SAT E

ebullient (adj.)

extremely lively, enthusiastic (She became ebullient upon receiving an acceptance letter from her first

eclectic (adj.)

consisting of a diverse variety of elements (That bar attracts an eclectic crowd: lawyers, artists, circus clowns, and investment bankers.)

ecstatic (adj.)

intensely and overpoweringly happy (The couple was ecstatic when they learned that they had won the lottery.)

edict (n.)

an order, decree (The ruler issued an edict requiring all of his subjects to bow down before him.)

efface (v.)

to wipe out, obliterate, rub away (The husband was so angry at his wife for leaving him that he effaced all evidence of her presence; he threw out pictures of her and gave away all her belongings.)

effervescent (adj.)

bubbly, lively (My friend is so effervescent that she makes everyone smile.)

efficacious (adj.)

effective (My doctor promised me that the cold medicine was efficacious, but I’m still sniffling.)

effrontery (n.)

impudence, nerve, insolence (When I told my aunt that she was boring, my mother scolded me for my effrontery.)

effulgent (adj.)

radiant, splendorous (The golden palace was effulgent.)

egregious (adj.)

extremely bad (The student who threw sloppy joes across the cafeteria was punished for his egregious behavior.)

elaborate (adj.)

complex, detailed, intricate (Dan always beats me at chess because he develops such an elaborate game plan that I can never predict his next move.)

elated (adj.)

overjoyed, thrilled (When she found out she had won the lottery, the writer was elated.)

elegy (n.)

a speech given in honor of a dead person (At the funeral, the widow gave a moving elegy describing her love for her husband.)

elicit (v.)

to bring forth, draw out, evoke (Although I asked several times where the exit was, I elicited no response from the stone

eloquent (adj.)

expressive, articulate, moving (The priest gave such an eloquent sermon that most churchgoers were crying.)

elucidate (v.)

to clarify, explain (I didn’t understand why my friend was so angry with me, so I asked Janine to elucidate her feelings.)

elude (v.)

to evade, escape (Despite an intense search, the robber continues to elude the police.)

emaciated (adj.)

very thin, enfeebled looking (My sister eats a lot of pastries and chocolate but still looks emaciated.)

embellish

(v.) to decorate, adorn (My mom embellished the living room by adding lace curtains.) (v.)to add details to, enhance (When Harry told me that he had“done stuff” on his vacation, I asked him to embellish upon his account.)

embezzle (v.)

to steal money by falsifying records (The accountant was fired for embezzling $10,000 of the company’s funds.)

emend (v.)

to correct or revise a written text (If my sentence is incorrect, the editor will emend what I have written.)

eminent

(adj.) distinguished, prominent, famous (Mr. Phillips is such an eminent scholar that every professor on campus has come to hear him lecture.) 2. (adj.) conspicuous (There is an eminent stain on that shirt

emollient (adj.)

soothing (This emollient cream makes my skin very smooth.)

emote (v.)

to express emotion (The director told the actor he had to emote, or else the audience would have no idea what his character was going through.)

empathy

(n.) sensitivity to another’s feelings as if they were one’s own (I feel such empathy for my sister when she’s in pain that I cry too.)

empirical (adj.)

based on observation or experience (The scientist gathered empirical data on the growth rate of dandelions by studying the dandelions behind his house.)

2. (adj.) capable of being proved or disproved by experiment (That all cats hate getting wet is an empirical statement: I can test it by bathing my cat, Trinket.)

emulate

(v.) to imitate (I idolize Britney Spears so much that I emulate everything she does: I wear her outfits, sing along to her songs, and date a boy named Justin.)

enamor

(v.) to fill with love, fascinate, usually used in passive form followed by “of” or “with” (I grew enamored of that boy when he quoted my favorite love poem.)

encore

(n.) the audience’s demand for a repeat performance; also the artist’s performance in response to that demand (At the end of the concert, all the fans yelled, “Encore! Encore!” but the band did not come out to play again.)

encumber

(v.) to weigh down, burden (At the airport, my friend was encumbered by her luggage, so I offered to carry two of her bags.)

enervate

(v.) to weaken, exhaust (Writing these sentences enervates me so much that I will have to take a nap after I finish.)

enfranchise

(v.) to grant the vote to (The Nineteenth Amendment enfranchised women.)

engender

(v.) to bring about, create, generate (During the Olympics, the victories of U.S. athletes engender a patriotic spirit among Americans.)

enigmatic

(adj.) mystifying, cryptic (That man wearing the dark suit and dark glasses is so enigmatic that no one even knows his name.)

enmity (n.)

