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SAT-3000-7 Flashcards

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1
Q

naiveté

A

N. quality of being unsophisticated; simplicity; art¬lessness; gullibility. Touched by the naivetd of sweet con¬vent-trained Cosette Marius pledges himself to protect her innocence. naiveADJ.

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2
Q

narcissist

A

N. conceited person; someone in love with his own image. A narcissist is her own best friend.

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3
Q

narrative

A

ADJ. related to telling a story. A born teller of tales Tillie Olsen used her impressive narrative skills to advantage in her story “I Stand Here Ironing.” narrateV.

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4
Q

nascent

A

ADJ. incipient; coming into being. If we could identify these revolutionary movements in their nascent state we would be able to eliminate serious trouble in later years.

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5
Q

natty

A

ADJ. neatly or smartly dressed. Priding himself on being a natty dresser the gangster Bugsy Siegel collected a wardrobe of imported suits and ties.

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6
Q

nauseate

A

V. cause to become sick; fill with disgust. The foul smells began to nauseate him.

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7
Q

nautical

A

ADJ. pertaining to ships or navigation. The Mar¬itime Museum contains many models of clipper ships log¬books anchors and many other items of a nautical nature.

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8
Q

navigable

A

ADJ. wide and deep enough to allow ships to pass through; able to be steered. So much sand had built up at the bottom of the canal that the waterway was barely navigable.

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9
Q

nebulous

A

ADJ. vague; hazy; cloudy. After twenty years she had only a nebulous memory of her grandmother’s face.

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10
Q

necromancy

A

N. black magic; dealings with the dead. The evil sorceror performed feats of necromancy calling on the spirits of the dead to tell the future.

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11
Q

nefarious

A

ADJ. very wicked. The villain’s crimes though various were one and all nefarious.

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12
Q

negate

A

V. cancel out; nullify; deny. A sudden surge of adrenalin can negate the effects of fatigue: there’s nothing like a good shock to wake you up.

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13
Q

negligence

A

N. neglect; failure to take reasonable care. Tommy failed to put back the cover on the well after he fetched his pail of water; because of his negligence Kitty fell in.

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14
Q

negligible

A

ADJ. so small trifling or unimportant that it may be easily disregarded. Because the damage to his car had been negligible Michael decided he wouldn’t bother to report the matter to his insurance company.

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15
Q

nemesis

A

N. someone seeking revenge. Abandoned at sea in a small boat the vengeful Captain Bligh vowed to be the nemesis of Fletcher Christian and his fellow mutineers.

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16
Q

neologism

A

N. new or newly coined word or phrase. As we invent new techniques and professions we must also Invent neologisms such as “microcomputer” and “astronaut” to describe them.

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17
Q

neophyte

A

N. recent convert; beginner. This mountain slope contains slides that will challenge experts as well as neophytes.

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18
Q

nepotism

A

N. favoritism (to a relative). John left his position with the company because he felt that advancement was based on nepotism rather than ability.

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19
Q

nettle

A

V. annoy; vex. Do not let him nettle you with his sar¬castic remarks.

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20
Q

neutral

A

ADJ. impartial; not supporting one side over another. Reluctant to get mixed up in someone else’s quar¬rel Bobby tried to remain neutral but eventually he had to take sides.

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21
Q

nicety

A

N. precision; minute distinction. I cannot distinguish between such niceties of reasoning.

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22
Q

nihilist

A

N. one who believes traditional beliefs to be groundless and existence meaningless; absolute skeptic; revolutionary terrorist. In his final days Hitler revealed him¬self a power-mad nihilist ready to annihilate all of Western Europe even to destroy Germany itself in order that his will might prevail. The root of the word nihilist is nihil Latin for nothing. nihilism N.

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23
Q

nip

A

V. stop something’s growth or development; snip off; bite; make numb with cold. The twins were plotting mis¬chief but Mother intervened and nipped that plan in the bud. The gardener nipped off a lovely rose and gave it to me. Last week a guard dog nipped the postman in the leg; this week the extreme chill nipped his fingers till he could barely hold the mail.

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24
Q

nirvana

A

N. in Buddhist teachings the ideal state in which the individual loses himself in the attainment of an imper¬sonal beatitude. Despite his desire to achieve nirvana the young Buddhist found that even the buzzing of a fly could distract him from his meditation.

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25
Q

nocturnal

A

ADJ. done at night. Mr. Jones obtained a watch¬dog to prevent the nocturnal raids on his chicken coops.

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26
Q

noisome

A

ADJ. foul-smelling; unwholesome. The noisome atmosphere downwind of the oil refinery not only stank it damaged the lungs of everyone living in the area.

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27
Q

nomadic

A

ADJ. wandering. Several nomadic tribes of Indi¬ans would hunt in this area each year.

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28
Q

nomenclature

A

N. terminology; system of names. Sharon found Latin word parts useful in translating medical nomen¬clature: when her son had to have a bilateral myringotomy she figured out that he just needed a hole in each of his eardrums to end the earaches he had.

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29
Q

nominal ADJ. in name only; trifling. He offered to drive her to the airport for only a nominal fee.

A

…

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30
Q

nonchalance

A

N. indifference; lack of concern; composure. Cool calm and collected under fire James Bond shows remarkable nonchalance in the face of danger.

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31
Q

noncommittal

A

ADJ. neutral; unpledged; undecided. We were annoyed by his noncommittal reply for we had been led to expect definite assurances of his approval.

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32
Q

nondescript

A

ADJ. undistinctive; ordinary. The private detec¬tive was a short nondescript fellow with no outstanding fea¬tures the sort of person one would never notice in a crowd.

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33
Q

nonentity

A

N. person of no importance; nonexistence. Because the two older princes dismissed their youngest brother as a nonentity they did not realize that he was qui¬etly plotting to seize the throne.

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34
Q

nonplus

A

V. bring to halt by confusion; perplex. Jack’s uncharacteristic rudeness nonplussed Jill leaving her uncertain how to react.

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35
Q

nostalgia

A

N. homesickness; longing for the past. My grandfather seldom spoke of life in the old country; he had little patience with nostalgia. nostalgicADJ.

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36
Q

notable

A

ADJ. conspicuous; important; distinguished. Nor¬mally notable for his calm in the kitchen today the head cook was shaking for the notable chef Julia Child was com¬ing to dinner.

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37
Q

notoriety

A

N. disrepute; ill fame. To the starlet any publicity was good publicity: if she couldn’t have a good reputation she’d settle for notoriety. notoriousADJ.

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38
Q

novelty

A

N. something new; newness. The computer is no longer a novelty at work; every desk in our office has one. novelADJ.

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39
Q

novice

A

N. beginner. Even a novice at working with comput¬ers can install Barron’s Computer Study Program for the SAT by following the easy steps outlined in the user’s manual.

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40
Q

noxious

A

ADJ. harmful. We must trace the source of these noxious gases before they asphyxiate us.

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41
Q

nuance

A

N. shade of difference in meaning or color; subtle distinction. Jody gazed at the Monet landscape for an hour appreciating every subtle nuance of color in the painting.

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42
Q

nullify

A

V. to make invalid. Once the contract was nullified it no longer had any legal force.

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43
Q

numismatist

A

N. person who collects coins. The numisma¬tist had a splendid collection of antique coins.

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44
Q

nuptial

A

ADJ. related to marriage. Reluctant to be married in a traditional setting they decided to hold their nuptial cere¬mony at the carousel in Golden Gate Park.

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45
Q

nurture

A

V. nourish; educate; foster. The Head Start pro¬gram attempts to nurture pre-kindergarten children so that they will do well when they enter public school. also N.

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46
Q

nutrient

A

N. nourishing substance. As a budding nutrition¬ist Kim has learned to design diets that contain foods rich in important basic nutrients.

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47
Q

oaf

A

N. stupid awkward person. “Watch what you’re doing you clumsy oaf!” Bill shouted at the waiter who had drenched him with iced coffee.

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48
Q

obdurate

A

ADJ. stubborn. He was obdurate in his refusal to listen to our complaints.

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49
Q

obese

A

ADJ. fat. It is advisable that obese people try to lose weight.

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50
Q

obfuscate

A

V. confuse; muddle; cause confusion; make needlessly complex. Was the president’s spokesman trying to clarify the Whitewater mystery or was he trying to obfus¬cate the issue so the voters would never figure out what went on

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51
Q

obituary

A

ADJ. death notice. I first learned of her death when I read the obituary column in the newspaper. also N.

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52
Q

objective

A

ADJ. not influenced by emotions; fair. Even though he was her son she tried to be objective about his behavior.

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53
Q

objective

A

N. goal; aim. A degree in medicine was her ulti¬mate objective.

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54
Q

obligatory

A

ADJ. binding; required. It is obligatory that books borrowed from the library be returned within two weeks.

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55
Q

oblique

A

ADJ. indirect; slanting (deviating from the perpen¬dicular or from a straight line). Casting a quick oblique glance at the reviewing stand the sergeant ordered the company to march “Oblique Right.”

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56
Q

obliterate

A

V. destroy completely. The tidal wave obliterated several island villages

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57
Q

oblivion

A

N. obscurity; forgetfulness. After a decade of pop¬ularity Hurston’s works had fallen into oblivion; no one bothered to read them any more.

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58
Q

oblivious

A

ADJ. inattentive or unmindful; wholly absorbed. Deep in her book Nancy was oblivious to the noisy squab¬bles of her brother and his friends.

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59
Q

obnoxious

A

ADJ. offensive. I find your behavior obnoxious; please mend your ways.

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60
Q

obscure

A

ADJ. dark; vague; unclear. Even after I read the poem a fourth time its meaning was still obscure. obscu¬rity N.

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61
Q

obscure

A

V. darken; make unclear. At times he seemed purposely to obscure his meaning preferring mystery to clarity.

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62
Q

obsequious

A

ADJ. slavishly attentive; servile; sycophantic. Helen liked to be served by people who behaved as if they respected themselves; nothing irritated her more than an excessively obsequious waiter or a fawning salesclerk.

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63
Q

obsessive

A

ADJ. related to thinking about something con¬stantly; preoccupying. Ballet which had been a hobby began to dominate his life: his love of dancing became obsessive. obsession N.

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64
Q

obsolete

A

ADJ. no longer useful; outmoded; antiquated. The invention of the pocket calculator made the slide rule used by generations of engineers obsolete.

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65
Q

obstetrician

A

N. physician specializing in delivery of babies. In modern times the delivery of children has passed from the midwife to the more scientifically trained obstetrician

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66
Q

obstinate

A

ADJ. stubborn; hard to control or treat. We tried to persuade him to give up smoking but he was obstinate and refused to change. Blackberry stickers are the most obstinate weeds I know: once established in a yard they’re extremely hard to root out. obstinacy N.

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67
Q

obstreperous

A

ADJ. boisterous; noisy. What do you do when an obstreperous horde of drunken policemen goes carous¬ing through your hotel crashing into potted plants and singing vulgar songs

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68
Q

obtrude

A

V. push (oneself or one’s ideas) forward or intrude; butt in; stick out or extrude. Because Fanny was reluctant to obtrude her opinions about child-raising upon her daughter-in-law she kept a close watch on her tongue. obtrusiveADJ.

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69
Q

obtuse

A

ADJ. blunt; stupid. What can you do with somebody who’s so obtuse that he can’t even tell that you’re insulting him

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70
Q

obviate

A

V. make unnecessary; get rid of. I hope this contri¬bution will obviate any need for further collections of funds.

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71
Q

odious

A

ADJ. hateful; vile. Cinderella’s ugly stepsisters had the odious habit of popping their zits in public.

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72
Q

odium

A

N. detestation; hatefulness; disrepute. Prince Charming could not express the odium he felt toward Cin¬derella’s stepsisters because of their mistreatment of poor Cinderella.

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73
Q

odorous

A

ADJ. having an odor. This variety of hybrid tea rose is more odorous than the one you have in your garden.

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74
Q

odyssey

A

N. long eventful journey. The refugee’s journey from Cambodia was a terrifying odyssey.

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75
Q

offensive

A

ADJ. attacking; insulting; distasteful. Getting into street brawls is no minor matter for professional boxers who are required by law to restrict their offensive impulses to the ring.

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76
Q

offhand

A

ADJ. casual; done without prior thought. Expecting to be treated with due propriety by her hosts Great-Aunt Maud was offended by their offhand manner.

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77
Q

officious

A

ADJ. meddlesome; excessively pushy in offering one’s services. Judy wanted to look over the new computer models on her own but the officious salesman kept on butting in with “helpful” advice until she was ready to walk out of the store.

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78
Q

ogle

A

V. look at amorously; make eyes at. At the coffee house Walter was too shy to ogle the pretty girls openly; instead he peeked out at them from behind a rubber plant.

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79
Q

olfactory

A

ADJ. concerning the sense of smell. A wine taster must have a discriminating palate and a keen olfactory sense for a good wine appeals both to the taste buds and to the nose.

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80
Q

oligarchy

A

N. government by a privileged few. One small clique ran the student council: what had been intended as a democratic governing body had turned into an oligarchy.

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81
Q

ominous

A

ADJ. threatening. Those clouds are ominous; they suggest a severe storm is on the way.

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82
Q

omnipotent

A

ADJ. all-powerful. The monarch regarded him¬self as omnipotent and responsible to no one for his acts.

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83
Q

omnipresent

A

ADJ. universally present; ubiquitous. On Christmas Eve Santa Claus is omnipresent.

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84
Q

omniscient

A

ADJ. all-knowing. I do not pretend to be omni¬scient but I am positive about this fact.

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85
Q

omnivorous

A

ADJ. eating both plant and animal food; devouring everything. Some animals including man are omnivorous and eat both meat and vegetables; others are either carnivorous or herbivorous.

