SAT vocabulary in context: 40 words to know, with meanings

How these questions work

In a words in context question the SAT gives a short text and asks what a word in it most nearly means. Often the word has a common meaning that does not fit. Read the whole sentence first, put your own simple word in the gap, and then pick the choice that is closest to your word.

Forty words

• advocate: to support or argue for.
• ambiguous: having more than one possible meaning.
• ambivalent: having mixed feelings.
• arbitrary: based on chance and not on a reason.
• benign: harmless or gentle.
• candid: honest and open.
• cogent: clear, logical and convincing.
• coherent: logical and easy to follow.
• concise: short and clear.
• contend: to argue that something is true.
• deter: to discourage someone from doing something.
• discrepancy: a difference between things that should match.
• empirical: based on observation or experiment.
• ephemeral: lasting a very short time.
• exacerbate: to make a problem worse.
• fluctuate: to rise and fall.
• hypothesis: an idea that can be tested.
• impartial: fair and not taking a side.
• inevitable: certain to happen.
• innovative: new and original.
• lucid: clear and easy to understand.
• meager: very small in amount.
• meticulous: careful about every detail.
• mitigate: to make less severe.
• negligible: so small that it can be ignored.
• obsolete: no longer in use.
• partisan: strongly supporting one side.
• plausible: seeming likely to be true.
• pragmatic: practical and realistic.
• prudent: careful and sensible.
• resilient: able to recover quickly.
• rigorous: strict and thorough.
• scrutinize: to examine closely.
• skeptical: doubtful until there is proof.
• substantiate: to support with evidence.
• subtle: small and not obvious.
• tenuous: weak or thin.
• ubiquitous: found everywhere.
• undermine: to weaken gradually.
• viable: able to work or succeed.

A method for any unknown word

• Cover the word and read the sentence. Think of a simple word that fits.
• Look for clue words such as but, although and because. They show if the word is positive, negative, or the opposite of something nearby.
• Check each choice in the sentence. Cross out the choices that change the meaning.
• Learn the word and its meaning after you check your answer.

Practise on this site

Where this comes from

• College Board, SAT Suite: the Reading and Writing section and its Craft and Structure content area, which includes words in context.
• The word list and meanings are written for this guide.