SAT #27 & #28

magnate

N. person of prominence or influence.

magnitude

N. (1) greatness of extent; (2) great importance; (3) size.

malefactor

N. evildoer; criminal.

malevolent

ADJ. wishing evil.

malicious

ADJ. hateful; spiteful.

malign

V. speak evil of; bad-mouth; defame.

malignant

ADJ. injurious; tending to cause death; aggressively malevolent.

malleable

ADJ. (1) capable of being shaped by pounding; (2) impressionable.

mammal

N. a vertebrate animal whose female suckles its young.

mammoth

ADJ. gigantic; enormous.

mandate

N. order; charge.

mandatory

ADJ. obligatory; compulsory.

manifest

ADJ. evident; visible; obvious.

manifesto

N. declaration; statement of policy.

manipulate

V. operate with one's hands; control or play upon (people, forces, etc.) artfully.

marked

ADJ. noticeable or pronounced; targeted for vengeance.

marred

ADJ. damaged; disfigured.

marshal

V. put in order.

marsupial

N. one of a family of mammals that nurse their offspring in a pouch.

martial

ADJ. warlike.

martyr

N. one who voluntarily suffers death for his or her religion or cause; great sufferer.

material

ADJ. (1) relating to physical matter; (2) bodily; (3) of great importance or relevance.

materialism

N. preoccupation with physical comforts and things.

matrix

N. point of origin; array of numbers or algebraic symbols; mold or die.

maverick

N. rebel; nonconformist.

maxim

N. proverb; a truth pithily stated.

meager

ADJ. scanty; inadequate.

mediate

V. settle a dispute through the services of an outsider.

mediocre

ADJ. ordinary; commonplace.

meditation

N. reflection; thought.

medium

N. (1) means of doing something; (2) substance in which an organism lives; (3) form or material employed by an artist, author, or composer.

mendacious

ADJ. lying; habitually dishonest.

menial

ADJ. suitable for servants; lowly; mean.

mentor

N. teacher.

mercenary

ADJ. interested in money or gain.

mercurial

ADJ. capricious; changing; fickle.

merger

N. combination (of two business corporations).

metamorphosis

N. change of form; major transformation.

metaphor

N. implied comparison.

methodical

ADJ. systematic.

meticulous

ADJ. excessively careful; painstaking; scrupulous.

metropolis

N. Iarge city.

microcosm

N. small world; the world in miniature.

migrant

ADJ. changing its habitat; wandering.

migratory

ADJ. wandering.

milieu

N. environment; means of expression.

militant

ADJ. combative; bellicose.

minute

ADJ. extremely small.

minutiae

N. petty details.

misapprehension

N. error; misunderstanding.

miscellany

N. mixture of writings on various subjects.

mischance

N. ill luck.

misconception

N. mistaken idea.

misconstrue

V. interpret incorrectly; misjudge.

misdemeanor

N. minor crime.

miserly

ADJ. stingy; mean.

misgivings

N. doubts.

mishap

N. accident.

misrepresent

V. give a false or incorrect impression, often deliberately; serve unsatisfactorily as a representative.

mitigate

V. appease; moderate.

mnemonic

ADJ. pertaining to memory.

mobile

ADJ. movable; not fixed.

mock

V. ridicule; imitate, often in derision.

mode

N. prevailing style; manner; way of doing something.

modicum

N. Iimited quantity.

modulate

V. tone down in intensity; regulate; change from one key to another.

molecule

N. the smallest particle (one or more atoms) of a substance, having all the properties of that substance.

mollify

V. soothe.

momentous

ADJ. very important.

momentum

N. quantity of motion of a moving body; impetus.

monarchy

N. government under a single ruler.

monetary

ADJ. pertaining to money.

monolithic

ADJ. solidly uniform; unyielding.

monotony

N. sameness leading to boredom.

monumental

ADJ. massive.

mores

N. conventions; moral standards; customs.

moribund

ADJ. dying.

motif

N. theme.

multifaceted

ADJ. having many aspects.

multilingual

ADJ. having many languages.

multiplicity

N. state of being numerous.

mundane

ADJ. worldly as opposed to spiritual; everyday.

muse

V. ponder.

mushroom

V. expand or grow rapidly.

muster

V. gather; assemble.

mutability

N. ability to change in form; fickleness.

muted

ADJ. silent; muffled; toned down.

myriad

N. very large number.

mystify

V. bewilder purposely.

nadir

N. Iowest point.

narrative

ADJ. related to telling a story.

nascent

ADJ. incipient; coming into being.

nebulous

ADJ. (1) vague; (2) like a cloud.

nefarious

ADJ. very wicked.

negate

V. (1) cancel out; nullify; (2) deny the truth of.

negligence

N. neglect; failure to take reasonable care.

negligible

ADJ. so small, trifling, or unimportant that it may be easily disregarded.

nemesis

N. someone seeking revenge.

neologism

N. new or newly coined word or phrase.

neophyte

N. recent convert; beginner.