SAT words - N-O
| Nascent - adj. coming into existence | |
| syn. emerging, budding, blossoming, beginning | |
| ant. dying, withering | |
| The nascent flower couldn't fully emerge after I stepped on it with my boot. | |
| Neophyte - n. novice, beginner | |
| syn. tyro, newcomer, proselyte | |
| ant. professional, expert, virtuoso | |
| The neophyte couldn't possibly match up with the professionals and veterans. | |
| Noisome - adj. offensive to the point of arousing disgust | |
| syn. foul, baneful | |
| ant. good, humane | |
| The noisome odor from the 4-year old eggplant nearly killed my nose. | |
| Nostalgia - n. a sentimental longing for a past time or state | |
| syn. homesickness, longing | |
| ant. forgetfulness, not caring | |
| After moving to Texas from Alabama, I would sometimes feel nostalgia for my old home and all the cockroaches that I had to kill in my apartment. | |
| Nullify - v. to render unimportant or without worth | |
| syn. negate, invalidate | |
| ant. authorize, establish | |
| Kyptonite nullifies Superman's powers and weakens him. | |
| Obdurate - adj. unwilling to give in to persuasion | |
| syn. stubborn, inflexible | |
| ant. acquiesing, swayable | |
| The obdurate old timer wouldn't sell his house although we offered 5 times its value. | |
| Objective - adj. lacking personal feeling or involvement | |
| syn. unbiased, fair | |
| ant. subjective | |
| Though the judge was supposed to be objective, it was obvious that she acted biased when she let her son go after he killed 9 people. | |
| Obliterate - v. to erase completely | |
| syn. wipe out, destroy, annihilate | |
| ant. create, make | |
| The Martians launched a death ray to obliterate and wipe out the Mole Men. | |
| Obscure - v./adj. to make dim or unclear; mysterious | |
| syn. conceal, hide; vague, remote | |
| ant. expose, clear | |
| No one had even heard of the obscure player that the Dallas Mavericks drafted. | |
| Obstreperous - adj. noisily/stubbornly defiant | |
| syn. unaccomodating, intractable | |
| ant. compliant, agreeable | |
| My obstreperous friend refused to admit he was wrong even when the entire class said so. | |
| Occlusion - n. blockage | |
| syn. obstruction, closure | |
| ant. opening, passageway | |
| The occlusion in the river flow left those downriver without any water. | |
| Officious - adj. self-important | |
| syn. meddlesome, interfering, impertinent | |
| ant. helpful | |
| My sister tries to help, but she usually ends up being officious and messing things up. | |
| Optimism - n. a positive, upbeat, favorable outlook on life | |
| syn. hopefulness | |
| ant. pessimism | |
| Even after a tornado destroyed his entire town and all of his possessions, my friend still had a sense of optimism, believing that everything would be okay. | |
| Orifice - n. an opening | |
| syn. breach, aperture | |
| ant. closing | |
| AIDS get through orifices in our membranes and wreak havoc on the immune system. | |
| Ostracize - v. to give exclusion from a group | |
| syn. banish, expulse | |
| ant. accept, adopt, invite | |
| After betraying them, he was ostracized from the group, doomed to wander alone forever. | |
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© Raymond Ma 2004