Lesson One
SAT Words– AP Laying the
Foundation
Altruistic to Taciturn
Altruistic
adj—self-less; unselfishly concerned for the
welfare of others; generous
Some of the richest people in America
are also among the most altruistic;
Bill Gates is a case in point.
Ambivalent-(adj)
undecided; having contrary feelings
or attitudes
I am ambivalent about what college
to attend; Virginia has many
wonderful options.
Angular—adj
lean; sharp cornered
After being incarcerated, the prisoner’s
face appeared gaunt and angular.
Arrogant—adj
haughty, proud
I can’t believe how arrogant the player was
after he won the game; he trounced around
the field as if he was invincible.
Aversion–
n
reluctance, loathing;
strong disliking
Donatti used aversion training,
demonstrating the results by shocking
a hungry rabbit, to get clients to quit
smoking.
Discern-v
to tell between; differentiate
My vision is poor at night and I find it difficult
to discern the lines on the roads.
Disdain—n.
intense dislike; to treat with
scorn or contempt
He had utter disdain for his mother-inlaw, which ultimately led to the
couple’s divorce.
Disparity—n.
inequality; the condition or
fact of being unequal
There is a disparity of wealth in Ashburn, as
evidenced by the varied styles of housing.
Disparage—verb-belittle;
deprecate; damage; to speak of
someone or something in a derogatory
manner
He disparaged their reputations by posting
the pictures of them at the party in the
school newspaper.
Embellish-verb
to decorate; make beautiful
with ornamentation
She embellished her handwriting with
hearts, circles, and flowers, much to her
teacher’s dismay.
Engender—v—to cause; create;
to produce
Initially the rallies engendered good will
among the participants, but eventually,
things became rowdy.
Innocuous-
adj—
harmless, producing no injury,
benign
I did not mean to offend her; I truly
thought my comment was innocuous.
Insipid—adj
flavorless; boring;
stupid; inane
When will we ever get out of this boring
and insipid class?
The vegetable dish was rather insipid; it
begged for salt.
Lament—verb—to mourn, to
express sorrow in a
demonstrative manner
The widow lamented the loss of her husband and dressed in
black for ten years.
Laud—verb
to praise; to extol
The President was initially lauded for
his victories; but lately, he has been
criticized repeatedly.
Obscure—adj
difficult to see; vague
We found an obscure reference to my
grandfather in a public document at the
National Archives.
Ostentatious—adj—showy;
pretentious
Some people prefer subtle decorations at
Christmas, while others love ostentatious
displays.
Prodigal—adj
wasteful, a person given to
extravagance
The prodigal son was warmly
welcomed, even though he had lost
his father’s fortune.
Repudiate—verb
to reject; to disown; to
disavow
It is said that Chaucer actually repudiated
his work, even while others lauded it.
Reticence—n.
restraint in Speech;
reluctance to speak
Her reticence at school is out of
character with the personality she
displays at home.
Revere-verbto honor; to regard with
respect
We adults were raised in a time when
children revered their elders.
Serene—adj—
calm; placid
The serene setting was so
relaxing, I took a nap.
Subtle- adj-
delicate; elusive; not
obvious
I tasted a subtle hint of cinnamon in the
prize winning chili dish.
Superfluous—adj
beyond what is needed or
required, an overflow
Try to weed the superfluous words from
your writing; be as direct and precise as
you can be.
Taciturn—adj
quiet; not verbose
He had trouble keeping up a
conversation with his blind date; she
was too taciturn for him.