I love words. Short words. Long words. Easy words. Not so easy words. Sophisticated-sounding words. Simple words.

I have the personal philosophy that using 4-letter words does not make you look cool, smart, or manly. Instead, I think it takes lots of brainpower to learn words that can eloquently describe your thoughts and feelings.

It is my hope that you, Dear Reader, use your brainpower to use more than just 4-letter words. Not to be uppity, mind you. But so that you are master and commander of how you express yourself.

So, it is with great pleasure that I share with you a terrific app that works on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. It’s called SAT Vocab.

Do you have a teen-aged grandchild that will be taking the SAT test in the near future? If so, I highly recommend this free app. It is a great way to study and learn new vocabulary words. It’s also great for people in general who are interested in improving their word power.

Let me tell you what this app does.

It has 967 flashcards for words that students need to know to be prepared for the SAT. If you use the flashcard feature, you see the word so you can learn how it is spelled. You can tap on an icon of a speaker and hear how the word is pronounced. It can also speak the definition. You can tap the card so that it ‘flips’ over to reveal the definition. And, you can indicate that it is a favorite word.

If you use the quiz feature, It will give your a definition and then a list of 4 words. Tap on the word that you think is the definition. If you get it correct, you go to the next word. If you miss it, you get another try. There are ten words per quiz. When you have finished the quiz, you can start a new one or go back to the flashcards.

You can select if the front of the card shows the word or the definition or randomly selects between words and definitions. You can have the cards in alphabetical order or shuffled. You can choose to view cards that have never been quizzed, ones that were answered poorly, or words that were answered well.

For the quizzes, you can have the question ask a word or ask a definition. You can have the answers be the word or the definition.

I’ve seen a couple of vocabulary apps and I like this one the best. That being said, I must say that there are a few typos. However, it isn’t so bad that you would make mistakes. I guess since it is free you can’t complain too much.

If you don’t have an SAT focused teen-aged grandchild that you can tell about this app, it is still a good one to have to help you improve your own vocabulary. You could also help your younger grandchildren improve their vocabulary, too.

You could e-mail them a ‘word of the day/week’ with the word and definition. You can challenge them to e-mail you back and use the word in a sentence. When your grandchild comes for a visit, you could take a few moments to see how many sentences she could come up with that uses the word.

You could also have a ‘word candy’ jar. When a grandchild correctly uses one of the words that you are learning together, she can get a piece of candy out of the candy jar.

DISCLAIMER: I did not get paid to review this application. Nor did I receive a gift, accolades, or a coupon for a free hamburger at the local hamburger joint.  I am not connected in any way, shape or form to the fine folks that made this app. I just wrote this on my own volition.