SAT vocabulary 3/11/13 Flashcards
oust
v. expel; drive out.
The world wondered if Aquino would be able to OUST Marcos from office.
Remove
outlandish
adj. bizarre; peculiar; unconventional
The eccentric professor who engages in markedly OUTLANDISH behavior is a stock figure in novels with an academic setting.
Weird
outmoded
adj. no longer stylish; old-fashioned
Unconcerned about keeping in style, Lenore was perfectly happy to wear OUTMODED clothes as long as they were clean and unfrayed.
Out of fashion
outskirts
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.
outstrip
v. surpass; outdo
Jesse Owens easily OUTSTRIPPED his white competitors to win the gold medal at the Olympic Games.
Outdo
overbearing
adj. bossy and arrogant; decisively important.
Certain of her own importance, and of the unimportance of everyone else, Lady Bracknell was intolerably OVERBEARING in her manner.
Bossy, arrogant
overt
adj. open to view
According to the United States Constitution, a person must commit an OVERT act before he may be tried for treason.
Open to view
overwrought
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.
pacificst
n. opposed to force; antimilitarist
During the war, though the PACIFISTS refused to bear arms, they nevertheless served in the front lines as ambulance drivers and medical corpsmen.
Opposed to conflict
pacify
v. soothe; make calm or quiet; subdue.
Dentists criticize the practice of giving fussy children sweets to PACIFY them.
Soothe
pact
n. agreement; treaty
Tweedledum and Tweedledee made a PACT not to quarrel anymore.
An agreement
paean
n. song of praise or joy.
PAEANS celebrating the victory filled the air.
Joy
painstaking
adj. showing hard work; taking great care.
The new high-frequency word list is the result of PAINSTAKING efforts on the part of our research staff.
Demonstrating hard work
palatable
adj. agreeable; pleasing to the taste.
Neither Jack’s underbaked opinions nor his overcooked casseroles were PALATABLE to Jill.
Agreeable, pleasing
palette
n. flat surface on which painter mixes pigments; range of colors commonly used by a particular artist.
The artist’s apprentices had the messy job of cleaning his brushes and PALETTE.
Flat surface
pall
v. grow tiresome
The study of word lists can eventually PALL and put one to sleep.
palliate
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.
Lessen pain, violence
pallid
adj. pale; wan.
Because his job required that he work at night and sleep during the day, he had an exceptionally PALLID complexion.
Pale