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SAT Vocabulary 004: All 120 Words
Every word in this quiz with its definition, pronunciation, and the completed SAT-style passage. Tap a word to open its flashcard.
Show all 120 words
| Word | Definition | In context |
|---|---|---|
| impassive | not feeling or showing emotion \im-ˈpa-siv\ | The poker player’s face remained impassive throughout the game, so his opponents could never tell whether his cards were good or bad. |
| impede | to delay or prevent by obstructing \im-ˈpēd\ | Fallen trees impede the flow of the river, causing water to back up and flood the nearby fields. |
| imperative | of vital importance; essential \im-ˈper-ə-tiv\ | During a heat wave, it is imperative that elderly people drink plenty of water, because dehydration can quickly become deadly. |
| impervious | not allowing fluid to pass through; unable to be affected \im-ˈpər-vē-əs\ | The new fabric is impervious to water, so rain simply rolls off jackets made from it. |
| impetuous | acting quickly without thought or care \im-ˈpech-wəs\ | The young prince was impetuous: in a single moment of anger, he declared war, a decision he regretted for the rest of his life. |
| implausible | not seeming reasonable or probable \im-ˈplȯ-zə-bəl\ | Readers found the novel’s ending implausible: after 300 realistic pages, the hero is suddenly saved by aliens. |
| implement | to put a plan or decision into effect \ˈim-plə-ˌment\ | The school board approved the new reading program in May and began to implement it in all classrooms that September. |
| implicit | suggested though not directly expressed \im-ˈpli-sət\ | Although her mother never said it directly, the message was implicit in her silence: she did not approve of the marriage. |
| impose | to force something unwelcome to be accepted \im-ˈpōz\ | In 1765, Britain began to impose new taxes on the American colonies without allowing them any vote in Parliament. |
| impoverished | extremely poor; weakened in quality \im-ˈpäv-rishd\ | The charity builds schools in impoverished villages where families cannot afford books or uniforms. |
| inadvertent | not resulting from deliberate planning; unintentional \ˌi-nəd-ˈvər-tᵊnt\ | The leak of the secret plan was inadvertent: an employee accidentally sent the file to the wrong email address. |
| incentive | a thing that motivates or encourages someone \in-ˈsen-tiv\ | To encourage people to recycle, the city offered people a financial incentive: a small cash payment for every bottle returned. |
| incisive | intelligently analytical and clear-thinking \in-ˈsī-siv\ | The journalist was famous for her incisive questions, which cut straight to the heart of each issue and often left politicians speechless. |
| incite | to encourage or stir up violent or unlawful behavior \in-ˈsīt\ | The speaker was arrested for trying to incite a riot, urging the angry crowd to attack government buildings. |
| incongruous | not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings; out of place \in-ˈkäŋ-grə-wəs\ | The modern glass tower looks incongruous in the middle of the old village, surrounded by 400-year-old stone cottages. |
| inconsequential | not important or significant \(ˌ)in-ˌkän-sə-ˈkwen-shəl\ | The two reports differed only in inconsequential details, such as the font size, so the manager approved both. |
| incremental | increasing in small amounts over time \ˌiŋ-krə-ˈmen-tᵊl\ | Progress in medicine is usually incremental, with each study adding a small piece of knowledge rather than producing a sudden breakthrough. |
| indignant | angry at something unjust \in-ˈdig-nənt\ | Customers were indignant when the airline canceled their flights without warning and then refused to give them refunds. |
| indispensable | absolutely necessary \ˌin-di-ˈspen(t)-sə-bəl\ | For desert travelers, water is indispensable; without it, a person can survive only about three days. |
| indolent | wanting to avoid activity or effort; lazy \ˈin-də-lənt\ | The indolent prince spent his days lying on cushions, refusing to read, ride, or study anything at all. |
| induce | to bring about or cause; to persuade \in-ˈdüs\ | Some medicines can induce sleepiness, so patients are warned not to drive after taking them. |
| inept | having or showing no skill; clumsy \i-ˈnept\ | The inept thief tripped over the alarm wire, dropped the jewels, and left his wallet at the scene. |
| inertia | a tendency to do nothing or remain unchanged \i-ˈnər-shə\ | Many people keep the same phone plan for years out of inertia, even when a cheaper one is available. |
