Junior/Senior Vocabulary Words (American Literature and British Literature) There are roughly 380 words in the following list,* which is divided into three sections. You are responsible for learning the words in each section, and you are strongly urged to create illustrated note cards to help you remember and apply the words. Testing Schedule: Quarter 1: Toward the end first quarter (on a date to be determined), you will be given a 100 question multiple choice test on all words in Group 1. Quarter 2:Toward the end of second quarter (on a date to be determined), you will be given a 200 question multiple choice test on all words in Group 1 and all words in Group 2. Quarter 3: Toward the end of third quarter, you will be given a multiple choice test on all words in Group 3. Quarter 4 and/or Common Final Exam: Your 4th quarter exam or Common Final Exam could include any of the vocabulary on the list below. Group 1 Words abase v. To lower in position, estimation, or the like; degrade. abdicate v. To give up (royal power or the like). aberration n. Deviation from a right, customary, or prescribed course. abet v. To aid, promote, or encourage the commission of (an offense). abeyance n. A state of suspension or temporary inaction.. abject adj. Sunk to a low condition. abjure v. To recant, renounce, repudiate under oath. ablution n. A washing or cleansing, especially of the body. abnegate v. To renounce (a right or privilege).
abrogate v. To abolish, repeal. abstemious adj. Characterized by self denial or abstinence, as in the use of drink, food.. abstruse adj. Dealing with matters difficult to be understood. accede v. To agree. accouter v. To dress. acerbity n. Sourness, with bitterness and astringency. acetic adj. Of, pertaining to, or of the nature of vinegar. acrid adj. Harshly pungent or bitter. acrimonious adj. Full of bitterness. acumen n. Quickness of intellectual insight, or discernment; keenness of discrimination.
adjunct n. Something joined to or connected with another thing, but holding a subordinate place. adroit adj. Having skill in the use of the bodily or mental powers. adulterate v. To make impure by the admixture of other or baser ingredients. affable adj. Easy to approach. agrarian adj. Pertaining to land, especially agricultural land. alabaster n. A white or delicately tinted fine-grained gypsum. alacrity n. Cheerful willingness. albeit conj. Even though. allay v. To calm the violence or reduce the intensity of; mitigate. alluvion n. Flood. altruism n. Benevolence to others on subordination to self-interest. ameliorate v. To relieve, as from pain or hardship amenable adj. Willing and ready to submit. anathema n. Anything forbidden, as by social usage. antediluvian adj. Of or pertaining to the times, things, events before the great flood in the days of Noah.
apathy n. Insensibility to emotion or passionate feeling. apogee n. The climax. apostate adj. False. assiduous adj. Diligent. assimilate v. To adapt. (40 Words) assuage v. To cause to be less harsh, violent, or severe, as excitement, appetite, pain, or augment v. To make bigger. augur v. To predict. austere adj. Severely simple; unadorned. baleful adj. Malignant. banal adj. Commonplace. bellicose adj. Warlike. beneficent adj. Characterized by charity and kindness. bibulous adj. Fond of drinking. bier n. A horizontal framework with two handles at each end for carrying a corpse to the grave.
bombard v. To assail with any missile or with abusive speech. bombast n. Inflated or extravagant language, especially on unimportant subjects. boorish adj. Rude. brae n. Hillside. brazier n. An open pan or basin for holding live coals. brusque adj. Somewhat rough or rude in manner or speech. buttress n. Any support or prop. cabal n. A number of persons secretly united for effecting by intrigue some private purpose. cacophony n. A disagreeable, harsh, or discordant sound or combination of sounds or tones. cadence n. Rhythmical or measured flow or movement, as in poetry or the time and pace of marching troops.
calumny n. Slander. capacious adj. Roomy. carrion n. Dead and putrefying flesh. caste n. The division of society on artificial grounds. castigate v. To punish. cede v. To pass title to. charlatan n. A quack. circumlocution n. Indirect or roundabout expression. circumnavigate v. To sail quite around. clamorous adj. Urgent in complaint or demand. clandestine adj. Surreptitious.
clemency n. Mercy. cogent adj. Appealing strongly to the reason or conscience. complacent adj. Pleased or satisfied with oneself. concord n. Harmony. conducive adj. Contributing to an end. conduit n. A means for conducting something, particularly a tube, pipe, or passageway for a fluid. conflagration n. A great fire, as of many buildings, a forest, or the like. confluence n. The place where streams meet. contrite adj. Broken in spirit because of a sense of sin. contrive v. To manage or carry through by some device or scheme. copious adj. Plenteous.
