SAT Vocab Chapter 4: Not So Bright

Negative words

Ignorant

Lacking knowledge

Ex) The student’s lack of interest in history left her ___ of the important events and figures that shaped the world.

Oblivious

Unaware of one’s surroundings

Ex) He was so absorbed in his work that he was ___ to the noise and chaos

Gullible

Easily tricked or cheated

Ex) I fooled my ___ friend into believing the abandoned house in our neighborhood was hunted.

Credulous

Trusting and gullible in nature; ready to believe things without evidence or proof

Ex) A ___ tourist believed me when I told him there are leprechauns (Green dwarf) in Ireland.

Naive

Innocent and lacking in experience

Ex) The ___ man was easily lied to and misled.

Baffled

Hopelessly confused

Ex) No matter how long he stared at the equation, he remained ___ about how to solve it.

Bewildered

Completely confused

Ex) The traveler was ___ by the chaos of the marketplace.

Confounded

Confused and Surprised

Ex) The student was ___ by the complex equations and theories presented in the physics class.

Perplexed

Unable to understand something

Ex) The tutor specializes in explaining complicated ideas to students who were ___ by the lesson.

Nonplussed

Confused and unsure how to react

Ex) I was ___ by the presence of an unfamiliar large dog in my house.

Bemused

In a dazed or puzzled state

Ex) His sudden decision to change schools left his parents ___.

Disoriented

Dazed; without sense of direction

Ex) After performing fifteen cartwheels in a row, the amateur gymnast was ___ by and dizzy.

Dumbfounded

Unable to react or speak due to shock or surprise

Ex) She was left ___ when he suddenly proposed to her in the middle of the restaurant.

Inane

Insignificant or superficial; lacking substance

Ex) Their ___ conversation never moved beyond topics like the weather or that morning’s traffic

Obtuse

Irritatingly stupid; slow to understand things

Ex) No matter how many times they tried to explain to him, he was too ___ to understand

Vapid

Boring; giving no challenge or stimulation

Ex) Everyone at the party was ___ and had nothing of substance to say.

Rash

Hasty or reckless in action

Ex) Buying a second house without figuring out how to pay for it had been a ___ decision.

Hasty

Hurried; without spending necessary time or thought

Ex) They made a ___ retreat when they saw the skunk

Impetuous

Impulsive or rash in behavior or action

Ex) We made an ___ decision to move and sold our house immediately.

Reckless

Acting without regard for safety or consequence

Ex) The ___ young boy risked injuring himself by jumping headlong into every new adventure

Superficial

Lacking depth; concerned only with outward appearance than deeper substance

Ex) Questioning him on the subject revealed that he only had ___ knowledge and understood none of the complexities. Luckily, all of her wounds were ___ and would heal quickly.

Cursory

Done in a quick manner with no attention paid to detail

Ex) The mechanic gave the car a ___ check and missed a serious problem with the engine.

Cosmetic

Related to improving the outer appearance

Ex) They made only ___ changes to the house, such as new coat of paint, before trying to sell it. The man decided to undergo ___ surgery to fix his crooked nose.

Arbitrary

Decided on at random and without reason

Ex) Her choice of the green notebook over the blue notebook was casual and completely ____.

Haphazard

Unorganized; lacking neatness

Ex) Her ___ room had clothing tossed everywhere.

Indiscriminate

Not careful about one’s choice

Ex) His habit of being ___ about reading choices sometimes led to some very odd books.

Absurd

Very silly or ridiculous

Ex) She made increasingly ___ suggestions until she managed to get her friend to laugh

Preposterous

Very silly and unlikely

Ex) It was ___ to think that he could skip two grades without any preparation.

Ludicrous

Laughably foolish or unreasonable

Ex) The advertisement made the ___ claim that anyone can become fluent in a language in three days

Abysmal

Of an extremely poor standard

Ex) Last night’s performance wasn’t just bad, it was ___.

Appalling

Shocking and horrifying

Ex) The condition of the animals in the pet store was ___; they were dirty, hungry, and crammed into small cages.

Averse

Having a strong dislike or opposition to something

Ex) The athletes were ___ to using performance-enhancing drugs and believed in competing with natural ability.

Antithetical

Completely opposite

Ex) Cruelty to animals is ___to his beliefs.

Insubordinate

Disrespectful; rebellious towards authority

Ex) The employee took on ___ behavior by openly defying their boss’s orders, causing tension and conflict within the team.

Wayward

Erratic or unpredictable in behavior

Ex) The company’s profits are declining due to the ___ decisions of its CEO, who has been focusing more on his own personal gain.

Defiant

Boldly resistant or challenging; refusing to conform

Ex) The ___ teenager crossed their arms and refused to listen to his teacher’s lectures, making it clear that he was not interested.

Unruly

Difficult to control; willful or disobedient

Ex) The lifeguard threatened to ban the ___ children from the beach when they started splashing water at everyone.

Obstinate

Refusing to change one’s ideas or actions

Ex) She remained ___ despite all efforts to explain that she was making a mistake.

Willful

Refusing to listen or to change

Ex) The ___ toddler insisted on communicating only through pointing and crying.

Intractable

Not easily controlled or managed; stubborn and difficult

Ex) Headaches were source of ___ pain that no medication seemed to help. His ___ dog refused to stop chewing on the furinature.

Entrenched

Firmly established and unlikely to change

Ex) The older man’s beliefs were clearly ___ and he was not persuaded by any new arguments.

Ingrained

Existing for so long that it is permanent

Ex) She worried that biting her fingernails was a habit so ___ that she would never managed to stop.