250 SAT Vocabulary Words You Must Know in 2023

Calling all SAT preppers! If you’ve landed here, odds are you’re in the midst of studying for the big test, engrossing yourself in practice books galore. We here at College Transitions recommend you study often and early—a practice that will prove most advantageous to your score prospects. (For more information on when the SAT is offered and when we recommend taking it, see our guide here. Or if you’re interested in the ACT instead, we have that covered too!) Either way, you’ll need to brush up on those SAT vocabulary words. Have you heard of words like cacophony or loquacious? Can you identify them in a sentence? In this article, we’ll cover the top 250 vocabulary words you should know for the SAT. For the complete vocabulary list, read on ahead. Or, as we might say, peruse the list below!

What Vocabulary Do I Need to Know for the SAT?

Perhaps you’ve heard your parents talk about the good old days of pulling late-night study sessions, reviewing the most esoteric vocabulary words they could find. Don’t worry, that won’t be you. Since 2016, the College Board has revamped the SAT, and the oft-lamented SAT Vocabulary section has drastically changed. Now, the SAT tests your vocabulary within the context of reading passages. Additionally, you will find some vocabulary questions embedded in the Writing and Language section of the SAT, where you’ll be asked to substitute one word for a more fitting one.

So, while you might not need to look for the most arcane words out there, we recommend hitting the books and studying vocabulary lists to guarantee that you achieve the highest score possible. If you’re wondering exactly how high that score needs to land you admission to the nation’s top college, check out our chart of admission rates and statistics. Once you’ve finished reviewing these vocabulary words—or, ideally, while studying them—check out our guide on the top math formulas for the SAT and ACT here.

How to Prepare for the SAT Vocab Section

1. Create flashcards.
   • Make flashcards with the word on one side and the definition on another. Include a sentence or two, so you know how the term is used and what part of speech it occupies.
2. Focus on words you don’t know.
   • Rather than reviewing every word, scan the list for unfamiliar ones and focus on those.
3. Take practice tests.
   • The College Board offers free practice tests. Here’s one for you to try out.
4. Review, review, review.

250 of the Best SAT Vocab Words to Know in 2023

1) abandon – v. give up completely

2) abate – v. lessen

3) abject – adj. completely without pride or dignity

4) aberration – n. deviation from the norm

5) abjure – v. renounce a belief, cause, or claim

6) abnegation – n. renounce or reject something

7) abrogate – v. do away with (a law, right, or responsibility)

8) abscond – v. flee

9) abstruse – adj. dense or obscure

10) abysmal – adj. terrible

11) accede – v. agree to a demand

12) acumen – n. ability to make good judgments

13) adamant – adj. stubborn

14) adapt – v. modify

15) admonish – v. reprimand someone

16) affluent – adj. wealthy

17) alacrity – n. brisk eagerness

18) ambivalence – n. state of uncertainty

19) antipathy – n. strong dislike

20) antiseptic – adj. clean or pure

SAT Vocabulary Words (Continued)

21) assertion – n. statement

22) assiduous – adj. showing great care

23) beguile – v. charm or enchant

24) berate – v. scold or criticize

25) bereft – adj. deprived or lacking

26) blandishment – n. a flattering statement used to persuade someone

27) bias – n. prejudice

28) bombastic – adj. inflated

29) bovine – adj. cow-like

30) braggart – n. someone who boasts

31) brevity – n. concise

32) cacophony – n. a discordant mixture of sounds

33) cajole – v. persuade someone via flattery

34) callous – adj. cruel disregard for others

35) calumny – n. slander

36) camaraderie – n. friendship

37) candid – adj. truthful

38) candor – n. quality of being honest

39) carouse – v. drink and party in a lively way

40) carp – v. complain about trivial matters

SAT Vocabulary Words (Continued)

41) cavort – v. dance around excitedly

42) censorious – adj. critical of others

43) circumlocution – n. using many words, particularly in an evasive way

44) circumscribe – v. restrict within limits

45) clamor – n. a loud and confused noise

46) clout – n. influence or power

47) cognizant – adj. having knowledge of

48) commensurate – adj. equal to

49) comparable – adj. similar to another thing

50) complement – v. add to or make complete

51) compunction – n. a feeling of guilt

52) concomitant – adj. naturally accompanying

53) conduit – n. a vessel or channel for transporting something

54) conflagration – n. a large fire

55) connive – v. trick; conspire

56) consign – v. assign or deliver something into someone else’s custody

57) constituent – adj. being part of a whole

58) construe – v. interpret

59) contend – v. reckon with; struggle against

60) contusion – n. a bruise

SAT Vocab Words (Continued)

