SAT High Frequency
Terms
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- abridge
- v. condense or shorten
- abstemious
- adj. sparing in eating and drinking; temperate
- abstract
- adj. theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational
- abstruse
- adj. obscure; profound; difficult to understand
- accessible
- adj. easy to approach; obtainable
- acclaim
- v. applaud; announce with great approval
- acknowledge
- v. recognize; admit
- adulation
- n. flattery; admiration
- adversary
- n. opponent
- adversity
- n. poverty; misfortune
- advocate
- v. urge; plead for
- aesthetic
- adj. artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciation of the beautiful
- affable
- adj. easily approachable; warmly friendly
- affirmation
- n. positive assertion; confirmation; solemn pledge by one who refuses to take an oath
- alleviate
- v. relieve
- aloof
- adj. apart; reserved
- altruistic
- adj. unselfishly generous; concerned for others
- ambiguous
- adj. unclear or doubtful in meaning
- ambivalence
- n. the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes
- analogous
- adj. comparable
- anarchist
- n. person who seeks to overturn the established government; advocate of abolishing authority
- anecdote
- n. short account of an amusing or interesting event
- animosity
- n. active enmity
- antagonism
- n. hostility; active resistance
- antidote
- n. medicine to counteract a poison or disease
- antiquated
- adj. old-fashioned; obsolete
- apathy
- n. lack of caring; indifference
- appease
- v. pacify or soothe; relieve
- apprehension
- n. fear
- arbitrary
- adj. capricious; randomly chosen; tyrannical
- archaic
- adj. antiquated
- arrogance
- n. pride; haughtiness
- articulate
- adj. effective; distinct
- artifact
- n. object made by human beings, either hand-made or mass-produced
- artisan
- n. manually skilled worker; craftsman, as opposed to artist
- ascendancy
- n. controlling influence; domination
- ascetic
- adj. practicing self-denial; austere
- aspire
- v. seek to attain; long for
- astute
- adj. wise; shrewd; keen
- attribute
- v. ascribe; explain
- augment
- v. increase; add to
- austere
- adj. forbiddingly stern; severely simple and unorgnamented
- authoritarian
- adj. subordinating the individual to the state; completely dominating another's will
- autonomous
- adj. self-governing
- aversion
- n. firm dislike
- belie
- v. contradict; give a false impression
- benevolent
- adj. generous; charitable
- bolster
- v. support; reinforce
- braggart
- n. boaster
- brevity
- n. conciseness
- cajole
- v. coax; wheedle
- calculated
- adj. deliberately planned; likely
- candor
- n. frankness; open honesty
- capricious
- adj. unpredictable; fickle
- censorious
- adj. critical
- censure
- v. blame; criticize
- coercion
- n. use of force to get someone to obey
- commemorate
- v. honor the memory of
- compile
- v. assemble; gather; accumulate
- complacency
- n. self-satisfaction; smugness
- compliance
- n. readiness to yield; conformity in fulfilling requirements
- composure
- n. mental calmness
- comprehensive
- adj. thorough; inclusive
- concede
- v. admit; yield
- conciliatory
- adj. reconciling; soothing
- concise
- adj. brief and compact
- concur
- v. agree
- condone
- v. overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse
- conflagration
- n. great fire
- confound
- v. confuse; puzzle
- consensus
- n. general agreement
- constraint
- n. compulsion; repression of feelings
- contend
- v. struggle; compete; assert earnestly
- contentious
- adj. quarrelsome
- contract
- v. compress or shrink; make a pledge; catch a disease
- conviction
- n. judgment that someone is guilty of a crime; strongly held belief
- cordial
- adj. gracious; heartfelt
- corroborate
- v. confirm; support
- credulity
- n. belief on slight evidence; gullibility; naivete
- criterion
- n. standard used in judging
- cryptic
