Sparknotes Complete 1000 SAT Vocab Part 2
Terms
undefined, object
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- bard
- (n.) a poet, often a singer as well (Shakespeare is often considered the greatest bard
- ballad
- (n.) a love song (Greta's boyfriend played her a ballad on the guitar during their walk through the dark woods
- circumscribed
- (adj.) marked off, bounded (The children were permitted to play tag only within a carefully circumscribed area of the lawn
- capacious
- (adj.) very spacious (The workers delighted in their new capacious office space
- clamor
- 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
- coerce
- (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
- chide
- (v.) to voice disapproval (Lucy chided Russell for his vulgar habits and sloppy appearance
- chaos
- (n.) absolute disorder (Mr. Thornton's sudden departure for the lavatory plunged his classroom into chaos
- atypical
- (adj.) not typical, unusual (Screaming and crying is atypical adult behavior
- censure
- 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
- audible
- (adj.) able to be heard (The missing person's shouts were unfortunately not audible
- boisterous
- (adj.) loud and full of energy (The candidate won the vote after giving several boisterous speeches on television
- collateral
- 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
- complement
- (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
- benign
- (adj.) favorable, not threatening, mild (We were all relieved to hear that the
- assuage
- (v.) to ease, pacify (The mother held the baby to assuage its fears
- circumspect
- (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
- cacophony
- (n.) tremendous noise, disharmonious sound (The elementary school orchestra created a cacophony at the recital
- calamity
- (n.) an event with disastrous consequences (The earthquake in San Francisco was a calamity worse than any other natural disaster in history
- chronicle
- 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
- battery
- 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
- bequeath
- (v.) to pass on, give (Jon's father bequeathed his entire estate to his mother
- beseech
- (v.) to beg, plead, implore (The servant beseeched the king for food to feed his starving family
- clandestine
- (adj.) secret (Announcing to her boyfriend that she was going to the gym, Sophie actually went to meet Joseph for a clandestine liaison
- compliment
- (n.) an expression of esteem or approval (I blushed crimson when Emma gave me a compliment on my new haircut
- conciliatory
- (adj.) friendly, agreeable (I took Amanda's invitation to dinner as a very conciliatory gesture
- bourgeois
- (n.) a middle-class person, capitalist (Many businessmen receive criticism for their bourgeois approach to life
- coagulate
- (v.) to thicken, clot (The top layer of the pudding had coagulated into a thick skin
- circuitous
- (adj.) roundabout (The bus's circuitous route took us through numerous outlying suburbs
- canvas
- 1. (n.) a piece of cloth on which an artist paints (Picasso liked to work on canvas
- complicit
- (adj.) being an accomplice in a wrongful act (By keeping her daughter's affair a secret, Maddie became complicit in it
- buffet
- 1. (v.) to strike with force (The strong winds buffeted the ships, threatening to
- clairvoyant
- (adj.) able to perceive things that normal people cannot (Zelda's uncanny ability to detect my lies was nothing short of clairvoyant
- brazen
- (adj.) excessively bold, brash (Critics condemned the novelist's brazen attempt to plagiarize Hemingway's story
- blemish
- (n.) an imperfection, flaw (The dealer agreed to lower the price because of the many blemishes on the surface of the wooden furniture
- augment
- (v.) to add to, expand (The eager student seeks to augment his knowledge of French vocabulary by reading French literature
- concede
- (v.) to accept as valid (Andrew had to concede that what his mother said about Diana made sense
- bias
- (n.) a tendency, inclination, prejudice (The judge's hidden bias against smokers led him to make an unfair decision
- chronological
- (adj.) arranged in order of time (Lionel carefully arranged the snapshots of his former girlfriends in chronological order, and then set fire to them
- benevolent
- (adj.) marked by goodness or doing good (Police officers should be commended for their benevolent service to the community
- cleave
- 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
- balk
- (v.) to stop, block abruptly (Edna's boss balked at her request for another raise
- commodious
- (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
- cavort
- (v.) to leap about, behave boisterously (The adults ate their dinners on the patio, while the children cavorted around the pool
- cogent
- (adj.) intellectually convincing (Irene's arguments in favor of abstinence were so cogent that I could not resist them
- compunction
- (n.) distress caused by feeling guilty (He felt compunction for the shabby way he'd treated her
- capricious
- (adj.) subject to whim, fickle (The young girl's capricious tendencies made it difficult for her to focus on achieving her goals
- beguile
- (v.) to trick, deceive (The thief beguiled his partners into surrendering all of their money to him
- berate
- (v.) to scold vehemently (The angry boss berated his employees for failing to
- caucus
- (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
- carp
- (v.) to annoy, pester (The husband divorced his wife after listening to her carping voice for decades
- bombastic
- (adj.) excessively confident, pompous (The singer's bombastic performance disgusted the crowd
- calibrate
- (v.) to set, standardize (The mechanic calibrated the car's transmission to make the motor run most efficiently
- coalesce
