ssat.vn – SAT vocabulary is often the most difficult part for test-takers because the SAT does not limit the topic and number of words to study. So what are the 200 most difficult SAT words?
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Why is SAT vocabulary so difficult to learn?
SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) is a mandatory test for students who desire to study at universities in the US, which is managed by Educational Testing Service under the name of the non-profit organization College Board. SAT often causes difficulties for students because besides requiring good reading comprehension in English, the SAT also requires test-takers to build a solid foundation of specialized vocabulary to complete the reading comprehension and essays.
For more: Is IB Math AI really difficult?
SAT vocabulary is hard because SAT vocabulary topics focus on the economic field, most of the words are quite unfamiliar, hard to memorize and difficult to remember, especially for Vietnamese students that economics was not familiar in the curriculum before. In addition to the “shocking” economic vocabulary, SAT also spans many other fields in life such as Literature, Law, Culture – Society, Science (Biology, Physics, Chemistry) that require test-takers to maximize their ability to memorize and apply academic vocabulary to the SAT sections.
Below are the 200 most difficult SAT words that are compiled based on common criteria but cause many difficulties for candidates in the process of SAT preparation.
For more: Top 5 useful SAT exam preparation websites
200 most difficult SAT words
- abjure (v): to reject, renounce
- abrogate (v.): to abolish, usually by authority
- acerbic (adj.): biting, bitter in tone or taste
- acrimony (n.): bitterness, discord
- acumen (n.): keen insight
- adumbrate (v.): to sketch out in a vague way
- alacrity (n.): eagerness, speed
- anathema (n.): a cursed, detested person
- antipathy(n.): a strong dislike, repugnance
- approbation (n.): praise
- arrogate (v.): to take without justification
- ascetic (adj.): practicing restraint as a means of self-discipline, usually religious
- aspersion (n.): a curse, expression of ill-will
- assiduous (adj.): hard-working, diligent
- blandish (v.): to coax by using flattery
- boon (n.): a gift or blessing
- brusque (adj.): short, abrupt, dismissive
- buffet
- (v.): to strike with force
- (n.) an arrangement of food set out on a table
- burnish (v.): to polish, shine
- buttress
- (v.) to support, hold up
- (n.) something that offers support
- cacophony (n.): tremendous noise, disharmonious sound
- cajole (v.): to urge, coax
- calumny (n.): an attempt to spoil someone else’s reputation by spreading lies
- capricious (adj.): subject to whim, fickle
- clemency (n.): mercy
- cogent (adj.): intellectually convincing
- concomitant (adj.): accompanying in a subordinate fashion
- conflagration (n.): great fire
- contrite (adj.): penitent, eager to be forgiven
- conundrum (n.): puzzle, problem
- credulity (n.): readiness to believe
- cupidity (n.): greed, strong desire
- cursory (adj.): brief to the point of being superficial
- decry (v.): to criticize openly
- defile (v.): to make unclean, impure
- deleterious (adj.): harmful
- demure (adj.): quiet, modest, reserved
- deprecate (v.): to belittle, depreciate
- deride (v.): to laugh at mockingly, scorn
- desecrate (v.): to violate the sacredness of a thing or place
- desiccated (adj.): dried up, dehydrated
- diaphanous (adj.): light, airy, transparent
- diffident (adj.): shy, quiet, modest
- discursive (adj.): rambling, lacking order
- dissemble (v.): to conceal, fake
- dither (v.): to be indecisive
- ebullient (adj.): extremely lively, enthusiastic
- effrontery (n.): impudence, nerve, insolence
- effulgent (adj.): radiant, splendorous
- egregious (adj.): extremely bad
- enervate (v.): to weaken, exhaus
- ephemeral (adj.): short-lived, fleeting
- eschew (v.): to shun, avoid
- evanescent (adj.): fleeting, momentary
- evince (v.): to show, reveal
