SAT Vocabulary Part 1

Question 1

SAT Vocabulary

abase

Answer 1

(v.) to humiliate; degrade (After being overthrown and abased; the deposed leader offered to bow down to his conqueror.)

Question 2

SAT Vocabulary

abate

Answer 2

(v.) to reduce; lessen (The rain poured down for a while; then abated.)

Question 3

SAT Vocabulary

abdicate

Answer 3

(v.) to give up a position; usually one of leadership (When he realized that the revolutionaries would surely win; the king abdicated his throne.)

Question 4

SAT Vocabulary

abduct

Answer 4

(v.) to kidnap; take by force (The evildoers abducted the fairy princess from her happy home.)

Question 5

SAT Vocabulary

aberration

Answer 5

(n.) something that differs from the norm (In 1918; the Boston Red Sox won the World Series; but the success turned out to be an aberration; and the Red Sox have not won a World Series since.)

Question 6

SAT Vocabulary

abet

Answer 6

(v.) to aid; help; encourage (The spy succeeded only because he had a friend on the inside to abet him.)

Question 7

SAT Vocabulary

abhor

Answer 7

(v.) to hate; detest (Because he always wound up kicking himself in the head when he tried to play soccer; Oswald began to abhor the sport.)

Question 8

SAT Vocabulary

abide

Answer 8

1. (v.) to put up with (Though he did not agree with the decision; Chuck decided to abide by it.) 2. (v.) to remain (Despite the beating they’ve taken from the weather throughout the millennia; the mountains abide.)

Question 9

SAT Vocabulary

abject

Answer 9

(adj.) wretched; pitiful (After losing all her money; falling into a puddle; and breaking her ankle; Eloise was abject.)

Question 10

SAT Vocabulary

abjure

Answer 10

(v.) to reject; renounce (To prove his honesty; the President abjured the evil policies of his wicked predecessor.)

Question 11

SAT Vocabulary

abnegation

Answer 11

(n.) denial of comfort to oneself (The holy man slept on the floor; took only cold showers; and generally followed other practices of abnegation.)

Question 12

SAT Vocabulary

abort

Answer 12

(v.) to give up on a half-finished project or effort (After they ran out of food; the men; attempting to jump rope around the world; had to abort and go home.)

Question 13

SAT Vocabulary

abridge

Answer 13

1. (v.) to cut down; shorten (The publisher thought the dictionary was too long and abridged it.) 2. (adj.) shortened (Moby-Dick is such a long book that even the abridged version is longer than most normal books.)

Question 14

SAT Vocabulary

abrogate

Answer 14

(v.) to abolish; usually by authority (The Bill of Rights assures that the government cannot abrogate our right to a free press.)

Question 15

SAT Vocabulary

abscond

Answer 15

(v.) to sneak away and hide (In the confusion; the super-spy absconded into the night with the secret plans.)

Question 16

SAT Vocabulary

absolution

Answer 16

(n.) freedom from blame; guilt; sin (Once all the facts were known; the jury gave Angela absolution by giving a verdict of not guilty.)

Question 17

SAT Vocabulary

abstain

Answer 17

(v.) to freely choose not to commit an action (Everyone demanded that Angus put on the kilt; but he did not want to do it and abstained.)

Question 18

SAT Vocabulary

abstruse

Answer 18

(adj.) hard to comprehend (Everyone else in the class understood geometry easily; but John found the subject abstruse.)

Question 19

SAT Vocabulary

accede

Answer 19

(v.) to agree (When the class asked the teacher whether they could play baseball instead of learn grammar they expected him to refuse; but instead he acceded to their request.)

Question 20

SAT Vocabulary

accentuate

Answer 20

(v.) to stress; highlight (Psychologists agree that those people who are happiest accentuate the positive in life.)

Question 21

SAT Vocabulary

accessible

Answer 21

(adj.) obtainable; reachable (After studying with SparkNotes and getting a great score on the SAT; Marlena happily realized that her goal of getting into an Ivy-League college was accessible.)

Question 22

SAT Vocabulary

acclaim

Answer 22

(n.) high praise (Greg’s excellent poem won the acclaim of his friends.) accolade (n.) high praise; special distinction (Everyone offered accolades to Sam after he won the Noble Prize.)

Question 23

SAT Vocabulary

accolade

Answer 23

(n.) high praise; special distinction (Everyone offered accolades to Sam after he won the Noble Prize.)

Question 24

SAT Vocabulary

accommodating

Answer 24

(adj.) helpful; obliging; polite (Though the apartment was not big enough for three people; Arnold; Mark; and Zebulon were all friends and were accommodating to each other.)

Question 25

# SAT Vocabulary accord

Answer 25

(n.) an agreement (After much negotiating; England and Iceland finally came to a mutually beneficial accord about fishing rights off the cost of Greenland.)

Question 26

# SAT Vocabulary accost

Answer 26

(v.) to confront verbally (Though Antoinette was normally quite calm; when the waiter spilled soup on her for the fourth time in 15 minutes she stood up and accosted the man.)

Question 27

# SAT Vocabulary accretion

Answer 27

(n.) slow growth in size or amount (Stalactites are formed by the accretion of minerals from the roofs of caves.)

Question 28

# SAT Vocabulary acerbic

Answer 28

(adj.) biting; bitter in tone or taste (Jill became extremely acerbic and began to cruelly make fun of all her friends.)

Question 29

# SAT Vocabulary acquiesce

Answer 29

(v.) to agree without protesting (Though Mr. Correlli wanted to stay outside and work in his garage; when his wife told him that he had better come in to dinner; he acquiesced to her demands.)

Question 30

# SAT Vocabulary acrimony

Answer 30

(n.) bitterness; discord (Though they vowed that no girl would ever come between them; Biff and Trevor could not keep acrimony from overwhelming their friendship after they both fell in love with the lovely Teresa.)

Question 31

# SAT Vocabulary acumen

Answer 31

(n.) keen insight (Because of his mathematical acumen; Larry was able to figure out in minutes problems that took other students hours.)

Question 32

# SAT Vocabulary acute

Answer 32

1. (adj.) sharp; severe (Arnold could not walk because the pain in his foot was so acute.) 2. (adj.) having keen insight (Because she was so acute; Libby instantly figured out how the magician pulled off his "magic.")

Question 33

# SAT Vocabulary adamant

Answer 33

(adj.) impervious; immovable; unyielding (Though public pressure was intense; the President remained adamant about his proposal.)

Question 34

# SAT Vocabulary adept

Answer 34

(adj.) extremely skilled (Tarzan was adept at jumping from tree to tree like a monkey.)

Question 35

# SAT Vocabulary adhere

Answer 35

1. (n.) to stick to something (We adhered the poster to the wall with tape.) 2. (n.) to follow devoutly (He adhered to the dictates of his religion without question.)

Question 36

# SAT Vocabulary admonish

Answer 36

(v.) to caution; criticize; reprove (Joe's mother admonished him not to ruin his appetite by eating cookies before dinner.)

Question 37

# SAT Vocabulary adorn

Answer 37

(v.) to decorate (We adorned the tree with ornaments.)

Question 38

# SAT Vocabulary adroit

Answer 38

(adj.) skillful; dexterous (The adroit thief could pick someone's pocket without attracting notice.)

Question 39

# SAT Vocabulary adulation

Answer 39

(n.) extreme praise (Though the book was pretty good; Marcy did not believe it deserved the adulation it received.)

Question 40

# SAT Vocabulary adumbrate

Answer 40

(v.) to sketch out in a vague way (The coach adumbrated a game plan; but none of the players knew precisely what to do.)

Question 41

# SAT Vocabulary adverse

Answer 41

(adj.) antagonistic; unfavorable; dangerous (Because of adverse conditions; the hikers decided to give up trying to climb the mountain.)

Question 42

# SAT Vocabulary advocate

Answer 42

1. (v.) to argue in favor of something (Arnold advocated turning left at the stop sign; even though everyone else thought we should turn right.) 2. (n.) a person who argues in favor of something (In addition to wanting to turn left at every stop sign; Arnold was also a great advocate of increasing national defense spending.)

Question 43

# SAT Vocabulary aerial

Answer 43

(adj.) somehow related to the air (We watched as the fighter planes conducted aerial maneuvers.)

Question 44

# SAT Vocabulary aesthetic

Answer 44

(adj.) artistic; related to the appreciation of beauty (We hired Susan as our interior decorator because she has such a fine aesthetic sense.)

Question 45

# SAT Vocabulary affable

Answer 45

(adj.) friendly; amiable (People like to be around George because he is so affable and good-natured.)

Question 46

# SAT Vocabulary affinity

Answer 46

(n.)a spontaneous feeling of closeness (Jerry didn't know why; but he felt an incredible affinity for Kramer the first time they met.)

Question 47

# SAT Vocabulary affluent

Answer 47

(adj.) rich; wealthy (Mrs. Grebelski was affluent; owning a huge house; three cars; and an island near Maine.)

Question 48

# SAT Vocabulary affront

Answer 48

(n.) an insult (Bernardo was very touchy; and took any slight as an affront to his honor.)

Question 49

# SAT Vocabulary aggrandize

Answer 49

(v.) to increase or make greater (Joseph always dropped the names of the famous people his father knew as a way to aggrandize his personal stature.)

Question 50

# SAT Vocabulary aggregate

Answer 50

1. (n.) a whole or total (The three branches of the U.S. Government form an aggregate much more powerful than its individual parts.) 2. (v.) to gather into a mass (The dictator tried to aggregate as many people into his army as he possibly could.)

Question 51

# SAT Vocabulary aggrieved

Answer 51

(adj.) distressed; wronged; injured (The foreman mercilessly overworked his aggrieved employees.)

Question 52

# SAT Vocabulary agile

Answer 52

(adj.) quick; nimble (The dogs were too slow to catch the agile rabbit.) agnostic (adj.) believing that the existence of God cannot be proven or disproven (Joey's parents are very religious; but he is agnostic.)

Question 53

# SAT Vocabulary agriculture

Answer 53

(n.) farming (It was a huge step in the progress of civilization when tribes left hunting and gathering and began to develop more sustainable methods of obtaining food; such as agriculture.)

Question 54

# SAT Vocabulary aisle

Answer 54

(n.) a passageway between rows of seats (Once we got inside the stadium we walked down the aisle to our seats.)

Question 55

# SAT Vocabulary alacrity

Answer 55

(n.) eagerness; speed (For some reason; Chuck loved to help his mother whenever he could; so when his mother asked him to set the table he did so with alacrity.)

Question 56

# SAT Vocabulary alias

Answer 56

(n.) a false name or identity (He snuck past the guards by using an alias and fake ID.)

Question 57

# SAT Vocabulary allay

Answer 57

(v.) to soothe; ease (The chairman of the Federal Reserve gave a speech to try to allay investors' fears about an economic downturn.)

Question 58

# SAT Vocabulary allege

Answer 58

(v.) to assert; usually without proof (The policeman had alleged that Marshall committed the crime; but after the investigation turned up no evidence; Marshall was set free.)

Question 59

# SAT Vocabulary alleviate

Answer 59

(v.) to relieve; make more bearable (This drug will alleviate the symptoms of the terrible disease; but only for a while.)

