Words from Official SAT Study Guide Test 3(98 words)

Abashed

ashamed or sorry

Allusion

indirect reference

Ambivalent

undecided; unclear

Analogy

comparison

Anecdote

short account/story

Annihilated

wiped out

Anomalies

oddities; things that don't fit the pattern

Antipodes

places on opposite sides of the globe

Apprehension

worry; nervousness

Arduous

hard and difficult

Articulate

(adj.) able to express something well in words

Assuage

to make less

Auspicious

fortunate; indicative of a successful outcome

Avuncular

acting like an uncle; kindly

Axiom

something that is taken to be true; basic idea that

can't be questioned

Banal

dull; unoriginal

Bellicose

aggressive

Benign

kindly

Bereft of

without; deprived of

Bifurcation

division into two

Blatantly

obviously

Cacophonous

very noisy; unpleasant sounding

Cantankerous

irritable and difficult to please

Captivating

fascinating

Chided

scolded

Clairvoyant

able to see into the future/another dimension

Coddled

over-protected; kept warm

Comely

attractive

Complacent

smug; over-confident

Conducive to

suitable for; leading to

Convivial

sociable and friendly

Cornucopia

literally a horn filled with fruits etc; symbol of plenty

Cosmopolitan

composed of varied nationalities

Counterfeiter

faker; someone who makes fake money, for example

Decipher

decode; work out meaning

Deferential

showing respect

Deterrent

something that puts one off; a preventive

Dichotomies

divisions into two parts

Diffident

shy; hesitant

Digression

going off the point

Discriminating

1. able to make fine distinctions between; having good

taste, 2. favoring one side/group and acting against
another

Docile

placid; easily lead

Elite

the upper levels in a society; the privileged ones

Equitable

fair and equal

Equivocal

ambiguous; something that can be interpreted in more

than one way

Exhilarating

exciting

Fathom

1. (v) work out; understand, 2. (n) measure of depth

Fervent

passionate

Filial

concerned with the relationship between child and

parent

Foreboding

sense of doom

Funerary

concerned with funerals

Galvanized

1. stirred into action; stimulated, 2. coated with zinc

Grandiose

exaggerated; too great; on a grand scale

Haughty

arrogant

Hilarious

very funny

Hyperbole

over-exaggeration

Impetuous

impulsive

Indecipherable

cannot be decoded; cannot be worked out

Irresolute

lacking firmness; inability to decide or commit

Levity

lack of seriousness; humor

Loquacious

talkative

Mediocre

average

Mellifluous

pleasant-sounding

Metaphor

figurative speech; using implied comparisons

Miscreants

wrong-doers

Mitigated

made less severe

Naive

unsophisticated; simple and inexperienced

Nonchalant

assuming an appearance of not caring; indifferent

Obliterated

wiped out

Ousted

pushed out of a position

Pacifists

people who oppose war

Panacea

remedy for all ills

Paradoxically

counter to what one would think; contradictory

Personification

1. attributing human qualities to something nonhuman, 2. acting as an example of

Perusal

careful reading

Placid

calm and peaceful

Presumptuous

assuming too much; arrogant

Profiteer

someone who seeks to make unjustified profits

Propagandist

someone who spreads ideas

Proximity

closeness

Qualification

something added to modify an opinion

Reconcile

bring disputing sides together; overcome bad feeling

Respite

break from work etc.

Reticent

shy; unwilling to reveal information

Reverential

showing respect

Revisionists

people who revise; anti-revolutionaries

Sanctimonious

hypocritically holy; making a pretense of religious

feeling

Stoic

brave; able to tolerate whatever life throws at you

Symbiotic

mutually advantageous; close relationship

Syncopated

with strongly accented rhythm

Tacit

unspoken; understood even thought not expressed in

words

Taunted

teased; mocked

Temperate

mild; moderate

Understatement

making something seem less important than it is

Unqualified

without hesitation; complete and total

Unrelenting

never giving up; non-stop

Unwarranted

unjustified

Watershed

1. area between two river basins, 2. turning point