Vocabulary Cartoons SAT Word Power

abhor

to hate very much,

It is a fact that most people _____ the thought of public speaking.

abominate

to dislike strongly

David ___________ vegetables, he doesn't even want them of his dinner plate.

abridge

to shorten

An ________ dictionary is one that has been shortened.

abstruse

hard to understand

Chemistry is an ________ subject of study for many students.

abut

to border upon

Texas _____ Mexico on its southern border.

abyss

bottomless pit

Staring down the _____ of the mine shaft we were uncertain of how deep it really was.

accolade

an award, an honor

After running in his first marathon, Mike said he didn't do it for the _________, he just wanted to get back in shape.

adjunct

something added

Hang gliding is only an _______ to Roseanna's real love, which is skydiving.

affidavit

a sworn written statement

The defense lawyer had a sworn ________ from witnesses claiming his client was innocent of the crime charged against him.

affinity

a natural attraction

Monkeys have an ________ for climbing, birds for flying, and fish for swimming.

aftermath

a consequence of;

Poverty and economic depression are usually the _________ of wars.

aggrandize

to exaggerate

Ladies acquire GRAND EYES with mascara and false eyelashes to __________ their eyes.

ajar

slightly open; partially open

When the police carefully examined the crime scene, they found a window had been left ____.

alienate

to cause to feel unwelcome; to make hostile; estranged

Barb was ___________ from her group when they learned that she was the town gossip.

alleviate

to make less severe; to relieve, to lessen

Aspirin __________ painful headaches most of the time.

allure

to entice with something desirable; tempt; power of attraction

Not all fish LURES ______ all fish.

aloof

distant, reserved in manner; uninvolved

The cat is so _____, when guests come she hides on the ROOF.

also-ran

one who is defeated in a race, election, or other competition; loser

The tortoise was an ________ until he strapped on an AWESOME FAN.

altercation

a heated quarrel

The Mafia had a slight ___________ with the police, the ten gang members were arrested and booked in downtown Manhattan.

alternative

the choice between two possibilities.

The ____________ to playing in the band was to go out for the football team.

ambiance

mood, feeling; general atmosphere

The ________ in the Italian restaurant was delightful; there was soft music, candlelight, and singing waiters.

amenable

agreeable, responsible to authority, pleasant, willing to give in to the wishes of another

The ________ young man helped the old lady carry her groceries to her car.

amplify

to make larger

The music was _________ to the point where the guests couldn't hear themselves speak.

antecedent

going before

The hand that plants the SEED is the __________ to the hand that picks the flower.

anterior

situated in front

There is the ________ up front, the interior inside, the exterior outside, and the posterior bringing up the rear.

appalling

filling with dismay

It was absolutely _________ the way Jews were treated in Nazi Germany during World War II.

aptitude

natural ability; capacity for learning

Laura has an ________ for numbers; ever since she was young she always received high marks in math class.

archaic

ancient; outdated

Her parents had an absolutely _______ idea of dating. She not only had to be in by nine o'clock, but her aunt chaperoned her on all her dates.

arduous

hard, difficult

The assignment given the recruits was an _______ twenty mile hike with full packs in the hot sun.

artisan

a worker skilled in a craft

The Italian painter and sculptor Michelangelo was both an artist and an _______.

askew

crooked; awry

The tire wouldn't fit on the car because in the accident the axle had been bent _____.

aspire

to seek, attain, or achieve a goal

Tim _______ to be the valedictorian of his class at graduation and studied hard to reach that goal.

assuage

in separate parts; to soothe; to make less severe; to satisfy, ease, lessen

A good MASSAGE is known to ______ sore muscles and relieve uptight feelings.

astute

shrewd, clever, keen

Mary was known to be very ______. She was always the first to finish her assignments.

asunder

in separate parts; apart from each other in position

When the earthquake stopped, and we came up from our shelter, we found the city had been torn _______ and not one single building was left standing.

