SAT Words V

Question 1

Abase (v.)

Answer 1

• lower, humiliate.
• Defeated, Queen Zenobia was forced to abase herself before conquering Romans, who made her march in chains before the emperor in the procession celebrating his triumph.

Question 2

Abash (v.)

Answer 2

• embarrass.

- He was not at all abashed by her open admiration.

Question 3

Abate (v.)

Answer 3

• subside, decrease, lessen.

- Rather than leaving immediately, they waited for the storm to abate.

Question 4

Abdicate (v.)

Answer 4

• renounce, give up.

- When Edward VIII abdicated the British throne to marry the woman he loved, he surprised the entire world.

Question 5

Aberrant (n.)

Answer 5

• abnormal, deviant.

- Given the aberrant nature of the data, we doubted the validity of the entire experiment.

Question 6

Abet (v.)

Answer 6

• aid, usually in doing something wrong, encourage.

- She was unwilling to abet him in the swindle he had planned.

Question 7

Abhor (v.)

Answer 7

• detest, hate.

- She abhorred all forms of bigotry.

Question 8

Abject (adj.)

Answer 8

• wretched, lacking pride.

- On the streets of New York the homeless live in abject poverty, huddling in doorways to find shelter from the wind.

Question 9

Abjure (v.)

Answer 9

• renounce upon oath.

- He abjure a his allegiance to the king.

Question 10

Abnegation (n.)

Answer 10

• repudiation, self-sacrifice.
• Though Rudolph and Duchess Flavia loved one another, their love was doomed, for she has to marry the king; their act of abnegation was necessary to preserve the kingdom.

Question 11

Abominable (adj.)

Answer 11

• detestable, extremely unpleasant, very bad.
• Mary liked John until she learned he was dating Susan; then she called him an abominable young man, with abominable taste in women.

Question 12

Aboriginal (adj., n.)

Answer 12

• being the first of its kind in a region, primitive, native.
• Her studies of the primitive art forms of the aboriginal Indians were widely reported in the scientific journals.

Question 13

Abortive (adj.)

Answer 13

• unsuccessful, fruitless.
• Attacked by armed troops, the Chinese students had to abandon their abortive attempt to democratize Beijing peacefully.

Question 14

Abrade (v.)

Answer 14

• wear away by friction, scrape, erode.

- Because the sharp rocks had abraded the skin on her legs, she dabbed iodine on the scrapes and abrasions.

Question 15

Abrasive (adj.)

Answer 15

• rubbing away, tending to grind down.

- Just as abrasive cleaning powders can wear away a shiny finish.

Question 16

Abridge (v.)

Answer 16

• condense or shorten.

- Because the publishers felt the public wanted a shorter version of War and Peace, they proceeded to abridge the novel.

Question 17

Abscond (v.)

Answer 17

• depart secretly and hide.
• The teller who absconded with the bonds went uncaptured until someone recognized him from his photograph on “America’s Most Wanted.”

Question 18

Absolve (v.)

Answer 18

• pardon (an offense).

- The father confessor absolved him of his sins.

Question 19

Abstain (v.)

Answer 19

• refrain, hold oneself back voluntarily from an action or practice.
• After considering the effect of alcohol on his athletic performance, he decided to abstain from drinking while he trained for the race.

Question 20

Abstemious (adj.)

Answer 20

• sparing in eating and drinking, temperate.
• Concerned whether her vegetarian son’s abstemious diet provided him with sufficient protein, the worried mother pressed food on him.

Question 21

Abstract (adj.)

Answer 21

• theoretical, not concrete, nonrepresentational.

- To him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal.

Question 22

Abstruse (adj.)

Answer 22

• obscure, profound, difficult to understand.
• Baffled by the abstruse philosophical texts assigned in class, Dave asked Lexy to explain Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason.

Question 23

Abundant (adj.)

Answer 23

• plentiful, possessing riches or resources.
• At his immigration interview, Ivan listed his abundant reasons for coming to America: the hope of religious freedom, the prospect of employment, the promise of a more abundant life.

Question 24

mono-

Answer 24

• one.

- monarchy: government by one ruler.

Question 25

multi-

Answer 25

• many.

- multitudinous: numerous.

Question 26

neo-

Answer 26

• new.

- neologism: newly coined word.

Question 27

non-

Answer 27

• not.

- noncommittal: undecided.

Question 28

ob, oc, of, op-

Answer 28

• against.

- opponent: someone who struggles against; foe.

Question 29

olig-

Answer 29

• few.

- oligarchy: government by a few.

Question 30

pan-

Answer 30

• all, every.

- panorama: uninstructed view in all directions.

Question 31

para-

Answer 31

• beyond, related.

- parallel: similar.

Question 32

per-

Answer 32

• through, completely.

- permeable: allowing passage through.

Question 33

peri-

Answer 33

• around, near.

- perimeter: outer boundary.

Question 34

poly-

Answer 34

• many.

- polygamist: person with several spouses.

Question 35

post-

Answer 35

• after.

- posthumous: after death.

Question 36

pre-

Answer 36

• before.

- preamble: introductory statement.

Question 37

prim-

Answer 37

• first.

- primordial: existing at the dawn of time.

Question 38

pro-

Answer 38

• forward, in favor of.

- proponent: supporter.

Question 39

proto-

Answer 39

• first.

- prototype: first of its kind.

Question 40

pseudo-

Answer 40

• false.

- pseudonym: pen name.