SAT words - A
| Abate - v. to lessen | |
| syn. decrease, diminish | |
| ant. increase, enhance | |
| The freezing eskimos hoped the sun would abate the freezing cold weather. | |
| Aberration - n. departure from the norm | |
| syn. abnormality, anomaly | |
| ant. sameness, conformity | |
| The fat sumo wrestler floating in the lunch room was quite an strange aberration. | |
| Abrogate - v. to do away with | |
| syn. abolish, annul | |
| ant. approve, establish | |
| I hope that public schools will soon abrogate their school dress codes so that pretty girls can wear shorter skirts and more revealing tops. | |
| Abscond - v. to depart secretly | |
| syn. sneak away, disappear | |
| ant. endure, stay | |
| Surrounded by the evil forces of Bowser, Princess Peach absconded during the middle of the night to avoid detection. | |
| Abstinence - n. act of refraining from indulging an appetite | |
| syn. avoidance, fasting | |
| ant. indulgence, wantonness | |
| Though she had kept it up for weeks, she couldn't maintain her abstinence from chocolate once she smelled the chocolate chip cookies in the oven. | |
| Abstract - adj. indefinite, nonrepresentational | |
| syn. vague, theoretical, intangible | |
| ant. concrete, definite | |
| He couldn't understand what the abstract shape was supposed to resemble. | |
| Accentuate - v. to put emphasis on | |
| syn. emphasize, point out | |
| ant. downplay, hide | |
| The tiny bikini which accentuated the supermodel's gorgeous body had all the beachgoers staring at her in lust. | |
| Acclaim - v. to proclaim with noisy approval | |
| syn. praise, cheer | |
| ant. whisper, insult | |
| Hundreds of supporters came out to acclaim the president's success at reelection. | |
| Acerbic - adj. mean in tone | |
| syn. sharp, biting | |
| ant. docile, sugary | |
| The acerbic biology teacher lectured angrily at the failing student for an entire hour. | |
| Acquiesce - v. to give in and agree peaceably | |
| syn. to assent; comply | |
| ant.challenge, disagree | |
| Hopelessly outnumbered, the defeated general acquiesced to the enemy forces. | |
| Acrimonious - adj. bitterly sharp | |
| syn. rancorous, biting | |
| ant. healing, soothing | |
| Their acrimonious relationship often resulted in angry fights and disagreements. | |
| Adept - adj. having great skill | |
| syn. dexterous, masterful | |
| ant. clumsy, inept | |
| After crashing into 7 mailboxes, the driver wished he could be more adept at driving. | |
| Adulation - n. praise | |
| syn. acclaim, flattery | |
| ant. abuse, criticism | |
| The hero received much adulation after saving the fairy goofball from the Mole Men. | |
| Adulterate - v. to make impure | |
| syn. corrupt, defile | |
| ant. clean, cleanse | |
| Some say that his drug-addict friends adulterated him and killed his chances at a good life. | |
| Aesthetic - adj. referring to a sense of beauty | |
| syn. artistic | |
| ant. displeasing, ugly | |
| The crowd of tourists gazed admirably at the aesthetic sculpture in the museum. | |
| Affluent - wealthy in a material sense | |
| syn. rich | |
| ant. poor | |
| The affluent Bill Gates could essentially buy anything he wanted. | |
| Affront - n. intentional insult, offense | |
| syn. abuse, offense | |
| ant. adulation, acclaim | |
| Supposedly, stripping naked in the middle of the city is an affront to civilized society. | |
| Alacrity - n. cheerful eagerness, speed/quickness | |
| syn. alertness, readiness | |
| ant. aversion, hesitance | |
| I could barely keep up with her alacrity and energy as she went on all 300 roller-coasters. | |
| Allay - v. to lessen fear | |
| syn. alleviate, assuage, pacify | |
| ant. agitate, provoke | |
| She tried in vain to allay her daughter's fear of her creepy-looking uncle from Mars. | |
| Alleviate - v. to lessen the severity of a condition | |
| syn. relieve, mitigate | |
| ant. worsen, hurt | |
| Hopefully, the ointment will alleviate the itchiness of the mosquito bite. | |
| Altercation - n. a small quarrel | |
| syn. dispute, argument | |
| ant. concord, peace | |
| The seemingly insignificant altercation quickly escalated into a full-fledged brawl. | |
