SAT Vocab Part 1

earnest

(adj.) serious and intentional

solemn

(adj.) serious, formal, grave

deferential

(adj.) showing respect to others who are superior to you in any way

revere

(verb) to deeply respect and worship; to be in awe of

benevolent

(adj.) well-meaning and charitable

endearing

adorable; inspiring love and affection

sinister

(adj.) bad or evil

serious

zealous, sober, momentous

respectful

regardful, yielding, exalted

kind

altruistic, benign, compassionate

spiteful

malign, pernicious, noxious

genuine

(adj.) true, real, heartfelt

candid

(adj.) frank, honest, or straightforward

authentic

(adj.) traditional; undisturbed by novelty; based on facts; pure and honest

virtuous

(adj.) having or exhibited morality; morally excellent, righteous

sincere

ardent, unfeigned

hoax

(noun) deception of a malicious or humorous manner

disguise

(verb) to obscure the truth or appearance

deception

(noun) the act of deceiving

fabricate

(verb) to make up from thin air

complacent

(adj.) marked by a fake satisfaction or happiness with the current state of things

fake

counterfeit, fraudulent, phony

ambivalent

(adj.) the state of having conflicted feelings

ambiguous

(adj.) unclear or obscure

equivocal

(adj.) unclear, open to more than one interpretation

dubious

(adj.) arguable, questionable, or debatable

enigmatic

(adj.) difficult to interpret

vague

obscure, nebulous

denounce

(verb) to condemn, to complain about publicly

lament

(verb) to mourn a person's death or complain about something unsatisfactory

condemn

(verb) to express utter and complete disapproval

complain

bemoan, bewail, deplore

muse

(verb) to think about deeply

reflect

(verb) to think about carefully

reminisce

(verb) to indulge in the recollection of past events

nostalgic

(adj.) feeling warmly sentimental about the past

recollet

ponder, ruminate

apprehensive

(adj.) fearful that something bad might happen

restless

(adj.) perpetually worried about something; unable to mentally relax

agitated

(adj.) worried and nervous

queasy

(adj.) worried and nervous to the point of being nauseous; troubled

worried

anxious, flustered

concede

(verb) to reluctantly or unwillingly agree

condone

(verb) to allow something to continue happening

concur

(verb) to agree and be of the same opinion

agree

consent, acquiesce

proliferate

(verb) to multiply and increase rapidly in number

ubiquitous

(adj.) appearing to be everywhere

lucrative

(adj.) profitable

flourish

burgeon, snowball (v.), mushroom (v.)

poignant

(adj.) evoking keen sadness

despondent

(adj.) sad or disheartened

dejected

(adj.) sad and low-spirited

sad

melancholy, crestfallen

violate

(verb) to break; to disregard

defy

(verb) to go against; to refuse to obey

refute

(verb) to prove wrong

negate

(verb) to invalidate; nullify

oppose

scoff (at), confront, withstand

mar

(verb) to impair and therefore make less than perfect

disfigure

(verb) to spoil the appearance of

make less perfect

sully, impair, contaminate

cease

(verb) to stop existing or stop doing

terminate

(verb) to interrupt

finite

(adj.) having an end or final count

come to an end

discontinue, quit

tenacious

(adj.) determined and committed

relentless

(adj.) inflexible and incessant in intensity

inexorable

(adj.) unstoppable or impossible to prevent

inevitable

(adj.) unavoidable

unstoppable

persevere, unceasing

adversary

(noun) an opponent or enemy

rival

(noun) an opponent competing for the same goal

perpetrator

(noun) one carrying out an act of wrongdoing

antagonist

(noun) one who actively opposes the main figure, the protagonist

contender

(noun) a contestant or candidate

ally

(noun) one that supports another in an ongoing effort

confidant

(noun) one you can trust and share secrets with

amiable

(adj.) friendly, displaying a positive and supportive attitude

friendly

amicable, gregarious

disdain

(noun) an intense dislike

contempt

(noun) a feeling of dislike for something you consider inferior

reproach

(verb) to express disapproval

dislike

rebuke, censure

provenance

(noun) origin

genesis

(noun) the origin or mode of formation

inception

(noun) the starting point of existence

advent

(noun) an emergence or arrival of something

origin

derivation, commencement

implore

(verb) to beg

entreat

(verb) to ask earnestly

beseech

(verb) to ask with enthusiasm

decree

(verb) to order formally; to command

badger

(verb) to put pressure on someone by asking repeatedly

plea

(noun) a request from an authority

aspiration

(noun) a desire to acheive something

yearning

(noun) a feeling of intense

fervor

(noun) intense feeling of passion

desire

longing, craving

impunity

(noun) immunity from punishment for a wrongdoing