| inexorable | impossible to stop or prevent \i-ˈneks-rə-bəl\ | The inexorable rise of sea levels will slowly swallow many low-lying islands, no matter how many walls are built. |
| influx | an arrival of large numbers of people or things \ˈin-ˌfləks\ | The gold rush caused a huge influx of settlers into California; its population grew from 14,000 to almost 100,000 in two years. |
| ingenious | clever, original, and inventive \in-ˈjēn-yəs\ | The engineer’s solution was ingenious: she used the river’s own current to power the pumps that cleaned its water. |
| inherent | existing as a permanent, essential part \in-ˈhir-ənt\ | Some risk is inherent in any surgery, no matter how skilled the doctor or how simple the operation. |
| inhibit | to hinder or restrain an action or process \in-ˈhi-bət\ | Cold temperatures inhibit the growth of bacteria, which is why refrigerated food stays fresh longer. |
| inimical | tending to obstruct or harm; hostile \i-ˈni-mi-kəl\ | The freezing, airless surface of Mars is inimical to life as we know it. |
| innocuous | not harmful or offensive \i-ˈnä-kyə-wəs\ | Most spiders are innocuous; only a few species have venom strong enough to harm humans. |
| innovative | introducing new ideas; original and creative \ˈi-nə-ˌvā-tiv\ | The company’s innovative design, a phone that folds like a wallet, was unlike anything else on the market. |
| insatiable | impossible to satisfy \(ˌ)in-ˈsā-shə-bəl\ | When Abraham Lincoln was a child, his hunger for books was insatiable; he would walk miles to borrow any volume he had not yet read. |
| insightful | having or showing deep understanding \ˈin-ˌsīt-fəl\ | The teacher’s comments were insightful, pointing out exactly why the student’s argument was weak and how to strengthen it. |
| insinuate | to suggest something bad in an indirect way \in-ˈsin-yə-ˌwāt\ | Without directly accusing anyone, the detective insinuated that the butler had lied, raising an eyebrow every time he spoke. |
| instigate | to bring about or start an action or event \ˈin(t)-stə-ˌgāt\ | Historians debate who instigated the fight: some blame the soldiers, while others say an angry crowd threw the first stone. |
| integral | necessary to make a whole complete; essential \ˈin-ti-grəl\ | Music is integral to the festival; without the bands, there would be little reason for crowds to come. |
| integrity | the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles \in-ˈte-grə-tē\ | The official showed great integrity when she refused a large bribe and reported the company that offered it. |
| intermittent | occurring at irregular intervals; not continuous \ˌin-tər-ˈmi-tᵊnt\ | The forecast calls for intermittent showers: short bursts of rain separated by long periods of sunshine. |
| intransigent | unwilling to change one’s views or to agree \in-ˈtran(t)-sə-jənt\ | Talks failed because both sides remained intransigent, each refusing to give up even the smallest demand. |
| intrepid | fearless; adventurous \in-ˈtre-pəd\ | The intrepid explorer Ernest Shackleton sailed a tiny lifeboat 800 miles across the stormiest sea on Earth to rescue his crew. |
| intrinsic | belonging naturally; essential \in-ˈtrin-zik\ | Some people collect stamps for their intrinsic beauty, while others care only about how much money they might be worth. |
| intuitive | easy to understand without conscious reasoning \in-ˈtü-ə-tiv\ | The app is so intuitive that even young children can use it without reading any instructions. |
| inundate | to overwhelm with things or people; to flood \ˈi-nən-ˌdāt\ | After the popular singer posted her email address by mistake, she was inundated with more than a million messages in a single day. |
| invoke | to cite or appeal to an authority, law, or idea \in-ˈvōk\ | In court, the defendant invoked her right to remain silent and refused to answer any questions. |
| irrefutable | impossible to deny or disprove \ˌir-i-ˈfyü-tə-bəl\ | The video and DNA together provided irrefutable proof that the suspect had been at the scene. |
| irreverent | showing a lack of respect for things usually taken seriously \i-ˈrev-rənt\ | The comedian’s irreverent jokes about the royal family delighted young audiences but offended many older viewers. |
| jeopardize | to put into a situation where there is danger of loss or harm \ˈje-pər-ˌdīz\ | Cheating on one exam could jeopardize the student’s entire scholarship, since the college takes honesty very seriously. |
| jubilant | feeling or expressing great happiness and triumph \ˈjü-bə-lənt\ | The fans were jubilant, pouring into the streets after their team won its first championship in eighty years. |
| judicious | having or showing good judgment \jü-ˈdi-shəs\ | With judicious use of her small budget, the director made a film that looked as if it had cost ten times as much. |
