SAT Vocabulary PDF: 120 Real-Test Words, Free to Print (2026)

Here is a free printable SAT vocabulary list. It has 120 words, and each one was the correct answer to a Words in Context question in The Test Advantage's Digital SAT question banks from September 2025 to September 2026. Every word has a part of speech, a plain meaning, and a short example. To get a PDF, print this page and choose Save as PDF.

Short answer: there is no separate file to download. This page is the SAT vocabulary PDF. Print it, or save it as a PDF, and you have your own copy to study offline.

Learn this skill with Mr. O, free

Video: Word Sprint 6 (September 2026): impart, impulsive, inaugurate and more. From the Mr. O series Vocabulary Word Sprints, course 92.

Study the full Vocabulary (Words in Context) lesson (free) Practice this skill (free)

Question banks: October 2026 English question bank

Notes and practice need a free account: one click with Google, and you land straight on the lesson.

How do you save this SAT vocabulary list as a PDF?

Your browser can turn this page into a PDF in a few taps. Pick your device below.

Device	Steps
Windows or Chromebook (Chrome or Edge)	Press Ctrl+P. Set the printer (Destination) to Save as PDF. Click Save.
Mac (Chrome)	Press Cmd+P. Set Destination to Save as PDF. Click Save.
Mac (Safari)	Open the File menu. Choose Export as PDF. Click Save.
Android phone (Chrome)	Tap the three-dot menu. Tap Share, then Print. Choose Save as PDF.
iPhone or iPad (Safari)	Tap Share, then Print. In the print screen, tap Share again. Choose Save to Files.

The page also has menus and boxes around the list. To save paper, look at the preview and print only the pages that hold the word tables.

Where do these SAT words come from?

Every word in the main list was the keyed answer to a Words in Context question in our question banks. These are Reading and Writing questions that ask which word or phrase best fits a short passage. We read 312 of these questions across eight monthly banks. Their correct answers gave 217 different words and phrases.

We kept the 120 that are true vocabulary words. We left out plain answers such as "began" or "writes," because you already know them. Then we grouped the words by meaning, so you learn them in families.

Question bank	Words in Context questions we read
September 2025	30
October 2025	35
November 2025	66
December 2025	55
June 2026 (free)	19
August 2026	36
August 2026 US	14
September 2026	57

Some words came up more than once. For example, "incongruous with" was the answer in 5 of these questions, and "convened" and "nominal" in 4 each. Some repeats are the same passage in a US and an International form, so treat these counts as a hint, not a ranking.

College Board says this part of the test checks whether you can "use and determine the meaning of high-utility academic words and phrases in context" (College Board Reading and Writing specifications). Passages are short: they "range from 25 to 150 words" (College Board: the Reading and Writing section). So you need to know a word well enough to spot it in two or three sentences.

The SAT vocabulary list: 120 words by meaning

Learn one family at a time. Words in the same family often show up together as answer choices, so knowing the small differences is what earns the point.

Words that mean make bigger or stronger (10 words)

Word	Part of speech	Meaning	Example
1. augment	verb	To make larger or add to.	The city wants to augment its bus service.
2. supplement	verb	To add something extra to make it complete.	She supplements her notes with short videos.
3. enrich	verb	To make better by adding something good.	Travel can enrich a student's view of history.
4. magnify	verb	To make something look bigger or seem more important.	The crisis magnified old problems in the town.
5. fortify	verb	To make stronger.	Sandbags fortified the riverbank.
6. proliferate (noun: proliferation)	verb	To grow or spread quickly in number.	Food trucks proliferated downtown after the rule changed.
7. exacerbate	verb	To make a bad problem worse.	Dry weather can exacerbate a water shortage.
8. imbue	verb	To fill with a feeling or quality.	Her speech was imbued with hope.
9. impart	verb	To give or pass on, such as knowledge or a quality.	Good coaches impart skills and confidence.
10. thrive	verb	To grow well; to do very well.	Small shops thrive when neighbors buy local.