61) contrite – adj. feeling of remorse or guilt

62) contentious – adj. likely to cause an argument

63) contravene– adj. violate the order of; conflict

64) convivial – adj. friendly and cheerful environment 

65) corpulence – n. obesity; fatness 

66) covet – v. want greatly

67) cupidity – n. greed for money

68) dearth – n. a lack of something

69) debacle – n. a fiasco or failure

70) debauch – v. ruin or debase, particularly in a moral sense

71) defunct – adj. no longer working

72) demagogue – n. a political leader who appeals to the prejudices of the common people

73) demur – v. show reluctance; raise objections

74) denigrate – v. disparage

75) despot – n. a tyrant

76) diaphanous – adj. light and translucent

77) dirge – n. song of lament for the dead

78) discomfit – v. make someone uncomfortable

79) disparate – adj. different from one another

80) disrepute – n. state of disgrace

SAT Vocabulary Words (Continued)

81) duplicity – n. deceitfulness

82) duress – n. intimidation or coercion to force someone to perform an act

83) eclectic – adj. wide-ranging

84) edict – n. an official order

85) ebullient – adj. cheerful and lively

86) effluvia – n. unpleasant odor

87) egregious – adj. outstandingly bad

88) elegy – n. a poem of reflection, typically a lament for the dead

89) elicit – v. evoke or draw out

90) eloquent – adj. well-spoken

91) elude  – v. escape one’s grasp

92) emollient – adj. soothing  

93) empirical – adj. based on (as evidence)

94) emulate – v. imitate

95) enervate – v. weaken; drain of energy

96) engender – v. bring about

97) ephemeral – adj. short-lived

98) equanimity – n. mental calmness

99) equivocal – adj. ambiguous

100) evanescent – adj. fading quickly from sight

SAT Vocab Words (Continued)

101) evince – v. reveal the presence of

102) exacerbate – v. make worse

103) exhort –v. strongly encourage someone to do something

104) execrable – adj. extremely bad or unpleasant

105) exigent – adj. pressing, demanding

106) expedient – adj. (of an action) convenient though possibly improper   

107) expiate – v. atone for guilt or sin

108) expunge – v. get rid of

109) extraneous – adj. irrelevant

110) extol – v. praise

111) fallacious – adj. false; based on mistaken belief

112) fatuous – adj. silly and pointless

113) flagrant – adj. obviously offensive

114) forbearance – n. restraint; self-control 

115) fortuitous – adj. happening by chance

116) fractious – adj. irritable and difficult to control

117) garrulous – adj. talkative

118) grandiloquent – adj. pompous or extravagant in language, style, or manner

119) gratuitous – adj. uncalled for; unnecessary

120) hapless – adj. unfortunate

SAT Vocabulary Words (Continued)

121) hegemony – n. leadership or dominance, particularly of one country over another

122) heterogenous – adj. not uniform; varied

123) iconoclast – n. a person who veers from the norm; a person who attacks cherished beliefs

124) impecunious – adj. having little money; penniless

125) impetuous – adj. acting without care

126) impinge – v. encroach on

127) impute – v. attribute to

128) inane – adj. ridiculous

129) inchoate – adj. just beginning; not fully formed

130) incontrovertible – adj. unable to be denied

131) inexorable – adj. impossible to prevent

132) inimical – adj. tending to obstruct or harm; unfriendly

133) injunction – n. an authoritative order

134) inoculate – v. immunize someone against

135) insidious – adj. harmful

136) instigate – v. bring about; incite

137) insurgent – n. rebel or revolutionary

138) interlocutor – n. someone engaged in conversation

139) inure – v. to be accustomed to something, particularly something unpleasant  

140) intransigent – adj. stubborn; unwilling to change one’s views

SAT Vocab Words (Continued)

141) inveterate – adj. long-established and unlikely to change (of a habit)

142) irreverence – n. lack of respect for

143) largesse – n. generosity in bestowing money or gifts

144) licentious – adj. promiscuous

145) litigant – n. a person involved in a lawsuit

146) maelstrom – n. a powerful storm; turmoil

147) maudlin – adj. overly sentimental; self-pitying

148) maverick – n. independent-minded person; a nonconformist

149) mawkish – adj. sentimental in a sweet or sickly way

150) maxim – n. a short, pithy statement of truth

151) mendacious – adj. lying

152) meretricious – adj. appearing attractive but having little value

153) modicum – n. a small quantity of something

154) morass – n. a mess; a complicated situation

155) munificent – adj. generous

156) nadir – n. lowest point

157) negligent – adj. failing to do something; neglectful

158) neophyte – n. a person who is new to a subject, skill, or belief

159) noisome – adj. disagreeable; having an offensive smell

160) noxious – adj. poisonous; harmful

SAT Vocabulary Words (Continued)

