SAT Word Lists

SAT Word Lists 

The SAT High-Frequency Word list

  

abridge	abstemious	abstract	abstruse
accessible	acclaim	acknowledge	adulation
adversary	adversity	advocate	aesthetic
affable	affirmation	alleviate	aloof
altruistic	ambiguous	ambivalence	analogous
anarchist	anecdote	animosity	antagonism
antidote	antiquated	apathy	appease
apprehension	arbitrary	archaic	arrogance
articulate	artifact	artisan	ascendancy
ascetic	aspire	astute	attribute [ verb]
augment	austere	authoritarian	autonomous
aversion	belle	benevolent	bolster
braggart	brevity	cajole	calculated
candor	capricious	censorious	censure
coercion	commemorate	compile	complacency
compliance	composure	comprehensive	concede
conciliatory	concise	concur	condone
conflagration	confound	consensus	constraint
contend	contentious	contrast [ verb ]	conviction
cordial	corroborate	credulity	criterion
cryptic	cursory	curtail	decorum
deference	degradation	delineate	denounce
deplore	depravity	deprecate	deride
derivative	despondent	detached	deterrent
detrimental	devious	devise	diffuse
digression	diligence	diminution	discerning
disclose	discordant	discount [ verb ]	discrepancy
discriminating	disdain	disinclination	dismiss
disparage	disparity	disperse	disputatious
disseminate	dissent	divergent	doctrine
document[verb]	dogmatic	dubious	duplicity
eclectic	egotism	elated	eloquence
elusive	embellish	emulate	endorse
enhance	enigma	enmity	ephemeral
equivocal	erroneous	erudite	esoteric
eulogy	euphemism	exacerbate	exalt
execute	exemplary	exemplify	exhaustive
exhilarating	exonerate	expedient	expedite
explicit	exploit [ verb ]	extol	extraneous
extricate	exuberance	facilitate	fallacious
fanaticism	fastidious	feasible	fervor
flagrant	frivolous	frugality	furtive
garrulous	glutton	gratify	gratuitous
gravity	gregarious	guile	gullible
hamper [ verb ]	hardy	haughtiness	hedonist
heresy	hierarchy	homogeneous	hypocritical
idiosyncrasy	illusory	immutable	impair
impeccable	impede	implausible	implement [ verb ]
impudence	inadvertent	inane	incisive
incite	inclusive	incongruous	inconsequential
incorrigible	indict	indifferent	indiscriminate
induce	inert	ingenious	inherent
innate	innocuous	innovation	insipid
instigate	insularity	integrity	intervene
intimidate	intrepid	inundate	invert
ironic	lament	laud	lavish [ adj. ]
lethargic	levity	linger	listless
lofty	malicious	marred	materialism
methodical	meticulous	miserly	mitigate
morose	mundane	negate	nonchalance
notoriety	novelty	nurture	obliterate
oblivion	obscure [ verb ]	obstinate	ominous
opaque	opportunist	optimist	opulence
orator	ostentatious	pacifist	partisan
peripheral	perpetuate	pervasive	pessimism
phenomena	philanthropist	piety	placate
ponderous	pragmatic	preclude	precocious
predator	presumptuous	pretentious	prevalent
prodigal	profane	profound	profusion
proliferation	prolific	provincial	proximity
prudent	qualified	quandary	ramble
rancor	ratify	rebuttal	recluse
recount	rectify	redundant	refute
relegate	remorse	renounce	repel
reprehensible	reprimand	reprove	repudiate
reserve [ noun ]	resigned	resolution	resolve [ noun ]
restraint	reticence	retract	reverent
rhetorical	rigor	robust	sage
sanction [verb]	satirical	saturate	scanty
scrupulous	scrutinize	seclusion	servile
skeptic	sluggish	somber	sporadic
squander	stagnant	static [adj. ]	submissive
subordinate[adj.]	subside	substantiate	succinct
superficial	superfluous	surpass	surreptitious
susceptible	sustain	sycophant	taciturn
temper [ verb ]	tentative	terse	thrive
tranquility	transient	trite	turbulence
turmoil	undermine	uniformity	unwarranted
usurp	vacillate	venerate	verbose
vigor	vilify	vindicate	virtuoso
volatile	whimsical	zealot

