SAT 100 KEEP Flashcards
1
Q
sadistic
A
inclined to cruelty
2
Q
saga
A
Scandinavian myth; any legend
3
Q
sagacious
A
perceptive; shrewd; having insight
4
Q
sage
A
person celebrated for wisedom
5
Q
salacious
A
lascivicous; lustful
6
Q
salient
A
protruding; strinkingly conspicuous; jumping
7
Q
salvage
A
rescue from loss
8
Q
salubrious
A
promoting good health; healthful
9
Q
salutary
A
tending to improve; beneficial; wholesome
10
Q
salvo
A
discharge of firearms; military salute
The boom of the enemy’s opening salvo made the petrified private jump.
11
Q
sanctimonious
A
falsely holy; feigning piety
12
Q
sanction
A
approve; ratify
Nothing will convince me to sanction the engagement of y daughter to such a worthless young man.
13
Q
sanguine
A
cheerful; hopeful
14
Q
sardonic
A
cynically mocking; sarcastic
15
Q
sartorial
A
pertaining to tailors
16
Q
sate
A
satisfy to the full; cloy
Its hunger sated, the lion dozed
17
Q
satiate
A
satisfy; full
Having stuffed themselves until they were satiated, the guests were so full they were ready for a nap.
18
Q
saturnine
A
gloomy
Do not be misled by his saturnine countenance; he is not as gloomy as he looks.
19
Q
saunter
A
stroll slowly
20
Q
savant
A
learned scholar
Despite all her academic honors, Dr. Diamond disliked being classed as a savant: considering herself a simple researcher, she refused to describe herself in such grandiose terms.
21
Q
scabbard
A
case for a sword blade; sheath
22
Q
scad
A
a great quantity
Refusing Dave’s offer to lend him a shirt, Phil replied, “No, thanks, I’ve got scads of clothes.”
23
Q
scaffold
A
temporary platform for workers; bracing framework; platform for execution
24
Q
scamp
A
rascal
25
scapegoat
someone who bears the blame for others
26
schematic
relating to an outline or diagram; using a sytem of symbols
27
schism
division; split
| His reforms led to a schism in the church and the establishment of a new sect opposing the old order.
28
scintillate
sparkle; flash
29
scourge
cause of widespread devastation; severe punishment; whip
| Abraham Lincoln wrote, "Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war speedily may pass away.
30
scruple
fret about; hesitate, for ethical reasons
31
scurrilous
vulgar; coarse; foul-mouthed; obscene
| Politicians often face scurrilous attacks from angry constituents.
32
scurvy
despicable; contemptible
| Pter Pan sneered at Captain Hook and his scurvy crew.
33
scuttle (V. 2nd meaning)
sink
| The sailors decided to scuttle their vessel rather than surrender it to the enemy.
34
seamy
sordid; unwholesome
In "The Godfather", Michael Corleone is unwilling to expose his wife and children to the seamy side of his life as the son of a Mafia don.
35
sear
char or burn; brand
| Accidentally brushing against the hot grill, she seared her hand badly
36
secession
withdrawal
| The secession of the Southern states provided Lincoln with his first major problem after his inauguration.
37
seclusion
isolation; solitude
38
secrete
hide away; produce and release a substance into an organism
39
sect
separate religious body; faction
40
sedate
calm and composed; dignified
41
sedentary
requiring sitting
42
sedition
resistance to authority; insubordination
| His words, though not treasonous in themselves, were calculated to arouse thoughts of sedition
43
sedulous
diligent; hardworking
44
seedy
run-down; decrepit; disreputable
| I would rater stay in dormitory lodgings in a decent youth hostel than have a room of my own in a seedy downtown hotel.
45
seemly
proper; appropriate (compare to "unseemly")
46
seismic
pertaining to earthquakes
47
seminary
school for training future minsters; academy for young women
48
sententious
terse; concise; aphoristic
| After reading so many redundant speeches, I find his sententious style particularly pleasing.