(80 words) coquette n. A flirt. crag n. A rugged, rocky projection on a cliff or ledge. culvert n. Any artificial covered channel for the passage of water through a bank or under a road, canal. dearth n. Scarcity, as of something customary, essential ,or desirable. deify v. To regard or worship as a god. deign v. To deem worthy of notice or account. deleterious adj. Hurtful, morally or physically. dendroid adj. Like a tree. denizen n. Inhabitant. desiccant n. Any remedy which, when applied externally, dries up or absorbs moisture, as that of wounds.
diaphanous adj. Transparent. diatribe n. A bitter or malicious criticism. dilettante n. A superficial amateur. discernible adj. Perceivable. disenfranchise v. To deprive of any right privilege or power dishabille n. Undress or negligent attire. diurnal adj. Daily. divination n. The pretended forecast of future events or discovery of what is lost or hidden. docile adj. Easy to manage. dolorous adj. Expressing or causing sorrow or pain.
dubious adj. Doubtful. ebullient adj. Showing enthusiasm or exhilaration of feeling. edify v. To build up, or strengthen, especially in morals or religion. efficacious adj. Effective. effrontery n. Unblushing impudence. elucidate v. To bring out more clearly the facts concerning. emaciate v. To waste away in flesh. emanate v. To flow forth or proceed, as from some source. emigrant n. One who moves from one place to settle in another. emulate v. To imitate with intent to equal or surpass.
endue v. To endow with some quality, gift, or grace, usually spiritual. enervate v. To render ineffective or inoperative. enigma n. A riddle. enmity n. Hatred. equanimity n. Evenness of mind or temper. erudite adj. Very-learned. estuary n. A wide lower part of a tidal river. eugenic adj. Relating to the development and improvement of race. evoke v. To call or summon forth. exacerbate v. To make more sharp, severe, or virulent.
(120 Words) exigent adj. Urgent. expostulate v. To discuss. extant adj. Still existing and known. extemporaneous adj. Done or made without much or any preparation. extol v. To praise in the highest terms. extricate v. Disentangle. extrude v. To drive out or away. facile adj. Not difficult to do. faction n. A number of persons combined for a common purpose. fallacy n. Any unsound or delusive mode of reasoning, or anything based on such reasoning.
END OF GROUP 1 WORDS fallible adj. Capable of erring. fealty n. Loyalty. flagrant adj. Openly scandalous. foible n. A personal weakness or failing. foist v. To palm off. foppish adj. Characteristic of one who is unduly devoted to dress and the niceties of manners. frugal adj. Economical. fruition n. Fulfillment. fulcrum n. The support on or against which a lever rests, or the point about which it turns. fulsome adj. Offensive from excess of praise or commendation.
furtive adj. Stealthy or sly, like the actions of a thief. galvanize v. To imbue with life or animation. garrulous adj. Given to constant trivial talking. germane adj. Relevant. gossamer adj. Flimsy. hackney v. To make stale or trite by repetition. haggard adj. Worn and gaunt in appearance. halcyon adj. Calm. hale adj. Of sound and vigorous health. harangue n. A tirade.
harbinger n. One who or that which foreruns and announces the coming of any person or thing. heresy n. An opinion or doctrine subversive of settled beliefs or accepted principles. heterogeneous adj. Consisting of dissimilar elements or ingredients of different kinds. Hibernian adj. Pertaining to Ireland, or its people. hoodwink v. To deceive. hydrous adj. Watery. ichthyic adj. Fish-like. iconoclast n. An image-breaker. idiosyncrasy n. A mental quality or habit peculiar to an individual. ignoble adj. Low in character or purpose.
(160 Words) ignominious adj. Shameful. imbroglio n. A misunderstanding attended by ill feeling, perplexity, or strife. imminent adj. Dangerous and close at hand. imperious adj. Insisting on obedience. importune v. To harass with persistent demands or entreaties. impunity n. Freedom from punishment. impute v. To attribute. incandescence n. The state of being white or glowing with heat. indigenous adj. Native. indolence n. Laziness.
inexorable adj. Unrelenting. infamy n. Total loss or destitution of honor or reputation. inimical adj. Adverse. iniquity n. Gross wrong or injustice. innocuous adj. Harmless. inscrutable adj. Impenetrably mysterious or profound. insentient adj. Lacking the power of feeling or perceiving. insidious adj. Working ill by slow and stealthy means. judicious adj. Prudent.
lascivious adj. Lustful. latent adj. Dormant. laudatory adj. Pertaining to, expressing, or containing praise. lexicon n. A dictionary. licentious adj. Wanton. lithesome adj. Nimble. loquacious adj. Talkative. lurid adj. Ghastly and sensational. magisterial adj. Having an air of authority. magnanimous adj. Generous in treating or judging others.
