SAT Vocab: A Flashcards
abase
to humiliate, degrade
verb
After being overthrown and abased, the deposed leader offered tob ow down to his conqueror.
abate
to reduce, lessen
verb
The rain poured down ofr a while, then abated.
abdicate
to give up a position, usually one of leadership
verb
The king abdicated his thrown after realizing the enemy would win.
abduct
to kidnap, take by force
verb
The evildoers abducted the fairy princess from her happy home.
aberration
something that differs from the norm
noun
In 1918, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series, but the success turned out to be an aberration, and the Red Sox have not won a World Series since.
abet
to aid, help, encourage
verb
The spy succeeded only because he had a friend on the inside to abet him.
abhor
to hate, detest
verb
Because he always wound up kicking himself in the head when he tried to play soccer, Oswald began to abhor the sport.
abide
1) to put up with
2) to remain
verb
1) Though he did not agree agree with the decision, Chuck decided to abide by it.
2) Despite the beating they’ve taken from the weather throughout the millennia, the mountains abide.
abject
wretched, pitiful
adjective
After losing all her money, falling into a puddle, and breaking her ankle, Eloise was abject.
abjure
to reject, renounce
verb
To prove his honesty, the President abjured the evil policies of his wicked predecessor.
abnegation
denial of comfort to oneself
noun
The holy man slep ton the floor, took only cold showers, and generally followed other practices of abnegation.
abort
to give up on a half-finished project or effort
verb
After they ran out of food, the men, attempting to jump rope around the world, had to abort and go home.
abridge
1) to cut down, shorten
2) shortened
1) verb
2) adjective
1) The publisher thought the dictionary was too long and abridged it.
2) Moby-Dick is such a long book that even the abridged version is longer than most normal books
abrogate
to abolish, usually by authority
verb
The Bill of Rights assures that the government cannot abrogate our right to a free press.
abscond
to sneak away and hide
verb
In the confusion, the super-spy absconded into the night with the secret plans.
absolution
freedom from blame, guilt, sin
noun
Once all the facts were known, the jury gave Angela absolution by giving a verdict of not guilty.
abstain
to freely choose not to commit an action
verb
Everyone demanded that Angus put on the kilt, but he did not want to do it and abstained.
abstruse
hard to comprehend
adjective
Everyone else in the class understood geometry easily, but John found the subject abstruse.
accede
to agree
verb
When the class asked the teacher whether they could play baseball instead of learn grammar they expected him to refuse, but instead he acceded to their request.
accentuate
to stress, highlight
verb
Psychologists agree that those people who are
happiest accentuate the positive in life.
accessible
obtainable, reachable
adjective
After studying with SparkNotes and getting a
great score on the SAT, Marlena happily realized that her goal of getting into an Ivy-League college was accessible.
acclaim
high praise
noun
Greg’s excellent poem won the acclaim of his friends.
accolade
high praise, special distinction
noun
Everyone offered accolades to Sam after he won the Noble Prize.
accommodating
helpful, obliging, polite
adjective
Though the apartment was not big enough for three people, Arnold, Mark, and Zebulon were all friends and were accommodating to each other.
accord
an agreement
noun
After much negotiating, England and Iceland finally came to a mutually beneficial accord about fishing rights off the coast of Greenland.
accost
to confront verbally
verb
Though Antoinette was normally quite calm, when the waiter spilled soup on her for the fourth time in 15 minutes she stood up and accosted the man.
accretion
slow growth in size or amount
noun
Stalactites are formed by the accretion of minerals from the roofs of caves.
acerbic
biting, bitter in tone or taste
adjective
Jill became extremely acerbic and began to
cruelly make fun of all her friends.
acquiesce
to agree without protesting
verb
Though Mr. Correlli wanted to stay outside
and work in his garage, when his wife told him that he had better come in to dinner,
he acquiesced to her demands.
acrimony
bitterness, discord
noun
Though they vowed that no girl would ever come between them, Biff and Trevor could not keep acrimony from overwhelming their
friendship after they both fell in love with the lovely Teresa.
acumen
keen insight
noun
Because of his mathematical acumen, Larry was able to figure out in minutes problems that took other students hours.
acute
1) sharp, severe
2) having keen insight
adjective
1) Arnold could not walk because the pain in his foot was so acute.
2) Because she was so acute, Libby instantly figured out how the magician pulled off his “magic.”
adamant
impervious, immovable, unyielding
adjective
Though public pressure was intense, the President remained adamant about his proposal.
adept
extremely skilled
adjective
Tarzan was adept at jumping from tree to tree like a monkey.
adhere
1) to stick to something
2) to follow devoutly
noun
1) We adhered teh poster to teh wall with tape.
2) He adhered to teh dictates of his religion without question.
admonish
to caution criticize, reprove
verb
Joe’s mother admonished him not to ruin his appetite by eating cookies before dinner.
adorn
to decorate
verb
We adorned the tree with ornaments.
adroit
skillful, dexterous
adjective
The adroit thief could pick someone’s pocket without attracting notice.
adulation
extreme praise
noun
Though the book was pretty good, Marcy did not believe it deserved the adulation it received.
adumbrate
to sketch out in a vague way
verb
The coach adumbrated a game plan, but none of the players knew precisely what to do.
adverse
antagonistic, unfavorable, dangerous
adjective
Because of adverse condtiions, the hikers decided to give up trying to climb the mountain.
advocate
1) to argue in favor of something
2) a person who argues in favor of something
2) noun
1) verb
1) Arnold advocated turning left at the stop sign, even though eveyrone else thought we should turn right.
2) In addition to wanting to turn let at every stop, Arnold was also a great advocate of increasing national defense spending.
aerial
somehow related to the air
adjective
We watched at the fighter planes conducted aerial maneuvers.
aesthetic
artistic, related to teh appreciation of beauty
adjective
We hired Susan as our interior decorator because she has such a fine aesthetic sense.
affable
friendly, amiable
adjective
People like to be around George because he is so affable and good-natured.
affinity
a spontaneous feeling of closeness
noun
Jerry didn’t know why, but he felt an incredible affinity for Kramer the first time they met.
affluent
rich, wealthy
adjective
Mrs. Grebelski was affluent, owning a huge house, three cars, and an island near Maine.
affront
an insult
noun
Bernardo was very touchy, and took any slight as an affront to his honor.
aggrandize
to increase or make greater
verb
Joseph always dropped the names of the
famous people his father knew as a way to aggrandize his personal stature.
aggregate
1) a whole or total
2) to gather into a mass
noun
1) The three branches of the U.S. Government form an aggregate much more powerful than its individual parts.
2) The dictator tried to aggregate as many people into his army as he possibly could.
aggrieved
distressed, wrong, injured
adjective
The foreman mercilessly overworked his
aggrieved employees.
agile
quick, nimble
adjective
The dogs were too slow to catch the agile rabbit.
agnostic
believing that the existence of God cannot be proven or disproven
adjective
Joey’s parents are very religious, but he is agnostic.
agriculture
farming
noun
It was a huge step in the progress of civilization when tribes left hunting and gathering and began to develop more sustainable methods of obtaining food, such as agriculture.
aisle
a passageway between rows of seats
noun
Once we got inside the stadium we
walked down the aisle to our seats.
alacrity
eagerness, speed
