SAT - R's Flashcards
Ramble
V. wander aimlessly (physically or mentally).
Listening to the teacher ramble, Judy wondered whether he’d ever get to his point.
Rancor
N. bitterness; hatred.
Thirty years after the war, she could not let go of the past but was still consumed with rancor against the foe.
Rant
V. rave; talk excitedly; scold; make a grandiloquent speech.
When he heard that I’d totaled the family car, Dad began to rant at me like a complete madman.
Ratify
V. approve formally; confirm; verify.
Party leaders doubted that they had enough votes in both houses of Congress to ratify the constitutional amendment.
Raucous
Adj. harsh and shrill; disorderly and boisterous.
The raucous crowd of New Year’s Eve revelers got progressively noisier as midnight drew near.
Ravenous
Adj. extremely hungry.
The ravenous dog upset several garbage pails in its search for food.
Raze
V. destroy completely.
Selling is important; to raise a building is to put it up; to raze a building is to tear it down.
Rebuttal
N. refutation; response with contrary evidence.
The defense lawyer confidently listened to the prosecutor sum up his case, sure that she could answer his arguments in her rebuttal.
Recant
V. disclaim or disavow; retract a previous statement; openly confess error.
Those who can, keep true to their faith; those who can’t, recant.
Recluse
N. hermit; loner.
Disappointed in love, Miss Emily became a recluse; she shut herself away in her empty mansion and refused to see another living soul.
Reclusive, Adj.
Recount
V. narrate or tell; count over again.
A born story-teller, my father loved to recount anecdotes, about his early years in New York.
Rectify
V. set right; correct.
You had better send a check to rectify your account before American Express cancels your credit card.
Redundant
Adj. superfluous; repetitious; excessively wordy.
The bottle of wine I brought to Bob’s was certainly redundant; how was I to know Bob owned a winery?
Refute
V. disprove.
The defense called several respectable witnesses who were able to refute the false testimony of the prosecution’s sole witness.
Refutation, N.
Relegate
V. banish to an inferior position; delegate; assign.
After Ralph dropped his second tray of drinks that week, the manager swiftly relegated him to a minor post cleaning up behind the bar.
Remission
N. temporary moderation of disease symptoms; cancellation of a debt; forgiveness or pardon.
Though the senator had been treated for cancer, his symptoms were in remission, and he was considered fit enough to handle the strains of a presidential race.
Remorse
N. guilt; self-reproach.
The murderer felt no remorse for his crime.
Renounce
V. abandon; disown; repudiate.
Even though she knew she would be burned at the stake as a witch, Joan of Arc refused to renounce her belief that her voices came from God.
Renunciation, N.
Repel
V. drive away; disgust.
At first, the Beast’s ferocious appearance repelled the Beauty, but she came to love the tender heart hidden behind the beastly exterior.
Replete
Adj. filled to the brim or to the point of being stuffed; abundantly supplied.
The movie star’s memoir was replete with juicy details about the love life of half of Hollywood.
Reprehensible
Adj. deserving blame.
Shocked by the viciousness of the bombing, politicians of every party uniformly condemned the terrorists’ reprehensible deed.
Reprimand
V. reprove severely; rebuke.
Every time Ermengarde made a mistake in class, she was afraid that Miss Minchin would reprimand her and tell her father how badly she was doing in school.
Also, N.
Reprove
V. censure; rebuke.
Though Aunt Bea at times had to reprove Opie for inattention in church, she believed he was at heart a God-fearing lad.
Repudiate
V. disown; disavow.
On separating from Tony, Tina announced that she would repudiate all debts uncurred by her soon-to-be ex-husband.
Repugnant
Adj. loathesome; hateful.
Whereas some people like earthworms, others find them repugnant and view them with disgust.
Rescind
V. cancel.
Because of the public outcry against the new taxes, the senator proposed a bill to rescind the unpopular financial measure.
Reserve
N. selft-control; formal but distant manner.
Although some girls were attracted by Mark’s air of reserve, Judy was put off by it, for she felt his aloofness indicated a lack of openness.
Reserved, Adj.
Resigned
Adj. accepting one’s fate; unresisting; patiently submissive.
Resigned to his downtrooden existence, Bob Cratchit was too meek to protest Scooge’s bullying.
Resignation, N.
Resolution
N. determination; resolve.
Nothing could shake his resolution that his children would get the beat education that money could buy.
Resolute, Adj.
Resolve
N. determinatoin; firmness of purpose.
How dare you question my resolve to take up sky-diving!
Respite
N. interval of relief; time for rest; delay in punishment.
After working nonstop on this project for three straight months, I need a respite!
Resplendent
Adj .dazzling; glorious; brilliant.
While all the adults were commenting how glorious the emperor looked in his resplendent new clothes, one little boy was heard to say, “But he’s naked!”
Restraint
N. moderation or self’-control; controlling force; restriction.
Control yourself, young lady! Show more restraint.
Reticence
N. Reserve; uncommunicativeness; inclination to silence.
Fearing his competitors might get advance word about his plans from talkative staff members, Hughes preferred reticence from his employees to loquacity.
Reticent, Adj.
Retract
V. withdraw; take back.
When I saw how Fred and his fraternity brothers had trashed the frat house, I decided to retract my offer to let them use our summer cottage for the weekend.
Retraction, N.
Reverent
Adj. respectful; worshipful.
Though I bow my head in church and recite prayers, sometimes I don’t feel properly reverent.
Revere, V.
Rhetorical
Adj. pertaining to effective communication; insincere in language.
To win his audience, the spekaer used every rhetorical trick in the book.
Rigor
N. severity.
Many settlers could not stand the rigors of the New England winters.
Robust
Adj. vigorous; strong.
After pumping iron and taking karate for six months, the little old lady was so robust that she could break a plank with her fist.
