SAT Words III Flashcards
Arduous (adj.)
- hard, strenuous.
- Her arduous efforts had sapped her energy.
Aria (n.)
- operatic solo.
- At her Metropolitan Opera audition, Marian Anderson sang an aria from Norma.
Arid (adj.)
- dry, barren.
- The cactus has adapted to survive in an arid environment.
Aromatic (adj.)
- fragrant.
- Medieval sailing vessels brought aromatic herbs from China to Europe.
Arousal (n.)
- awakening, provocation (of a response).
- On arousal, Papa was always grumpy as a bear.
Arraign (v.)
- charge in court, indict.
- After his indictment by the Grand Jury, the accused man was arraigned in the County Criminal Court.
Array (v.)
- marshal, draw up in order.
- His actions were bound to array public sentiment against him.
Array (v.)
- clothe, adorn.
- She liked to watch her mother array herself in her finest clothes before going out for the evening.
Arrears (n.)
- being in debt.
- He was in arrears when his payments on the car.
Arrest (v.)
- stop or slow down, catch someone’s attention.
- This near-disaster arrested the crowd’s attention.
Arrogance (n.)
- pride, haughtiness.
- Convinced that Emma thought she was better than anyone else in the class, Ed rebuked her for her arrogance.
Arsenal (n.)
- storage place for military equipment.
- People are forbidden to smoke in the arsenal for fear that a stray spark might set of the munitions stored there.
Articulate (adj.)
- effective, distinct.
- Her articulate presentation of the advertising campaign impressed her employers.
Artifice (n.)
- deception, trickery.
- The Trojan War proved to the Greeks that cunning and artifice were often more effective than military might.
Artisan (n.)
- manually skilled worker, craftsman, as opposed to artist.
- A noted artisan, Arturo was known for the fine craftsmanship of his inlaid cabinets.
Artless (adj.)
- without guile, open and honest.
- Sophisticated and cynical, Jack could not believe Jill was as artless and naive as she appeared to be.
Ascendancy (n.)
- controlling influence, domination.
- Leaders of religious cults maintain ascendancy over their followers by methods that can verge on brainwashing.
Ascertain (v.)
- find out for certain.
- Please ascertain her present address.
-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.
Ascribe (v.)
- refer, attribute, assign.
- I can ascribe no motive for her acts.
Aseptic (adj.)
- preventing infection, having a cleansing effect.
- Hospitals succeeded in lowering the mortality rate as soon as they introduced aseptic conditions.
Ashen (adj.)
- ash-colored.
- Her face ashen with fear.
Asinine (adj.)
- stupid.
- “What an asinine comment!” said Bob.
Askance (adj.)
- with a sideways or indirect look.
- Looking askance at her questioner, she displayed her scorn.
Askew (adj.)
- crookedly, slanted, at an angle.
- Judy constantly straightened the doilies on her furniture: she couldn’t stand seeing them askew.
Asperity (n.)
- sharpness (of temper).
- These remarks, spoken with asperity, stung the boys to whine they had been directed.
Aspersion (n.)
- slander, slur, derogatory remark.
- Unscrupulous politicians practice character assassination as a political tool, casting aspersions on their rivals.
Aspirant (n.)
- seeker after position or status.
- Although I am an aspirant for public office, I am not willing to accept the dictates of the party bosses.
Aspire (v.)
- seek to attain, long for.
- Because he aspired to a career in professional sports, Phillip enrolled in a graduate program in sports management.
Assail (v.)
- assault.
- He was assailed with questions after his lecture.
Assay (v.)
- analyze, evaluate.
- When they assayed the ore they found that they had discovered a very rich vein.
Assent (v.)
- agree, accept.
- It gives me great pleasure to assent to your request.
Assert (v.)
- declare or state with confidence, put oneself forward boldly.
- Malcolm asserted that if Reese quit acting like a wimp and asserted himself a bit more, he’d improve his chances of getting a date.
Assessment (n.)
- evaluation, judgement.