The SAT Hot Prospects Word List

  

abate	accolade	acquiesce	arid
acrimony	aggregate [ verb	amorphous	anachronistic
anomaly	antediluvian	antipathy	apocryphal
arable	ardent	assiduous	assuage
atrophy	audacious	avarice	avert
aviary	beguile	bequeath	bleak
blighted	bombastic	buttress	cacophonous
cardiologist	carping	certitude	charlatan
circumlocution	cliché	coalesce	colloquial
combustible	complementary	confluence	conjecture
converge	corrode	corrugated	culpable
debilitate	debunk	dehydrate	deleterious
depose	desiccate	diffidence	dilatory
discourse	discrepancy	disquiet	distend
dupe	ebullient	edify	efface
effervesce	elegy	elicit	elucidate
emaciated	emend	equanimity	equitable
evanescent	excerpt	fallow	falter
fathom [verb]	fell [ verb ]	fitful	florid
foolhardy	glacial	hackneyed	hyperbole
iconoclastic	ignominy	illicit	impecunious
impregnable	incidental	incontrovertible	indefatigable
indolent	ineffable	inexorable	insolvent
insuperable	intractable	irreproachable	jocular
labyrinth	laconic	laggard	lampoon
lassitude	lithe	lurid	luxuriant
meander	mercenary [adj. ]	mercurial	mirth
misanthrope	misnomer	mollify	mosaic
munificent	nefarious	nuance	obdurate
odious	omate	pariah	parody
parsimony	paucity	penury	perfunctory
pernicious	pitfall	pithy	polemical
prattle	precarious	profligate [ adj.]	quagmire
quell	querulous	quiescent	rant
rarefy	raucous	ravenous	raze
recant	remission	replete	repugnant
rescind	respite	resplendent	savory
sedentary	soporific	spurious`	spurn
steadfast	stolid	strident	stupefy
supplant	surfeit	swagger	tantamount
tenacity	terrestrial	threadbare	tirade
torpor	trepidation	trifling	truncate
unkempt	unprecedented	vaporize	viable
virulent	voluble	witticism

 

2 - ] Model SAT Practice Exercises - Exercise B

2 - ] Model SAT Practice Exercises

2 - ] Sentence Completion Exercise B

Select the best answer to each of the following questions : then blacken the appropriate space on your answer sheet .

1 . Because he is so …. , we can never predict what course he will take at any moment .

(A) incoherent (B) superficial (C) capricious (D) deleterious (E) conventional

2 . The bank teller’s …. of the funds went undiscovered until the auditors examined the accounts and found that huge sums were missing .

(A) extradition (B) embezzlement (C) subordination (D) scrutiny (E) verification

3 . He was so convinced that people were driven by …. motives that he believed there was so such thing as a purely unselfish act .

(A) sentimental (B) personal (C) altruistic (D) ulterior (E) intrinsic

4 . Because he was …. by nature , he preferred reading a book in the privacy of his own study to visiting a nightclub with friends .

(A) an exhibitionist (B) a hedonist (C) an adversary (D) an egoist (E) an introvert

5 . Surprisingly enough , it is more difficult to write about the …. than about the …. and strange .

(A) specific …. foreign

(B) abstract …. prosaic

(C) commonplace …. exotic

(D) simple …. routine

(E) ludicrous …. dejected

6. The plot of this story is so …. that I can predict the outcome .

(A) intricate (B) theoretical (C) pivotal (D) trite (E) fictitious

7 . The fundraising ball turned out to be a …. : it started late , attracted too few dancers , and lost almost a million dollars .

(A) debacle (B) blockbuster (C) deluge (D) gala (E) milestone

8 . She was pleased by the accolades she received ; like everyone else , she enjoyed being ….

(A) entertained (B) praised (C) playful (D) vindicated (E) charitable

9 . Safire as a political commentator is patently never …. ‘ he writes …. editorials about every action the government takes .

(A) content …. deferential

(B) querulous …. biased

(C) amazed …. bemused

(D) overawed …. flattering

(E) satisfied …. peevish

10 . Although frugal by nature , on this special occasion he refused to …. , but instead feasted his guests ….  .

