Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

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


See full index

SAT VOCAB > Week 6 > Flashcards

Week 6 Flashcards

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

inchoate

A

rudimentary, not fully formed or developed

the country ran an inchoate democracy

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

vitriolic

A

filled with criticism or malice

it was a vitriolic attack on the government

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

ineffable

A

too great or extreme to be described in words

ineffable beauty

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

inexorable

A

impossible to stop or prevent

the seemingly inexorable march of new technology

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

interlocutor

A

someone who takes part in a dialogue

one of the interlocutors asked a very interesting question.

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

jingoism

A

aggressive touting of one’s patriotism

the politician’s jingoism caused much controversy

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

leviathon/leviathan

A 
something huge (based on a mythological creature)
he faced a leviathon of a monster
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

licentious

A

morally lax or unprincipled

he followed licentious rules

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

mawkishness

A

sentimental in a feeble or sickly way, overly sentimental

a mawkish poem

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

milieu

A

a person’s social environment- he grew up in a military milieu

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

munificence

A

being generous

we must be thankful for his munificence

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

myopic

A

nearsighted

the gov’t has a myopic view on the issue

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

nihilism

A

rejection of established values and morality

his nihilism led to a rebellious personality

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

nondescript

A

lacking distinctive features

she lived in a nondescript suburban neighborhood

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

nonplussed

A

confused to the point of not being able to speak

he was nonplussed by the fact that his wife was a spy

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

obstreperous

A

noisy and difficult to control

the boy is obstreperous and cocky

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

onerous

A

burdensome

he found his duties increasingly onerous

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

opprobrium

A

harsh criticism or censure; scorn, contempt

his films generated critical opprobrium

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

ostensible

A

stating or appearing to be true, but not necessarily so

the delay may have a cause different than the ostensible one

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

panacea

A

a solution or remedy for all diseases

the panacea for stress is ice cream

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

pedagogic

A

of or relating to teaching

they showed great pedagogic skills

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

perfidious

A

deceitful and untrustworthy

she was a perfidious lover

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

petulant

A

childishly sulky or bad tempered

he was moody and petulant

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

plaudits

A

praise

the network received plaudits for its sports show

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

pontificate

A

to express opinion pompously or superciliously

he was pontificating about art and history

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

precept

A

rule of behavior or action

the religion included many moral precepts

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

precipitate

A

to cause something to happen before planned

the incident precipitated a political crisis

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

probity

A

having moral principles, honesty, and decency

the businessman had financial probity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

profligate

A

recklessly extravagant or wasteful

they were profligate consumers of energy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

promulgate

A

promote or make widely known

the organization promulgated their beliefs

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

supercilious

A

behaving or thinking superiorly

the supercilious lady acted above everyone else

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

qualm

A

an uneasy feeling of doubt, worry, or fear

they had no qualms about what might happen at the event

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

quibble

A

slight objection or criticism

besides a few quibbles, the book was a masterpiece

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

quixotic

A

unrealistic and impractical

the project was vast and quixotic

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

raiment

A

clothing

they dressed in formal raiments

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

refractory

A

stubborn or unmanageable

the refractory horse wouldn’t obey

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

retrograde

A

reverting to an earlier, inferior position; going back

the new law was a retrograde step

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
38
Q

serendipity

A

good fortune; making a discovery by accident

in a stroke of serendipity, he found a 100 dollar bill on the floor

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
39
Q

spate

A

large number of things in quick succession

he delivered a spate of insults towards his brother

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
40
Q

steadfastness

A

dutifully firm and unwavering

steadfast loyalty

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
41
Q

subterfuge

A

deceit used in order to achieve a goal

journalists often relied on subterfuge

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
42
Q

surfeit

A

an excessive amount of something

he consumed a surfeit of food

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
43
Q

sybarite

A

a self-indulgent hedonist in fondness of sensual wealth.

the fancy restaurant only catered to wealthy sybarites.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
44
Q

synergistic

A

working together and having a greater combined effect

their work was synergistic- they got more done together

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
45
Q

tawdry

A

cheap looking but gaudy and showy

she bought tawdry jewlery

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
46
Q

temerity

A

reckless boldness

he led the battle charge with temerity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
47
Q

threadbare

A

worn and shabby

he wore threadbare clothing

48
Q

perfidy

A

deceitfulness, untrustworthiness

perfidy would not go unpunished under his watch

49
Q

treacly/treacle

A

overly sentimental

enough of this treacle, let’s go back to business

50
Q

truculent

A

belligerent

his days of truculent defiance were over

51
Q

turgid

A

swollen or pompous

the book used turgid language

52
Q

unctuous

A

inky/oily or ingratiating
the goo had an unctuous texture
he spoke in an unctuous manner