| Altruistic - adj. giving for the benefit of others | |
| syn. unselfish, generous | |
| ant. selfish | |
| The altruistic philanthropist donated thousands of dollars each year to worthy causes. | |
| Amass - v. to accumulate, collect | |
| syn. gather, come together | |
| ant. divide, scatter | |
| After many years, the collector had amassed a large variety of rare antique teapots. | |
| Ambidextrous - adj. skillful with 2 hands | |
| syn. versatile, adaptable | |
| ant. one-handed | |
| Being ambidextrous isn't all that great after you get your hands chopped off, now is it? | |
| Ambiguous - adj. open to more than one interpretation | |
| syn. indefinite, equivocal, obscure | |
| ant. definite, clear | |
| There were many acceptable answers to the ambiguous question given in the discussion. | |
| Ambivalence - n. fluctuation between one thing and another | |
| syn. uncertainty, indecision | |
| ant. certainty | |
| The ambivalence in a tornado's movements makes it hard to figure out where it's going. | |
| Amble - v. to walk leisurely | |
| syn. stroll, meander | |
| ant. hurry, race, rush | |
| Certain that he would make it in time, the lazy student ambled to his SAT testing site. | |
| Ameliorate - v. to improve | |
| syn. better | |
| ant. worsen | |
| The loner hoped his social life would ameliorate before the end of the year. | |
| Anachronism - n. a thing out of place in time | |
| syn. misplacement | |
| ant. (none) | |
| Houses, telephones, televisions are only a few of the anachronisms in the "Flintstones." | |
| Analgesic - n. medication that reduces pain | |
| syn. aspirin, anesthetic | |
| ant. stimulant | |
| Even the tough professional wrestler needed analgesic to stop the pain in his broken arm. | |
| Anecdote - n. short story | |
| syn. episode, narrative | |
| ant. novel, unabridged literary work | |
| Unlike Homer's long epics, Ray Bradbury's works were mostly short anecdotes. | |
| Anathema- n. a formal ban, curse | |
| syn. excommunication, censure, damnation | |
| ant. benediction, blessing | |
| During the fight over the use of icons, the patriarch and pope issued anathemas to each other, thus casting each other out of the church. | |
| Animosity - n. hatred | |
| syn. antagonism, ill will, enmity | |
| ant. kindness, good will, protagonism | |
| Their intense rivalry was the main source of the animosity between the two bitter fighters. | |
| Anomaly - n. something different form the norm | |
| syn. irregularity, paradox | |
| ant. normality, commonplace | |
| Hailstones falling in the middle of the sunny summer day was quite a weather anomaly. | |
| Anthropocentrism - n. idea that humans are at the center of the universe | |
| syn. (none) | |
| ant. (none) | |
| The Romans' overconfidence and belief in their power were indications of their belief in anthropocentrism. | |
| Antithesis - n. a direct opposite | |
| syn. oxymoron, other half | |
| ant. same, copy | |
| In a sense, the relaxing summer vacation is the antithesis of a hard year in school. | |
| Apathy - n. lack of feeling or interest | |
| syn. impassiveness, indifference | |
| ant. full of emotion, exhilarance | |
| The guiltless mass murderer showed total apathy at his trial. | |
| Aplomb - n. self-confidence | |
| syn. poise, positiveness | |
| ant. doubt, insecurity | |
| The basketball player felt her aplomb rising with each three-point shot she made. | |
| Apocryphal - adj. of doubtful authorship | |
| syn. fictitious | |
| ant. true | |
| Plato's works can be considered apocryphal because we don't know if it's his own ideas or that of Socrates, his mentor. | |
| Apostate - n. someone who's renounced a religion | |
| syn. heretic, defector | |
| ant. zealot, loyalist | |
| China is supposedly a country of atheist apostates. | |
| Appraise - v. to determine the value | |
| syn. calculate, evaluate, assess | |
| ant. overlook, ignore | |
| I could understand why the antique dealer refused to appraise my large toothpick collection. | |
| Approbation - n. expression of warm approval | |
| syn. consent, go-ahead | |
| ant. condemnation, criticism | |
