Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

SAT Words > SAT Words III > Flashcards

SAT Words III Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
SAT® Prep flashcards
1
Q

Arduous (adj.)

A
  • hard, strenuous.

- Her arduous efforts had sapped her energy.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Aria (n.)

A
  • operatic solo.

- At her Metropolitan Opera audition, Marian Anderson sang an aria from Norma.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Arid (adj.)

A
  • dry, barren.

- The cactus has adapted to survive in an arid environment.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Aromatic (adj.)

A
  • fragrant.

- Medieval sailing vessels brought aromatic herbs from China to Europe.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Arousal (n.)

A
  • awakening, provocation (of a response).

- On arousal, Papa was always grumpy as a bear.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Arraign (v.)

A
  • charge in court, indict.

- After his indictment by the Grand Jury, the accused man was arraigned in the County Criminal Court.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Array (v.)

A
  • marshal, draw up in order.

- His actions were bound to array public sentiment against him.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Array (v.)

A
  • clothe, adorn.

- She liked to watch her mother array herself in her finest clothes before going out for the evening.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Arrears (n.)

A
  • being in debt.

- He was in arrears when his payments on the car.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Arrest (v.)

A
  • stop or slow down, catch someone’s attention.

- This near-disaster arrested the crowd’s attention.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Arrogance (n.)

A
  • pride, haughtiness.

- Convinced that Emma thought she was better than anyone else in the class, Ed rebuked her for her arrogance.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Arsenal (n.)

A
  • 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.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Articulate (adj.)

A
  • effective, distinct.

- Her articulate presentation of the advertising campaign impressed her employers.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Artifice (n.)

A
  • deception, trickery.

- The Trojan War proved to the Greeks that cunning and artifice were often more effective than military might.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Artisan (n.)

A
  • manually skilled worker, craftsman, as opposed to artist.

- A noted artisan, Arturo was known for the fine craftsmanship of his inlaid cabinets.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Artless (adj.)

A
  • without guile, open and honest.

- Sophisticated and cynical, Jack could not believe Jill was as artless and naive as she appeared to be.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Ascendancy (n.)

A
  • controlling influence, domination.

- Leaders of religious cults maintain ascendancy over their followers by methods that can verge on brainwashing.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Ascertain (v.)

A
  • find out for certain.

- Please ascertain her present address.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

-Ascetic (adj.)

A
  • 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.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Ascribe (v.)

A
  • refer, attribute, assign.

- I can ascribe no motive for her acts.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Aseptic (adj.)

A
  • preventing infection, having a cleansing effect.

- Hospitals succeeded in lowering the mortality rate as soon as they introduced aseptic conditions.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Ashen (adj.)

A
  • ash-colored.

- Her face ashen with fear.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Asinine (adj.)

A
  • stupid.

- “What an asinine comment!” said Bob.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Askance (adj.)

A
  • with a sideways or indirect look.

- Looking askance at her questioner, she displayed her scorn.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Askew (adj.)

A
  • crookedly, slanted, at an angle.

- Judy constantly straightened the doilies on her furniture: she couldn’t stand seeing them askew.

26
Q

Asperity (n.)

A
  • sharpness (of temper).

- These remarks, spoken with asperity, stung the boys to whine they had been directed.

27
Q

Aspersion (n.)

A
  • slander, slur, derogatory remark.

- Unscrupulous politicians practice character assassination as a political tool, casting aspersions on their rivals.

28
Q

Aspirant (n.)

A
  • 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.

29
Q

Aspire (v.)

A
  • seek to attain, long for.

- Because he aspired to a career in professional sports, Phillip enrolled in a graduate program in sports management.

30
Q

Assail (v.)

A
  • assault.

- He was assailed with questions after his lecture.

31
Q

Assay (v.)

A
  • analyze, evaluate.

- When they assayed the ore they found that they had discovered a very rich vein.

32
Q

Assent (v.)

A
  • agree, accept.

- It gives me great pleasure to assent to your request.