ill will, hatred, hostility (Mark and Andy have clearly not forgiven each other, because the enmity between them is obvious to anyone in their presence.)

ennui (n.)

boredom, weariness (I feel such ennui that I don’t look forward to anything,not even my birthday party.)

entail (v.)

to include as a necessary step (Building a new fence entails tearing down the old one.)

enthrall (v.)

to charm, hold spellbound (The sailor’s stories of fighting off sharks and finding ancient treasures enthralled his young son.)

ephemeral (adj.)

short 

(“forever” was only ephemeral: she left me after one week.)

epistolary (adj.)

relating to or contained in letters (Some people call me “Auntie’s boy,”

because my aunt and I have such a close epistolary relationship that we write each

other every day.)

epitome (n.)

a perfect example, embodiment (My mother, the epitome of good taste,

always dresses more elegantly than I do.)

equanimity (n.)

composure (Even though he had just been fired, Mr. Simms showed 

great equanimity by neatly packing up his desk and wishing everyone in the office well.)

equivocal (adj.)

ambiguous, uncertain, undecided (His intentions were so equivocal 

that I didn’t know whether he was being chivalrous or sleazy.)

erudite (adj.)

learned (My Latin teacher is such an erudite scholar that he has translated 

some of the most difficult and abstruse ancient poetry.)

eschew (v.)

to shun, avoid (George hates the color green so much that he eschews all green food.)

esoteric (adj.)

understood by only a select few (Even the most advanced students 

cannot understand the physicist’s esoteric theories.)

espouse (v.)

to take up as a cause, support (I love animals so much that I espouse animal 

rights.)

ethereal (adj.)

heavenly, exceptionally delicate or refined (In her flowing silk gown and 

lace veil, the bride looked ethereal.)

etymology (n.)

the history of words, their origin and development (From the study of etymology, I know that the word “quixotic” derives from Don Quixote and the word “gaudy” refers to the Spanish architect Gaudí.)

euphoric (adj.)

elated, uplifted (I was euphoric when I found out that my sister had 

given birth to twins.)

evanescent (adj.)

fleeting, momentary (My joy at getting promoted was evanescent 

because I discovered that I would have to work much longer hours in a less friendly office

evince (v.)

to show, reveal (Christopher’s hand evinces his nervousness as he is worried about the upcoming English test.)

exacerbate (v.)

to make more violent, intense (The gruesome and scary movie I saw last 

night exacerbated my fears of the dark.)

exalt (v.)

to glorify, praise (Michael Jordan is the figure in basketball we exalt the most.)

exasperate (v.)

to irritate, irk (George’s endless complaints exasperated his roomate.)

excavate (v.)

to dig out of the ground and remove (The pharaoh’s treasures were excavated by archeologists in Egypt.)

exculpate (v.)

to free from guilt or blame, exonerate (My discovery of the ring behind

the dresser exculpated me from the charge of having stolen it.)

excursion (n.)

a trip or outing (After taking an excursion to the Bronx Zoo, I dreamed about pandas and monkeys.)

execrable (adj.)

loathsome, detestable (Her pudding is so execrable that it makes me sick.)

exhort (v.)

to urge, prod, spur (Henry exhorted his colleagues to join him in protesting against the university’s hiring policies.)

exigent (adj.)

urgent, critical (The patient has an exigent need for medication, or else he will lose his sight.)

exonerate (v.)

to free from guilt or blame, exculpate (The true thief’s confession exonerated the man who had been held in custody for the crime.)

exorbitant (adj.)

excessive (Her exorbitant praise made me blush and squirm in my seat.)

expedient (adj.)

advisable, advantageous, serving one’s self

expiate (v.)

to make amends for, atone (To expiate my selfishness, I gave all my profits to charity.)

expunge (v.)

to obliterate, eradicate (Fearful of an IRS investigation, Paul tried to expunge all incriminating evidence from his tax files.)

expurgate (v.)

to remove offensive or incorrect parts, usually of a book (The history editors expurgated from the text all disparaging and inflammatory comments about the Republican Party.)

extant (adj.)

existing, not destroyed or lost (My mother’s extant love letters to my father are in the attic trunk.)

extol (v.)

to praise, revere (Violet extolled the virtues of a vegetarian diet to her meat

extraneous (adj.)

irrelevant, extra, not necessary (Personal political ambitions should always remain extraneous to legislative policy, but, unfortunately, they rarely are.)

extricate (v.)

to disentangle (Instead of trying to mediate between my brother and sister, I extricated myself from the family tension entirely and left the house for the day.)

exult (v.)

to rejoice (When she found out she won the literature prize, Mary exulted by dancing and singing through the school’s halls.)