SAT Prep: Vocabulary "A"

Source: Sparknotes' The 1000 Most Common SAT Words

For each word make a study card or sheet. Include the word in the middle in the top left place a definition, in the top right write a synonym (a word that means nearly the same thing), in the bottom left write (or draw) an example or write sentence with context clues, and in the bottom right write an antonym (a word that is the opposite of the word. (Not all words have antonyms.) Completing these study cards or sheets is your homework for Wednesday.


Abate (v.) to reduce, lessen (The rain poured down for a while, then abated.)

Abdicate (v.) to give up a position, usually one of leadership (When he realized that the
revolutionaries would surely win, the king abdicated his throne.)

aberration (n.) something that differs from the norm (In 1918, the Boston Red Sox won
the World Series, but the success turned out to be an aberration, and the Red Sox
have not won a World Series since.)

abhor (v.) to hate, detest (Because he always wound up kicking himself in the head
when he tried to play soccer, Oswald began to abhor the sport.)

abjure (v.) to reject, renounce (To prove his honesty, the President abjured the evil
policies of his wicked predecessor.)

abscond (v.) to sneak away and hide (In the confusion, the super-spy absconded into the
night with the secret plans.)

absolution (n.) freedom from blame, guilt, sin (Once all the facts were known, the jury
gave Angela absolution by giving a verdict of not guilty.)

accentuate (v.) to stress, highlight (Psychologists agree that those people who are
happiest accentuate the positive in life.)

accost (v.) to confront verbally (Though Antoinette was normally quite calm, when the
waiter spilled soup on her for the fourth time in 15 minutes she stood up and accosted
the man.)

acerbic (adj.) biting, bitter in tone or taste (Jill became extremely acerbic and began to
cruelly make fun of all her friends.)

acquiesce (v.) to agree without protesting (Though Mr. Correlli wanted to stay outside
and work in his garage, when his wife told him that he had better come in to dinner,
he acquiesced to her demands.)

acrimony (n.) bitterness, discord (Though they vowed that no girl would ever come
between them, Biff and Trevor could not keep acrimony from overwhelming their
friendship after they both fell in love with the lovely Teresa.)

acumen (n.) keen insight (Because of his mathematical acumen, Larry was able to figure
out in minutes problems that took other students hours.)

acute 1. (adj.) sharp, severe (Arnold could not walk because the pain in his foot was so
acute.) 2. (adj.) having keen insight (Because she was so acute, Libby instantly
figured out how the magician pulled off his “magic.”)

admonish (v.) to caution, criticize, reprove (Joe’s mother admonished him not to ruin
his appetite by eating cookies before dinner.)

adroit (adj.) skillful, dexterous (The adroit thief could pick someone’s pocket without
attracting notice.)

aesthetic (adj.) artistic, related to the appreciation of beauty (We hired Susan as our
interior decorator because she has such a fine aesthetic sense.)

affable (adj.) friendly, amiable (People like to be around George because he is so affable
and good-natured.)

aggregate 1. (n.) a whole or total (The three branches of the U.S. Government form an
aggregate much more powerful than its individual parts.) 2. (v.) to gather into a
mass (The dictator tried to aggregate as many people into his army as he possibly
could.)

agnostic (adj.) believing that the existence of God cannot be proven or disproven
(Joey’s parents are very religious, but he is agnostic.)

alacrity (n.) eagerness, speed (For some reason, Chuck loved to help his mother
whenever he could, so when his mother asked him to set the table he did so with
alacrity.)

allay (v.) to soothe, ease (The chairman of the Federal Reserve gave a speech to try to
allay investors’ fears about an economic downturn.)

ambiguous (adj.) uncertain, variably interpretable (Some people think Caesar married
Cleopatra for her power, others believe he was charmed by her beauty. His actual
reasons are ambiguous.)

anachronistic (adj.) being out of correct chronological order (In this book you’re
writing, you say that the Pyramids were built after the Titanic sank, which is
anachronistic.)

analogous (adj.) similar to, so that an analogy can be drawn (Though they are unrelated
genetically, the bone structure of whales and fish is quite analogous.)

anathema (n.) a cursed, detested person (I never want to see that murderer. He is an
anathema to me.)

anecdote (n.) a short, humorous account (After dinner, Marlon told an anecdote about
the time he got his nose stuck in a toaster.)

annex 1. (v.) to incorporate territory or space (After defeating them in battle, the
Russians annexed Poland.) 2. (n.) a room attached to a larger room or space (He
likes to do his studying in a little annex attached to the main reading room in the
library.)
annul (v.) to make void or invalid (After seeing its unforeseen and catastrophic effects,

Congress sought to annul the law.)

anomaly (n.) something that does not fit into the normal order (“That rip in the spacetime
continuum is certainly a spatial anomaly,” said Spock to Captain Kirk.)

antipathy (n.) a strong dislike, repugnance (I know you love me, but because you are a
liar and a thief, I feel nothing but antipathy for you.)

antithesis (n.) the absolute opposite (Your values, which hold war and violence in the
highest esteem, are the antithesis of my pacifist beliefs.)

apathetic (adj.) lacking concern, emotion (Uninterested in politics, Bruno was
apathetic about whether he lived under a capitalist or communist regime.)

apocryphal (adj.) fictitious, false, wrong (Because I am standing before you, it seems
obvious that the stories circulating about my demise were apocryphal.)

approbation (n.) praise (The crowd welcomed the heroes with approbation.)

arboreal (adj.) of or relating to trees (Leaves, roots, and bark are a few arboreal traits.)

arcane (adj.) obscure, secret, known only by a few (The professor is an expert in arcane
Lithuanian literature.)

archaic (adj.) of or relating to an earlier period in time, outdated (In a few select regions
of Western Mongolian, an archaic Chinese dialect is still spoken.)

archetypal (adj.) the most representative or typical example of something (Some
believe George Washington, with his flowing white hair and commanding stature,
was the archetypal politician.)

ascertain (v.) to perceive, learn (With a bit of research, the student ascertained that
some plants can live for weeks without water.)

ascetic (adj.) practicing restraint as a means of self-discipline, usually religious (The
priest lives an ascetic life devoid of television, savory foods, and other pleasures.)

assiduous (adj.) hard-working, diligent (The construction workers erected the
skyscraper during two years of assiduous labor.)

assuage (v.) to ease, pacify (The mother held the baby to assuage its fears.)

atrophy (v.) to wither away, decay (If muscles do not receive enough blood, they will
soon atrophy and die.)

avarice (n.) excessive greed (The banker’s avarice led him to amass a tremendous
personal fortune.)