Bonus Material - Emmylou Harris Style

Regular blog readers know that "you never can tell" what will show up. Here, Emmylou Harris covers Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell."

That introduces a ChatGPT Plus suggestion of 50 SAT-level/prep word list. 

Here’s a strong, diverse list of 50 SAT-level vocabulary words. These tend to appear in test prep materials or reflect the style of the SAT verbal section:

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Advanced Adjectives

1. Abstruse – difficult to understand

2. Acrimonious – bitter, sharp in tone

3. Altruistic – selflessly concerned for others

4. Ambivalent – having mixed feelings

5. Apathetic – showing little interest or concern

6. Arduous – difficult, requiring effort

7. Astute – shrewd, perceptive

8. Bellicose – warlike, aggressive

9. Benevolent – kind, charitable

10. Cacophonous – harsh-sounding

11. Capricious – impulsive, unpredictable

12. Convivial – sociable, festive

13. Cursory – hasty, superficial

14. Demure – modest, shy

15. Didactic – intended to teach, moralizing

16. Disparate – fundamentally different

17. Ebullient – enthusiastic, full of energy

18. Ephemeral – short-lived, fleeting

19. Esoteric – understood by few, obscure

20. Fastidious – very attentive to detail

21. Fractious – unruly, irritable

22. Grandiloquent – pompous in speech

23. Iconoclastic – attacking cherished beliefs

24. Irascible – easily angered

25. Lugubrious – mournful, gloomy

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Nouns

26. Apathy – lack of interest or emotion

27. Candor – honesty, frankness

28. Conflagration – large destructive fire

29. Conundrum – puzzling problem

30. Deference – respectful submission

31. Disdain – scorn, contempt

32. Elation – great joy

33. Enigma – mystery, puzzle

34. Equanimity – composure, calmness

35. Fortitude – courage in adversity

36. Hubris – excessive pride or arrogance

37. Ineptitude – clumsiness, incompetence

38. Ingenuity – cleverness, inventiveness

39. Magnanimity – generosity of spirit

40. Pragmatism – practical approach to problems

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Verbs

41. Abrogate – to abolish, annul

42. Ameliorate – to improve

43. Bolster – to support, strengthen

44. Condone – to overlook or forgive

45. Disparage – to belittle

46. Exacerbate – to worsen

47. Mitigate – to make less severe

48. Obfuscate – to confuse, make unclear

49. Repudiate – to reject, disown

50. Undermine – to weaken gradually

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⚡ Tip for SAT prep: The test doesn’t just ask for definitions—it often asks you to apply words in context. A good way to practice is to make a sentence for each word or to connect them in pairs (e.g., “ephemeral joy” vs. “lugubrious sorrow”).

Sometimes it helps to know "roots" from Latin, Greek, wherever. For example, the Latin for war is "bellum." That is a root for bellicose,  belligerent, and antebellum.