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86
Q

onerous

A

ADJ. burdensome. He asked for an assistant because his work load was too onerous.

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87
Q

onset

A

N. beginning; attack. Caught unprepared by the sudden onset of the storm we rushed around the house closing windows and bringing the garden furniture into shelter. Caught unprepared by the enemy onset the troops scrambled to take shelter.

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88
Q

onus

A

N. burden; responsibility. The emperor was spared the onus of signing the surrender papers; instead he rele¬gated the assignment to his generals.

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89
Q

opalescent

A

ADJ. iridescent; lustrous. The oil slick on the water had an opalescent rainbow-like sheen.

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90
Q

opaque

A

ADJ. dark; not transparent. The opaque window shade kept the sunlight out of the room. opacity N.

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91
Q

opiate

A

N. medicine to induce sleep or deaden pain; some¬thing that relieves emotions or causes inaction. To say that religion is the opiate of the people is to condemn religion as a drug that keeps the people quiet and submissive to those in power.

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92
Q

opportune

A

ADJ. timely; well-chosen. Sally. looked at her father struggling to balance his checkbook; clearly this would not be an opportune moment to ask him for a raise in her allowance.

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93
Q

opportunist

A

N. individual who sacrifices principles for expediency by taking advantage of circumstances. Joe is such an opportunist that he tripled the price of bottled water at his store as soon as the earthquake struck. Because it can break water pipes an earthquake is to most people a disaster; to Joe it was an opportunity.

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94
Q

optician

A

N. maker and seller of eyeglasses. The patient took the prescription given him by his oculist} o the optician.

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95
Q

optimist

A

N. person who looks on the good side. The pes¬simist says the glass is half-empty; the optimist says it is half-full.

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96
Q

optimum

A

ADJ. most favorable. If you wait for the optimum moment to act you may never begin your project. also N.

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97
Q

optional

A

ADJ. not obligatory; left to one’s choice. Most col¬leges require applicants to submit SAT I scores; at some colleges however submitting SAT I scores is optional.

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98
Q

opulence

A

N. extreme wealth; luxuriousness; abundance. The glitter and opulence of the ballroom took Cinderella’s breath away. opulentADJ.

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99
Q

opus

A

N. work. Although many critics hailed his Fifth Sym¬phony as his major work he did not regard it as his major opus.

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100
Q

oracular

A

ADJ. prophetic; uttered as if with divine authority; mysterious or ambiguous. Like many others who sought divine guidance from the oracle at Delphi Oedipus could not understand the enigmatic oracularwarning he received.

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101
Q

orator

A

N. public speaker. The abolitionist Frederick Dou¬glass was a brilliant orator whose speeches brought home to his audience the evils of slavery.

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102
Q

ordain

A

V. decree or command; grant holy orders; predes¬tine. The king ordained that no foreigner should be allowed to enter the city. The Bishop of Michigan ordained David a deacon in the Episcopal Church. The young lovers felt that fate had ordained their meeting.

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103
Q

ordeal

A

N. severe trial or affliction. June was so painfully shy that it was an ordeal for her to speak up when the teacher called on her in class.

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104
Q

ordinance

A

N. decree. Passing a red light is a violation of a city ordinance.

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105
Q

ordination

A

N. ceremony making someone a minister. At the young priest’s ordination the members of the congregation presented him with a set of vestments. ordainV.

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106
Q

orgy

A

N. wild drunken revelry; unrestrained indulgence in a tendency. The Roman emperor’s orgies were far wilder than the toga party in the movie Animal House. When her income tax refund check finally arrived Sally indulged in an orgy of shopping.

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107
Q

orient

A

V. get one’s bearings; adjust. Philip spent his first day in Denver orienting himself to the city.

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108
Q

orientation

A

N. act of finding oneself in society. Freshman ori¬entation provides the incoming students with an opportunity to learn about their new environment and their place in it.

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109
Q

ornate

A

ADJ. excessively or elaborately decorated. With its elaborately carved convoluted lines furniture of the Baroque period was highly ornate.

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110
Q

ornithologist

A

N. scientific student of birds. Audubon’s drawings of American bird life have been of interest not only to the ornithologists but also to the general public.

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111
Q

ornithology

A

N. study of birds. Audubon’s studies of Ameri¬can birds greatly influenced the course of ornithology.

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112
Q

orthodox

A

ADJ. traditional; conservative in belief. Faced with a problem he preferred to take an orthodox approach rather than shock anyone. orthodoxy N.

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113
Q

oscillate

A

V. vibrate pendulumlike; waver. It is interesting to note how public opinion oscillates between the extremes of optimism and pessimism.

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114
Q

ossify

A

V. change or harden into bone. When he called his opponent a “bonehead he implied that his adversary’s brain had ossified to the point that he was incapable of clear thinking.

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115
Q

ostensible

A

ADJ. apparent; professed; pretended. Although the ostensible purpose of this expedition is to discover new lands we are really interested in finding new markets for our products.

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116
Q

ostentatious

A

ADJ. showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention. Donald Trump’s latest casino in Atlantic City is the most ostentatious gambling palace in the East: it easily out¬glitters its competitors. ostentation N.

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117
Q

ostracize

A

V. exclude from public favor; ban. As soon as the newspapers carried the story of his connection with the criminals his friends began to ostracize him. ostracism N.

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118
Q

oust

A

V. expel; drive out. The world wondered if Aquino would be able to oust Marcos from office. ouster N.

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119
Q

outlandish

A

ADJ. bizarre; peculiar; unconventional. The eccentric professor who engages in markedly outlandish behavior is a stock figure in novels with an academic setting.

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120
Q

outmoded

A

ADJ. longer stylish; old-fashioned. Uncon¬cerned about keeping in style Lenore was perfectly happy to wear outmoded clothes as long as they were clean and unfrayed.

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121
Q

outskirts

A

N. fringes; outer borders. We lived not in central London but in one of those peripheral suburbs that spring up on the outskirts of a great city.

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122
Q

outspoken

A

ADJ. candid; blunt. The candidate was too out¬spoken to be a successful politician; he had not yet learned to weigh his words carefully.

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123
Q

outstrip

A

V. surpass; outdo. Jesse Owens easily out¬stripped his white competitors to win the gold medal at the Olympic Games.

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124
Q

outwit

A

V. outsmart; trick. By disguising himself as an old woman Holmes was able to outwit his pursuers and escape capture.

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125
Q

ovation

A

N. enthusiastic applause. When the popular tenor Placido Domingo came on stage in the first act of La Boheme he was greeted by a tremendous ovation.

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126
Q

overbearing

A

ADJ. bossy and arrogant; decisively impor¬tant. Certain of her own importance and of the unimpor¬tance of everyone else Lady Bracknell was intolerably overbearing in her manner. “In choosing a husband she said, good birth is of overbearing importance; compared to that neither wealth nor talent signifies.”

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127
Q

overt

A

ADJ. open to view. According to the United States Constitution a person must commit an overt act before he may be tried for treason.