atrophy

to wither away

The ________ condition of the mummy was apparent as soon as the tomb was opened.

atypical

not typical, abnormal

His parents agreed it was most ________ of John to stay home and study Saturday night when he could have gone to the movies with his friends.

austere

stern, as in manner; without excess, unadorned, severely simple and plain

The _________ of life in the village was understandable. Many were jobless and evidence of poverty was everywhere.

badger

to tease, annoy, harass

"Don't ______ me," Louis said to his daughter. "I promised I'd take you to the mall, so please be patient until I finish my work."

ballistics

the study of the flight of projectiles

Detective Culleton specializes in __________ and is always called to a crime scene whenever a firearm is involved.

balm

soothing

There's nothing like a _____ breeze whispering through PALM trees.

beget

to give birth to

The Wright brothers didn't invent the airplane, but they were the _________ of the first sustained flight in the United States.

beleaguer

to besiege; beset, surround, harass

The ship was ___________ by the constant attack of enemy fighter planers.

bereave

suffering the death of a loved one

When their pony died, the ________ children were told by their mother that everyone dies, and it was all right to cry and feel sad for a time.

beset

to harass; to surround

We were to have gone to the beach for a sunny vacation, but were _____ with a week of rain and cold weather.

bizarre

extremely unconventional

"Wasn't he _______?" Lorna said of the strange man who appeared from nowhere and offered her an apple.

blather

to talk nonsensically

Children have great imaginations, and often _______ about ghosts that supposedly enter their rooms and either scare them or play with them.

bleak

depressing, discouraging, harsh

Sometimes a simple LEAK can lead to _____ consequences.

bludgeon

a short, heavy thick club

The police arrested the lumberjack on suspicion of ___________ a co-worker with an axe handle.

bucolic

rural or rustic in nature; country-like

Mr. Pride's farm, with its peaceful green pastures and a babbling brook, was the perfect _______ setting for a picnic.

bulwark

a defensive wall

The budget for national defense is an economic burden for all taxpayers, but we must never forget our armed services are the _______ of defense for the nation.

cache

a hiding place

Treasure hunters have searched for Blackbeard's treasure in Bahamian caves, but no one has yet found his _____.

cacophony

harsh sounds

An unpleasant _________ of sound was produced as the orchestra tuned their instruments. But once they began to play together the sounds became euphonious.

cajole

to wheedle, coax, or persuade

Some of the younger Republicans were _______ into voting for the Democratic candidate because he promised to lower the voting age.

callous

insensitive; unfeeling

The _______ movie star would not sign autographs or even acknowledge her fans.

callow

immature and inexperienced

Our dad was so ______ he made his first dive in our SHALLOW kiddie pool.

candor

truthfulness, sincere honesty

Without regard to feelings, our teacher said she would criticize our term papers with absolute ______.

capacious

roomy, able to hold much

The old castle has a _________ dining room large enough to seat a small army.

castigate

to criticize harshly

Jimmy's mother __________ him for tracking mud on their new living room carpet.

catapult

to throw or launch

Before the invention of cannons, _________ were used by armies to attack castles and forts.

catharsis

an emotional or psychological cleansing that brings relief or renewal

Psychologists now know that the companionship of domesticated pets can lead to a _________ for mentally disturbed patients.

caucus

a meeting of a political party

A ______ was held by the members of the delegation to determine if they should hold a special ______ for the unmarried members.

cerebral

of or relating to the brain

The ________ young man received a perfect score on his SAT test.

certify

to confirm formally; verify

George Washington never told a lie, and he would _______ that he never HURT A FLY.

chasm

a deep opening in the earth's surface; a gorge; We crossed the huge _____ on a flimsy rope bridge.

chattel

personal property; slave

The _______ belonging to Herodotos of Athens at his death were sixteen slaves, seven horses, six hunting dogs, and three dwarf gladiators.

