Word lists have two main advantages: they are easy to
find and easy to use. However, each advantage hides a significant
disadvantage. We’ll examine their ubiquity first
(yes, that’s a good word to look up!). SAT vocabulary lists are
everywhere. But most are created simply by reusing a GRE or LSAT
list or by simply compiling what seem to be “hard” words the SAT might use.
The following list of 92 words is different. It was constructed
by counting how many times words appeared on publicly released SAT
tests between 1995 and 2002. Our sample consists of words used as
answer choices in Analogies, Sentence Completions, and Vocabulary-in-Context items.
These 92 words or word groups have appeared at least four times since
1995. While past appearance is no guarantee of future appearance, the
following list will at least give you an idea of the level of vocabulary difficulty
on recent SAT tests.
We eliminated one major disadvantage to SAT word lists:
unlike many—if not most—of the lists out there, ours is based on
an actual frequency analysis of recent SAT tests. Unfortunately,
we can’t help you with the other disadvantages.
Like we said, lists are easy to use. You just cover up
one side, and you’re off! Use the definitions to name the words
or, using the words, provide definitions. What could possibly be
wrong with that? Allow us to list the many disadvantages.
| Word or Word Group |
Definition |
| abandoned |
v: to
give oneself up to (e.g., evil); to cast off or reject |
| accusation (accuse) |
n: an indictment,
a charge of an offense; the act of accusing |
| ambiguity (ambiguous) |
n: hesitation,
doubt; an uncertainty; an instance of double meaning |
| analyze (analyst) |
v: to
examine critically in order to bring out key elements or structure;
to ascertain the elements of something |
| antagonize (-ism, -istic, -ist) |
v: to
struggle against |
| apology (apologize, apologetic) |
n: an acknowledgment
of fault or failure |
| architect (architecture) |
n: a designer
of any complex structure or plan |
| astute |
adj: shrewd,
crafty |
| blueprint |
n: a plan or
program of action |
| boundary |
n: something
that marks the limit or dividing line, or that limit itself |
| canvas |
n: a
type of cloth used in sails, tents, to paint onv: to
solicit support or votes |
| comic (comedy, comedian) |
adj: causing
or intended to cause laughter |
| compassion (-ate) |
n: sympathy,
pity |
| compete (competition, competitive) |
v: to
strive for an objective |
| complex (complexity) |
n: a
group of related elementsadj: formed
by combination; intricate or not easily analyzed |
| comprehensive |
adj: large
in scope; all-inclusive |
| compromise |
n: a
joint agreement between two partiesv:
to come to terms by mutual concessions |
| condemn (condemnation) |
v: to
declare to be wrong or evil |
| conflict |
n: a battle,
a fightv: to
fight or to battle |
| confusion (confused) |
n: the state
of being perplexed |
| consensus |
n: agreement
or unity of opinion |
| contemporary |
adj: occurring
at the same time |
| contempt (contemptuous) |
n: the act of
despising someone or something |
| convention (conventional) |
n: an agreement;
a norm or generally accepted rule, practice, or behavior; an assembly
of people |
| conversation |
n: a spoken interchange;
a talk |
| corrective (correct, correction) |
n: something
that counteracts harm; something that restores health or proper behavior |
| critic (critical, criticism, criticize) |
n: one who judges
the truth or value of any matter |
| debate (debatable) |
n: strife
or contention in argumentv:
to argue, discuss, quarrel over |
| deceit (deceitful, deceive) |
n: misrepresentation
or concealment of the truth; an instance of such behavior |
| defend |
v: to
protect or uphold |
| defined (definable, definition) |
adj: having a
specified outline or form |
| demand |
n: a
request, especially if urgentv: to
ask for or require |
| deride |
v: to
laugh mockingly at; to scorn |
| desert |
v: to
abandon |
| destroy (destruction) |
v: to
ruin or put out of existence |
| determined |
adj: resolved
upon; resolute |
| digress (digression) |
v: to
deviate from or to stray; to depart from the main point in argument |
