Common Second Meanings - SAT Reading Book

Afford

grant (e.g., an opportunity)

Appreciate

to take into account, recognized the merits of, OR to increase in value

Arrest

to stop

Asume

to take on responsibility for, acquire

Austerity

financial policy to reduce excess spending on luxury or non-essential items

Badger

to pester or annoy

Bent

liking for

Capacity

ability

Chance

to attempt

Channel

to direct something (ex: energy, money) toward a specific purpose

Check

to restrain, control, or reduce

Coin

to invent

Compromise

to endanger or make vulnerable

Constitution

build

Conviction

certainty, determination (noun form of convinced)

Couch

to hide

Discriminating

able to make fine distinctions

Doctor

to tamper with

Economy

thrift (ex: a writer who has an ___ style is one who uses few words)

Embroider

to falsify, make up stories about

Execute

to carry out

Exploit

make use of (does not have a negative connotation)

Facility

ability to do something easily

Foil

to put a stop to

Grave/Gravity

serious(ness)

Grill

to question intensely and repeatedly

Hamper

to get in the way of, hinder

Harbor

to possess, hold

Hobble

prevent, impede

Plastic

able to be changed, malleable

Provoke

elicit (e.g., a reaction)

Realize

to achieve (a goal)

Reconcile

to bring together opposing or contradictory ideas

Relay

to pass on to someone else

Relate

to tell, give an account of (a story)

Reservations

misgivings

Reserve

to hold off on

Ruffled

flustered, nonplussed

Sap

to drain

Scrap

to eliminate, get rid of

Shelve/Table

to reject or discard

Solvent

able to pay all debts (usually used in a business context)

Sound

firm, stable, reliable, valid

Spare, severe

unadorned, very plain

Static

unchanging

Sustain

to withstand

Uniform

constant, unvarying

Unqualified

absolute

Upset

to interfere with an expected outcome