test: