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SSAT - PREPSKILLS > PREPWords > Flashcards

PREPWords Flashcards

1
Q

Synthesis Card # 1 - RETICENT

Jerry was reticent in voicing his opinion; he was unsure people would take him seriously even if he spoke up.

A

RETICENT

  • Reserved
  • quiet
  • restrained;
  • unforthcoming
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2
Q

Synthesis Card # 2

When Christine saw the face of the Phantom of the Opera, she recoiled in horror; he had been burned beyond recognition.

A

RECOIL

  • Shrink back
  • withdraw
  • retreat
  • jump back
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3
Q

Synthesis Card # 3

Some mathematicians argue mathematical laws are a priori – they would be true even if humans never existed to learn about them.

A

A PRIORI

  • Prior to experience
  • not requiring experience to be justified
  • true eternally
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4
Q

Synthesis Card # 4

Some mathematicians argue mathematical laws are a posteriori, just like scientific laws - humans created mathematics based on their experiences

A

A POSTERIORI

  • Post-experience
  • requiring experiment or a sensory experience ( like sight, sounds, touch, taste or audio) to be declared existent or true.
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5
Q

Synthesis Card # 5

Anna wrote a perspicacious essay on the German philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, leading her professor to declare it one of the most intelligent pieces of writing the professor had ever read.

A

PERSPICACIOUS

(per·spi·ca·cious; pərspiˈkāSHəs)

  • wise
  • astute
  • sagacious
  • intelligent
  • clear in thought
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6
Q

Synthesis card # 6

Following the harsh university review, professors were lambasted for ignoring the needs of students.

A

LAMBASTED

  • Attacked
  • Criticized
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7
Q

Synthesis Card # 7

Environmental activism is often motivated by inspired ideals and hopeful principles related to better ecological management.

A

PRINCIPLES

  • belief
  • moral value
  • social norm
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8
Q

Synthesis Card # 8

Her hypothesis was still a mere conjecture; it had not yet been proven by any experimental results.

A

CONJECTURE

  • hypothesis
  • guess
  • speculation
  • assumption
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9
Q

Synthesis Card # 9

To improve the salubriousness of his lifestyle, Jonas quit smoking and changed his eating habits.

A

SALUBRIOUS

  • healthy
  • good for your mental/physical being
  • wholesome
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10
Q

Synthesis Card # 10

It was the band’s first practice together and what they pronounced was a cacophony of disharmonious noises rather than a melodious tune

A

CACOPHONY

  • dissonance
  • discord
  • noise
  • disharmony
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11
Q

Synthesis Card # 11

The peace-making efforts in the war-torn country were aided by a surge in global financial support for the aid workers and their mission.

A

SURGE

  • influx
  • heave
  • rush
  • flow
  • sudden abundence of
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12
Q

SYNTHESIS CARD # 12

The board denied funding for the project, deeming it to have been poorly planned and lacking in foresight.

A

FORESIGHT

  • prudence
  • forward-thinking
  • long-term vision
  • prescience
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13
Q

Synthesis Card # 13

Commiserating her friend’s sprained ankle, Ana promised to help her friend train more safely for the next race.

A

COMMISERATE

  • offer condolences
  • sympathize
  • empathize
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14
Q

Synthesis Card # 14

His recalcitrant behaviour led many teachers to conclude that he would never listen to authority and never follow the rules set before him.

A

RECALCITRANT

  • rebellious
  • riotous
  • disturbing
  • disorderly
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15
Q

Synthesis Card # 15

The poet found the use of short, rhyming poems on subway marketing posters a repellent and degraded form of poetic expression.

A

REPELLENT

  • vile
  • disgusting
  • distasteful
  • foul
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16
Q

Synthesis card # 16

His unobtrusive style led people to often conclude, mistakenly, that he held no opinions on how the company ought to have been managed.

A

UNOBTRUSIVE

  • inconspicuous
  • mild
  • shy
  • modest
  • unremarkable
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17
Q

Synthesis Card # 17

Janine’s wilfulness rendered her a formidable foe in a debate or discussion, as she always refused to admit defeat or accept an alternative point of view.