| laborious | requiring considerable effort and time \lə-ˈbȯr-ē-əs\ | Before printing presses, copying a book was laborious work: a single Bible could take a monk more than a year to write by hand. |
| lament | to express sorrow or regret about \lə-ˈment\ | In the poem, the old man laments the loss of his youth, remembering days when he could run through the fields without tiring. |
| languish | to lose strength; to be kept in an unpleasant situation \ˈlaŋ-gwish\ | Without funding, the project was left to languish for years, with half-built walls slowly crumbling in the rain. |
| latent | existing but not yet developed or visible \ˈlā-tᵊnt\ | The virus can remain latent in the body for years, causing no symptoms until the immune system weakens. |
| laudable | deserving praise \ˈlȯ-də-bəl\ | The students’ goal of planting one million trees is laudable, even if they may not fully achieve it. |
| lavish | rich, elaborate, or very generous \ˈla-vish\ | The billionaire’s party was lavish, with ten thousand guests, fireworks, and a private concert by three famous bands. |
| legacy | something handed down from the past \ˈle-gə-sē\ | The Romans’ legacy can still be seen today in our alphabet, our calendar, and many of our laws. |
| lethargic | sluggish and lacking energy \lə-ˈthär-jik\ | After the large lunch, the students felt lethargic, struggling to stay awake during the afternoon class. |
| lucrative | producing a great deal of profit \ˈlü-krə-tiv\ | Selling bottled water has become extremely lucrative, earning companies billions of dollars a year. |
| magnanimous | generous or forgiving, especially toward a rival \mag-ˈna-nə-məs\ | Being magnanimous toward his defeated enemies after the Civil War, General Grant allowed defeated soldiers to keep their horses so they could farm. |
| malleable | able to be shaped; easily influenced \ˈma-lē-ə-bəl\ | Gold is so malleable that a single gram can be hammered into a sheet covering one square meter. |
| manifest | to show a quality or feeling clearly; to appear \ˈma-nə-ˌfest\ | Symptoms of the disease may not manifest themselves until several weeks after infection, so people can spread it without knowing. |
| marginal | minor and not important; very slight \ˈmärj-nəl\ | The new law produced only marginal improvement in air quality, reducing pollution by less than one percent. |
| maverick | an independent person who does not go along with a group \ˈmav-rik\ | Known in the senate as a political maverick, she often voted against her own party when she believed it was wrong. |
| meager | lacking in quantity or quality \ˈmē-gər\ | During the war, families lived on meager rations: a little bread, a few potatoes, and one egg a week. |
| mediate | to intervene between people in a dispute to bring agreement \ˈmē-dē-ˌāt\ | A neutral country offered to mediate between the two nations, hosting talks where both sides could meet. |
| mercurial | subject to sudden changes of mood \(ˌ)mər-ˈkyu̇r-ē-əl\ | The king was mercurial: laughing with his advisors one moment and ordering their arrest the next. |
| methodical | done according to a systematic procedure \mə-ˈthä-di-kəl\ | The researcher was methodical, testing each sample in the same order, recording every result, and checking her math twice. |
| misconception | a view or opinion that is incorrect \ˌmis-kən-ˈsep-shən\ | The belief that bats are blind is a common misconception; in fact, most bats can see quite well. |
| mollify | to calm the anger of; to soothe \ˈmä-lə-ˌfī\ | To mollify the angry customers, the airline offered free meals and hotel rooms to everyone on the canceled flight. |
| momentous | of great importance or significance \mō-ˈmen-təs\ | The first Moon landing in 1969 was truly momentous; it was watched live by about 600 million people around the world. |
| morose | sullen and ill-tempered; gloomy \mə-ˈrōs\ | After losing the championship, the team was morose on the long bus ride home; no one spoke or smiled for hours. |
| mundane | lacking interest or excitement; ordinary \ˌmən-ˈdān\ | The astronaut’s diary is full of mundane details, such as brushing her teeth and folding laundry, that show how ordinary life in space can be. |
| myriad | countless or extremely great in number \ˈmir-ē-əd\ | On a clear night far from any city, one can see myriad stars stretching across the sky. |
| naive | showing a lack of experience or judgment; innocent \nä-ˈēv\ | The young investor was naive enough to believe a stranger who promised to double her money in a week. |
