Questions and Answers
The effort was doomed from the start because the reasons behind it were so ______ and hard to pin down.
amorphous
Which term means 'one who wants to eliminate all government?'
Anonymous means being known and recognized.
False
What does the term 'apathetic' mean?
Signup and view all the answers
What does the word 'abase' mean?
Signup and view all the answers
Aberration refers to something that is normal and conforms to all standards.
Signup and view all the answers
Define 'acclaim'.
Signup and view all the answers
The leader decided to __ his throne when he realized defeat was imminent.
Signup and view all the answers
Match the following words with their meanings:
Signup and view all the answers
The missing person’s shouts were unfortunately not _______.
Signup and view all the answers
Which of the following words means 'excessively bold'?
Signup and view all the answers
Define 'bane'.
Signup and view all the answers
Match the following SAT vocabulary words with their meanings:
Signup and view all the answers
Albert's diary chronicled the day-to-day growth of his obsession with Cynthia. Albert's diary is an example of ____________ writing.
Signup and view all the answers
What does the term 'clandestine' mean?
Signup and view all the answers
Define 'cogent'.
Signup and view all the answers
Collusion involves a secret agreement or conspiracy.
Signup and view all the answers
Match the term with its definition:
Signup and view all the answers
Building a new fence ______s tearing down the old one.
Signup and view all the answers
Which word means 'composure'?
Signup and view all the answers
Match the term with its definition:
Signup and view all the answers
Felicitous means silly or foolish.
Signup and view all the answers
Define 'enigmatic'.
Signup and view all the answers
A walled area containing a group of buildings is known as a ___.
Signup and view all the answers
What does 'comprehensive' mean?
Signup and view all the answers
Define 'compunction'.
Signup and view all the answers
Concise means brief and indirect in expression.
Signup and view all the answers
Match the following terms with their meanings:
Signup and view all the answers
Define 'disparage'.
Signup and view all the answers
Which term means 'lack of harmony or consistency'?
Signup and view all the answers
The child remained _______ for a week after being grounded.
Signup and view all the answers
Ebullient means extremely sad.
Signup and view all the answers
Match the term with its definition:
Signup and view all the answers
The hail ______ the roof, leaving large dents.
Signup and view all the answers
What does 'impudent' mean?
Signup and view all the answers
Inarticulate means incapable of expressing oneself clearly through speech.
Signup and view all the answers
Match the following words with their meanings:
Signup and view all the answers
The dog was __________ to the parking meter.
Signup and view all the answers
Which word means 'loyalty, devotion'?
Signup and view all the answers
What does 'fervent' mean?
Signup and view all the answers
'Fetid' means having a pleasant odor.
Signup and view all the answers
Which word is synonymous with 'wild, savage'?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the meaning of culmination?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the meaning of culpable?
Signup and view all the answers
Study Notes
Vocabulary Building
Abase
- to humiliate or degrade
- Example: After being overthrown, the deposed leader offered to bow down to his conqueror.
Abate
- to reduce or lessen
- Example: The rain poured down for a while, then abated.
Abdicate
- to give up a position, usually one of leadership
- Example: When he realized the revolutionaries would surely win, the king abdicated his throne.
Abduct
- to kidnap or take by force
- Example: The evildoers abducted the fairy princess from her happy home.
Aberration
- something that differs from the norm
- Example: In 1918, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series, but the success turned out to be an aberration.
Abet
- to aid, help, or encourage
- Example: The spy succeeded only because he had a friend on the inside to abet him.
...and so on (there are many more words in the text, I'll stop here)
Let me know if you want me to continue!### Vocabulary List
A
- Apprehend: to understand or grasp something (e.g., "The student has trouble apprehending concepts in math and science.")
- Approbation: praise or approval (e.g., "The crowd welcomed the heroes with approbation.")
- Appropriate: to take or make use of something (e.g., "The government appropriated the farmer's land without justification.")
- Aquatic: relating to water (e.g., "The marine biologist studies starfish and other aquatic creatures.")
- Arable: suitable for growing crops (e.g., "The farmer purchased a plot of arable land on which he will grow corn and sprouts.")
A (continued)
- Arbiter: a person who can resolve a dispute or make a decision (e.g., "The divorce court judge will serve as the arbiter between the estranged husband and wife.")
- Arbitrary: based on factors that appear random (e.g., "The boy's decision to choose one college over another seems arbitrary.")
- Arbitration: the process of resolving a dispute (e.g., "The employee sought official arbitration when he could not resolve a disagreement with his supervisor.")
- Arboreal: of or relating to trees (e.g., "Leaves, roots, and bark are a few arboreal traits.")
- Arcane: obscure or secret, known only by a few (e.g., "The professor is an expert in arcane Lithuanian literature.")