Question 60

# SAT Vocabulary allocate

Answer 60

(v.) to distribute; set aside (The Mayor allocated 30 percent of the funds for improving the town's schools.)

Question 61

# SAT Vocabulary aloof

Answer 61

(adj.) reserved; distant (The scientist could sometimes seem aloof; as if he didn't care about his friends or family; but really he was just thinking about quantum mechanics.)

Question 62

# SAT Vocabulary altercation

Answer 62

(n.) a dispute; fight (Jason and Lionel blamed one another for the car accident; leading to an altercation.)

Question 63

# SAT Vocabulary amalgamate

Answer 63

(v.) to bring together; unite (Because of his great charisma; the presidential candidate was able to amalgamate all democrats and republicans under his banner.)

Question 64

# SAT Vocabulary ambiguous

Answer 64

(adj.) uncertain; variably interpretable (Some people think Caesar married Cleopatra for her power; others believe he was charmed by her beauty. His actual reasons are ambiguous.)

Question 65

# SAT Vocabulary ambivalent

Answer 65

(adj.) having opposing feelings (My feelings about Calvin are ambivalent because on one hand he is a loyal friend; but on the other; he is a cruel and vicious thief.)

Question 66

# SAT Vocabulary ameliorate

Answer 66

(v.) to improve (The tense situation was ameliorated when Sam proposed a solution everyone could agree upon.)

Question 67

# SAT Vocabulary amenable

Answer 67

(adj.) willing; compliant (Our father was amenable when we asked him to drive us to the farm so we could go apple picking.)

Question 68

# SAT Vocabulary amenity

Answer 68

(n.) an item that increases comfort (Bill Gates's house is stocked with so many amenities; he never has to do anything for himself.)

Question 69

# SAT Vocabulary amiable

Answer 69

(adj.) friendly (An amiable fellow; Harry got along with just about everyone.) amicable (adj.) friendly (Claudia and Jimmy got divorced; but amicably and without hard feelings.)

Question 70

# SAT Vocabulary amorous

Answer 70

(adj.) showing love; particularly sexual (Whenever Albert saw Mariah wear her slinky red dress; he began to feel quite amorous.)

Question 71

# SAT Vocabulary amorphous

Answer 71

(adj.) without definite shape or type (The effort was doomed from the start; because the reasons behind it were so amorphous and hard to pin down.)

Question 72

# SAT Vocabulary anachronistic

Answer 72

(adj.) being out of correct chronological order (In this book you're writing; you say that the Pyramids were built after the Titanic sank; which is anachronistic.)

Question 73

# SAT Vocabulary analgesic

Answer 73

(n.) something that reduces pain (Put this analgesic on the wound so that the poor man at least feels a little better.)

Question 74

# SAT Vocabulary analogous

Answer 74

(adj.) similar to; so that an analogy can be drawn (Though they are unrelated genetically; the bone structure of whales and fish is quite analogous.)

Question 75

# SAT Vocabulary anarchist

Answer 75

(n.) one who wants to eliminate all government (An anarchist; Carmine wanted to dissolve every government everywhere.)

Question 76

# SAT Vocabulary anathema

Answer 76

(n.) a cursed; detested person (I never want to see that murderer. He is an anathema to me.)

Question 77

# SAT Vocabulary anecdote

Answer 77

(n.) a short; humorous account (After dinner; Marlon told an anecdote about the time he got his nose stuck in a toaster.)

Question 78

# SAT Vocabulary anesthesia

Answer 78

(n.) loss of sensation (When the nerves in his spine were damaged; Mr. Hollins suffered anesthesia in his legs.)

Question 79

# SAT Vocabulary anguish

Answer 79

(n.) extreme sadness; torment (Angelos suffered terrible anguish when he learned that Buffy had died while combating a strange mystical force of evil.)

Question 80

# SAT Vocabulary animated

Answer 80

(adj.) lively (When he begins to talk about drama; which is his true passion; he becomes very animated.)

Question 81

# SAT Vocabulary annex

Answer 81

1. (v.) to incorporate territory or space (After defeating them in battle; the Russians annexed Poland.) 2. (n.) a room attached to a larger room or space (He likes to do his studying in a little annex attached to the main reading room in the library.)

Question 82

# SAT Vocabulary annul

Answer 82

(v.) to make void or invalid (After seeing its unforeseen and catastrophic effects; Congress sought to annul the law.)

Question 83

# SAT Vocabulary anomaly

Answer 83

(n.) something that does not fit into the normal order ("That rip in the space- time continuum is certainly a spatial anomaly;" said Spock to Captain Kirk.)

Question 84

# SAT Vocabulary anonymous

Answer 84

(adj.) being unknown; unrecognized (Mary received a love poem from an anonymous admirer.)

Question 85

# SAT Vocabulary antagonism

Answer 85

(n.) hostility (Superman and Bizarro Superman shared a mutual antagonism; and often fought.)

Question 86

# SAT Vocabulary antecedent

Answer 86

(n.) something that came before (The great tradition of Western culture had its antecedent in the culture of Ancient Greece.)

Question 87

# SAT Vocabulary antediluvian

Answer 87

(adj.) ancient (The antediluvian man still believed that Eisenhower was president of the United States and that hot dogs cost a nickel.)

Question 88

# SAT Vocabulary anthology

Answer 88

(n.) a selected collection of writings; songs; etc. (The new anthology of Bob Dylan songs contains all his greatest hits and a few songs that you might never have heard before.)

Question 89

# SAT Vocabulary antipathy

Answer 89

(n.) a strong dislike; repugnance (I know you love me; but because you are a liar and a thief; I feel nothing but antipathy for you.)

Question 90

# SAT Vocabulary antiquated

Answer 90

(adj.) old; out of date (That antiquated car has none of the features; like power windows and steering; that make modern cars so great.)

Question 91

# SAT Vocabulary antiseptic

Answer 91

(adj.) clean; sterile (The antiseptic hospital was very bare; but its cleanliness helped to keep patients healthy.)

Question 92

# SAT Vocabulary antithesis

Answer 92

(n.) the absolute opposite (Your values; which hold war and violence in the highest esteem; are the antithesis of my pacifist beliefs.)

Question 93

# SAT Vocabulary anxiety

Answer 93

(n.) intense uneasiness (When he heard about the car crash; he felt anxiety because he knew that his girlfriend had been driving on the road where the accident occurred.)

Question 94

# SAT Vocabulary apathetic

Answer 94

(adj.) lacking concern; emotion (Uninterested in politics; Bruno was apathetic about whether he lived under a capitalist or communist regime.)

Question 95

# SAT Vocabulary apocryphal

Answer 95

(adj.) fictitious; false; wrong (Because I am standing before you; it seems obvious that the stories circulating about my demise were apocryphal.)

Question 96

# SAT Vocabulary appalling

Answer 96

(adj.) inspiring shock; horror; disgust (The judge found the murderer's crimes and lack of remorse appalling.)

Question 97

# SAT Vocabulary appease

Answer 97

(v.) to calm; satisfy (When the child cries; the mother gives him candy to appease him.)

Question 98

# SAT Vocabulary appraise

Answer 98

(v.) to assess the worth or value of (A realtor will come over tonight to appraise our house.)

Question 99

# SAT Vocabulary apprehend

Answer 99

1. (v.) to seize; arrest (The criminal was apprehended at the scene.) 2. (v.) to perceive; understand; grasp (The student has trouble apprehending concepts in math and science.)

Question 100

# SAT Vocabulary approbation

Answer 100

(n.) praise (The crowd welcomed the heroes with approbation.)

Question 101

# SAT Vocabulary appropriate

Answer 101

(v.) to take; make use of (The government appropriated the farmer's land without justification.)

Question 102

# SAT Vocabulary aquatic

Answer 102

(adj.) relating to water (The marine biologist studies starfish and other aquatic creatures.)

Question 103

# SAT Vocabulary arable

Answer 103

(adj.) suitable for growing crops (The farmer purchased a plot of arable land on which he will grow corn and sprouts.)

Question 104

# SAT Vocabulary arbiter

Answer 104

(n.) one who can resolve a dispute; make a decision (The divorce court judge will serve as the arbiter between the estranged husband and wife.)

Question 105

# SAT Vocabulary arbitrary

Answer 105

(adj.) based on factors that appear random (The boy's decision to choose one college over another seems arbitrary.)

Question 106

# SAT Vocabulary arbitration

Answer 106

(n.) the process or act of resolving a dispute (The employee sought official arbitration when he could not resolve a disagreement with his supervisor.)

Question 107

# SAT Vocabulary arboreal

Answer 107

(adj.) of or relating to trees (Leaves; roots; and bark are a few arboreal traits.)

Question 108

# SAT Vocabulary arcane

Answer 108

(adj.) obscure; secret; known only by a few (The professor is an expert in arcane Lithuanian literature.)

Question 109

# SAT Vocabulary archaic

Answer 109

(adj.) of or relating to an earlier period in time; outdated (In a few select regions of Western Mongolian; an archaic Chinese dialect is still spoken.)

Question 110

# SAT Vocabulary archetypal

Answer 110

(adj.) the most representative or typical example of something (Some believe George Washington; with his flowing white hair and commanding stature; was the archetypal politician.)

Question 111

# SAT Vocabulary ardor

Answer 111

(n.) extreme vigor; energy; enthusiasm (The soldiers conveyed their ardor with impassioned battle cries.)

Question 112

# SAT Vocabulary arid

Answer 112

(adj.) excessively dry (Little other than palm trees and cacti grow successfully in arid environments.)

Question 113

# SAT Vocabulary arrogate

Answer 113

(v.) to take without justification (The king arrogated the right to order executions to himself exclusively.)

Question 114

# SAT Vocabulary artifact

Answer 114

(n.) a remaining piece from an extinct culture or place (The scientists spent all day searching the cave for artifacts from the ancient Mayan civilization.)

Question 115

# SAT Vocabulary artisan

Answer 115

(n.) a craftsman (The artisan uses wood to make walking sticks.)

Question 116

# SAT Vocabulary ascertain

Answer 116

(v.) to perceive; learn (With a bit of research; the student ascertained that some plants can live for weeks without water.)

Question 117

# SAT Vocabulary ascetic

Answer 117

(adj.) practicing restraint as a means of self-discipline; usually religious (The priest lives an ascetic life devoid of television; savory foods; and other pleasures.)

Question 118

# SAT Vocabulary ascribe

Answer 118

(v.) to assign; credit; attribute to (Some ascribe the invention of fireworks and dynamite to the Chinese.)

Question 119

# SAT Vocabulary aspersion

Answer 119

(n.) a curse; expression of ill-will (The rival politicians repeatedly cast aspersions on each others' integrity.)

Question 120

# SAT Vocabulary aspire

Answer 120

(v.) to long for; aim toward (The young poet aspires to publish a book of verse someday.)

Question 121

# SAT Vocabulary assail

Answer 121

(v.) to attack (At dawn; the war planes assailed the boats in the harbor.)

Question 122

# SAT Vocabulary assess

Answer 122

(v.) to evaluate (A crew arrived to assess the damage after the crash.)

