50 Words the SAT loves

Auspicious. Aesthetic. Eclectic. These words may sound vaguely familiar to the teen in your house. But does he know exactly what they mean? If he's prepping for the SAT, he should. Vocabulary for the test isn't as random as you might think. While it changes for each test sitting, there are certain stalwarts that tend to show up again and again. And if your kid knows the set, his odds of scoring will improve. A lot. Much money has been spent on teasing out the candidates. And coaching companies aren't giving it all out for free. The Princeton Review offered us 50 words from their stash of "most frequently tested".  If nothing else, it's a good start. So drop a few of these words into dinnertime conversation and hope your kid's ears are perked: abstract not concrete aesthetic having to do with the appreciation of beauty alleviate to ease a pain or a burden ambivalent simultaneously feeling opposing feelings; uncertain apathetic feeling or showing little emotion auspicious favorable; promising benevolent well-meaning; generous candor sincerity; openness cogent convincing; reasonable comprehensive broad or complete in scope or content contemporary current, modern; from the same time conviction a fixed or strong belief diligent marked by painstaking effort; hard-working dubious doubtful; of unlikely authenticity eclectic made up of a variety of sources or styles egregious conspicuously bad or offensive exculpate to free from guilt or blame florid flowery or elaborate in style gratuitous given freely; unearned; unwarranted hackneyed worn out through overuse; trite idealize to consider perfect impartial not in favor of one side or the other; unbiased imperious arrogantly domineering or overbearing inherent inborn; built-in innovative introducing something new inveterate long established; deep-rooted; habitual laudatory giving praise maverick one who resists adherence to a group mollify to calm or soothe novel strikingly new or unusual obdurate stubborn; inflexible objectivity judgment uninfluenced by emotion obstinate stubbornly adhering to an opinion ornate elaborately decorated ostentatious describing a pretentious display paramount of chief concern or importance penitent expressing remorse for one's misdeeds pervasive dispersed throughout plausible seemingly valid or acceptable; credible profound having great depth or seriousness prosaic unimaginative; dull; ordinary quandary a state of uncertainty or perplexity rancorous hateful; marked by deep-seated ill will spurious not genuine; false; counterfeit stoic indifferent to pleasure or pain; impassive superfluous extra; unnecessary tenuous having little substance or strength; unsure; weak timorous timid; fearful transitory short-lived; temporary vindicated freed from blame