Sparknotes Complete 1000 SAT Vocab Part 3
Terms
undefined, object
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- debacle
- (n.) a disastrous failure, disruption (The elaborately designed fireworks show turned into a debacle when the fireworks started firing in random directions
- consonant
- (adj.) in harmony (The singers' consonant voices were beautiful
- consign
- (v.) to give something over to another's care (Unwillingly, he consigned his mother to a nursing home
- confection
- (n.) a sweet, fancy food (We went to the mall food court and purchased a delicious confection
- conduit
- (n.) a pipe or channel through which something passes (The water flowed through the conduit into the container
- defer
- (v.) to postpone something; to yield to another's wisdom (Ron deferred to Diane, the expert on musical instruments, when he was asked about buying a piano
- construe
- (v.) to interpret (He construed her throwing his clothes out the window as a signal that she wanted him to leave
- discordant
- (adj.) not agreeing, not in harmony with (The girls' sobs were a discordant sound amid the general laughter that filled the restaurant
- desolate
- (adj.) deserted, dreary, lifeless (She found the desolate landscape quite a contrast to the hustle and bustle of the overcrowded city
- dispatch
- (v.) to send off to accomplish a duty (The carpenter dispatched his assistant to fetch wood
- cultivate
- (v.) to nurture, improve, refine (At the library, she cultivated her interest in spy novels
- contusion
- (n.) bruise, injury (The contusions on his face suggested he'd been in a fight
- consumption
- (n.) the act of consuming (Consumption of intoxicating beverages is not permitted on these premises
- contentious
- (adj.) having a tendency to quarrel or dispute (George's contentious personality made him unpopular with his classmates
- constituent
- (n.) an essential part (The most important constituent of her perfume is something called ambergris
- deter
- (v.) to discourage, prevent from doing (Bob's description of scary snakes couldn't deter Marcia from traveling in the rainforests
- depravity
- (n.) wickedness (Rumors of the ogre's depravity made the children afraid to enter the forest
- congenial
- (adj.) pleasantly agreeable (His congenial manner made him popular wherever he went
- covet
- (v.) to desire enviously (I coveted Moses's house, wife, and car
- disheartened
- (adj.) feeling a loss of spirit or morale (The team was disheartened after losing in the finals of the tournament
- deferential
- (adj.) showing respect for another's authority (His deferential attitude toward her made her more confident in her ability to run the company
- connive
- (v.) to plot, scheme (She connived to get me to give up my vacation plans
- disrepute
- (n.) a state of being held in low regard (The officer fell into disrepute after it was learned that he had disobeyed the orders he had given to his own soldiers
- dearth
- (n.) a lack, scarcity (An eager reader, she was dismayed by the dearth of classic books at the library
- deleterious
- (adj.) harmful (She experienced the deleterious effects of running a marathon without stretching her muscles enough beforehand
- credulity
- (n.) readiness to believe (His credulity made him an easy target for con men
- corrosive
- (adj.) having the tendency to erode or eat away (The effect of the chemical was highly corrosive
- corpulence
- (adj.)extreme fatness (Henry's corpulence did not make him any less attractive to his charming, svelte wife
- covert
- (adj.) secretly engaged in (Nerwin waged a covert campaign against his enemies, while outwardly appearing to remain friendly
- demagogue
- (n.) a leader who appeals to a people's prejudices (The demagogue strengthened his hold over his people by blaming immigrants for the lack of jobs
- cursory
- (adj.) brief to the point of being superficial (Late for the meeting, she cast a cursory glance at the agenda
- debase
- (v.) to lower the quality or esteem of something (The large raise that he gave himself debased his motives for running the charity
- demure
- (adj.) quiet, modest, reserved (Though everyone else at the party was dancing and going crazy, she remained demure
- conundrum
- (n.) puzzle, problem (Interpreting Jane's behavior was a constant conundrum
- diaphanous
- (adj.) light, airy, transparent (Sunlight poured in through the diaphanous curtains, brightening the room
- deliberate
- (adj.) intentional, reflecting careful consideration (Though Mary was quite upset, her actions to resolve the dispute were deliberate
- didactic