Words that mean reduce, weaken, or remove (8 words)

Word	Part of speech	Meaning	Example
11. abate	verb	To become less strong.	The storm abated by noon.
12. assuage	verb	To ease a worry or a bad feeling.	The coach's calm voice assuaged our fears.
13. mitigate (noun: mitigation)	verb	To make less harmful or less severe.	Trees can mitigate summer heat in cities.
14. undermine	verb	To weaken something, often slowly or from below.	Missing data undermined the study's claim.
15. efface	verb	To wipe out or make hard to see.	Time had effaced the words on the old sign.
16. dispel	verb	To make a false idea or a feeling go away.	The new data dispelled the myth.
17. attrition	noun	A slow loss, such as people leaving over time.	The club shrank through attrition.
18. distort	verb	To twist something so it is no longer accurate.	A bad chart can distort the facts.

Words about causes and beginnings (6 words)

Word	Part of speech	Meaning	Example
19. engender	verb	To cause or produce.	Unfair rules engender anger.
20. bring about	phrase	To cause something to happen.	One vote can bring about big change.
21. catalyst	noun	Something that sparks or speeds up a change.	The book was a catalyst for new laws.
22. inaugurate	verb	To begin or officially start something.	The first flight inaugurated a new route.
23. necessitate	verb	To make something necessary.	Heavy snow necessitated a school closing.
24. incipient	adjective	Just starting to form or develop.	Doctors caught the illness at an incipient stage.

Words about praise and proof (4 words)

Word	Part of speech	Meaning	Example
25. substantiate	verb	To support a claim with evidence.	She substantiated her point with survey data.
26. commend	verb	To praise, often in a formal way.	The mayor commended the volunteers.
27. laud	verb	To praise highly.	Critics lauded the new novel.
28. applaud	verb	To praise or show approval.	Many readers applauded the author's choice.

Words about doubt, rejection, and resistance (6 words)

Word	Part of speech	Meaning	Example
29. skeptically	adverb	With doubt; slow to believe.	Scientists viewed the bold claim skeptically.
30. untenable	adjective	Impossible to defend or keep believing.	New evidence made the old theory untenable.
31. defy	verb	To resist; to be too hard to solve or explain.	The puzzle defied experts for years.
32. eschew	verb	To avoid on purpose.	She eschews sugar during training.
33. disregard	verb	To ignore or pay no attention to.	Do not disregard small details in a passage.
34. upend	verb	To turn upside down; to change completely.	Phones upended the way people take photos.

Words about same, different, and combined (16 words)

Word	Part of speech	Meaning	Example
35. disparity	noun	A clear difference, often an unfair one.	There is a disparity between the two schools' budgets.
36. discrepancy	noun	A difference between things that should match.	The two reports showed a discrepancy in dates.
37. inconsistency	noun	A part that does not match the rest.	Inconsistencies in his story raised questions.
38. incongruous with	phrase	Not fitting with; out of place next to.	His joke seemed incongruous with the serious mood.
39. homogeneity	noun	The state of being all the same kind.	The homogeneity of the houses made them hard to tell apart.
40. analogous	adjective	Similar in a way that allows comparison.	A heart is analogous to a pump.
41. consonance	noun	Agreement or harmony between things.	Her actions were in consonance with her words.
42. convergence	noun	A coming together at one point or time.	The convergence of three roads made the town busy.
43. interdependent	adjective	Depending on each other.	Bees and flowers are interdependent.
44. interplay	noun	The way two or more things affect each other.	The book explores the interplay of luck and skill.
45. complementary (verb: complement)	adjective	Different but working well together.	Math and art can be complementary skills.
46. differentiate	verb	To tell apart; to see the difference.	Can you differentiate the twins?
47. reconcile	verb	To make two ideas fit together.	It is hard to reconcile his words with his actions.
48. synthesize (noun: synthesis)	verb	To combine parts into one whole.	Good essays synthesize ideas from several sources.
49. intermingled with	phrase	Mixed together with.	Old customs intermingled with new ones.
50. multifariousness	noun	Great variety; having many different forms.	The multifariousness of city life keeps her curious.