- Your high school record plays an important part in the admission committee’s assessment of you as an applicant.
Assiduous (adj.)
- diligent.
- He was assiduous, working at this task for weeks before he felt satisfied with his results assiduity.
Assuage (v.)
- ease or lessen (pain), satisfy (hunger), soothe (anger).
- Jilted by Jane, Dick tried to assuage his heartache.
Catechism (n.)
- book for religious instruction, instruction by question and answer.
- He taught by engaging his pupils in a catechism until they gave him the correct answer.
Categorical (adj.)
- without exceptions, unqualified, absolute.
- Though the captain claimed he was never sick at sea, he finally had to qualify his categorical denial that he hardly ever got sick at sea.
Cater to (v.)
- supply something desired (whether good or bad).
- The chef was happy to cater to the tastes of his highly sophisticated clientele.
Catharsis (n.)
- purging or cleansing of any passage of the body.
- Aristotle maintained that tragedy created a catharsis by purging the soul of base concepts.
Caucus (n.)
- private meeting of members of a party to select officers or determine policy.
- At the opening of Congress, the members of the Democratic Party held a caucus to elect the Majority Leader of the House and the Party Whip.
Caulk (v.)
- make watertight by filling in cracks.
- Jack had to caulk the tiles in the shower stall to stop the leak into the basement below.
Caustic (adj.)
- burning, sarcastically biting.
- The critic’s caustic comments angered the actors, who resented his cutting remarks.
Cavalcade (n.)
- procession, parade.
- As described by Chaucer, the cavalcade of Canterbury pilgrims was a motley group.
Cavalier (adj.)
- offhand or casual, haughty.
- The disguised prince resented the cavalier way in which the guards treated him.
Cavil (v.)
- make frivolous objections.
- It’s fine when you make sensible criticisms, but it really bugs me when you cavil about unimportant details.
Cede (v.)
- yield (title, territory) to, surrender formally.
- Eventually the descendants of England’s Henry II were forced to cede their French territories to the King of France.
Celebrated (adj.)
- famous, well-known.
- Thanks to their race to break Roger Maris’s home-run record, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire are two of America’s most celebrated baseball players.
Celerity (n.)
- speed, rapidity.
- Hamlet resented his mother’s celerity in remarrying within a month after his father’s death.
Celestial (adj.)
- heavenly, relating to the sky.
- Pointing his primitive telescope at the heavens, Galileo explored the celestial mysteries.
Censor (n.)
- overseer of morals, person who reads to eliminate inappropriate remarks.
- Soldiers dislike having their mail read by a censor but understand the need for this precaution.
Censorious (adj.)
- critical.
- Censorious people delight in casting blame.
Centrifugal (adj.)
- radiating, departing from the center.
- Many automatic drying machines remove excess moisture from clothing by centrifugal force.
Centripetal (adj.)
- tending toward the center.
- Does centripetal force or the force of gravity bring orbiting bodies to the earth’s surface?
Cerebral (adj.)
- pertaining to the brain or intellect.
- The heroes of Dumb and Dumber were poorly equipped for cerebral pursuits.
Cerebration (n.)
- thought.
- Mathematics problems sometimes require much cerebration.
Certitude (n.)
- certainty.
- Though there was no certitude of getting the job, Lou thought there was a good chance of getting in.
Cessation (n.)
- stoppage.
- The airline’s employees threatened a cessation of all work if management failed to meet their demands.
Chafe (v.)
- warm by rubbing, make sore (by rubbing).
- Chilled, he chafed his hands before the fire.
Chaff (n.)
- worthless products of an endeavor.
- When you separate the wheat from the chaff, be sure to throw out the chaff.
Chaffing (adj.)
- bantering, joking.
- Sometimes Chad’s flippant, chaffing remarks annoy us. Still, Chad’s chaffing keeps us laughing.
Chagrin (n.)
- vexation (caused by humiliation or injured pride), disappointment.
- Someone filled with chagrin doesn’t grin: he’s too mortified.
