sat 4
Terms
undefined, object
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- pugnacity
- combativeness; disposition to fight
- pulverize
- crush or grind into dust
- punctilious
- laying stress on niceties of conduct or form; minutely attentive to fine points (perhaps too much so)
- purchase
- firm grasp or footing
- purveyor
- furnisher of foodstuffs; caterer
- pusillanimous
- cowardly; fainthearted
- quaff
- drink with relish
- quagmire
- soft wet boggy land; complex or dangerous situation from which it is difficult to free oneself
- quail
- cower; lose heart
- quandary
- dilemma
- quarry
-
n. victim; object of a hunt
v. dig into - quay
- dock; landing place
- quell
- extinguish; put down; quiet
- querulous
- fretful; whining
- quibble
- minor objection or complaint
- quiescent
- at rest; dormant; temporarily inactive
- quintessence
- purest and highest embodiment
- quip
- taunt
- quirt
- startling twist; caprice
- quiver
-
v. tremble; shake
n. case for arrows - quixotic
- idealistic but impractical
- quizzical
- teasing; bantering; mocking; curious
- quorum
- number of members necessary to conduct a meeting
- raiment
- clothing
- rally
- call up or summon (forces, vital powers, etc.); revive or recuperate
- ramification
- branching out; subdivision
- ramify
- divide into branches or subdivisions
- ramshackle
- rickety; falling apart
- rankle
- irritate; fester
- rapacious
- excessively greedy; predatory
- rapt
- absorbed; enchanted
- rarefied
- made less dense (of a gas)
- ratiocination
- reasoning; act of drawing conclusions from premises
- ravel
- fall apart into tangles; unravel or untwist; entangle
- raze
- destroy completely
- reactionary
- recoiling from progress; politically ultra-conservative
- rebuff
- snub; beat back
- rebuke
- scold harshly; criticize severely
- rebuttal
- refutation; response with contrary evidence
- recalcitrant
- obstinately stubborn; determined to resist authority; unruly
- recant
- disclaim or disavow; retract a previous statement; openly confess error
- recapitulate
- summarize
- recast
- reconstruct (a sentence, story, etc.); fashion again (remake; alter)
- recidivism
- habitual return to crime
- reciprocate
- repay in kind
- reconnaissance
- survey of enemy by soldiers; reconnoitering (literally to recognize)
- recourse
- resorting to help when in trouble
- recrimination
- countercharges
- redoubtable
- formidable; causing fear
- redress
- remedy; compensation
- refractory
- stubborn; unmanageable
- refute
- disprove
- regale
- entertain
- regimen
- prescribed diet and habits
- rejoinder
- retort; comeback; reply
- relegate
- banish to an inferior position; delegate; assign
- relic
- surviving remnant; memento
- remiss
- negligent
- remission
- temporary moderation of disease symptoms; cancellation of a debt; forgiveness or pardon
- remonstrance
- protest; objection
- remunerative
- compensating; rewarding
- render
- deliver; provide; represent
- rendition
- translation; artistic interpretation of a song, etc.
- renege
- deny; go back on
- rent
- rip; split
- repast
- meal; feast; banquet
- reprehensible
- deserving blame
- reprieve
- temporary stay
- reprisal
- retaliation
- reprise
- musical repetition; repeat performance; recurrent action
- reprobate
- person hardened in sin, devoid of a sense of decency
- repudiate
- disown; disavow
- requite
- repay; revenge
- rescind
- cancel
- resigned
- accepting one's fate; unresisting; patiently submissive
- restitution
- reparation; indemnification
- restive
- restlessly impatient; obstinately resisting control
- retiring
- modest; shy
- retrench
- cut down; economize
- retrograde
- go backwards; degenerate
- reverie
- daydream; musing
- revulsion
- sudden violent change of feeling; reaction
- rhapsodize
- to speak or write in an exaggeratedly enthusiastic manner
- ribald
- wanton; profane
- riddle
- pierce with holes; permeate or spread throughout
- rider
- amendment or clause added to a legislative bill
- rigor
- severity
- rile
- vex; irritate; muddy
- roil
- to make liquids murky by stirring up sediment
- rostrum
- platform for speech-making; pulpit
- rote
- repetition
- rue
- regret; lament; mourn
- saboteur
- one who commits sabotage; destroyer of property
- salacious
- lascivious; lustful
- salvo
- discharge of firearms; military salute
- sanctimonious
- displaying ostentatious or hypocritical devoutness
- sanguine
- cheerful; hopeful
- sardonic
- disdainful; sarcastic; cynical
- saturnine
- gloomy
- savant
- scholar
- scabbard
- case for a sword blade; sheath
- scad
- a great quantity
- scale
- climb up; ascend
- scamp
- rascal
- schematic
- relating to an outline or diagram; using a system of symbols
- schism
- division; split
- scruple
- fret about; hesitate, for ethical reasons
- scuffle
- struggle confusedly; move off in a confused hurry
- scurrilous
- obscene; indecent
- scurry
- move briskly
- scurvy
- despicable; contemptible
- scuttle
-
v. scurry; run with short, rapid steps
v. sink - seamy
- sordid; unwholesome
- sear
- char or burn; brand
- sectarian
- relating to a religious faction or subgroup; narrow-minded; limited
- sedition
- resistance to authority; insubordination
- sedulous
- diligent; hardworking
- seedy
- run-down; decrepit; disreputable
- seemly
- proper; appropriate
- seismic
- pertaining to earthquakes
- sheer
- very thin or transparent; very steep; absolute
- shoddy
- sham; not genuine; inferior
- shroud
- hide from view; wrap for burial
- shyster
