sat words D-E
136 words
Terms
undefined, object
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- expunge
- (v.) to obliterate, eradicate (Fearful of an IRS investigation, Paul tried to expunge all incriminating evidence from his tax files
- 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
- disclose
- (v.) to reveal, make public (The CEO disclosed to the press that the company would have to fire several employees
- disheartened
- (adj.) feeling a loss of spirit or morale (The team was disheartened after losing in the finals of the tournament
- emaciated
- (adj.) very thin, enfeebled looking (My sister eats a lot of pastries and chocolate but still looks emaciated
- 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
- deliberate
- (adj.) intentional, reflecting careful consideration (Though Mary was quite upset, her actions to resolve the dispute were deliberate
- exult
- (v.) to rejoice (When she found out she won the literature prize, Mary exulted by dancing and singing through the school's halls
- 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
- exorbitant
- (adj.) excessive (Her exorbitant praise made me blush and squirm in my seat
- elicit
- (v.) to bring forth, draw out, evoke (Although I asked several times where the exit was, I elicited no response from the stone-faced policeman
- 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
- enervate
- (v.) to weaken, exhaust (Writing these sentences enervates me so much that I will have to take a nap after I finish
- 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
- epistolary
- (adj.) relating to or contained in letters (Some people call me "Auntie's boy," because my aunt and I have such a close epistolary relationship that we write each other every day
- enamor
- (v.) to fill with love, fascinate, usually used in passive form followed by "of" or "with" (I grew enamored of that boy when he quoted my favorite love poem
- deride
- (v.) to laugh at mockingly, scorn (The bullies derided the foreign student's accent
- engender
- (v.) to bring about, create, generate (During the Olympics, the victories of
- exasperate
- (v.) to irritate, irk (George's endless complaints exasperated his roomate
- encumber
- (v.) to weigh down, burden (At the airport, my friend was encumbered by her luggage, so I offered to carry two of her bags
- erudite
- (adj.) learned (My Latin teacher is such an erudite scholar that he has translated some of the most difficult and abstruse ancient poetry
- exigent
- (adj.) urgent, critical (The patient has an exigent need for medication, or else he will lose his sight
- execrable
- (adj.) loathsome, detestable (Her pudding is so execrable that it makes me sick
- dither
- (v.) to be indecisive (Not wanting to offend either friend, he dithered about which of the two birthday parties he should attend
- empathy
- (n.) sensitivity to another's feelings as if they were one's own (I feel such empathy for my sister when she's in pain that I cry too
- disparate
- (adj.) sharply differing, containing sharply contrasting elements (Having widely varying interests, the students had disparate responses toward the novel
- diminutive
- (adj.) small or miniature (The bullies, tall and strong, picked on the diminutive child
- divine
- (adj.) godly, exceedingly wonderful (Terribly fond of desserts, she found the rich chocolate cake to be divine
- enfranchise
- (v.) to grant the vote to (The Nineteenth Amendment enfranchised women
- dissent
- 1. (v.) to disagree (The principal argued that the child should repeat the fourth grade, but the unhappy parents dissented.) 2. (n.) the act of disagreeing (Unconvinced that the defendant was guilty, the last juror voiced his dissent with the rest of the jury
- demean
- (v.) to lower the status or stature of something (She refused to demean her secretary by making him order her lunch
- effervescent
- (adj.) bubbly, lively (My friend is so effervescent that she makes everyone smile
- deleterious
- (adj.) harmful (She experienced the deleterious effects of running a marathon without stretching her muscles enough beforehand
- discordant
- (adj.) not agreeing, not in harmony with (The girls' sobs were a discordant sound amid the general laughter that filled the restaurant
- disperse
- (v.) to scatter, cause to scatter (When the rain began to pour, the crowd at the baseball game quickly dispersed
- eloquent
- (adj.) expressive, articulate, moving (The priest gave such an eloquent sermon that most churchgoers were crying
- divisive
- (adj.) causing dissent, discord (Her divisive tactics turned her two friends against each other
- expiate
- (v.) to make amends for, atone (To expiate my selfishness, I gave all my profits to charity
- epitome
- (n.) a perfect example, embodiment (My mother, the epitome of good taste, always dresses more elegantly than I do
- embellish
- 1. (v.) to decorate, adorn (My mom embellished the living room by adding
- exculpate
- (v.) to free from guilt or blame, exonerate (My discovery of the ring behind the dresser exculpated me from the charge of having stolen it
- denounce
- (v.) to criticize publicly (The senator denounced her opponent as a greedy politician
- extant
- (adj.) existing, not destroyed or lost (My mother's extant love letters to my father are in the attic trunk
- dour
- (adj.)stern, joyless (The children feared their dour neighbor because the old man would take their toys if he believed they were being too loud
- embezzle
- (v.) to steal money by falsifying records (The accountant was fired for embezzling $10,000 of the company's funds
- elaborate