| discredit |
n: a
lack of reputation; a loss or lack of confidence or trustv: to
injure the reputation of; to disbelieve |
| disease |
n: illness |
| disregard |
v: to
pay no attention to |
| distort (distortion) |
v: to
twist; to misrepresent |
| document |
v: to
prove by evidence |
| dominate (dominance, dominant) |
v: to
master; to prevail |
| doubt (doubtful) |
n: uncertaintyv: to
hesitate to believe; to be uncertain |
| elect (election, electorate) |
v: to
choosen: chosen,
selected |
| emotion |
n: a
state of mind; a strong feeling |
| endurance (endure) |
n: the ability
to last or hold out |
| enhance |
v: to
raise the level of |
| evaporate (evaporation) |
v: to
convert into gas; to disappear |
| exclude (exclusive) |
v: to
keep out; to deny entry to |
| expand (expansion) |
v: to
spread out; to give full expression to |
| generosity (generous) |
adj: magnanimity;
liberality in giving |
| hedonism (hedonist, hedonistic) |
n: the love of
pleasure as the chief goal of life |
| hypocrisy (hypocrite, hypocritical) |
n: the practice
of falsely professing a belief to which one’s own actions do not
conform |
| hypothesis |
n: a proposition
or assumption put forth as the basis for further investigation |
| illusory (illusion) |
adj: deceptive |
| imitate (imitation) |
v: to
mimic or copy |
| integrity |
n: completeness;
free from moral corruption |
| investigate (investigation, investigator) |
v: to
examine a matter thoroughly; to make a systematic search |
| isolation (isolated) |
n: unconnected
with anything else |
| lubricate (lubricant) |
v: to
make slippery or smooth in order to minimize friction |
| manual |
adj: pertaining
to hands, especially labor done by handn: a
book of instruction |
| measure |
n: a
size or quantity determined by measuring; something assessed by
judgment or observationv: to
ascertain size, quantity, or distance; to regulate or restrain |
| modest (modesty) |
adj: having
a moderate estimate of one’s ability; not exaggerated or excessive |
| narrate (narrative, narrator) |
v: to
tell a story |
| navigate (navigable, navigation) |
v: to
find one’s way |
| neglect (negligence, negligent) |
v: to
pay no or insufficient attention to |
| novel (novelty, novelist) |
v: new, originaln:
a usually long prose narrative |
| obey (obedience) |
v: to
comply with or submit to |
| observe (observable, observation) |
v: to
watch carefully; to adhere to (e.g., a custom) |
| offense (offensive) |
n: an attack;
a breach of law, duty, or manners |
| oppose (opponent, opposition) |
v: to
set oneself against; to confront with objections |
| perplex (perplexing, perplexity) |
v: to
confuse; to torment |
| persistent (persistence) |
adj: enduring;
persisting in an action |
| persuade (persuasive) |
v: to
successfully talk someone into an action or belief |
| plot |
n: a small piece
of ground; a plan; a conspiracyv: to
plan, especially a conspiracy |
| preserve |
v: to
keep from harm |
| progress (progressive) |
n: advancement;
developmentv: to
proceed; to move by stages; to move forward |
| prohibitive (prohibit) |
adj: having
the quality of preventing something from happening |
| prosaic (prose) |
adj: commonplace,
dull |
| protagonist |
n: the chief
person in a work of fiction; the leading person in a contest |
| restrain (restraint, restrained) |
v: to
prevent from doing something; to limit |
| revise (revision) |
v: to
look over repeatedly, as in a plan or piece of writing |
| satisfactory (satisfy) |
adj: sufficient,
adequate |
| scrutinize |
v: to
inspect closely; to examine methodically |
| stimulate (stimulant, stimulation,
stimulus) |
v: to rouse to
action; to animate |
| supplant |
v: to
cause the downfall of; to remove from a position |
| suppress |
v: to
cause an activity to cease; to cause a person to become powerless |
| surreptitious |
adj: obtained
by suppression of the truth; acting stealthily or secretly |
| universal |
adj: applicable
in all cases; including or affecting all members of a particular
group; pertaining to the universe |
| varied |
adj: of
different sorts or kinds |
| venerate (venerable, venerability) |
v: to
regard with deep respect; to pay honor to something |