- exculpate (v.): to free from guilt or blame, exonerate
- execrable (adj.): loathsome, detestable
- exigent (adj.): urgent, critical
- expiate (v.): to make amends for, atone
- expunge (v.): to obliterate, eradicate
- extant (adj.): existing, not destroyed or lost
- extol (v.): to praise, revere
- fallacious (adj.): incorrect, misleading
- fastidious (adj.): meticulous, demanding, having high and often unattainable standards
- fatuous (adj.): silly, foolish
- fecund (adj.): fruitful, fertile
- feral (adj.): wild, savage
- fetid (adj.): having a foul odor
- florid (adj.): flowery, ornate
- fractious (adj.): troublesome or irritable
- garrulous (adj.): talkative, wordy
- grandiloquence (n.): lofty, pompous language
- gregarious (adj.): drawn to the company of others, sociable
- hackneyed (adj.): unoriginal, trite
- hapless (adj.): unlucky
- harangue
- (n.) a ranting speech
- (v.) to give such a speech
- hegemony (n.): domination over others
- iconoclast (n.): one who attacks common beliefs or institutions
- ignominious (adj.): humiliating, disgracing
- impassive (adj.): stoic, not susceptible to suffering
- imperious (adj.): commanding, domineering
- impertinent (adj.): rude, insolent
- impervious (adj.): impenetrable, incapable of being affected
- impetuous (adj.): rash; hastily done
- impinge
- (v.) to impact, affect, make an impression
- (v.) to encroach, infringe
- implacable (adj.): incapable of being appeased or mitigated
- impudent (adj.): casually rude, insolent, impertinent
- inchoate (adj.): unformed or formless, in a beginning stage
- incontrovertible (adj.): indisputable
- indefatigable (adj.): incapable of defeat, failure, decay
- ineffable (adj.): unspeakable, incapable of being expressed through words
- inexorable (adj.): incapable of being persuaded or placated
- ingenuous (adj.): not devious; innocent and candid
- inimical (adj.): hostile
- iniquity (n.): wickedness or sin
- insidious (adj.): appealing but imperceptibly harmful, seductive
- intransigent (adj.): refusing to compromise, often on an extreme opinion
- inure (v.): to cause someone or something to become accustomed to a situation
- invective (n.): an angry verbal attack
- inveterate (adj.): stubbornly established by habit
- jubilant (adj.): extremely joyful, happy
- juxtaposition (n.): the act of placing two things next to each other for implicit comparison
- laconic (adj.): terse in speech or writing
- languid (adj.): sluggish from fatigue or weakness
- largess (n.): the generous giving of lavish gifts
- latent (adj.): hidden, but capable of being exposed
- legerdemain (n.): deception, sleight-of-hand
- licentious (adj.): displaying a lack of moral or legal restraints
- limpid (adj.): clear, transparent
- maelstrom (n.): a destructive whirlpool which rapidly sucks in objects
- magnanimous (adj.): noble, generous
- malediction (n.): a curse
- malevolent (adj.): wanting harm to befall others
- manifold (adj.): diverse, varied
- maudlin (adj.): weakly sentimental
- mawkish (adj.): characterized by sick sentimentality
- mendacious (adj.): having a lying, false character
- mercurial (adj.): characterized by rapid change or temperamentality
- modicum (n.): a small amount of something
- morass (n.): a wet swampy bog; figuratively, something that traps and confuses
- multifarious (adj.): having great diversity or variety
- munificence (n.): generosity in giving
- myriad (adj.): consisting of a very great number
- nadir (n.): the lowest point of something
- nascent (adj.): in the process of being born or coming into existence
- nefarious (adj.): heinously villainous
- neophyte (n.): someone who is young or inexperienced
- obdurate (adj.): unyielding to persuasion or moral influences
- obfuscate (v.): to render incomprehensible
- oblique (adj.): diverging from a straight line or course, not straightforward
- obsequious (adj.): excessively compliant or submissive
- obstreperous (adj.): noisy, unruly
- obtuse (adj.): lacking quickness of sensibility or intellect
- odious (adj.): instilling hatred or intense displeasure