Question 123

# SAT Vocabulary assiduous

Answer 123

(adj.) hard-working; diligent (The construction workers erected the skyscraper during two years of assiduous labor.)

Question 124

# SAT Vocabulary assuage

Answer 124

(v.) to ease; pacify (The mother held the baby to assuage its fears.)

Question 125

# SAT Vocabulary astute

Answer 125

(adj.) very clever; crafty (Much of Roger's success in politics results from his ability to provide astute answers to reporters' questions.)

Question 126

# SAT Vocabulary asylum

Answer 126

1. (n.) a place of refuge; protection; a sanctuary (For Thoreau; the forest served as an asylum from the pressures of urban life.) 2. (n.) an institution in which the insane are kept (Once diagnosed by a certified psychiatrist; the man was put in an asylum.)

Question 127

# SAT Vocabulary atone

Answer 127

(v.) to repent; make amends (The man atoned for forgetting his wife's birthday by buying her five dozen roses.)

Question 128

# SAT Vocabulary atrophy

Answer 128

(v.) to wither away; decay (If muscles do not receive enough blood; they will soon atrophy and die.)

Question 129

# SAT Vocabulary attain

Answer 129

(v.) to achieve; arrive at (The athletes strived to attain their best times in competition.)

Question 130

# SAT Vocabulary attribute

Answer 130

1. (v.) to credit; assign (He attributes all of his success to his mother's undying encouragement.) 2. (n.) a facet or trait (Among the beetle's most peculiar attributes is its thorny protruding eyes.)

Question 131

# SAT Vocabulary atypical

Answer 131

(adj.) not typical; unusual (Screaming and crying is atypical adult behavior.) audacious (adj.) excessively bold (The security guard was shocked by the fan's

Question 132

# SAT Vocabulary audacious

Answer 132

attempt to offer him a bribe.)

Question 133

# SAT Vocabulary audible

Answer 133

(adj.) able to be heard (The missing person's shouts were unfortunately not audible.)

Question 134

# SAT Vocabulary augment

Answer 134

(v.) to add to; expand (The eager student seeks to augment his knowledge of French vocabulary by reading French literature.)

Question 135

# SAT Vocabulary auspicious

Answer 135

(adj.) favorable; indicative of good things (The tennis player considered the sunny forecast an auspicious sign that she would win her match.)

Question 136

# SAT Vocabulary austere

Answer 136

(adj.) very bare; bleak (The austere furniture inside the abandoned house made the place feel haunted.)

Question 137

# SAT Vocabulary avarice

Answer 137

(n.) excessive greed (The banker's avarice led him to amass a tremendous personal fortune.)

Question 138

# SAT Vocabulary avenge

Answer 138

(v.) to seek revenge (The victims will take justice into their own hands and strive to avenge themselves against the men who robbed them.)

Question 139

# SAT Vocabulary aversion

Answer 139

(n.) a particular dislike for something (Because he's from Hawaii; Ben has an aversion to autumn; winter; and cold climates in general.)

Question 140

# SAT Vocabulary balk

Answer 140

(v.) to stop; block abruptly (Edna's boss balked at her request for another raise.)

Question 141

# SAT Vocabulary ballad

Answer 141

(n.) a love song (Greta's boyfriend played her a ballad on the guitar during their walk through the dark woods.)

Question 142

# SAT Vocabulary banal

Answer 142

(adj.) dull; commonplace (The client rejected our proposal because they found our presentation banal and unimpressive.)

Question 143

# SAT Vocabulary bane

Answer 143

(n.) a burden (Advanced physics is the bane of many students' academic lives.)

Question 144

# SAT Vocabulary bard

Answer 144

(n.) a poet; often a singer as well (Shakespeare is often considered the greatest bard in the history of the English language.)

Question 145

# SAT Vocabulary bashful

Answer 145

(adj.) shy; excessively timid (Frankie's mother told him not to be bashful when he refused to attend the birthday party.)

Question 146

# SAT Vocabulary battery

Answer 146

1.(n.) a device that supplies power (Most cars run on a combination of power from a battery and gasoline.) 2. (n.)assault; beating (Her husband was accused of assault and battery after he attacked a man on the sidewalk.)

Question 147

# SAT Vocabulary beguile

Answer 147

(v.) to trick; deceive (The thief beguiled his partners into surrendering all of their money to him.)

Question 148

# SAT Vocabulary behemoth

Answer 148

(n.) something of tremendous power or size (The new aircraft carrier is among several behemoths that the Air Force has added to its fleet.)

Question 149

# SAT Vocabulary benevolent

Answer 149

(adj.) marked by goodness or doing good (Police officers should be commended for their benevolent service to the community.)

Question 150

# SAT Vocabulary benign

Answer 150

(adj.) favorable; not threatening; mild (We were all relieved to hear that the medical tests determined her tumor to be benign.)

Question 151

# SAT Vocabulary bequeath

Answer 151

(v.) to pass on; give (Jon's father bequeathed his entire estate to his mother.)

Question 152

# SAT Vocabulary berate

Answer 152

(v.) to scold vehemently (The angry boss berated his employees for failing to meet their deadline.)

Question 153

# SAT Vocabulary bereft

Answer 153

(adj.) devoid of; without (His family was bereft of food and shelter following the tornado.)

Question 154

# SAT Vocabulary beseech

Answer 154

(v.) to beg; plead; implore (The servant beseeched the king for food to feed his starving family.)

Question 155

# SAT Vocabulary bias

Answer 155

(n.) a tendency; inclination; prejudice (The judge's hidden bias against smokers led him to make an unfair decision.)

Question 156

# SAT Vocabulary bilk

Answer 156

(v.) cheat; defraud (The lawyer discovered that this firm had bilked several clients out of thousands of dollars.)

Question 157

# SAT Vocabulary blandish

Answer 157

(v.) to coax by using flattery (Rachel's assistant tried to blandish her into accepting the deal.)

Question 158

# SAT Vocabulary blemish

Answer 158

(n.) an imperfection; flaw (The dealer agreed to lower the price because of the many blemishes on the surface of the wooden furniture.)

Question 159

# SAT Vocabulary blight

Answer 159

1. (n.) a plague; disease (The potato blight destroyed the harvest and bankrupted many families.) 2. (n.) something that destroys hope (His bad morale is a blight upon this entire operation.)

Question 160

# SAT Vocabulary boisterous

Answer 160

(adj.) loud and full of energy (The candidate won the vote after giving several boisterous speeches on television.)

Question 161

# SAT Vocabulary bombastic

Answer 161

(adj.) excessively confident; pompous (The singer's bombastic performance disgusted the crowd.)

Question 162

# SAT Vocabulary boon

Answer 162

(n.) a gift or blessing (The good weather has been a boon for many businesses located near the beach.)

Question 163

# SAT Vocabulary bourgeois

Answer 163

(n.) a middle-class person; capitalist (Many businessmen receive criticism for their bourgeois approach to life.)

Question 164

# SAT Vocabulary brazen

Answer 164

(adj.) excessively bold; brash (Critics condemned the novelist's brazen attempt to plagiarize Hemingway's story.)

Question 165

# SAT Vocabulary brusque

Answer 165

(adj.) short; abrupt; dismissive (The captain's brusque manner offended the passengers.)

Question 166

# SAT Vocabulary buffet

Answer 166

1. (v.) to strike with force (The strong winds buffeted the ships; threatening to capsize them.) 2. (n.) an arrangement of food set out on a table (Rather than sitting around a table; the guests took food from our buffet and ate standing up.)

Question 167

# SAT Vocabulary burnish

Answer 167

(v.) to polish; shine (His mother asked him to burnish the silverware before setting the table.)

Question 168

# SAT Vocabulary buttress

Answer 168

1. (v.) to support; hold up (The column buttresses the roof above the statue.) 2. (n.) something that offers support (The buttress supports the roof above the statues.)

Question 169

# SAT Vocabulary cacophony

Answer 169

(n.) tremendous noise; disharmonious sound (The elementary school orchestra created a cacophony at the recital.)

Question 170

# SAT Vocabulary cadence

Answer 170

(n.) a rhythm; progression of sound (The pianist used the foot pedal to emphasize the cadence of the sonata.)

Question 171

# SAT Vocabulary cajole

Answer 171

(v.) to urge; coax (Fred's buddies cajoled him into attending the bachelor party.)

Question 172

# SAT Vocabulary calamity

Answer 172

(n.) an event with disastrous consequences (The earthquake in San Francisco was a calamity worse than any other natural disaster in history.)

Question 173

# SAT Vocabulary calibrate

Answer 173

(v.) to set; standardize (The mechanic calibrated the car's transmission to make the motor run most efficiently.)

Question 174

# SAT Vocabulary callous

Answer 174

(adj.) harsh; cold; unfeeling (The murderer's callous lack of remorse shocked the jury.)

Question 175

# SAT Vocabulary calumny

Answer 175

(n.) an attempt to spoil someone else's reputation by spreading lies (The local official's calumny ended up ruining his opponent's prospect of winning the election.)

Question 176

# SAT Vocabulary camaraderie

Answer 176

(n.) brotherhood; jovial unity (Camaraderie among employees usually leads to success in business.)

Question 177

# SAT Vocabulary candor

Answer 177

(n.) honesty; frankness (We were surprised by the candor of the mayor's speech because he is usually rather evasive.)

Question 178

# SAT Vocabulary canny

Answer 178

(adj.) shrewd; careful (The canny runner hung at the back of the pack through much of the race to watch the other runners; and then sprinted past them at the end.)

Question 179

# SAT Vocabulary canvas

Answer 179

1. (n.) a piece of cloth on which an artist paints (Picasso liked to work on canvas rather than on bare cement.) 2. (v.) to cover; inspect (We canvassed the neighborhood looking for clues.)

Question 180

# SAT Vocabulary capacious

Answer 180

(adj.) very spacious (The workers delighted in their new capacious office space.)

Question 181

# SAT Vocabulary capitulate

Answer 181

(v.) to surrender (The army finally capitulated after fighting a long costly battle.)

Question 182

# SAT Vocabulary capricious

Answer 182

(adj.) subject to whim; fickle (The young girl's capricious tendencies made it difficult for her to focus on achieving her goals.)

Question 183

# SAT Vocabulary captivate

Answer 183

(v.) to get the attention of; hold (The fireworks captivated the young boy; who had never seen such things before.)

Question 184

# SAT Vocabulary carouse

Answer 184

(v.) to party; celebrate (We caroused all night after getting married.)

Question 185

# SAT Vocabulary carp

Answer 185

(v.) to annoy; pester (The husband divorced his wife after listening to her carping voice for decades.)

Question 186

# SAT Vocabulary catalog

Answer 186

1. (v.) to list; enter into a list (The judge cataloged the victim's injuries before calculating how much money he would award.) 2. (n.) a list or collection (We received a catalog from J. Crew that displayed all of their new items.)

Question 187

# SAT Vocabulary catalyze

Answer 187

(v.) to charge; inspire (The president's speech catalyzed the nation and resuscitated the economy.)

