# SAT words that adults ought to know **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 3, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787 "2010-06-03T16:08:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PsyXe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@PsyXe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PsyXe)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/41 "2010-06-03T21:00:16Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Sorry, I should have clarified for our non-US Dopers. The Scholastica Aptitude Test, whose scores are used by colleges to judge admission, has a language/vocabulary section. Students often memorize lists of big words that could show up on the test. 90% or more of these words are useless in real life. Half of them are promptly forgotten, while the other half is retained but never used. I’m looking for that 10%- words that are learned after high school that are actually commonly used. > > For example, in [this list](http://www.yourdictionary.com/dictionary-articles/100-most-common-sat-words.html), there’s words that people already know by the time they’re studying for the SAT - abhor, adversity, discredit, etc. And there are words that people know, but no one ever really says in everyday conversations, like abdicate, impetuous, ostentatious. Then there are difficult words that people will likely forget, like sagacity or perfidious. > > You learn them late in life (so they’re SAT words) but adults remember and use them (so they ought to know them). Oh. My. I just clicked on the link here, and what’s the definition of word number 1? “abate: reduce or _lesson_” :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/42 "2010-06-03T21:15:48Z")
> [@PsyXe](#): > > \*Eclectic. > (Sorry…) > > How about inchoate? That’s the last word I remember learning. My next one will be callipygian - what in the world does it mean? I could look it up, but that wouldn’t be as much fun. It might be, actually. 🙂 I actually learned it from the comic strip “Frazz,” one of the most literate (and funny!) comics around today. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/43 "2010-06-03T21:18:32Z")
> [@PsyXe](#): > > My next one will be callipygian - what in the world does it mean? I could look it up, but that wouldn’t be as much fun. “Callipygian” is generally defined as “having shapely buttocks”. Fun word, but a better fun word with Greek roots, for my money, is “millihelen”. As you’ll recall, Helen of Troy was so beautiful that it was said, “hers was the face that launched a thousand ships.” A millihelen, therefore, is the amount of beauty capable of launching one ship. ---
**Author:** ![PsyXe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@PsyXe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PsyXe)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/44 "2010-06-03T21:25:19Z")
Ok thanks - googling Callipygian Frazz right now! ---
**Author:** ![PsyXe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@PsyXe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PsyXe)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/45 "2010-06-03T21:28:15Z")
:smack: I should have known that. In the same vein, there’s steatopygia, but I suppose that’s becoming too technical. How about onerous, hypertrophy or exculpate? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/46 "2010-06-03T21:42:32Z")
“Inchoate” is a good one. I’ve seen in writing before, but wasn’t 100% certain of the meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/47 "2010-06-03T21:49:12Z")
Ironically (there’s another one!), I just looked up “inchoate” to figure out what it meant in reference to law enforcement. Apparently, an inchoate charge is a charge for “attempted [something]” and is used when someone tries to do something but circumstances don’t permit it. Like he tries to rob the bank but gets hit by a bus. He gets inchoate bank robbery, or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![PsyXe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@PsyXe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PsyXe)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/48 "2010-06-03T22:01:57Z")
As I understand it, something that is inchoate is not fully formed or differentiated. So an embryo would be inchoate. And a crime that is planned, executed in a half-assed manner and not properly completed would definitely be inchoate. It’s one of those words that was always turning up in academic articles but in so vague a context that I couldn’t figure out what it was supposed to mean. But now whenever I read it I get a mental image of an embryo and everything makes sense! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/49 "2010-06-03T23:46:46Z")
> [@PsyXe](#): > > My next one will be callipygian - what in the world does it mean? I could look it up, but that wouldn’t be as much fun. It’s a good quality to have if you’re an ecdysiast. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/50 "2010-06-04T02:25:06Z")
Epicene - this was the last word I looked up to find out what it meant. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/51 "2010-06-04T03:54:43Z")