Words that link causes and conditions (5 words)

Word	Part of speech	Meaning	Example
51. attributed to	phrase	Said to be caused or made by.	The delay was attributed to bad weather.
52. contingent on	phrase	Depending on something else.	The trip is contingent on good grades.
53. irrespective of	phrase	No matter; without regard to.	The rule applies irrespective of age.
54. proxy	noun	Something used to stand in for or measure something else.	Tree rings serve as a proxy for past rainfall.
55. beneficiary	noun	A person or group that gains from something.	The town was the main beneficiary of the new road.

Words about clear, unclear, and hidden (13 words)

Word	Part of speech	Meaning	Example
56. ambiguous	adjective	Having more than one possible meaning.	The ending was ambiguous, so readers argued about it.
57. nebulous	adjective	Vague; not clear or well formed.	His summer plans were nebulous.
58. opaque	adjective	Hard to see through or understand; not open.	The company was opaque about its fees.
59. enigmatic	adjective	Mysterious and hard to explain.	Her enigmatic smile puzzled the class.
60. conspicuous	adjective	Easy to notice; standing out.	A red coat is conspicuous in the snow.
61. apparent	adjective	Clear to see; also, seeming true.	His talent was apparent from the first song.
62. belie	verb	To hide or give a false idea of.	Her calm face belied her nerves.
63. clandestine	adjective	Done in secret.	The spies held a clandestine meeting.
64. surreptitiously	adverb	In a secret or sneaky way.	He surreptitiously checked his phone in class.
65. evince	verb	To show clearly.	The painting evinces great care for detail.
66. denote	verb	To mean or stand for.	A red flag denotes danger at the beach.
67. delineate	verb	To describe or mark out exactly.	The report delineates each step of the plan.
68. byzantine	adjective	Very complicated and hard to follow.	The tax rules are byzantine.

Words about size, amount, and importance (8 words)

Word	Part of speech	Meaning	Example
69. nominal	adjective	Very small; in name only.	The club charges a nominal fee.
70. exorbitant	adjective	Far too high, especially a price.	The hotel charged exorbitant prices for water.
71. minimal	adjective	The smallest amount possible.	The repair caused minimal delay.
72. consequential	adjective	Important because it has big effects.	Choosing a college is a consequential decision.
73. immaterial to	phrase	Not important to; not affecting.	His height is immaterial to the job.
74. indispensable to	phrase	Absolutely needed by.	A good map is indispensable to hikers.
75. superficial	adjective	On the surface only; not deep.	The changes were superficial, so the problem stayed.
76. scope	noun	The range of what something covers.	The book is known for its wide scope.

Words about prediction, risk, and recovery (10 words)

Word	Part of speech	Meaning	Example
77. speculative	adjective	Based on guesses more than evidence.	Early reports about the cause were speculative.
78. prescient	adjective	Seeing what will happen before it happens.	Her warning about floods was prescient.
79. forecast	verb	To predict.	It is hard to forecast which toys will sell.
80. extrapolate	verb	To stretch a conclusion from known facts to new cases.	Do not extrapolate from one small example.
81. precarious	adjective	Unstable and risky.	The ladder looked precarious on the wet floor.
82. vulnerable (noun: vulnerability)	adjective	Easy to hurt or attack.	Young turtles are vulnerable to birds.
83. unpredictable	adjective	Hard to know ahead of time.	Spring weather is unpredictable.
84. anomalous	adjective	Unusual; not fitting the normal pattern.	One anomalous result made them test again.
85. resiliency	noun	The ability to recover after trouble.	The town's resiliency after the flood inspired others.
86. salvage	verb	To save something from loss or damage.	Divers salvaged coins from the sunken ship.

Words about attitude and behavior (13 words)

Word	Part of speech	Meaning	Example
87. amenable	adjective	Open to; willing to accept.	The teacher was amenable to a new due date.
88. loath	adjective	Unwilling; reluctant.	Many people are loath to speak first in class.
89. proclivity	noun	A natural tendency to do something.	He has a proclivity for long speeches.
90. lethargy	noun	A lack of energy; sleepy slowness.	Hot weather can cause lethargy.
91. adept at	phrase	Very skilled at.	She is adept at solving puzzles.
92. inattentive to	phrase	Not paying attention to.	Drivers inattentive to signs cause crashes.
93. discretion	noun	Good judgment; the freedom to decide.	The coach left the lineup to her discretion.
94. latitude	noun	Freedom to choose or act.	The teacher gave us latitude in choosing a topic.
95. rigor	noun	Great care and strictness.	The lab is known for the rigor of its tests.
96. exacting	adjective	Needing great care and effort.	Watch repair is exacting work.
97. haphazard	adjective	Random; without a plan or order.	The files were stacked in a haphazard way.
98. extemporaneous	adjective	Done without planning; made up on the spot.	She gave an extemporaneous speech.
99. unfailingly	adverb	Always; without ever failing.	He is unfailingly polite.

