SAT - A's Flashcards
Abate
V. Subside; decrease, lessen.
Rather than leaving immediately, they waited for the storm to abate. Abatement, n.
Abridge
V. Condense or shorten.
Because the publishers felt the public wanted a shorter version of war and peace, they proceeded to abridge the novel.
Abstract
ADJ. Theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational.
To him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal.
Abstemious
ADJ. Sparing in eating and drinking; temperate.
Concerned whether her vegetarian son’s abstemious diet provided him with sufficient protein, the worried mother pressed food on him.
Accessible
ADJ. Easy to approach; obtainable.
We asked our guide whether the ruins were accessible on foot.
Acclaim
V. Applaud; announce with great approval.
NBC sportscasters acclaimed every American victory in the Olympics and decried every American defeat. also N.
Accolade
N. Award of merit.
In Hollywood, an Oscar is the highest accolade.
Acknowledge
V. Recognize; admit.
Although Iris acknowledged that the Beatles tunes sounded pretty dated nowadays, she still preferred them to the hip-hop songs her brothers played.
Acquiesce
V. Assent; agree without protesting.
Although she appeared to acquiesce to her employers suggestions, I could tell she had reservations about the changes he wanted made. Acquiescence, N.; Acquiescent, ADJ.
Acrid
ADJ. sharp; bitterly pungent.
The acrid odor of burnt gunpowder filled the room after the pistol had been fired.
Acrimonious
ADJ. Bitter in words or manner.
The candidate attacked his opponent and highly acrimonious terms. Acrimony, N.
Adulation
N. Flattery; admiration.
The rockstar thrived on the adulation of his groupies and yes-men.
Adulate, V.
Adversary
N. Opponent.
The young wrestler struggled to defeat his adversary.
Adversity
N. unfavorable fortune; hardship; A calamitous event.
According to the humorist Mark Twain, anyone can easily learn to endure adversity, as long as it is another man’s.
Advocate; Advocacy.
V. Urge; plead for.
The abolitionists advocated freedom for the slaves.
Advocacy, N. Support; active pleading on somethings behalf.
No threats could dissuade Bishop Desmond Tutu from his advocacy of the human rights of black south Africans.
Aesthetic
ADJ. Artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciation of the beautiful.
The beauty of Tiffany’s stained-glass appealed to Esthers aesthetic sense.
Aesthete, N.
Affable
ADJ. Easily approachable; warmly friendly.
Accustomed to cold aloof supervisors, Nicholas was amazed at how affable his new employer was.
Affirmation
N. Positive assertion; confirmation; solemn pledge by one who refuses to take an oath.
Despite Tom’s affirmations of innocence, Aunt Polly still suspected he had eaten the pie.
Aggregate
V. Gather; accumulate.
Before the Wall Street scandals, dealers in so-called junk bonds managed to aggregate great wealth in short periods of time.
aggregation, N.
Alleviate
V. Relieve.
This should alleviate the pain; if it does not, we shall have to use stronger drugs.
Aloof
ADJ. Apart; reserved.
Shy by nature, she remained aloof while all the rest conversed.
Altruistic
ADJ. unselfishly generous; concerned for others.
In providing tutorial assistance and college scholarships for hundreds of economically disadvantaged youths, Eugene Lang performed a truly altruistic deed.
Altruism, N.
Ambiguous
ADJ. Unclear or doubtful in meaning.
His ambiguous instructions misled us; we did not know which road to take.
Ambiguity, N.
Ambivalence
N. The state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes.
Torn between loving her parents one minute and hitting them the next, she was confused by the ambivalence of her feelings.
Ambivalent, ADJ.
Amorphous
ADJ. formless; lacking shape or definition.
As soon as we have decided on our itinerary, we shall send you a copy; right now, our plans are still amorphous.
Anachronistic
ADJ. having an error involving time in a story.
The reference to clocks in Julius Caesar is anachronistic: clocks did not exist in Caesar’s time.
Anachronism, N.
Anarchist
N. person who seeks to overturn the established government; advocate of abolishing authority.
Denying she was anarchist, Katya maintained she wished only to make changes in our government, not to destroy it entirely.
Anarchy, N.
Analogous
ADJ. comparable.
She called our attention to the things that had been done in an analogous situation and recommended that we do the same.
Anecdote
N. short account of an amusing or interesting event.
Rather than make concrete proposals for welfare reform, President Reagan told anecdotes about poor people who become wealthy despite their impoverished back-grounds.
Animosity
N. active enmity.
He incurred the animosity of the ruling class because he advocated limitations of their power.
Abstruse
ADJ. obscure;profound; difficult to understand.
Baffled by the abstruse philosophical texts assigned in class, Dave asked Lexy to explain Kant’s “Critique of Pure Reason”
Anomaly
N. irregularly.
A bird that cannot fly is an anomaly.
Antagonism
N. hostility; active resistance.
Barry showed his antagoinsm towards his new stepmother by ignoring her whenever she tried talking to him.