- 1. (adj.) intended to instruct (She wrote up a didactic document showing new employees how to handle the company's customers.) 2. (adj.) overly moralistic (His didactic style of teaching made it seem like he wanted to persuade his students not to understand history fully, but to understand it from only one point of view
- desiccated
- (adj.) dried up, dehydrated (The skin of the desiccated mummy looked like old paper
- culpable
- (adj.) deserving blame (He was culpable of the crime, and was sentenced to perform community service for 75 years
- cordial
- (adj.) warm, affectionate (His cordial greeting melted my anger at once
- convoluted
- (adj.) intricate, complicated (Grace's story was so convoluted that I couldn't follow it
- denigrate
- (v.) to belittle, diminish the opinion of (The company decided that its advertisements would no longer denigrate the company's competitors
- convivial
- (adj.) characterized by feasting, drinking, merriment (The restaurant's convivial atmosphere put me immediately at ease
- copious
- (adj.) profuse, abundant (Copious amounts of Snapple were imbibed in the cafeteria
- coronation
- (n.) the act of crowning (The new king's coronation occurred the day after his father's death
- deride
- (v.) to laugh at mockingly, scorn (The bullies derided the foreign student's accent
- congregation
- (n.) a gathering of people, especially for religious services (The priest told the congregation that he would be retiring
- deface
- (v.) to ruin or injure something's appearance (The brothers used eggs and shaving cream to deface their neighbor's mailbox
- disseminate
- (v.) to spread widely (The politician disseminated his ideas across the town before the election
- discomfit
- (v.) to thwart, baffle (The normally cheery and playful children's sudden misery discomfited the teacher
- delineate
- (v.) to describe, outline, shed light on (She neatly delineated her reasons for canceling the project's funding
- cunning
- (adj.) sly, clever at being deceitful (The general devised a cunning plan to surprise the enemy
- criteria
- (n.) standards by which something is judged (Among Mrs. Fields's criteria for good cookies are that they be moist and chewy
- dialect
- (n.) a variation of a language (In the country's remote, mountainous regions, the inhabitants spoke a dialect that the country's other inhabitants had difficulty understanding
- dissemble
- (v.) to conceal, fake (Not wanting to appear heartlessly greedy, she dissembled and hid her intention to sell her ailing father's stamp collection
- confidant
- (n.) a person entrusted with secrets (Shortly after we met, she became my chief confidant
- discretion
- (n.) the quality of being reserved in speech or action; good judgment (Not wanting her patient to get overly anxious, the doctor used discretion in deciding how much to tell the patient about his condition
- discern
- (v.) to perceive, detect (Though he hid his emotions, she discerned from his body language that he was angry
- diminutive
- (adj.) small or miniature (The bullies, tall and strong, picked on the diminutive child
- discrepancy
- (n.) difference, failure of things to correspond (He was troubled by the discrepancy between what he remembered paying for the appliance and what his receipt showed he paid for it
- deft
- (adj.) skillful, capable (Having worked in a bakery for many years, Marcus was a deft bread maker
- consummate
- (v.) to complete a deal; to complete a marriage ceremony through sexual
- condone
- (v.) to pardon, deliberately overlook (He refused to condone his brother's crime
- diligent
- (adj.) showing care in doing one's work (The diligent researcher made sure to check her measurements multiple times
- confluence
- (n.) a gathering together (A confluence of different factors made tonight the perfect night
- decorous
- (adj.) socially proper, appropriate (The appreciative guest displayed decorous behavior toward his host
- conformist
- (n.) one who behaves the same as others (Julian was such a conformist that he had to wait and see if his friends would do something before he would commit
- constrain
- (v.)to forcibly restrict (His belief in nonviolence constrained him from taking revenge on his attackers
- daunting
- (adj.) intimidating, causing one to lose courage (He kept delaying the daunting act of asking for a promotion
- demean
- (v.) to lower the status or stature of something (She refused to demean her secretary by making him order her lunch
- deplore
- (v.) to feel or express sorrow, disapproval (We all deplored the miserable working conditions in the factory
- disaffected
- (adj.) rebellious, resentful of authority (Dismayed by Bobby's poor behavior, the parents sent their disaffected son to a military academy to be disciplined
- decry