Words about what is normal, typical, or lasting (8 words)

Word	Part of speech	Meaning	Example
100. conventional (noun: convention)	adjective	Usual; following the common way.	The chef skipped conventional recipes.
101. quintessential	adjective	The most typical example of something.	Apple pie is a quintessential American dessert.
102. paradigmatic of	phrase	Serving as a model example of.	The mill town is paradigmatic of factory towns.
103. prevalent	adjective	Common; found in many places.	The illness is more prevalent in warm areas.
104. transience	noun	The quality of lasting only a short time.	Cherry blossoms show the transience of spring.
105. spectacle	noun	A striking sight or public show.	The fireworks were quite a spectacle.
106. transcend	verb	To go beyond a limit.	Great music can transcend language.
107. adhere to	phrase	To stick to; to follow.	The team adhered to the old rules.

Action words (13 words)

Word	Part of speech	Meaning	Example
108. evade	verb	To escape or avoid, often by skill.	The fox evaded the dogs.
109. elude	verb	To escape; to be hard to find or understand.	Sleep eluded her the night before the test.
110. traverse	verb	To travel across.	Hikers traversed the desert in three days.
111. surmount	verb	To overcome a problem.	The team surmounted every setback.
112. prevail over	phrase	To win against.	Truth prevailed over rumor.
113. exploit	verb	To make full use of, sometimes unfairly.	The team exploited every mistake the other side made.
114. withhold	verb	To hold back; to refuse to give.	The judge warned him not to withhold evidence.
115. sway	verb	To influence or persuade.	A strong speech can sway voters.
116. compensate	verb	To make up for something missing.	He studied extra to compensate for missed classes.
117. accommodate	verb	To make room for; to adjust to.	The new gym can accommodate 500 fans.
118. convene	verb	To come together for a meeting.	The council convened to vote on the park.
119. fabrication	noun	Something made up to fool people; a lie.	The quote turned out to be a fabrication.
120. utility	noun	Usefulness.	A pocketknife has great utility on a camping trip.

10 trap words that were wrong answers

These words showed up as wrong choices in the same questions. Test writers use them because they sound smart or look close to the right answer. Know what they mean so you can cross them out with a reason.

Word	Part of speech	Meaning	Example
detrimental	adjective	Causing harm.	Too little sleep is detrimental to memory.
renounce	verb	To give up or reject formally. (Headword: renounce.)	He renounced his claim to the prize.
ascribe	verb	To say something is caused by or belongs to. (Headword: ascribe.)	Historians ascribe the poem to a monk.
equivocal	adjective	Unclear and open to more than one reading, often on purpose.	The senator gave an equivocal answer.
idiosyncratic	adjective	Unusual and special to one person or thing.	He has an idiosyncratic way of tying his shoes.
stipulate	verb	To state as a firm rule or condition. (Headword: stipulate.)	The contract stipulates a start date.
contentious	adjective	Causing arguments.	Phone rules are a contentious topic at school.
meticulous	adjective	Very careful about small details.	She keeps meticulous notes.
perfunctory	adjective	Done quickly with little care.	He gave a perfunctory wave.
ubiquity	noun	The state of being everywhere.	The ubiquity of phones changed how friends meet.

How should you study an SAT vocabulary list?

Study words the way the test uses them: in short passages, next to look-alike choices. This four-step routine works well with a printed list.