Although it doesn’t necessarily involve SAT words, adults working in offices become fluent in corporate jargon that most kids wouldn’t understand: “Our team is engaged in a hands-on, cross-platform, proactive knowledge transfer which covers our initiatives, deliverables, and action items using best-of-breed blah blah blah…” ---
**Author:** ![PsyXe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@PsyXe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PsyXe)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/52 "2010-06-04T10:16:30Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > It’s a good quality to have if you’re an ecdysiast. hmmm, ek-duw, probably the opposite of en-duw to clothe (excuse my horrible transliteration), so an ecdysiast would probably be someone who’s fond of taking their clothes off. I just looked up epicene - I didn’t know what it meant either. Useful word. Ewww, corporate jargon! If only people would use SAT words instead of corporate jargon! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/53 "2010-06-04T11:34:58Z")
> [@PsyXe](#): > > hmmm, ek-duw, probably the opposite of en-duw to clothe (excuse my horrible transliteration), so an ecdysiast would probably be someone who’s fond of taking their clothes off. Not necessarily fond of it, but hopefully good at it. Well done. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/54 "2010-06-04T12:43:47Z")
**ejaculate.** I _love_ using this word when I can. The looks I get are _amusing_. Somewhere out there on the web, and I cannot find it in a GIS, is a picture of a hymnal with the line something like " Say 10 ejaculations" . **Disheveled.** ---
**Author:** ![Heckity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Heckity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heckity)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/55 "2010-06-04T12:52:52Z")
I think _most_ adults would get these ones: perquisite (many don’t know that it’s not “perks” of the job) cloying inherent insidious insipid vapid innocuous Sadly the last four were not known by 8 of my coworkers in a meeting - and I’m in an educational institution _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/56 "2010-06-04T13:03:02Z")
Here’s a few of my favorites: Ephemeral Quiescent Conflate Sanguine Treppenwitz “Simply stated, it is sagacious to eschew obfuscation”, Norman R. Augustine. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/57 "2010-06-04T16:05:25Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I can’t think of a time when I’ve ever said something was impetuous or ostentatious. I know what those words mean, mind you, but I’ve never said nor heard someone use it in a way that didn’t stand out. They may not be unusual, but they’re rare. > > Take “masticate” for example. I know what that means and I suspect a lot of adult do as well. But I’d never use it. I’d just say “chew” instead. In fact, the only times I’ve said “masticate” or heard it were in masturbation jokes, e.g. “He masticated the whole time we were at dinner!” > > I love “escrow” because that makes perfect sense as for why a pre-adult wouldn’t know it. Adults say that word fairly often but a kid couldn’t be expected to pick up on it. Intuit and Intuitive are good words for this list, assuming you’re right that pre-adults don’t know them. Those make me go “Wow, people say that all the time. I can’t believe high schoolers wouldn’t have heard that by now.”, which is what I’m after here. True about masticate - that is the usage I was thinking of. 😃 But I definitely have heard people use both impetuous - usually for children - and ostentatious. I could also imagine both words being used in the Sun newspaper (UK), which doesn’t exactly have a reputation for using complicated words. Extrapolate would be a useful word to know, and I’m pretty sure most of the high-schoolers I’ve taught wouldn’t know it. Lackadaisical is a great word - don’t know how common it is in the US though. Earlier I mentioned flummoxed; that and a few other ‘confused’ words could be candidates, like bemused, confounded and nonplussed, both of which are often used incorrectly. Bamboozled, humbugged and hoodwinked are probably too easy for this thread, and not that common, but they are lovely words. > [@shiftless](#): > > Here’s a few of my favorites: > > Treppenwitz I’ve never heard that one before! I had a guess at what it meant, but had to look it up to check. I’ve only ever heard (or more likely seen) l’espirit d’escalier used in that context - which of course has almost the same meaning in translation. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/58 "2010-06-04T16:13:45Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > Here’s a few of my favorites: > > Treppenwitz I’m not sure that foreign words should count for this. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/59 "2010-06-04T16:16:51Z")
proscribe prophylactic obviate mendacious ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787/60 "2010-06-04T16:49:35Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > “Inchoate” is a good one. I’ve seen in writing before, but wasn’t 100% certain of the meaning. That’s funny i just read a “On Language” piece in the NYT about that word. It seems that Justice Scalia abhors the word and believes it’s not a part of an actual vocabulary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sat-words-that-adults-ought-to-know/541787.md?page=2)