JERICHO
HIGH
SCHOOL
NAME
DATE
____________________________
___________
MS. FISCHER
SAT VOCABULARY
GROUP #1
Directions: Use the context clues in the sentence to make an educated guess about the meaning of
each word in bold.
1. “I abhor the first day of school,” Jordan grumbled. “I don’t want summer to end. I don’t
want to start doing homework every night. I really can’t stand the first day.”
abhor (
): ______________________________________________________________
2. Growing up in the American South in the 1950’s, Alex’s grandmother knew many bigots.
She loved her community, but she really had trouble dealing with small-minded folk.
bigot (
): _______________________________________________________________
3. Ashley wasn’t sure if she should buy the Louis Vuitton bag from the vendor. The bag was
beautiful, but it was so inexpensive that Ashley feared it might be counterfeit merchandise.
counterfeit (
): __________________________________________________________
4. After a struggle that lasted nearly a century, women in the United States were finally
enfranchised in 1920.
enfranchise (
): _________________________________________________________
5. To hamper attempted robbers, the child in Home Alone puts traps all over his house.
hamper (
): _____________________________________________________________
6. In camp you can earn a merit badge if you can kindle a fire, but it is much more difficult than
you might think.
kindle (
): ______________________________________________________________
7. The noxious fumes from the chemical treatment plant made housing in the neighborhood
really inexpensive; I still wouldn’t want to live in the vicinity, though.
noxious (
): _____________________________________________________________
8. A placid look crept into the mother’s face. It was September 3rd and all four of her children
had just departed for their first day of school. Finally, it was time for the mother to relax.
placid (
): ______________________________________________________________
9. The remuneration that Zack received after a summer working grueling hours in the heat
just did not seem like enough! Minimum wage simply isn’t adequate, Zack thought.
remuneration (
): ________________________________________________________
10. When Bianca sat for the S.A.T.’s, she tucked a rabbit’s foot in her back pocket, a talisman
that she hoped would help her earn a high score.
talisman (
): ____________________________________________________________
11. The coach’s abrasive tone made being a member of the team unpleasant; no one likes to be
spoken to in that way.
abrasive (
): ____________________________________________________________
12. Bernie Madeoff bilked investors out of millions of dollars (perhaps they should have looked
closely at his ironic surname).
bilk (
): ______________________________________________________________
13. With a covert glance, Nicole checked her text messages during class, her phone balanced
precariously across one knee. Phew! The teacher didn’t catch her.
covert (
): ______________________________________________________________
14. Dylan’s constant bragging engendered dislike among his peers. No one likes a braggart.
engender (
): ___________________________________________________________
15. Mr. Johnson’s private jet sat unused in the hangar for the summer; it would receive far more
use during the undesirable, cold winter months when Mr. Johnson frequented tropical
islands.
hangar (
): _____________________________________________________________
16. Jessica’s lies and half-truths had gotten her into this knotty situation and she didn’t know
how to fix the problem.
knotty (
): ______________________________________________________________
17. The nuance was missed on Matt. He just didn’t get the subtle implication of the words.
nuance (
): _____________________________________________________________
18. Plagiarism is a serious offense. Just this summer it was uncovered that a Congressman had
plagiarized a paper while at a university and now his re-election is in question.
plagiarism (
): __________________________________________________________
19. Robin Williams was so renowned that it seemed like the whole world mourned his death.
renown (
): _____________________________________________________________
20. It is easy to slip into a tangent when writing an essay if you don’t outline your ideas first.
tangent (
): _____________________________________________________________