SAT Master Word List #37-38 Review

retrospective

ADJ. looking back on the past.

reverent

ADJ. respectful; worshipful.

revert

V. relapse; backslide; turn back to.

revoke

V. cancel; retract.

revulsion

N. sudden violent change of feeling; reaction.

rhetoric

N. art of effective communication; insincere language.

rhetorical

ADJ. pertaining to effective communication; insincere in language.

rig

V. fix or manipulate.

rigid

ADJ. (1) unable to bend; (2) not easily changed; (3) unwilling to change (beliefs, opinions).

rigor

N. severity.

rigorous

ADJ. severe; harsh; demanding; exact.

rote

N. repetition.

rousing

ADJ. lively; stirring.

rudimentary

ADJ. (1) limited to the basics; (2) imperfectly developed.

ruminate

V. chew over and over (mentally, or, like cows, physically); mull over; ponder.

ruse

N. trick; stratagem.

rustic

ADJ. pertaining to country people; uncouth.

ruthless

ADJ. pitiless; cruel.

sadistic

ADJ. inclined to cruelty.

sagacious

ADJ. perceptive; shrewd; having insight.

sage

N. person celebrated for wisdom.

salient

ADJ. protruding; strikingly conspicuous; jumping.

salubrious

ADJ. promoting good health; healthful.

salutary

ADJ. tending to improve; beneficial; wholesome.

salvage

V. rescue from loss.

sanction

V. (1) approve; (2) impose a penalty on.

sanctuary

N. refuge; shelter; shrine; holy place.

sanguine

ADJ. cheerful; hopeful.

sarcasm

N. scornful remarks; stinging rebuke.

sardonic

ADJ. cynically mocking; sarcastic.

satire

N. form of literature in which irony, sarcasm, and ridicule are employed to attack vice and folly.

satirical

ADJ. mocking.

saturate

V. soak thoroughly.

savor

V. enjoy; have a distinctive flavor, smell, or quality.

savory

ADJ. tasty; pleasing, attractive, or agreeable.

scanty

ADJ. (1) meager, insufficient; (2) revealing (of clothing).

schematic

ADJ. relating to an outline or diagram; using a system of symbols.

schism

N. division; split.

scruple

V. fret about; hesitate, for ethical reasons.

scrupulous

ADJ. (1) conscientious and extremely thorough; (2) careful to behave in an ethical and morally right way.

scrutinize

V. examine closely and critically.

seasoned

ADJ. experienced.

secession

N. withdrawal.

seclusion

N. isolation; solitude.

secrete

V. (1) hide away; (2) produce and release a substance into an organism.

sect

N. separate religious body; faction.

sectarian

ADJ. relating to a religious faction or subgroup; narrow-minded; limited.

secular

ADJ. worldly; not pertaining to church matters; temporal.

sedate

ADJ. calm and composed; dignified.

sedentary

ADJ. requiring sitting.

sedition

N. resistance to authority; insubordination.

seemly

ADJ. proper; appropriate.

seismic

ADJ. pertaining to earthquakes.

sentinel

N. sentry; lookout.

serenity

N. calmness; placidity.

servile

ADJ. slavish; cringing.

servitude

N. slavery; compulsory labor.

sever

V. cut; separate.

severity

N. harshness; intensity; sternness; austerity.

sham

V. pretend.

shirk

V. avoid (responsibility, work, etc.); malinger.

shoddy

ADJ. inferior; trashy; cheap.

shrewd

ADJ. clever; astute.

shun

V. keep away from.

simile

N. comparison of one thing with another, using the word “like” or “as.”

simplistic

ADJ. oversimplified.

simulate

V. feign.

singular

ADJ. unique; extraordinary; odd.

sinister

ADJ. evil; conveying a sense of ill omen.

skeptic

N. doubter; person who suspends judgment until the evidence supporting a point of view has been examined.

skimp

V. provide scantily; live very economically.

slacken

V. slow up; loosen.

slander

N. defamation; utterance of false and malicious statements.

slovenly

ADJ. untidy; careless in work habits.

sluggish

ADJ. slow; lazy; lethargic.

slur

V. speak indistinctly; mumble.

slur

N. insult to one’s character or reputation; slander.

sobriety

N. moderation (especially regarding indulgence in alcohol); seriousness.

solemnity

N. seriousness; gravity.

solicit

V. request earnestly; seek.

solicitous

ADJ. worried; concerned.

soliloquy

N. talking to oneself.

solitude

N. state of being alone; seclusion.

soluble

ADJ. (1) able to be dissolved; (2) able to be explained.

solution

N. (1) act of solving (a problem, difficult situation, etc.); (2) liquid mixture whose components are uniformly distributed.

solvent

ADJ. (1) able to dissolve; (2) able to pay all debts.

solvent

N. substance that dissolves another.

somber

ADJ. (1) gloomy, depressing; (2) dark, drab.

sophisticated

ADJ. worldly-wise and urbane; complex.

sophistry

N. seemingly plausible but fallacious reasoning.

sophomoric

ADJ. immature; half-baked, like a sophomore.

sovereign

ADJ. (1) efficacious; (2) supreme or paramount; (3) self-governing.

sparse

ADJ. not thick; thinly scattered; scanty.

spatial

ADJ. relating to space.

specious

ADJ. seemingly reasonable but incorrect; misleading (often intentionally).

spectrum

N. colored band produced when a beam of light passes through a prism.

speculate

V. (1) form a theory about something, often without sufficient evidence; (2) assume a financial risk in hopes of gain.

spendthrift

N. someone who wastes money.

spontaneity

N. lack of premeditation; naturalness; freedom from constraint.

sporadic

ADJ. occurring irregularly.