DSAT VOCAB

Vocabulary Flashcards from Lecture Notes

Abstract

Existing as an idea but not as a tangible experience

Anthropology

Study and comparison of human cultures

Comprehensive

Thorough and complete

Construe

To interpret in a particular way

Discerning

Ability to distinguish subtle elements

Discriminating

Showing good taste/judgement

Disseminate

To cast widely

Erudite

Having or showing great knowledge

Indoctrinate

To teach to accept beliefs uncriticly

Insular

Isolated from cultural/intellectual influences

Orthodox

Conforming strictly to traditional teachings

Pedantic

Inclined to show off one's knowledge(show-off)

Peruse

To read thoroughly and carefully

Postulate

Assume truth of something as basis of reasoning

Provincial

Unsophisticated or narrow-minded

Revelation

A fact revealed in a suprising way

Advocate

To provide public support for a cause

Apologist

One who argues for a controversial position

Appease

To yield to demands in order to conciliate

Bolster

To strengthen or support

Buttress

A projecting support for a building

Cajole

To persuade through coaxing or flattery

Circumlocutory

Speaking evasively to avoid topic

Circumscribe

To define limits of something

Cohesive

Forming a united whole

Conjecture

Guess based on incomplete information

Consensus

General agreement

Contentious

Likely to cause or provoke an argument

Credulous

Willing to believe

Criteria

Principles or standards at which something is judged

Cursory

Hasty and superficial

Debunk

To expose the falseness of a belief

Delineate

To describe or portray precisely

Dispel

To drive away or eliminate a rumor

Disputatious

Fond of having arguments

Elucidate

To shed light on

Enticement

Something that attracts or tempts

Enumerate

To list one by one

Equivocate

To speak ambiguously to avoid commitment

Exhortation

A strong plea

Exonerate

To absolve someone of guilt or fault

Fallacious

Based on a mistaken belief

Harangue

A lengthy and bombastic speech

Incongruous

Not consistent with expectations

Induce

To bring about

Spinsterhood

Being a single, older woman

Fecundity

Fertility and abundance

Jostling

Pushing and shoving

Vehemently

Passionately and forcefully

Uncanny

Strange and eerie

Emblem

Symbolic representation

Emasculation

Deprivation of strength or masculinity

Aforethought

As a premeditated action

Scrupling

Having moral reservations

Incest

Forbidden romantic relationships within a family

Alluring

Appealing and attractive

Penchant

Strong inclination or liking

Virility

Masculine strength and vigor

Antipathy

Strong dislike or aversion

Demise

Death or end

Makeshift

Temporary and improvised

Scuttle

To move hurriedly and quickly

Insurmountable

Impossible to overcome

Revulsion

Strong disgust or repulsion

Bulging

Swelling out

Peril

Danger

Eurythmic

Harmonious bodily movements

Deranged

Mad or insane

Repugnant

Offensive and disgusting

Obfuscation

Confusion and obscuring meaning

Mayhem

Chaos and disorder

Elegy

A mournful, reflective poem

Ensues

Follows as a result

Epigraph

A brief quotation at the beginning of a text

Mulling over

Thinking deeply about

Infiltate

Entered or gained access secretly

Prairie

A large, open grassland

Rudimentary

Basic and undeveloped

Baroque

Extravagant and detailed

Extols

Praises highly

Alluding

Hinting at indirectly

Pithy

Concise and meaningful

Substantive

Of great importance

Miasma

Harmful or oppressive atmosphere

Murky

Dark and unclear

Gaudy

Flashy and tasteless

Verisimilitude

Appearance of being true or real

Coiffure

A hairstyle

Salutary

Beneficial

Jilted

Rejected or abandoned

Wretchedness

Deep misery

Malicious

Spiteful and harmful

Quarry

A hunted animal or person

Disparage

To belittle or degrade

Reclaim

To retrieve or recover

Tenuous

Weak and insubstantial

Jeer

To mock or taunt

Climactic

Relating to the climax or highest point

Epitomize

To illustrate the perfect example of

Retaliate

Respond with rage