- officious (adj.): offering one’s services when they are neither wanted nor needed
- opulent (adj.): characterized by rich abundance verging on ostentation
- ostensible (adj.): appearing as such, seemingly
- palliate (v.): to reduce the severity of
- pallid (adj.): lacking color
- panacea (n.): a remedy for all ills or difficulties
- paragon (n.): a model of excellence or perfection
- pariah (n.): an outcast
- parsimony (n.): frugality, stinginess
- pathos (n.): an emotion of sympathy
- paucity (adj.): small in quantity
- pejorative (adj.): derogatory, uncomplimentary
- pellucid (adj.): easily intelligible, clear
- penurious (adj.): miserly, stingy
- perfidious (adj.): disloyal, unfaithful
- perfunctory (adj.): showing little interest or enthusiasm
- pernicious (adj.): extremely destructive or harmful
- perspicacity (adj.): shrewdness, perceptiveness
- pertinacious (adj.): stubbornly persistent
- petulance (n.): rudeness, irritability
- pithy (adj.): concisely meaningful
- platitude (n.): an uninspired remark, cliché
- plethora (n.): abundance, excess
- polemic (n.): an aggressive argument against a specific opinion
- portent (n.): an omen
- precocious (adj.): advanced, developing ahead of time
- prescient (adj.): to have foreknowledge of events
- primeval (adj.): original, ancient
- probity (n.): virtue, integrity
- proclivity (n.): a strong inclination toward something
- promulgate (v.): to proclaim, make known
- propensity (n.): an inclination, preference
- propitious (adj.): favorable
- prosaic (adj.): plain, lacking liveliness
- proscribe (v.): to condemn, outlaw
- protean (adj.): able to change shape; displaying great variety
- prurient (adj.): eliciting or possessing an extraordinary interest in sex
- puerile (adj.): juvenile, immature
- pugnacious (adj.): quarrelsome, combative
- pulchritude (n.): physical beauty
- punctilious (adj.): eager to follow rules or conventions
- quagmire (n.): a difficult situation
- querulous (adj.): whiny, complaining
- quixotic (adj.): idealistic, impractical
- rancor (n.): deep, bitter resentment
- rebuke (v.): to scold, criticize
- rectitude (n.): uprightness, extreme morality
- replete (adj.): full, abundant
- reprobate (adj.): evil, unprincipled
- reprove (v.): to scold, rebuke
- repudiate (v.): to reject, refuse to accept
- rescind (v.): to take back, repeal
- restive (adj.): resistant, stubborn, impatient
- ribald (adj.): coarsely, crudely humorous
- rife (adj.): abundant
- ruse (n.): a trick
- sacrosanct (adj.): holy, something that should not be criticized
- sagacity (n.): shrewdness, soundness of perspective
- salient (adj.): significant, conspicuous
- sanctimonious (adj.): giving a hypocritical appearance of piety
- sanguine (adj.): optimistic, cheery
- scurrilous (adj.): vulgar, coarse
- serendipity (n.): luck, finding good things without looking for them
- servile (adj.): subservient
- solicitous (adj.): concerned, attentive
- transient (adj.): passing through briefly; passing into and out of existence
For more: SAT exam preparation center in HCMC
All SAT vocabulary is leveled from medium to higher difficulty and is applied, assessed, and tested based on the context of the passage. Therefore, you should immediately pocket the tips to learn SAT vocabulary for reference such as:
- Learning vocabulary according to the level of easy – medium – advanced: Many of you mistakenly think that when studying for the SAT, you should jump right into memorizing difficult words first and then medium and easy, this is completely wrong! Learning easy vocabulary first will motivate you to study and help you form the habit of learning vocabulary and how to associate words with context, then increase the difficulty and number of words.
- Learn vocabulary by preparing for the SAT from the real test: Learning vocabulary by taking the SAT can help you remember words better, make up for a poor vocabulary, reinforce learned vocabulary, and enhance in practicing how to solve the SAT exam.
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