SAT - S's Flashcards

1
Q

Sage

A

N. person celebrated for wisdom.

Hearing tales of a mysterious Master of All Knowledge who lived in the hills of Tibet, Sandy was possessed with a burning desire to consult the legendary sage.

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2
Q

Sanction

A

V. approve; ratify.

Nothing will convince me to sanction the engagement of my daughter to such a worthless young man.

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3
Q

Satirical

A

Adj. mocking.

The humor of cartoonist Gary Trudeau often is satirical; through the cmments of the Doonesbury characters, Trudeau ridicules political corruption and folly.

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4
Q

Saturate

A

V. soak thoroughly.

Saturate your sponge with water until it can’t hold any more.

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5
Q

Savory

A

Adj. tasty; pleasing, attractive, or agreeable.

Julia Child’s recipes enable amateur chefs to create savory delicacies for their guests.

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6
Q

Scanty

A

Adj. meager; insufficient.

Thinking his helping of food was scanty, Oliver Twist asked for more.

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7
Q

Scrupulous

A

Adj. conscientious; extremely thorough.

Though Alfred is scrupulous in fulfilling his duties at work, he is less conscientious about his obligations to his family and friends.

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8
Q

Scrutinize

A

V. examine closely and critically.

Searching for flaws, the sergeant scrutinized every detail of the private’s uniform.

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9
Q

Sedentary

A

Adj. requiring sitting.

Sitting all day at the computer, Sharon grew to resent the sedentary nature of her job.

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10
Q

Servile

A

Adj. slavish; cringing.

Constantly fawning on his employer, humble Uriah Heap was a servile creature.

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11
Q

Skeptic

A

N. doubter; person who suspends judgement until the evidence supporting a point of view has been examined.

I am a skeptic about the new health plan; I want some proof that it can work.

Skepticism, N.

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12
Q

Sluggish

A

Adj. slow; lazy; lethargic.

After two nights without sleep, she felt sluggish and incapable of exertion.

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13
Q

Somber

A

Adj. gloomy; depressing; dark; drab.

From the doctor’s grim expression, I could tell he had somber news.

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14
Q

Soporific

A

Adj. sleep-causing; marked by sleepiness.

Professor Pringle’s lectures were so soporific that even he fell asleep in class.

Also, N.

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15
Q

Sporadic

A

Adj. occurring irregularly.

Although you can still hear sporadic outbursts of laughter and singing outside, the big Halloween parade has passed; the party’s over till next year.

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16
Q

Spurious

A

Adj. false; counterfeit; forged; illogical.

The antique dealer hero of Jonathan Gash’s mystery novels gives the reader tips on how to tell spurious antiques from the real thing.

17
Q

Spurn

A

V. reject; scorn.

The heroine spurned the villain’s advances.

18
Q

Squander

A

V. waste.

If yoiu squander your allowance on candy and comic books, you won’t have any money left to buy the new box of crayons you want.

19
Q

Stagnant

A

Adj. motionless; stale; dull.

Mosquitoes commonly breed in ponds of stagnant water.

20
Q

Static

A

Adj. unchanging; lacking development.

Why watch chess on TV? I like watching a game with action, not something static where nothing seems to be going on.

21
Q

Steadfast

A

Adj. loyal; unswerving.

Penelope was steadfast in her affections, faithfully waiting for Ulysses to return from his wanderings.

22
Q

Stolid

A

Adj. unruffled; impassive; dull.

Marianne wanted a romantic, passionate suitor like Willoughby, not a stolid, unimaginative one like Colonel Brandon.

23
Q

Strident

A

Adj. loud and harsh; insistent.

Whenever Sue became angry, she tried not to raise her voice; she had no desire to appear strident.

24
Q

Stupefy

A

V. make numb; stun; amaze.

Disapproving of drugs in general, Laura refused to take sleeping pills or any other medicine that might stupefy her.

Stupefaction, N.

25
Q

Submissive

A

Adj. yielding; timid.

When he refused to permit Elizabeth to marry her poet, Mr. Barrett expected her to be properly submissive; instead, she eloped!

26
Q

Subordinate

A

Adj. occupying a lower rank; inferior; submissive.

Bishop Proudie’s wife expected all the subordinate clergy to behave with great deference to the wife of their superior.

27
Q

Subside

A

V. settle down; descend; grow quiet.

The doctor assured us that the fever would eventually subside.

28
Q

Substantiate

A

V. establish by evidence; verify; support.

These endorsements from satisfied customers substantiate our claim that Barron’s How to Prepare for the SAT is the best SAT-prep book on the market.

29
Q

Succint

A

Adj. brief; terse; compact.

Don’t bore your audience with excess verbiage; be succint.

30
Q

Superfluous

A

Adj. unnecessary; excessive; overabundant.

Betsy lacked the heart to tell June that the wedding present she brought was superfluous, she and Bob had already received five toasters.

31
Q

Supplant

A

V. replace; usurp.

Bolingbroke, later to be known King Henry IV, fought to supplant his cousin, Richard III, as King of England.

32
Q

Surfeit

A

V. satiate; stuff; indulge to excess in anything.

Every Thanksgiving we are surfeited with an overabundance of holiday treats.

Also, N.

33
Q

Surpass

A

V. exceed.

Her SAT scores surpassed our expectations.

34
Q

Surreptitious

A

Adj. secret; furtive; sneaky; hidden.

Hoping to discover where his mom had hidden the Christmas presents, Timmy took a surreptitious peerk into the master bedroom closet.

35
Q

Susceptible

A

Adj. impressionable; easily influenced; having little resistance, as to a disease; receptive to.

Said the patent medicine man to his very susceptible customer: “Buy this new miracle drug, and you will no longer be susceptible to the common cold.”

36
Q

Sustain

A

V. experience; support; nourish.

He sustained such a severe injury that the doctors feared he would be unable to work to sustain his growing family.

37
Q

Sycophant

A

N. servile flatterer; bootlicker; yes man

Fed up with the toadies and flunkies who made up his entourage, the star cried, “Get out, all of you! I’m sick sycophants!”

Sycophancy, N.