Top 500 SAT Words

abate: 
subside; decrease; become less in amount or intensity

aberration: 
deviation, not normal

abhor: 
fill with horror and loathing; horrify; hate

abstruse: 
obscure; profound; difficult to understand.

accost: 
approach and speak to boldly or aggressively, as with demand or request

acrimony: 
bitter animosity

acumen: 
mental keenness; quickness of perception

adamant: 
extremely hard; inflexible; stubbornly unyielding

adept: 
expert at; very skilled; having or showing knowledge and skill and aptitude

adroit: 
skillful and adept under pressing conditions

affected: 
speaking or behaving in artificial way; emotionally stirred or moved; infected or attacked

alacrity: 
cheerful promptness or willingness; eagerness; speed or quickness

aloocate: 
assign, portion

altruistic: 
unselfishly generous; concerned for others

amenable: 
responsive to advice or suggestion; responsible to higher authority; willing to comply with; agreeable

amiable: 
good-natured and likable; lovable; warmly friendly

amicable: 
exhibiting friendliness or goodwill; not quarrelsome

antediluvian: 
antiquated; extremely old and ancient; belonging to very ancient times

anthropology: 
social science that studies origins and social relationships of human beings

antipathy: 
strong feeling of aversion; dislike

apathetic: 
feeling or showing a lack of interest or concern; indifferent

apt: 
likely; exactly suitable; appropriate; quick to learn or understand

arcane: 
secret; mysterious; known only to the initiated

ascendancy: 
superiority or decisive advantage; domination

ascetic: 
leading a life of self-discipline and self-denial; austere

aspire: 
seek to attain; long for; strive toward an end

assail: 
assault; attack with or as if with violent blows

assiduous: 
constant in application or attention; diligent; unceasing or persistent

assuage: 
ease or lessen pain; satisfy or appease

atrophy: 
wasting away; decrease in size; reduction in the functionality of an organ caused by disease

attenuate: 
make slender, fine, or small; weaken; lessen density of

august: 
impressive; majestic; inspiring awe or admiration

aura: 
air, feeling

auspicious: 
attended by favorable circumstances; marked by success; prosperous

autocrat: 
dictator; ruler having unlimited power

automaton: 
mechanism that imitates actions of humans

avarice: 
greediness for wealth; insatiable desire of gain

banal: 
obvious and dull; commonplace; lacking originality

barrage: 
artificial obstruction; heavy curtain of artillery fire; rapid, concentrated discharge of missiles

belie: 
contradict; give a false impression

belligerent: 
inclined or eager to fight; aggressive

benevolent: 
generous in providing aid to others; charitable

bequeath: 
leave to someone by a will; hand down

berate: 
rebuke or scold angrily and at length

bitartisanship: 
supported by two opposing parties

blighted: 
suffering from a disease; destroyed, ruined, or spoiled

bog: 
marsh, swamp

bolster: 
support or prop up with or as if with a long narrow pillow or cushion

bombastic: 
pompous; using inflated language; high-sounding but with little meaning

boorish: 
rude and clumsy in behavior; ungentlemanly; awkward in manners

buoyant: 
able to float; cheerful and optimistic

burgeon: 
grow forth; send out buds; grow or develop rapidly

buttress: 
support physically; prop up; support something or someone by supplying evidence

byzantine: 
convoluted, complex

cacophonous: 
discordant; inharmonious; sounding harshly; ill-sounding

cajole: 
influence or urge by gentle urging or flattering

callous: 
emotionally hardened; unfeeling; toughened

cantankerous: 
ill humored; irritable; marked by ill-tempered contradiction or opposition; ugly; malicious

capricious: 
fickle; impulsive and unpredictable; apt to change opinions suddenly

castigate: 
criticize severely; punish; revise or make corrections to publication

caustic: 
capable of burning, corroding, dissolving, or eating away by chemical action

censorious: 
critical; addicted to censure; severe in making remarks on others, or on their writings or manners; implying or expressing censure

censure: 
expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism; blame

cerebral: 
relating to the brain or cerebrum; intellectual rather than emotional

chagrin: 
anxiety caused by humiliation or injured pride; disappointment

charlatan: 
quack; one who pretends to knowledge, skill, or importance

chastise: 
punish, as by beating; criticize severely; rebuke

chide: 
scold mildly so as to correct or improve; express disapproval

churlish: 
difficult to work with; rude; unyielding; unmanageable

circuitous: 
being or taking a roundabout, lengthy course; going round in a circuit; not direct

