Every SAT Word Has A History Flashcards
Draconian
(adj.) characterized by very strict laws, rules, and punishments
– dragons?
Laconic
(adj.) very brief; concise; succinct; terse
– Latvia talks very briefly
Spartan
(adj.) plain; simple; austere (plain life without luxuries)
Arduous
(adj.) demanding
Halycon
(adj.) idyllically (extremely happy) calm and peaceful; an untroubled golden time of happiness and tranquility
– holy
Sophistry
(n.) a plausible but deliberately misleading or fallacious argument designed to deceive someone
Chimerical
(adj.) given to fantastic schemes; existing only as a product of an unchecked imagination
Ostracize
(v.) to deliberately exclude from a group
– that one ostrich in the group…
Impecunious
(adj.) poor; penniless; not affluent
Nefarious
(adj.) extremely wicked; villainous; vile
– Jefar from Alladdin is pretty evil
Pantheon
(n.) a group of noted individuals
– the Pantheon in Rome
Jovial
(adj.) good-humored; cheerful; jocular
Dirge
(n.) a funeral hymn; a slow mournful musical composition
Maudlin
(adj.) tearful; excessively sentimental
Quixotic
(adj.) foolishly impractical in the pursuit of ideals; impractical idealism
– opposite of pragmatic
Pandemonium
(n.) a wild uproar; tumult
– ‘pan’ across, moneo to warn
Martinet
(n.) a strict disciplinarian; a person who demands absolute adherence to forms and rules
– Marlin from Nemo?
Fiasco
(n.) a complete failure; a debacle
Bowdlerize
(v.) to remove or delete parts of a book, song, or other work that are considered offensive
Galvanize
(v.) to electrify; to stir into action as if with an electric shock
Picayune
(n.) something of small value or importance; petty; trifling
Gerrymander
(v.) to divide a geographic area into voting districts so as to give unfair advantage to one party in elections
– Gary who demands votes by giving away land
Maverick
(n.) an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party; a nonconformist
– Mave-Rick doesn’t follow the 4 million other Ricks grouped together
Juggernaut
(n.) a irresistible force that crushes everything in its path
– a astronaut is a space person, pretend ‘naut’ is person
juggernaut, a person made of heavy jugs
this person would obviously crush anyone under him
Serendipity
(n.) an accidental but fortunate discovery
Zenith
(n.) the highest point; the peak; apex
– Zen
Nadir
(n.) the lowest point; the bottom
– nadar, to swim, lets swim to the bottom!
