SAT terms 11-20

Enervate

To weaken; to lessen the strength of

Celestial

Having to do with the heavens; divine

Tawdry

Gaudy and cheap; vulgarly ornamental

Furtive

Done quickly and with stealth to avoid being noticed; secret

Incisive

Keen; penetrating

Lucid

Easily understood; rational; clear; clear-minded

Peruse

To study; to read

Censure

To blame; to criticize

Engender

To cause; to produce; being into being

Incongruous

Inappropriate; out of place

Philistine

narrow-minded; strongly conventional

Writhe

To twist or squirm; as in pain; to suffer

Ungainly

clumsy; awakward; hard to handle

Zenith

The point in the sky directly above one; the highest point

Aloof

indifferent; imsympathetic; not interested; apart

Chimerical

Absurd; widly fanciful

Scrupulous

Very honest and conscientious; careful about claimed expense

Temerity

Rashness; foolish or reckless boldness

Vicarious

Taking place of another; experienced through sympathetic participation in the experience of another

Ambivalence

condition of having conflicting attitudes

Ameliorate

To make better or more tolerable

Diatribe

A denunciation

Ephemeral

Lasting only for a short time

Equanimity

Evenness of temper

Incorrigible

Too firmly fixed to be reformed or changed

Pique

To hurt the feelings of or make resentful; to arouse; to excite

Clandestine

secret

Didactic

Intended to instruct

Equivocate

To use ambiguous or unclear expressions in order to mislead

Placate

To soothe; to pacify

Sectarian

Pertaining to a group within a larger group that is limited by common beliefs or interests

Colloquial

Conversational; used in an informal speech or writing

Indigent

Poverty stricken

Placid

Outwardly clam or composed; self-satisfied; peaceful

Terse

Using only a few words but clear to the point; polished

Antithesis

direct opposite

Commiserate

To sympathize with

Evanescent

gradually disappearing; fleeting

Ingratiate

To make oneself acceptable

Urbane

polished

Vitriolic

Extremely biting or caustic; sharp and bitter

Apocryphal

Of doubtful authenticity; counterfeit

Conciliatory

Tending to soothe or reconcile

Disparage

To discredit; to belittle

Expedient

Useful; advantageous

Platitude

A thought or remake that is dull, trite, flat, or weak

Inscrutable

so mysterious that it cannot be understood

Dissipated

Given to indulging excessively in sensual pleasure

Extol

To praise highly

Ponderous

Very heavy; bulky; labored, dull, or tiresome

Respite

A temporary cessation or postponement, usually of something disagreeable; interval of rest

Solemn

Observed or done according to tradition

Voracious

Ravenous; greedy; gluttonous