Question 188

# SAT Vocabulary caucus

Answer 188

(n.) a meeting usually held by people working toward the same goal (The ironworkers held a caucus to determine how much of a pay increase they would request.)

Question 189

# SAT Vocabulary caustic

Answer 189

(adj.) bitter; biting; acidic (The politicians exchanged caustic insults for over an hour during the debate.)

Question 190

# SAT Vocabulary cavort

Answer 190

(v.) to leap about; behave boisterously (The adults ate their dinners on the patio; while the children cavorted around the pool.)

Question 191

# SAT Vocabulary censure

Answer 191

1. (n.) harsh criticism (The frustrated teenager could not put up with anymore of her critical mother's censure.) 2. (v.) to rebuke formally (The principal censured the head of the English Department for forcing students to learn esoteric vocabulary.)

Question 192

# SAT Vocabulary cerebral

Answer 192

(adj.) related to the intellect (The books we read in this class are too cerebral— they don't engage my emotions at all.)

Question 193

# SAT Vocabulary chaos

Answer 193

(n.) absolute disorder (Mr. Thornton's sudden departure for the lavatory plunged his classroom into chaos.)

Question 194

# SAT Vocabulary chastise

Answer 194

(v.) to criticize severely (After being chastised by her peers for mimicking Britney Spears; Miranda dyed her hair black and affected a Gothic style.)

Question 195

# SAT Vocabulary cherish

Answer 195

(v.) to feel or show affection toward something (She continued to cherish her red plaid trousers; even though they had gone out of style and no longer fit her.)

Question 196

# SAT Vocabulary chide

Answer 196

(v.) to voice disapproval (Lucy chided Russell for his vulgar habits and sloppy appearance.)

Question 197

# SAT Vocabulary choreography

Answer 197

(n.) the arrangement of dances (The plot of the musical was banal; but the choreography was stunning.)

Question 198

# SAT Vocabulary chronicle

Answer 198

1. (n.) a written history (The library featured the newly updated chronicle of World War II.) 2. (v.) to write a history (Albert's diary chronicled the day-to-day growth of his obsession with Cynthia.)

Question 199

# SAT Vocabulary chronological

Answer 199

(adj.) arranged in order of time (Lionel carefully arranged the snapshots of his former girlfriends in chronological order; and then set fire to them.)

Question 200

# SAT Vocabulary circuitous

Answer 200

(adj.) roundabout (The bus's circuitous route took us through numerous outlying suburbs.)

Question 201

# SAT Vocabulary circumlocution

Answer 201

(n.) indirect and wordy language (The professor's habit of speaking in circumlocutions made it difficult to follow his lectures.)

Question 202

# SAT Vocabulary circumscribed

Answer 202

(adj.) marked off; bounded (The children were permitted to play tag only within a carefully circumscribed area of the lawn.)

Question 203

# SAT Vocabulary circumspect

Answer 203

(adj.) cautious (Though I promised Rachel's father I would bring her home promptly by midnight; it would have been more circumspect not to have specified a time.)

Question 204

# SAT Vocabulary circumvent

Answer 204

(v.) to get around (The school's dress code forbidding navel-baring jeans was circumvented by the determined students; who were careful to cover up with long coats when administrators were nearby.)

Question 205

# SAT Vocabulary clairvoyant

Answer 205

(adj.) able to perceive things that normal people cannot (Zelda's uncanny ability to detect my lies was nothing short of clairvoyant.)

Question 206

# SAT Vocabulary clamor

Answer 206

1. (n.) loud noise (Each morning the birds outside my window make such a clamor that they wake me up.) 2. (v.)to loudly insist (Neville's fans clamored for him to appear on stage; but he had passed out on the floor of his dressing room.)

Question 207

# SAT Vocabulary clandestine

Answer 207

(adj.) secret (Announcing to her boyfriend that she was going to the gym; Sophie actually went to meet Joseph for a clandestine liaison.)

Question 208

# SAT Vocabulary cleave

Answer 208

1. (v.) to divide into parts (Following the scandalous disgrace of their leader; the entire political party cleaved into warring factions.) 2. (v.) to stick together firmly (After resolving their marital problems; Junior and Rosa cleaved to one another all the more tightly.)

Question 209

# SAT Vocabulary clemency

Answer 209

(n.) mercy (After he forgot their anniversary; Martin could only beg Maria for clemency.)

Question 210

# SAT Vocabulary clergy

Answer 210

(n.) members of Christian holy orders (Though the villagers viewed the church rectory as quaint and charming; the clergy who lived there regarded it as a mildewy and dusty place that aggravated their allergies.)

Question 211

# SAT Vocabulary cloying

Answer 211

(adj.) sickeningly sweet (Though Ronald was physically attractive; Maud found his constant compliments and solicitous remarks cloying.)

Question 212

# SAT Vocabulary coagulate

Answer 212

(v.) to thicken; clot (The top layer of the pudding had coagulated into a thick skin.)

Question 213

# SAT Vocabulary coalesce

Answer 213

(v.) to fuse into a whole (Gordon's ensemble of thrift-shop garments coalesced into a surprisingly handsome outfit.)

Question 214

# SAT Vocabulary cobbler

Answer 214

(n.) a person who makes or repairs shoes (I had my neighborhood cobbler replace my worn-out leather soles with new ones.)

Question 215

# SAT Vocabulary coerce

Answer 215

(v.) to make somebody do something by force or threat (The court decided that Vanilla Ice did not have to honor the contract because he had been coerced into signing it.)

Question 216

# SAT Vocabulary cogent

Answer 216

(adj.) intellectually convincing (Irene's arguments in favor of abstinence were so cogent that I could not resist them.)

Question 217

# SAT Vocabulary cognizant

Answer 217

(adj.) aware; mindful (Jake avoided speaking to women in bars because he was cognizant of the fact that drinking impairs his judgment.)

Question 218

# SAT Vocabulary coherent

Answer 218

(adj.) logically consistent; intelligible (Renee could not figure out what Monroe had seen because he was too distraught to deliver a coherent statement.)

Question 219

# SAT Vocabulary collateral

Answer 219

1. (adj.) secondary (Divorcing my wife had the collateral effect of making me poor; as she was the only one of us with a job or money.) 2. (n.) security for a debt (Jacob left his watch as collateral for the $500 loan.)

Question 220

# SAT Vocabulary colloquial

Answer 220

(adj.) characteristic of informal conversation (Adam's essay on sexual response in primates was marked down because it contained too many colloquial expressions.)

Question 221

# SAT Vocabulary collusion

Answer 221

(n.) secret agreement; conspiracy (The three law students worked in collusion to steal the final exam.)

Question 222

# SAT Vocabulary colossus

Answer 222

(n.) a gigantic statue or thing (For 56 years; the ancient city of Rhodes featured a colossus standing astride its harbor.)

Question 223

# SAT Vocabulary combustion

Answer 223

(n.) the act or process of burning (The unexpected combustion of the prosecution's evidence forced the judge to dismiss the case against Ramirez.)

Question 224

# SAT Vocabulary commendation

Answer 224

(n.) a notice of approval or recognition (Jared received a commendation from Linda; his supervisor; for his stellar performance.)

Question 225

# SAT Vocabulary commensurate

Answer 225

(adj.) corresponding in size or amount (Ahab selected a very long roll and proceeded to prepare a tuna salad sandwich commensurate with his enormous appetite.)

Question 226

# SAT Vocabulary commodious

Answer 226

(adj.) roomy (Holden invited the three women to join him in the back seat of the taxicab; assuring them that the car was quite commodious.)

Question 227

# SAT Vocabulary compelling

Answer 227

(adj.) forceful; demanding attention (Eliot's speech was so compelling that Lenore accepted his proposal on the spot.)

Question 228

# SAT Vocabulary compensate

Answer 228

(v.) to make an appropriate payment for something (Reginald bought Sharona a new dress to compensate her for the one he'd spilled his ice cream on.)

Question 229

# SAT Vocabulary complacency

Answer 229

(n.) self-satisfied ignorance of danger (Colin tried to shock his friends out of their complacency by painting a frightening picture of what might happen to them.)

Question 230

# SAT Vocabulary complement

Answer 230

(v.) to complete; make perfect (Ann's scarf complements her blouse beautifully; making her seem fully dressed even though she isn't wearing a coat.)

Question 231

# SAT Vocabulary compliant

Answer 231

(adj.) ready to adapt oneself to another's wishes (Sue had very strong opinions about what to do on a first date; and Ted was absolutely compliant.)

Question 232

# SAT Vocabulary complicit

Answer 232

(adj.) being an accomplice in a wrongful act (By keeping her daughter's affair a secret; Maddie became complicit in it.)

Question 233

# SAT Vocabulary compliment

Answer 233

(n.) an expression of esteem or approval (I blushed crimson when Emma gave me a compliment on my new haircut.)

Question 234

# SAT Vocabulary compound

Answer 234

1. (v.) to combine parts (The difficulty of finding a fire escape amid the smoke was compounded with the dangers posed by the panicking crowds.) 2. (n.) a combination of different parts (My attraction to Donna was a compound of curiosity about the unknown; physical desire; and intellectual admiration.) 3. (n.) a walled area containing a group of buildings (When the fighting started; Joseph rushed into the family compound because it was safe and well defended.)

Question 235

# SAT Vocabulary comprehensive

Answer 235

(adj.) including everything (She sent me a comprehensive list of the ingredients needed to cook rabbit soufflé.)

Question 236

# SAT Vocabulary compress

Answer 236

(v.) to apply pressure; squeeze together (Lynn compressed her lips into a frown.)

Question 237

# SAT Vocabulary compunction

Answer 237

(n.) distress caused by feeling guilty (He felt compunction for the shabby way he'd treated her.)

Question 238

# SAT Vocabulary concede

Answer 238

(v.) to accept as valid (Andrew had to concede that what his mother said about Diana made sense.)

Question 239

# SAT Vocabulary conciliatory

Answer 239

(adj.) friendly; agreeable (I took Amanda's invitation to dinner as a very conciliatory gesture.)

Question 240

# SAT Vocabulary concise

Answer 240

(adj.) brief and direct in expression (Gordon did not like to waste time; and his instructions to Brenda were nothing if not concise.)

Question 241

# SAT Vocabulary concoct

Answer 241

(v.) to fabricate; make up (She concocted the most ridiculous story to explain her absence.)

Question 242

# SAT Vocabulary concomitant

Answer 242

(adj.) accompanying in a subordinate fashion (His dislike of hard work carried with it a concomitant lack of funds.)

Question 243

# SAT Vocabulary concord

Answer 243

(n.) harmonious agreement (Julie and Harold began the evening with a disagreement; but ended it in a state of perfect concord.)

Question 244

# SAT Vocabulary condolence

Answer 244

(n.) an expression of sympathy in sorrow (Brian lamely offered his condolences on the loss of his sister's roommate's cat.)

Question 245

# SAT Vocabulary condone

Answer 245

(v.) to pardon; deliberately overlook (He refused to condone his brother's crime.)

Question 246

# SAT Vocabulary conduit

Answer 246

(n.) a pipe or channel through which something passes (The water flowed through the conduit into the container.)

