SAT Vocab Audit: October 2024

Tracking the most troublesome tested words

While Roots2Words supports fluency across a broad spectrum of academic and practical vocabulary, our specific selections definitely tilt towards my specific interest in the kind of vocabulary tested on standardized exams. That's why I avidly amass (see below) insights into what words most frustrate test takers on important exams. 

My expansive network of educators and the broader legion of self-prep heroes on the r/SAT subreddit had a lot to say about the most challenging vocabulary on the October 5 SAT.  Here are the encountered words we've already featured:

ambiguous (adj) - open to or having two or more possible meanings or interpretations
BREAKDOWN: AMBI- (both) + IG- (do) + -OUS (full of)

demarcation (noun) - the act, process, or result of marking off a boundary; an established line of separation
BREAKDOWN: DE- (down) + MARC- (boundary) + -ATION (action)

evince (verb) - to show or demonstrate convincingly; to prove
BREAKDOWN: E- (out) + VINC- (overcome)

mitigate (verb) - to lessen or make less severe
BREAKDOWN: MIT- (mild) + IG- (drive) + -ATE (to make)

nebulous (adj) - uncertain, ambiguous, or vague; difficult to understand or describe; nebular
BREAKDOWN: NEB- (cloud) + -UL (relating to) + -OUS (full of)

recalcitrant (adj) - extremely stubborn and unwilling to obey; hard to deal with or manage
BREAKDOWN: RE- (back) + CALC- (heel) + -ANT (inclined to)

sanguine (adj) - confidently cheerful and optimistic, sometimes to an unrealistic extent; hopeful; ruddy or reddish in color
BREAKDOWN: SANG- (blood) + -INE (quality) 

vindicate (verb) - to clear from guilt or accusation; to uphold or defend; to justify or redeem
BREAKDOWN: VIN- (force) + DIC- (show) + -ATE (to do)

Not bad, right? Here are the words we expect to feature in the future that SAT test takers should learn ASAP:

amass
conflate
desultory
discretion
earnest
inconspicuous
induce
intercede
misanthropic
nominal
notional
placate
preclude
veritable

For more Vocab Audits, explore our SAT/ACT Resources page.

“From your past emerges the present, and from the present is born your future.” —Muhammad Iqbal