SAT Vocab Series 21-30

wither

→ wither away

(1) if a plant withers or something withers it, it dries up and dies

• The grass had withered in the warm sun

(2) become less or weaker, especially before disappearing completely

• All our hopes just withered away

evince

~ manifest, indicate

to show clearly that you have a feeling or quality

• He evinced a strong desire to be reconciled with his family.

• She evinced little enthusiasm for the outdoor life

palpable

~ clear, apparent, certain, conspicuous

• detectable

• discernible

• evident

• noticeable

• perceptible

• unmistakable

• visible

scrupulous

(1) ~ meticulous

(2) careful to be honest and do what is right

• He was scrupulous in all his business dealings

arbiter (of something)

a person with the power or influence to make judgements and decide what will be done or accepted

• The law is the final arbiter of what is considered obscene.

• an arbiter of taste/style/fashion

momentous

historic

ornate

covered with a lot of decoration, especially when this involves very small or complicated designs

lofty

(of a thought, an aim, etc.) deserving praise because of its high moral quality

• lofty ambitions/ideals/principles

consign

to put somebody/something somewhere in order to get rid of them/it

• I consigned her letter to the wastebasket.

to put somebody/something in an unpleasant situation

• The decision to close the factory has consigned 6 000 people to the scrapheap

mar

to damage something or make something less good or successfulsynonym blight, ruin

• The game was marred by the behaviour of rowdy fans.

pertinent

relevant

lament ~ bemoan ~ bewail

to have or express very sad feelings about somebody/something

• In the poem he laments the destruction of the countryside

parry

~ ward off, circumvent, fend off

to avoid having to answer a difficult question, criticism, etc., especially by replying in the same way

• She parried all questions about their relationship

to defend yourself against somebody who is attacking you by pushing their arm, weapon, etc. to one side

facile

~ effortless

• a facile victory

banal

ordinary, unimportant

impasse

~ deadlock

• to break/end the impasse

• Negotiations have reached an impasse

docile

quiet and easy to control

The negative expectation from women found further amplification in both employers' and unions' stereotyping women as “………………” and manageable workers.

tacit

that is suggested indirectly or understood, rather than said in words

• tacit approval/support/knowledge

sage (n)

(n) very wise person

(adj) wise

callous

cruel, insensitive, apathetic, cold-blooded, indifferent, heartless, unsympathetic

alacrity

​great happiness or enthusiasm

• They accepted the offer with alacrity

zenith

~ peak

miscontrue

misinterpret

denigrate

~ belittle, undermine

nullify

(agreement, law) invalidate, negate

abrasive

(of a person or their manner) rude and unkind; acting in a way that may hurt other people’s feelings

• an abrasive style/tone/comment

ostentation

→ ostentious

an exaggerated display of wealth, knowledge or skill that is made in order to impress people

• The house was spacious but without any trace of ostentation

iconoclasm

the beliefs and behaviour of an iconoclast (= a person who criticizes popular beliefs or established customs and ideas)

• the iconoclasm of composers like Arnold Schoenberg

tantamount to

having the same bad effect as something else

• If he resigned it would be tantamount to admitting that he was guilty

grief

→ grievous

very serious and often causing great pain or difficulty

aggrieved at/by something

feeling that you have been treated unfairly

• He had every right to feel aggrieved at the decision.

infraction ~ transgression

infringement, breach

• minor infractions of EU regulations

hallmark

indication

predicate st/ on, upon sth

~ assert, posit, stipulate

~ to base something on a particular belief, idea or principle

• Democracy is predicated upon the rule of law

paucity (of something)

a small amount of something; less than enough of something

• a paucity of information

indoctrinate ~ instill (in a bad way)

• They had been indoctrinated from an early age with their parents' beliefs.

• The aim of religious education in this school is not to indoctrinate children into any one religious faith

appease ~ pacify ~ tranquilize

to make somebody calmer or less angry by giving them what they want

• The move was widely seen as an attempt to appease critics of the regime

demarcate

tách ra

to mark or establish the limits of something

• Plots of land have been demarcated by barbed wire.

expound something (to somebody)

to explain something by talking about it in detail

• He expounded his views on the subject to me at great length

stewardship

care

attrition

fade over time, wearing down/away

~ tiêu hao

• It was a war of attrition.

• These were the economics not of efficiency but of attrition

recur → recurrence

~ reoccur

retrieve

recover

importunate

asking for things many times in a way that is annoying

• importunate demands/pleas

elusive

difficult to find, define or achieve

• Eric, as elusive as ever, was nowhere to be found

ossify

(formal, disapproving) to become or make something fixed and unable to change, become hard from aging

• an ossified political system