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128
Q

overwrought

A

ADJ. extremely agitated; hysterical. When Kate heard the news of the sudden tragedy she became too overwrought to work and had to leave the office early.

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129
Q

pachyderm

A

N. thick-skinned animal. The elephant is prob¬ably the best-known pachyderm.

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130
Q

pacifist

A

N. one opposed to force; antimilitarist. Shooting his way through the jungle Rambo was clearly not a pacifist.

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131
Q

pacify

A

V. soothe; make calm or quiet; subdue. Dentists criticize the practice of giving fussy children sweets to pacify them.

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132
Q

pact

A

N. agreement; treaty. Tweedledum and Tweedledee made a pact not to quarrel anymore.

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133
Q

paean

A

N. song of praise or joy. Paeans celebrating the victory filled the air.

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134
Q

painstaking

A

ADJ. showing hard work; taking-Dreat care. The new high-frequency word list is the result of painstaking efforts on the part of our research staff.

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135
Q

palatable

A

ADJ. agreeable; pleasing to the taste. Neither Jack’s underbaked opinions nor his overcooked casseroles were palatable to Jill.

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136
Q

paleontology

A

N. study of prehistoric life. The paleontology instructor had a superb collection of fossils.

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137
Q

palette

A

N. board on which painter mixes pigments. At the present time art supply stores are selling a paper palette that may be discarded after use.

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138
Q

pall

A

V. grow tiresome. The study of word lists can eventu¬ally pall and put one to sleep.

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139
Q

palliate

A

V. lessen the violence of (a disease); alleviate; moderate intensity; gloss over with excuses. Not content merely to palliate the patient’s sores and cankers the researcher sought a means of wiping out the disease. pal¬liativeADJ.

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140
Q

pallid

A

ADJ. pale; wan. Because his job required that he work at night and sleep during the day he had an excep¬tionally pallid complexion.

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141
Q

palpable

A

ADJ. tangible; easily perceptible; unmistakable. The patient’s enlarged spleen was palpable: even the first year medical student could feel it.

142
Q

palpitate

A

V. throb; flutter. As he became excited his heart began to palpitate more and more erratically.

143
Q

paltry

A

ADJ. insignificant; petty; trifling. One hundred dollars for a genuine imitation Rolex watch! Lady this is a paltry sum to pay for such a high-class piece of jewelry.

144
Q

pan

A

V. criticize harshly. Hoping for a rave review of his new show the playwright was miserable when the critics panned it unanimously.

145
Q

panacea

A

N. cure-all; remedy for all diseases. The rich youth cynically declared that the panacea for all speeding tickets was a big enough bribe.

146
Q

panache

A

N. flair; flamboyance. Many performers imitate Noel Coward but few have his panache and sense of style.

147
Q

pandemic

A

ADJ. widespread; affecting the majority of peo¬ple. They feared the AIDS epidemic would soon reach pan¬demic proportions.

148
Q

pandemonium

A

N. wild tumult. When the ships collided in the harbor pandemonium broke out among the passengers.

149
Q

pander

A

V. cater to the low desires of others. The reviewer accused the makers of Lethal Weapon of pandering to the masses’ taste for violence.

150
Q

panegyric

A

N. formal praise. Blushing at all the praise heaped upon him by the speakers the modest hero said °I don’t deserve such panegyrics.”

151
Q

panoramic

A

ADJ. related to an unobstructed and compre¬hensive view. On a clear day from the top of the World Trade Center you can get a panoramic view of New York City and parts of New Jersey and Long Island. panorama N.

152
Q

pantomime

A

N. acting without dialogue. Because he worked in pantomime the clown could be understood wherever he appeared. alsoV.

153
Q

papyrus

A

N. ancient paper made from stem of papyrus plant. The ancient Egyptians were among the first to write on papyrus.

154
Q

parable

A

N. short simple story teaching a moral. Let us apply to our own conduct the lesson that this parable teaches.

155
Q

paradigm

A

N. model; example; pattern. Pavlov’s experiment in which he trains a dog to salivate on hearing a bell is a paradigm of the conditioned-response experiment in behavioral psychology. Barron’s How to Prepare for College Entrance Examinations was a paradigm for all the SAT-prep books that followed.

156
Q

paradox

A

N. something apparently contradictory in nature; statement that looks false but is actually correct. Richard presents a bit of a paradox for he is a card-carrying mem¬ber of both the National Rifle Association and the relatively pacifist American Civil Liberties Union.

157
Q

paragon

A

N. model of perfection. Her fellow students dis¬liked Lavinia because Miss Minchin always pointed her out as a paragon of virtue.

158
Q

parallelism

A

N. state of being parallel; similarity. Although the twins were separated at birth and grew up in different adop¬tive families a striking parallelism exists between their lives.

159
Q

paramount

A

ADJ. foremost in importance; supreme. Proper nutrition and hygiene are of paramount importance in ado¬lescent development and growth.

160
Q

paranoia

A

N. psychosis marked by delusions of grandeur or persecution. Suffering from paranoia Don claimed every¬one was out to get him; ironically his claim was accurate: even paranoids have enemies.

161
Q

paraphernalia

A

N. equipment; odds and ends. His desk was cluttered with paper pen ink dictionary and other paraphernalia of the writing craft.

162
Q

paraphrase

A

V. restate a passage in one’s own words while retaining thought of author. In 250 wordsaor less para¬phrase this article. also N.

163
Q

parasite

A

N. animal or plant living on another; toady; syco¬phant. The tapeworm is an example of the kind of parasite that may infest the human body.

164
Q

parched

A

ADJ. extremely dry; very thirsty. The parched desert landscape seemed hostile to life.

165
Q

pariah

A

N. social outcast. If everyone ostracized singer Mariah Carey would she then be Mariah the pariah

166
Q

parity

A

N. equality in status or amount; close resemblance. Unfortunately some doubt exists whether women’s salaries will ever achieve paritywith men’s.

167
Q

parochial

A

ADJ. narrow in outlook; provincial; related to parishes. Although Jane Austen sets her novels in small rural communities her concerns are universal not parochial

168
Q

parody

A

N. humorous imitation; spoof; takeoff; travesty. The show Forbidden Broadway presents parodies spoofing the year’s new productions playing on Broadway.

169
Q

paroxysm

A

N. fit or attack of pain laughter rage. When he heard of his son’s misdeeds he was seized by a paroxysm of rage.

170
Q

parry

A

V. ward off a blow; deflect. Unwilling to injure his opponent in such a pointless clash Dartagnan simply tried to parry his rival’s thrusts. What fun it was to watch Kather¬ine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy parry each other’s verbal thrusts in their classic screwball comedies!

171
Q

parsimony

A

N. stinginess; excessive frugality. Furious because her father wouldn’t let her buy out the clothing store Annie accused him of parsimony.

172
Q

partial

A

ADJ. incomplete; having a liking for something. In this issue we have published only a partial list of contribu¬tors because we lack space to acknowledge everyone. I am extremely partial to chocolate eclairs.