Antagonistic, ADJ.
Antediluvian
ADJ. antiquated; extremely ancient.
Looking at his great-aunt’s antique furniture, which must have been cluttering up her attic since the time of Noah’s flood, the young heir exclaimed, “Heavens! How positively antediluvian!”
Antipathy
N. aversion; dislike.
Tom’s extreme antipathy for disputes keeps him from getting into arguments with his temperamental wife.
Apathetic, ADJ.
Antiquated
ADJ. old-fashioned; obsolete.
Philip had grown so accustomed to editing his papers on word processors that he thought typewriters were too antiquated for him to use.
Apathy
N. lack of caring; indifference.
A firm believer in democratic government, she could not understand the apathy of people who never bothered to vote.
Apocryphal
ADJ. untrue; made up.
To impress his friends, Tom invented apocryphal tales of his adventures in the big city.
Appease
V. pacity or soothe; relieve.
Tom and Jody tried to appease the crying baby by offering him one toy after another, but he would not calm down until they appeased his hunger by giving him a bottle.
Apprehension
N. fear.
His nervous glances at the passerby on the deserted street revealed his apprehension.
Arable
ADJ. fit for growing crops.
The first settlers wrote home glowing reports of the New World,praising its vast acres of arable land ready for the plow.
Arbitary
ADJ. capricious; randomly chosen; tyrannical.
Tom’s arbitary dismissal angered him; his boss had no reason to fire him.
Antidote
N. medicine to counteract a poison or disease.
When Marge’s child accidentally swallowed some cleaning fluid, the local poison control hotline instructed Marge how to adminster the antidote.
Archaic
ADJ. antiquated.
“Methinks,” “thee,” and “thou” are archaic words that are no longer part of our normal vocabulary.
Ardent
ADJ. intense, passionate, zealous.
Katya’s ardor was contagious; soon all her fellow demonstrators were busily making posters and handing out flyers, inspired by her ardent enthusiasm for the cause,
Ardor, N.
Arrogance
N. pride, haughtiness.
Convinced that Emma thought she was better than anyone else in the class, Ed rebuked her for her arrogance.
Articulate
N. effective; distinct.
Her articulate presentation of the advertising campagin impressed her employers.
Also V.
Artifact
N. object made by human beings, either hand-made or mass-produced.
Archaelogists debated the significance of the artifacts discovered in the ruins of Asia Minor but came to no conclusion about the culture they represented.
Artisan
N. manually skilled worker; craftsman, as opposed to artist.
A noted artisan, Arturo was known for the fine craftsmanship of his inlaid cabinets.
Ascendancy
N. controlling influence; domination.
Leaders of religious cults maintain ascendancy over their followers by methods that can verge on brainwashing.
Ascetic
ADJ. practicing self-denial; austere.
The wealthy, self-indulgent young man felt oddly drawn to the strict, ascetic life led by members of some monastic orders.
Also N.
Aspire
V. seek to attain; long for.
Because he aspired to a career in professional sports, Philip enrolled in a graduate program in sports management.
Aspiration, N.
Assiduous
ADJ. diligent.
He was assiduous, working at this task for weeks before he felt satisfied with his results.
Assiduity, N.
Assuage
V. ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger).
Jilted by Jane, Dick tried to assuage his heartache by indulging in ince cream. One gallon later, he had assuaged his appetite but not his grief.
Astute
ADJ. wise; shrewd; keen.
John Jacob Astor made astute investments in land, shrewdly purchasing valuable plots throughout New York City.
Atrophy
V. waste away.
After three months in a cast, your calf muscles are bound to atrophy; you’ll need physical therapy to get back in shape.
Also N.
Attribute
V. ascribe; explain.
I attribute her success in science to the encouragement she received from her parents.
Audacious
ADJ. daring bold.
Audiences cheered as Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia made their audacious, death-defying leap to freedom, escaping Darth Vader’s troop.
Audacity, N.
Augment
V. increase; add to.
Armies augment their forces by calling up reinforcements; teachers augment their salaries by taking odd jobs.
Austere
ADJ. forbiddingly stem; severely simple and unornamented.
The headmaster’s austere demeanor tended to scare off the more timid students, who never visited his study willingly.
Authoritarian
ADJ. subordinating the individual to the state; completely dominating another’s will.
The leaders authoritarian regime ordered the suppression of the democratic protest movement.
Autonomous
ADJ. self-governing.
Although the University of California at Berkeley is just one part of the state university system, in many ways Cal Berkeley is autonomous, for it runs several programs that are not subject to outside control.
Autonomy, N.
Avarice
N. greediness for wealth.
King Midas is a perfect example of avarice, for he was so greedy that he wished everything he touched would turn to gold.
Aversion
N. firm dislike.
Bert had an aversion to yuppies; Alex had an aversion to punks.
Avert
V. prevent; turn away.
She averted her eyes from the dead cat on the highway.
