SAT Words XIII Flashcards
Querulous (adj.)
- fretful, whining.
- Even the most agreeable toddlers can begin to act querulous if they miss their nap.
Quench (v.)
- douse or extinguish, assuage or satisfy.
- No matter how much water the hiker drank, she could not quench her thirst.
Query (n.)
- inquiry, question.
- In her column “Ask Beth,” the columnist invites young readers to send her their queries about life and love.
Quibble (n.)
- 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.
Quiescent (adj.)
- 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.
Quietude (n.)
- tranquility.
- He was impressed by the air of quietude and peace that pervaded the valley.
Quintessence (n.)
- purest and highest embodiment.
- Gandhi maintained that to befriend someone who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion.
Quip (n.)
- taunt.
- You are unpopular because you are too free with your quips and sarcastic comments.
Quirk (n.)
- startling twist, caprice.
- By a quirk of fate, he found himself working for the man whom he had discharged years before.
Quiver (v.)
- tremble, shake.
- The dog’s nose twitched and his whiskers quivered as he strained eagerly against the leash.
Quiver (n.)
- case for arrows.
- Robin Hood reached back and plucked one last arrow from his quiver.
Quixotic (adj.)
- 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.
Quizzical (adj.)
- teasing, bantering, mocking, curious.
- When the skinny teenager tripped over his own feet, Coach raised one quizzical eyebrow.
Quorum (n.)
- number of members necessary to conduct a meeting.
- The senator asked for a roll call to determine whether a quorum was present.
Rabid (adj.)
- like a fanatic, furious.
- He was a rabid follower of the Dodgers and watched then play whenever he could go to the ballpark.
Raconteur (n.)
- storyteller.
- My father was a gifted raconteur with an unlimited supply of anecdotes.
Rail (v.)
- scold, rant.
- You may rail at him all you want; you will never change him.
Raiment (n.)
- clothing.
- “How can I go to the ball?” Asked Cinderella. “I have no raiment fit to wear.”
Ramble (v.)
- wander aimlessly (physically or mentally).
- Listening to the teacher ramble, Judy wondered whether he’d ever get to his point.
Ramification (n.)
- branching out, subdivision.
- We must examine all the ramifications of this problem.
Ramify (v.)
- divide into branches or subdivisions.
- When the plant begins to ramify, it is advisable to nip off most of the new branches.
Rampant (adj.)
- growing in profusion, unrestrained.
- The rampant weeds in the garden choked the flowers until they died.
Ramshackle (adj.)
- rickety, falling apart.
- The boys propped up the ramshackle clubhouse with a couple of boards.
Rancid (adj.)
- having the odor of stale fat.
- The rancid odor filling the ship’s galley nauseated the crew.
Rancor (n.)
- bitterness, hatred.
- Thirty years after the war, she could not let go of the past but was still consumed with rancor against the foe.
Rankle (v.)
- irritate, fester.
- The memory of having been jilted rankled him for years.
Rapacious (adj.)
- excessively greedy, predatory.
- The rapacious brigands stripped the villagers of all their possessions.
Rapport (n.)
- emotional closeness, harmony.
- In team teaching, it is important that all teachers in the group have good rapport with one another.
Rapt (adj.)
- absorbed, enchanted.
- Caught up in the wonder of the storyteller’s tale, the rapt listeners sat motionless, hanging in his every word.
Rarefied (adj.)
- made less dense [of a gas].
- The mountain climbers had difficulty breathing in the rarefied atmosphere.
Raspy (adj.)
- grating, harsh.
- The sergeant’s raspy voice grated on the recruits’ ears.
Ratify (v.)
- approve formally, confirm, verify.
- Part leaders doubted that they had enough votes in both houses of Congress to ratify the constitutional amendment.