- adj. mysterious; hidden; secret
- cursory
- adj. casual; hastily done
- curtail
- v. shorten; reduce
- decorum
- n. propriety; orderliness and good taste in manners
- deference
- n. courteous regard for another's wish
- degradation
- n. humiliation; debasement; degeneration
- delineate
- v. portray; depict; sketch
- denounce
- v. condemn; criticize
- deplore
- v. regret; disapprove of
- depravity
- n. extreme corruption; wickedness
- deprecate
- v. express disapproval of; protest against; belittle
- deride
- v. ridicule; make fun of
- derivative
- adj. unoriginal derived from another source
- despondent
- adj. depressed; gloomy
- detached
- adj. emotionally removed; calm and objetive; physically unconnected
- deterrent
- n. something that discourages; hindrance
- detrimental
- adj. harmful; damaging
- devious
- adj. roundabout; erratic; not straightforward
- devise
- v. think up; invent; plan
- diffuse
- adj. wordy; rambling; spread out (like a gas)
- digression
- n. wandering away from the subject
- diligence
- n. steadiness of effort; persistent hard work
- diminution
- n. lessening; reduction in size
- discerning
- adj. mentally quick and observant; having insight
- disclose
- v. reveal
- discordant
- adj. not harmonious; conflicting
- discount
- v. disregard; dismiss
- discrepancy
- n. lack of consistency; difference
- discriminating
- adj. able to see differences; prejudiced
- disdain
- v. view with scorn or contempt
- disinclination
- n. unwillingness
- dismiss
- v. put away from consideration; reject
- disparage
- v. belittle
- disparity
- n. difference; condition of inequality
- disperse
- v. scatter
- disputatious
- adj. argumentative; fond of arguing
- disseminate
- v. distribute; spread; scatter (like seeds)
- dissent
- v. disagree
- divergent
- adj. differing, deviating
- doctrine
- n. teachings, in general; particular principle (religious, legal, etc) taught
- document
- v. provide written evidence
- dogmatic
- adj. opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal
- dubious
- adj. questionable; filled with doubt
- duplicity
- n. double-dealing; hypocrisy
- eclectic
- adj. composed of elements drawn from disparate sources
- egotistical
- adj. excessively self-centered; self-important; conceited
- elated
- adj. overjoyed; in high spirits
- eloquence
- n. expressiveness; persuasive speech
- elusive
- adj. evasive; baffling; hard to grasp
- embellish
- v. adorn; ornament
- emulate
- v. irritate; rival
- endorse
- v. approve; support
- enhance
- v. increase; improve
- enigma
- n. puzzle; mystery
- enmity
- n. ill will; hatred
- ephemeral
- adj. short-lived; fleeting
- equivocal
- adj. ambiguous; intentionally misleading
- erroneous
- adj. mistaken; wrong
- erudite
- adj. learned; scholarly
- esoteric
- adj. hard to understand; known only to the chosen few
- eulogy
- n. expression of praise, often on the occasion of someone's death
- euphemism
- n. mild expression in place of an unpleasant one
- exacerbate
- v. worsen; embitter
- exalt
- v. raise in rank or dignity; praise
- execute
- v. put into effect; carry out
- exemplary
- adj. serving as a model; outstanding
- exemplify
- v. serve as an example of; embody
- exhaustive
- adj. thorough; comprehensive
- exhilarating
- adj. invigorating and refreshing; cheering
- exonerate
- v. acquit; exulpate
- expedient
- adj. suitable; practical; politic
- expedite
- v. hasten
- explicit
- adj. totally clear; definite; outspoken
- exploit
- v. make use of, sometimes unjustly
- extol
- v. praise; glorify
- extraneous
- adj. not essential; superfluous
- extricate
- v. free; disentangle
- exuberance
- n. overflowing abundance; joyful enthusiasm; flamboyance; lavishness
- facilitate
- v. help bring about; make less difficult
- fallacious
- adj. false; misleading
- fanaticism
- n. excessive zeal; extreme devotion to a belief or cause
- fastidious
- adj. difficult to please; squeamish