(190 Words) malady n. Any physical disease or disorder, especially a chronic or deep-seated one. malcontent n. One who is dissatisfied with the existing state of affairs. malevolent adj. Wishing evil to others. malign v. To speak evil of, especially to do so falsely and severely. malleable adj. Pliant. manifesto n. A public declaration, making announcement, explanation or defense of intentions, or motives. maudlin adj. Foolishly and tearfully affectionate. mellifluous adj. Sweetly or smoothly flowing. mete v. To apportion. minion n. A servile favorite. misanthropy n. Hatred of mankind. misogyny n. Hatred of women. missive n. A message in writing. mundane adj. Worldly, as opposed to spiritual or celestial. nebula n. A gaseous body of unorganized stellar substance. nefarious adj. Wicked in the extreme. neophyte adj. Having the character of a beginner. nonchalance n. A state of mind indicating lack of interest. notorious adj. Unfavorably known to the general public. obdurate adj. Impassive to feelings of humanity or pity.
obsequious adj. Showing a servile readiness to fall in with the wishes or will of another. obstreperous adj. Boisterous. obtrusive adj. Tending to be pushed or to push oneself into undue prominence. obviate v. To clear away or provide for, as an objection or difficulty. odious adj. Hateful. officious adj. Intermeddling with what is not one's concern. onerous adj. Burdensome or oppressive. oscillate v. To swing back and forth. palliate v. To cause to appear less guilty. pallid adj. Of a pale or wan appearance.
palpable n. perceptible by feeling or touch. panacea n. A remedy or medicine proposed for or professing to cure all diseases. panegyric n. A formal and elaborate eulogy, written or spoken, of a person or of an act. paragon n. A model of excellence. Pariah n. A member of a degraded class; a social outcast. parley v. To converse in. paroxysm n. A sudden outburst of any kind of activity. parricide n. The murder of a parent. parsimonious adj. Unduly sparing in the use or expenditure of money. partisan adj. Characterized by or exhibiting undue or unreasoning devotion to a party. pecuniary adj. Consisting of money.
(230 Words) pedant n. A scholar who makes needless and inopportune display of his learning. peerless adj. Of unequaled excellence or worth. peevish adj. Petulant. (irritable) penchant n. A bias in favor of something. penitential adj. Pertaining to sorrow for sin with desire to amend and to atone. penury n. Indigence. peremptory adj. Precluding question or appeal. peripatetic adj. Walking about. pervasive adj. Thoroughly penetrating or permeating. petulance n. The character or condition of being impatient, capricious or petulant. philanthropist n. One who endeavors to help his fellow men.
phlegmatic adj. Not easily roused to feeling or action. picayune adj. Of small value. pique v. To excite a slight degree of anger in. pittance n. Any small portion or meager allowance. placate v. To bring from a state of angry or hostile feeling to one of patience or friendliness. placid adj. Serene. platitude n. A written or spoken statement that is flat, dull, or commonplace. poignant adj. Severely painful or acute to the spirit. polemics n. The art of controversy or disputation. ponderous adj. Unusually weighty or forcible.
END OF GROUP 2 WORDS portend v. To indicate as being about to happen, especially by previous signs. potentate n. One possessed of great power or sway. presage v. To foretell. prescience n. Knowledge of events before they take place. prevaricate v. To use ambiguous or evasive language for the purpose of deceiving or diverting attention. privy adj. Participating with another or others in the knowledge of a secret transaction. prodigious adj. Immense. profligate adj. Abandoned to vice. promontory n. A high point of land extending outward from the coastline into the sea. prostrate adj. Lying prone, or with the head to the ground.
prototype n. A work, original in character, afterward imitated in form or spirit. protract v. To prolong. provident adj. Anticipating and making ready for future wants or emergencies. providential adj. Effected by divine guidance. provincial adj. Uncultured in thought and manner. proxy n. A person who is empowered by another to represent him or her in a given matter. prurient adj. Inclined to lascivious thoughts and desires. puerile adj. Childish. pugnacious adj. Quarrelsome. puissant adj. Possessing strength.
(270 words) punctilious adj. Strictly observant of the rules or forms prescribed by law or custom. pungent adj. Affecting the sense of smell. purloin v. To steal. pyre n. A heap of combustibles arranged for burning a dead body. quandary n. A puzzling predicament. querulous adj. Habitually complaining. rampant adj. Growing, climbing, or running without check or restraint. recant v. To withdraw formally one's belief (in something previously believed or maintained). recidivist n. A confirmed criminal. reconnoiter v. To make a preliminary examination of for military, surveying, or geological purposes.
rectify v. To correct. redolent adj. Smelling sweet and agreeable. remonstrate v. To present a verbal or written protest to those who have power to right or prevent a wrong. remuneration n. Compensation. repartee n. A ready, witty, or apt reply. repudiate v. To refuse to have anything to do with. repugnance n. Thorough dislike. requiem n. A solemn mass sung for the repose of the souls of the dead. retinue n. The body of persons who attend a person of importance in travel or public appearance. revere v. To regard with worshipful veneration.
