Lesson 17 SAT Vocab.
The Quiz is on Friday the
18th!
1. Rebuke- verb. To scold; to blame
Syn: admonish; reprimand Ant: praise; laud.
There were no cruel overseers set to watch them,
and no one to rebuke them or to find fault with
them.
-The Emerald City of Oz By Baum, L. Frank
The team rebuked the player who seldom
showed up for practice but always wanted to play
first string.
2. Nonentity- noun. A person or thing
of little importance.
Syn: Nobody
Miss Millward was there, it is true, but she, of
course, would be little better than a nonentity.
–
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall By Bronte, Anne
In a large, impersonal corporation, some employees
must struggle to keep from feeling they are
nonentities.
3. Sang-froid- noun. Calmness; composure
or cool self-possession,
Syn: Aplomb; self-confidence Ant: Uneasiness;
perturbation
So all that Italian crew looked on and marvelled at
the infant phenomenon that downed wine with the
sang-froid of an automaton.
–
John Barleycorn By London Jack
Marcie accepted her punishment with unemotional
sang-froid.
4. Desultory-
adj. Wandering from
subject to subject.
Syn: disconnected; rambling
This changed the subject, which became a desultory
discourse on the news of the day.
–
Autobiography of a Pocket-Handkerchief By Cooper, James Fenimore
It was a desultory presentation, full of long and
uncomfortable silences.
5. Hector- verb. To bully; to pester.
syn. badger; browbeat
Each man's like mine; you have shown all Hectors.
-Antony and Cleopatra By Shakespeare, William
The teacher hectored the students until a few burst
into tears.
6. pandemic- adj. general; widespread.
Accordingly, it is crucial that employers be aware of
their legal obligations as well as the practical
implications that a pandemic influenza outbreak
may have for their operations and workforce.
The flu strain pandemic of 1918 and 1919 killed
some 50 million to 100 million people worldwide.
7. coalesce- verb. To blend; to merge
syn: mix; unite; combine Ant: separate; divide
“…he proposed that the two comparties should
coalesce in this great undertaking.”
- Astoria or Anecdotes of an enterprise beyond the Rockey Mountains By
Washington Irving
Many separate groups coalesced into a mighty
army.
8.
Beguile- verb. To deceive; to charm;
to enchant.
Syn; charm; fool Ant; irritate; bore
I know the Sheriff has devised it to beguile us
archers into some treachery.
-Robin Hood By McSpadden, J. Walker
From behind the curtain stepped a child prodigy
who beguiled the audience by playing a Chopin
polonaise.
9. Ennui- noun. Boredom; a weariness
resulting in lack of awareness.
Ant: excitement; interest
“ …and
it was all from ennui, gentlemen, all from
ennui; inertia overcame me.”
-
Notes from the Underground By Destoyevsky
Oppressed by ennui, the retired statesman
looked around desperately for something
important to do.
10. Hiatus- noun. A pause of gap.
Syn: intermission; break
Bessie supplied the hiatus by a homily of an
hour's length, in which she proved beyond a doubt
that I was the most wicked and abandoned child
ever reared under a roof.
-Jane Eyre By Bronte, Charlotte
Over the holidays, bloggers go on hiatus from the
demands of spreading gossip and conjecture.
11. Lambent- adj. softly bright or
radiant; moving lightly over surface.
syn: glowing; lucid
At the slightest impact of the outside world upon
his consciousness, his thoughts, sympathies, and
emotions leapt and played like lambent flame.
-Martin Eden By London, Jack
Veronica’s lambent eyes made Miguel forget
what he had planned to say.
12. ergo- conj. Therefore
syn: consequently; hence
“… consequently, i must then unite with him in
his; ergo, I must turn idolator.”
-Moby Dick LXVIII-CXXXIV By Melville, Herman
“You spent our paychecks on video poker
machines; ergo, we eat beans and rice this
week!” scolded Wayne’s wife, Maggie.
13. Hubris- noun. Excessive pride or
self confidence.
Syn: arrogance or overconfidence Ant: humility
diffidence
Hubris has defeated many an overaggressive
general.
We can lead a strong European foreign policy or,
lost in hubris nostalgia or xenophobia, watch our
influence in the world wane.
14. Pecuniary- adj. pertaining to
money; financial
Syn: monetary
“ …scorned to reflect a moment on their
pecuniary Distresses and would have blushed at
the idea of paying their Debts.”
-Love and Friendship By Austen, Jane
Connie reviewed her pecuniary resources and
decided to hit her parents up for a loan.
15. Sibilant- adj. a hissing sound.
There was a low, sibilant rise and fall--the
breathing of the creature.
-
The Lost World By Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan
John’s jokes bombed, and he heard the sibilant
sounds of an unhappy audience hissing in
disgust.
Exercise 1- Words in context
Bill, a hazardous-materials cleanup technician, kept his
sang-froid when he heard the sibilant sound of air
•Ennui
escaping from his breathing apparatus. His air was
•Hiatus
running out, but he had to close the valve on the
pandemic contamination forced the
chemical
tank
before
•Ergo
city to evacuate. As he struggled to turn the valve, Bill
•Pandemic rebuked himself for not inspecting his equipment more
often. Six months earlier, an injury had forced bill to
•Sang-froid take a [n] hiatus from his career, and the ennui of doing
nothing had been more painful to him than the chemical
•Hubris
burn. He had returned to duty with renewed hubris , but
•Rebuke
now feared it might get him killed.
1.
•Sibilant
Exercise 1- Words in context
2. Anne’s pecuniary worries made it hard for her to
desultory rambling. Bill
concentrate
on
her
roommate’s
•Nonentity
collectors hectored Anne every day, and she knew that her
•Pecuniary next check would not stop them. She gazed at the lambent
patterns of light that the aquarium cast on the floor, while
•Ergo
allowing moneymaking ideas to coalesce in her head.