173
Q

partiality

A

N. inclination; bias. As a judge not only must I be unbiased but I must also avoid any evidence of partiality when I award the prize.

174
Q

partisan

A

ADJ. one-sided; prejudiced; committed to a party. On certain issues of principle she refused to take a partisan stand but let her conscience be her guide. Rather than join-ing forces to solve our nation’s problems the Democrats and Republicans spend their time on partisan struggles. also N.

175
Q

partition

A

V. divide into parts. Before their second daughter was born Jason and Lizzie decided each child needed a room of her own and so they partitioned a large bedroom into two small but separate rooms. also N.

176
Q

passive

A

ADJ. not active; acted upon. Mahatma Gandhi urged his followers to pursue a program of passive resis¬tance as he felt that it was more effective than violence and acts of terrorism.

177
Q

passport

A

N. legal document identifying the bearer as a citi¬zen of a country and allowing him or her to travel abroad. In arranging your first trip abroad be sure to allow yourself enough time to apply for and receive your passport you won’t be allowed to travel without one.

178
Q

pastiche

A

N. imitation of another’s style in musical composi¬tion or in writing. We cannot even say that her music is a: pastiche of this composer or that; it is rather reminiscent of many musicians.

179
Q

pastoral

A

ADJ. rural. In these stories of pastoral life we find an understanding of the daily tasks of country folk.

180
Q

patent

A

ADJ. open for the public to read; obvious. It was patent to everyone that the witness spoke the truth. also N.

181
Q

pathetic

A

ADJ. causing sadness compassion pity; touch¬ing. Everyone in the auditorium was weeping by the time he finished his pathetic tale about the orphaned boy.

182
Q

pathological

A

ADJ. related to the study of disease; diseased or markedly abnormal. Jerome’s pathological fear of germs led him to wash his hands a hundred times a day. pathol-ogy N.

183
Q

pathos

A

N. tender sorrow; pity; quality in art or literature that produces these feelings. The quiet tone of pathos that ran through the novel never degenerated into the maudlin or the overly sentimental.

184
Q

patina

A

N. green crust on old bronze works; tone slowly taken by varnished painting. Judging by the patina on this bronze statue we can conclude that this is the work of a medieval artist.

185
Q

patriarch

A

N. father and ruler of a family or tribe. In many primitive tribes the leader and lawmaker was the patriarch.

186
Q

patrician

A

ADJ. noble; aristocratic. We greatly admired her well-bred patrician elegance. also N.

187
Q

patronize

A

V. support; act superior toward; be a customer of. Penniless artists hope to find some wealthy art-lover who will patronize them. If some condescending wine steward patronized me because he saw I knew nothing about fine wine I’d refuse to patronize his restaurant.

188
Q

paucity

A

N. scarcity. They closed the restaurant because the paucity of customers made it uneconomical to operate.

189
Q

pauper

A

N. very poor person. Though Widow Brown was living on a reduced income she was by no means a pauper.

190
Q

peccadillo

A

N. slight offense. When Peter Piper picked a peck of Polly Potter’s pickles did Pete commit a major crime or just a peccadillo

191
Q

pecuniary

A

ADJ. pertaining to money. Seldom earning enough to cover their expenses folk dance teachers work because they love dancing not because they expect any pecuniary reward.

192
Q

pedagogy

A

N. teaching; art of education. Though Maria Montessori gained fame for her innovations in pedagogy it took years before her teaching techniques were common practice in American schools.

193
Q

pedant

A

N. scholar who overemphasizes book learning or technicalities. Her insistence that the book be memorized marked the teacher as a pedant rather than a scholar.

194
Q

pedantic

A

ADJ. showing off learning; bookish. Leavening his decisions with humorous down-to-earth anecdotes Judge Walker was not at all the pedantic legal scholar. pedant pedantry N.

195
Q

pedestrian

A

ADJ. ordinary; unimaginative. Unintentionally boring he wrote page after page of pedestrian prose.

196
Q

pediatrician

A

N. expert in children’s diseases. The family doctor advised the parents to consult a pediatrician about their child’s ailment.

197
Q

peerless

A

ADJ. having no equal; incomparable. The reign¬ing operatic tenor of his generation to his admirers Luciano Pavarotti was peerless: no one could compare with him.

198
Q

pejorative

A

ADJ. negative in connotation; having a belittling effect. Instead of criticizing Clinton’s policies the Republi¬cans made pejorative remarks about his character.

199
Q

pellucid

A

ADJ. transparent; limpid; easy to understand. After reading these stodgy philosophers I find Bertrand Russell’s pellucid style very enjoyable.

200
Q

penchant

A

N. strong inclination; liking. Dave has a penchant for taking risks: one semester he went steady with three girls two of whom were stars on the school karate team.

201
Q

pendant

A

N. ornament (hanging from a necklace etc.) The¬grateful team presented the coach with a silver chain and pendant engraved with the school’s motto.

202
Q

penitent

A

ADJ. repentant. When he realized the enormity of his crime he became remorseful and penitent also N.

203
Q

pensive

A

ADJ. dreamily thoughtful; thoughtful with a hint of sadness; contemplative. The pensive lover gazed at the portrait of his beloved and deeply sighed.

204
Q

penury

A

N. severe poverty; stinginess. When his pension fund failed George feared he would end his days in penury. He became such a penny pincher that he turned into a closefisted penurious miser.

205
Q

perceptive

A

ADJ. insightful; aware; wise. Although Maud was a generally perceptive critic she had her blind spots: she could never see flaws in the work of her friends.

206
Q

percussion

A

ADJ. striking one object against another sharply. The drum is a percussion instrument. also N.

207
Q

perdition

A

N. damnation; complete ruin. Praying for salva¬tion young Steven Daedalus feared he was damned to eternal perdition.

208
Q

peregrination

A

N. journey. Auntie Mame was a world traveler whose peregrinations took her from Tiajuana to Timbuctoo.

209
Q

peremptory

A

ADJ. demanding and leaving no choice. From Jack’s peremptory knock on the door Jill could tell he would not give up until she let him in.

210
Q

perennial

A

N. something that is continuing or recurrent. These plants are hardy perennials and will bloom for many years. alsoADJ.

211
Q

perfidious

A

ADJ. treacherous; disloyal. When Caesar real¬ized that Brutus had betrayed him he reproached his per¬fidious friend. perfidy N.

212
Q

perforate

A

V. pierce; put a hole through. Before you can open the aspirin bottle you must first perforate the plastic safety seal that covers the cap.

213
Q

perfunctory

A

ADJ. superficial; not thorough; lacking interest care or enthusiasm. The auditor’s perfunctory inspection of the books overlooked many errors. Giving the tabletop only a perfunctory swipe with her dust cloth Betty promised her¬self she’d clean it more thoroughly tomorrow.

214
Q

perimeter

A

N. outer boundary. To find the perimeter of any quadrilateral we add the lengths of the four sides.

215
Q

peripheral

A

ADJ. marginal; outer. We lived not in central London but in one of those peripheral suburbs that spring up on the outskirts of a great city.

