SAT - R's

Question 1

Ramble

Answer 1

V. wander aimlessly (physically or mentally).

Listening to the teacher ramble, Judy wondered whether he’d ever get to his point.

Question 2

Rancor

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

Rant

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

Ratify

Answer 4

V. approve formally; confirm; verify.

Party leaders doubted that they had enough votes in both houses of Congress to ratify the constitutional amendment.

Question 5

Raucous

Answer 5

Adj. harsh and shrill; disorderly and boisterous.

The raucous crowd of New Year’s Eve revelers got progressively noisier as midnight drew near.

Question 6

Ravenous

Answer 6

Adj. extremely hungry.

The ravenous dog upset several garbage pails in its search for food.

Question 7

Raze

Answer 7

V. destroy completely.

Selling is important; to raise a building is to put it up; to raze a building is to tear it down.

Question 8

Rebuttal

Answer 8

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.

Question 9

Recant

Answer 9

V. disclaim or disavow; retract a previous statement; openly confess error.

Those who can, keep true to their faith; those who can’t, recant.

Question 10

Recluse

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

Recount

Answer 11

V. narrate or tell; count over again.

A born story-teller, my father loved to recount anecdotes, about his early years in New York.

Question 12

Rectify

Answer 12

V. set right; correct.

You had better send a check to rectify your account before American Express cancels your credit card.

Question 13

Redundant

Answer 13

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?

Question 14

Refute

Answer 14

V. disprove.

The defense called several respectable witnesses who were able to refute the false testimony of the prosecution’s sole witness.

Refutation, N.

Question 15

Relegate

Answer 15

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.

Question 16

Remission

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

Remorse

Answer 17

N. guilt; self-reproach.

The murderer felt no remorse for his crime.

Question 18

Renounce

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

Repel

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

Replete

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

Reprehensible

Answer 21

Adj. deserving blame.

Shocked by the viciousness of the bombing, politicians of every party uniformly condemned the terrorists’ reprehensible deed.

Question 22

Reprimand

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

Reprove

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

Repudiate

Answer 24

V. disown; disavow.

On separating from Tony, Tina announced that she would repudiate all debts uncurred by her soon-to-be ex-husband.

Question 25

Repugnant

Answer 25

Adj. loathesome; hateful.

Whereas some people like earthworms, others find them repugnant and view them with disgust.

Question 26

Rescind

Answer 26

V. cancel.

Because of the public outcry against the new taxes, the senator proposed a bill to rescind the unpopular financial measure.

Question 27

Reserve

Answer 27

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.

Question 28

Resigned

Answer 28

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.

Question 29

Resolution

Answer 29

N. determination; resolve.

Nothing could shake his resolution that his children would get the beat education that money could buy.

Resolute, Adj.

Question 30

Resolve

Answer 30

N. determinatoin; firmness of purpose.

How dare you question my resolve to take up sky-diving!

Question 31

Respite

Answer 31

N. interval of relief; time for rest; delay in punishment.

After working nonstop on this project for three straight months, I need a respite!

Question 32

Resplendent

Answer 32

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!”

Question 33

Restraint

Answer 33

N. moderation or self’-control; controlling force; restriction.

Control yourself, young lady! Show more restraint.

Question 34

Reticence

Answer 34

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.

Question 35

Retract

Answer 35

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.

Question 36

Reverent

Answer 36

Adj. respectful; worshipful.

Though I bow my head in church and recite prayers, sometimes I don’t feel properly reverent.

Revere, V.

Question 37

Rhetorical

Answer 37

Adj. pertaining to effective communication; insincere in language.

To win his audience, the spekaer used every rhetorical trick in the book.

Question 38

Rigor

Answer 38

N. severity.

Many settlers could not stand the rigors of the New England winters.

Question 39

Robust

Answer 39

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.