Question 247

# SAT Vocabulary confection

Answer 247

(n.) a sweet; fancy food (We went to the mall food court and purchased a delicious confection.)

Question 248

# SAT Vocabulary confidant

Answer 248

(n.) a person entrusted with secrets (Shortly after we met; she became my chief confidant.)

Question 249

# SAT Vocabulary conflagration

Answer 249

(n.) great fire (The conflagration consumed the entire building.) (n.) a gathering together (A confluence of different factors made tonight the

Question 250

# SAT Vocabulary confluence

Answer 250

(n.) a gathering together (A confluence of different factors made tonight the perfect night.)

Question 251

# SAT Vocabulary conformist

Answer 251

(n.) one who behaves the same as others (Julian was such a conformist that he had to wait and see if his friends would do something before he would commit.)

Question 252

# SAT Vocabulary confound

Answer 252

(v.) to frustrate; confuse (MacGuyver confounded the policemen pursuing him by covering his tracks.)

Question 253

# SAT Vocabulary congeal

Answer 253

(v.) to thicken into a solid (The sauce had congealed into a thick paste.)

Question 254

# SAT Vocabulary congenial

Answer 254

(adj.) pleasantly agreeable (His congenial manner made him popular wherever he went.)

Question 255

# SAT Vocabulary congregation

Answer 255

(n.) a gathering of people; especially for religious services (The priest told the congregation that he would be retiring.)

Question 256

# SAT Vocabulary congruity

Answer 256

(n.) the quality of being in agreement (Bill and Veronica achieved a perfect congruity of opinion.)

Question 257

# SAT Vocabulary connive

Answer 257

(v.) to plot; scheme (She connived to get me to give up my vacation plans.)

Question 258

# SAT Vocabulary consecrate

Answer 258

(v.) to dedicate something to a holy purpose (Arvin consecrated his spare bedroom as a shrine to Christina.)

Question 259

# SAT Vocabulary consensus

Answer 259

(n.) an agreement of opinion (The jury was able to reach a consensus only after days of deliberation.)

Question 260

# SAT Vocabulary consign

Answer 260

(v.) to give something over to another's care (Unwillingly; he consigned his mother to a nursing home.)

Question 261

# SAT Vocabulary consolation

Answer 261

(n.) an act of comforting (Darren found Alexandra's presence to be a consolation for his suffering.)

Question 262

# SAT Vocabulary consonant

Answer 262

(adj.) in harmony (The singers' consonant voices were beautiful.)

Question 263

# SAT Vocabulary constituent

Answer 263

(n.) an essential part (The most important constituent of her perfume is something called ambergris.)

Question 264

# SAT Vocabulary constrain

Answer 264

(v.)to forcibly restrict (His belief in nonviolence constrained him from taking revenge on his attackers.)

Question 265

# SAT Vocabulary construe

Answer 265

(v.) to interpret (He construed her throwing his clothes out the window as a signal that she wanted him to leave.)

Question 266

# SAT Vocabulary consummate

Answer 266

(v.) to complete a deal; to complete a marriage ceremony through sexual intercourse (Erica and Donald consummated their agreement in the executive boardroom.)

Question 267

# SAT Vocabulary consumption

Answer 267

(n.) the act of consuming (Consumption of intoxicating beverages is not permitted on these premises.)

Question 268

# SAT Vocabulary contemporaneous

Answer 268

(adj.) existing during the same time (Though her novels do not feature the themes of Romanticism; Jane Austen's work was contemporaneous with that of Wordsworth and Byron.)

Question 269

# SAT Vocabulary contentious

Answer 269

(adj.) having a tendency to quarrel or dispute (George's contentious personality made him unpopular with his classmates.)

Question 270

# SAT Vocabulary contravene

Answer 270

(v.) to contradict; oppose; violate (Edwidge contravened his landlady's rule against overnight guests.)

Question 271

# SAT Vocabulary contrite

Answer 271

(adj.) penitent; eager to be forgiven (Blake's contrite behavior made it impossible to stay angry at him.)

Question 272

# SAT Vocabulary contusion

Answer 272

(n.) bruise; injury (The contusions on his face suggested he'd been in a fight.)

Question 273

# SAT Vocabulary conundrum

Answer 273

(n.) puzzle; problem (Interpreting Jane's behavior was a constant conundrum.)

Question 274

# SAT Vocabulary convene

Answer 274

(v.) to call together (Jason convened his entire extended family for a discussion.)

Question 275

# SAT Vocabulary convention

Answer 275

1. (n.) an assembly of people (The hotel was full because of the cattle- ranchers' convention.) 2. (n.) a rule; custom (The cattle-ranchers have a convention that you take off your boots before entering their houses.)

Question 276

# SAT Vocabulary convivial

Answer 276

(adj.) characterized by feasting; drinking; merriment (The restaurant's convivial atmosphere put me immediately at ease.)

Question 277

# SAT Vocabulary convoluted

Answer 277

(adj.) intricate; complicated (Grace's story was so convoluted that I couldn't follow it.)

Question 278

# SAT Vocabulary copious

Answer 278

(adj.) profuse; abundant (Copious amounts of Snapple were imbibed in the cafeteria.)

Question 279

# SAT Vocabulary cordial

Answer 279

(adj.) warm; affectionate (His cordial greeting melted my anger at once.)

Question 280

# SAT Vocabulary coronation

Answer 280

(n.) the act of crowning (The new king's coronation occurred the day after his father's death.)

Question 281

# SAT Vocabulary corpulence

Answer 281

(adj.)extreme fatness (Henry's corpulence did not make him any less attractive to his charming; svelte wife.)

Question 282

# SAT Vocabulary corroborate

Answer 282

(v.) to support with evidence (Luke's seemingly outrageous claim was corroborated by witnesses.)

Question 283

# SAT Vocabulary corrosive

Answer 283

(adj.) having the tendency to erode or eat away (The effect of the chemical was highly corrosive.)

Question 284

# SAT Vocabulary cosmopolitan

Answer 284

(adj.) sophisticated; worldly (Lloyd's education and upbringing were cosmopolitan; so he felt right at home among the powerful and learned.)

Question 285

# SAT Vocabulary counteract

Answer 285

(v.) to neutralize; make ineffective (The antidote counteracted the effect of the poison.)

Question 286

# SAT Vocabulary coup

Answer 286

1. (n.) a brilliant; unexpected act (Alexander pulled off an amazing coup when he got a date with Cynthia by purposely getting hit by her car.) 2. (n.) the overthrow of a government and assumption of authority (In their coup attempt; the army officers stormed the Parliament and took all the legislators hostage.)

Question 287

# SAT Vocabulary covet

Answer 287

(v.) to desire enviously (I coveted Moses's house; wife; and car.)

Question 288

# SAT Vocabulary covert

Answer 288

(adj.) secretly engaged in (Nerwin waged a covert campaign against his enemies; while outwardly appearing to remain friendly.)

Question 289

# SAT Vocabulary credulity

Answer 289

(n.) readiness to believe (His credulity made him an easy target for con men.)

Question 290

# SAT Vocabulary crescendo

Answer 290

(n.) a steady increase in intensity or volume (The crescendo of the brass instruments gave the piece a patriotic feel.)

Question 291

# SAT Vocabulary criteria

Answer 291

(n.) standards by which something is judged (Among Mrs. Fields's criteria for good cookies are that they be moist and chewy.)

Question 292

# SAT Vocabulary culmination

Answer 292

(n.) the climax toward which something progresses (The culmination of the couple's argument was the decision to divorce.)

Question 293

# SAT Vocabulary culpable

Answer 293

(adj.) deserving blame (He was culpable of the crime; and was sentenced to perform community service for 75 years.)

Question 294

# SAT Vocabulary cultivate

Answer 294

(v.) to nurture; improve; refine (At the library; she cultivated her interest in spy novels.)

Question 295

# SAT Vocabulary cumulative

Answer 295

(adj.) increasing; building upon itself (The cumulative effect of hours spent in the sun was a deep tan.)

Question 296

# SAT Vocabulary cunning

Answer 296

(adj.) sly; clever at being deceitful (The general devised a cunning plan to surprise the enemy.)

Question 297

# SAT Vocabulary cupidity

Answer 297

(n.) greed; strong desire (His cupidity made him enter the abandoned gold mine despite the obvious dangers.)

Question 298

# SAT Vocabulary cursory

Answer 298

(adj.) brief to the point of being superficial (Late for the meeting; she cast a cursory glance at the agenda.)

Question 299

# SAT Vocabulary curt

Answer 299

(adj.) abruptly and rudely short (Her curt reply to my question made me realize that she was upset at me.)

Question 300

# SAT Vocabulary curtail

Answer 300

(v.) to lessen; reduce (Since losing his job; he had to curtail his spending.)

Question 301

# SAT Vocabulary daunting

Answer 301

(adj.) intimidating; causing one to lose courage (He kept delaying the daunting act of asking for a promotion.)

Question 302

# SAT Vocabulary dearth

Answer 302

(n.) a lack; scarcity (An eager reader; she was dismayed by the dearth of classic books at the library.)

Question 303

# SAT Vocabulary debacle

Answer 303

(n.) a disastrous failure; disruption (The elaborately designed fireworks show turned into a debacle when the fireworks started firing in random directions.)

Question 304

# SAT Vocabulary debase

Answer 304

(v.) to lower the quality or esteem of something (The large raise that he gave himself debased his motives for running the charity.)

Question 305

# SAT Vocabulary debauch

Answer 305

(v.) to corrupt by means of sensual pleasures (An endless amount of good wine and cheese debauched the traveler.)

Question 306

# SAT Vocabulary debunk

Answer 306

(v.) to expose the falseness of something (He debunked her claim to be the world's greatest chess player by defeating her in 18 consecutive matches.)

Question 307

# SAT Vocabulary decorous

Answer 307

(adj.) socially proper; appropriate (The appreciative guest displayed decorous behavior toward his host.)

Question 308

# SAT Vocabulary decry

Answer 308

(v.) to criticize openly (The kind video rental clerk decried the policy of charging customers late fees.)

Question 309

# SAT Vocabulary deface

Answer 309

(v.) to ruin or injure something's appearance (The brothers used eggs and shaving cream to deface their neighbor's mailbox.)

Question 310

# SAT Vocabulary defamatory

Answer 310

(adj.) harmful toward another's reputation (The defamatory gossip spreading about the actor made the public less willing to see the actor's new movie.)

Question 311

# SAT Vocabulary defer

Answer 311

(v.) to postpone something; to yield to another's wisdom (Ron deferred to Diane; the expert on musical instruments; when he was asked about buying a piano.)

Question 312

# SAT Vocabulary deferential

Answer 312

(adj.) showing respect for another's authority (His deferential attitude toward her made her more confident in her ability to run the company.)

Question 313

# SAT Vocabulary defile

Answer 313

(v.) to make unclean; impure (She defiled the calm of the religious building by playing her banjo.)

Question 314

# SAT Vocabulary deft

Answer 314

(adj.) skillful; capable (Having worked in a bakery for many years; Marcus was a deft bread maker.)

Question 315

# SAT Vocabulary defunct

Answer 315

(adj.) no longer used or existing (They planned to turn the defunct schoolhouse into a community center.)