216
Q

periphery

A

N. edge especially of a round surface. He sensed that there was something just beyond the periphery of his vision.

217
Q

perjury

A

N. false testimony while under oath. Rather than lie under oath and perhaps be indicted for perjury the witness chose to take the Fifth Amendment refusing to answer any questions on the grounds that he might incriminate himself.

218
Q

permeable

A

ADJ. penetrable; porous; allowing liquids or gas to pass through. If your jogging clothes weren’t made out of permeable fabric you’d drown in your own perspira-tion (figuratively speaking).

219
Q

permeate

A

V. pass through; spread. The odor of frying onions permeated the air.

220
Q

pernicious

A

ADJ. very destructive. Crack cocaine has had a pernicious effect on urban society: it has destroyed fami¬lies turned children into drug dealers and increased the spread of violent crimes.

221
Q

perpetrate

A

V. commit an offense. Only an insane person could perpetrate such a horrible crime.

222
Q

perpetual

A

ADJ. everlasting. Ponce de Leon hoped to find the legendary fountain of perpetual youth.

223
Q

perpetuate

A

V. make something last; preserve from extinc¬tion. Some critics attack The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because they believe Twain’s book perpetuates a false image of Blacks in this country.

224
Q

perquisite

A

N. any gain above stipulated salary. The perquisites attached to this job make it even more attractive than the salary indicates.

225
Q

persona

A

N. public personality or facade. Offstage the comedian was a sullen irritable grumbler a far cry from his ever-cheerful adopted stage persona.

226
Q

personable

A

ADJ. attractive. The man I am seeking to fill this position must be personable since he will be representing us before the public.

227
Q

perspicacious

A

ADJ. having insight; penetrating; astute. The brilliant lawyer was known for his perspicacious deductions. perspicacity N.

228
Q

pert

A

ADJ. impertinent; forward. I think your pert and impu¬dent remarks call for an apology.

229
Q

pertinacious

A

ADJ. stubborn; persistent. He is bound to succeed because his pertinacious nature will not permit him to quit.

230
Q

pertinent

A

ADJ. To the point; relevant. Virginia Woolf’s words on women’s rights are as pertinent today as they were when she wrote them nearly a century ago.

231
Q

perturb

A

V. disturb greatly. The thought that electricity might be leaking out of the empty light bulb sockets perturbed my aunt so much that at night she crept about the house screw-ing fresh bulbs in the vacant spots. perturbation N.

232
Q

peruse

A

V. read with care. After the conflagration that burned down her house Joan closely perused her home insurance policy to discover exactly what benefits her cov¬erage provided her. perusal N.

233
Q

pervasive

A

ADJ. pervading; spread throughout every part. Despite airing them for several hours Martha could not rid her clothes of the pervasive odor of mothballs that clung to them. pervadeV.

234
Q

perverse

A

ADJ. stubbornly wrongheaded; wicked and per¬verted. When Jack was in a perverse mood he would do the opposite of whatever Jill asked him. When Hannibal Lecter was in a perverse mood he ate the flesh of his vic¬tims. Jack acted out of perversity. Hannibal’s act proved his perversion.

235
Q

pessimism

A

N. belief that life is basically bad or evil; gloominess. Considering how well you have done in the course so far you have no real reason for such pessimism about your final grade.

236
Q

petrify

A

V. turn to stone. His sudden and unexpected appearance seemed to petrify her.

237
Q

petty

A

ADJ. trivial; unimportant; very small. She had no major complaints to make about his work only a few petty quibbles that were almost too minor to state.

238
Q

petulant

A

ADJ. touchy; peevish. If you’d had hardly any sleep for three nights and people kept phoning and waking you up you’d sound pretty petulant too.

239
Q

phenomena

A

N. observable facts; subjects of scientific investigation. We kept careful records of the phenomena we noted in the course of these experiments.

240
Q

philanderer

A

N. faithless lover; flirt. Swearing he had never so much as looked at another woman Ralph assured Alice he was no philanderer.

241
Q

philanthropist

A

N. lover of mankind; doer of good. In his role as philanthropist and public benefactor John D. Rocke¬feller Sr. donated millions to charity; as an individual how¬ever he was a tight-fisted old man.

242
Q

philistine

A

N. narrow-minded person uncultured and exclu¬sively interested in material gain. We need more men of cul¬ture and enlightenment; we have too many philistines among us.

243
Q

philology

A

N. study of language. The professor of philology advocated the use of Esperanto as an international lan¬guage.

244
Q

phlegmatic

A

ADJ. calm; not easily disturbed. The nurse was a cheerful but phlegmatic person unexcited in the face of sudden emergencies.

245
Q

phobia

A

N. morbid fear. Her fear of flying was more than mere nervousness; it was a real phobia.

246
Q

phoenix

A

N. symbol of immortality or rebirth. Like the leg¬endary phoenix rising from its ashes the city of San Fran¬cisco rose again after its destruction during the 1906 earth¬quake.

247
Q

phylum

A

N. major class of plants; primary branch of animal kingdom; division. In sorting out her hundreds of packets of seeds Katya decided to file them by phylum.

248
Q

physiological

A

ADJ. pertaining to the science of the function of living organisms. To understand this disease fully we must examine not only its physiological aspects but also its psychological elements.

249
Q

picaresque

A

ADJ. pertaining to rogues in literature. Tom Jones has been hailed as one of the best picaresque nov¬els in the English language.

250
Q

piebald

A

ADJ. mottled; spotted. You should be able to iden¬tify Polka Dot in this race; it is the only piebald horse run¬ning.

251
Q

piecemeal

A

ADV. one piece at a time; gradually. Tolstoy’s War and Peace is too huge to finish in one sitting; I’ll have to read it piecemeal.

252
Q

pied

A

ADJ. variegated; multicolored. The Pied Piper of Hamelin got his name from the multicolored clothing he wore.

253
Q

piety

A

N. religious devotion; godliness. The nuns in the con¬vent were noted for their piety; they spent their days in wor¬ship and prayer. PiousADJ.

254
Q

pigment

A

N. coloring matter. Van Gogh mixed various pig¬ments with linseed oil to create his paints.

255
Q

pillage

A

V. plunder. The enemy pillaged the quiet village and left it in ruins.

256
Q

pine

A

V. languish decline; long for yearn. Though she tried to be happy living with Clara in the city Heidi pined for the mountains and for her gruff but loving grandfather.

257
Q

pinnacle

A

N. peak. We could see the morning sunlight illu¬minate the pinnacle while the rest of the mountain lay in shadow.

258
Q

pious

A

ADJ. devout; religious. The challenge for church people today is how to be pious in the best sense that is to be devout without becoming hypocritical or sanctimonious. piety N.

259
Q

piquant

A

ADJ. pleasantly tart-tasting; stimulating. The piquant sauce added to our enjoyment of the meal. piquancy N.

260
Q

pique

A

N. irritation; resentment. She showed her pique at her loss by refusing to appear with the other contestants at the end of the competition. alsoV.

