SAT Vocabulary for Juniors
Lesson 10
#1 Idolatry: n. excessive or blind adoration; worship of
an object
Some pediatricians have accused
overprotective parents of child idolatry.
“Speak of the moderns without contempt,
and of the ancients without idolatry.”
-Philip Dorner Stanhope Chesterfield, 4th
#2 Adulterate: v. to make impure; to contaminate
syn: taint; corrupt / ant: refine; refined
By adding water to the wine, the shabby
restaurant adulterated its quality and cheated
the customers.
“Ghost. The serpent that did sting thy father's life
now wears his crown. Hamlet. O my prophetic
soul! My uncle? Ghost. Ay, that incestuous,
that adulterate beast.”
-Shakespeare, Hamlet
#3 Emanate: v. to come forth; to send forth
syn: rise; emerge
A steady stream of water emanated from
the broken fire hydrant.
“Speech emanating from a pure heart and
mind of learned men and scholars are
naturally pure just like water of a river.”
-Yajur Veda
#4 Garish: adj. tastelessly gaudy
syn: showy; glaring; flashy / ant: sedate; conservative
Some store window displays are simple and
elegant, but others are garish and trashy.
“When he shall die, take him and cut him out in
little stars and he will make the face of heaven
so fine that all the world will be in love with
night and pay no worship to the garish sun.”
-Skakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
#5 Immutable: adj. unchangeable; fixed
syn: enduring / ant: flexible; changeable
The aging actress spent thousands on cosmetic
surgery, only to find that the effects of age and
gravity are immutable.
“Truth is the most unbending and uncompliable,
the most necessary, firm, immutable, and
adamantine thing in the world.”
-Ralph J. Cudworth
#6 Diadem: n. a crown
Looking to upgrade her image, the queen
had her diadem encrusted with jewels.
“Nature, like us, is sometimes caught
Without her diadem.”
-Emily Dickinson
#7 Bucolic: adj. pertaining to the countryside; rural; rustic
syn: pastoral / ant: urban
Unicorns and griffins frolicked in the
bucolic and verdant landscape.
“I tire of the labour of thinking, and, when
the table is finished, start practical jokes
and set all playing at games, which we
carry on with bucolic boisterousness.”
-Jack London, John Barleycorn
#8 Redolent: adj. having a pleasant odor; suggestive or evocative
syn: aromatic / ant: acrid
The crooked politician conducted a
campaign redolent of vice and
corruption.
“My weary soul they seem to soothe,
And, redolent of joy and youth,
To breathe a second spring.”
-Thomas Gray
#9 Impecunious: adj. without money; penniless
syn: destitute; indigent / ant: affluent; prosperous
Despite their impecunious status, the family
lived healthily and happily through foraging
and hunting.
“As it was precisely of that love that poor Winsett
was starving to death, Archer looked with a
sort of vicarious envy at this eager
impecunious young man who had fared so
richly in his poverty.”
-Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence
#10 Sedition: n. rebellion or resistance against the
government
syn: treachery; disloyalty
No self-respecting government allows sedition
and its rebellious methods to go unpunished.
“The Bill of Rights is a born rebel. It reeks with
sedition. In every clause it shakes its fist in
the face of constituted authority... it is the one
guaranty of human freedom to the American
people.”
-Frank I, Cobb
#11 Defile: v. to pollute; to corrupt
An immoral act defiles the character of
those who do it and those who let it
happen.
“To get power over is to defile. To possess
is to defile.”
-Simone Well
#12 Gratuitous: adj. unnecessary or uncalled for
Geri’s directions were helpful, but her
gratuitous details confused the lost
travelers, and they were forced to stop
and ask someone else for directions.
“Tolerance implies a gratuitous
assumption of the inferiority of other
faiths to one's own.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
#13 Onus: n. a burden; a responsibility
syn: obligation
John accepted the onus of explaining why
his group was late.
“Liberals tend to put the onus of your
success on society and conservatives on
you and your family.”
-Dennis Prager
#14 Impious: adj. disrespectful toward God
syn: irreligious; profane / ant: devout; pious
Larry joined in the impious laughter at the
bumbling clergyman.
“When obedience is so impious, revolt is
a necessity.”
-Pierre Corneille
#15 Caveat: n. a warning
syn: admonition; caution
Remember the buyer’s caveat: if it sounds
too good to be true, it probably is.
“Caveat emptor” means “let the buyer
beware.”