SAT - M's

Question 1

Malicious

Answer 1

Adj. hateful; spiteful.

Jealous of Cinderella’s beauty, her malicious stepsisters expressed their spite by forcing her to do menial tasks.

Malice, N.

Question 2

Marred

Answer 2

Adj. damaged; disfigured.

She had to refinish the marred surface of the table.

Mar, V.

Question 3

Materialism

Answer 3

N. preoccupation with physical comforts and things.

By its nature, materialism is opposed to idealism, for when the materialists emphasize the needs for the body, the idealist emphasizes the need for the soul.

Question 4

Meander

Answer 4

V. wind or turn in its course.

Needing to stay close to a source of water, he followed every twist and turn of the stream as it meandered through the countryside.

Question 5

Mercenary

Answer 5

Adj. interested in money or gain.

Andy’s every act was prompted by mercenary motives; his first question was always “What’s in it for me?”

Question 6

Mercurial

Answer 6

Adj. capricious; changing; fickle.

Quick as quicksilver to change, he was mercurial in nature and therefore unreliable.

Question 7

Methodical

Answer 7

Adj. systematic.

An accountant must be methodical and maintain order among his financial records.

Question 8

Meticulous

Answer 8

Adj. excessively careful; painstaking; scrupulous.

Martha Stewart was a meticulous housekeeper, fussing about each and every detail that went into making up her perfect home.

Question 9

Mirth

Answer 9

N. merriment; laughter.

Sober Malvolio found Sir Toby’s mirth improper.

Question 10

Misanthrope

Answer 10

N. one who hates mankind.

In Gulliver’s Travels, Swift portrays an image of humanity as vile, degraded beasts; for this reason, various critics consider him a misanthrope.

Question 11

Miserly

Answer 11

Adj. stringy; mean.

Transformed by his vision on Christmas Eve, mean old Scrooge ceased being miserly and became a generous, kind old man.

Question 12

Misnomer

Answer 12

N. wrong name; increased designation.

His tyrannical conduct proved to all that his nickname, King Eric the Just, was a misnomer.

Question 13

Mitigate

Answer 13

V. appease; moderate.

Nothing Jason did could mitigate Medea’s anger; she refused to forgive him for betraying her.

Question 14

Mollify

Answer 14

V. soothe.

The airline customer service representative tried to mollify the angry passenger by offering her a seat in first class.

Question 15

Morose

Answer 15

Adj. ill-humored; sullen; melancholy.

Forced to take early retirement, Bill acted morose for months; then all of a sudden, he shook off his sudden mood and was his usual cheerful self.

Question 16

Mosaic

Answer 16

N. picture made of small inlaid tiles.

The mayor compared the city to a beautiful mosaic madeup of people of every race and religion on earth,

Question 17

Mundane

Answer 17

Adj. wordly as opposed to spiritual; everyday.

Uninterested in philosophical or spiritual discussions. Tom talked only of mundane matters such as the daily weather forecast or the latest basketball results.

Question 18

Munificent

Answer 18

Adj. very generous.

Shamelessly fawning over a particularly generous donor, the dean kept on referring to her as “our munificent benefactor.”

Munificence, N.