Question 316

# SAT Vocabulary delegate

Answer 316

(v.) to hand over responsibility for something (The dean delegated the task of finding a new professor to a special hiring committee.)

Question 317

# SAT Vocabulary deleterious

Answer 317

(adj.) harmful (She experienced the deleterious effects of running a marathon without stretching her muscles enough beforehand.)

Question 318

# SAT Vocabulary deliberate

Answer 318

(adj.) intentional; reflecting careful consideration (Though Mary was quite upset; her actions to resolve the dispute were deliberate.)

Question 319

# SAT Vocabulary delineate

Answer 319

(v.) to describe; outline; shed light on (She neatly delineated her reasons for canceling the project's funding.)

Question 320

# SAT Vocabulary demagogue

Answer 320

(n.) a leader who appeals to a people's prejudices (The demagogue strengthened his hold over his people by blaming immigrants for the lack of jobs.)

Question 321

# SAT Vocabulary demarcation

Answer 321

(n.) the marking of boundaries or categories (Different cultures have different demarcations of good and evil.)

Question 322

# SAT Vocabulary demean

Answer 322

(v.) to lower the status or stature of something (She refused to demean her secretary by making him order her lunch.)

Question 323

# SAT Vocabulary demure

Answer 323

(adj.) quiet; modest; reserved (Though everyone else at the party was dancing and going crazy; she remained demure.)

Question 324

# SAT Vocabulary denigrate

Answer 324

(v.) to belittle; diminish the opinion of (The company decided that its advertisements would no longer denigrate the company's competitors.)

Question 325

# SAT Vocabulary denounce

Answer 325

(v.) to criticize publicly (The senator denounced her opponent as a greedy politician.)

Question 326

# SAT Vocabulary deplore

Answer 326

(v.) to feel or express sorrow; disapproval (We all deplored the miserable working conditions in the factory.)

Question 327

# SAT Vocabulary depravity

Answer 327

(n.) wickedness (Rumors of the ogre's depravity made the children afraid to enter the forest.)

Question 328

# SAT Vocabulary deprecate

Answer 328

(v.) to belittle; depreciate (Always over-modest; he deprecated his contribution to the local charity.)

Question 329

# SAT Vocabulary derelict

Answer 329

(adj.) abandoned; run-down (Even though it was dangerous; the children enjoyed going to the deserted lot and playing in the derelict house.)

Question 330

# SAT Vocabulary deride

Answer 330

(v.) to laugh at mockingly; scorn (The bullies derided the foreign student's accent.)

Question 331

# SAT Vocabulary derivative

Answer 331

(adj.) taken directly from a source; unoriginal (She was bored by his music because she felt that it was derivative and that she had heard it before.)

Question 332

# SAT Vocabulary desecrate

Answer 332

(v.) to violate the sacredness of a thing or place (They feared that the construction of a golf course would desecrate the preserved wilderness.)

Question 333

# SAT Vocabulary desiccated

Answer 333

(adj.) dried up; dehydrated (The skin of the desiccated mummy looked like old paper.)

Question 334

# SAT Vocabulary desolate

Answer 334

(adj.) deserted; dreary; lifeless (She found the desolate landscape quite a contrast to the hustle and bustle of the overcrowded city.)

Question 335

# SAT Vocabulary despondent

Answer 335

(adj.) feeling depressed; discouraged; hopeless (Having failed the first math test; the despondent child saw no use in studying for the next and failed that one too.)

Question 336

# SAT Vocabulary despot

Answer 336

(n.) one who has total power and rules brutally (The despot issued a death sentence for anyone who disobeyed his laws.)

Question 337

# SAT Vocabulary destitute

Answer 337

(adj.) impoverished; utterly lacking (The hurricane destroyed many homes and left many families destitute.)

Question 338

# SAT Vocabulary deter

Answer 338

(v.) to discourage; prevent from doing (Bob's description of scary snakes couldn't deter Marcia from traveling in the rainforests.)

Question 339

# SAT Vocabulary devious

Answer 339

(adj.) not straightforward; deceitful (Not wanting to be punished; the devious girl blamed the broken vase on the cat.)

Question 340

# SAT Vocabulary dialect

Answer 340

(n.) a variation of a language (In the country's remote; mountainous regions; the inhabitants spoke a dialect that the country's other inhabitants had difficulty understanding.)

Question 341

# SAT Vocabulary diaphanous

Answer 341

(adj.) light; airy; transparent (Sunlight poured in through the diaphanous curtains; brightening the room.)

Question 342

# SAT Vocabulary didactic

Answer 342

1. (adj.) intended to instruct (She wrote up a didactic document showing new employees how to handle the company's customers.) 2. (adj.) overly moralistic (His didactic style of teaching made it seem like he wanted to persuade his students not to understand history fully; but to understand it from only one point of view.)

Question 343

# SAT Vocabulary diffident

Answer 343

(adj.) shy; quiet; modest (While eating dinner with the adults; the diffident youth did not speak for fear of seeming presumptuous.)

Question 344

# SAT Vocabulary diffuse

Answer 344

1. (v.) to scatter; thin out; break up (He diffused the tension in the room by making in a joke.) 2. (adj.) not concentrated; scattered; disorganized (In her writings; she tried unsuccessfully to make others understand her diffuse thoughts.)

Question 345

# SAT Vocabulary dilatory

Answer 345

(adj.) tending to delay; causing delay (The general's dilatory strategy enabled the enemy to regroup.)

Question 346

# SAT Vocabulary diligent

Answer 346

(adj.) showing care in doing one's work (The diligent researcher made sure to check her measurements multiple times.)

Question 347

# SAT Vocabulary diminutive

Answer 347

(adj.) small or miniature (The bullies; tall and strong; picked on the diminutive child.)

Question 348

# SAT Vocabulary dirge

Answer 348

(n.) a mournful song; especially for a funeral (The bagpipers played a dirge as the casket was carried to the cemetery.)

Question 349

# SAT Vocabulary disaffected

Answer 349

(adj.) rebellious; resentful of authority (Dismayed by Bobby's poor behavior; the parents sent their disaffected son to a military academy to be disciplined.)

Question 350

# SAT Vocabulary disavow

Answer 350

(v.) to deny knowledge of or responsibility for (Not wanting others to criticize her; she disavowed any involvement in the company's hiring scandal.)

Question 351

# SAT Vocabulary discern

Answer 351

(v.) to perceive; detect (Though he hid his emotions; she discerned from his body language that he was angry.)

Question 352

# SAT Vocabulary disclose

Answer 352

(v.) to reveal; make public (The CEO disclosed to the press that the company would have to fire several employees.)

Question 353

# SAT Vocabulary discomfit

Answer 353

(v.) to thwart; baffle (The normally cheery and playful children's sudden misery discomfited the teacher.)

Question 354

# SAT Vocabulary discordant

Answer 354

(adj.) not agreeing; not in harmony with (The girls' sobs were a discordant sound amid the general laughter that filled the restaurant.)

Question 355

# SAT Vocabulary discrepancy

Answer 355

(n.) difference; failure of things to correspond (He was troubled by the discrepancy between what he remembered paying for the appliance and what his receipt showed he paid for it.)

Question 356

# SAT Vocabulary discretion

Answer 356

(n.) the quality of being reserved in speech or action; good judgment (Not wanting her patient to get overly anxious; the doctor used discretion in deciding how much to tell the patient about his condition.)

Question 357

# SAT Vocabulary discursive

Answer 357

(adj.) rambling; lacking order (The professor's discursive lectures seemed to be about every subject except the one initially described.)

Question 358

# SAT Vocabulary disdain

Answer 358

1. (v.) to scorn; hold in low esteem (Insecure about their jobs; the older employees disdained the recently hired ones; who were young and capable.) 2. (n.) scorn; low esteem (After learning of his immoral actions; Justine held Lawrence in disdain.)

Question 359

# SAT Vocabulary disgruntled

Answer 359

(adj.) upset; not content (The child believed that his parents had unjustly grounded him; and remained disgruntled for a week.)

Question 360

# SAT Vocabulary disheartened

Answer 360

(adj.) feeling a loss of spirit or morale (The team was disheartened after losing in the finals of the tournament.)

Question 361

# SAT Vocabulary disparage

Answer 361

(v.) to criticize or speak ill of (The saleswoman disparaged the competitor's products to persuade her customers to buy what she was selling.)

Question 362

# SAT Vocabulary disparate

Answer 362

(adj.) sharply differing; containing sharply contrasting elements (Having widely varying interests; the students had disparate responses toward the novel.)

Question 363

# SAT Vocabulary dispatch

Answer 363

(v.) to send off to accomplish a duty (The carpenter dispatched his assistant to fetch wood.)

Question 364

# SAT Vocabulary dispel

Answer 364

(v.) to drive away; scatter (She entered the office as usual on Monday; dispelling the rumor that she had been fired.)

Question 365

# SAT Vocabulary disperse

Answer 365

(v.) to scatter; cause to scatter (When the rain began to pour; the crowd at the baseball game quickly dispersed.)

Question 366

# SAT Vocabulary disrepute

Answer 366

(n.) a state of being held in low regard (The officer fell into disrepute after it was learned that he had disobeyed the orders he had given to his own soldiers.)

Question 367

# SAT Vocabulary dissemble

Answer 367

(v.) to conceal; fake (Not wanting to appear heartlessly greedy; she dissembled and hid her intention to sell her ailing father's stamp collection.)

Question 368

# SAT Vocabulary disseminate

Answer 368

(v.) to spread widely (The politician disseminated his ideas across the town before the election.)

Question 369

# SAT Vocabulary dissent

Answer 369

1. (v.) to disagree (The principal argued that the child should repeat the fourth grade; but the unhappy parents dissented.) 2. (n.) the act of disagreeing (Unconvinced that the defendant was guilty; the last juror voiced his dissent with the rest of the jury.)

Question 370

# SAT Vocabulary dissipate

Answer 370

1. (v.) to disappear; cause to disappear (The sun finally came out and dissipated the haze.) 2. (v.) to waste (She dissipated her fortune on a series of bad investments.)

Question 371

# SAT Vocabulary dissonance

Answer 371

(n.) lack of harmony or consistency (Though the president of the company often spoke of the company as reliant solely upon its workers; her decision to increase her own salary rather than reward her employees revealed a striking dissonance between her alleged beliefs and her actions.)

Question 372

# SAT Vocabulary dissuade

Answer 372

(v.) to persuade someone not to do something (Worried that he would catch a cold; she tried to dissuade him from going out on winter nights.)

Question 373

# SAT Vocabulary distend

Answer 373

(v.) to swell out (Years of drinking beer caused his stomach to distend.)

Question 374

# SAT Vocabulary dither

Answer 374

(v.) to be indecisive (Not wanting to offend either friend; he dithered about which of the two birthday parties he should attend.)

Question 375

# SAT Vocabulary divine

Answer 375

(adj.) godly; exceedingly wonderful (Terribly fond of desserts; she found the rich chocolate cake to be divine.)

Question 376

# SAT Vocabulary divisive

Answer 376

(adj.) causing dissent; discord (Her divisive tactics turned her two friends against each other.)