- (adj.) complex, detailed, intricate (Dan always beats me at chess because he develops such an elaborate game plan that I can never predict his next move
- destitute
- (adj.) impoverished, utterly lacking (The hurricane destroyed many homes and left many families destitute
- ephemeral
- (adj.) short-lived, fleeting (She promised she'd love me forever, but her "forever" was only ephemeral: she left me after one week
- distend
- (v.) to swell out (Years of drinking beer caused his stomach to distend
- ethereal
- (adj.) heavenly, exceptionally delicate or refined (In her flowing silk gown and lace veil, the bride looked ethereal
- decorous
- (adj.) socially proper, appropriate (The appreciative guest displayed decorous behavior toward his host
- effulgent
- (adj.) radiant, splendorous (The golden palace was effulgent
- enmity
- (n.) ill will, hatred, hostility (Mark and Andy have clearly not forgiven each other, because the enmity between them is obvious to anyone in their presence
- debacle
- (n.) a disastrous failure, disruption (The elaborately designed fireworks show turned into a debacle when the fireworks started firing in random directions
- deferential
- (adj.) showing respect for another's authority (His deferential attitude toward her made her more confident in her ability to run the company
- enthrall
- (v.) to charm, hold spellbound (The sailor's stories of fighting off sharks and finding ancient treasures enthralled his young son
- dormant
- (adj.) sleeping, temporarily inactive (Though she pretended everything was fine, her anger lay dormant throughout the dinner party and exploded in screams of rage after everyone had left
- dissonance
- (n.) lack of harmony or consistency (Though the president of the company often spoke of the company as reliant solely upon its workers, her decision to increase her own salary rather than reward her employees revealed a striking dissonance between her alleged beliefs and her actions
- dubious
- (adj.) doubtful, of uncertain quality (Suspicious that he was only trying to get a raise, she found his praise dubious
- deprecate
- (v.) to belittle, depreciate (Always over-modest, he deprecated his contribution to the local charity
- diligent
- (adj.) showing care in doing one's work (The diligent researcher made sure to check her measurements multiple times
- expedient
- (adj.) advisable, advantageous, serving one's self-interest (In his bid for
- deplore
- (v.) to feel or express sorrow, disapproval (We all deplored the miserable working conditions in the factory
- efficacious
- (adj.) effective (My doctor promised me that the cold medicine was efficacious, but I'm still sniffling
- equivocal
- (adj.) ambiguous, uncertain, undecided (His intentions were so equivocal that I didn't know whether he was being chivalrous or sleazy
- equanimity
- (n.) composure (Even though he had just been fired, Mr. Simms showed great equanimity by neatly packing up his desk and wishing everyone in the office well
- elucidate
- (v.) to clarify, explain (I didn't understand why my friend was so angry with me, so I asked Janine to elucidate her feelings
- elegy
- (n.) a speech given in honor of a dead person (At the funeral, the widow gave a moving elegy describing her love for her husband
- 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
- extraneous
- (adj.) irrelevant, extra, not necessary (Personal political ambitions should always remain extraneous to legislative policy, but, unfortunately, they rarely are
- delineate
- (v.) to describe, outline, shed light on (She neatly delineated her reasons for canceling the project's funding
- evince
- (v.) to show, reveal (Christopher's hand-wringing and nail-biting evince how nervous he is about the upcoming English test
- eminent
- 1. (adj.) distinguished, prominent, famous (Mr. Phillips is such an eminent
- exalt
- (v.) to glorify, praise (Michael Jordan is the figure in basketball we exalt the most
- etymology
- (n.) the history of words, their origin and development (From the study of etymology, I know that the word "quixotic" derives from Don Quixote and the word "gaudy" refers to the Spanish architect Gaudí
- 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
- dispatch
- (v.) to send off to accomplish a duty (The carpenter dispatched his assistant to fetch wood
- 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
- divulge
- (v.) to reveal something secret (Pressured by the press, the government finally divulged the previously unknown information
- excursion
- (n.) a trip or outing (After taking an excursion to the Bronx Zoo, I dreamed about pandas and monkeys
- 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
- evanescent
- (adj.) fleeting, momentary (My joy at getting promoted was evanescent
- exonerate
- (v.) to free from guilt or blame, exculpate (The true thief's confession exonerated the man who had been held in custody for the crime
- edict
- (n.) an order, decree (The ruler issued an edict requiring all of his subjects to bow down before him
- deft
- (adj.) skillful, capable (Having worked in a bakery for many years, Marcus was a deft bread maker
- daunting
- (adj.) intimidating, causing one to lose courage (He kept delaying the daunting act of asking for a promotion
- extol
- (v.) to praise, revere (Violet extolled the virtues of a vegetarian diet to her meat-loving brother
- emollient
- (adj.) soothing (This emollient cream makes my skin very smooth
- dearth
- (n.) a lack, scarcity (An eager reader, she was dismayed by the dearth of classic books at the library
- 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
- debase