ribald adj. Indulging in or manifesting coarse indecency or obscenity. sagacious adj. Able to discern and distinguish with wise perception. salacious adj. Having strong sexual desires. sanctimonious adj. Making an ostentatious display or hypocritical pretense of holiness or piety. sanguine adj. Having the color of blood. sardonic adj. Scornfully or bitterly sarcastic. satiate v. To satisfy fully the appetite or desire of. scintilla n. The faintest ray. scrupulous adj. Cautious in action for fear of doing wrong. scurrilous adj. Grossly indecent or vulgar.
sedentary adj. Involving or requiring much sitting. semblance n. Outward appearance. sentient adj. Possessing the power of sense or sense-perception. sepulcher n. A burial-place. sequacious adj. Ready to be led. solstice n. The time of year when the sun is at its greatest declination. sophistry n. Reasoning sound in appearance only, especially when designedly deceptive. spurious adj. Not genuine. stupor n. Profound lethargy. subjugate v. To conquer.
(310 Words) subliminal adj. Being beneath the threshold of consciousness. subterfuge n. Evasion. suffrage n. The right or privilege of voting. supercilious adj. Exhibiting haughty and careless contempt. supine adj. Lying on the back. sycophant n. A servile flatterer, especially of those in authority or influence. tableau n. An arrangement of inanimate figures representing a scene from real life. tacit adj. Understood. temporal adj. Pertaining to or concerned with the affairs of the present life. tenacious adj. Unyielding. theocracy n. A government administered by ecclesiastics.
torpor n. Apathy. trammel n. An impediment. transience n. Something that is of short duration. translucence n. The property or state of allowing the passage of light. travail n. Hard or agonizing labor. tremulous adj. Characterized by quivering or unsteadiness. triennial adj. Taking place every third year. truculent adj. Having the character or the spirit of a savage. ubiquitous adj. Being present everywhere. umbrage n. A sense of injury.
unction n. The art of anointing as with oil. unctuous adj. Oily... unyoke v. To separate. urbanity n. Refined or elegant courtesy.. usurious adj. Taking unlawful or exorbitant interest on money loaned. usurp v. To take possession of by force. vacillate v. To waver. vacuous adj. Empty. vainglory n. Excessive, pretentious, and demonstrative vanity. vale n. Level or low land between hills.
(340 Words) valediction n. A bidding farewell. valorous adj. Courageous. vapid adj. Having lost sparkling quality and flavor. variegate v. To mark with different shades or colors. venal adj. Mercenary, corrupt. veneer n. Outside show or elegance. venerate v. To cherish reverentially. venial adj. That may be pardoned or forgiven, a forgivable sin. veracious adj. Habitually disposed to speak the truth. verbatim adv. Word for word.
verbiage n. Use of many words without necessity. verbose adj. Wordy. verdant adj. Green with vegetation. vernacular n. The language of one's country. vernal adj. Belonging to or suggestive of the spring. vertex n. Apex. vertigo n. Dizziness. vestige n. A visible trace, mark, or impression, of something absent, lost, or gone. vicissitude n. A change, especially a complete change, of condition or circumstances, as of fortune. visage n. The face, countenance, or look of a person. vituperable adj. Deserving of censure. vivacity n. Liveliness. vivify v. To endue with life. vivisection n. The dissection of a living animal. vociferous adj. Making a loud outcry. vortex n. A mass of rotating or whirling fluid, especially when sucked spirally toward the center.
wane v. To diminish in size and brilliancy. whet v. To make more keen or eager. wield v. To use, control, or manage, as a weapon, or instrument, especially with full command. winsome adj. Attractive.
wizen v. To become or cause to become withered or dry. wizen-faced adj. Having a shriveled face. wreak v. To inflict, as a revenge or punishment. wrest v. To pull or force away by or as by violent twisting or wringing. zealot n. One who espouses a cause or pursues an object in an immoderately partisan manner. zeitgeist n. The intellectual and moral tendencies that characterize any age or epoch. zenith n. The culminating-point of prosperity, influence, or greatness. zephyr n. Any soft, gentle wind.
(@380 words)
END OF GROUP 3 WORDS
List adapted from one compiled by SAT instructor Dr. Steve Baba; his list of 5,000 is available at http://www.freevocabulary.com/
(American Literature and British Literature)
There are roughly 380 words in the following list,* which is divided into three sections. You are responsible for learning the words in each section, and you are strongly urged to create illustrated note cards to help you remember and apply the words.
Testing Schedule:
Quarter 1: Toward the end first quarter (on a date to be determined), you will be given a 100 question multiple choice test on all words in Group 1.