1. Learn by family. Do one table a day. Ten words a day covers the list in about two weeks.
2. Cover and quiz. Fold the page so the meaning and example columns are hidden. Say the meaning out loud, then check.
3. Tag the charge. Mark each word +, − or 0 for positive, negative or neutral. The charge alone often rules out two choices.
4. Use the words in real questions. A list teaches meanings. Questions teach you to spot the right word under time. Try the five questions below, then keep going with the free practice further down.

Want more memory tricks? See how to memorize SAT vocab fast. Ready for harder words? Try our hardest SAT vocabulary words list.

Try 5 real SAT vocabulary questions

These come from our question banks. Three are from the free June 2026 bank. Each one uses a word from the list above. Answer first, then open the explanation.

Question 1 (Medium)

Lauren Hoult, Trudi Edginton, and colleagues reviewed 51 studies about positive expressive writing (writing about positive experiences and emotions like cheerfulness) in an attempt to determine what therapeutic outcomes this kind of writing most reliably achieves. However, large ______ across the studies in the methodologies used and health effects assessed prevented a definitive universal conclusion.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) discrepancies
B) vulnerabilities
C) compensations
D) endorsements

Show the answer

A) discrepancies. "However" tells you a problem is coming. The studies used different methods and measured different health effects, so their results did not line up. A discrepancy is a difference between things that should match. B) vulnerabilities means weak spots. C) compensations means payments or make-up. D) endorsements means approvals. None of them explains why the studies could not agree.

Source: June 2026 Reading and Writing question bank.

Question 2 (Medium)

While modern composers may often get inspiration from past greats like Ludwig van Beethoven, the extent of their influences is broad. The music of Sérgio Assad, for example, can be said to ______ elements of both the classical European tradition and the social, political, and cultural landscape of his native Brazil.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) defy
B) neglect
C) foretell
D) synthesize

Show the answer

D) synthesize. The text says Assad's influences are "broad" and names two of them: European classical music and the culture of Brazil. His music joins "elements of both." To synthesize is to combine parts into one whole. A) defy (resist) and B) neglect (ignore) clash with the idea of inspiration. C) foretell means predict, which does not fit music that draws on the past.

Source: June 2026 Reading and Writing question bank.

Question 3 (Medium)

Biologist Bryson Voirin and colleagues have employed hat-like monitors to ______ long-standing misconceptions about the activity patterns of sloths. It was once widely believed that the pale-throated three-toed sloth and other sloths sleep all day. Data from the monitors reveal that in the wild sloths sleep about nine hours a day.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) analyze
B) codify
C) dispel
D) perpetuate

Show the answer

C) dispel. People once believed sloths sleep all day. The monitors showed that wild sloths sleep about nine hours a day. So the monitors cleared away a false belief, and that is what dispel means. D) perpetuate means keep something going, the opposite. A) analyze and B) codify (organize into rules) do not show that the belief was wrong.

Source: November 2025 Reading and Writing question bank.

Question 4 (Hard)

While some of the Mediterranean islands inhabited by prehistoric peoples were rich in resources and easily accessible from the mainland, others were resource-poor and could only be reached by grueling, hazardous, multiday voyages in rowboats. The motivations of the people who settled the latter are thus, from our modern perspective, _____.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) impulsive
B) enigmatic
C) ambivalent
D) pragmatic

Show the answer

B) enigmatic. Some islands were poor in resources and could be reached only by long, dangerous trips. "Thus" gives the result: today we cannot easily explain why anyone went there. Enigmatic means mysterious. D) pragmatic (practical) is the opposite. C) ambivalent means having mixed feelings, but the text is about our confusion, not the settlers' feelings. A) impulsive (acting without thinking) is a guess the text never supports.

Source: September 2026 Reading and Writing question bank.

Question 5 (Hard)

Some social scientists argue that while a belief in the importance of reason and progress is key to democracy, the public’s understanding of history is also central to its subsequent comprehension of a state’s politics, and if an electorate is to function, historical issues cannot remain the dominion only of academics. History is too ______ to leave to historians alone.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) accessible
B) complex
C) respectable
D) consequential

Show the answer

D) consequential. The text says history is "central" to how the public understands politics, and that voters need it to function. So history matters too much to leave to experts alone. Consequential means important because of its effects. B) complex is the ear trap: a complex subject would be a reason to leave it to experts, not a reason to share it. A) accessible and C) respectable do not explain why everyone must be involved.

