SAT 12 Flashcards
Alleviate; verb
-to make easier to endure; to relieve; to diminish
This should alleviate the pain; if it does not, we shall have to use stronger medication. Ant. aggravate
Censure; verb
-to blame; to criticize adversely.
The senator was censured for behavior inappropriate to a member of Congress.
Despot; noun
-monarch with unlimited power
How could a benevolent king turn overnight into a tyrannical despot?
Engender; verb
-to cause, produce to bring into being.
To receive praise for real accomplishments engenders self-confidence in a child.
Incongruous; adjective
-inappropriate; out of place
Dave saw nothing incongruous about wearing sneakers with his tuxedo; he couldn’t understand why his date took one look at him and started to laugh.
Philistine; adjective
-narrow-minded; smugly conventional.
A philistine knows the price of everything, but the value of nothing.
Relegate; verb
-to put in a less important position; to assign; to banish After Ralph dropped his second tray of drinks that week, the manager swiftly relegated him to a minor post cleaning up behind the bar.
Scoff, verb
-to mock or jeer at; to make fun of
He scoffed at dentists until he had his first toothache and needed quick medical attention.
Tedious; adjective
-long or verbose and wearisome; tiresome; boring. The repetitious nature of work on the assembly line made Martin’s job very tedious.
Ungainly; adjective
-clumsy; awkward; hard to handle.
“If you want to know whether Nick’s an ungainly dancer, check out my bruised feet,” said Nora. Anyone who has ever tried to carry a bass fiddle knows it’s an ungainly instrument. Ant. graceful
Viable; adjective
-able to live or exist; practicable.
That idea won’t work, so let me see whether I can come up with a viable alternative. Ant. impossible
Writhe; verb
-to twist or squirm, as in pain; to suffer from shame or shyness. In Dances with Snakes, the snake dancer wriggled sinuously as her boa constrictor writhed around her torso.
Zenith; noun
-the point in the sky directly above one; the highest point. When the sun was at its zenith, the glare was not as strong as at sunrise or sunset. Ant. nadir
Aloof; adjective
-indifferent; unsympathetic; not interested; apart.
Shy by nature, she remained aloof while all the rest conversed openly.
Ant. amiable; friendly
Chastise; verb
-to criticize severely.
“Spare the rod and spoil the child” was not Miss Watson’s motto: she relished whipping Huck with a birch rod to chastise him. Ant. laud
