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About this deck
This is a free 20-card deck of ordinary but precise words that turn up in digital SAT Reading and Writing questions. The front of each card shows one word. The back gives a plain meaning, a sentence that shows the word at work, and a short hook to help it stick. Every card is written to be read in context, because that is how the test asks about words.
All 20 cards in this deck
The full deck is listed below, front and back. Answers stay collapsed until you open them, so you can quiz yourself as you scroll.
ambivalent
Having mixed or opposite feelings about something at the same time.
Example: She felt ambivalent about the job offer, thrilled by the pay but dreading the move.
Hook: ambi- means both, as in ambidextrous.
anomaly
Something that does not fit the usual pattern.
Example: One site's results were an anomaly, with rainfall far below every other site in the study.
Hook: it sounds like abnormal, and that is the idea.
arbitrary
Based on a whim or a random choice, not on a reason or a rule.
Example: The coach's decision to cut the player seemed arbitrary, since nobody could name a rule it followed.
Hook: arbitrary choices come with no reason attached.
candid
Honest and direct, even when the truth is not welcome.
Example: In a candid interview, the author admitted that the first draft had been a failure.
Hook: candid goes with candor, the plain truth with nothing hidden.
concede
To admit that something is true after first resisting it, or to give something up.
Example: After the recount, she conceded the election. In an argument, to concede a point is to grant it.
Hook: the sentence I concede is an admission.
cursory
Done quickly, without attention to detail.
Example: A cursory glance at the report missed the error on page three.
Hook: it shares a root with cursor, the little arrow that runs across your screen.
elusive
Hard to find, catch or pin down.
Example: The answer stayed elusive, however many times he reread the proof.
Hook: an elusive thing slips away, like a bar of wet soap.
feasible
Possible to do in practice.
Example: Finishing the bridge in one year is feasible only if the money arrives by spring.
Hook: feasible is about whether a plan can be done, while plausible is about whether a claim can be believed.
inherent
Built in as a permanent part of something.
Example: Some risk is inherent in any experiment, however carefully it is designed.
Hook: it comes from a Latin word for sticking to, so an inherent trait is stuck on for good.
innocuous
Not harmful or offensive, and often not very interesting either.
Example: An innocuous remark about the weather somehow started a long argument.
Hook: the Latin nocere means to harm, so innocuous means not harmful.
meticulous
Showing great care about small details.
Example: The editor was meticulous, checking every date and every name twice.
Hook: picture a person with a ruler and a checklist.
novel
As an adjective, new and unlike what came before. As a noun, a book-length story.
Example: The team proposed a novel method for cleaning water. The test usually means the adjective.
Hook: novel comes from the Latin word for new, so a novel idea is a new one.
nuanced
Showing small, subtle differences instead of an all or nothing view.
Example: A nuanced review praised the film's acting but questioned its ending.
Hook: it is the opposite of black and white.
pervasive
Spreading through every part of something.
Example: The smell of smoke was pervasive and reached every room in the house.
Hook: per- means through, as in permeate.
plausible
Seeming reasonable and believable, though not proven.
Example: The theory is plausible, but the data that would prove it do not exist yet.
Hook: plausible is about belief, feasible is about doing.
pragmatic
Focused on what works in practice, not on theory or ideals.
Example: The mayor took a pragmatic approach and repaired the worst roads first.
Hook: pragmatic and practical start alike and mean nearly the same.
prudent
Careful and sensible about the future, avoiding needless risk.
Example: It was prudent to save part of every paycheck.
Hook: a prudent person looks ahead, the way a driver checks the mirror.
substantiate
To back up a claim with evidence.
Example: The researcher could not substantiate her claim, because her notes had been lost.
Hook: a claim with no substance in it is not substantiated.
tenuous
Weak, thin or poorly supported.
Example: The link between the two events was tenuous, resting on a single coincidence.
Hook: it comes from the Latin word for thin, so picture a thin thread.
undermine
To weaken something gradually, often out of sight.
Example: Constant interruptions undermine a speaker's confidence.
Hook: picture digging under a wall until it falls.
How vocabulary shows up on the digital SAT
The SAT is taken on a screen in the College Board's Bluebook app. Its Reading and Writing section has 54 questions in 64 minutes, split into two modules, and the test is scored from 400 to 1600. Each passage is short, usually a few sentences, and each one comes with a single multiple-choice question.
Vocabulary is not a separate section. The College Board's outline puts it in the Craft and Structure domain, which tests high-utility words and phrases in context. In practice that means a sentence with a blank, where you pick the word that fits best, or a sentence with a word in it, where you pick what that word means as it is used. Craft and Structure is about 28 percent of the section, or 13 to 15 questions, and words in context is one of its three skills. The College Board does not publish a word list to memorize.
The words are not rare. They are ordinary academic words, often used in a less common sense, and the wrong choices are usually words that fit part of the sentence but not its tone or logic. That is why a short definition is not enough, and why every card here carries a sentence. Check the current format on the College Board website before test day, since it can change.
How to use this deck
Go through all 20 cards once without stopping, and say the meaning out loud before you flip. Then cover the sentence and write a new one of your own about something real in your life. A word you can use is a word you can recognize under time pressure.
On the second pass, put the near neighbors side by side. Feasible is about whether a plan can be done, and plausible is about whether a claim can be believed. Prudent looks ahead, and pragmatic looks at what works. Cursory and meticulous are opposites, and a tenuous claim is one with weak support, the kind you cannot substantiate. Write one line on what separates each pair.
On real questions, predict first. Cover the answer choices, read the sentence for its clue, which is often a contrast word like but or a definition after a colon, and fill the blank with a simple word of your own. Then choose the option closest to your prediction, and check that its tone matches. Watch the words with two meanings: novel can be a book, but on the test it usually means new, and concede can mean to give up as well as to admit.
How StudyPDF builds decks from your own word lists
Twenty cards are a start. The words that cost you points on a practice test are not always the ones in a generic deck, and they are the ones worth drilling.
Upload your own word list, a prep book chapter or the notes from the questions you missed to StudyPDF, press New material and pick flashcards, and the deck is built from that exact material. You do not have to upload anything to start: you can also just name a topic, like words that describe tone or words for an argument, and Bo sets it up with its key concepts, so you can build a deck on it. Every card points back to the page it came from. Starting is free.
Written by the StudyPDF team. Last updated August 19, 2026.
Good to know
Are these SAT vocabulary flashcards free?
Yes. All 20 cards are free to flip through as often as you like. There is no paywall on this page.
Who made these cards, and are they official?
The StudyPDF team wrote every card, including each definition and each sentence. They are a study aid for common SAT-style words, not an official list, and StudyPDF is not affiliated with the College Board, which owns the SAT.
Does the digital SAT still test vocabulary?
Yes, but inside short passages, not as a list of rare words. The College Board puts it in the Craft and Structure part of the Reading and Writing section, which tests words and phrases in context. You pick the word that fits a sentence or say what a word means as it is used there.
How do I learn SAT vocabulary fast?
Learn each word through a sentence, group the close neighbors together, and say the meaning out loud before you flip a card. Study 15 to 20 cards a day and let the ones you miss come back sooner. Because the test uses ordinary words in a specific sense, knowing a word's different meanings helps more than skimming a huge list.