| nascent | just coming into existence; beginning to develop \ˈna-sᵊnt\ | In the 1990s, the internet was still nascent: few homes had connections, and most websites were simple pages of text. |
| nefarious | wicked or criminal \ni-ˈfer-ē-əs\ | In the film, the villain’s nefarious plan is to poison the city’s water supply and blame it on the hero. |
| nominal | very small; existing in name only \ˈnä-mə-nᵊl\ | The museum’s fee of one dollar is merely nominal, so almost anyone can afford to visit. |
| nonchalant | appearing casually calm and relaxed \ˌnän-shə-ˈlänt\ | Although he had just won the lottery, he seemed nonchalant, shrugging as if it were an ordinary Tuesday. |
| notable | worthy of attention; remarkable \ˈnō-tə-bəl\ | The study is notable because it is the first to follow the same group of people for over eighty years. |
| notion | a belief or idea \ˈnō-shən\ | Galileo challenged the notion that heavy objects fall faster than light ones. |
| novice | a person new to or inexperienced in a field \ˈnä-vəs\ | This trail is perfect for novices: it is flat, short, and clearly marked, so even first-time hikers can enjoy it. |
| nurture | to care for and encourage growth or development \ˈnər-chər\ | Good teachers nurture their students’ curiosity, encouraging questions and rewarding creative thinking. |
| oblivious | not aware of what is happening \ə-ˈbli-vē-əs\ | Wearing headphones and staring at his phone, the man was oblivious to the bus pulling away without him. |
| obscure | not well known; not clearly expressed \äb-ˈskyu̇r\ | The famous song was first recorded by a singer so obscure that almost no one remembers her today. |
| obstinate | stubbornly refusing to change \ˈäb-stə-nət\ | The obstinate mule refused to move, even when the farmer pulled on its rope with all his strength. |
| obstruct | to block or get in the way of \əb-ˈstrəkt\ | A fallen truck obstructed the highway for six hours, forcing thousands of drivers to take a long detour. |
| obviate | to remove a need or difficulty; to prevent \ˈäb-vē-ˌāt\ | The new vaccine, which needs only one dose, would obviate the need for repeated clinic visits. |
| ominous | giving the impression that something bad will happen \ˈä-mə-nəs\ | Dark clouds gathered on the horizon, and the ominous rumble of thunder warned the sailors to return to shore. |
| omit | to leave out or exclude \ō-ˈmit\ | The editor decided to omit the final chapter, saying the book was stronger without it. |
| onerous | involving heavy effort or burden \ˈä-nə-rəs\ | Small businesses complained that the new paperwork was onerous, requiring dozens of hours each month just to fill out the forms. |
| opaque | not able to be seen through; hard to understand \ō-ˈpāk\ | Frosted glass is opaque, letting light into the bathroom while preventing anyone outside from seeing in. |
| optimal | best or most favorable \ˈäp-tə-məl\ | Tomato plants grow best at about 24°C; temperatures far above or below this optimal level slow their growth. |
| opulent | ostentatiously rich and luxurious \ˈä-pyə-lənt\ | The palace of Versailles was opulent, with golden ceilings, crystal chandeliers, and a hall lined with 357 mirrors. |
| orthodox | following traditional or generally accepted beliefs \ˈȯr-thə-ˌdäks\ | Her unusual treatment worked where orthodox medicine had failed, surprising doctors who had relied on standard methods. |
| ostentatious | designed to impress or attract notice; showy \ˌäs-tən-ˈtā-shəs\ | The new millionaire’s ostentatious car, painted gold and covered in diamonds, drew crowds wherever he parked. |
| outmoded | old-fashioned; no longer useful \au̇t-ˈmō-dəd\ | Video cassettes became outmoded once DVDs and streaming offered better pictures and easier access. |
| outweigh | to be greater in value or importance than \au̇t-ˈwā\ | Doctors agree that the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh its risks, which are rare and usually mild. |
| overlook | to fail to notice; to ignore \ˌō-vər-ˈlu̇k\ | In checking the report so quickly, the editor overlooked several spelling errors that readers noticed immediately. |
| paramount | more important than anything else; supreme \ˈper-ə-ˌmau̇nt\ | In a nuclear power plant, safety is paramount; every other concern, including cost, comes second. |
| paucity | the presence of something in only small amounts \ˈpȯ-sə-tē\ | The paucity of fossils from this period makes it hard for scientists to know what early mammals looked like. |
| penchant | a strong liking or tendency \ˈpen-chənt\ | The detective had a penchant for chocolate, always carrying a bar in his coat pocket while working on a case. |
| perfunctory | carried out with minimal effort or care \pər-ˈfəŋ(k)-t(ə-)rē\ | The doctor’s exam was perfunctory: he glanced at the patient for less than a minute and never asked about her symptoms. |