Quarter 2: Toward the end of second quarter (on a date to be determined), you will be given a 200 question multiple choice test on all words in Group 1 and all words in Group 2.
Quarter 3: Toward the end of third quarter, you will be given a multiple choice test on all words in Group 3.
Quarter 4 and/or Common Final Exam: Your 4th quarter exam or Common Final Exam could include any of the vocabulary on the list below.
Group 1 Words
abase v. To lower in position, estimation, or the like; degrade.
abdicate v. To give up (royal power or the like).
aberration n. Deviation from a right, customary, or prescribed course.
abet v. To aid, promote, or encourage the commission of (an offense).
abeyance n. A state of suspension or temporary inaction. .
abject adj. Sunk to a low condition.
abjure v. To recant, renounce, repudiate under oath.
ablution n. A washing or cleansing, especially of the body.
abnegate v. To renounce (a right or privilege).
abrogate v. To abolish, repeal.
abstemious adj. Characterized by self denial or abstinence, as in the use of drink, food. .
abstruse adj. Dealing with matters difficult to be understood.
accede v. To agree.
accouter v. To dress.
acerbity n. Sourness, with bitterness and astringency.
acetic adj. Of, pertaining to, or of the nature of vinegar.
acrid adj. Harshly pungent or bitter.
acrimonious adj. Full of bitterness.
acumen n. Quickness of intellectual insight, or discernment; keenness of discrimination.
adjunct n. Something joined to or connected with another thing, but holding a subordinate place.
adroit adj. Having skill in the use of the bodily or mental powers.
adulterate v. To make impure by the admixture of other or baser ingredients.
affable adj. Easy to approach.
agrarian adj. Pertaining to land, especially agricultural land.
alabaster n. A white or delicately tinted fine-grained gypsum.
alacrity n. Cheerful willingness.
albeit conj. Even though.
allay v. To calm the violence or reduce the intensity of; mitigate.
alluvion n. Flood.
altruism n. Benevolence to others on subordination to self-interest.
ameliorate v. To relieve, as from pain or hardship
amenable adj. Willing and ready to submit.
anathema n. Anything forbidden, as by social usage.
antediluvian adj. Of or pertaining to the times, things, events before the great flood in the days of Noah.
apathy n. Insensibility to emotion or passionate feeling.
apogee n. The climax.
apostate adj. False.
assiduous adj. Diligent.
assimilate v. To adapt.
(40 Words)
assuage v. To cause to be less harsh, violent, or severe, as excitement, appetite, pain, or augment v. To make bigger.
augur v. To predict.
austere adj. Severely simple; unadorned.
baleful adj. Malignant.
banal adj. Commonplace.
bellicose adj. Warlike.
beneficent adj. Characterized by charity and kindness.
bibulous adj. Fond of drinking.
bier n. A horizontal framework with two handles at each end for carrying a corpse to the grave.
bombard v. To assail with any missile or with abusive speech.
bombast n. Inflated or extravagant language, especially on unimportant subjects.
boorish adj. Rude.
brae n. Hillside.
brazier n. An open pan or basin for holding live coals.
brusque adj. Somewhat rough or rude in manner or speech.
buttress n. Any support or prop.
cabal n. A number of persons secretly united for effecting by intrigue some private purpose.
cacophony n. A disagreeable, harsh, or discordant sound or combination of sounds or tones.
cadence n. Rhythmical or measured flow or movement, as in poetry or the time and pace of marching troops.
calumny n. Slander.
capacious adj. Roomy.
carrion n. Dead and putrefying flesh.
caste n. The division of society on artificial grounds.
castigate v. To punish.
cede v. To pass title to.
charlatan n. A quack.
circumlocution n. Indirect or roundabout expression.
circumnavigate v. To sail quite around.
clamorous adj. Urgent in complaint or demand.
clandestine adj. Surreptitious.
clemency n. Mercy.
cogent adj. Appealing strongly to the reason or conscience.
complacent adj. Pleased or satisfied with oneself.
concord n. Harmony.
conducive adj. Contributing to an end.
conduit n. A means for conducting something, particularly a tube, pipe, or passageway for a fluid.
conflagration n. A great fire, as of many buildings, a forest, or the like.
confluence n. The place where streams meet.
contrite adj. Broken in spirit because of a sense of sin.
contrive v. To manage or carry through by some device or scheme.
copious adj. Plenteous.
