SAT Princeton Review Vocab (Paul Merrill)

advocate

to publicly recommend or support

Upon his appointment, the new vice president of the company promised to advocate for increased vacation time for all employees.

assert

to state a fact or belief confidently

After listening to the rest of the board members shout over each other, Dominic felt the need to assert that this time could have been better spent offering practical solutions to the issue.

bolster

to support or strengthen; prop up

To bolster the thesis of his history paper, Jeremy cited a series of works by other authors who had argued against single-house legislatures.

concede

to admit that something is true or valid after first denying or resisting it

After an intense debate, I was forced to concede that my opponent had a strong argument regarding the need for district-wide budget reallocation.

dispute

to engage in an argument or cast doubt upon

The employee went to dispute his first paycheck when he found it to be substantially lower than what was promised in his offer letter.

proponent

a person who argues for a theory, proposal, or concept

Dr. Kerrigan was a huge proponent of proper intestinal health, as she believed all disease could be traced back to the digestive system.

refute

to prove a statement or theory to be wrong or false; disprove

Scientists often publish papers meant to refute theories that they have disproven through experimentation.

repudiate

to refuse to accept or be associated with

Any time one of her friends advised her to try online dating, Becky would repudiate the suggestion completely, as she had been deceived by inaccurate photos or descriptions too many times.

skeptical

not easily convinced; having doubts or reservations

Bryce was skeptical of his order’s estimated arrival date: past orders from the same company had taken a week longer than advertised.

undermine

to lessen the effectiveness, power, or ability of a person or idea

Michael practically ran on his way to school, worried that a mark of tardy would undermine his perfect attendance record.

adhere

to believe in and follow the practices of

It can be difficult to adhere to a workout regimen without coaching and discipline.

buttress

to increase the strength of or justification for; to reinforce

The commissioner has promised to train 30 new recruits by the end of the year in order to buttress the police force as the city’s borders expand.

cohesion

the action of forming a united whole

Mr. Johnson hoped that the team-building exercises he had scheduled for his department’s work retreat would lead to a better sense of cohesion around the office.

consensus

a general agreement

After several hours of voting which had seemed fated to end the assembly in a stalemate, a series of clever compromises helped the majority of voters reach a consensus.

converge

to come together to form a new whole

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers converge to form the Ohio River.

corroborate

to confirm or give support to a statement, theory, or finding

The thief claimed to have an alibi at the time of the crime but could not produce any friend or family to corroborate his story.

foster

to encourage or promote the development of

The student council opened up the vote on the new school lunch policy to the entire student body in order to foster a greater sense of school community participation.

reconcile

to restore friendly relations between

William texted Caleb an apology as a means to reconcile following their recent disagreement.

substantiate

to provide evidence to support or prove the truth of

The researcher ran a series of experiments hoping to substantiate her theory of engine mechanics before presenting it to her supervisor for review.

supplement

something that completes or enhances something else when added to it

Milk is often considered the perfect supplement to cereal, though other liquids have become popular choices in recent years.

curtail

to reduce in extent or quantity

The new office timecard system was designed to curtail unauthorized extensions of lunch and break times.

degrade

to treat or regard something with contempt or disrespect

The harsh note taped to the bulletin board in the employee break room was clearly meant to degrade those who were not clocking in on time.

denounce

to publicly declare to be wrong or evil

The principal was expected to denounce graphic t-shirts as unacceptable school attire, but she surprised everyone when she stated that she considered them to be an important part of self-expression.

impede

to delay or prevent someone or something by obstructing; to hinder

The city council attempted to impede the fast-food restaurant’s efforts to install a drive-thru window.

impose

to force a rule or punishment to be accepted or obeyed

The major has decided to impose a curfew upon residents of his town.

mandate

to order something be done or someone behave a certain way

The new law would mandate that employers offer tuition reimbursement for continuing education courses.

obstruct

to block or deliberately make something difficult

The extra forms that need to be filled out just to speak to a supervisor needlessly obstruct what used to be a relatively streamlined process.

oppressive

unjustly inflicting hardship and constraint; weighing heavily on the mind or spirits

The heat of the jungle was so oppressive that the expedition team took breaks twice as often as planned.

preclude

to make impossible

The legal concept of double jeopardy was established to preclude the possibility of an individual being wrongly tried twice for the same criminal offense.

repression

the restraint, prevention, or inhibition of a feeling, quality, etc.

