SAT Vocabulary
Lesson 9
Let’s be careful with the money
Words relating to care for spending money
austere (adj) having great economy; showing self-control when it come to
forgoing luxuries and frills; stern in manner or appearance
avaricious (adj) greedy
frugal (adj) careful with money; thrifty; not prodigal or wasteful
mercenary (adj) greedy for self-gain; thinking only on money-making
miserly (adj) careful of how money is spent; thrifty
parsimonious (adj) overly thrifty or miserly
penurious (adj) stingy; relating to great poverty, destitution
thrifty (adj) showing care with how money and resources are spend or
used; miserly
Matching
austere
a. one who hoards money for him/herself
avarice
b. economizing
penurious
c. penniless
frugal
d. greed
miser
e. restricted with spending
Sentence Completion
1 The knuckles of the ______ old man were perpetually white from strongly clutching
his coins, dollars, and prized possessions.
(penury, parsimony, austere, miserly, frugal)
2. Distressingly, the ______ community was overwrought with one-parent homes, drug
peddling, and petty crime, all resulting in destitution.
(penurious, thrifty, mercenary, austerity, parsimonious)
3. ________ can be an insatiable drive, for sometimes even excessive wealth and
material goods is just never enough.
(Parsimony, Thriftiness, Frugality, Austerity, Avarice)
4. To adopt a more _______ lifestyle, Grant froze his gym membership, said goodbye to
his daily mocha latte from Starbucks, and remorsefully asked his cleaning lady if would
be kind enough to come just once a month.
(penurious, avaricious, austere, mercenary, parsimonious)
5. Using the newspaper comics as wrapping paper and returning soda cans to the
grocery story are two ways that a family can practice _______.
(penury, avarice, mercenary, miserly, thrift)
Words in Context
1. Based on the context in which each bold word is used, identify the word usage of
each sentence as either C (Correct) or I (Incorrect).
2. “Your untidy room proves that you are miserly!” scolded his older sister.
3. Parsimony portends the increasing selfishness of humankind.
4. Using a sheet of paper on only one side is a sign of a miserly individual.
5. Mercenaries and tightwads are two of a kind.
6. Dishearteningly, penurious living conditions can contribute to despair and ill will
on the part of the dwellers.