261
Q

pique

A

V. provoke or arouse; annoy. “I know something you don’t know said Lucy, trying to pique Ethel’s interest.

262
Q

pitfall

A

N. hidden danger; concealed trap. Her parents warned young Sophie against the many pitfalls that lay in wait for her in the dangerous big city.

263
Q

pithy

A

ADJ. concise; meaningful; substantial; meaty. While other girls might have gone on and on about how uncool Elton was Liz summed it up in one pithy remark: “He’s bogus!”

264
Q

pittance

A

N. a small allowance or wage. He could not live on the pittance he received as a pension and had to look for an additional source of revenue.

265
Q

pivotal

A

ADJ. crucial; key; vital. The new “smart weapons” technology played a pivotal role in the quick resolution of the war with Iraq.

266
Q

placate

A

V. pacify; conciliate. The store manager tried to placate the angry customer offering to replace the dam¬aged merchandise or to give back her money right away.

267
Q

placebo

A

N. harmless substance prescribed as a dummy pill. In a controlled experiment fifty volunteers were given aspirin tablets; the control group received only placebos.

268
Q

placid

A

ADJ. peaceful; calm. After his vacation in this placid section he felt soothed and rested.

269
Q

plagiarism

A

N. theft of another’s ideas or writings passed off as original. The editor recognized the plagiarism and rebuked the culprit who had presented the manuscript as original.

270
Q

plagiarize

A

V. steal another’s ideas and pass them off as one’s own. The teacher could tell that the student had pla¬giarized parts of his essay; she could recognize whole paragraphs straight from Barron’s Book Notes.

271
Q

plaintive

A

ADJ. mournful. The dove has a plaintive and melancholy call.

272
Q

plasticity

A

N. ability to be molded. When clay dries out it loses its plasticity and becomes less malleable.

273
Q

platitude

A

N. trite remark; commonplace statement. In giving advice to his son old Polonius expressed himself only in platitudes; every word out of his mouth was a commonplace.

274
Q

plaudit

A

N. enthusiastically worded approval; round of applause. The theatrical company reprinted the plaudits of the critics in its advertisements. plauditoryADJ.

275
Q

plausible

A

ADJ. having a show of truth but open to doubt; specious. Your mother made you stay home from school because she needed you to program the VCR I’m sorry you’ll have to come up with a more plausible excuse than that.

276
Q

plenitude

A

N. abundance; completeness. Looking in the pantry we admired the plenitude of fruits and pickles we had preserved during the summer.

277
Q

plethora

A

N. excess; overabundance. She offered a plethora of excuses for her shortcomings.

278
Q

pliable

A

ADJ. flexible; yielding; adaptable. In remodeling the bathroom we have replaced all the old rigid lead pipes with new pliable copper tubing.

279
Q

pliant

A

ADJ. flexible; easily influenced. Pinocchio’s disposi¬tion was pliant he was like putty in his tempters’ hands.

280
Q

plight

A

N. condition state (especially a bad state or condi¬tion); predicament. Many people feel that the federal gov¬ernment should do more to alleviate the plight of the homeless. Loggers unmoved by the plight of the spotted owl plan to continue logging whether or not they ruin the owl’s habitat.

281
Q

plumb

A

ADJ. checking perpendicularity; vertical. Before hanging wallpaper it is advisable to drop a plumb line from the ceiling as a guide. also N. andV.

282
Q

plumage

A

N. feathers of a bird. Bird watchers identify differ¬ent species of bird by their characteristic songs and dis¬tinctive plumage.

283
Q

plummet

A

V. fall sharply. Stock prices plummeted as Wall Street reacted to the crisis in the economy.

284
Q

plutocracy

A

N. society ruled by the wealthy. From the way the government caters to the rich you might think our soci¬ety is a plutocracy rather than a democracy.

285
Q

podiatrist

A

N. doctor who treats ailments of the feet. He consulted a podiatrist about his fallen arches.

286
Q

podium

A

N. pedestal; raised platform. The audience applauded as the conductor made his way to the podium.

287
Q

poignancy

A

N. quality of being deeply moving; keenness of emotion. Watching the tearful reunion of the long-separated mother and child the social worker was touched by the poignancy of the scene. poignantADJ.

288
Q

polarize

A

V. split into opposite extremes or camps. The abortion issue has polarized the country into pro-choice and anti-abortion camps. polarization N.

289
Q

polemical

A

ADJ. aggressive in verbal attack; disputatious. Lexy was a master of polemical rhetoric; she should have worn a T-shirt with the slogan “Born to Debate.”

290
Q

politic

A

ADJ. expedient; prudent; well advised. Even though he was disappointed by the size of the bonus he was offered he did not think it politic to refuse it.

291
Q

polygamist

A

N. one who has more than one spouse at a time. He was arrested as a polygamist when his two wives filed complaints about him.

292
Q

polyglot

A

ADJ. speaking several languages. New York City is a polyglot community because of the thousands of immi¬grants who settle there.

293
Q

pomposity

A

N. self-important behavior; acting like a stuffed shirt. Although the commencement speaker had some good things to say we had to laugh at his pomposity and general air of parading his own dignity. POMPOUSADJ.

294
Q

ponderous

A

ADJ. weighty; unwieldy. His humor lacked the light touch; his jokes were always ponderous.

295
Q

pontifical

A

ADJ. pertaining to a bishop or pope; pompous or pretentious. From his earliest days at the seminary John seemed destined for a high pontifical office. However he sounded so pompous when he pontificated that he never was chosen pontiff after all.

296
Q

pore

A

V. study industriously; ponder; scrutinize. Deter¬mined to become a physician Beth spent hours poring over her anatomy text.

297
Q

porous

A

ADJ. full of pores; like a sieve. Dancers like to wear porous clothing because it allows the ready passage of water and air.

298
Q

portend

A

V. foretell; presage. The king did not know what these omens might portend and asked his soothsayers to interpret them.

299
Q

portent

A

N. sign; omen; forewarning. He regarded the black cloud as a portent of evil.

300
Q

portly

A

ADJ. stately; stout. The overweight gentleman was referred to as portly by the polite salesclerk.

301
Q

poseur

A

N. person who pretends to be sophisticated ele¬gant etc. to impress others. Some thought Salvador Dali was a brilliant painter; others dismissed him as a poseur.

302
Q

posterity

A

N. descendants; future generations. We hope to leave a better world to posterity.

303
Q

posthumous

A

ADJ. after death (as of child born after father’s death or book published after author’s death). The critics ignored his works during his lifetime; it was only after the posthumous publication of his last novel that they recog¬nized his great talent.

304
Q

postulate

A

N. essential premise; underlying assumption. The basic postulate of democracy set forth in the Declara¬tion of Independence is that all men are created equal.

305
Q

potable

A

ADJ. suitable for drinking. The recent drought in the Middle Atlantic states has emphasized the need for exten¬sive research in ways of making sea water potable. also N.

306
Q

potent

A

ADJ. powerful; persuasive; greatly influential. Look¬ing at the expiration date on the cough syrup bottle we wondered whether the medication would still be potent. potency N.