- lawyer using questionable methods
- simian
- monkeylike
- simper
- smirk; smile affectedly
- sinecure
- well-paid position with little responsibility
- sinewy
- tough; strong and firm
- skiff
- small, light sailboat or rowboat
- skimp
- provide scantily; live very economically
- skirmish
- minor fight
- skulk
- move furtively and secretly
- slag
- residue from smelting metal; dross; waste matter
- slake
- quench; sate
- slapdash
- haphazard; careless; sloppy
- slight
- insult to one's dignity; snub
- slothful
- lazy
- slough
- cast off
- slur
-
v. speak indistinctly; mumble
n. insult to one's character or reputation; slander - smelt
- melt or blend ores, changing their chemical composition
- smolder
- burn without flame; be liable to break out at any moment
- snivel
- run at the nose; snuffle; whine
- sojourn
- temporary stay
- solder
- repair or make whole by using a metal alloy
- solecism
- construction that is flagrantly incorrect grammatically
- solicitous
- worried; concerned
- somnolent
- half asleep
- sophistry
- seemingly plausible but fallacious reasoning
- sovereign
- efficacious; supreme or paramount; self-governing
- spat
- squabble; minor dispute
- spate
- sudden flood or strong outburst; a large number or amount
- specious
- seemingly reasonable but incorrect; misleading (often intentionally)
- spendthrift
- someone who wastes money
- sphinx-like
- enigmatic; mysterious
- splice
- fasten together; unite
- spry
- vigorously active; nimble
- spurious
- false; counterfeit; forged; illogical
- squalor
- filth; degradation; dirty, neglected state
- staid
- sober; sedate
- stanch
- check flow of blood
- steep
- soak; saturate
- stilted
- bombastic; inflated
- stint
-
n. supply; allotted amount; assigned portion of work
v. be thrifty; set limits - stipend
- pay for services
- stipulate
- make express conditions; specify
- stodgy
- stuffy; boringly conservative
- stoke
- stir up a fire; feed plentifully
- stricture
- restriction; adverse criticism
- strident
- loud and harsh; insistent
- strut
-
n. pompous walk; swagger
n. supporting bar - stultify
- cause to appear or become stupid or inconsistent; frustrate or hinder
- stymie
- present an obstacle; stump
- subjective
- occurring or taking place within the subject; unreal
- suborn
- persuade to act unlawfully (especially to commit perjury)
- subsidiary
- subordinate; secondary
- subsistence
- existence; means of support; livelihood
- substantive
- essential; pertaining to the substance
- subterfuge
- pretense; evasion
- subversive
- tending to overthrow; destructive
- suffragist
- advocate of voting rights (for women)
- sully
- tarnish; soil
- sultry
- sweltering
- sumptuous
- lavish; rich
- supersede
- cause to be set aside; replace; make obsolete
- supplant
- replace; usurp
- surrogate
- substitute
- swarthy
- dark; dusky
- swathe
- wrap around; bandage
- swill
- drink greedily
- sybarite
- lover of luxury
- symbiosis
- interdependent relationship (between groups, species), often mutually beneficial
- talisman
- charm to bring good luck and avert misfortune
- tangential
- peripheral; only slightly connected; digressing
- tanner
- person who turns animal hides into leather
- tarry
- delay; dawdle
- tautological
- needlessly repetitious
- temporize
- avoid committing oneself; gain time
- tendentious
- having an aim; biased; designed to further a cause
- tenet
- doctrine; dogma
- tenuous
- thin; rare; slim
- tether
- tie with a rope
- thespian
- pertaining to drama
- throes
- violent anguish
- tightwad
- excessively frugal person; miser
- tiller
- handle used to move boat's rudder (to steer)
- titter
- nervous laugh
- tonic
- invigorating; refreshing
- torrent
- rushing stream; flood
- torrid
- passionate; hot or scorching
- totter
- move unsteadily; sway, as if about to fall
- tout
- publicize; praise excessively
- tract
- region of land (often imprecisely described); pamphlet
- traduce
- expose to slander
- trajectory
- path taken by a projectile
- transcribe
- copy
- translucent
- partly transparent
- transmute
- change; convert to something different
- transport
- strong emotion
- travail
- painful labor
- travesty
- comical parody; treatment aimed at making something appear ridiculous
- treatise
- article treating a subject systematically and thoroughly
- tribute
- tax levied by a ruler; mark of respect
- trough
- container for feeding farm animals; lowest point (of a wave, business cycle, etc.)
- truculence
- aggressiveness; ferocity
- tryst
- meeting
- tundra
- rolling, treeless plain in Siberia and arctic North America
- turgid
- swollen; distended
- turpitude
- depravity (morally corrupt)
- tyro
- beginner; novice
- unaccountable
- inexplicable; unreasonable or mysterious
- unassuming
- modest
- unbridled
- violent
- underlying
- fundamental; lying below
- undulating
- moving with a wavelike motion
- unequivocal
- plain; obvious; unmistakable
- unfathomable
- incomprehensible; impenetrable
- unfrock
- to strip a priest or minister of church authority
- ungainly
- awkward; clumsy; unwieldy
- uniformity
- sameness; monotony
- unimpeachable
- blameless and exemplary
- unprepossessing
- unattractive
- unrequited
- not reciprocated
- unscathed
- unharmed
- unseemly
- unbecoming; indecent; in poor taste
- unwitting
- unintentional; not knowing
- veer
- change in direction
- vehement
- forceful; intensely emotional; with marked vigor
- venal
- capable of being bribed; corrupt
- vendetta
- blood feud
- veneer
- thin layer; cover