SAT Vocab 2

V. pacify or soothe; relieve. Tom and Jody tried to appease the crying baby by offering him one toy after another, but he would not calm down until they appeased his hunger by giving him a bottle.

N. fear. His nervous glances at the passersby on the deserted street revealed his apprehension.

ADJ. capricious; randomly chosen; tyrannical. Tom's arbitrary dismissal angered him; his boss hand no reason to fire him. He threw an abitrary assortment of clothes into his suitcase and headed off, not caring where he went.

ADJ. antiquated. "Methinks," "thee," and "thou" are archaic words that are no longer part of our normal vocabulary.

N. pride; haughtiness. Convinced that Emma thought she was better than anyone else in class, Ed rebuked her for her arrogance.

ADJ. effective; distinct. Her articulate presentation of the advertising campaign impressed her employers. also, V.

N. object made by human beings, either handmade or mass-produced. Archaeologists debated the significance of the artifacts discovered in the Asia Minor but came to no vonvlusion about the culture they represented.

N. manually skilled worker; craftsman , as opposed to artist. A noted artisan, Arturo was known for the craftsmanship of his inlaid cabinets.

N. controlling influence; domination. Leaders of religious cults maintain ascendancy over their followers by methods that can verge on brainwashing.

ADJ. practicing self-denial; austere. The wealthy self-indulgent young man felt oddly drawn to the strict ascetic life led by members of some monastic orders. also N.

V. seek to attain; long for. Because he aspired to a career in professional sports, Philip enrolled in a graduate program in sports management. aspiration, N.

ADJ. wise; shrewd; keen. John Jacob Astor made astute investments in land, shrewdly purchasing valuable plots throughout New York City.

V. ascrive; explain. I attribute her success in science to the encouragement she received from her parents.

V. increase; add to. Armies augment their forces by calling up reinforcements; teacher augment their salaries by taking odd jobs.

ADJ. forbiddingly stern; severely simple and unornamented. The headmaster's austere demeanor tended to scare off the more timid students, who never visited his bare, like a monk's cell, with no touches of luxury to moderate its austerity.

ADJ. subordinating the individual to the state; completely dominating another's will. The leaders of the authoritarian regime ordered the suppression of the domcratic protest movement. After years of submitting to the will of her authoritarian father, Elizabeth Barrett ran away from home with the poet Robert Browning.

ADJ. self-governing. Although the University of California at Berkeley is just one part of the state university system, in many ways Cal Berkeley is autonomous for it runs several programs that are not subjuect to outside control. autonomy, N.

N. firm dislike. Bert had an aversion to yuppies; Alex had an aversion to punks. Their mutual aversion was so great that they refused to speak to one another.

V. contradict; give a false impression. His coarse, hard-bitten exterior belied his inner sensitivity.

ADJ. generous; charitable. Mr. Fezziwig was a benevolent employer, who wished to make Christmas merrier for young Scrooge and his other employees.

V. support; reinforce. The devaters amassed file boxes full of evidence to bolster their arguments.

N. boaster. Modest by nature, she was no braggart, preferring to let her accomplishments speak for themselves.

N. conciseness. Brevity is essential when you send a telegram or cablegram; you are charged for every word.

V. coax; wheedle. Diane trie to cajole her father into letting her drive the family car. cajolery, N.

ADJ. deliberately planned; likely. Lexy's choice of clothes to wear to the debate tournament was carefully calculated. Her conventional suit was one calculated to appeal to the conservative judges.

N. frankness; open honesty. Jack can carry candor too far: when he told Jill his honest opinion of her, she nearly slapped his face. candid, ADJ.

ADJ. unpredictable; fickle; fanciful. The storm was capricious: it changed course constantly. Jill was capricious, too: she changed boyfriends almost as often as she changed clothes.

ADJ. critical. Censorious people delight in casting blame.

V. blame; criticize. The senator was censured for behavior inappropriate to a member of Congress. also N.

N. use of force to get someone to obey. The inquisitorsused both physical and psychological coercion to force Joan of Arc to deny thazt her cisions were sent by God. coerce, V.