SAT words - T
| Tacit - adj. understood but not spoken | |
| syn. silent | |
| ant. vocal | |
| In the game of "Signals," you give tacit signals to your partner when you have a 4-of-a-kind. | |
| Taciturn - adj. naturally silent | |
| syn. laconic | |
| ant. loud, talkative | |
| Though normally taciturn, she suddenly began talking up a storm when she met Brad Pitt. | |
| Tactile - adj. pertaining to sense of touch | |
| syn. sensory, palpable | |
| ant. nontactile | |
| Do you really expect me to make up a sentence using 'tactile', a word that means 'pertaining to the sense of touch?' | |
| Tawdry - adj. cheap-looking | |
| syn. gaudy, tasteless | |
| ant. precious, valuable | |
| He thinks he looks cool, but his lame dressing styles are rather tawdry. | |
| Temerity - n. unwise boldness | |
| syn. rash/reckless behavior | |
| ant. doubtfulness, insecurity | |
| Possessing lots of temerity, he jumped into the shark tank without a second thought. | |
| Temper - v. to moderate or adjust as conditions require; to strengthen through hardship | |
| syn. harden | |
| ant. soften | |
| The well-tempered blade could cut through nearly anything. | |
| Temperance - n. moderation of food or drink | |
| syn. abstinence | |
| ant. indulgence | |
| My mom believes in temperance, so she never indulges in snacks or over-eats. | |
| Temporize - v. to put off to a later time | |
| syn. delay, prolong, procrastinate | |
| ant. expedite, hurry | |
| I enjoy temporizing my homework and procrastinating until right before it's due. | |
| Tenacious - adj. persistent in holding on | |
| syn. retentive, adamant | |
| ant. loose, slippery | |
| Though he was rejected 234 times, my tenacious friend still kept asking girls out on dates. | |
| Tenet - n. a major belief | |
| syn. principle, doctrine | |
| ant. atheism, anarchy | |
| A major tenet of Christianity is that there is a God. | |
| Tentative - adj. unsure | |
| syn. hesitant, uncertain | |
| ant. certain, sure, confident | |
| Our teacher changed the tentative schedule 27 times before finalizing it. | |
| Tepid - adj. warm temperature | |
| syn. blood warm, lukewarm, temperate | |
| ant. cold | |
| The tepid weather already had all the volleyball players sweating. | |
| Terse - adj. stripped of all but the essentials | |
| syn. concise, succinct | |
| ant. elaborate | |
| Her terse and to the point statement wasn't covered up with flowery words. | |
| Thwart - v. to foil | |
| syn. baffle, frustrate | |
| ant. aid, assist, encourage | |
| The brave Martian thwarted the Mole Men's evil plan and saved Mars from destruction. | |
| Tine- n. prong on a tool like a fork | |
| syn. prong | |
| ant. (none) | |
| After the tine on my fork broke, I fixed it by taping a toothpick in its place. | |
| Tirade - n. a lengthy, emotional speech | |
| syn. berating, diatribe | |
| ant. compliment | |
| In protest of President Bush, I gave a 5-hour long tirade attacking his foreign policies. | |
| Torpor - n. inability to think or act quickly | |
| syn. sluggishness, lethargy | |
| ant. awareness, consciousness | |
| The drugs and depressants clearly led to his torpor and sleepiness. | |
| Tortuous - adj. winding or twisted | |
| syn. crooked, tricky | |
| ant. straight, linear | |
| The tortuous test required 16 hours just to complete. | |
| Treachly - adj. excessively sentimental | |
| syn. touchy, emotional | |
| ant. apathetic | |
| The worried, treachly mother cuddled her son after he got dumped by his 25th girlfriend. | |
| Trenchant - adj. forceful, caustic | |
| syn. effective, potent, powerful, acerbic, biting | |
| ant. amicable, flattering | |
| The trenchant insult made my opponent's face turn red with anger. | |
| Trepidation - n. fear | |
| syn. worry, apprehension | |
| ant. bravery | |
| Muscular girls scare me, so I have a strong trepidation of them. | |
| Trite - n. a commonplace idea | |
| syn. banality, stale saying | |
| ant. original idea | |
| That unoriginal girl could only come up with trites, not new ideas. | |
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© Raymond Ma 2004