53
Q

unheralded

A

unannounced or unexpected

he brought an unheralded surprise

54
Q

untenable

A

unable to be defended

the argument was untenable

55
Q

upstart

A

a rebel

the upstart would not conform to society

56
Q

vaunt

A

brag or boast

he vaunted about his new plan

57
Q

verisimilitude

A

appearance of being true or real

the detail gave the novel versimilitude

58
Q

victuals

A

food

they were known for their extreme consumption of victuals

59
Q

virile

A

strong, manly

the virile bully despised weak people

60
Q

visceral

A

relating to the abdomen; instinctive rather than reasoned

he voted conservative because he had a visceral fear of change

61
Q

vitiate

A

to impair or render ineffective

the lack of support vitiated the movement

62
Q

vitriolic

A

filled with criticism or malice

vitriolic attacks

63
Q

watershed

A

a turning point

the battle was the watershed in the war

64
Q

waylay

A

to stop or interrupt, esp. for conversation

he waylaid me in the stairs

65
Q

wheedle

A

to cajole or coax

he wheedled his brother into driving him places

66
Q

wily

A

sly

he faced wily opponents

67
Q

windfall

A

an unexpected gain or boon

winning the lottery was an unexpected windfall

68
Q

winsome

A

attractive

she had a winsome smile

69
Q

witticism

A

a witty remark

his witticisms made him popular

70
Q

zephyr

A

a light breeze

the hurricane soon turned into a mere zephyr

71
Q

meandering

A

following a winding course

he took a meandering lane

72
Q

serpentine

A

of or like a serpent, esp. bc of winding

a serpentine lane

73
Q

sinuous

A

with many curves or turns

the sinuous river

74
Q

sagacious

A

showing good judgement

they were sagacious enough not to jump off the waterfall

75
Q

scathing

A

witheringly scornful and critical

76
Q

fanciful

A

over-imaginative and unrealistic

he had fanciful fantasies of unicorns

77
Q

phlegmatic

A

unemotionally stolid

his phlegmatic disposition allowed him to get over his friends’ death

78
Q

embroider

A

to decorate or embellish

she embroidered her toys with sparkles

79
Q

equivocate

A

to use ambiguous language to hide or conceal

he equivocated when asked about the scandal

80
Q

augur

A

to signal a good or bad outcome

the end of the war seemed to augur well

81
Q

portend

A

to be a sign or warning of something

eclipses portant major events

82
Q

premonition

A

strong feeling that something is going to happen

he had a premonition of imminent disaster

83
Q

parsimonious

A

frugal or stingy

they were parsimonious in spending money during holidays

84
Q

penurious

A

poor or poverty stricken

a penurious old tramp

85
Q

jaunty

A

lively, cheerful, or self confident

there was no mistaking that jaunty walk

86
Q

incipient

A

initial stage, beginning to happen

he could feel incipient anger building up

87
Q

nascent

A

just coming into existence

the nascent space industry

88
Q

haptic

A

relating to sense of touch

haptic feedback provides users with the illusion of real-world virtual objects

89
Q

palpable

A

able to be touched or felt

he had a palpable bump on his leg

90
Q

surreptitious

A

kept secret

they kept it a surreptitious affair

91
Q

modicum

A

small quantity

he only told a modicum of the truth

92
Q

tenuous

A

very weak or slight

tenuous evidence is not enough to send someone to jail

93
Q

tangential

A

barely touching, slightly connected, diverging

tangential information

94
Q

aural

A

relating to the sense of hearing

he had a strong aural sense

95
Q

strident

A

loud and harsh, grating

his voice became increasingly strident

96
Q

dilatory

A

slow to act

he had been dilatory in preparing for the exam

97
Q

redolent

A

strongly reminiscent or suggestive

his writing was redolent of shakespeare

98
Q

banal

A

obviously lacking originality

songs with banal, repeated words

99
Q

insipid

A

lacking vigor or interest

artists continue to churn out insipid work

100
Q

soporific

A

inducing drowsiness or sleepiness

the boring sermon was soporific

101
Q

vapid

A

lacking liveliness, dull or tedious

a vapid party

102
Q

burgeon

A

begin to increase or grow rapidly

manufacturers are keen on cashing in on the burgeoning demand

103
Q

distend

A

to cause to swell from pressure

the abdomen distended rapidly

104
Q

redouble

A

to make greater or more numerous

he redoubled his efforts

105
Q

scintillating

A

sparkling or shining brightly

the scintillating sun

106
Q

averse

A

having a strong dislike or opposition to something

he was averse to his beliefs

107
Q

demure

A

reserved, modest, shy (of a woman)

a demure midwife

108
Q

diffident

A

modest or shy because of lack of self confidence

he was a diffident person

109
Q

placid

A

not easily upset or excited, tranquil

the horse had a placid natrue

110
Q

fastidious

A

attentive to detail

he chooses his words with fastidious care

111
Q

cantankerous

A

bad tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative

he was a cantankerous old man

112
Q

rancorous

A

characterized by bitterness and resentment

rancorous disputes filled the room

113
Q

repugnant

A

distasteful, unacceptable

the thought of moving back was repugnant to him

114
Q

stratify

A

to arrange into layers

the city was socially stratified

115
Q

variegate

A

irregularly exhibiting different colors

variegated yellow bricks with red splotches

116
Q

withering

A

intended to make someone feel mortified or humiliated

he gave him a withering look

SAT VOCAB (7 decks)

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