(A) splurge …. munificently

(B) conserve …. intangibly

(C) stint …. lavishly

(D) temporize …. austerely

(E) cooperate …. exorbitantly

11. The tapeworm is an example of …. organism , one that lives within or on another creature , deriving some or all of its nutriment from its host .

(A) a hospitable (B) an exemplary  (C) a parasitic (D) an autonomous (E) a protozoan

12 . He found himself in the …. position of appearing to support appoint of view that he abhorred .

(A) obvious (B) innocuous (C) anomalous (D) enviable (E) auspicious

13 . The younger members of the company resented the domineering and …. manner of the office manager .

(A) urbane (B) prudent (C) convivial (D) imperious (E) objective

14 . Bluebeard was noted for his …. jealousy , a jealousy so extreme that it passed all reasonable bounds .

(A) transitory (B) rhetorical (C) stringent (D) callous (E) inordinate

15 . I regret that my remarks seemed …. ; I never intended to belittle you .

(A) inadequate (B) justified (C) unassailable (D) disparaging (E) shortsighted

16 . A …. glance pays …. attention to details .

(A) furtive …. meticulous

(B) cursory …. little

(C) cryptic …. close

(D) keen …. scanty

(E)fleeting …. vigilant

17. With its elaborately carved , convoluted lines , furniture of the Baroque period was highly ….  .

(A) functional (B) primitive (C) linear (D) spare  (E) ornate

18 . His overweening pride in his accomplishments was …. : he had accomplished little if anything at all .

(A) unjustified (B) innocuous (C) systematic (D) rational (E) critical

19 . A …. relationship links the rhinoceros and the oxpecker ( or rhinoceros bird ] , for the two are mutually dependent .

(A) monolithic (B) superficial (C) symbiotic (D) debilitating (E) stereotypical

20 . When we saw black smoke billowing from the wing of the plane , we were certain that disaster was ….  .

(A) unlikely (B) opportune (C) imminent (D) undeserved (E) averted

21 . Upon realizing that his position was …. , the general …. his men to retreat to a neighboring hill .

(A) valuable …. admonished

(B) untenable …. ordered

(C) overrated …. forbade

(D) exposed …. urged

(E) salubrious ….commanded

22 . The seriousness of the drought could only be understood by those who had seen the …. crops in the fields .

(A) copious (B) deluged (C) wilted (D) bumper (E) diversified

23 . As ecologists recently …. in studying the effects of naturally induced forest fires , some phenomena that appear on the surface to be destructive often have a hidden …. effect on balance .

(A) disproved …. beneficial

(B) discovered …. positive

(C) hypothesized …. catastrophic

(D) disclosed …. unecological

(E) determined …. disastrous

24 . The dispute became so …. that we were afraid the adversaries would come to blows .

(A) ironic (B) generalized (C) didactic (D) articulate (E) acrimonious

25 . With the rift between the two sides apparently widening , analysis said they considered the likelihood of a merger between the two corporations to be ….  .

(A) deteriorating (B) substantial (C) coincidental (D) legitimate (E) plausible

26 . Fossils may be set in stone , but their interpretation is not ; a new find may necessitate the …. of a traditional theory .

(A) ambiguity (B) revision (C) formulation (D) validation (E) assertion

27 . In attempting to reconcile estranged spouses , counselors try to foster a spirit of …. rather than one of stubborn implacability .

(A) disillusionment (B) ambivalence (C) compromise (D) antagonism (E) independence

28 . Shakespeare’s reference to clocks in “Julius Caesar” is an example of …. ; that is , it is chronologically out of place .

(A) timeless (B) antiquarianism (C) anachronism (D) synchronization (E) ignorance

29 . A diligent scholar , she devoted herself …. to the completion of the book .

(A) assiduously (B) ingenuously (C) theoretically (D) voluminously (E) sporadically

30 . He was …. success , painting not for the sake of fame or monetary reward , but for the sheer love of art .

(A) indifferent to (B) destined for (C) avid for (D) jaded by (E) enamored of

31 . The thought of being trapped in a stalled elevator terrifies me ; it brings out all my …. fears of small enclosed places .

(A) agoraphobic (B) kleptomaniac (C) hypochondriac (D) therapeutic (E) claustrophobic

32 . Crows are extremely …. : their cries easily drown out the songs of neighboring birds .