•Beguile
Anne had already tried tobeguile her boss into letting her
•Hector
work more hours, but the company regarded college
students asnonentities who did not warrant full-time jobs.
•Ennui
She needed to make enough money to pay for the next
•Lambent semester; ergo , Anne would have to find a better job.
•Desultory
•Coalesce
Exercise II – Sentence Completion
Complete the sentence in a way that shows you understand the meaning
of the italicized vocab. word.
1.
When the bank saw that Cole had had pecuniary troubles it the past,
it refused to…
2.
I will not go out to dinner with you; ergo…
3.
Adam wanted to teach again, but the hiatus in his career was so long
that…
4.
The vacuum cleaner salesman beguiled the couple into believing…
5.
Jazz was conceived in the United States, but its pandemic growth…
6.
The suspect’s desultory alibi convinced the police that…
7.
While discussing colleges, Alexa’s parents said that her boyfriend is
a nonentity and that he should not influence…
Sentence Completion cont…
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Lucas rebuked the dog for…
A fireman who loses his sang-froid while fighting a fire may…
During the company strike, some of the picketers hectored the
people who continued…
The auto-body repair shop coalesced all its records so that…
To Leslie, the board meeting was two hours of ennui, and it would
be difficult for her to…
The lambent moonlight reflected on the surface of …
The general’s hubris frightened the soldiers, because they were not
sure they could…
When Courtney heard the sibilant noise coming from the tire she
knew that…
Exercise III- Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes
The root lud means “to play” or “to mock”
The root grav means “heavy”
The root son means “sound” or “to sound”
The root und means “wave,” “to surge,” or “to
flood.”
The prefix ab means “to flow”
The prefix inter means “between” or “among”
Exercise III continued…
1.
Using the literal translations as guidance, define
the following words without using a dictionary.






Elude To evade or escape from, as by daring or skill.
Ludicrous Laughable because of obvious absurdity.
Illusion An erroneous perception of reality.
Sonic Of or relating to sound.
Gravity The force of attraction or grave seriousness.
Undulate To cause to move in a wavelike motion.
Exercise III continued…
2. The prelude to the play consisted of a narrator describing the
setting before the curtain opened. An orchestra played musical
interlude between acts while the theater crew rearranged the
stage.
3. A [n] grave situation has heavy consequences, and if you elude
the problem, then you will add to it.
4. The alphabet consists of sounds that we call vowels and consonants.
If the members of a chorus all singing together, then they are
said to be singing in unison .
5. William Shakespeare is famous for his drama and his sonnets ,
or poems consisting of fourteen lines.
Exercise IV- Inference
Complete the sentences by inferring about information
about the italicized word from its context.
1.
The cockroach is a pandemic insect; most of the people
on Earth would probably be able to…
2.
Joshua’s hubris cost him a scholarship because he spent
his evenings watching television instead of preparing
for…
3.
Tim though that is thoughts were too desultory for him
to become a pharmacist; he worried that he might fill the
wrong prescription because he…
Exercise V- Writing
Plan and write an essay based on the following statement:
Author Anna Quindlen wrote in How Reading Changed My Life, “I dad not read
from a sense of superiority, or advancement, or even learning, I read because I loved it
more than any other activity on earth.”
One activity that is as important to me as reading was to Anna Quindlen is…
Assignment: Write an essay in which you discuss the importance of the activity that you
have noted above. Support any generalities with specific references to the activity you
are discussing and to your experience and observations.
Thesis: Write a one-sentence response to the above assignment. Make certain this single
sentence offers a clear statement of your position.
Organizational Plan: If your thesis is the point of which you want to end, where does your
essay need to begin? List the points of development that are inevitable in leading your
reader from your beginning point to your end point. This list is your outline.
Draft: Use your thesis as both your beginning and your end. Following your outline, write
a good first draft of your essay. Remember to support all your points with examples.
Review and revise: exchange essays with a classmate. Using the scoring guide for word
choice, score your partners essay. Focus on word choice and the use of language
conventions. If necessary, rewrite your essay to improve your word choice and/or your
use of language.
Identifying Sentence Errors
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
By the time Joe finally got a job he had applied to more than fifty
companies.
No error.
Has the coach chose the new uniforms for the soccer team yet? No
error.
Anyone seeking articles lost at the theater may check lost and found
for their items. No error.
Dave is so ill that he has done nothing but lay on the bed all day. No
error.
Young people, like you and I, have so many career options
available that it is hard to make a selection. No error.
Improving Sentences
6.
7.
8.
The thief ran up behind her, grabs the women’s purse, and ran around a corner before anyone
could see his face.
1.
grabbed the woman’s purse
2.
grabs the women’s purse
3.
grabbed the womens purses
4.
grabs the purse from the woman
5.
the woman’s purse was taken
Jane has excellent qualifications not only as a scientist but she knows a lot about management,
too.
1.
And she likes science, too.
2.
But also in the skills of management.
3.
But also as a manager.
4.
But in the knowledge of management.
5.
But also managing.
Lucy baked chocolate chip cookies to give her friends with walnuts.
1.
Walnuts with chocolate chip cookies to give her friends.
2.
Chocolate chip cookies with walnuts.
3.
Chocolate chip cookies for her friends to give.
4.
To give her friends, chocolate chip cookies with walnuts.
5.
Chocolate chip cookies with walnuts to give her friends.
Continued…
9.
Our boss called a meeting in relation to the sales project.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
10.
a meeting about
a discussion session in relation to
to tell us to meet to talk about
to chit chat about
about
Monk Pond is much more shallower than Goodman’s Lake.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
lesser in depth then
much less deeper than
not nearly so deep as
much more shallow than
much less deep than