(80 words)
coquette n. A flirt.
crag n. A rugged, rocky projection on a cliff or ledge.
culvert n. Any artificial covered channel for the passage of water through a bank or under a road, canal.
dearth n. Scarcity, as of something customary, essential ,or desirable.
deify v. To regard or worship as a god.
deign v. To deem worthy of notice or account.
deleterious adj. Hurtful, morally or physically.
dendroid adj. Like a tree.
denizen n. Inhabitant.
desiccant n. Any remedy which, when applied externally, dries up or absorbs moisture, as that of wounds.
diaphanous adj. Transparent.
diatribe n. A bitter or malicious criticism.
dilettante n. A superficial amateur.
discernible adj. Perceivable.
disenfranchise v. To deprive of any right privilege or power
dishabille n. Undress or negligent attire.
diurnal adj. Daily.
divination n. The pretended forecast of future events or discovery of what is lost or hidden.
docile adj. Easy to manage.
dolorous adj. Expressing or causing sorrow or pain.
dubious adj. Doubtful.
ebullient adj. Showing enthusiasm or exhilaration of feeling.
edify v. To build up, or strengthen, especially in morals or religion.
efficacious adj. Effective.
effrontery n. Unblushing impudence.
elucidate v. To bring out more clearly the facts concerning.
emaciate v. To waste away in flesh.
emanate v. To flow forth or proceed, as from some source.
emigrant n. One who moves from one place to settle in another.
emulate v. To imitate with intent to equal or surpass.
endue v. To endow with some quality, gift, or grace, usually spiritual.
enervate v. To render ineffective or inoperative.
enigma n. A riddle.
enmity n. Hatred.
equanimity n. Evenness of mind or temper.
erudite adj. Very-learned.
estuary n. A wide lower part of a tidal river.
eugenic adj. Relating to the development and improvement of race.
evoke v. To call or summon forth.
exacerbate v. To make more sharp, severe, or virulent.
(120 Words)
exigent adj. Urgent.
expostulate v. To discuss.
extant adj. Still existing and known.
extemporaneous adj. Done or made without much or any preparation.
extol v. To praise in the highest terms.
extricate v. Disentangle.
extrude v. To drive out or away.
facile adj. Not difficult to do.
faction n. A number of persons combined for a common purpose.
fallacy n. Any unsound or delusive mode of reasoning, or anything based on such reasoning.
END OF GROUP 1 WORDS
fallible adj. Capable of erring.
fealty n. Loyalty.
flagrant adj. Openly scandalous.
foible n. A personal weakness or failing.
foist v. To palm off.
foppish adj. Characteristic of one who is unduly devoted to dress and the niceties of manners.
frugal adj. Economical.
fruition n. Fulfillment.
fulcrum n. The support on or against which a lever rests, or the point about which it turns.
fulsome adj. Offensive from excess of praise or commendation.
furtive adj. Stealthy or sly, like the actions of a thief.
galvanize v. To imbue with life or animation.
garrulous adj. Given to constant trivial talking.
germane adj. Relevant.
gossamer adj. Flimsy.
hackney v. To make stale or trite by repetition.
haggard adj. Worn and gaunt in appearance.
halcyon adj. Calm.
hale adj. Of sound and vigorous health.
harangue n. A tirade.
harbinger n. One who or that which foreruns and announces the coming of any person or thing.
heresy n. An opinion or doctrine subversive of settled beliefs or accepted principles.
heterogeneous adj. Consisting of dissimilar elements or ingredients of different kinds.
Hibernian adj. Pertaining to Ireland, or its people.
hoodwink v. To deceive.
hydrous adj. Watery.
ichthyic adj. Fish-like.
iconoclast n. An image-breaker.
idiosyncrasy n. A mental quality or habit peculiar to an individual.
ignoble adj. Low in character or purpose.
(160 Words)
ignominious adj. Shameful.
imbroglio n. A misunderstanding attended by ill feeling, perplexity, or strife.
imminent adj. Dangerous and close at hand.
imperious adj. Insisting on obedience.
importune v. To harass with persistent demands or entreaties.
impunity n. Freedom from punishment.
impute v. To attribute.
incandescence n. The state of being white or glowing with heat.
indigenous adj. Native.
indolence n. Laziness.
inexorable adj. Unrelenting.
infamy n. Total loss or destitution of honor or reputation.
inimical adj. Adverse.
iniquity n. Gross wrong or injustice.
innocuous adj. Harmless.
inscrutable adj. Impenetrably mysterious or profound.
insentient adj. Lacking the power of feeling or perceiving.
insidious adj. Working ill by slow and stealthy means.
judicious adj. Prudent.
lascivious adj. Lustful.
latent adj. Dormant.
laudatory adj. Pertaining to, expressing, or containing praise.
lexicon n. A dictionary.
licentious adj. Wanton.
lithesome adj. Nimble.
loquacious adj. Talkative.
lurid adj. Ghastly and sensational.
magisterial adj. Having an air of authority.
magnanimous adj. Generous in treating or judging others.