- (v.) to lower the quality or esteem of something (The large raise that he gave himself debased his motives for running the charity
- desiccated
- (adj.) dried up, dehydrated (The skin of the desiccated mummy looked like old paper
- excavate
- (v.) to dig out of the ground and remove (The pharaoh's treasures were excavated by archeologists in Egypt
- empirical
- 1. (adj.) based on observation or experience (The scientist gathered empirical data on the growth rate of dandelions by studying the dandelions behind his house
- disseminate
- (v.) to spread widely (The politician disseminated his ideas across the town before the election
- dissipate
- 1. (v.) to disappear, cause to disappear (The sun finally came out and dissipated the haze.) 2. (v.) to waste (She dissipated her fortune on a series of bad investments
- encore
- (n.) the audience's demand for a repeat performance; also the artist's
- expurgate
- (v.) to remove offensive or incorrect parts, usually of a book (The history editors expurgated from the text all disparaging and inflammatory comments about the Republican Party
- 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
- discern
- (v.) to perceive, detect (Though he hid his emotions, she discerned from his body language that he was angry
- desolate
- (adj.) deserted, dreary, lifeless (She found the desolate landscape quite a contrast to the hustle and bustle of the overcrowded city
- espouse
- (v.) to take up as a cause, support (I love animals so much that I espouse animal rights
- elude
- (v.) to evade, escape (Despite an intense search, the robber continues to elude the police
- denigrate
- (v.) to belittle, diminish the opinion of (The company decided that its advertisements would no longer denigrate the company's competitors
- egregious
- (adj.) extremely bad (The student who threw sloppy joes across the cafeteria was punished for his egregious behavior
- dirge
- (n.) a mournful song, especially for a funeral (The bagpipers played a dirge as the casket was carried to the cemetery
- 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
- deter
- (v.) to discourage, prevent from doing (Bob's description of scary snakes couldn't deter Marcia from traveling in the rainforests
- exacerbate
- (v.) to make more violent, intense (The gruesome and scary movie I saw last night exacerbated my fears of the dark
- enigmatic
- (adj.) mystifying, cryptic (That man wearing the dark suit and dark glasses is so enigmatic that no one even knows his name
- exhort
- (v.) to urge, prod, spur (Henry exhorted his colleagues to join him in protesting against the university's hiring policies
- 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
- dogmatic
- (adj.) aggressively and arrogantly certain about unproved principles (His dogmatic claim that men were better than women at fixing appliances angered everyone
- euphoric
- (adj.) elated, uplifted (I was euphoric when I found out that my sister had given birth to twins
- depravity
- (n.) wickedness (Rumors of the ogre's depravity made the children afraid to enter the forest
- ebullient
- (adj.) extremely lively, enthusiastic (She became ebullient upon receiving an acceptance letter from her first-choice college
- ecstatic
- (adj.) intensely and overpoweringly happy (The couple was ecstatic when they learned that they had won the lottery
- diaphanous
- (adj.) light, airy, transparent (Sunlight poured in through the diaphanous curtains, brightening the room
- deface
- (v.) to ruin or injure something's appearance (The brothers used eggs and shaving cream to deface their neighbor's mailbox
- duress
- (n.) hardship, threat (It was only under intense duress that he, who was normally against killing, fired his gun
- discomfit
- (v.) to thwart, baffle (The normally cheery and playful children's sudden misery discomfited the teacher
- efface
- (v.) to wipe out, obliterate, rub away (The husband was so angry at his wife for
- emote
- (v.) to express emotion (The director told the actor he had to emote, or else the audience would have no idea what his character was going through
- extricate
- (v.) to disentangle (Instead of trying to mediate between my brother and sister, I extricated myself from the family tension entirely and left the house for the day
- 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
- effrontery
- (n.) impudence, nerve, insolence (When I told my aunt that she was boring, my mother scolded me for my effrontery
- emulate
- (v.) to imitate (I idolize Britney Spears so much that I emulate everything she does: I wear her outfits, sing along to her songs, and date a boy named Justin
- devious
- (adj.) not straightforward, deceitful (Not wanting to be punished, the devious girl blamed the broken vase on the cat
- conspicuous
- (There is an eminent stain on that shirt
- demure
- (adj.) quiet, modest, reserved (Though everyone else at the party was dancing and going crazy, she remained demure
- elated
- (adj.) overjoyed, thrilled (When she found out she had won the lottery, the writer was elated
- entail
- (v.) to include as a necessary step (Building a new fence entails tearing down the old one
- decry
- (v.) to criticize openly (The kind video rental clerk decried the policy of charging customers late fees
- 2.
- (adj.) capable of being proved or disproved by experiment (That all cats hate getting wet is an empirical statement: I can test it by bathing my cat, Trinket
- duplicity
- (n.) crafty dishonesty (His duplicity involved convincing his employees to let him lower their salaries and increase their stock options, and then to steal the money he saved and run the company into the ground