Mastering Vocabulary for the SAT
A strong vocabulary is one of those things that just doesn’t come naturally for most, and
reading a dictionary or thesaurus rarely makes it to the top of anyone’s “to do” list. But
unfortunately, vocabulary is a crucial part of the SAT, and this means it can’t be ignored.
Getting just three more questions correct in the Sentence Completion sections can
drastically change your score.
There are sixteen sentence completion questions on the exam, and many more vocabulary
words found within the reading passages. Students often think, “Oh, I only need to know
vocabulary for sentence completion questions. No biggie.” However, the readings are
riddled with vocabulary and knowing the definitions of these words helps students notice
the tone of a text, and determine the main idea of the passage. Yes, it pays to become an
expert at the process of elimination and use contextual clues to identify the meaning of a
word; however, there are many words you just need to know.
WilsonDailyPrep Vocabulary charts:
Below are two WilsonDailyPrep vocabulary charts. Each of the words has been on at
least 3 or more SAT exams. Like these charts? Sign up for the WilsonDailyPrep and
get all 22 charts along with accompanying vocabulary quizzes.
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Vocabulary Study Guide: List 1
Vocabulary
+, -, or
Neutral
Clue
Sentence Example
1
ACCOLADE
Noun
An expression of
praise or
admiration
ak-uh-leyd, -lahd
Jan’s film started receiving
accolades shortly after it
premiered, and it ultimately went
on to win her an Oscar.
2
ADULATION
Noun
Excessive flattery
or admiration
aj-uh-ley-shuhn (noun)
aj-uh-leyt (verb)
Sally loved the adulation she
received when she became prom
queen.
(adulate used as a noun)
ADULATE
verb
To show
admiration
The crowd adulated Brian after
he spoke about his years of
volunteer work in an African
orphanage.
(adulate used as a verb)
Sealing envelopes is not a brainy
job; it requires little cerebral
effort.
3
CEREBRAL
adjective
Pertaining to the
brain; using
intellect rather than
intuition
suh-ree-bruh l, ser-uh-
4
DELETERIOUS
adjective
Causing harm or
damage
del-i-teer-ee-uh s
Radiation has horribly deleterious
effects on most living things.
5
EBULLIENT
adjective
Cheerful and full
of energy; lively
ih-buhl-yuh nt, ih-boo l-
My beagle, Rex, is always
ebullient when I come home,
jumping on me and wagging his
tail.
6
FISSION
noun
fish-uh n
The Scientist was studying the
fission of bacteria into new cells.
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Division into parts
7
FLORID
adjective
Healthy;
excessively
intricate or
complicated
flawr-id, flor-
George’s face was hot and florid
after he finished the required
three-mile run on the track.
8
HEDONISM
noun
Love of pleasure;
devotion to
pleasure
heed-n-iz-uh m
John’s constant indulgence in all
things pleasurable in life led all
who knew him to label him a
hedonist.
9
LAUD
verb
To praise; to extol
lawd
Although I laud your noble
attempts to rescue animals in
distress, I really wish you’d stop
trying to free my goldfish.
10
SCHISM
noun
A split
siz-uh m, skiz-
Henry the Eighth caused a schism
in the church when he formed a
new religion.
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WilsonDailyPrep
Vocabulary Study Guide: List 2
Vocabulary
+, -, or
Neutral
Clue
Sentence Example
1
ACCLIMATE
verb
To get accustomed
to
ak-luh-meyt, uh-klahy-mit
It is difficult to acclimate to this
new school.
2
ASSIDUOUS
adjective
Showing great care
and perseverance
uh-sij-oo-uh s
Though I was assiduous and
worked day and night to finish
assembling this nuclear reactor,
don’t turn it on until I’m, oh, say
27 kilometers from the potential
blast zone.
3
DEARTH
noun
A scarcity or lack
of something
durth
Lately, there has been a dearth of
job opportunities in the job
market.
4
DUPE
verb
To trick; deceive;
delude
doop
Always duped by her brother’s
practical jokes, Gretchen once
again found herself smeared with
meat sauce and trapped in the tiger
cage.
5
ESOTERIC
adjective
Understood by
only a small
number of people
with a specialized
knowledge;
belonging to the
select few
es-uh-ter-ik
Quincy sought the esoteric
knowledge held by the Girl
Scouts, but wearing the uniform
and hocking cookies did nothing to
bring their ancient secrets to light.
6
HARBINGER
noun
hahr-bin-jer
Just as the robin is a harbinger of
the coming spring, so does that
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A person or thing
that announces or
signals the
approach of
something or
someone; anything
that shadows a
future event
horrible mothball odor foretell the
arrival of Grandma.
7
LIONIZE
verb
To give a lot of
public attention
and approval to
lahy-uh-nahyz
With the first publication of his
poems, Robert Burnes gained
immediate fame and was lionized
by Edinburgh society.
8
PUGNACIOUS
adjective
Eager or quick to
argue, quarrel, or
fight
puhg-ney-shuh s
Pugnacious Paul, as you might
expect, was involved in another
schoolyard brawl.
9
SAGACIOUS
adjective
Having keen
mental
discernment and
good judgment;
wise; clever
suh-gey-shuh s
To the surprise of his parents and
teachers, the sagacious boy was
able to read War & Peace in its
entirety at the young age of 6.
10
SUPERCILIOUS
adjective
Behaving or
looking as though
one thinks one is
superior to others
soo-per-sil-ee-uh s
Supercilious Sally refused to
mingle with any of her classmates
because she thought she was too
superior.
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The key to SAT success is daily practice. Attempting to memorize vocabulary once a
week does nothing; words go in one ear and come right out the other. To really develop a
vocabulary, it’s necessary to practice a little bit every day. The constant repetition and
eventual recognition of the words will make them “stick,” without vocabulary
memorization becoming too tedious a task.
Here are some tips for studying your vocabulary daily:
Vocab for Dinner: Pick ten words. Ask everyone at the dinner table to craft their
conversation around using these words. Use these ten for a whole week to reinforce the
meaning in multiple contexts; next week, pick ten more! (Put used words on index cards
and in a shoebox.)
Silly Sentences: Have a contest to see who can create the funniest sentence (or
paragraph) using some rich vocabulary words (applying the words with the correct
meaning). Maybe extra dessert for the winner? (Put used words on index cards and in a
shoebox.)
Take Over the Bathroom
So, what better place is there to study vocabulary than the bathroom, where you’re sure to
make several trips each day? Vulgarity aside, keeping a shoebox full of vocab words on
the back of the toilet ensures that for at least a few minutes each day, your words are
viewed.
The key to memorizing is repetition, so make sure the words are scattered haphazardly
inside the shoebox. If they’re ordered inside a box made specifically for index cards,
you’ll see a word once and then never return to it again. It’s a proven fact that the more
times you see something, the more likely you are to remember it. So get those words in
your bathroom and flip through several cards every time you use the toilet!
Add in Some Variety
Every once in a while, try taking your shoebox out of the bathroom. Bring it with you
when you go out to dinner with the family; waiting for food is the perfect time to practice
vocabulary. Or, take the box on a long car ride. Nothing passes the time more quickly
than flipping through a few words! However, remember to return the box to where it
belongs, and bring it right back to the bathroom as soon as you get home.
Use the Computer: Do not only study in the bathroom, put a list a week on Quizlet, an
online quiz generator. Before going to bed spend 5 minutes on Quizlet reviewing. (This
computer program randomly shuffles the words.)
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