SAT VOCABULARY

PACKAGE 3

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(v)

1. ABATE
to decrease, to reduce

(adj)
deviating from what is normal or expected

2. ABBARENT

My hunger abated when I saw how filthy the

chef's hands were.

Because he had been a steady, cheerful

worker for many years, his fellow postal
workers did not expect his aberrant burst of
rage.

dwindle, ebb, recede

cede, quit, relinquish, resign, yield

(n)

3. ABEYANCE

4. BANALITY

(n)

temporary suppression or suspension

trite, commonplace, or predictable

Michelle held her excitement in abeyance

while the college review board considered
her application

The other kids on the pep squad complained

about the banality of Ashley's fund-raising
idea to hold a bake sale; they wanted
something more exciting.
ordinariness, dullness

(n)
cause of harm or ruin, source of annoyance

5. BANE

6. CALAMITY

(n)

disaster, catastrophe

Timmy wondered why Josh has to be the

bane of his existence as the hulking jock
shoved him into yet another locker.

Timmy's date was a total calamity when he

tripped and accidentally pushed the girl into
the lake at the park.

nuisance, pest, irritation

mishap, misfortune, tragedy

7. CALCULATING

(adj)

8. CALLOW

shrewd, crafty

immature, lacking sophistication

Chantalle was so calculating that she

developed a plan to convince her parents to
let her go skiing in Aspen during Christmas
break.

The young and callow fans hung on every

word the talk show host said.

manipulative, devious, conniving

artless, ingenuous, naive

9. DAUNTING

(adj)

10. DEBASE

(adj)

(v)

discouraging

to degrade or lower in quality or stature

Living in a tree for three weeks might be a

daunting task for some, but Willow was
determined to do it to become one with
nature.

The president's deceitful actions debased the

stature of his office.

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dismaying

adulterate, defile, demean, denigrate

(v)

11. DEBILITATE

12. ECCENTRIC

(adj)

to weaken, enfeeble

abnormal, unconventional

The flu debilitated the postal worker, she

was barely able to finish her rounds.

Some say that Marisol is a bit eccentric

become sometimes she likes to paint with her
own hair.

devitalize, drain, enervate, exhaust, sap

unusual, peculiar
(n)

13. ECSTASY

(n)

14. EDICT

intense joy or delight

law, command, official public order

George was filled with ecstasy as he

participated in a test at the sleep disorder
research center they were actually paying
him to sleep!

Pedestrians often disobey the edict that they

should not jaywalk.

elation, bliss

decree, dictum, directive, fiat, ukase

(n)

15. FACADE

16. FALLACIOUS

(adj)

front, superficial appearance

tending to deceive or mislead, based on a

fallacy

Timmy put on a facade of not caring if the

popular crowd liked him.

The fallacious statement the Earth is flat

misled people for many years.

face, mask

false, erroneous
(v)

17. GARNER

18. GARRULOUS

(adj)

to gather and store

very talkative

The director managed to garner financial

backing from several different sources for
her next project.

The garrulous parakeet distracted its owner

with its continuous talking

amass, acquire, glean, harvest, reap

chatty, loquacious, prolix, verbose, voluble

19. GAUCHE

(adj)

20. HALLMARK

lacking social refinement

peculiarity of temperament, eccentricity

Snapping one's fingers to get the waiter's

attention is considered gauche.

A cheery disposition and gymnastic ability

are two hallmarks of a great cheerleader.

tactless, simple

emblem

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(n)

21. HARASS

(v)

22. ILLEGIBLE

(adj)

to irritate

unreadable

Timmy harassed his parents until they

finally agreed to buy him a microscope.

Ashley appreciated George lending her his

notes, but unfortunately his handwriting was
illegible and she couldn't figure out what he
had written.

torment

undecipherable

23. ILLUMINATE

(v)

24. JETTISON

to fill with light

to discard, to get rid of as unnecessary or

encumbering

Timmy's imitation Star Wars light sabre

illuminated his room when he switched it
on.