307
Q

potentate

A

N. monarch; sovereign. The potentate spent more time at Monte Carlo than he did at home on his throne.

308
Q

potential

A

ADJ. expressing possibility; latent. This juvenile delinquent is a potential murderer. also N.

309
Q

potion

A

N. dose (of liquid). Tristan and Isolde drink a love potion in the first act of the opera.

310
Q

practicable

A

ADJ. feasible. The board of directors decided that the plan was practicable and agreed to undertake the project.

311
Q

practical

A

ADJ. based on experience; useful. He was a practical man opposed to theory.

312
Q

practitioner

A

N. someone engaged in a profession (law medicine). In need of a hip replacement Carl sought a practitioner with considerable experience performing this particular surgery.

313
Q

pragmatic

A

ADJ. practical (as opposed to idealistic); con¬cerned with the practical worth or impact of something. This coming trip to France should provide me with a pragmatic test of the value of my conversational French class.

314
Q

pragmatist

A

N. practical person. No pragmatist enjoys becoming involved in a game he can never win.

315
Q

prank

A

N. mischievous trick. Is tipping over garbage cans on Halloween merely a childish prank or is it vandalism

316
Q

prate

A

V. speak foolishly; boast idly. Let us not prate about our good qualities; rather let our virtues speak for them¬selves.

317
Q

prattle

A

V. babble. Baby John prattled on and on about the cats and his ball and the Cookie Monster.

318
Q

preamble

A

N. introductory statement. In the Preamble to the Constitution the purpose of the document is set forth.

319
Q

precarious

A

ADJ. uncertain; risky. Saying the stock would be a precarious investment the broker advised her client against purchasing it.

320
Q

precedent

A

N. something preceding in time that may be used as an authority or guide for future action. If I buy you a car for your sixteenth birthday your brothers will want me to buy them cars when they turn sixteen too; I can’t afford to set such an expensive precedent. The law professor asked Jill to state which famous case served as a precedent for the court’s decision in Brown ll.

321
Q

precept

A

N. practical rule guiding conduct. “Love thy neigh¬bor as thyself” is a worthwhile precept.

322
Q

precinct

A

N. district or division of a city. Ed McBain’s detec¬tive novels set in the 87th precinct provide an exciting picture of police work.

323
Q

precipice

A

N. cliff; dangerous position. Suddenly Indiana Jones found himself dangling from the edge of a precipice.

324
Q

precipitate

A

ADJ. rash; premature; hasty; sudden. Though I was angry enough to resign on the spot I had enough sense to keep myself from quitting a job in such a precipi¬tate fashion.

325
Q

precipitate

A

V. throw headlong; hasten. The removal of American political support appears to have precipitated the downfall of the Marcos regime.

326
Q

precipitous

A

ADJ. steep; overhasty. This hill is difficult to climb because it is so precipitous; one slip and our descent will be precipitous as well.

327
Q

précis

A

N. concise summing up of main points. Before mak¬ing her presentation at the conference Ellen wrote up a neat précis of the major elements she would cover.

328
Q

precise

A

ADJ. exact. If you don’t give me precise directions and a map I’ll never find your place.

329
Q

preclude

A

V. make impossible; eliminate. The fact that the band was already booked to play in Hollywood on New Year’s Eve precluded their accepting the New Year’s Eve gig in London they were offered.

330
Q

precocious

A

ADJ. advanced in development. Listening to the grown-up way the child discussed serious topics we couldn’t help remarking how precocious she was. precocity N.

331
Q

precursor

A

N. forerunner. Though Gray and Burns share many traits with the Romantic poets who followed them most critics consider them precursors of the Romantic Movement not true Romantics.

332
Q

predator

A

N. creature that seizes and devours another ani¬mal; person who robs or exploits others. Not just cats but a wide variety of predators-owls hawks weasels foxes¬catch mice for dinner. A carnivore is by definition predatory for he preys on weaker creatures.

333
Q

predecessor

A

N. former occupant of a post. I hope I can live up to the fine example set by my late predecessor in this office.

334
Q

predetermine

A

V. predestine; settle or decide beforehand; influence markedly. Romeo and Juliet believed that Fate had predetermined their meeting. Bea gathered estimates from caterers florists and stationers so that she could pre¬determine the costs of holding a catered buffet. Philip’s love of athletics predetermined his choice of a career in sports marketing.

335
Q

predicament

A

N. tricky or dangerous situation; dilemma. Tied to the railroad tracks by the villain Pauline strained against her bonds. How would she escape from this terrible predicament

336
Q

predilection

A

N. partiality; preference. Although I have writ¬ten all sorts of poetry over the years I have a definite predilection for occasional verse.

337
Q

predispose

A

V. give an inclination toward; make suscepti¬ble to. Oleg’s love of dressing up his big sister’s Barbie doll may have predisposed him to become a fashion designer. Genetic influences apparently predispose people to certain forms of cancer.

338
Q

preeminent

A

ADJ. outstanding; superior. The king traveled to Boston because he wanted the preeminent surgeon in the field to perform the operation.

339
Q

preempt

A

V. head off; forestall by acting first; appropriate for oneself; supplant. Hoping to preempt any attempts by the opposition to make educational reform a hot political issue the candidate set out her own plan to revitalize the public schools. preemptiveADJ.

340
Q

preen

A

V. make oneself tidy in appearance; feel self-satis¬faction. As Kitty preened before the mirror carefully smoothing her shining hair she couldn’t help preening over how pretty she looked.

341
Q

prehensile

A

ADJ. capable of grasping or holding. Monkeys use not only their arms and legs but also their prehensile tails in traveling through the trees.

342
Q

prelate

A

N. church dignitary. The archbishop of Moscow and other high-ranking prelates visited the Russian Ortho¬dox seminary.

343
Q

prelude

A

N. introduction; forerunner. I am afraid that this border raid is the prelude to more serious attacks.

344
Q

premeditate

A

V. plan in advance. She had premeditated the murder for months reading about common poisons and buying weed killer that contained arsenic.

345
Q

premise

A

N. assumption; postulate. Based on the premise that there’s no fool like an old fool P. T. Barnum hired a ninety-year-old clown for his circus.

346
Q

premonition

A

N. forewarning. We ignored these premoni¬tions of disaster because they appeared to be based on childish fears.

347
Q

preposterous

A

ADJ. absurd; ridiculous. When he tried to downplay his youthful experiments with marijuana by saying he hadn’t inhaled we all thought “What a preposterous excuse!”

348
Q

prerogative

A

N. privilege; unquestionable right. The presi¬dent cannot levy taxes; that is the prerogative of the legisla¬tive branch of government.

349
Q

presage

A

V. foretell. The vultures flying overhead presaged the discovery of the corpse in the desert.

350
Q

prescience

A

N. ability to foretell the future. Given the current wave of Japan-bashing it does not take prescience for me to foresee problems in our future trade relations with Japan.

Sat words (10 decks)

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