| peripheral | of secondary importance; on the edge \pə-ˈrif-rəl\ | The meeting spent an hour on peripheral issues like the color of the new logo, leaving no time for the budget crisis. |
| perpetual | never ending or changing \pər-ˈpe-chə-wəl\ | Near the poles, summer brings perpetual daylight; the sun does not set for weeks at a time. |
| perplexing | completely baffling; very puzzling \pər-ˈplek-siŋ\ | The disappearance of the bees was perplexing to scientists, since there were no signs of disease or poison in the hives. |
| persistent | continuing firmly despite difficulty \pər-ˈsis-tənt\ | After twenty-three rejected applications, the persistent student was finally accepted to her dream school on the twenty-fourth try. |
| pertinent | relevant or applicable \ˈpər-tᵊn-ənt\ | The judge allowed only pertinent questions, rejecting any that had nothing to do with the case. |
| pervasive | spreading widely throughout an area or group \pər-ˈvā-siv\ | Smartphones have become so pervasive that it is now hard to find a teenager who does not own one. |
| placid | calm and peaceful \ˈpla-səd\ | In the morning the lake was placid, its surface so still that it reflected the mountains like a mirror. |
| plight | a dangerous, difficult, or unfortunate situation \ˈplīt\ | The documentary drew attention to the plight of refugees, many of whom had walked hundreds of miles with no food or shelter. |
| poignant | evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret \ˈpȯi-nyənt\ | The novel’s final scene, in which the old dog waits by the door for an owner who will never return, is deeply poignant. |
| polarizing | causing sharp division into opposing groups \ˈpō-lə-ˌrī-ziŋ\ | The new law was polarizing: half the country loved it, while the other half protested in the streets. |
| posit | to put forward as a fact or as a basis for argument \ˈpä-zət\ | Some scientists posit that life on Earth began near hot vents on the ocean floor, though the idea has not been proved. |
| potent | having great power or effect \ˈpō-tᵊnt\ | The medicine is so potent that a single drop can relieve pain for twelve hours. |
| precarious | not securely held; dangerously likely to fall or collapse \pri-ˈker-ē-əs\ | The climber’s position was precarious: he was clinging to a narrow ledge with nothing below him but a 300-meter drop. |
| precede | to come before in time or order \pri-ˈsēd\ | Lightning always precedes thunder, because light travels much faster than sound. |
| precipitate | to cause something bad to happen suddenly \pri-ˈsi-pə-ˌtāt\ | The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 precipitated World War I, turning long-standing tensions into open war within weeks. |
| precocious | having developed abilities at an earlier age than usual \pri-ˈkō-shəs\ | Mozart was remarkably precocious, writing his first symphony at the age of eight. |
| predominant | present as the strongest or main element \pri-ˈdä-mə-nənt\ | Pine is the predominant tree in these mountains, making up nearly eighty percent of the forest. |
| preeminent | surpassing all others; most distinguished \prē-ˈe-mə-nənt\ | Marie Curie became the preeminent scientist of her age, the first person to win Nobel Prizes in two different sciences. |
About SAT Vocabulary 004
The Digital SAT Reading and Writing section includes Words in Context questions that test whether you can choose the most logical and precise word for a short academic passage about science, history, social studies, or literature. This free quiz collects 120 high-frequency SAT words and puts each one in a realistic passage, so you learn not just the dictionary meaning but also how the word is used.
The words include adjectives such as plausible, meticulous, ambivalent, and ubiquitous; verbs such as corroborate, mitigate, undermine, and supplant; and nouns such as catalyst, consensus, and precedent. Many wrong choices are themselves SAT words, so every question helps you review several words at once.
- Two question types: Words in Context (SAT style) and Definition Match.
- Explanations for every choice: why the answer fits the clues, and why each of the other choices does not.
- Retry Missed Words: practice only the words you got wrong.
- Flashcards: the word, its pronunciation, and an example on the front; definition, synonyms, the SAT passage, and a word tip on the back.
- Search: find any SAT word, definition, or passage across all SAT quizzes.
- Games: answer with a combo for a pachinko-style bonus, earn a perfect score to fly a dragon, or pilot a biplane in the SAT Aerobatic Flight game.