Vocabulary is an essential component of the SAT. Sure, mastery of definitions is important for sentence completions. However, a great vocabulary is also an asset for success on the entire test. For example, many times there will be a keyword in the sentence itself. How can we complete a sentence we don't fully understand?
Often, difficult words will show up as the answers to passage based reading questions. At other times, difficult words will be in the passage itself. I have even noticed that such words like "respectively" will sometimes show up in a long winded math word problem. Of course, almost immediately, my students will ask me, "What does respectively mean?"
Even in the writing section, a sentence error might contain the improper use of a word.
In one actual 2010 SAT, I counted at least 75 important words to know. Imagine the student who goes into the exam knowing most of these words! What an edge he or she would have.
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