A

WILFUL

  • headstrong
  • obstinate
  • stubborn
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18
Q

Synthesis Card # 18

The first Irish referendum on the European Union’s constitution demonstrated that most voters did not agree with the proposed document.

A

REFERENDUM

  • vote
  • election
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19
Q

Synthesis Card # 19

Always on the cusp of generating a new idea, Randy was a trailblazer in his field of research.

A

TRAIL-BLAZER

  • pioneer
  • speculator
  • innovator
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20
Q

Synthesis Card # 20

Horse-drawn carriages are now obsolete in London; they are relics of the past, replaced in more recent times by automobiles.

A

OBSOLETE

  • disused
  • unused
  • outdated
  • archaic
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21
Q

Synthesis Card # 21

Children will often ostracize one another on the playground, which has led the parents of those children who are mistreated to worry about schoolyard bullying and social exclusion.

A

OSTRACIZE

  • exclude
  • banish
  • expatriate
22
Q

Synthesis Card # 22

To augment her status as council leader, Dr. Spikes insisted upon a coronation and official ceremony at her inauguration.

A

AUGMENT

  • increase
  • maximize
  • inflate
23
Q

Synthesis Card # 23

Mr. Jones called the police last night as his unruly and obstreperous neighbours, with their loud music and constant partying, wouldn’t quiet down after his repeated requests.

A

OBSTREPEROUS

  • resisting control
  • rebellious
  • boisterous
24
Q

Synthesis Card # 24

It would be hard to dissuade Monica of the correctness of her theory as she had already invested most of her academic career in proving its truth.

A

DISSUADE

  • convince
  • deter
  • persuade
25
Q

Synthesis Card # 25

Depressed, despondent and broken-down, Michael left his office for the last time-his dismissal notice in hand.

A

DESPONDENT

  • heartsick
  • depressed
  • morose
  • hopeless
26
Q

Synthesis Card # 26

Although animals are often thought to act in instinctive and immediate ways, zoologists have documented premeditated and well-organize attacks by cheetahs and lionesses in the wild, demonstrating some animals have the ability to plan for the future.

A

PREMEDITATED

  • deliberate
  • calculated
  • intentional
  • conscious
27
Q

Synthesis Card # 27

Bongo was a green, stuffed animal whose personality traits on a children’s television show personified the behaviour of a 6-year old child.

A

PERSONIFY

  • exemplify
  • incarnate
  • anthropomorphize
  • typify
28
Q

Synthesis Card # 28

The critic called the film “disastrously directed” and a waste of acting talent; his caustic review led show houses to cut the film’s screening by two weeks.

A

CAUSTIC

  • mordant
  • acerbic
  • scathing
  • biting
29
Q

Synthesis Card # 29

Though he can be light-hearted and comic at times, Jenson turns into a sardonic and unforgiving joker when one mentions his ex-partner.

A

SARDONIC

  • sarcastic
  • satirical
  • cutting
  • mordant
  • scathing
30
Q

Synthesis Card # 30

Scornful of his brother’s constant successes, Oskar decided to run away from home so that his parents would consider appreciating his talents too.

A

SCORNFUL

  • contemptuous
  • mocking
  • sneering
  • derisive
31
Q

Synthesis Card # 31

The English court was known throughout the Renaissance for the gentility of its aristocrats and the refinement of its manners.

A

GENTILITY

  • refinement
  • propriety
  • decorum
  • courtesy
32
Q

Synthesis Card # 32

Intelligent beyond comparison, Mikella impressed the hiring board with her acumen.

A

ACUMEN

  • insight
  • shrewdness
  • expertise
  • intelligence
33
Q

Synthesis Card # 33

Stumbling about to find the right woeds, Angelina came across as inane and lacking in insight.

A

INANE

  • mindless
  • frivolous
  • absurd
  • stupid
34
Q

Synthesis Card # 34

I am opposed to the gratuitous killing that one finds in contemporary horror films, so I refuse to watch any of them in the cinema.