When citizens of a nation endure long periods of political repression, it can lead to verbal or physical altercations throughout that country.

bias

prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair

Though she promised to be free of bias, it became evident very quickly that my mom preferred a dog over a cat as a potential pet.

culpable

guilty or worthy of blame

Though he insisted upon his innocence, it was clear from video evidence and eyewitness testimony that the bank thief was indeed culpable for the robbery.

decisive

settling an issue; producing a definite result

Megan’s four first-half goals helped to score a decisive victory for her field hockey team, which won the game in a shutout.

deduce

to arrive at a conclusion through reasoning

Based on the hastily made bed and poorly folded clothes, Carla was able to deduce that her son had rushed the task of cleaning his room in order ot get the chore over with.

equity

the quality of being fair or impartial

Among Judge Robertson’s best qualities is his sense of equity: he never lets his personal feelings toward a crime or criminal affect the length and severity of the judgements that he imposes.

pragmatic

dealing with things in a sensible or realistic manner; practical

The new governor’s pragmatic approach to tackling the state’s’ budget deficit one step at a time was considered a welcomed departure from the radical ideas of her predecessor.

renounce

to formally declare one’s abandonment of a claim, right, or possession

In a shocking move, the king has decided to renounce his right to the throne, sending the country into a panic.

speculate

to form a theory or conjecture about a subject without firm evidence

The lawyer refused to speculate on the outcome of the trial, but she was hopeful that her client would be found innocent.

validate

to check or prove the validity or accuracy of something

The clerk refused to validate my license, nothing that it expired one month ago.

vindicate

to clear someone of blame or suspicion

Upset that he had been accused of staying home sick to avoid an exam, Xander hoped that a formal doctor’s note would vindicate him in his teacher’s eyes.

allude

to suggest or call attention to indirectly; to hint at

I didn’t mean to allude to your past breakup when discussing celebrity romances that ended badly.

anecdote

a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person

Our professor opened the semester with a number of humorous anecdotes about excuses he has heard from students who missed class.

analogous

comparable in certain respects, typically in a way which makes clearer the nature of the things compared

The rocking of a ship against the waves has been described by some as analogous to the ups and downs of a rollercoaster ride.

brevity

concise and exact use of words in writing or speech

Sabrina’s notes were known for their brevity, as entire concepts were often summed up into a small series of words and phrases.

eloquent

fluent or persuasive in speaking or writing

Shakespeare’s sonnets are considered some of the most eloquent poems in British literature.

explicit

stated clearly and in detail, leaving no room for confusion or doubt

The teacher’s classroom rules were explicit; they were written on a poster right above her desk.

implicit

implied but not plainly expressed

The teacher’s classroom rules were implicit; although the rules were not openly stated anywhere, all of the students knew what they should and should not do.

ironic

happening in the opposite way from what is expected, and typically causing amusement because of this

It is ironic that the tech support company’s website was listed as down for maintenance.

juxtapose

to place close together for contrasting effect

Video production teams working on horror movies with often juxtapose darker scenes with livelier music to create a deeper sense of tension and discomfort within the viewer.

underscore

to emphasize or drawn attention to

Margaux came to her presentation with a series of handouts for her colleagues, hoping this would underscore the amount of work she had put into her project.

elicit

to drawn out a response or fact from someone

Through a series of carefully crafted questions, the professor hoped to elicit the answer to the geography question from her students, which would prove that they already knew the correct information.

evince

to reveal the presence of a quality or feeling

Benjamin’s numerous social media posts within just one day of returning from his vacation were clearly meant to evince the enjoyment he had felt during his trip.

evoke

to bring or recall to the conscious mind

A country’s national anthem is meant to evoke feelings of pride in its citizens.

exert

to make a physical or mental effort

Math Olympiad competitors exert a tremendous amount of mental energy solving calculations while under a time limit.

induce

to succeed at influencing or persuading someone to do something

The solid wall of disgruntled supermarket workers in the parking lot was meant to induce potential customers to shop for their groceries elsewhere.

invoke

to cite or appeal to someone or something as an authority for an action or in support of an argument

The police captain’s son would often invoke his father’s name to get himself out of trouble.

provoke

to stimulate or give rise to a reaction or emotion, typically a strong or unwelcome one, in someone

I knew I couldn’t let Anthony provoke me into an argument again, as he often did.

reciprocate

to respond to a gesture or action by making a corresponding one

Jennifer was so touched by the Christmas gift she received from Isabelle that she made plans to reciprocate as soon as she could get to the mall.

resilient

able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions

Others may have crumpled under the sheer number of last-minute reservations, but Hector was resilient, handling each frantic request with calm professionalism.

strenuous

requiring or expanding great effort

The groundskeepers began the strenuous task of preparing the football field and all of its associated facilities for the upcoming season.

economical*

marked by careful, efficient, and prudent use of resources; thrifty

The trend points to a clear move toward smarter, more economical travel without sacrificing the joy of discovery.

obscure*

dark, dim; not readily understood or clearly expressed

The movie is full of obscure references that only pop culture enthusiasts will understand.

demarcate*

to set, mark, or draw the boundaries of something

The stone wall was built to demarcate the edge of the property

invalidate*

to prove that an argument, theory, or claim is wrong or unsound
to make something legally void or officially unacceptable

The new experimental data completely invalidates the scientist's original hypothesis.
Casting two votes on the same ballot will automatically invalidate your vote.