SAT VOCABULARY

PACKAGE 4

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(n)

1. ABBERATION

(v)

2. ABET

something different from the usual

to aid, to act as an accomplice

Due to the bizarre aberrations in the

author's behaviour, her publicist decided
that the less the public saw of her, the better.

While Derwin robbed the bank, Marvin

abetted his friend by pulling up the getaway
car

abnormality, anomaly, deviation, irregularity

help, succor, assist

3. ABJECT

(adj)

4. BANISH

(v)

miserable, pitiful

drive away, expel

When we found the abject creature lying on

the ground, we took it inside and tended to its
broken leg.

Chantalle didn't like the way Shanna was

dressing lately, so she banished Shanna from
her group for three weeks.

lamentable, pathetic, sorry

cast out, exile, evict

5. BARD

(n)

6. BARRICADE

lyric, poet

barrier

Timmy's friends in the poetry club have

called him the bard ever since he wrote an
inspiring ode to recess.

During the Revolution, students set up

barricades to keep the army from moving
through the streets.

rhymester, versifier

obstacle

7. CALUMNY

(n)

8. CAMARADERIE

(n)

(n)

a false and malicious accusation,

misrepresentation

trust, sociability amongst friends

The unscrupulous politician used calumny to

bring down his opponent in the senatorial
race.

Timmy likes the camaraderie of his friends in

the accordion club.

libel, defamation, slander

amity, companionship

9. CANARD

(n)

10. DEBILITATING

(adj)

a lie

impairing the strength or energy of

That tabloid's feature story about a goat

giving birth to a human child was clearly a
canard.

Timmy's fear of public speaking was so

debilitating that he couldn't even practice in
front of his goldfish.

falsehood, falsity, fib

weaken

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(n)
someone that owes something to someone
else

11. DEBTOR

Shanna is Chantalle's debtor because

Shanna so owes her for getting her a date.

(v)

12. DEBUNK
to discredit, disprove

It was the teacher's mission in life to debunk

the myth that females are bad at math.
belie, confute, contradict, controvert, explode

(adj)
made up of elements from different sources

13. ECLECTIC

14. ECSTATIC

(adj)

joyful

Chantalle's closet was an eclectic array of

clothing, including pieces inspired by the
1980s to the present.

Ashley was ecstatic when the captain of the

football team asked her out in front of the
whole senior class.

assorted, miscellaneous

delighted, thrill

15. EFFACIOUS

(adj)

16. FALLOW

(adj)

effective, efficient

uncultivated, unused

Shanna's efficacious study system helped

her ace the test.

This field should lie fallow for a year so that

the soil does not become completely depleted.

effectual, successful

idle, inactive, unseeded

(v)

17. FALSIFY

18. GENERALIZE

misrepresent, state untruthfully

reduce to a general form

George considered falsifying the D on his

report card by changing it to a B.

Chantalle is clearly generalizing when she

says that all jocks are stupid.

(v)

distort, misinterpret, misrepresent

19. GENIAL

(adj)

20. HARBINGER

(n)

pleasant, friendly

precursor, sign of something to come

Ashley's genial manner often rubs off on

people around her.

The groundhog's appearance on February 2

is a harbinger of spring

gracious

forerunner, herald, omen, presage

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21. HARROWING

(adj)

22. ILLUSORY

(adj)

extremely distressing, terrifying

producing illusion, deceptive

We stayed up all night listening to Dave and

Will talk about their harrowing adventure at
sea.

The desert explorer was devastated to

discover that the lake he thought he had seen
was in fact illusory.

tormenting, vexing

false, imaginary
(v)

23. ILLUSTRATE

24. IMBIBE

(v)

provide example, explain

to receive into the mind and take in, absorb

George's mom used the videotape of her son

watching television to illustrate the point
that he was a couch potato.

If I always attend class, I can imbibe as much

knowledge as possible.

demonstrate, exemplify, instance

absorb

25. JOCULAR

(adj)

26. JOLLITY

(n)

playful, humorous

cheerfulness, liveliness, celebration

The jocular old man entertained his

grandchildren for hours.