The sinking ship jettisoned its cargo in a

desperate attempt to reduce its weight..

irradiate

eject, dump

25. JINGOISM

(n)

26. KINDLE

(v)

(v)

belligerent support of one's country

to set fire to or ignite, excite or inspire

The president's jingoism made him declare

war on other countries at the slightest
provocation

With only damp wood to work with, Tilda had

great difficulty trying to kindle the camp fire.

chauvinism, nationalism

slowpoke

27. KIN

(n)

28. LAMENT

(v)

family, relatives

to express sorrow, to grieve

George had to admit that he loved the

holidays; it was the only time he and his
widespread kin got together.

The children continued to lament the death of

the goldfish weeks after its demise.

relations, family connections

bewail, deplore, grieve, mourn

29. LAMPOON

(v)

30. MAGNATE

(adj)

to ridicule with satire

powerful or influential person

The mayor hated being lampooned by the

press for his efforts to improve people's
politeness.

The entertainment magnate bought two cable

TV stations to add to his collection of
magazines and publishing houses.

tease

dignitary, luminary, nabob, potentate, tycoon

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31. MALADROIT

(adj)

(n)

32. NARCISSISM

clumsy, tactless

excessive love or admiration of oneself

His maladroit comments about the host's

poor cooking skills were viewed as
inexcusable by the other guests.

Chantalle, the poster girl for narcissism,

would not admit that she did, in fact, have a
pimple.

awkward, gauche, inept, ungainly

vain

33. NAVIGABLE

(adj)

34. OBLIVIOUS

(adj)

sufficient for vessels to pass through

unaware, inattentive

Although navigable for some, the choppy

waters on the lake were too rough for Josh
to sail safely

Ashley walked around in a happy daze,

totally oblivious that she had toilet paper on
her sneaker.

passable, ignorant

ignorant

35. OBNOXIOUS

(adj)

36. PALL

(v)

objectionable

to lose strength or interest

George's obnoxious belch at lunch

confirmed to his girlfriend that he would
never change.

Over time the model's beauty palled, though

her haughty attitude remained intact.

offensive

tire, weary

37. PALPABLE

(adj)

38. PANACEA

capable of being touched or felt, easily

perceived

cure-all

The tension was palpable as I walked into

the room.

Some claim that vitamin C is a panacea for

all sorts of illnesses, but I have my doubts.

(n)

elixir, miracle drug, sovereign remedy

39. QUELL

(v)

40. QUERY

(v)

to pacify, to suppress

to question

There was nothing Ashley could do to quell

the arguing of the two girls who fought over
the last brownie.

Timmy queried Derek about how to get girls

to like him.

quash, squash

challenge

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41. QUIXOTIC

(adj)

42. SALACIOUS

(adj)

overly idealistic, impractical

appealing to sexual desire

The practical Danuta was skeptical of her

roommate's quixotic plans to build an
amphitheatre in their yard.

His television character was wholesomely

funny so audiences who saw his stand-up
comedy routine were shocked by how
salacious his jokes were.

capricious, impulsive, romantic, unrealistic

lustful

(v)

to recover

(adj)
hypocritically devout, acting morally superior
to another

In an effort to salvage his chance of

graduating on time, George tried to attend
all his classes.

The sanctimonious columnist turned out to

have been hiding a gambling problem that
cost his family everything.

save

holier-than-thou, self-righteous

43. SALVAGE

(adj)
able to be sensed, perceptible, measurable

45. TANGIBLE

44. SANCTIMONIOUS

46. TANTAMOUNT

(adj)

equal in value or effect

Shanna had tangible evidence of her sister

reading her diary to show her parents.

If she didn't get concert tickets to see her

favourite band, it would be tantamount to a
tragedy.

palpable, touchable

commensurate, equivalent

47. TAUTOLOGICAL

(adj)

48. UNFETTER

(v)

having to do with needless repetition,

redundancy

to free from restrictions

I know he was only trying to clarify things,

but his tautological statements confused me
even more.

The dog owners believed they should have the

right to unfetter their dogs occasionally,
rather than keep them on leashes at all times.

verbose, wordy

free

49. UNFROCK

(v)

50. VEER

to dethrone, especially of priestly power

to change direction or course

Any priest caught sullying the good name of

his profession would certainly be unfrocked

The car veered off the narrow gravel road

and drove into a nearby ditch.

demote, degrade

swerve

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(v)