(190 Words)
malady n. Any physical disease or disorder, especially a chronic or deep-seated one.
malcontent n. One who is dissatisfied with the existing state of affairs.
malevolent adj. Wishing evil to others.
malign v. To speak evil of, especially to do so falsely and severely.
malleable adj. Pliant.
manifesto n. A public declaration, making announcement, explanation or defense of intentions, or motives.
maudlin adj. Foolishly and tearfully affectionate.
mellifluous adj. Sweetly or smoothly flowing.
mete v. To apportion.
minion n. A servile favorite.
misanthropy n. Hatred of mankind.
misogyny n. Hatred of women.
missive n. A message in writing.
mundane adj. Worldly, as opposed to spiritual or celestial.
nebula n. A gaseous body of unorganized stellar substance.
nefarious adj. Wicked in the extreme.
neophyte adj. Having the character of a beginner.
nonchalance n. A state of mind indicating lack of interest.
notorious adj. Unfavorably known to the general public.
obdurate adj. Impassive to feelings of humanity or pity.
obsequious adj. Showing a servile readiness to fall in with the wishes or will of another.
obstreperous adj. Boisterous.
obtrusive adj. Tending to be pushed or to push oneself into undue prominence.
obviate v. To clear away or provide for, as an objection or difficulty.
odious adj. Hateful.
officious adj. Intermeddling with what is not one's concern.
onerous adj. Burdensome or oppressive.
oscillate v. To swing back and forth.
palliate v. To cause to appear less guilty.
pallid adj. Of a pale or wan appearance.
palpable n. perceptible by feeling or touch.
panacea n. A remedy or medicine proposed for or professing to cure all diseases.
panegyric n. A formal and elaborate eulogy, written or spoken, of a person or of an act.
paragon n. A model of excellence.
Pariah n. A member of a degraded class; a social outcast.
parley v. To converse in.
paroxysm n. A sudden outburst of any kind of activity.
parricide n. The murder of a parent.
parsimonious adj. Unduly sparing in the use or expenditure of money.
partisan adj. Characterized by or exhibiting undue or unreasoning devotion to a party.
pecuniary adj. Consisting of money.
(230 Words)
pedant n. A scholar who makes needless and inopportune display of his learning.
peerless adj. Of unequaled excellence or worth.
peevish adj. Petulant. (irritable)
penchant n. A bias in favor of something.
penitential adj. Pertaining to sorrow for sin with desire to amend and to atone.
penury n. Indigence.
peremptory adj. Precluding question or appeal.
peripatetic adj. Walking about.
pervasive adj. Thoroughly penetrating or permeating.
petulance n. The character or condition of being impatient, capricious or petulant.
philanthropist n. One who endeavors to help his fellow men.
phlegmatic adj. Not easily roused to feeling or action.
picayune adj. Of small value.
pique v. To excite a slight degree of anger in.
pittance n. Any small portion or meager allowance.
placate v. To bring from a state of angry or hostile feeling to one of patience or friendliness.
placid adj. Serene.
platitude n. A written or spoken statement that is flat, dull, or commonplace.
poignant adj. Severely painful or acute to the spirit.
polemics n. The art of controversy or disputation.
ponderous adj. Unusually weighty or forcible.
END OF GROUP 2 WORDS
portend v. To indicate as being about to happen, especially by previous signs.
potentate n. One possessed of great power or sway.
presage v. To foretell.
prescience n. Knowledge of events before they take place.
prevaricate v. To use ambiguous or evasive language for the purpose of deceiving or diverting attention.
privy adj. Participating with another or others in the knowledge of a secret transaction.
prodigious adj. Immense.
profligate adj. Abandoned to vice.
promontory n. A high point of land extending outward from the coastline into the sea.
prostrate adj. Lying prone, or with the head to the ground.
prototype n. A work, original in character, afterward imitated in form or spirit.
protract v. To prolong.
provident adj. Anticipating and making ready for future wants or emergencies.
providential adj. Effected by divine guidance.
provincial adj. Uncultured in thought and manner.
proxy n. A person who is empowered by another to represent him or her in a given matter.
prurient adj. Inclined to lascivious thoughts and desires.
puerile adj. Childish.
pugnacious adj. Quarrelsome.
puissant adj. Possessing strength.
