SAT Vocabulary Lesson 1
Words like candor, myriad, and obliterate — 25 challenging vocabulary words with definitions, exercises, and an answer key.
Word List with Definitions
Study these 25 vocabulary words. Each word includes its part of speech and definition. Use the printable worksheet to practice synonyms, antonyms, analogies, and sentence completion.
| Word | Part of Speech | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| aspire | (v) | to strive for a goal; to want or desire something excellent or far beyond the current state |
| bilateral | (adj) | having two sides |
| candor | (n) | honesty or straightforwardness, especially being honest about something unpleasant |
| defraud | (v) | to cheat; to gain something dishonestly, as through a lie, deception, or confidence game |
| deity | (n) | a god or goddess |
| elude | (v) | to escape from someone or something giving chase or searching; especially to use clever tactics to escape from pursuers |
| fixture | (n) | a permanency; a person or thing remaining fixed, in the same position |
| handwriting | (n) | the character or style of a person’s writing by hand; cursive writing |
| havoc | (n) | chaos or large-scale destruction |
| imbibe | (v) | to drink a liquid; to absorb or take in something |
| juncture | (n) | a joint or seam, where two parts meet |
| kernel | (n) | in a plant, a grain or seed; often edible and found inside the plant |
| lapse | (n) | the act of falling from a righteous or just position; a slight or temporary moral failure |
| malady | (n) | a disease, illness, or medical condition, especially a serious or chronic condition |
| myriad | (n) | many; a large number; countless |
| necessitate | (v) | to make something necessary |
| nestle | (v) | to lay or be enclosed comfortably; to snuggle |
| obliterate | (v) | to destroy; to break down into nothing; to eliminate |
| parse | (v) | to break something down into its parts in order to explain or understand it; especially to break apart a sentence into words and phrases, describing each part |
| queue | (n) | a line; a group of people waiting in order |
| ravenous | (adj) | extremely hungry; filled with hunger that cannot be satisfied |
| scuttle | (v) | to sink a ship by creating a hole or holes in the ship beneath the water line; also to destroy or wreck |
| thearchy | (n) | a government ruled by the leaders of a religion or by the power of a god or gods |
| underworld | (n) | a world beneath or below the normal world, especially a criminal world such as mafia society or a world of the dead such as Hades |
| writhe | (v) | to move uncomfortably; to twist around, especially to express pain |
Practice Exercises
The printable worksheet includes four types of exercises to reinforce each word:
- Synonyms — Write the word from the list that means the same as the word given.
- Antonyms — Write the word from the list that means the opposite of the word given.
- Analogies — Choose the word that best completes the word-relationship pattern.
- Sentence Completion — Write the correct word to complete each sentence.
Printable Worksheet
The printable PDF includes the word list, all four exercises, and a full answer key.
SAT Vocabulary Quiz — Lesson 1
Test your knowledge of the Lesson 1 words. Select the best answer for each question and submit to see your score.
SAT Vocabulary Quiz — Lesson 1
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Which word means the same as 'squirm'?
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Which word means 'countless' or 'a large number'?
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Which word means 'to destroy or eliminate completely'?
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Which word is the opposite of 'float'?
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Which word means 'honesty or straightforwardness'?
Teaching Guide
SAT Vocabulary Study Strategies That Actually Work
Six evidence-backed study techniques to use with this lesson and the rest of the series — spaced repetition, active recall, multiple contexts, synonym networks, sentence completion, and etymology.