SAT Vocabulary Foundations: 300 Essential Words in Context
Master 300 high-value words for reading arguments and evidence in context.
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| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| assertion (noun) | A statement presented as true, often without full proof yet. Cue: look for a writer making a claim that needs support. Example: Her assertion that the policy saved money sounded confident, but the report still needed evidence. |
| interpretation (noun) | An explanation of what evidence, words, or events mean. Cue: different readers may have different interpretations of the same passage. Example: His interpretation of the graph was more cautious than hers. |
| support (noun) | Material that backs up a claim or idea. Cue: support can be facts, quotations, examples, or data. Example: The writer used survey results as support for the proposal. |
| sustain (verb) | To maintain or support a claim with evidence over time. Cue: in arguments, support must sustain the point, not just mention it once. Example: The data sustained the author’s belief that the program was effective. |
| hypothesis (noun) | A tentative explanation that can be tested with evidence. Cue: in science and analysis, a hypothesis is an informed starting point. Example: Her hypothesis was that the seeds would sprout faster in warmer soil. |
| correlative (adjective) | Showing a relationship where two things change together, though one may not directly cause the other. Cue: correlation is not the same as causation. Example: The correlative rise in heat and ice cream sales did not prove one caused the other. |
| correlation (noun) | A connection or pattern in which two things vary together. Cue: correlation suggests a relationship, not necessarily cause. Example: The correlation between study time and scores was clear, but the reason still needed analysis. |
| responsible (adjective) | Being the likely cause of something or accountable for it. Cue: in analysis, “responsible for” often points to cause. Example: The broken thermostat was responsible for the cold classroom. |
| comparison (noun) | The act of examining two or more things to see how they are alike or different. Cue: comparison can help reveal patterns or priorities. Example: The comparison of the two proposals made the better one obvious. |
| analogy (noun) | A comparison that explains one thing by relating it to another, usually more familiar thing. Cue: analogies help readers understand relationships. Example: The article used an analogy between a city and a living organism. |
| baffled (adjective) | Completely confused or puzzled. Cue: a reaction to language or events that do not fit together. Example: The class was baffled by the twist in the story. |
| caustic (adjective) | Sharply critical, often in a way that burns emotionally. Cue: a remark meant to sting rather than merely inform. Example: The columnist’s caustic critique left the mayor visibly irritated. |
| detached (adjective) | Emotionally distant, uninvolved, or not personally invested. Cue: a narrator who reports events without visible feeling. Example: Her detached summary made the argument seem colder than it was. |
| evasive (adjective) | Avoiding direct answers or clear commitment. Cue: a reply that circles around the point instead of stating it. Example: His evasive response made the reporter ask the question again. |
| harsh (adjective) | Severe, rough, or unpleasant in sound, treatment, or judgment. Cue: a voice or opinion that feels hard-edged. Example: The harsh criticism made the student defend her choices. |
| judgmental (adjective) | Quick to criticize or make negative evaluations. Cue: a tone that feels more like condemning than understanding. Example: Her judgmental remark made the conversation shut down. |
| perceptive (adjective) | Quick to notice and understand things that others might miss. Cue: a reader who sees subtext or implication. Example: The perceptive student noticed the speaker avoided the main question. |
| scathing (adjective) | Extremely harsh and cutting in criticism. Cue: a review that burns through politeness. Example: The scathing editorial attacked the proposal from every angle. |
| assess (verb) | To judge the value, quality, or importance of something after considering evidence. Cue: often signals evaluation, comparison, or a reasoned opinion. Example: The team assessed the evidence before deciding which theory best matched the results. |
| outline (verb) | To describe the main points briefly and in order. Cue: signals a summary of structure rather than full detail. Example: The editor outlined the chapter’s main argument in three clear steps. |
| adapt (verb) | To change in order to fit a new situation or purpose. Cue: may refer to organisms, people, or texts that are modified for a different setting. Example: The museum adapted the exhibit for younger visitors. |
| modify (verb) | To change something a little so it works better or fits a new need. Cue: less dramatic than transform; often used for plans, methods, or wording. Example: The researcher modified the procedure to reduce error. |
| specify (verb) | To state clearly and exactly. Cue: often used when an author narrows a broad idea into a precise detail. Example: The instructions specified which sources could be used. |
| complex (adjective) | Made of many connected parts; not simple. Cue: often describes systems, emotions, arguments, or historical events. Example: The complex plot required careful tracking of each character’s motive. |
| historical (adjective) | Related to the past or to history. Cue: can describe events, evidence, or context from earlier times. Example: The historical account helped explain why the border changed. |
| versatile (adjective) | Able to do many different things well or adapt to many uses. Cue: often describes tools, skills, or people with flexible value. Example: The versatile speaker handled science, history, and literature questions with ease. |
| gradual (adjective) | Happening slowly over time, not all at once. Cue: often used for trends, changes, or recovery. Example: The gradual shift in the climate data was easy to miss at first. |
| synthesis (noun) | the combination of ideas or evidence into a coherent whole. Digital SAT cue: identify what the word does in the local sentence or argument. Example: The conclusion offers a synthesis of the two passages rather than merely summarizing each. |
| consequently (adverb) | as a result; introducing an effect that follows from prior information. Digital SAT cue: identify what the word does in the local sentence or argument. Example: The river changed course; consequently, the old harbour lost access to deep water. |
| notwithstanding (preposition) | despite a fact or condition. Digital SAT cue: identify what the word does in the local sentence or argument. Example: Notwithstanding the initial delay, the project finished within its revised schedule. |
About this deck
Digital SAT Reading and Writing questions test how words and transitions function in context, which is why a list of rare words moves the score so little. These 300 independently written cards build precise meaning, evidence language, rhetorical relationships and high-utility transition logic; the final section concentrates on qualification, cross-text synthesis, inference and sentence-to-sentence connection. Each answer supplies a concise meaning, a context cue and an original sentence. Import it and the whole deck joins your spaced-repetition schedule. Words you already know stretch out and drop out of sight; the ones that keep slipping come back until they stop slipping. What goes down is the number of words you still don't know — not the time it takes to flip past 300 cards you mostly do.
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- Memly writes all of them — every meaning, context cue and example sentence. That is deliberate: the digital SAT tests how a word functions inside a sentence, and a borrowed glossary entry cannot show function.
- Why does this deck include rhetorical and logical words?
- SAT vocabulary is tested in context. Words that signal claims, evidence, contrast, cause, tone and degree help with both vocabulary-in-context and passage reasoning.
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