SAT Words XIII

Question 0

Querulous (adj.)

Answer 0

• fretful, whining.

- Even the most agreeable toddlers can begin to act querulous if they miss their nap.

Question 1

Quench (v.)

Answer 1

• douse or extinguish, assuage or satisfy.

- No matter how much water the hiker drank, she could not quench her thirst.

Question 2

Query (n.)

Answer 2

• inquiry, question.

- In her column “Ask Beth,” the columnist invites young readers to send her their queries about life and love.

Question 3

Quibble (n.)

Answer 3

• minor objection or complaint.
• Aside from a few hundred teensy-weensy quibbles about the set, the script, the actors, the director, etc. the hypercritical critic loved the play.

Question 4

Quiescent (adj.)

Answer 4

• at rest, dormant, temporarily inactive.
• After the massive eruption, fear of Mount Etna was great; people did not go back to their mundane lives until the volcano had been quiescent for 2 years.

Question 5

Quietude (n.)

Answer 5

• tranquility.

- He was impressed by the air of quietude and peace that pervaded the valley.

Question 6

Quintessence (n.)

Answer 6

• purest and highest embodiment.

- Gandhi maintained that to befriend someone who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion.

Question 7

Quip (n.)

Answer 7

• taunt.

- You are unpopular because you are too free with your quips and sarcastic comments.

Question 8

Quirk (n.)

Answer 8

• startling twist, caprice.

- By a quirk of fate, he found himself working for the man whom he had discharged years before.

Question 9

Quiver (v.)

Answer 9

• tremble, shake.

- The dog’s nose twitched and his whiskers quivered as he strained eagerly against the leash.

Question 10

Quiver (n.)

Answer 10

• case for arrows.

- Robin Hood reached back and plucked one last arrow from his quiver.

Question 11

Quixotic (adj.)

Answer 11

• idealistic but impractical.
• Constantly coming up with quixotic, unworkable schemes to save the world, Simon has his heart in the right place, but his mind elsewhere.

Question 12

Quizzical (adj.)

Answer 12

• teasing, bantering, mocking, curious.

- When the skinny teenager tripped over his own feet, Coach raised one quizzical eyebrow.

Question 13

Quorum (n.)

Answer 13

• number of members necessary to conduct a meeting.

- The senator asked for a roll call to determine whether a quorum was present.

Question 14

Rabid (adj.)

Answer 14

• like a fanatic, furious.

- He was a rabid follower of the Dodgers and watched then play whenever he could go to the ballpark.

Question 15

Raconteur (n.)

Answer 15

• storyteller.

- My father was a gifted raconteur with an unlimited supply of anecdotes.

Question 16

Rail (v.)

Answer 16

• scold, rant.

- You may rail at him all you want; you will never change him.

Question 17

Raiment (n.)

Answer 17

• clothing.

- “How can I go to the ball?” Asked Cinderella. “I have no raiment fit to wear.”

Question 18

Ramble (v.)

Answer 18

• wander aimlessly (physically or mentally).

- Listening to the teacher ramble, Judy wondered whether he’d ever get to his point.

Question 19

Ramification (n.)

Answer 19

• branching out, subdivision.

- We must examine all the ramifications of this problem.

Question 20

Ramify (v.)

Answer 20

• divide into branches or subdivisions.

- When the plant begins to ramify, it is advisable to nip off most of the new branches.

Question 21

Rampant (adj.)

Answer 21

• growing in profusion, unrestrained.

- The rampant weeds in the garden choked the flowers until they died.

Question 22

Ramshackle (adj.)

Answer 22

• rickety, falling apart.

- The boys propped up the ramshackle clubhouse with a couple of boards.

Question 23

Rancid (adj.)

Answer 23

• having the odor of stale fat.

- The rancid odor filling the ship’s galley nauseated the crew.

Question 24

Rancor (n.)

Answer 24

• bitterness, hatred.

- Thirty years after the war, she could not let go of the past but was still consumed with rancor against the foe.

Question 25

Rankle (v.)

Answer 25

• irritate, fester.

- The memory of having been jilted rankled him for years.

Question 26

Rapacious (adj.)

Answer 26

• excessively greedy, predatory.

- The rapacious brigands stripped the villagers of all their possessions.

Question 27

Rapport (n.)

Answer 27

• emotional closeness, harmony.

- In team teaching, it is important that all teachers in the group have good rapport with one another.

Question 28

Rapt (adj.)

Answer 28

• absorbed, enchanted.

- Caught up in the wonder of the storyteller’s tale, the rapt listeners sat motionless, hanging in his every word.

Question 29

Rarefied (adj.)

Answer 29

• made less dense [of a gas].

- The mountain climbers had difficulty breathing in the rarefied atmosphere.

Question 30

Raspy (adj.)

Answer 30

• grating, harsh.

- The sergeant’s raspy voice grated on the recruits’ ears.

Question 31

Ratify (v.)

Answer 31

• approve formally, confirm, verify.

- Part leaders doubted that they had enough votes in both houses of Congress to ratify the constitutional amendment.