SAT vocab 19-20

assuage

to calm or soothe; to satisfy. Mother hastened to the bedroom to assuage Beth's

fears.

concise

saying much in few words; brief but full of meaning. Ray has the envious

reputation of being concise and to the point in everything he writes.

disperse

to send off in different locations. When the tear gas is hurled, the crowd will

disperse.

expedite

to make easy and quick; to speed up. In order to expedite matters we hired

three additional workers.

inscrutable

so mysterious that it cannot be understood. We looked to Dora for a

positive reactions, but her face was inscrutable.

pompous

self-important; stately; magnificent; excessively ornate. The pompous

doorman refused to admit the disheveled woman.

resilient

getting back strength or spirits quickly; spinging back into shape or

position. Blanca was so resilient that she was back on the field two weeks after the accident.

sobriety

seriousness, gravity, or solemnity; absence of alcoholic intoxication. The

extreme sobriety of five-year-old veribuca indicated a not very salutary sign of her development.

tirade

a long, angry, or scolding speech; a harangue. With the ferocity of a wild bird

sinking its talons into its prey, the senator lambasted his opponent in a tirade that left no fault

unexposed, no weakness unexploited.

voluminous

large, bulky; enough to fill volumes. Dickens’ voluminous writings

fill many library shelves.

atrophy

to waste away. Failure to exercise your muscles may cause them to atrophy.

condone

to forgive or overlook. I can commiserate with you, but I find it hard to

condone the action you took.

disposition

nature; tendency. The melancholy foreman had disdain for any worker

with a cherry disposition.

expunge

to erase; to remove completely. Miss Porter promised to expunge the bad

conduct notation from Danielle’s report card if she improved conspicuously.

insipid;

lacking interest or spirit. In a devastatingly incisive review, one critic

disparaged the novel as insipid and boring.

augment;

to increase or enlarge; to become greater in size. If we augment our arms

stockpile, our enemies will do the same.

conspicuous;

clearly visible; remarkable. With her green punk hairdo, Tina was the

most conspicuous guest at the party.

dissipated;

given to indulging excessively in sensual pleasures. As the weeks went by,

the portrait slowly took on a dissipated look while the models face remained cryptically youthful.

extol;

to praise highly. It's my intention to extol Bonnie's successful fund-raising efforts at

our next club meeting.

insurgent;

one who rises in revolt. Government representation questioned the insurgent

sharply but he remained silently and impassive.

ponderous;

very heavy; bulky; labored and dull or tiresome. Modern science has not

yet solved the mystery of how the Aztecs were able to lift ponderous stones with their meager tools.

respite;

a temporary cessation or postponement, usually of something disagreeable; interval

of rest. The union leader announced, "We are too close to victory to take a respite from our labors."

solemn;

observed or done according to ritual or tradition; formal; serious or earnest;

arousing feelings of awe; very impressive. Before giving testimony in court, a witness is a required

to take a solemn oath that he or she will tell the whole truth.

trepidation;

a trembling; apprehension; a state of alarm and dread. The memory of Black

Monday has filled the investors with trepidation about risking more of their money in the stock

market.

voracious;

ravenous; greedy; gluttonous. Since her junior year, Susan has been a

voracious worker.

austere;

stern in manner or appearance; strict in morals. Their household, governed by

an austere father, was a humorless and unhappy place.

copious;

abundant. Professor Highet gave us copious notes throughout his course on

Dante.

distraught;

in a state of mental conflict and confusion; distracted. Ophelia distraught

brother flung himself into her grave and uttered a bombastic challenge to Hamlet.

intemperate;

lacking in self-control. Intemperate at the dinner table, Hudson's weight

ballooned to 300 pounds.

pragmatic;

practical; opinionated; concerned with actual practice rather than with

theory or speculation. The public opinion poll has been accepted as a pragmatic way of determining

the thinking of the people at a given point in time.