- (v.) to criticize openly (The kind video rental clerk decried the policy of charging customers late fees
- concord
- (n.) harmonious agreement (Julie and Harold began the evening with a disagreement, but ended it in a state of perfect concord
- destitute
- (adj.) impoverished, utterly lacking (The hurricane destroyed many homes and left many families destitute
- convention
- 1. (n.) an assembly of people (The hotel was full because of the cattle-ranchers' convention.) 2. (n.) a rule, custom (The cattle-ranchers have a convention that you take off your boots before entering their houses
- congeal
- (v.) to thicken into a solid (The sauce had congealed into a thick paste
- despondent
- (adj.) feeling depressed, discouraged, hopeless (Having failed the first math test, the despondent child saw no use in studying for the next and failed that one too
- diffuse
- 1. (v.) to scatter, thin out, break up (He diffused the tension in the room by making in a joke.) 2. (adj.) not concentrated, scattered, disorganized (In her writings, she tried unsuccessfully to make others understand her diffuse thoughts
- contrite
- (adj.) penitent, eager to be forgiven (Blake's contrite behavior made it impossible to stay angry at him
- debunk
- (v.) to expose the falseness of something (He debunked her claim to be the world's greatest chess player by defeating her in 18 consecutive matches
- curt
- (adj.) abruptly and rudely short (Her curt reply to my question made me realize that she was upset at me
- disperse
- (v.) to scatter, cause to scatter (When the rain began to pour, the crowd at the baseball game quickly dispersed
- crescendo
- (n.) a steady increase in intensity or volume (The crescendo of the brass instruments gave the piece a patriotic feel
- conflagration
- (n.) great fire (The conflagration consumed the entire building
- condolence
- (n.) an expression of sympathy in sorrow (Brian lamely offered his condolences on the loss of his sister's roommate's cat
- consensus
- (n.) an agreement of opinion (The jury was able to reach a consensus only after days of deliberation
- defamatory
- (adj.) harmful toward another's reputation (The defamatory gossip spreading about the actor made the public less willing to see the actor's new movie
- consecrate
- (v.) to dedicate something to a holy purpose (Arvin consecrated his spare bedroom as a shrine to Christina
- confound
- (v.) to frustrate, confuse (MacGuyver confounded the policemen pursuing him by covering his tracks
- dirge
- (n.) a mournful song, especially for a funeral (The bagpipers played a dirge as the casket was carried to the cemetery
- cumulative
- (adj.) increasing, building upon itself (The cumulative effect of hours spent in the sun was a deep tan
- disclose
- (v.) to reveal, make public (The CEO disclosed to the press that the company would have to fire several employees
- disparate
- (adj.) sharply differing, containing sharply contrasting elements (Having widely varying interests, the students had disparate responses toward the novel
- devious
- (adj.) not straightforward, deceitful (Not wanting to be punished, the devious girl blamed the broken vase on the cat
- culmination
- (n.) the climax toward which something progresses (The culmination of the couple's argument was the decision to divorce
- curtail
- (v.) to lessen, reduce (Since losing his job, he had to curtail his spending
- deprecate
- (v.) to belittle, depreciate (Always over-modest, he deprecated his contribution to the local charity
- congruity
- (n.) the quality of being in agreement (Bill and Veronica achieved a perfect congruity of opinion
- denounce
- (v.) to criticize publicly (The senator denounced her opponent as a greedy politician
- contemporaneous
- (adj.) existing during the same time (Though her novels do not
- disdain
- 1. (v.) to scorn, hold in low esteem (Insecure about their jobs, the older employees disdained the recently hired ones, who were young and capable.) 2. (n.) scorn, low esteem (After learning of his immoral actions, Justine held Lawrence in disdain
- cupidity
- (n.) greed, strong desire (His cupidity made him enter the abandoned gold mine despite the obvious dangers
- coup
- 1. (n.) a brilliant, unexpected act (Alexander pulled off an amazing coup when he got a date with Cynthia by purposely getting hit by her car.) 2. (n.) the overthrow of a government and assumption of authority (In their coup attempt, the army officers stormed the Parliament and took all the legislators hostage
- consolation
- (n.) an act of comforting (Darren found Alexandra's presence to be a consolation for his suffering
- contravene
- (v.) to contradict, oppose, violate (Edwidge contravened his landlady's rule against overnight guests