The August 2025 SAT Vocab Survey + Quiz - US Version (Round 3)

With the help of reports from Reddit's r/SAT, I’ve compiled a list of the most common and challenging vocabulary from the August 2025 US SAT. I've put these into a quiz format for students and parents to challenge themselves. Good luck!

SAT Vocabulary August 2025 US - Round 3 - Warm-up Reading Passage

Instructions: Read this passage carefully before taking your quiz. All 11 vocabulary words from August 2025 US SAT Round 3 appear in context. Pay attention to how each word is used naturally in the story.

The Startup's Last Stand

TechNova's prospects had been steadily dwindling for months, despite CEO Marcus Rivera's attempts to foment enthusiasm among increasingly demoralized employees. The board of directors had begun to stipulate harsh performance metrics, making the company's financial troubles impossible to ignore—problems that had been barely perceptible just six months earlier.

Rivera knew he needed to provoke dramatic changes or risk total collapse. He appointed Elena Vasquez as his operational proxy, giving her unprecedented authority to restructure the organization. Together, they decided to situate the company's future in artificial intelligence, betting everything on a revolutionary machine learning platform.

The decision meant they would have to subordinate all other projects to this single initiative—a move that would force longtime employees to inure themselves to constant uncertainty and change. Rivera began creating a comprehensive index of the company's intellectual property, hoping to preserve valuable innovations even if the company failed.

As weeks passed, small victories began to accumulate. The AI platform showed promising early results, and investor interest slowly returned. Elena's leadership style—marked by transparent communication and collaborative decision-making—became the hallmark of TechNova's cultural transformation.

What had begun as a desperate survival strategy evolved into something greater: a complete reinvention that honored the company's innovative spirit while adapting to market realities. The near-failure had taught them that sustainable success required not just technological brilliance, but the wisdom to recognize when fundamental change was necessary.

These narratives now tell complete, engaging stories while naturally incorporating every vocabulary word in meaningful contexts that demonstrate their usage and help students remember them through narrative structure.