Question 377

# SAT Vocabulary divulge

Answer 377

(v.) to reveal something secret (Pressured by the press; the government finally divulged the previously unknown information.)

Question 378

# SAT Vocabulary docile

Answer 378

(adj.) easily taught or trained (She successfully taught the docile puppy several tricks.)

Question 379

# SAT Vocabulary dogmatic

Answer 379

(adj.) aggressively and arrogantly certain about unproved principles (His dogmatic claim that men were better than women at fixing appliances angered everyone.)

Question 380

# SAT Vocabulary dormant

Answer 380

(adj.) sleeping; temporarily inactive (Though she pretended everything was fine; her anger lay dormant throughout the dinner party and exploded in screams of rage after everyone had left.)

Question 381

# SAT Vocabulary dour

Answer 381

(adj.)stern; joyless (The children feared their dour neighbor because the old man would take their toys if he believed they were being too loud.)

Question 382

# SAT Vocabulary dubious

Answer 382

(adj.) doubtful; of uncertain quality (Suspicious that he was only trying to get a raise; she found his praise dubious.)

Question 383

# SAT Vocabulary duplicity

Answer 383

(n.) crafty dishonesty (His duplicity involved convincing his employees to let him lower their salaries and increase their stock options; and then to steal the money he saved and run the company into the ground.)

Question 384

# SAT Vocabulary duress

Answer 384

(n.) hardship; threat (It was only under intense duress that he; who was normally against killing; fired his gun.)

Question 385

# SAT Vocabulary dynamic

Answer 385

(adj.) actively changing (The parents found it hard to keep up with the dynamic music scene with which their children had become very familiar.)

Question 386

# SAT Vocabulary ebullient

Answer 386

(adj.) extremely lively; enthusiastic (She became ebullient upon receiving an acceptance letter from her first-choice college.)

Question 387

# SAT Vocabulary eclectic

Answer 387

(adj.) consisting of a diverse variety of elements (That bar attracts an eclectic crowd: lawyers; artists; circus clowns; and investment bankers.)

Question 388

# SAT Vocabulary ecstatic

Answer 388

(adj.) intensely and overpoweringly happy (The couple was ecstatic when they learned that they had won the lottery.)

Question 389

# SAT Vocabulary edict

Answer 389

(n.) an order; decree (The ruler issued an edict requiring all of his subjects to bow down before him.)

Question 390

# SAT Vocabulary efface

Answer 390

(v.) to wipe out; obliterate; rub away (The husband was so angry at his wife for leaving him that he effaced all evidence of her presence; he threw out pictures of her and gave away all her belongings.)

Question 391

# SAT Vocabulary effervescent

Answer 391

(adj.) bubbly; lively (My friend is so effervescent that she makes everyone smile.)

Question 392

# SAT Vocabulary efficacious

Answer 392

(adj.) effective (My doctor promised me that the cold medicine was efficacious; but I'm still sniffling.)

Question 393

# SAT Vocabulary effrontery

Answer 393

(n.) impudence; nerve; insolence (When I told my aunt that she was boring; my mother scolded me for my effrontery.)

Question 394

# SAT Vocabulary effulgent

Answer 394

(adj.) radiant; splendorous (The golden palace was effulgent.)

Question 395

# SAT Vocabulary egregious

Answer 395

(adj.) extremely bad (The student who threw sloppy joes across the cafeteria was punished for his egregious behavior.)

Question 396

# SAT Vocabulary elaborate

Answer 396

(adj.) complex; detailed; intricate (Dan always beats me at chess because he develops such an elaborate game plan that I can never predict his next move.)

Question 397

# SAT Vocabulary elated

Answer 397

(adj.) overjoyed; thrilled (When she found out she had won the lottery; the writer was elated.)

Question 398

# SAT Vocabulary elegy

Answer 398

(n.) a speech given in honor of a dead person (At the funeral; the widow gave a moving elegy describing her love for her husband.)

Question 399

# SAT Vocabulary elicit

Answer 399

(v.) to bring forth; draw out; evoke (Although I asked several times where the exit was; I elicited no response from the stone-faced policeman.)

Question 400

# SAT Vocabulary eloquent

Answer 400

(adj.) expressive; articulate; moving (The priest gave such an eloquent sermon that most churchgoers were crying.)

Question 401

# SAT Vocabulary elucidate

Answer 401

(v.) to clarify; explain (I didn't understand why my friend was so angry with me; so I asked Janine to elucidate her feelings.)

Question 402

# SAT Vocabulary elude

Answer 402

(v.) to evade; escape (Despite an intense search; the robber continues to elude the police.)

Question 403

# SAT Vocabulary emaciated

Answer 403

(adj.) very thin; enfeebled looking (My sister eats a lot of pastries and chocolate but still looks emaciated.)

Question 404

# SAT Vocabulary embellish

Answer 404

1. (v.) to decorate; adorn (My mom embellished the living room by adding lace curtains.) 2. (v.)to add details to; enhance (When Harry told me that he had "done stuff" on his vacation; I asked him to embellish upon his account.)

Question 405

# SAT Vocabulary embezzle

Answer 405

(v.) to steal money by falsifying records (The accountant was fired for embezzling $10;000 of the company's funds.)

Question 406

# SAT Vocabulary emend

Answer 406

(v.) to correct or revise a written text (If my sentence is incorrect; the editor will emend what I have written.)

Question 407

# SAT Vocabulary eminent

Answer 407

1. (adj.) distinguished; prominent; famous (Mr. Phillips is such an eminent scholar that every professor on campus has come to hear him lecture.) 2. (adj.) conspicuous (There is an eminent stain on that shirt.)

Question 408

# SAT Vocabulary emollient

Answer 408

(adj.) soothing (This emollient cream makes my skin very smooth.)

Question 409

# SAT Vocabulary emote

Answer 409

(v.) to express emotion (The director told the actor he had to emote; or else the audience would have no idea what his character was going through.)

Question 410

# SAT Vocabulary empathy

Answer 410

(n.) sensitivity to another's feelings as if they were one's own (I feel such empathy for my sister when she's in pain that I cry too.)

Question 411

# SAT Vocabulary empirical

Answer 411

1. (adj.) based on observation or experience (The scientist gathered empirical data on the growth rate of dandelions by studying the dandelions behind his house.) 2. (adj.) capable of being proved or disproved by experiment (That all cats hate getting wet is an empirical statement: I can test it by bathing my cat; Trinket.)

Question 412

# SAT Vocabulary emulate

Answer 412

(v.) to imitate (I idolize Britney Spears so much that I emulate everything she does: I wear her outfits; sing along to her songs; and date a boy named Justin.)

Question 413

# SAT Vocabulary enamor

Answer 413

(v.) to fill with love; fascinate; usually used in passive form followed by "of" or "with" (I grew enamored of that boy when he quoted my favorite love poem.)

Question 414

# SAT Vocabulary encore

Answer 414

(n.) the audience's demand for a repeat performance; also the artist's performance in response to that demand (At the end of the concert; all the fans yelled; "Encore! Encore!" but the band did not come out to play again.)

Question 415

# SAT Vocabulary encumber

Answer 415

(v.) to weigh down; burden (At the airport; my friend was encumbered by her luggage; so I offered to carry two of her bags.)

Question 416

# SAT Vocabulary enervate

Answer 416

(v.) to weaken; exhaust (Writing these sentences enervates me so much that I will have to take a nap after I finish.)

Question 417

# SAT Vocabulary enfranchise

Answer 417

(v.) to grant the vote to (The Nineteenth Amendment enfranchised women.)

Question 418

# SAT Vocabulary engender

Answer 418

(v.) to bring about; create; generate (During the Olympics; the victories of U.S. athletes engender a patriotic spirit among Americans.)

Question 419

# SAT Vocabulary enigmatic

Answer 419

(adj.) mystifying; cryptic (That man wearing the dark suit and dark glasses is so enigmatic that no one even knows his name.)

Question 420

# SAT Vocabulary enmity

Answer 420

(n.) ill will; hatred; hostility (Mark and Andy have clearly not forgiven each other; because the enmity between them is obvious to anyone in their presence.)

Question 421

# SAT Vocabulary ennui

Answer 421

(n.) boredom; weariness (I feel such ennui that I don't look forward to anything; not even my birthday party.)

Question 422

# SAT Vocabulary entail

Answer 422

(v.) to include as a necessary step (Building a new fence entails tearing down the old one.)

Question 423

# SAT Vocabulary enthrall

Answer 423

(v.) to charm; hold spellbound (The sailor's stories of fighting off sharks and finding ancient treasures enthralled his young son.)

Question 424

# SAT Vocabulary ephemeral

Answer 424

(adj.) short-lived; fleeting (She promised she'd love me forever; but her "forever" was only ephemeral: she left me after one week.)

Question 425

# SAT Vocabulary epistolary

Answer 425

(adj.) relating to or contained in letters (Some people call me "Auntie's boy;" because my aunt and I have such a close epistolary relationship that we write each other every day.)

Question 426

# SAT Vocabulary epitome

Answer 426

(n.) a perfect example; embodiment (My mother; the epitome of good taste; always dresses more elegantly than I do.)

Question 427

# SAT Vocabulary equanimity

Answer 427

(n.) composure (Even though he had just been fired; Mr. Simms showed great equanimity by neatly packing up his desk and wishing everyone in the office well.)

Question 428

# SAT Vocabulary equivocal

Answer 428

(adj.) ambiguous; uncertain; undecided (His intentions were so equivocal that I didn't know whether he was being chivalrous or sleazy.)

Question 429

# SAT Vocabulary erudite

Answer 429

(adj.) learned (My Latin teacher is such an erudite scholar that he has translated some of the most difficult and abstruse ancient poetry.)

Question 430

# SAT Vocabulary eschew

Answer 430

(v.) to shun; avoid (George hates the color green so much that he eschews all green food.)

Question 431

# SAT Vocabulary esoteric

Answer 431

(adj.) understood by only a select few (Even the most advanced students cannot understand the physicist's esoteric theories.)

Question 432

# SAT Vocabulary espouse

Answer 432

(v.) to take up as a cause; support (I love animals so much that I espouse animal rights.)

Question 433

# SAT Vocabulary ethereal

Answer 433

(adj.) heavenly; exceptionally delicate or refined (In her flowing silk gown and lace veil; the bride looked ethereal.)

Question 434

# SAT Vocabulary etymology

Answer 434

(n.) the history of words; their origin and development (From the study of etymology; I know that the word "quixotic" derives from Don Quixote and the word "gaudy" refers to the Spanish architect Gaudí.)

Question 435

# SAT Vocabulary euphoric

Answer 435

(adj.) elated; uplifted (I was euphoric when I found out that my sister had given birth to twins.)

Question 436

# SAT Vocabulary evanescent

Answer 436

(adj.) fleeting; momentary (My joy at getting promoted was evanescent because I discovered that I would have to work much longer hours in a less friendly office.)

Question 437

# SAT Vocabulary evince

Answer 437

(v.) to show; reveal (Christopher's hand-wringing and nail-biting evince how nervous he is about the upcoming English test.)

