English Vocabulary · SAT Preparation Live Review Preview
SAT Vocabulary Words
The current digital SAT Reading and Writing section uses short passages from literature, history and social studies, the humanities, and science. Its Craft and Structure questions ask students to determine the meaning of high-utility words in context and to choose the most logical and precise word or phrase. Vocabulary also supports evidence, inference, rhetorical synthesis, transitions, and clear Standard English expression across the section.
This independently authored 800-word beta curriculum is arranged in twenty-three pages of up to thirty-five words. Pages containing words 1–500 include five cloze questions drawn only from that enhanced range; words 501–800 remain fully visible and editable while the expanded practice layer is developed. Each row includes a passage-field label and an editable word-study note about a transparent affix, compound structure, capitalization, or dictionary base form. The list is an unofficial KSSR learning resource and is not endorsed by or affiliated with College Board. SAT is a registered trademark of College Board.
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| # | Word | Details | Meaning | Sample sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 316 | desultory | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: desultory is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. беспорядочный 2. несвязанный | Their desultory search overlooked the most likely location. |
| 317 | diatribe | noun StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: diatribe is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. диатри́ба 2. обличительный 3. обличительная речь | The editorial became a diatribe against anyone who questioned the policy. |
| 318 | dichotomy | noun StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: dichotomy is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. дихотоми́я 2. дихотомия | The essay rejects the false dichotomy between growth and conservation. |
| 319 | dictum | noun StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: dictum is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. изрече́ние 2. сенте́нция | The judge questioned the old dictum that silence implies consent. |
| 320 | digress | verb StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: digress is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. отвлекаться 2. отклоня́ться | The lecturer began to digress into a story unrelated to the evidence. |
| 321 | dilatory | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: dilatory is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. медлительный 2. нерасторопный | The court rejected the company's dilatory request for another postponement. |
| 322 | dilettante | noun StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: dilettante is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. дилета́нт 2. дилета́нтка | Experts dismissed him as a dilettante who ignored decades of research. |
| 323 | diminution | noun StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Suffix focus: -tion commonly forms a noun naming an action, process, or result. | сокращение | The law caused a gradual diminution of the agency's power. |
| 324 | disabuse | verb StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: disabuse is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | избавиться от злоупотреблений | The evidence should disabuse readers of the idea that the change was sudden. |
| 325 | discomfit | verb StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: discomfit is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | смущать | The unexpected question seemed to discomfit the witness. |
| 326 | discordant | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: discordant is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. негармони́чный 2. несогла́сный 3. несогласо́ванный | The two reports offer discordant accounts of the same meeting. |
| 327 | disingenuous | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Suffix focus: -ous commonly forms an adjective meaning full of or characterized by. | неи́скренний | It is disingenuous to call the fee optional when everyone must pay it. |
| 328 | disinterested | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: disinterested is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. бескоры́стный 2. беспристра́стный 3. незаинтересо́ванный | A disinterested panel reviewed the competing proposals. |
| 329 | divest | verb StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: divest is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. лиша́ть 2. лиши́ть 3. отнима́ть | The fund promised to divest from companies that ignored the standards. |
| 330 | doctrinaire | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: doctrinaire is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | доктринёр | The council rejected a doctrinaire solution that ignored local needs. |
| 331 | dubious | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Suffix focus: -ous commonly forms an adjective meaning full of or characterized by. | 1. сомневающийся 2. колеблющийся | The website supports its claim with dubious statistics. |
| 332 | ebullient | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: ebullient is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. взволнованный 2. кипучий | The director was ebullient after the opening-night applause. |
| 333 | eccentric | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: eccentric is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | эксцентри́ческий | The inventor's eccentric habits often concealed careful reasoning. |
| 334 | ecclesiastical | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: ecclesiastical is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. церко́вный 2. церковный | The archive preserves both royal and ecclesiastical records. |
| 335 | efface | verb StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: efface is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. стирать 2. замазывать | Time could not efface the inscription carved into the stone. |
| 336 | effervescent | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: effervescent is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | оживлённый | Her effervescent presentation energized the tired audience. |
| 337 | egalitarian | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: egalitarian is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. уравни́тельный 2. эгалита́рный | The movement advanced an egalitarian vision of public education. |