| I need the approbation and consent of my parents to see an NC-17 movie. | |
| Appropriate - v. to set aside for a specific purpose | |
| syn. allot, assign | |
| ant. refuse, reject | |
| The team's manager appropriated an entire restaurant to celebrate his team's victory. | |
| Arbitrary - adj. according to chance; established by a court/judge instead of law | |
| syn. impulsive, tyrannical | |
| ant. diplomatic, patient | |
| He made the arbitrary choice of eating only at McDonald's for an entire month. | |
| Arboreal - adj. pertaining to trees | |
| syn. tree-like | |
| ant. (none) | |
| The alien was arboreal, so it was hard to find him in the woods. | |
| Ardent- adj. passionate | |
| syn. enthusiastic, fervent | |
| ant. apathetic | |
| The ardent love-struck boy pursued the object of his desire for years. | |
| Arduous - adj. demanding | |
| syn. strenuous | |
| ant. easy | |
| My teacher gave me the arduous task of memorizing the 900-page book by tomorrow. | |
| Arrogant - adj. snootily; self-important | |
| syn. proud, overbearing | |
| ant. modest | |
| The arrogant actress acted like she was the most important person in the world. | |
| Articulate - v. to speak in a clear and effective way | |
| syn. pronounce, verbalize | |
| ant. misspeak, mumble | |
| The teacher asked the mumbling student to repeat what he said and articulate better. | |
| Assiduous - adj. marked by careful attention | |
| syn. persistent, diligent | |
| ant. slacking | |
| The perfectionist and assiduous painter paid great attention to every little detail in the work. | |
| Assuage - v. to ease something that hurts or is worrisome | |
| syn. quiet, pacify, appease, relieve | |
| ant. worsen, intensify | |
| She gave her nervous son a hug to assuage him before his big performance. | |
| Astute - adj. wise, shrewd | |
| syn. perceptive, perspicacious | |
| ant. naive, idiotic | |
| Yoda, the astute mentor, guides Luke Skywalker after Obi-Wan Kenobi gets killed. | |
| Atrophy - v. to wither | |
| syn. degenerate, waste away | |
| ant. burgeon, grow | |
| The plants will atrophy if you don't water them enough. | |
| Audacious - adj. lacking timidity | |
| syn. bold, fearless | |
| ant. scared, fearful | |
| The audacious youngster attacked the 8-headed behemoth from space head on. | |
| Augment - v. to make something greater or bigger | |
| syn. to increase | |
| ant. decrease, reduce | |
| Did Pamela Anderson really need to augment her breasts that much? | |
| Aural - adj. pertaining to the ears | |
| syn. audible, hearable | |
| ant. silent | |
| If you lost your aural organs, then you couldn't hear your parents yell at you for bad grades. | |
| Auspicious - adj. highly favorable | |
| syn. propitious, good | |
| ant. inauspicious, bad, foreboding | |
| The auspicious LA Lakers lost to the underdog Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. | |
| Austere - adj. somber in manner | |
| syn. reserved, grave, self-denying | |
| ant. indulgent, loose, open | |
| He never expected such a loud outburst from the austere geek hiding in the corner. | |
| Autocrat - n. one who makes and executes the laws | |
| syn. dictator, totalitarian | |
| ant. socialist, commoner | |
| In order to have complete control, the autocrat eliminated all opposition. | |
| Automaton - n. one that behaves/responds in a mechanical way | |
| syn. machine, contraption | |
| ant. human | |
| The mechanical automatons worked tirelessly 24/7 without needing rest or food. | |
| Avarice - n. greed | |
| syn. greediness, parsimony | |
| ant. benevolence, charity | |
| The madman's maniacl avarice became obvious when he slaughtered the restaurant owners just to not have to pay for his meal. | |
| Aver - v. to state firmly and convincingly | |
| syn. declare | |
| ant. deny | |
| Confident in his answer, the student prepared to aver his response to the teacher. | |
| Avert - v. to prevent | |
| syn. deflect, fend off | |
| ant. help, aid | |
| Superman needed to regain his powers in order to avert the comet from destroying Earth. | |
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© Raymond Ma 2004