This curated vocabulary set is designed to help you master the key words and phrases frequently encountered on the SAT.

SAT 50 Essential Vocabulary - Set #1

(adj.)—rough and stormy; noisy and undisciplined.

The boisterous child carried on in the playground; that boy sure created a stir!

(adj.)—jarring, unpleasantly noisy
The evil witch let out a cacophonous cackle.

(n.)—roundabout, lengthy way of saying something
Circumlocution circles the point.

(adj.)—harsh-sounding, inharmonious, conflicting

The musical piece was absolutely discordant; its chords disgusted me!

(adj.)—using high-sounding but meaningless language

The speaker’s bombastic lecture sounded loud and explosive but it bored his audience to tears; it bombed.

(adj.)—indirect, taking the longest route

The circuitous speaker talked in circles; he talked and talked and he never got to the point!

(n.)—noisy outcry
One can be quiet as a clam or loud as a clamor.

(adj.)—pleasant-sounding, soothing to the ear

With a sweet and dulcet sound, the saxophone player never played a dull set.

(adj.)—unrestrained or excessive in emotional expression; gushy
“It’s no use wasting such effort and energy crying,” the mother said to her effusive son.

(adj.)—very talkative

Everyone in the building dreaded running into the garrulous principal because that gabby ruler of the school would talk their ears off!

(adj.)—talkative
Loquacious talkers are loathe to keep quiet.

(adj.)—harsh-sounding; boisterous
The grade school cafeteria was a raucous place at lunchtime because there were always some noisy children creating a ruckus.

(n.)—pleasant, harmonious sound
“It’s funny,” the man said to his wife, “the euphonious sounds of birds singing and crickets chirping make me think of you.”

(adj.)—using few words
A laconic person economizes words.

(adj.)—clear and easily understood
The actor’s performance was lucid so his feelings were translucent for his audience.

(adj.)—not speaking freely, reserved
A reticent person remains silent.

(adj.)—having or producing a full, deep sound; impressive in style of speech
The sonorous sound of the opera singer’s voice could be heard over the crowd’s noise.

(adj.)—terse, brief, concise
His sentences had to be succinct as the ship was sinking.

(adj.)—uncommunicative; not inclined to speak
The taciturn student was silent when it was her turn to speak.

(adj.)—wordy
Verbose talkers are very boring.

(adj.)—loud, harsh, unpleasantly noisy
He tried to take the noise in his stride but the strident noise would not relent.

(adj.)—silently understood or implied
In case her message wasn’t tacit, she tacked it on the wall.

(adj.)—concise, brief, free of extra words
The poet trimmed his verse, leaving his poem terse.

(adj.)—loud, vocal, and noisy
Someone vociferous vocalizes forcefully.

(adj.)—speaking much and easily; talkative; glib
The student was a voluble speaker, always volunteering to answer questions and to present information to the class.

(adj.)—persistent, hard-working
He was astute and studious and his efforts led the assiduous boy to the top of his class.

(adj.)—exceptionally insightful, able to foresee the future
His clairvoyance allowed him a clear vision of the company’s imminent success.

(n.)—idiot, dimwit, foolish person
Even though he was an adult, Adele’s cool uncle was not a dolt.

(adj.)—pertaining to beauty or the arts
Under an anesthetic, the theatrical performance seemed quite aesthetic.

(n.)—clown or fool
The boy was known as the school buffoon; he was always making a fool out of himself.

(adj.)—careful and hard-working
Because she was so diligent, she was the designated leader of the group project.

(adj.)—conspicuously bad
Don’t egg Greg into wearing his egregiously ugly leisure suit.

(adj.)—celebrated, distinguished; outstanding, towering
Susan B. Anthony was an eminent feminist who paved the way for future women’s rights.

(adj.)—cliched, worn out by overuse
I have a need for a new daily routine because this one is quite hackneyed.

(adj.)—clumsy, awkward; foolish, nonsensical
He is so inept that he is incapable of grasping most concepts.

(adj.)—ordinary, commonplace
Common and everyday activities are mundane.

(adj.)—outstanding, an example to others
His exemplary behavior set a fine example for the rest of the class.

(adj.)—perceptive, penetrating
An incisive speaker gets inside another person’s head and can rebut an argument before it is even made.

(adj.)—instinctive, untaught
Intuitive people act on intuition; they are in tune with their instinctive tendencies.

(adj.)—shrewd, astute, keen-witted
Because she is perspicacious, her perspective shows that she is very sagacious.

(adj.)—unusually advanced or talented at an early age
That child is quite precocious and keen; he is only in preschool and he can coach the chess team.

(adj.)—relating to prose; dull, commonplace
The acting in the newly released musical is prosaic; in the review of the show, the acting pros say “ick!”

(adj.)—wise, shrewd
The saga was a story for ages, full of sagacious wisdom.

(adj.)—courteous, refined, suave
Urban folks claim that they are more urbane than country folks.

(adj.)—having foresight
Prescient people predict.

(adj.)—careful, cautious
Prudence prevents accidents.

(v.)—to observe carefully
You use your eyes to scrutinize.

(adj.)—empty, void, lacking intelligence
The students’ brains seem to become vacuous when they are on vacation.

(adj.)—tasteless, dull
Something vapid is void of appeal.

(adj.)—extremely dry or deathly boring
In the arid desert, the area is dry.