- (v.) to fuse into a whole (Gordon's ensemble of thrift-shop garments coalesced into a surprisingly handsome outfit
- atrophy
- (v.) to wither away, decay (If muscles do not receive enough blood, they will soon atrophy and die
- compound
- 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
- canny
- (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
- bereft
- (adj.) devoid of, without (His family was bereft of food and shelter following the tornado
- camaraderie
- (n.) brotherhood, jovial unity (Camaraderie among employees usually leads to success in business
- colossus
- (n.) a gigantic statue or thing (For 56 years, the ancient city of Rhodes featured a colossus standing astride its harbor
- combustion
- (n.) the act or process of burning (The unexpected combustion of the prosecution's evidence forced the judge to dismiss the case against Ramirez
- audacious
- (adj.) excessively bold (The security guard was shocked by the fan's audacious attempt to offer him a bribe
- concise
- (adj.) brief and direct in expression (Gordon did not like to waste time, and his instructions to Brenda were nothing if not concise
- attain
- (v.) to achieve, arrive at (The athletes strived to attain their best times in competition
- choreography
- (n.) the arrangement of dances (The plot of the musical was banal, but the choreography was stunning
- assess
- (v.) to evaluate (A crew arrived to assess the damage after the crash
- attribute
- 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
- cerebral
- (adj.) related to the intellect (The books we read in this class are too cerebral— they don't engage my emotions at all
- calumny
- (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
- cajole
- (v.) to urge, coax (Fred's buddies cajoled him into attending the bachelor party
- commensurate
- (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
- boon
- (n.) a gift or blessing (The good weather has been a boon for many businesses located near the beach
- bashful
- (adj.) shy, excessively timid (Frankie's mother told him not to be bashful when he refused to attend the birthday party
- astute
- (adj.) very clever, crafty (Much of Roger's success in politics results from his ability to provide astute answers to reporters' questions
- circumvent
- (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
- concomitant
- (adj.) accompanying in a subordinate fashion (His dislike of hard work carried with it a concomitant lack of funds
- catalog
- 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
- blight
- 1. (n.) a plague, disease (The potato blight destroyed the harvest and bankrupted
- compress
- (v.) to apply pressure, squeeze together (Lynn compressed her lips into a frown
- compliant
- (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
- coherent
- (adj.) logically consistent, intelligible (Renee could not figure out what Monroe had seen because he was too distraught to deliver a coherent statement
- compelling
- (adj.) forceful, demanding attention (Eliot's speech was so compelling that Lenore accepted his proposal on the spot
- cognizant
- (adj.) aware, mindful (Jake avoided speaking to women in bars because he was cognizant of the fact that drinking impairs his judgment
- clergy
- (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
- carouse
- (v.) to party, celebrate (We caroused all night after getting married
- bilk
- (v.) cheat, defraud (The lawyer discovered that this firm had bilked several clients out of thousands of dollars
- captivate
- (v.) to get the attention of, hold (The fireworks captivated the young boy, who had never seen such things before
- banal
- (adj.) dull, commonplace (The client rejected our proposal because they found
- cloying
- (adj.) sickeningly sweet (Though Ronald was physically attractive, Maud found his constant compliments and solicitous remarks cloying
- candor
- (n.) honesty, frankness (We were surprised by the candor of the mayor's speech because he is usually rather evasive
- atone
- (v.) to repent, make amends (The man atoned for forgetting his wife's birthday by buying her five dozen roses
- aversion
- (n.) a particular dislike for something (Because he's from Hawaii, Ben has an aversion to autumn, winter, and cold climates in general
- asylum
- 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
- cadence
- (n.) a rhythm, progression of sound (The pianist used the foot pedal to emphasize the cadence of the sonata
- caustic
- (adj.) bitter, biting, acidic (The politicians exchanged caustic insults for over an hour during the debate
- avarice
- (n.) excessive greed (The banker's avarice led him to amass a tremendous personal fortune
- capitulate
- (v.) to surrender (The army finally capitulated after fighting a long costly battle
- callous
- (adj.) harsh, cold, unfeeling (The murderer's callous lack of remorse shocked the jury
- buttress
- 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
- brusque
- (adj.) short, abrupt, dismissive (The captain's brusque manner offended the passengers
- concoct
- (v.) to fabricate, make up (She concocted the most ridiculous story to explain her absence
- colloquial
- (adj.) characteristic of informal conversation (Adam's essay on sexual response in primates was marked down because it contained too many colloquial expressions
- complacency
- (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
- avenge
- (v.) to seek revenge (The victims will take justice into their own hands and strive to avenge themselves against the men who robbed them
- bane
- (n.) a burden (Advanced physics is the bane of many students' academic lives
- assiduous
- (adj.) hard-working, diligent (The construction workers erected the skyscraper during two years of assiduous labor
- behemoth
- (n.) something of tremendous power or size (The new aircraft carrier is among several behemoths that the Air Force has added to its fleet