Source: June 2026 Reading and Writing question bank.

Where can you practice SAT vocabulary for free?

Use the list to learn meanings. Then practice with real question formats, because that is how the SAT tests vocabulary.

What you want	Where to go	Cost
Learn the method for vocabulary questions	Words in Context guide (6 steps, common traps, 8 more questions)	Free, no account
Study Words in Context with the free lesson notes	Study the free Vocabulary (Words in Context) lesson notes	Free lesson notes (free account)
Practice a full month of real Reading and Writing questions	June 2026 SAT Reading and Writing question bank	Free with a free account
Browse all monthly banks	SAT question bank hub	1 bank free; the rest with a plan
See how you do under real timing	Create a free account and take one full-length adaptive SAT section, with a Module 1 to Module 2 route and a scaled score	Free, one section
Watch vocabulary lessons	Video courses, including a vocabulary course	Free

Free lesson notes also cover other Reading and Writing skills. Begin here: Study the free Vocabulary (Words in Context) lesson notes.

Is 120 words enough, or do you need a 300-word or 1,000-word list?

For most students, a short list of tested words, learned well, beats a long list you skim. The Digital SAT does not ask for definitions. It asks which word fits a short passage, so you need to know each word's exact meaning and charge.

Start with these 120. When you know them cold, add the trap words and the hardest-words list. If a word in a practice question stops you, add it to the bottom of your printout.

For parents: how to use this list at home

• Print one family at a time and quiz your teen for five minutes after dinner.
• Ask for the charge first (good, bad or neutral), then the meaning.
• Check progress with real questions, not just the list. The free June 2026 bank is a good place to start.

How we built this page: we read 312 Words in Context questions from eight of The Test Advantage's Digital SAT Reading and Writing question banks (September 2025 to September 2026) on September 29, 2026. The 120 words are correct answers from those questions. The 10 trap words are wrong choices from the same questions. Meanings are standard dictionary senses, written in plain words and checked against how each word was used in its question. For each of the 5 practice questions, we checked the stored answer and solved it ourselves, and both agreed. College Board facts are quoted from its website, checked on September 29, 2026. The Test Advantage is not affiliated with College Board.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a free SAT vocabulary PDF?

Yes. This page is a free printable SAT vocabulary list of 120 words with meanings and examples. There is no separate file to download. Open the page, press Ctrl+P (Cmd+P on a Mac), and choose Save as PDF to keep your own copy.

How many vocabulary words do you need for the SAT?

There is no set number. College Board describes the skill as using high-utility academic words and phrases in context, and each Reading and Writing passage is 25 to 150 words. A focused list of about 100 to 150 words that the test really uses, learned well, is a strong start.

Are these real SAT vocabulary words?

Each of the 120 words was the correct answer to a Words in Context question in The Test Advantage's Digital SAT question banks for September 2025 through September 2026. The 10 trap words were wrong choices in the same questions. The Test Advantage is not affiliated with College Board.

How do I save an SAT vocabulary list as a PDF on my phone?

On an Android phone in Chrome, tap the three-dot menu, then Share, then Print, and choose Save as PDF. On an iPhone or iPad in Safari, tap Share, then Print, then tap Share again in the print screen and choose Save to Files.

What is the best way to study SAT vocabulary?

Learn words in meaning families, cover the meaning column and quiz yourself, and tag each word as positive, negative, or neutral. Then practice with real Words in Context questions, because the SAT asks which word fits a short passage, not what a word means on its own.

What kinds of words are on the Digital SAT?

Mostly academic words used in short passages about literature, history, social studies, the humanities, and science. In The Test Advantage's banks, correct answers included words like mitigate, disparity, synthesize, and prescient, plus everyday words used in a precise way.

Related Concepts

SAT vocabulary Digital SAT Words in Context SAT Reading and Writing College Board PDF Craft and Structure Targeted Practice The Test Advantage SAT question bank

Related Guides

Sources and Citation Targets

• College Board: Reading and Writing Specifications
• College Board: The Reading and Writing Section
• The Test Advantage blog
• Canonical URL