49
sentinel
sentry; lookout
50
respite
interval of relief; time for rest; delay in punishment
51
responsiveness
state of reacting readily to appeals, orders, etc
52
restitution
reparation; indemnification
53
restive
restlessly impatient; obstinately resisting control
54
resumption
taking up again; recommencement
55
retaliation
repayment in some kind (usually for bad treatment)
Because everyone knew the Princeton Band had stole Brown's mascot, the whole Princeton student body expected some sort of retaliation from Brown.
56
retentive
able to retain or keep; able t remember
| Priding herself on her retentive memory, she claimed she never forgot a face.
57
reticence
reserve; uncommunicativeness; inclination to silence
58
retinue
following; attendants
| The queen's retinue followed her down the aisle.
59
retiring
modest; shy
60
retrench
cut down; economize
61
retribution
vengeance; compensation; punishment for offenses
62
retroactive
taking effect before its enactment )as a law; or imposition (as a tax)
Because the new pension law was retroactive to the first of the year, even though Martha had retired in February she was eligible for the pension.
63
retrograde
go backwards; degenerate
64
retrospective
looking back on the past
65
revelry
boisterous merrymaking
66
reverie
daydream; musing
| He was awakened form his reverie by the teacher's question.
67
revert
relapse; backslide; turn back to
Most of the time Andy seemed sensitive and mature, but occasionally he would revert to his smart-alecky, macho, adolescent self.
68
revile
attack with abusive language; vilify
69
revuslion
sudden violent change of feeling; reaction
70
rhapsodize
to speak or write in a n exaggeratedly enthusiastic manner
| She greatly enjoyed her Hawaiian vacation and rhapsodized about it for weeks.
71
rhetorical
pertaining to effective communication; insincere in language
| To win his audience, the speaker used every rhetorical trick in the book
72
ribald
wanton; profane
| He sang a ribald song that offended any of the more prudish listeneres
73
riddle (V.)
pierce with holes; permeate or spread throughout.
74
rider
amendment or clause added to a legislative bill
75
rift
opening; break
76
rig
fix or manipulate
The ward boss was able to rig the election by bribing people to stuff the ballot boxes with ballots marked in his candidate's favor.
77
rile
vex; irritate; muddy
78
riveting
absorbing; engrowssing
79
rivulet
small stream
80
roil
to make liquids murky by stirring up sediment
| Be careful when you pour not to roil the wine; if you stir up the sediment you'll destroy the flavor
81
roster
list
| They print the roster of players in the season's program.
82
rostrum
platform for speech-making; pulprit
83
rote
repetition
| He recited the passage by rote and gave no indication he understood wha the was aying.
84
rotundity
roundness; sonorousness of speech.
| Short, squat, and round as a bowling ball, hew as the very model of rotundity.
85
rout
stampede; drive out
86
rubble
broken fragments
| Ten years after World War II, some of the rubble left by enemy bombings could still be seen.
87
rudimentary
not developed; elementary; crude
88
rue
regret; lament; mourn
89
ruffian
bully; scoundrel
90
ruminate
chew over and over (mentally or like cows, physically); mull over; ponder
91
ruse
trick; stratagem
92
rustic
pertaining to country people; uncouth
| The backwoodsman looked out of place in his rustic attire
93
saboteur
one who commits sabotage; destroyer of property
94
saccharine
cloyingly sweet
| She tried to ingratiate herself, speaking sweetly and smiling a saccharine smile.
95
sacrilegious
desecrating; profane
| His stealing of the altar cloth was a very sacrilegious act.
96
sacrosanct
most sacred; inviolable
97
redolent
fragrant; odorous; suggestive of an odor
| Even though it is February, the air is redolent of spring.
98
redoutable
formidable; causing fear.
During the Cold War period, neighboring countries tried not to offend the Russians because they could be redoubtable foes.
99
redress
remedy; compensation
100
refraction
bending of a ray of light