Ashley's jollity seemed insincere to some

students because there was no way someone
could smile 24/7

Comical, amusing

merrymaking
(n)

27. KISMET

28. KUDOS

(n)

destiny

fame, glory, honour

When Eve found out that Garret also played

the harmonica, she knew their meeting was
kismet.

The actress happily accepted kudos from the

press for her stunning performance in the
film.

fate

acclaim, accolade, encomium, homage, praise

29. LANGUID

(adj)

lacking energy, indifferent, slow

(adj)
relating to precious stones or the art of cutting
them

30. LAPIDARY

The languid cat cleaned its fur, ignoring the

vicious, snarling dog chained a few feet
away from it.

Most lapidary work today is done with the use

of motorized equipment.

fainant, lackadaisical, listless, sluggish,

weak

jeweller

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31. MAGNIFY

(v)

32. MALAISE

(n)

make greater in size, enlarge

a sense of mental or moral ill-being

Timmy really wanted to pop the zit on his

chin, but he resisted, knowing it would only
magnify the problem.

During his presidency, Jimmy Carter spoke of

a national malaise and was subsequently
criticized for being too negative.

expand, amplify

discomfort, unhappiness

(n)
the practice of communicating with the dead
in order to predict the future

33. NECROMANCY

34. NEGATE

(adj)

nullify, deny

The practice of necromancy supposes belief

in survival of the soul after death.

Chantalle negated the rumour that she said

Shanna looked like a stuffed sausage in her
jeans.

sorcery, black magic

contradict

35. NEFARIOUS

(adj)

36. OBSCURE

(adj)

intensely wicked or vicious

not easily seen, inconspicuous

Nefarious deeds are never far from an evildoer's mind

Timmy liked to study the life cycles of obscure

insects for fun.

malevolent, sinister

ambiguous

37. OBSEQUIOUS

(adj)

38. OBSOLETE

(adj)

overly submissive, brown nosing

no longer in use

The obsequious new employee

complimented her supervisor's tie and
agreed with him on every issue.

The invention of email has made the concept

of a handwritten letter almost obsolete.

compliant, fawning, groveling, servile,

unctuous

outdated

39. PALLID

(adj)

40. PALTRY

(adj)

lacking colour or liveliness

pitifully small or worthless

George's pallid complexion was due to the

fact that he spent most of his free time in
front of the TV.

Bernardo paid the ragged boy the paltry sum

of 25 cents to carry his luggage all the way to
the hotel.

pale

trifling, petty

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(n)

41. PANACHE
flamboyance or dash in style and action

(adj)
occurring over a wide geographic area and
affecting a large portion of the population

42. PANDEMIC

Leah has such panache when planning

parties, even when they're last-minute
affairs.

Pandemic alarm spread throughout Colombia

after the devastating earthquake.

flair

general, extensive

43. QUIESCENT

(adj)

44. QUIZZICAL

motionless

expression of puzzlement

Many animals are quiescent over the winter

months, minimizing activity in order to
conserve energy.

Timmy gave Derek a quizzical look when

Derek said that girls would like him if he
played the guitar.

dormant, latent

baffled

45. QUOTIDIAN

(adj)

46. SANGUINE

(adj)

(adj)

occurring daily, commonplace

ruddy, cheerfully optimistic

The sight of people singing on the streets is

so quotidian in New York that passersby
rarely react to it.

A sanguine person thinks the glass is half full,

while a depressed person thinks it's half
empty.

everyday, normal, usual

confident, hopeful, positive, rosy, rubicund

47. SARDONIC

(adj)

(v)

48. SATIATE

cynical, scornfully mocking

to satisfy (as a need or desire) fully or to

excess

Denise was offended by the sardonic way in

which her date made fun of her ideas and
opinions.

After years of journeying around the world

with nothing but backpacks, the friends had
finally satiated their desire to travel.

acerbic, caustic, sarcastic, satirical, snide

gorge

49. SALUBRIOUS

(adj)

50. TAWDRY

healthful

gaudy, cheap, showy

Rundown and sickly, Rita hoped that the

fresh mountain air would have a salubrious
effect on her health.

The performer changed into her tawdry

costume and stepped onto the stage.

bracing, curative, medicinal, therapeutic,

tonic

flashy, chintzy

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(adj)

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