| 338 | egocentric | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: egocentric is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. эгоцентри́ческий 2. эгоцентри́чный | The narrator's egocentric account ignores other characters' motives. |
| 339 | egregious | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Suffix focus: -ous commonly forms an adjective meaning full of or characterized by. | 1. вопию́щий 2. отъя́вленный | The audit uncovered an egregious misuse of public money. |
| 340 | elucidate | verb StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: elucidate is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | разъясня́ть | A timeline helps elucidate the sequence of discoveries. |
| 341 | embellish | verb StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: embellish is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. укра́сить 2. украша́ть | The witness admitted that he had begun to embellish the story. |
| 342 | eminent | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: eminent is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. ви́дный 2. имени́тый 3. выдаю́щийся | An eminent biologist chaired the independent review. |
| 343 | encroach | verb StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: encroach is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. вторга́ться 2. вто́ргнуться 3. посяга́ть | New construction began to encroach on the protected wetland. |
| 344 | endemic | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: endemic is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. эндеми́ческий 2. эндемический 3. местный | The disease is endemic to several tropical regions. |
| 345 | enfranchise | verb StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: enfranchise is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. дава́ть избирательный 2. избира́тельное пра́во | The amendment helped enfranchise millions of citizens. |
| 346 | entrenched | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: entrenched is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | укоренившийся | The reform challenged entrenched patterns of discrimination. |
| 347 | enumerate | verb StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: enumerate is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. пересчи́тывать 2. пересчита́ть | The report will enumerate the costs before recommending a plan. |
| 348 | erratic | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: erratic is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | 1. неравномерный 2. нерегулярный | Erratic rainfall made planting decisions difficult. |
| 349 | euphemism | noun StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Suffix focus: -ism often names a belief, system, movement, or practice. | 1. эвфеми́зм 2. эвфемизм | “Downsizing” can be a euphemism for eliminating jobs. |
| 350 | evanescent | adjective StudyField: SAT evidence and rhetorical analysis Word study: Base-form focus: evanescent is the dictionary headword; compare its inflected or derived forms in context. | неуловимый | The rainbow's evanescent colors vanished within minutes. |
Vocabulary reading and practice
A Desultory Speech
Reading practice for pages 10–12. Five relevant words are highlighted.
English reading
An eminent historian begins a lecture with careful evidence, but the talk soon becomes desultory. He jumps between unrelated anecdotes and starts to embellish minor details. When a questioner challenges him, he launches into a diatribe. The moderator tries to divest the exchange of personal insults and return it to the evidence.
Russian translation
Выдающийся историк начинает лекцию с тщательно подобранных доказательств, но вскоре его речь становится бессвязной. Он перескакивает с одной не связанной с другой истории и начинает приукрашивать второстепенные детали. Когда кто-то из слушателей ставит его слова под сомнение, он разражается гневной тирадой. Ведущий пытается убрать из разговора личные оскорбления и вернуть его к доказательствам.
Reading comprehension
1. Why does the lecture become desultory?
The historian jumps between unrelated anecdotes.
2. What does he embellish?
He embellishes minor details.
3. What does the moderator remove?
The moderator tries to remove personal insults.
Vocabulary quiz
Choose the dictionary equivalent for each of 5 selected words.
Vocabulary chart page
This page focuses on the word chart. Reading passages appear once in each three-page group, while cloze quizzes remain in the established enhanced range for this level.
About the digital SAT
The digital SAT Reading and Writing section measures comprehension, analysis, synthesis, rhetoric, and command of language. Its Words in Context questions ask students to determine a word’s meaning or choose the most logical and precise word for a particular passage. That means SAT vocabulary study should focus on useful academic words, multiple meanings, tone, and exact usage—not on memorizing rare words in isolation.
Use this list as one part of SAT preparation. Read each example closely, compare near-synonyms, and notice how surrounding sentences control meaning. The lesson readings and questions are designed to practise the same habits of contextual reasoning, while official College Board questions remain the best guide to the test’s exact format.
Sources and curriculum references
These references guide selection and calibration. Definitions, sample sentences, readings, questions, and teaching notes are independently written and reviewed.
- College Board: The SAT Reading and Writing Section
- College Board: Student Question Bank — Reading and Writing
- College Board: Digital SAT Suite Assessment Framework
- WikDict downloadable bilingual dictionaries
- Kaikki.org / Wiktextract machine-readable Wiktionary data
- Language-Learning-decks public flashcard datasets
- SBBIC English-to-Khmer Dictionary
- English–Khmer Dictionary Dataset (machine-generated Khmer fallback; human review required)
- PanLex meanings snapshot (direct CC0 gap candidates; human review required)
- Cambridge bilingual dictionaries (individual editorial sense checks)
- Collins English–Hindi Dictionary (individual editorial checks)
- Hindwi and Rekhta dictionaries (individual Hindi/Urdu checks)
- National Institute of Korean Language: Basic Korean Dictionary
- JMdict/EDRDG Japanese dictionary project
- CC-CEDICT Chinese dictionary project
- VDict Vietnamese Dictionary (individual editorial check)
- Google Translate (machine-assisted lesson-reading draft; fluent review required)
- Kuperman et al.: Age-of-acquisition ratings for 30,000 English words