(A) fickle (B) swarthy (C) raucous (D) cordial (E) versatile

33 . The gardener had planted such a wide variety of flowering trees and shrubs in the courtyard that it seemed a virtual ….  .

(A) wasteland (B) cloister (C) panorama (D) arboretum (E) granary

34 . You should …. this paragraph in order to make your essay more ….  .

(A) delete …. succinct

(B) enlarge …. redundant

(C) remove …. discursive

(D) revise …. abstruse

(E) excise …. legible

35 . Sharon’s childhood can best be termed …. : she had never been farther west than Philadelphia until she turned sixteen .

(A) provincial (B) transitory (C) nomadic (D) utilitarian (E) eclectic

36 . His submissiveness of manner and general air of self-effacement made it …. he would be …. to take command of the firm .

(A) unlikely …. selected

(B) implausible …. hesitant

(C) clear …. designated

(D) puzzling …. disinclined

(E) probable …. demoted

37. She was accused of plagiarism in a dispute over a short story , and , though …. , she never recovered from the accusation and the scandal .

(A) indicted (B) verified (C) exonerated (D) retaliated (E) convinced

38 . The patient is subject to emotional …. : she is utterly ecstatic one minute and thoroughly …. the next .

(A) impoverishment …. enervated

(B) upheavals …. euphoric

(C) extremes …. downcast

(D) deviations …. wayward

(E) stability …. unresponsive

39 . The king’s champion was a …. foe , one whose mighty presence on the field of battle struck fear in the hearts of his prospective adversaries .

(A) methodical (B) rancorous (C) timorous (D) redoubtable (E) questionable

40 . Watching the hang gliders soar above the fields , I marveled at how they seemed to …. gravity , hovering in the sky like rainbow-colored birds .

(A) release (B) adorn (C) defy (D) emulate (E) abet

41 . Her novel published to universal acclaim , her literary gifts acknowledged by the chief figures of the Harlem Renaissance , her reputation as yet …. by envious slights , Hurston clearly was at the …. of her cancer .

(A) undamaged…. ebb

(B) untarnished …. zenith

(C) untainted …. extremely

(D) blackened …. mercy

(E) unmarried …. brink

42 . In Anne of Green Gables , the heroine turns down a prestigious scholarship so that the young hero may receive it ; once more , the woman …. her own …. to those of the man .

(A) prefers …. ambitious

(B) sacrifices …. losses

(C) surrenders …. talents

(D) accommodates …. beliefs

(E) subordinates …. interests

43 . Having envisioned atomic weapons a decade before , Leo Szilard felt horror and guilt at the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , calling them “a flagrant…. of our own moral standards .”

(A) violation (B) exposition (C) punishment (D) vindication (E) agitation

44 . From the lunch counter sit-ins and bus boycotts to the historic freedom march from Selma to Montgomery , this fine volume shows how …. Americans from every walk of life fought …. battle for “liberty and justice for all .”

(A) revolutionary …. an unnecessary

(B) typical …. an ignoble

(C) progressive …. a vainglorious

(D) ordinary …. an inspiring

(E) pugnacious …. a dubious

45 . Despite an affected …. which convinced casual observers  that he was indifferent about his painting and enjoyed only frivolity , Warhol cared deeply about his art and labored at it ….  .

(A) nonchalance …. diligently

(B) empathy …. methodically

(C) fervor …. secretly

(D) gloom …. intermittently

(E) hysteria …. sporadically

46. Cancer cells are normal cells run riot , growing and multiplying out of ….  .

(A) spite (B) danger (C) control (D) apathy (E) range

47 . Science progresses by building on what has come before ;important findings thus form the basis of …. experiments .

(A) gradual (B) subsequent (C) ingenious (D) repetitive (E) perfunctory

48 . The Internal Revenue Service agent was a …. for accuracy ,insisting that taxpayers provide exact figures for every deduction they claimed .

(A) martyr (B) scoundrel (C) stickler (D) procrastinator (E) candidate

49 . Even if you do not …. what I have to say , I would appreciate your listening to me with an open mind .

(A) concur with (B) reject (C) clarify(D) deviate from (E) anticipate

50 . Paradoxically , Helen , who had a strict mother to her children , proved …. mistress to her cats .

(A) a harsh (B) an indolent (C) an ambivalent (D) a cautious  (E) a lenient