- feasible
- adj. practical
- fervor
- n. glowing ardor; intensity of feeling
- flagrant
- adj. conspicuously wicked; blatant; outrageous
- frivolous
- adj. lacking in seriousness; self-indulgently carefree; relatively unimportant
- frugality
- n. thrift; economy
- furtive
- adj. stealthy; sneaky
- garrulous
- adj. loquacious; wordy; talkative
- glutton
- n. someone who eats too much
- gratify
- v. please
- gratuitous
- adj. given freely; unwarranted; uncalled for
- gravity
- n. seriousness
- gregarious
- adj. sociable
- guile
- n. deceit; duplicity; williness; cunning
- gullible
- adj. easily deceived
- hamper
- v. obstruct
- hardy
- adj. sturdy; robust; able to stand inclement weather
- haughtiness
- n. pride; arrogance
- hedonist
- n. one who believes that pleasure is the sole aim in life
- heresy
- n. opinion contrary to popular belief; opinion contrary to accepted religion
- hierarchy
- n. arrangement by rank or standing; authoritarian body divided into ranks
- homogeneous
- adj. of the same kind
- hypocritical
- adj. pretending to be virtuous; deceiving
- hypothetical
- adj. based on assumptions or hypotheses; supposed
- idiosyncrasy
- n. individual trait, usually odd in nature; eccentricity
- illusory
- adj. deceptive; not real
- immutable
- adj. unchangeable
- impair
- v. injure; hurt
- impeccable
- adj. faultless
- impede
- v. hinder; block; delay
- implausible
- adj. unlikely; unbelievable
- implement
- v. put into effect; supply with tools
- impudence
- n. impertinence; insolence
- inadvertent
- adv. unintentionally; by oversight; carelessly
- inane
- adj. silly, senseless
- incisive
- adj. cutting; sharp
- incite
- v. arouse to action; goad; motivate; induce to exist
- inclusive
- adj. tending to include all
- incongruous
- adj. not fitting; absurd
- inconsequential
- adj. insignificant; unimportant
- incorrigible
- adj. not correctable
- indict
- v. charge
- indifferent
- adj. unmoved or unconcerned by; mediocre
- indiscriminate
- adj. choosing at random; confused
- induce
- v. persuade; bring about
- inert
- adj. inactive; lacking power to move
- ingenious
- adj. clever; resourceful
- inherent
- adj. firmly established by nature or habit
- innate
- adj. inborn
- innocuous
- adj. harmless
- innovation
- n. change; introduction of something new
- insipid
- adj. lacking in flavor; dull
- instigate
- v. urge; start; provoke
- insularity
- n. narrow-mindedness; isolation
- integrity
- n. uprightness; wholeness
- intervene
- v. come between
- intimidate
- v. frighten
- intrepid
- adj. fearless
- inundate
- v. overwhelm; flood; submerge
- invert
- v. turn upside down or inside out
- ironic
- adj. resulting in an unexpected and contrary outcome
- lament
- v. grieve; express sorrow
- laud
- v. praise
- lavish
- adj. generous; openhanded; extravagant; wasteful
- lethargic
- adj. drowsy; dull
- levity
- n. lack of seriousness; lightness
- linger
- v. loiter or dawdle; continue or persist
- listless
- adj. lacking in spirit or energy
- lofty
- adj. very high
- malicious
- adj. hateful; spiteful
- marred
- adj. damaged; disfigured
- materialism
- n. preoccupation with physical comforts and things
- methodical
- adj. systematic
- meticulous
- adj. excessively careful; painstaking; scrupulous
- miserly
- adj. stingy; mean
- mitigate
- v. appease; moderate
- morose
- adj. ill-humored; sullen; melancholy
- mundane
- adj. worldly as opposed to spiritual; everyday
- negate
- v. cancel out; nullify; deny
- nonchalance
- n. indifference; lack of concern; composure
- notoriety
- n. disrepute; ill fame
- novelty
- n. something new; newness
- nurture
- v. nourish; educate; foster
- obliterate
- v. destroy completely
- oblivion
- n. obscurity; forgetfulness
- obscure
- v. darken; make unclear
- obstinate
- adj. stubborn; hard to control or treat
- ominous
- adj. threatening
- opaque
- adj. dark; not transparent