Question 438

# SAT Vocabulary exacerbate

Answer 438

(v.) to make more violent; intense (The gruesome and scary movie I saw last night exacerbated my fears of the dark.)

Question 439

# SAT Vocabulary exalt

Answer 439

(v.) to glorify; praise (Michael Jordan is the figure in basketball we exalt the most.)

Question 440

# SAT Vocabulary exasperate

Answer 440

(v.) to irritate; irk (George's endless complaints exasperated his roomate.)

Question 441

# SAT Vocabulary excavate

Answer 441

(v.) to dig out of the ground and remove (The pharaoh's treasures were excavated by archeologists in Egypt.)

Question 442

# SAT Vocabulary exculpate

Answer 442

(v.) to free from guilt or blame; exonerate (My discovery of the ring behind the dresser exculpated me from the charge of having stolen it.)

Question 443

# SAT Vocabulary excursion

Answer 443

(n.) a trip or outing (After taking an excursion to the Bronx Zoo; I dreamed about pandas and monkeys.)

Question 444

# SAT Vocabulary execrable

Answer 444

(adj.) loathsome; detestable (Her pudding is so execrable that it makes me sick.)

Question 445

# SAT Vocabulary exhort

Answer 445

(v.) to urge; prod; spur (Henry exhorted his colleagues to join him in protesting against the university's hiring policies.)

Question 446

# SAT Vocabulary exigent

Answer 446

(adj.) urgent; critical (The patient has an exigent need for medication; or else he will lose his sight.)

Question 447

# SAT Vocabulary exonerate

Answer 447

(v.) to free from guilt or blame; exculpate (The true thief's confession exonerated the man who had been held in custody for the crime.)

Question 448

# SAT Vocabulary exorbitant

Answer 448

(adj.) excessive (Her exorbitant praise made me blush and squirm in my seat.)

Question 449

# SAT Vocabulary expedient

Answer 449

(adj.) advisable; advantageous; serving one's self-interest (In his bid for reelection; the governor made an expedient move by tabling all controversial legislation.)

Question 450

# SAT Vocabulary expiate

Answer 450

(v.) to make amends for; atone (To expiate my selfishness; I gave all my profits to charity.)

Question 451

# SAT Vocabulary expunge

Answer 451

(v.) to obliterate; eradicate (Fearful of an IRS investigation; Paul tried to expunge all incriminating evidence from his tax files.)

Question 452

# SAT Vocabulary expurgate

Answer 452

(v.) to remove offensive or incorrect parts; usually of a book (The history editors expurgated from the text all disparaging and inflammatory comments about the Republican Party.)

Question 453

# SAT Vocabulary extant

Answer 453

(adj.) existing; not destroyed or lost (My mother's extant love letters to my father are in the attic trunk.)

Question 454

# SAT Vocabulary extol

Answer 454

(v.) to praise; revere (Violet extolled the virtues of a vegetarian diet to her meat- loving brother.)

Question 455

# SAT Vocabulary extraneous

Answer 455

(adj.) irrelevant; extra; not necessary (Personal political ambitions should always remain extraneous to legislative policy; but; unfortunately; they rarely are.)

Question 456

# SAT Vocabulary extricate

Answer 456

(v.) to disentangle (Instead of trying to mediate between my brother and sister; I extricated myself from the family tension entirely and left the house for the day.)

Question 457

# SAT Vocabulary exult

Answer 457

(v.) to rejoice (When she found out she won the literature prize; Mary exulted by dancing and singing through the school's halls.)

Question 458

# SAT Vocabulary fabricate

Answer 458

(v.) to make up; invent (When I arrived an hour late to class; I fabricated some excuse about my car breaking down on the way to school.)

Question 459

# SAT Vocabulary façade

Answer 459

1. (n.) the wall of a building (Meet me in front of the museum's main façade.) 2. (n.) a deceptive appearance or attitude (Despite my smiling façade; I am feeling melancholy.)

Question 460

# SAT Vocabulary facile

Answer 460

1. (adj.) easy; requiring little effort (This game is so facile that even a four-year- old can master it.) 2. (adj.) superficial; achieved with minimal thought or care; insincere (The business was in such shambles that any solution seemed facile at best; nothing could really helpit in the long-run.)

Question 461

# SAT Vocabulary fallacious

Answer 461

(adj.) incorrect; misleading (Emily offered me cigarettes on the fallacious assumption that I smoked.)

Question 462

# SAT Vocabulary fastidious

Answer 462

(adj.) meticulous; demanding; having high and often unattainable standards (Mark is so fastidious that he is never able to finish a project because it always seems imperfect to him.)

Question 463

# SAT Vocabulary fathom

Answer 463

(v.) to understand; comprehend (I cannot fathom why you like that crabby and mean-spirited neighbor of ours.)

Question 464

# SAT Vocabulary fatuous

Answer 464

(adj.) silly; foolish (He considers himself a serious poet; but in truth; he only writes fatuous limericks.)

Question 465

# SAT Vocabulary fecund

Answer 465

(adj.) fruitful; fertile (The fecund tree bore enough apples to last us through the entire season.)

Question 466

# SAT Vocabulary felicitous

Answer 466

1. (adj.) well suited; apt (While his comments were idiotic and rambling; mine were felicitous and helpful.) 2. (adj.) delightful; pleasing (I spent a felicitous afternoon visiting old friends.)

Question 467

# SAT Vocabulary feral

Answer 467

(adj.) wild; savage (That beast looks so feral that I would fear being alone with it.)

Question 468

# SAT Vocabulary fervent

Answer 468

(adj.) ardent; passionate (The fervent protestors chained themselves to the building and shouted all night long.)

Question 469

# SAT Vocabulary fetid

Answer 469

(adj.) having a foul odor (I can tell from the fetid smell in your refrigerator that your milk has spoiled.)

Question 470

# SAT Vocabulary fetter

Answer 470

(v.) to chain; restrain (The dog was fettered to the parking meter.)

Question 471

# SAT Vocabulary fickle

Answer 471

(adj.) shifting in character; inconstant (In Greek dramas; the fickle gods help Achilles one day; and then harm him the next.)

Question 472

# SAT Vocabulary fidelity

Answer 472

(n.) loyalty; devotion (Guard dogs are known for the great fidelity they show toward their masters.)

Question 473

# SAT Vocabulary figurative

Answer 473

(adj.) symbolic (Using figurative language; Jane likened the storm to an angry bull.)

Question 474

# SAT Vocabulary flabbergasted

Answer 474

(adj.) astounded (Whenever I read an Agatha Christie mystery novel; I am always flabbergasted when I learn the identity of the murderer.)

Question 475

# SAT Vocabulary flaccid

Answer 475

(adj.) limp; not firm or strong (If a plant is not watered enough; its leaves become droopy and flaccid.)

Question 476

# SAT Vocabulary flagrant

Answer 476

(adj.) offensive; egregious (The judge's decision to set the man free simply because that man was his brother was a flagrant abuse of power.)

Question 477

# SAT Vocabulary florid

Answer 477

(adj.) flowery; ornate (The writer's florid prose belongs on a sentimental Hallmark card.)

Question 478

# SAT Vocabulary flout

Answer 478

(v.) to disregard or disobey openly (I flouted the school's dress code by wearing a tie-dyed tank top and a pair of cut-off jeans.)

Question 479

# SAT Vocabulary foil

Answer 479

(v.) to thwart; frustrate; defeat (Inspector Wilkens foiled the thieves by locking them in the bank along with their stolen money.)

Question 480

# SAT Vocabulary forage

Answer 480

(v.) to graze; rummage for food (When we got lost on our hiking trip; we foraged for berries and nuts in order to survive.)

Question 481

# SAT Vocabulary forbearance

Answer 481

(n.) patience; restraint; toleration (The doctor showed great forbearance in calming down the angry patient who shouted insults at him.)

Question 482

# SAT Vocabulary forestall

Answer 482

(v.) to prevent; thwart; delay (I forestalled the cold I was getting by taking plenty of vitamin C pills and wearing a scarf.)

Question 483

# SAT Vocabulary forlorn

Answer 483

(adj.) lonely; abandoned; hopeless (Even though I had the flu; my family decided to go skiing for the weekend and leave me home alone; feeling feverish and forlorn.)

Question 484

# SAT Vocabulary forsake

Answer 484

(v.) to give up; renounce (My New Year's resolution is to forsake smoking and drinking.)

Question 485

# SAT Vocabulary fortitude

Answer 485

(n.) strength; guts (Achilles' fortitude in battle is legendary.)

Question 486

# SAT Vocabulary fortuitous

Answer 486

(adj.) happening by chance; often lucky or fortunate (After looking for Manuel and not finding him at home; Harriet had a fortuitous encounter with him at the post office.)

Question 487

# SAT Vocabulary forum

Answer 487

(n.) a medium for lecture or discussion (Some radio talk-shows provide a good forum for political debate.)

Question 488

# SAT Vocabulary foster

Answer 488

(v.) to stimulate; promote; encourage (To foster good health in the city; the mayor started a "Get out and exercise!" campaign.)

Question 489

# SAT Vocabulary fractious

Answer 489

(adj.) troublesome or irritable (Although the child insisted he wasn't tired; his fractious behavior—especially his decision to crush his cheese and crackers all over the floor—convinced everyone present that it was time to put him to bed.)

Question 490

# SAT Vocabulary fraught

Answer 490

(adj.) (usually used with "with") filled or accompanied with (Her glances in his direction were fraught with meaning; though precisely what meaning remained unclear.)

Question 491

# SAT Vocabulary frenetic

Answer 491

(adj.) frenzied; hectic; frantic (In the hours between night and morning; the frenetic pace of city life slows to a lull.)

Question 492

# SAT Vocabulary frivolous

Answer 492

(adj.) of little importance; trifling (Someday; all that anxiety about whether your zit will disappear before the prom will seem totally frivolous.)

Question 493

# SAT Vocabulary frugal

Answer 493

(adj.) thrifty; economical (Richard is so frugal that his diet consists almost exclusively of catfish and chicken liver—the two most inexpensive foods in the store.)

Question 494

# SAT Vocabulary furtive

Answer 494

(adj.) secretive; sly (Jane's placement of her drugs in her sock drawer was not as furtive as she thought; as the sock drawer is the first place most parents look.)

Question 495

# SAT Vocabulary garish

Answer 495

(adj.) gaudy; in bad taste (Mrs. Watson has poor taste and covers every object in her house with a garish gold lamé.)

Question 496

# SAT Vocabulary garrulous

Answer 496

(adj.) talkative; wordy (Some talk show hosts are so garrulous that their guests can't get a word in edgewise.)

Question 497

# SAT Vocabulary genial

Answer 497

(adj.) friendly; affable (Although he's been known to behave like a real jerk; I would say that my brother is an overall genial guy.)

Question 498

# SAT Vocabulary gluttony

Answer 498

(n.) overindulgence in food or drink (Ada's fried chicken tastes so divine; I don't know how anyone can call gluttony a sin.)

Question 499

# SAT Vocabulary goad

Answer 499

(v.) to urge; spur; incite to action (Jim may think he's not going to fight Billy; but Billy will goad Jim on with insults until he throws a punch.)