Most Frequently Tested SAT Words

Mean SAT Score for reading and math tests, by year
Mean SAT Score for reading and math tests, by year (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
by Celia Webb

Preparing for the SAT requires mastering vocabulary. To get you started, here are the 95 most frequently tested words in the test.

This list was compiled by comparing frequently-tested word lists from the major SAT preparation companies.

The companies had reviewed hundreds of SAT examinations to compile their lists. These lists varied in their content.

The lists from these companies, no doubt, used different examinations in their review thus accounting for the differences.

The words which were included in at least three of the college preparation lists are given below. Seven words were included on all lists reviewed and are marked with an asterisk. Some words occurred in various forms and the forms are noted in parenthesis.

If you are preparing for the GRE or GMAT, find lists specifically for those tests. There is virtually no overlap between the most frequently tested words on the SAT and those on the graduate-level exams.

Master these words by working with them in at least three different ways. Multiple approaches create a stronger recall connection in your brain.

• Try making flashcards by hand.
• Post a list of five words on your mirror each day with the goal of memorizing them while you brush your teeth.
• Keep a notebook in which you write the word, its definition, and then a sentence using the word.
• Record the words and their definitions and then play it back while you are waiting in line or riding the bus.
• Try making a rhyme or poem with the words.
• Ask one of your parents, siblings, or friends to quiz you.
• Doodle the words on scrap paper. Don't just write the letters; make them artistic and colorful.

Most commonly tested words:

  1. Abbreviate - To shorten; abridge
  2. Adversity - Misfortune; an unfortunate turn of events
  3. Aesthetic - Pertaining to beauty
  4. Amicable - Friendly; agreeable
  5. Anachronistic - Out-of-date; attributed to the wrong historical period
  6. Arid - Very dry
  7. Asylum - Place of retreat or security
  8. Benevolent - Well-meaning; generous
  9. Camaraderie - Goodwill between friends
  10. Censure - To criticize harshly
  11. Circuitous - Indirect; taking the longest route
  12. Clairvoyant - Can predict the future
  13. Cogent - Convincing; reasonable
  14. Collaborate - To work together; to cooperate
  15. Compassion - Sympathy
  16. Compromise - Meeting in the middle, settling differences
  17. Condescending - Patronizing
  18. Conditional - Contingent upon something else
  19. Conformist - Someone who follows the majority
  20. Deleterious - Having a harmful effect; injurious
  21. Demagogue - Rabble-rousing leader
  22. Digression - straying from the main point
  23. Diligent - Marked by painstaking effort; hard-working
  24. Discredit - Dishonor someone; prove something untrue
  25. Disdain - To regard with scorn
  26. Divergent - Moving apart; going in different directions
  27. Ebullience - Intense enthusiasm
  28. Empathy - Feeling someone else's feelings
  29. Emulate - Following someone else's example
  30. Enervating - Tiring
  31. Ephemeral - Fleeting; temporary
  32. Evanescent - Not lasting long
  33. Exculpate - To free from guilt or blame
  34. Exemplary - Outstanding
  35. Extenuating - Something that makes the situation not as bad
  36. Fastidious - Careful attention to detail; difficult to please
  37. Florid - Describing flowery or elaborate speech; ornate
  38. Fortuitous - Lucky
  39. Frugal - Thrifty
  40. Hackneyed - Worn out through overuse; trite
  41. Haughty - Being arrogant; talking down to people
  42. Hedonist - person who acts in pursuit of pleasure
  43. Hypothesis - Unproven theory; educated guess
  44. Imperious (imperial) - Arrogantly domineering or overbearing
  45. Impetuous - Rash; impulsive
  46. Impute - To assign or attribute to someone
  47. Inconsequential - Without consequence; trivial; does not matter
  48. Inevitable - Unavoidable, definitely going to happen
  49. Intrepid - Courageous; fearless
  50. Intuitive - Knowing something by instinct
  51. Jubilation (jubilant) - Extreme happiness; joy
  52. Lobbyist - Person who takes one side or the other and persuades government officials
  53. Longevity - Long (particularly long life)
  54. Mundane - Boring; ordinary
  55. Nonchalant - Casual; calm; at ease
  56. Novice - A beginner
  57. Obdurate - Stubborn; inflexible
  58. Opulent - Display of great wealth
  59. Orator - Speaker
  60. Ostentatious - Showy or pretentious display
  61. Parched - Freed from water; dried up
  62. Pejorative - Words or phrases that belittle someone
  63. Perfidious (perfidy) - Disloyal
  64. Pragmatic - Practical
  65. Precocious - Gifted; talented beyond one's years
  66. Pretentious - Being self important; thinking you are better than others
  67. Procrastinate - To delay, often unnecessarily
  68. Prosaic - Unimaginative; dull; ordinary
  69. Prosperity - Wealth
  70. Provocative (provoke) - Causes a fuss; inflammatory; likely to get people riled up
  71. Prudent - Careful; wise
  72. Pugnacious - Combative; belligerent
  73. Querulous - Irritable; prone to argument
  74. Rancorous (rancor) - Hateful; marked by deep-seated ill will
  75. Reclusive - Withdrawn
  76. Reconciliation - Coming back together after a disagreement
  77. Renovation - Being new; being redone
  78. Restrained - Controlled; not free
  79. Reverence - Deep respect
  80. Sagacity - Wisdom
  81. Scrutinize - To look at carefully
  82. Spontaneous (spontaneity) - Being impulsive; acting without thinking
  83. Spurious - Not genuine; false; counterfeit
  84. Submissive - Mild; meek
  85. Substantiate - To confirm; prove
  86. Subtle - Shy; small; not showy
  87. Superficial - Shallow
  88. Superfluous - Extra; unnecessary
  89. Surreptitiously (surreptitious) - Done by secretive means
  90. Tactful - Polite
  91. Tenacity (tenacious) - Persistence
  92. Transient - Passing away with time; passing from time to time
  93. Venerated (venerable; venerate) - Highly respected
  94. Vindicated (vindicate) - Freed from blame
  95. Wary - Careful; watchful

You will want to study many more vocabulary words in preparation for the SAT, but this list will give you a good beginning. Study hard and do your best.

Celia Webb, President of Pilinut Press, Inc., publishers of advanced readers for children and ESL students. Check out http://www.pilinutpress.com for more free articles on developing reading-related skills, word games and puzzles, and activity sheets for the company's entertaining and educational books.

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