circumscribe: 
limit narrowly; confine; draw a line around; encircle

circumvent: 
surround an enemy; enclose or entrap; beat by cleverness and wit

clandestine: 
secret; conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods

coalesce: 
combine; fuse; grow together; come together so as to form one whole; unite

compendious: 
succinct

complacency: 
feeling of contented self-satisfaction, especially when unaware of upcoming trouble

compliant: 
yielding to request or desire; ready to accommodate; disposed or willing to comply

conciliate: 
compromising, apologizing

concur: 
agree

conflagration: 
large destructive fire; burning; large-scale military conflict

confluence: 
act of two things flowing together; junction or meeting place where two things meet

congenial: 
compatible

conscientious: 
diligent; responsible; reliable

consternation: 
intense state of fear or dismay; astonishment combined with terror

contempt: 
state of being despised or dishonored; disgrace; disobedience to, or open disrespect of

contemptible: 
worthy of contempt; deserving of scorn or disdain; mean

contentious: 
quarrelsome; disagreeable; marked by heated arguments or controversy

convivial: 
festive; occupied with or fond of the pleasures of good company

copious: 
plentiful; containing plenty; affording ample supply

corroborate: 
establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts; support with evidence

cosmopolitan: 
sophisticated; of worldwide scope

credulity: 
readiness of belief; disposition to believe on slight evidence

culpable: 
blameworthy

cursory: 
casual; brief or broad; not cautious, nor detailed

dauntless: 
bold; incapable of being discouraged; fearless

dearth: 
scarcity; shortage of food; famine from failure or loss of crops

debacle: 
sudden downfall; complete disaster

debilitate: 
make weak; enfeeble; impair the strength of

debunk: 
expose as false, exaggerated, worthless; ridicule

decimate: 
destroy or kill a large part of; select by lot and kill one in every ten of

decorum: 
propriety in manners and conduct; good taste in manners; conventions or requirements of polite behavior

deference: 
willingness to carry out the wishes of others; great respect

degredation: 
humiliation

deleterious: 
having harmful effect; injurious; having quality of destroying life; noxious; poisonous

delineate: 
portray; depict; draw or trace outline of; sketch out

demonstrative: 
openly emotional

demure: 
modest and reserved in manner or behavior

demystify: 
clarify; free from mystery or obscurity

denigrate: 
blacken; defame; attack reputation of; degrade

depose: 
force to leave; remove from office

depravity: 
extreme corruption or degradation; wickedness

deprecate: 
express disapproval of; protest against; belittle

depreciation: 
devaluation; decrease in price or value

deride: 
ridicule; make fun of; laugh at with contempt

derivative: 
unoriginal; derived from another source

derogatory: 
expressing low opinion; disparaging; belittling

desecration: 
violate the sacredness of

despondent: 
in low spirits from loss of hope or courage

despot: 
tyrant; harsh, authoritarian ruler; eastern Orthodox bishop

destitute: 
extremely poor; utterly lacking; devoid

deterrent: 
something that discourages; tending to deter

devoid: 
completely lacking; barren or empty

didactic: 
excessively morally instructive

diffident: 
shy

diffuse: 
spread out widely; scatter freely; pour out and cause to spread freely

digress(ion): 
stray from the subject at hand

dilatory: 
tending to waste time

diminutive: 
below the average size; very small; little

dire: 
urgent, dreadful

discern: 
detect; perceive

discomfited: 
disappointed, defeated

discount: 
give reduction in price on

disheartening: 
discouraging

disillusionment: 
disenchantment, disappointment

disingenuous: 
giving a false appearance of frankness; not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating

disparage: 
belittle; speak of in a slighting or disrespectful way; reduce in esteem or rank

dispassionate: 
calm; impartial; unaffected by strong emotion or prejudice

dispel: 
scatter; drive away; cause to vanish

disputatious: 
argumentative; fond of arguing; inclined to dispute

disquiet: 
make uneasy or anxious; trouble

disseminate: 
distribute; spread; scatter like seeds

distaste: 
dislike, aversion

divergent: 
differing; tending to move apart in different directions

divisive: 
creating conflict

divulge: 
reveal; make known to public

doctrine: 
principles presented for belief, as by religious; principle of law; act of teaching; instruction