A

GRATUITOUS

  • unneeded
  • unnecessarily
  • superfluous
35
Q

Synthesis Card # 35

Protestantism in Europe was founded, in part, upon a profoundly iconoclastic view of Catholic imagery and iconography-the latter of which many Protestants thought was an indication of mystical and pagan worship.

A

ICONOCLASTIC

  • destruction of sacred images
  • untraditional
  • unconventional
  • anti-dogmatic
36
Q

Synthesis Card # 36

My incredulous opinion of his story was based on the fact that it was full of twists and inconsistent details.

A

INCREDULOUS

  • disbelieving
  • unconvinced
  • sceptical
37
Q

Synthesis Card # 37

Cynical to the end, the mathematician William Clifford refused to accept that any sort of heaven awaited him after death.

A

CYNICAL

  • pessimistic
  • distrustful
  • disparaging
  • mocking
38
Q

Synthesis Card # 38

Their wanton behaviour was matched only by the debased nature of their colleagues in crime, all of whom pursued their route to wealth through bribery and fraud.

A

WANTON

  • unjustifiable
  • unprovoked
  • unmotivated
39
Q

Synthesis Card # 39

Stu’s parents had to reign in their profligate son by cutting his credit card and imposing limits on his daily bank withdrawals.

A

PROFLIGATE

  • extravagant
  • wasteful
  • squandering
  • decadent
40
Q

Synthesis Card # 40

At the strictly religious school where Janine had been sent by her unforgiving parents, even the idea of a friendly kiss was deemed to be licentious and deeply immodest.

A

LICENTITIOUS

  • immodest
  • lustful
  • dissolute
  • impious
41
Q

Synthesis Card # 41

In a time of recession, more people have adopted a parsimonious attitude towards their money and leisure activities.

A

PARSIMONIOUS

  • thrifty
  • economical
  • frugal
  • sparing
42
Q

Synthesis Card # 42

The sort of abject poverty that one-sixth of the world’s population faces on a daily basis is imcomprehensible to those of us living in North America, where misery has no such home.

A

ABJECT

  • DISMAL
  • MISERABLE
  • WRETCHED
43
Q

Synthesis Card # 43

He stared out of the window wistfully watching the rain pour down; he had not heard from him girlfriend in more than four weeks.

A

WISTFULLY

  • longingly
  • sadly
  • thoughtfully
  • comtemplatively
  • regretfully
44
Q

Synthesis Card # 44

The gambler’s string of successes led the casino managers to suspect a ruse was at play and that they had been somehow deceived.

A

RUSE

  • HOAX
  • DECEPTION
  • PLOY
45
Q

SYNTHESIS CARD # 45

Following the death of her sister, Ella heard from friends she hadn’t contacted in years, all of whom sent their commiserations.

A

COMMISERATE

  • sympathize
  • empathize
  • give condolences
46
Q

Synthesis Card # 46

Having long cogitated on the structure of the planets and their orbits, Galileo developed the concept of a sun-centric solar system.

A

COGITATE

  • meditate
  • ponder
  • ruminate
  • think about
47
Q

Synthesis Card # 47

The horse-drwan carriage was more rickety than romantic, leading all parties to cavil the entire way home about the ill planned choice they had made.

A

CAVIL

  • to be picky
  • complain
  • niggle
48
Q

Synthesis Card # 48

Rather than getting to the point right away, he meandered around the issue and raised a number of peripheral and circumlocutory concerns first.

A

CIRCUMLOCUTORY

  • roundabout
  • indirect
  • unclear
  • circuitous
49
Q

Synthesis Card # 49

The response from the opposition was apposite, addressing the central concern raised by the government.

A

APPOSITE

  • appropriate
  • pertinent
  • relevant
50
Q

Synthesis Card # 50

Latisha hoped the years of solitude and isolation that her children had inadvertently experienced would not lead them to insecurity and diffidence as adults later in life

A

DIFFIDENT

  • self-effacing
  • unobtrusive
  • insecure
  • reticent

SSAT - PREPSKILLS (8 decks)

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