SAT Vocab 03/22

Abase

After being overthrown and abased, the deposed

the leader offered to bow down to his conqueror.

(v.) To humiliate, degrade

Balk

Edna's boss balked at her request for another raise.

(v.) To stop, block abruptly

Cacophony

The elementary school orchestra created a cacophony at the recital.

(n.) Tremendous noise, disharmonious sound

Ebullient

She became ebullient upon receiving an acceptance letter from her first-choice college

(adj.) Extremely lively, enthusiastic

Fallacious

Emily offered me cigarettes on the fallacious assumption that I smoked.

(adj.) Incorrect, misleading

Garish

Mrs. Watson has poor taste and covers every object in her house with a garish gold lamé.

(adj.) Gaudy, bad in taste

Admonish

Joe's mother admonished him not to ruin his appetite by eating cookies before dinner.

(v.) to caution, criticize, reprove

Benign

We were all relieved to hear that the medical tests determined her tumor to be benign.

(adj.) favorable, not threatening, mild

Caucus

The ironworkers held a caucus to determine how much of a pay increase they would request.

(n.) a meeting usually held by people working toward the same goal

Deft

Having worked in a bakery for many years, Marcus was a deft bread maker.

(adj.) skillful, capable

Eclectic

That bar attracts an eclectic crowd: lawyers, artists, circus clowns, and investment bankers.

(adj.) consisting of a diverse variety of elements

Fatuous

He considers himself a serious poet, but in truth, he only writes fatuous limericks.

(adj.) silly, foolish

Brazen

Leah's brazen question left the interviewee in shock.

(adj.) excessively bold, brash

cognizant

Although the relationship had ended three months prior, he was finally cognizant of his wrongdoings.

(adj.) aware, mindful

deplore

After the trip had ended, everyone participating had deplored their the nostalgic moments.

(v.) to feel or express sorrow, disapproval

Evanescent

The protagonists of the novel had an evanescent love affair.

(adj.) fleeting, momentary

Frenetic

The birds outside the window were almost frenetic at the sight of the eagle.

(adj.) frenzied, hectic, frantic

Apocryphal

Because I am standing before you, it seems obvious that the stories circulating about my demise were apocryphal

(adj.) fictitious, false, wrong

Candor

We were surprised by the candor of the mayor's speech because he is usually rather evasive.

(n.) honesty, frankness

Circumscribed

The children were permitted to play tag only within a carefully circumscribed area of the lawn.

(adj.) marked off, bounced

Colloquial

Adam's essay on sexual response in primates was marked down because it contained too many colloquial expressions

(adj.)Informal conservation, speech

Fickle

In Greek dramas, the fickle gods help Achilles one day, and then harm him the next.

(adj.) Shifting in character, inconstant

Hedonist

Because he's such a hedonist, I knew Murray would appreciate the 11 cases of wine I bought him for his birthday.

(n.) One who believes pleasure should be the primary pursuit of humans