161) obdurate – adj. stubborn

162) obfuscate – v. render unclear; bewilder someone

163) obstreperous – adj. noisy and difficult to control; disorderly

164) officious – adj. self-assertive, overbearing

165) onerous – adj. involving many obligations or effort

166) ostensible – adj. seemingly so

167) ostracism –  n. exclusion from a group

168) palliate – v. make less severe

169) panacea –  n. a remedy for all diseases 

170) paradigm –  n. typical example or pattern of something; a model

171) pariah – n. an outcast

172) paucity – n. a lack of; scarcity

173) pejorative – adj. expressing contempt or disapproval

174) penchant – n. habitual liking for something; a tendency toward

175) penurious – adj. poverty-stricken

176) pert – adj. attractive; impudent or saucy

177) pernicious – adj. having a harmful effect on

178) pertinacious – adj. holding firmly to a course; determined

179) phlegmatic – adj. self-controlled; calm and stoic  

180) philanthropic – adj. generous, particularly in a monetary sense

SAT Vocab Words (Continued)

181) pithy – adj. concise and expressive

182) plaudit – n. expression of praise

183) plenitude – n. an abundance; full or complete

184) plethora – n. an abundance of

185) potentate – n. monarch or ruler

186) preclude – v. prevent from taking place

187) predilection – n. preference or liking for something

188) probity – n. honesty; integrity 

189) proclivity – n. the tendency toward

190) profligate – adj. recklessly extravagant

191) promulgate – v. promote widely

192) proscribe – v. forbid by law

193) protean – adj. able to change easily

194) prurient – adj. overly sexual

195) puerile – adj. childishly silly

196) pugnacious – adj. quick to fight

197) punctilious – adj. paying attention to detail

198) quaint –adj. old-fashioned

199) quixotic – adj. idealistic

200) quandary – n. state of perplexity; a dilemma

SAT Vocabulary Words (Continued)

201) recalcitrant – adj. uncooperative attitude

202) relegate – v. cast to a lower rank or role

203) remiss – adj. negligent

204) reprieve – n. a cancellation or postponement of a punishment

205) reprobate – n. unprincipled person

206) rescind – v. take back

207) ribald – adj. improper; lewd

208) rife – adj. filled with; widespread

209) sanctimonious – adj. being morally superior to others

210) sanguine – adj. optimistic

211) scurrilous – adj. spreading disparaging claims about someone; slanderous

212) serendipity – n. chance or good luck

213) solicitous – adj. attentive to

214) spurious – adj. statement that appears truthful but is false  

215) staid – adj. sedate, respectable

216) stolid – adj. calm and dependable

217) supercilious – adj. behaving in a haughty manner

218) surfeit – n. excessive amount

219) surreptitious – adj. keep secret

220) tangential – adj. peripheral to the central matter

SAT Vocabulary Words (Continued)

221) terse – adj. brief

222) toady – n. a person who behaves in an obsequious way (a suck-up)  

223) torpid – adj. lethargic; inactive

224) travesty – n. a false representation of something

225) trenchant – adj. vigorous in expression; sharp

226) trounce – v. defeat heavily

227) truculent – adj. eager to argue or fight

228) turpitude – n. depravity, wickedness

229) ubiquitous – adj. present everywhere

230) umbrage – n. offense (i.e., to take umbrage at)

231) undulate – v. move in a wave-like pattern 

232) unmitigated – adj. not lessoned; absolute

233) unveil – v. reveal

234) upbraid – v. scold or find fault with someone

235) upshot – n. the outcome or result of an action 

236) usury – n. unethical money lending

237) veracity – n. truth or accuracy

238) vestige – n. trace or remnant of something gone

239) viability – n. ability to work successfully

240) vicissitude – n. a change of circumstances

SAT Vocab Words (Continued)

241) vilify – v. speak about in a disparaging manner

242) virtuoso – n. highly-skilled person, particularly in the arts

243) vital – adj. necessary

244) vitriolic – adj. filled with hatred

245) vituperate – v. blame or insult someone strongly

246) vociferous – adj. vehement (of speech); outspoken

247) wanton – adj. deliberate and unprovoked; sexually unrestrained

248) winsome – adj. attractive or charming

249) yield – v. surrender, give way to pressure

250) yoke – v. tie two things together

251) zenith – n. the peak

Additional Resources:

If you enjoyed our list of the 250 SAT Words You Must Know, you may also wish to check out the following College Transitions blogs:

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• Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken – Analysis and Meaning
• Themes in the Great Gatsby