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p Flashcards

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SAT® Prep flashcards
1
Q

pacific

A

(adj.) soothing (The chemistry professor’s pacific demeanor helped the class remain calm after the experiment exploded.)

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1
Q

palatable

A

(adj.) agreeable to the taste or sensibilities (Despite the unpleasant smell, the exotic cheese was quite palatable.)

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2
Q

palliate

A

(v.) to reduce the severity of (The doctor trusted that the new medication would palliate her patient’s discomfort.)

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3
Q

pallid

A

(adj.) lacking color (Dr. Van Helsing feared that Lucy’s pallid complexion was due to an unexplained loss of blood.)

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4
Q

panacea

A

(n.) a remedy for all ills or difficulties (Doctors wish there was a single panacea for every disease, but sadly there is not.)

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5
Q

paradigm

A

(n.) an example that is a perfect pattern or model (Because the new SUV was so popular, it became the paradigm upon which all others were modeled.)

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6
Q

paragon

A

(n.) a model of excellence or perfection (The mythical Helen of Troy was considered a paragon of female beauty.)

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7
Q

pariah

A

(n.) an outcast (Following the discovery of his plagiarism, Professor Hurley was made a pariah in all academic circles.)

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8
Q

parsimony

A

(n.) frugality, stinginess (Many relatives believed that my aunt’s wealth resulted from her parsimony.)

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9
Q

partisan

A

(n.) a follower, adherent (The king did not believe that his rival could round up enough partisans to overthrow the monarchy.)

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10
Q

pathology

A

(n.) a deviation from the normal (Dr. Hastings had difficulty identifying the precise nature of Brian’s pathology.)

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11
Q

pathos

A

(n.) an emotion of sympathy (Martha filled with pathos upon discovering the scrawny, shivering kitten at her door.)

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12
Q

paucity

A

(adj.) small in quantity (Gilbert lamented the paucity of twentieth century literature courses available at the college.)

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13
Q

pejorative

A

(adj.) derogatory, uncomplimentary (The evening’s headline news covered an international scandal caused by a pejorative statement the famous senator had
made in reference to a foreign leader.)

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14
Q

pellucid

A

(adj.) easily intelligible, clear (Wishing his book to be pellucid to the common man, Albert Camus avoided using complicated grammar when composing The
Stranger.)

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15
Q

penchant

A

(n.) a tendency, partiality, preference (Jill’s dinner parties quickly became monotonous on account of her penchant for Mexican dishes.)

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16
Q

penitent

A

(adj.) remorseful, regretful (The jury’s verdict may have been more lenient if the criminal had appeared penitent for his gruesome crimes.)

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17
Q

penultimate

A

(adj.) next to last (Having smoked the penultimate cigarette remaining in
the pack, Cybil discarded the last cigarette and resolved to quit smoking.)

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18
Q

penurious

A

(adj.) miserly, stingy (Stella complained that her husband’s penurious ways made it impossible to live the lifestyle she felt she deserved.)

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19
Q

perfidious

A

(adj.) disloyal, unfaithful (After the official was caught selling government secrets to enemy agents, he was executed for his perfidious ways.)

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20
Q

perfunctory

A

(adj.) showing little interest or enthusiasm (The radio broadcaster announced the news of the massacre in a surprisingly perfunctory manner.)

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21
Q

permeate

A

(v.) to spread throughout, saturate (Mrs. Huxtable was annoyed that the wet dog’s odor had permeated the furniture’s upholstery.)

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22
Q

pernicious

A

(adj.) extremely destructive or harmful (The new government feared that the Communist sympathizers would have a pernicious influence on the nation’s
stability.)

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23
Q

perspicacity

A

(adj.) shrewdness, perceptiveness (The detective was too humble to acknowledge that his perspicacity was the reason for his professional success.)

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24
Q

pert

A

(adj.) flippant, bold (My parents forgave Sandra’s pert humor at the dinner table because it had been so long since they had last seen her.)

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25
Q

pertinacious

A

(adj.) stubbornly persistent (Harry’s parents were frustrated with his pertinacious insistence that a monster lived in his closet. Then they opened the closet
door and were eaten.)

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26
Q

perusal

A

(n.) a careful examination, review (The actor agreed to accept the role after a two-month perusal of the movie script.)

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27
Q

pervasive

A

(adj.) having the tendency to spread throughout (Stepping off the plane in Havana, I recognized the pervasive odor of sugar cane fields on fire.)

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28
Q

petulance

A

(n.) rudeness, irritability (The Nanny resigned after she could no longer tolerate the child’s petulance.)

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29
Q

phlegmatic

A

(adj.) uninterested, unresponsive (Monique feared her dog was ill after the animal’s phlegmatic response to his favorite chew toy.)

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30
Q

pithy

A

(adj.) concisely meaningful (My father’s long-winded explanation was a stark contrast to his usually pithy statements.)

31
Q

pittance

A

(n.) a very small amount, especially relating to money (Josh complained that he was paid a pittance for the great amount of work he did at the firm.)

32
Q

placate

A

(v.) to ease the anger of, soothe (The man purchased a lollipop to placate his irritable son.)

33
Q

placid

A

(adj.) calm, peaceful (The placid lake surface was as smooth as glass.)

34
Q

platitude

A

(n.) an uninspired remark, cliché (After reading over her paper, Helene concluded that what she thought were profound insights were actually just platitudes.)

35
Q

plenitude

A

(n.) an abundance (My grandmother was overwhelmed by the plenitude of tomatoes her garden yielded this season.)

36
Q

pliable

A

(adj.) flexible (Aircraft wings are designed to be somewhat pliable so they do not break in heavy turbulence.)

