The Digital SAT tests vocabulary through Words in Context questions — a passage gives you a clue, and exactly one word fits it. Each word below has a plain definition and an SAT-register example.
aberrant (adj.)
departing from the usual or expected course; anomalous. "The sensor's readings clustered near the average, so the single aberrant value stood out immediately."
advocate (verb)
to publicly support or argue for a cause or policy. "In her editorials, the biologist advocated stricter protections for coastal wetlands."
ambivalent (adj.)
having mixed or contradictory feelings about something. "Reviewers were ambivalent about the novel, praising its prose while questioning its structure."
anomaly (noun)
something that deviates from what is standard or expected. "The orbit's slight anomaly hinted at the gravitational pull of an unseen moon."
assertion (noun)
a confident statement of fact or belief, often without proof. "The paper's central assertion — that the ruins predate the empire — rests on a single carbon date."
corroborate (verb)
to confirm or support with additional evidence. "Ice-core samples corroborated the tree-ring record of a sudden volcanic winter."
deliberate (adj.)
done consciously and intentionally; carefully considered. "The composer's pauses were deliberate, forcing the audience to sit with each unresolved chord."
diminish (verb)
to make or become smaller, weaker, or less important. "Repeated exposure to the alarm calls diminished the birds' response to them."
disparate (adj.)
essentially different in kind; not able to be compared. "The study linked two disparate fields — soil chemistry and medieval history — to date the settlement."
elicit (verb)
to draw out a response, answer, or reaction. "The survey's neutral wording was designed to elicit honest answers rather than polite ones."
empirical (adj.)
based on observation or experiment rather than theory. "Her claim is empirical: it rests on two decades of field measurements, not on models."
ephemeral (adj.)
lasting a very short time; fleeting. "Desert wildflowers are ephemeral, blooming for days and then vanishing until the next rains."
exacerbate (verb)
to make a problem or bad situation worse. "Draining the wetland exacerbated the flooding it was meant to prevent."
feasible (adj.)
possible to do easily or conveniently; practicable. "Solar-powered desalination is feasible at village scale, though costs remain high."
hypothesis (noun)
a proposed explanation made on limited evidence, to be tested further. "Their hypothesis — that the fish navigate by smell — predicts the results of the maze trials."
implicit (adj.)
implied though not plainly expressed. "The memoir's critique of the era is implicit, carried by details rather than direct statements."
indifferent (adj.)
having no particular interest or concern; unmoved. "The seals seemed indifferent to the drone, continuing to bask as it passed overhead."
innovative (adj.)
introducing new ideas or methods; original and creative. "The team's innovative use of satellite data cut the survey's cost by half."
intricate (adj.)
very complicated or detailed. "The tapestry's intricate border repeats a pattern of vines no wider than a fingernail."
lucid (adj.)
expressed clearly; easy to understand. "Her lucid summary made the statistical argument accessible to readers outside the field."
meticulous (adj.)
showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise. "The archivist kept meticulous records, noting the condition of every page she handled."
mitigate (verb)
to make less severe, serious, or painful. "Rooftop gardens mitigate summer heat by shading and cooling the buildings beneath them."
novel (adj.)
new and original; not like anything seen before. "The enzyme's novel structure suggested a mechanism no one had proposed."
objective (adj.)
not influenced by personal feelings; based on facts. "Blind grading keeps the evaluation objective: readers never see the writers' names."
obsolete (adj.)
no longer in use; out of date. "The telegraph became obsolete within a generation of the telephone's spread."
pervasive (adj.)
spreading widely throughout an area or group. "Microplastics are so pervasive that they appear in samples from the deepest trenches."
plausible (adj.)
seeming reasonable or probable, though not proven. "Both explanations are plausible; only the tagging study can decide between them."
pragmatic (adj.)
dealing with things practically rather than idealistically. "The mayor's pragmatic plan repaired existing lines before proposing new ones."
predecessor (noun)
a person or thing that came before another of the same kind. "The new telescope resolves details its predecessor could only blur together."
prevalent (adj.)
widespread in a particular area or at a particular time. "The dialect's older forms remain prevalent in coastal villages."
reconcile (verb)
to make two seemingly conflicting ideas or accounts compatible. "The model reconciles the fossil record with the genetic evidence for an earlier split."
redundant (adj.)
not needed; unnecessarily repetitive. "The second sensor proved redundant once the first was recalibrated."
scrutinize (verb)
to examine closely and critically. "Editors scrutinized every figure in the paper before sending it to reviewers."
skeptical (adj.)
not easily convinced; having doubts. "Colleagues were skeptical of the result until three labs reproduced it."
substantiate (verb)
to provide evidence that proves a claim. "The excavation substantiated accounts of a harbor that older maps had dismissed as legend."
tenuous (adj.)
very weak or slight; insubstantial. "The link between the two outbreaks was tenuous, resting on a single shared contact."
ubiquitous (adj.)
present or found everywhere. "Once a luxury, the sensors are now ubiquitous, embedded in phones, cars, and thermostats."
undermine (verb)
to weaken gradually, especially confidence or authority. "The retraction undermined the theory that had dominated the field for a decade."
unprecedented (adj.)
never done or known before. "The drought's duration was unprecedented in the four-century tree-ring record."
viable (adj.)
capable of working successfully; able to survive. "Seeds stored for a century in the vault remained viable, sprouting within days of planting."