SAT list A2.txt

(n) [AB stə nəns] the giving up of certain pleasures such as food or drink. Myra’s abstinence from cake, candy, and ice cream led to a dramatic weight loss.

(adj.) [ab STRAKT] theoretical, not applied to practical; not concrete; hard to understand. To him, hunger was an abstract concept, having never missed a meal himself.

(v) [bə LIT l] make something seem less important. We all realized that Roger belittled the painting because he could not compete with the artist.

(v) [em BEL ish] to decorate; to elaborate upon. Our principal thinks himself a comedian and can be relied upon to embellish his graduation message with a few spirited jokes.

(v) [EK stər payt] to exterminate; to root up. The missionary hoped to extirpate the habit of ritual sacrifice by substituting feasting and dancing.

(adj.) [i MYOO tə bəl] never changing. Cabot was an immutable heretic and nothing we said could persuade him to convert to our beliefs.

(adj.) [in VI ə lət] intact, not violated. Tom’s curfew remained inviolate; he had never broken it, so terrified was he of his father’s wrath.

(adj.) [LAY tent] present but invisible or inactive; lying hidden and undeveloped. The disease had been latent for many years, going unnoticed, until the man started exhibiting symptoms.

(adj.) [OP yə lənt] wealth; abundance. The hungry man was speechless when he saw the opulent banquet set before the king.

(n) [PROOR ee əns] obsessive interest in sex. The Marquis de Sade’s prurience led to him imprisonment in the Bastille on charges of sexual assaults on numerous women.

(adj.) [SOO do] false. His pseudo accent fooled most people until he encountered a native speaker.

(adj.) [siy KOT ik] one afflicted with a mental disorder. The killer’s psychotic condition was not discovered in time to present his shooting rampage.

(adj.) [STIL tid] stiffly formal; pompous. Using big words to impress a reader usually produces a stilted essay.

(n) [TEN it] a principle, doctrine, or belief held as a truth by a group. The belief in the right of ownership of property is one of the most important tenets of Western culture.

(adj.) [vi TOO pur ə tiv] harshly abusive; scolding. Amis’s, poisonous, vituperative comments left his young nephew in tears.

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