37
Q

poignant

A

(adj.) deeply affecting, moving (My teacher actually cried after reading to us the poignant final chapter of the novel.)

38
Q

polemic

A

(n.) an aggressive argument against a specific opinion (My brother launched into a polemic against my arguments that capitalism was an unjust
economic system.)

39
Q

portent

A

(n.) an omen (When a black cat crossed my sister’s path while she was walking to school, she took it as a portent that she would do badly on her spelling test.)

40
Q

potable

A

(adj.) suitable for drinking (During sea voyages it is essential that ships carry a supply of potable water because salty ocean water makes anyone who drinks it sick.)

41
Q

potentate

A

(n.) one who has great power, a ruler (All the villagers stood along the town’s main road to observe as the potentate’s procession headed towards the capital.)

42
Q

pragmatic

A

(adj.) practical (The politician argued that while increased security measures might not fit with the lofty ideals of the nation, they were a pragmatic necessity to
ensure everyone’s safety.)

43
Q

precipice

A

(n.) the face of a cliff, a steep or overhanging place (The mountain climber hung from a precipice before finding a handhold and pulling himself up.)

44
Q

preclude

A

(v.) to prevent (My grandfather’s large and vicious guard dog precluded anyone from entering the yard.)

45
Q

precocious

A

(adj.) advanced, developing ahead of time (Derek was so academically precocious that by the time he was 10 years old, he was already in the ninth grade.)

46
Q

predilection

A

(n.) a preference or inclination for something (Francois has a predilection for eating scrambled eggs with ketchup, though I prefer to eat eggs without any
condiments.)

47
Q

preponderance

A

(adj.) superiority in importance or quantity (Britain’s preponderance of naval might secured the nation’s role as a military power.)

48
Q

prepossessing

A

(adj.) occupying the mind to the exclusion of other thoughts or feelings (His prepossessing appearance made it impossible for me to think of anything else.)

49
Q

presage

A

(n.) an omen (When my uncle’s old war injury ached, he interpreted it as a presage of bad weather approaching.)

50
Q

prescient

A

(adj.) to have foreknowledge of events (Questioning the fortune cookie’s prediction, Ray went in search of the old hermit who was rumored to be prescient.)

51
Q

prescribe

A

(v.) to lay down a rule (The duke prescribed that from this point further all of the peasants living on his lands would have to pay higher taxes.)

52
Q

presumptuous

A

(adj.) disrespectfully bold (The princess grew angry after the presumptuous noble tried to kiss her, even though he was far below her in social status.)

53
Q

primeval

A

(adj.) original, ancient (The first primates to walk on two legs, called Australopithecus, were the primeval descendants of modern man.)

54
Q

privation

A

(n.) lacking basic necessities (After decades of rule by an oppressive government that saw nothing wrong with stealing from its citizens, the recent
drought only increased the people’s privation.)

55
Q

probity

A

(n.) virtue, integrity (Because he was never viewed as a man of great probity, no one was surprised by Mr. Samson’s immoral behavior.)

56
Q

proclivity

A

(n.) a strong inclination toward something (In a sick twist of fate, Harold’s childhood proclivity for torturing small animals grew into a desire to become a surgeon.)

57
Q

procure

A

(v.) to obtain, acquire (The FBI was unable to procure sufficient evidence to charge the gangster with racketeering.)

58
Q

profligate

A

(adj.) dissolute, extravagant (The profligate gambler loved to drink, spend money, steal, cheat, and hang out with prostitutes.)

59
Q

profuse

A

(adj.) plentiful, abundant (The fans were profuse in their cheers for the star basketball player.)

60
Q

promulgate

A

promote or make widely known (an idea or cause).
(these objectives have to be promulgated within the organization)

61
Q

propagate

A

(v.) to multiply, spread out (Rumors of Paul McCartney’s demise propagated like wildfire throughout the world.)

62
Q

propensity

A

(n.) an inclination, preference (Silas has a propensity for dangerous activities such as bungee jumping.)

63
Q

propitious

A

(adj.) favorable (The dark storm clouds visible on the horizon suggested that the weather would not be propitious for sailing.)

64
Q

propriety

A

(n.) the quality or state of being proper, decent (Erma’s old-fashioned parents believed that her mini-skirt lacked the propriety expected of a “nice” girl.)

65
Q

prosaic

A

(adj.) plain, lacking liveliness (Heather’s prosaic recital of the poem bored the audience.)

66
Q

proscribe

A

(v.) to condemn, outlaw (The town council voted to proscribe the sale of alcohol on weekends.)

67
Q

protean

A

(adj.) able to change shape; displaying great variety (Among Nigel’s protean talents was his ability to touch the tip of his nose with his tongue.)

68
Q

prudence

A

(n.) cautious, circumspect (After losing a fortune in a stock market crash, my father vowed to practice greater prudence in future investments.)

69
Q

puerile

A

(adj.) juvenile, immature (The judge demanded order after the lawyer’s puerile attempt to object by stomping his feet on the courtroom floor.)

70
Q

pugnacious

A

(adj.) quarrelsome, combative (Aaron’s pugnacious nature led him to start several barroom brawls each month.)

71
Q

pulchritude

A

(n.) physical beauty (Several of Shakespeare’s sonnets explore the pulchritude of a lovely young man.)

72
Q

punctilious

A

(adj.) eager to follow rules or conventions (Punctilious Bobby, hall monitor extraordinaire, insisted that his peers follow the rules.)

73
Q

pungent

A

(adj.) having a pointed, sharp quality—often used to describe smells (The pungent odor in the classroom made Joseph lose his concentration during the test.)

74
Q

punitive

A

(adj.) involving punishment (If caught smoking in the boys’ room, the punitive result is immediate expulsion from school.)

SAT stuff (21 decks)

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