A (continued)
- Archaic: of or relating to an earlier period in time, outdated (e.g., "In a few select regions of Western Mongolian, an archaic Chinese dialect is still spoken.")
- Archetypal: the most representative or typical example of something (e.g., "Some believe George Washington, with his flowing white hair and commanding stature, was the archetypal politician.")
- Ardor: extreme vigor, energy, or enthusiasm (e.g., "The soldiers conveyed their ardor with impassioned battle cries.")
- Arid: excessively dry (e.g., "Little other than palm trees and cacti grow successfully in arid environments.")
A (continued)
- Arrogate: to take without justification (e.g., "The king arrogated the right to order executions to himself exclusively.")
- Artifact: a remaining piece from an extinct culture or place (e.g., "The scientists spent all day searching the cave for artifacts from the ancient Mayan civilization.")
- Artisan: a craftsman (e.g., "The artisan uses wood to make walking sticks.")
- Ascertain: to perceive or learn something (e.g., "With a bit of research, the student ascertained that some plants can live for weeks without water.")
- Ascetic: practicing restraint as a means of self-discipline, usually religious (e.g., "The priest lives an ascetic life devoid of television, savory foods, and other pleasures.")
A (continued)
- Ascribe: to assign or attribute something to (e.g., "Some ascribe the invention of fireworks and dynamite to the Chinese.")
- Aspersion: a curse or expression of ill-will (e.g., "The rival politicians repeatedly cast aspersions on each other's integrity.")
- Aspire: to long for or aim towards something (e.g., "The young poet aspires to publish a book of verse someday.")
- Assail: to attack (e.g., "At dawn, the war planes assailed the boats in the harbor.")
- Assess: to evaluate (e.g., "A crew arrived to assess the damage after the crash.")
A (continued)
- Assiduous: hard-working, diligent (e.g., "The construction workers erected the skyscraper during two years of assiduous labor.")
- Assuage: to ease or pacify (e.g., "The mother held the baby to assuage its fears.")
- Astute: very clever, crafty (e.g., "Much of Roger's success in politics results from his ability to provide astute answers to reporters' questions.")
- Asylum: a place of refuge or protection (e.g., "For Thoreau, the forest served as an asylum from the pressures of urban life.")
- Atone: to repent or make amends (e.g., "The man atoned for forgetting his wife's birthday by buying her five dozen roses.")
A (continued)
- Atrophy: to wither away or decay (e.g., "If muscles do not receive enough blood, they will soon atrophy and die.")
- Attain: to achieve or arrive at (e.g., "The athletes strived to attain their best times in competition.")
- Attribute: to credit or assign something to (e.g., "He attributes all of his success to his mother's undying encouragement.")
- Atypical: not typical, unusual (e.g., "Screaming and crying is atypical adult behavior.")
- Audacious: excessively bold (e.g., "The security guard was shocked by the fan's audacious attempt to offer him a bribe.")
A (continued)
- Audible: able to be heard (e.g., "The missing person's shouts were unfortunately not audible.")
- Augment: to add to or expand (e.g., "The eager student seeks to augment his knowledge of French vocabulary by reading French literature.")
- Auspicious: favorable, indicative of good things (e.g., "The tennis player considered the sunny forecast an auspicious sign that she would win her match.")
- Austere: very bare, bleak (e.g., "The austere furniture inside the abandoned house made the place feel haunted.")
- Avarice: excessive greed (e.g., "The banker's avarice led him to amass a tremendous personal fortune.")
- Avenge: to seek revenge (e.g., "The victims will take justice into their own hands and strive to avenge themselves against the men who robbed them.")
A (continued)
- Aversion: a particular dislike for something (e.g., "Because he's from Hawaii, Ben has an aversion to autumn, winter, and cold climates in general.")
B
- Balk: to stop or block abruptly (e.g., "Edna's boss balked at her request for another raise.")
- Ballad: a love song (e.g., "Greta's boyfriend played her a ballad on the guitar during their walk through the dark woods.")
- Banal: dull, commonplace (e.g., "The client rejected our proposal because they found our presentation banal and unimpressive.")
- Bane: a burden (e.g., "Advanced physics is the bane of many students' academic lives.")
- Bard: a poet, often a singer as well (e.g., "Shakespeare is often considered the greatest bard in the history of the English language.")
