SAT PRACTICE WORDS (WEEK 3)
1. Alacrity (uh LAK ri tee) n. cheerful expectancy; eagerness
 HUmberto packed with great alacrity, thinking of all the adventures he might
encounter at summer camp.
 In a moment of alacrity, Karen realized the gathering was a surprise party for her!
2. Allegory (AL uh gawr ee) n. a symbolic story
 Saint Augustine’s “City of God” is an allegory of the triumph of good over evil.
 “Alice in Wonderland” can be interpreted as an allegory.
3. Allay (au LAY) v. to relieve, calm, or pacify
 While babysitting, Christella sang a lullaby to allay the baby’s fear.
 The doctor hoped to allay Benita’s illness with medication.
4. Allot (uh LAHT) v. to give a share of something; allocate; apportion
 Due to the emergency, the boss allotted only two days for a job that would normally
take Isis an entire week to complete.
 The museum is planning to increase the amount of space allotted to modern art.
5. Allude (uh LOOD) v. to refer indirectly
 All of Liam’s poems allude to the love of man for nature.
 In her letter, Ambreia alludes to the reason she left our city ten years ago.
6. Discordant (dis KOR dunt) adj. disagreeing; quarrelsome; in conflict
o Pre-fix: Dis- (apart, asunder, having a negative or reversing force)
o Root: -cord- (a binding or restraint)
o Suffix: -ant (a person or thing that does a specified thing)
 The NHS Student Government Association’s discordant attitude discouraged those
who wanted to correct the school’s problems.
 Every generation develops artists with a discordant style that later becomes
fashionable and highly sought after.
7. Discursive (dis KUR siv) adj. rambling on aimlessly
o Prefix: Dis- (apart, asunder, having a negative or reversing force)
o Suffix: -ive – (doing or tending to do something)
o Root Word: curs ( run)
 Brittney’s novel quickly becomes discursive, and the reader loses the story line
completely.
 Amuche’s speech was so discursive that we never could decide what point she was
trying to make.
8. Estimable (ES the muh bul) adj. worthy of respect or admiration; capable of being
estimated
o Suffix: Able – able (-ble, ible) - capable of, susceptible of, fit for, tending to, given to
o Root Word: estim [estimate, esteem] (value)
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Prefixes:
Suffixes:
For many years, Gianna ran an estimable publishing house of which her publishing
peers thought highly.
The young boxer, Kyle, was an estimable opponent for the champ, and he won the fight
after a tough struggle.
ex—(out, out of, former, outside)
--logy (the study of)