chide

to scold; to voice disapproval

The good fairy ______ Pinocchio because he LIED.

chronic

continuing for a long time

George was a _______ complainer, he never saw the positive side of anything.

circa

at an estimated historical time period

_____ is another word for "about" or "more or less," and always refers to a passage of time.

citadel

a fortress overlooking a city

There are many ancient ________ in Spain; they are among the attractions most visited by tourists.

claimant

a person making a claim

Rosalie not only wanted the house in her divorce from Robert, but she was also the ________ of his art collection.

cloister

a tranquil, secluded place

Mary regarded her sewing room as a ________ where she could withdraw from her hectic life as a mother of six and enjoy moments of privacy.

commodious

spacious, roomy, capacious

The rooms in the castle were so __________ that they were as large as the average home.

comprise

to consist of; to include, to contain, to be made up of

A basketball team _________ five players and any number of substitutes the coach wants to allow on the team.

congenial

pleasant to be around; social, agreeable

The _________ Dr. Armstrong always had a smile and a kind word for his patients, and candies for the children.

connoisseur

an expert, particularly in matters of art and taste

When it came to coins, Jerry proclaimed he was a ___________, because he had collected them all his life.

consensus

general agreement

A _________ is more than a majority, it means most everyone agrees.

coterie

a circle of close associates or friends

Today's tennis stars rarely travel alone, but with a _______ of managers and coaches.

countenance

a person's face, especially the expression

John Barymore had a magnificent series of ____________, one for every role he played.

coup

the violent overthrow of a government by a small group; a victorious accomplishment

The violent ____ ended when the radical political leaders were escorted out of the capitol in shackles.

couture

fashion designs; clothes created by fashion designers

Jane works for a department store chain and they sent her to Paris to study the latest ______.

cower

to cringe in fear; to shrink away

The sound of the rusty door opening in the middle of the night made Sue _____ under her sheets.

cranny

a small opening as in a wall or rock face

We searched the house from top to bottom and never overlooked a single nook or ______.

craven

lacking the least bit of courage

To let his wife do his fighting for him was the act of a ______ husband with no backbone.

creditor

an entity to whom money is owed

_________ usual charge interest on the money they loan.

criterion

a standard by to be judged

The _________ for becoming a lawyer is graduating from law school and passing the state bar exam.

cubism

a style of art is portrayed by geometric forms

______ is a style of art that stresses abstract structure at the expense of other pictorial elements by fragmenting the form of those objects that are to be depicted.

curtail

to lessen; cut away from

Sheriff McDougall _________ all further night patrols east of the river until bullet-proof windows were installed in his patrol cars.

curvilinear

characterized by curved lines

The skater's CURVY LINES outlined her ___________ skating program.

damper

one that depresses or restrains

The family was excited about their vacation until their father put a ______ on their plans, saying he was sorry, but there was no money for a vacation this year.

dauntless

fearless; unintimidated

The _________ soldier attacked the enemy line with no regard to the machine gun fire and mortar rounds exploding all around him.

dearth

scarcity; lack

A ______ of rain last summer led to many failed crops, especially corn and cotton in the valley.

debacle

a sudden downfall

The Watergate scandal was the _______ of the Nixon presidency.

debase

to lower in quality

Inflation in Brazil has _______ the value of money so much that people won't stoop to recover small coins in the street.

decree

an order having the force of law

The governor _______ that all the prisoners be SET FREE.

deduce

to come to a conclusion by reasoning from the evidence

From the footprints in the snow, we _______ that the missing hikers had wandered in circles several days before disappearing entirely.

defame

to take away a good name

False accusations by lying men have _______ the reputations of many reputable women.

deft

skillful, dexterous

In one ____ move, the policeman subdued the thief and took him to the ground.

demagogue

an evil leader

THEM DOGS, Hitler and Mussolini were infamous __________.

demonic

having a persistent force or drive

Walter had a _______ approach to business; he was only out there for himself and the money.