dormant: 
sleeping; not active but capable of becoming active

dupe: 
easily deceived person; duplicate of photographic image

duplicitous: 
deliberately deceptive

ebullient: 
showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm

eclectic: 
composed of elements from a variety of sources

efface: 
rub or wipe out; make indistinct as if by rubbing

effervesce: 
bubble, fizz

egalitarian: 
belief in equality

elated: 
overjoyed; extremely happy and excited

elicit: 
draw out; bring forth or to light; generate or provoke as response or answer

elucidate: 
make clear or plain, especially by explanation; clarify

elude: 
avoid cleverly; escape perception of

elusive: 
difficult to describe; difficult to detect or grasp by mind

embitter: 
make worse

embroiled: 
throw into confusion; deeply involved especially in something complicated

empathetic: 
compassionate

empirical: 
derived from experiment and observation rather than theory

encompass: 
surround; form a circle or ring around; enclose; envelop

encroaching: 
intrusive

encumbrance: 
burden

enigma: 
puzzle; difficult problem

enumerate: 
list each one; mention one by one

ephemeral: 
short-lived; enduring a very short time

epiphany: 
sudden realization

epitome: 
representative or perfect example of a class or type; brief summary, as of a book or article

equanimity: 
calmness of temperament; steadiness of mind under stress.

equitable: 
marked by or having equity; just and impartial

equivocal: 
open to two or more interpretations and often intended to mislead

erudite: 
learned; scholarly, with emphasis on knowledge gained from books

esoteric: 
hard to understand; known only in a particular group

estrange: 
alienate

eulogy: 
expression of praise, often on the occasion of someone's death

evoke: 
bring out; arouse; call forth

exacting: 
making severe demands; rigorous; requiring great care, effort, or attention

excavate: 
unearth; dig out; make a hole in; hollow out

exemplar: 
representative example

exhibitionist: 
deliberately behaving a certain way to attract attention

exhort: 
urge on or encourage, especially by shouts; make urgent appeal

exorbitant: 
greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation; exceeding proper limits

expedient: 
suitable; appropriate to a purpose; serving to promote your interest

expose: 
set forth; set out to public view

extol: 
praise highly; glorify; celebrate

extricate: 
free, as from difficulties or perplexities; cause to be emitted or evolved

facile: 
done or achieved with little effort or difficulty; ready or fluent

faction: 
a party of persons having a common end in view

fallacious: 
false; tending to mislead; deceptive

fallacy: 
deceptive or false appearance; false notion; deception

fanaticism: 
excessive zeal; extreme devotion to a belief or cause

fastidious: 
difficult to please; having complicated requirements; excessively particular demanding about details

fathom: 
measure the depth; come to understand

felicitious: 
well-suited, happy

finesse: 
refinement and delicacy of performance; skillful, subtle handling

flagrant: 
obvious and offensive, blatant, scandalous; flaming into notice

flippant: 
lacking proper seriousness; speaking freely; talkative; communicative

florid: 
reddish; elaborately or excessively ornamented

flummox: 
confuse

folly: 
foolishness; lack of good sense, understanding, or foresight

foolhardy: 
rash; marked by unthinking boldness

forlorn: 
sad and lonely; wretched; abandoned or left behind

fortitude: 
bravery; force; power to attack or to resist attack

fortuitous: 
accidental; by chance; coming or occurring without any cause

fraudulent: 
cheating; deceitful; planning or using fraud; given to practice of fraud

frugal: 
sparing; economical; costing little; inexpensive

furor: 
great excitement; public disorder or uproar

furtive: 
marked by quiet and caution and secrecy

futile: 
useless; having no useful result; vain

gait: 
manner of walking or stepping; bearing or carriage while moving; walk; rate of moving

gallant: 
courtly; lively and spirited; having or displaying great dignity or nobility

gargantuan: 
huge; of a tremendous size, volume, degree

garish: 
over-bright in color; tastelessly showy

genial: 
friendly; cordial; having a pleasant or friendly disposition or manner

germinate: 
cause to sprout or grow; come into existence

glutton: 
person who eats too much food and drink

grandiose: 
impressive from inherent grandeur; large and impressive, in size, scope or extent

hackneyed: 
repeated too often; over familiar through overuse

hamper: 
put at disadvantage; prevent progress or free movement of

hardy: 
in robust and good health; able to survive under unfavorable conditions

hasten: 
accelerate; quicken

heresy: 
opinion contrary to popular belief; opinion contrary to accepted religion

histrionic: 
characteristic of acting or stage performance

hubris: 
excessive pride or self-confidence