SAT Vocab

Subside; decrease, lessen. Rather than leaving immediately, they waited for the storm to abate.

Condense or shorten. Because the publishers felt the public wanted a shorter version of War and Peace, they proceeded to abridge the novel.

Sparing in eating and drinking; temperate. Concerned whether her vegetarian son's abstemious diet providing him with sufficient protein, the worried mother pressed food on him.

Theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational. To him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal.

ADJ. Obscure; profound; difficult to understand. Baffled by the abstruse philosophical texts assigned in class, Dave asked Lexy to explain Kant's Critique of Pure Reason.

ADJ. easy to approach; obtainable. We asked our guide whether the ruins were accessible on foot.

V. applaud; announce with great approval. The NBC sportscasters acclaimed every American victory victory in the Olympics and decried ever American defeat.

N. award of merit. In Hollywood, an "Oscar" is the highest accolade.

V. recognize; admit. Although Iris acknowledged that the Beatles' tunes sounded pretty dated nowadays, she still preferred them to the hip-hop songs her brothers played.

V. assent; agree without protesting. Although she appeared to acquiesce to her emplyer's suggestions, I could tell she had reservations about the changes he wanted made.

ADJ. sharp; bitterly pungent. The acrid odor of burnt gunpowder filled the room after the pistol had been fired.

ADJ. bitter in words or manner. The candidate attacked his opponent in highly acrimonious terms. acrimony, N.

N. flattery; admiration. The rock star thrived on adulation of his groupies and yes men. adulate, V.

N. opponent. They young wrestler struggled to defeat his adversary.

N. Unfavorable fortune; harship; a calamitous event. According to the humorist Mark Twain, anyone can easily learn to endure adversity , as long as it is another man's.

V. urge; plead for. The abolitionists advocated freedom for the slaves. Also N.

ADJ. artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciation of the beautiful. They beauty of Tiffany's stained flass appealed to Esther's aesthetic sense. aesthete, N.

ADJ. easily approachable; warmly friendly. Accustomed to cold, aloof supervisors, Nicolas was amazed at how affable his new employer was.

N. positive assertion; confirmation; solemnpledge by one who refuses to take an oath. Despite Tom's affirmations of innocence, Aunt Polly still suspected he had eaten the pie.

V. relieve. This should alleviate the pain; if it does not, we shall have to use stronger drugs.

ADJ. apart; reserved. Shy by nature, she remained aloof while all the rest conversed.

ADJ. unselfishly generous; concerned for others. In providing tutorial assistance and college scholarships for hundreds of economically disadvantaged youths, Eugene Lang performed a truly altruistic deed. altruism, N.

ADJ. unclear or doubtful in meaning. His ambiguous instructions misled us; we did not know which road to take. ambiguity, N.

N. the state of having contradictory or consflicating emotional attitudes. Torn between loving her parents one menute and hating them the next, she was confused by the ambivalence of her feelings. ambivalent, ADJ.

ADJ. comparable. She called our attention to the things that had been done in an analgous situation and recommended that we do the same.

N. person who seeks to overturn the stablished government.; advocate of abolishing authority. Denying she was an anarchist, Katya maintained she wished only to make changes in our government, not to destroy it entirely. anarchy, N.

N. active enmity. He incurred the animosity of the ruling class because he advocated limitations of their power.

N. hostility; active resistance. Barry showed his antagonism toward his new stepmother by ignoring her whenever she tried talking to him. antagonistic, ADJ.

ADJ. old-fashioned; obsolete. Philip had grown so accustomed to editing his papers on word processors that he thought typewriters were too antiquated for him to use.

N. lack of caring; indifference. A firm believe in democratic government, she could not understand the apathy of people who never bothered to vote. apathetic, ADJ.