abstruse: Hard to understand; deep or obscure
accolade: An expression of praise or honor
acerbic: Sharp and biting in tone
alacrity: Cheerful eagerness and speed
amalgamate: To combine into one
anachronism: Something placed in the wrong time period
antediluvian: Extremely old-fashioned; from before the Flood
apocryphal: Of doubtful authenticity; widely told but probably untrue
approbation: Approval or praise
arcane: Known by few; mysterious
ascetic: Living with strict self-denial
assiduous: Hard-working and persistent
attenuate: To weaken or reduce in force
axiomatic: Self-evident; accepted as true without proof
bellicose: Inclined to start fights
blandishment: Flattery used to persuade
bucolic: Pleasantly rural
cajole: To persuade by flattery or coaxing
canny: Shrewd, especially in practical matters
castigate: To criticize severely
caustic: Bitingly sarcastic; able to burn
chicanery: Trickery used to get one's way
circumspect: Careful to consider all consequences
clandestine: Kept secret, often for improper reasons
colloquial: Used in informal conversation
connoisseur: An expert judge in matters of taste
contentious: Likely to cause argument
contrite: Feeling sorry for wrongdoing
convoluted: Extremely complex and twisting
credulous: Too ready to believe
culpable: Deserving blame
cursory: Hasty and not thorough
daunting: Seeming difficult in a discouraging way
decry: To publicly condemn
deleterious: Harmful
demur: To raise doubts or objections
denigrate: To belittle someone's reputation
desultory: Lacking a plan; jumping from one thing to another
diatribe: A bitter, lengthy verbal attack
dichotomy: A division into two contrasting parts
diffident: Lacking self-confidence
disseminate: To spread widely
dogmatic: Insisting that one's opinions are correct
ebullient: Overflowing with enthusiasm
efficacious: Producing the desired result
effusive: Gushing with feeling
egregious: Outstandingly bad
elucidate: To make clear
empathy: Understanding another person's feelings
enervate: To drain of energy
equanimity: Calmness under stress
erudite: Having great learning
euphemism: A mild word used in place of a harsher one
exacerbate: To make worse
exculpate: To free from blame
exigent: Urgent; demanding immediate action
extraneous: Not belonging to the subject at hand
fastidious: Very attentive to detail; hard to please
fatuous: Silly and pointless
felicitous: Well chosen; fitting
fortuitous: Happening by lucky chance
garrulous: Talking too much
grandiloquent: Using pompous language
iconoclast: Someone who attacks cherished beliefs
ignominious: Deserving shame; humiliating
impervious: Not allowing anything to pass through or affect
imperturbable: Unable to be upset
inchoate: Just begun and not fully formed
incorrigible: Impossible to reform
inexorable: Impossible to stop
insidious: Spreading harmfully in a hidden way
intransigent: Refusing to change one's position
inundate: To flood or overwhelm
inure: To accustom to something unpleasant
laconic: Using very few words
laud: To praise highly
loquacious: Very talkative
maudlin: Overly sentimental
mendacious: Dishonest; lying
nefarious: Wicked

Free flashcards from Peabody at peabody.kids/flashcards/tp-sat-vocab-4