33
Q

Assert (v.)

A
  • 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.
34
Q

Assessment (n.)

A
  • evaluation, judgement.

- Your high school record plays an important part in the admission committee’s assessment of you as an applicant.

35
Q

Assiduous (adj.)

A
  • diligent.

- He was assiduous, working at this task for weeks before he felt satisfied with his results assiduity.

36
Q

Assuage (v.)

A
  • ease or lessen (pain), satisfy (hunger), soothe (anger).

- Jilted by Jane, Dick tried to assuage his heartache.

37
Q

Catechism (n.)

A
  • 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.
38
Q

Categorical (adj.)

A
  • 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.
39
Q

Cater to (v.)

A
  • supply something desired (whether good or bad).

- The chef was happy to cater to the tastes of his highly sophisticated clientele.

40
Q

Catharsis (n.)

A
  • purging or cleansing of any passage of the body.

- Aristotle maintained that tragedy created a catharsis by purging the soul of base concepts.

41
Q

Caucus (n.)

A
  • 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.
42
Q

Caulk (v.)

A
  • make watertight by filling in cracks.

- Jack had to caulk the tiles in the shower stall to stop the leak into the basement below.

43
Q

Caustic (adj.)

A
  • burning, sarcastically biting.

- The critic’s caustic comments angered the actors, who resented his cutting remarks.

44
Q

Cavalcade (n.)

A
  • procession, parade.

- As described by Chaucer, the cavalcade of Canterbury pilgrims was a motley group.

45
Q

Cavalier (adj.)

A
  • offhand or casual, haughty.

- The disguised prince resented the cavalier way in which the guards treated him.

46
Q

Cavil (v.)

A
  • make frivolous objections.

- It’s fine when you make sensible criticisms, but it really bugs me when you cavil about unimportant details.

47
Q

Cede (v.)

A
  • 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.

48
Q

Celebrated (adj.)

A
  • 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.
49
Q

Celerity (n.)

A
  • speed, rapidity.

- Hamlet resented his mother’s celerity in remarrying within a month after his father’s death.

50
Q

Celestial (adj.)

A
  • heavenly, relating to the sky.

- Pointing his primitive telescope at the heavens, Galileo explored the celestial mysteries.

51
Q

Censor (n.)

A
  • 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.
52
Q

Censorious (adj.)

A
  • critical.

- Censorious people delight in casting blame.

53
Q

Centrifugal (adj.)

A
  • radiating, departing from the center.

- Many automatic drying machines remove excess moisture from clothing by centrifugal force.

54
Q

Centripetal (adj.)

A
  • tending toward the center.

- Does centripetal force or the force of gravity bring orbiting bodies to the earth’s surface?

55
Q

Cerebral (adj.)

A
  • pertaining to the brain or intellect.

- The heroes of Dumb and Dumber were poorly equipped for cerebral pursuits.

56
Q

Cerebration (n.)

A
  • thought.

- Mathematics problems sometimes require much cerebration.

57
Q

Certitude (n.)

A
  • certainty.

- Though there was no certitude of getting the job, Lou thought there was a good chance of getting in.

58
Q

Cessation (n.)

A
  • stoppage.

- The airline’s employees threatened a cessation of all work if management failed to meet their demands.

59
Q

Chafe (v.)

A
  • warm by rubbing, make sore (by rubbing).

- Chilled, he chafed his hands before the fire.

60
Q

Chaff (n.)

A
  • worthless products of an endeavor.

- When you separate the wheat from the chaff, be sure to throw out the chaff.

61
Q

Chaffing (adj.)

A
  • bantering, joking.

- Sometimes Chad’s flippant, chaffing remarks annoy us. Still, Chad’s chaffing keeps us laughing.

62
Q

Chagrin (n.)

A
  • vexation (caused by humiliation or injured pride), disappointment.
  • Someone filled with chagrin doesn’t grin: he’s too mortified.

SAT Words (13 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions