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SAT Vocabulary > word list 2 > Flashcards

word list 2 Flashcards

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1
Q

acrid

A

adj. sharp; pungent (used of smells and tastes

“acrid smoke”

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2
Q

boorish

A

adj. ill-mannered

“boorish behaviour”

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3
Q

cynical

A

adj. believing that people act only out of selfish motives

“he was brutally cynical and hardened to every sob story under the sun”

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4
Q

epistle

A

n. a letter (form of communication)

“activists firing off angry epistles”

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5
Q

heresy

A

n. against orthodox opinion

“the heresy of being uncommitted to the right political dogma”

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6
Q

lance

A

n. spear; spike; javelin

“the warriors bore lances tipped with iron or steel”

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7
Q

obscure

A

adj. difficult to understand; partially hidden

“his origins and parentage are obscure”

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8
Q

poignant

A

adj. deeply moving; strongly affecting the emotions

“a poignant reminder of the passing of time”

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9
Q

respite

A

n. a break; intermission

“the refugee encampments will provide some respite from the suffering”

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10
Q

terse

A

adj. concise; to the point

“a terse statement”

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11
Q

acrophobia

A

n. fear of heights

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12
Q

bourgeois

A

adj. middle class

“a rich, bored, bourgeois family”

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13
Q

debility

A

n. weakness; incapacity

“most of the cases presented with general debility, muscle weakness, and weight loss”

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14
Q

epistolary

A

adj. concerned with letters; through correspondence

“an epistolary novel”

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15
Q

hiatus

A

n. interruption; pause

“there was a brief hiatus in the war with France”

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16
Q

languid

A

adj. tired; slow

“his languid demeanour irritated her”

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17
Q

obscured

A

v. hidden; covered; buried

“grey clouds obscure the sun”

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18
Q

poised

A

adj. calm; collected; self-possessed

“not every day you saw that poised, competent kid distressed”

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19
Q

resplendent

A

adj. shining; glowing

“she was resplendent in a sea-green dress”

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20
Q

therapeutic

A

adj. medicinal; curative

“diagnostic and therapeutic facilities”

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21
Q

acuity

A

n. sharpness (mental or visual)

“intellectual acuity”

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22
Q

braggart

A

n. someone who boasts

“braggart men”

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23
Q

debunking

A

v. exposing false claims or myths

“she debunks all the usual rubbish about acting”

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24
Q

epitomised

A

v. typified; characterised; personified

“the company epitomised the problems faced by British industry”

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25
Q

hidebound

A

adj. rigid in opinions

“they are working to change hidebound corporate cultures”

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26
Q

languish

A

v. decay; fade away; get weaker

“plants may appear to be languishing simply because they are dormant”

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27
Q

obsequious

A

adj. servile; submissive

“they were served by obsequious waiters”

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28
Q

polemical

A

adj. causing debate or argument

“a polemical essay”

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29
Q

restorative

A

adj, n. a tonic

adj: “the restorative power of long walks”
n: “herbal restoratives”

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30
Q

thwart

A

v. prevent; frustrate

“he never did anything to thwart his father”

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31
Q

adamant

A

adj. forceful; inflexible

“he is adamant that he is not going to resign”

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32
Q

brawny

A

adj. muscular

“a great brawny brute”

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33
Q

decathlon

A

n. an athletic competition with ten events

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34
Q

equivocate

A

v. speak ambiguously; avoid telling the truth

“the government have equivocated too often in the past”

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35
Q

hieroglyphics

A

n. picture writing; writing which is difficult to read or enigmatic
“without the Rosetta Stone, it is likely that Egyptian hieroglyphics would still be a mystery”

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36
Q

larceny

A

n. theft; robbery; stealing

“stealing, larceny, theft; no matter what you call it, it is not right”

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37
Q

obsession

A

n. a dominating concern

“she cared for him with a devotion bordering on obsession”

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38
Q

ponderous

A

adj. weighty; slow and heavy

“a swarthy, ponderous giant of a man”

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39
Q

retention

A

n. preservation; withholding

“the retention of direct control by central government”

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40
Q

timorous

A

adj. cowardly; fearful

“a timorous voice”

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41
Q

adroit

A

adj. skilful

“he was adroit at tax avoidance”

42
Q

brevity

A

n. being brief

“the staff will edit manuscripts with a view to brevity and clarity”

43
Q

decorum

A

n. dignified, correct behaviour

“he had acted with the utmost decorum”

44
Q

err

A

v. make a mistake

“the judge had erred in ruling that the evidence was inadmissible”

45
Q

hinder

A

v. obstruct

“language barriers hindered communication between scientists”

46
Q

largess

A

n. generosity

“presumably public money is not dispensed with such largesse to anyone else”

47
Q

obsolete

A

adj. no longer valid

“the disposal of old and obsolete machinery”

48
Q

pontificate

A

v. speak pompously or dogmatically

“he was pontificating about art and history”

49
Q

reticent

A

adj. restrained; holding something back; uncommunicative

“she was extremely reticent about her personal affairs”

50
Q

tirade

A

n. stream of verbal abuse

“a tirade of abuse”

51
Q

adulation

A

n. strong admiration; worship

“he found it difficult to cope with the adulation of the fans”

52
Q

bristle

A

v. to show irritation

“the hair on the back of his neck bristled”

53
Q

decoy

A

v. lure; trap; trick

“they would try to decoy the enemy towards the hidden group”

54
Q

erratic

A

adj. wandering; irregular

“her breathing was erratic”

55
Q

histrionic

A

adj, n. theatrical; exaggerated

adj: “a histrionic outburst”
n: “by now, Anna was accustomed to her mother’s histrionics”

56
Q

laud

A

v. praise

“the obituary lauded him as a great statesman and soldier”

57
Q

obstreperous

A

adj. noisy and boisterous

“the boy is cocky and obstreperous”

58
Q

portend

A

v. foretell

“the eclipses portend some major events”

59
Q

retraction

A

n. withdrawal; cancellation of a statement

“he issued a retraction of his allegations”

60
Q

titter

A

v. giggle quietly

“her stutter caused the children to titter”

61
Q

adversity

A

n. hardship

“resilience in the face of adversity”

62
Q

broach

A

v. start to discuss; approach

“he broached the subject he had been avoiding all evening”

63
Q

deference

A

n. respect

“he addressed her with the deference due to age”

64
Q

esoteric

A

adj. obscure and difficult to understand

“esoteric philosophical debates”

65
Q

hoary

A

adj. old

“hoary cobwebs”

66
Q

lavish

A

adj. on a grand scale; wasteful

“a lavish banquet”

67
Q

obtuse

A

adj. mentally dull

“he wondered if the doctor was being deliberately obtuse”

68
Q

portent

A

n. a warning sign; omen

“many birds are regarded as being portents of death”

69
Q

revere

A

v. worship

“Cézanne’s still lifes were revered by his contemporaries”

70
Q

tome

A

n. large book

“a weighty tome”

71
Q

advocate

A

n, v. support

n: “he was an untiring advocate of economic reform”
v: “voters supported candidates who advocated an Assembly”

72
Q

brusque

A

adj. blunt; abrupt

“she could be brusque and impatient”

73
Q

defoliate

A

v. cause leaves to fall off

“the area was defoliated and napalmed many times”

74
Q

espouse

A

v. promote; take up; support

“the left has espoused the causes of sexual and racial equality”

75
Q

hone

A

v. sharpen; increase; whet

“he was carefully honing the curved blade”

76
Q

lax

A

adj. careless; not strict

“lax security arrangements at the airport”

77
Q

obviate

A

v. avoid; make unnecessary

“the presence of roller blinds obviated the need for curtains”

78
Q

poseur

A

n. someone who puts on an act

“he looks like a real poseur in his fancy sports car”

79
Q

riddled

A

v. full of (usually full of holes)

“his car was riddled by sniper fire”

80
Q

torpid

A

adj. inactive; lazy; stagnant

“we sat around in a torpid state”

81
Q

aesthetic

A

adj. concerning art or beauty

“the pictures give great aesthetic pleasure”

82
Q

bulwark

A

n. fortification; barricade; wall

“the new dam was a bulwark against future floods”

83
Q

defunct

A

adj. no longer in existence

“the now defunct Somerset & Dorset railway line”

84
Q

etymology

A

n. the study of word origins

“the decline of etymology as a linguistic discipline”

85
Q

hyperbole

A

n. grossly exaggerated speech

“he vowed revenge with oaths and hyperboles”

86
Q

legend

A

n. key to map; myth or story
“see legend to Fig. 1”
“the legend of King Arthur”

87
Q

odious

A

adj. hateful

“a pretty odious character”

88
Q

posterity

A

n. future generations

“the victims’ names are recorded for posterity”

89
Q

rife

A

adj. common

“male chauvinism was rife in medicine”

90
Q

torpor

A

n. dormancy; sluggishness; inactivity

“they veered between apathetic torpor and hysterical fanaticism”

91
Q

affable

A

adj. friendly; social; easy going

“an affable and agreeable companion”

92
Q

bureaucracy

A

n. officialdom

“the unnecessary bureaucracy in local government”

93
Q

degradation

A

n. deprivation; poverty; debasement

“a trail of human misery and degradation”

94
Q

eulogy

A

n. praise

“a eulogy to the Queen Mother”

95
Q

hypochondriac

A

n. a person obsessed with health; having imaginary illnesses

“hypochondriac feelings overwhelmed her”

96
Q

legion

A

adj, n. in large numbers

adj: “her fans are legion”
n: “legions of photographers and TV cameras”

97
Q

officious

A

adj. domineering; intrusive; meddlesome

“the security people were very officious”

98
Q

posthumous

A

adj. after death

“he was awarded a posthumous Military Cross”

99
Q

rigour

A

n. thoroughness

“his analysis is lacking in rigour”

100
Q

totter

A

v. walk unsteadily

“a hunched figure tottering down the path”

SAT Vocabulary (3 decks)

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