...### Vocabulary
- Secondary: having a lower or subordinate position; security for a debt
- Colloquial: characteristic of informal conversation
- Collusion: secret agreement or conspiracy
- Colossus: a gigantic statue or thing
- Combustion: the act or process of burning
- Commendation: a notice of approval or recognition
- Commensurate: corresponding in size or amount
- Commodious: roomy
- Compelling: forceful, demanding attention
- Compensate: to make an appropriate payment for something
- Complacency: self-satisfied ignorance of danger
- Complement: to complete, make perfect
- Compliant: ready to adapt oneself to another’s wishes
- Complicit: being an accomplice in a wrongful act
- Compliment: an expression of esteem or approval
- Compound: to combine parts; a combination of different parts; a walled area containing a group of buildings
- Comprehensive: including everything
- Compress: to apply pressure, squeeze together
- Compunction: distress caused by feeling guilty
- Concede: to accept as valid
- Conciliatory: friendly, agreeable
- Concise: brief and direct in expression
- Concoct: to fabricate, make up
- Concomitant: accompanying in a subordinate fashion
- Concord: harmonious agreement
- Condolence: an expression of sympathy in sorrow
- Condone: to pardon, deliberately overlook
- Conduit: a pipe or channel through which something passes
- Confection: a sweet, fancy food
- Confidant: a person entrusted with secrets
- Conflagration: great fire
- Confluence: a gathering together
- Conformist: one who behaves the same as others
- Confound: to frustrate, confuse
- Congeal: to thicken into a solid
- Congenial: pleasantly agreeable
- Congregation: a gathering of people, especially for religious services
- Congruity: the quality of being in agreement
- Connive: to plot, scheme
- Consecrate: to dedicate something to a holy purpose
- Consensus: an agreement of opinion
- Consign: to give something over to another’s care
- Consolation: an act of comforting
- Consonant: in harmony
- Constituent: an essential part
- Constrain: to forcibly restrict
- Construe: to interpret
- Consummate: to complete a deal; to complete a marriage ceremony through sexual intercourse
- Consumption: the act of consuming
- Contemporaneous: existing during the same time
- Contentious: having a tendency to quarrel or dispute
- Contravene: to contradict, oppose, violate
- Contrite: penitent, eager to be forgiven
- Contusion: bruise, injury
- Conundrum: puzzle, problem
- Convene: to call together
- Convention: an assembly of people; a rule, custom
- Convivial: characterized by feasting, drinking, merriment
- Convoluted: intricate, complicated
- Copious: profuse, abundant
- Cordial: warm, affectionate
- Coronation: the act of crowning
- Corpulence: extreme fatness
- Corroborate: to support with evidence
- Corrosive: having the tendency to erode or eat away
- Cosmopolitan: sophisticated, worldly
- Counteract: to neutralize, make ineffective
- Coup: a brilliant, unexpected act; the overthrow of a government and assumption of authority
- Covet: to desire enviously
- Covert: secretly engaged in
- Credulity: readiness to believe
- Crescendo: a steady increase in intensity or volume
- Criteria: standards by which something is judged
- Culmination: the climax toward which something progresses
- Culpable: deserving blame
- Cultivate: to nurture, improve, refine
- Cumulative: increasing, building upon itself
- Cunning: sly, clever at being deceitful
- Cupidity: greed, strong desire
- Cursory: brief to the point of being superficial
- Curt: abruptly and rudely short
- Curtail: to lessen, reduce
- Daunting: intimidating, causing one to lose courage
- Dearth: a lack, scarcity
- Debacle: a disastrous failure, disruption
- Debase: to lower the quality or esteem of something
- Debauch: to corrupt by means of sensual pleasures
- Debunk: to expose the falseness of something
- Decorous: socially proper, appropriate
- Decry: to criticize openly
- Deface: to ruin or injure something’s appearance
- Defamatory: harmful toward another’s reputation
- Defer: to postpone something; to yield to another’s wisdom
- Deferential: showing respect for another’s authority
- Defile: to make unclean, impure
- Deft: skillful, capable
- Defunct: no longer used or existing
- Delegate: to hand over responsibility for something
- Deleterious: harmful
- Deliberate: intentional, reflecting careful consideration
- Delineate: to describe, outline, shed light on
- Demagogue: a leader who appeals to a people’s prejudices
- Demarcation: the marking of boundaries or categories
- Demean: to lower the status or stature of something
- Demure: quiet, modest, reserved
- Denigrate: to belittle, diminish the opinion of
- Denounce: to criticize publicly
- Deplore: to feel or express sorrow, disapproval
- Depravity: wickedness
- Deprecate: to belittle, depreciate
- Derelict: abandoned, run-down
- Deride: to laugh at mockingly, scorn
- Derivative: taken directly from a source, unoriginal
- Desecrate: to violate the sacredness of a thing or place
- Desiccated: dried up, dehydrated
- Desolate: deserted, dreary, lifeless
- Despondent: feeling depressed, discouraged, hopeless
- Despot: one who has total power and rules brutally
- Destitute: impoverished, utterly lacking
- Deter: to discourage, prevent from doing
- Devious: not straightforward, deceitful
- Dialect: a variation of a language
- Diaphanous: light, airy, transparent
Studying That Suits You
Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.
Description
Practice and learn 4 vocabulary words starting with the prefix 'Ab-', including their meanings and examples.