(270 words)
punctilious adj. Strictly observant of the rules or forms prescribed by law or custom.
pungent adj. Affecting the sense of smell.
purloin v. To steal.
pyre n. A heap of combustibles arranged for burning a dead body.
quandary n. A puzzling predicament.
querulous adj. Habitually complaining.
rampant adj. Growing, climbing, or running without check or restraint.
recant v. To withdraw formally one's belief (in something previously believed or maintained).
recidivist n. A confirmed criminal.
reconnoiter v. To make a preliminary examination of for military, surveying, or geological purposes.
rectify v. To correct.
redolent adj. Smelling sweet and agreeable.
remonstrate v. To present a verbal or written protest to those who have power to right or prevent a wrong.
remuneration n. Compensation.
repartee n. A ready, witty, or apt reply.
repudiate v. To refuse to have anything to do with.
repugnance n. Thorough dislike.
requiem n. A solemn mass sung for the repose of the souls of the dead.
retinue n. The body of persons who attend a person of importance in travel or public appearance.
revere v. To regard with worshipful veneration.
ribald adj. Indulging in or manifesting coarse indecency or obscenity.
sagacious adj. Able to discern and distinguish with wise perception.
salacious adj. Having strong sexual desires.
sanctimonious adj. Making an ostentatious display or hypocritical pretense of holiness or piety.
sanguine adj. Having the color of blood.
sardonic adj. Scornfully or bitterly sarcastic.
satiate v. To satisfy fully the appetite or desire of.
scintilla n. The faintest ray.
scrupulous adj. Cautious in action for fear of doing wrong.
scurrilous adj. Grossly indecent or vulgar.
sedentary adj. Involving or requiring much sitting.
semblance n. Outward appearance.
sentient adj. Possessing the power of sense or sense-perception.
sepulcher n. A burial-place.
sequacious adj. Ready to be led.
solstice n. The time of year when the sun is at its greatest declination.
sophistry n. Reasoning sound in appearance only, especially when designedly deceptive.
spurious adj. Not genuine.
stupor n. Profound lethargy.
subjugate v. To conquer.
(310 Words)
subliminal adj. Being beneath the threshold of consciousness.
subterfuge n. Evasion.
suffrage n. The right or privilege of voting.
supercilious adj. Exhibiting haughty and careless contempt.
supine adj. Lying on the back.
sycophant n. A servile flatterer, especially of those in authority or influence.
tableau n. An arrangement of inanimate figures representing a scene from real life.
tacit adj. Understood.
temporal adj. Pertaining to or concerned with the affairs of the present life.
tenacious adj. Unyielding.
theocracy n. A government administered by ecclesiastics.
torpor n. Apathy.
trammel n. An impediment.
transience n. Something that is of short duration.
translucence n. The property or state of allowing the passage of light.
travail n. Hard or agonizing labor.
tremulous adj. Characterized by quivering or unsteadiness.
triennial adj. Taking place every third year.
truculent adj. Having the character or the spirit of a savage.
ubiquitous adj. Being present everywhere.
umbrage n. A sense of injury.
unction n. The art of anointing as with oil.
unctuous adj. Oily. . .
unyoke v. To separate.
urbanity n. Refined or elegant courtesy. .
usurious adj. Taking unlawful or exorbitant interest on money loaned.
usurp v. To take possession of by force.
vacillate v. To waver.
vacuous adj. Empty.
vainglory n. Excessive, pretentious, and demonstrative vanity.
vale n. Level or low land between hills.
(340 Words)
valediction n. A bidding farewell.
valorous adj. Courageous.
vapid adj. Having lost sparkling quality and flavor.
variegate v. To mark with different shades or colors.
venal adj. Mercenary, corrupt.
veneer n. Outside show or elegance.
venerate v. To cherish reverentially.
venial adj. That may be pardoned or forgiven, a forgivable sin.
veracious adj. Habitually disposed to speak the truth.
verbatim adv. Word for word.
verbiage n. Use of many words without necessity.
verbose adj. Wordy.
verdant adj. Green with vegetation.
vernacular n. The language of one's country.
vernal adj. Belonging to or suggestive of the spring.
vertex n. Apex.
vertigo n. Dizziness.
vestige n. A visible trace, mark, or impression, of something absent, lost, or gone.
vicissitude n. A change, especially a complete change, of condition or circumstances, as of fortune.
visage n. The face, countenance, or look of a person.
vituperable adj. Deserving of censure.
vivacity n. Liveliness.
vivify v. To endue with life.
vivisection n. The dissection of a living animal.
vociferous adj. Making a loud outcry.
vortex n. A mass of rotating or whirling fluid, especially when sucked spirally toward the center.
wane v. To diminish in size and brilliancy.
whet v. To make more keen or eager.
wield v. To use, control, or manage, as a weapon, or instrument, especially with full command.
winsome adj. Attractive.
wizen v. To become or cause to become withered or dry.
wizen-faced adj. Having a shriveled face.
wreak v. To inflict, as a revenge or punishment.
wrest v. To pull or force away by or as by violent twisting or wringing.
zealot n. One who espouses a cause or pursues an object in an immoderately partisan manner.
zeitgeist n. The intellectual and moral tendencies that characterize any age or epoch.
zenith n. The culminating-point of prosperity, influence, or greatness.
zephyr n. Any soft, gentle wind.
(@380 words)
END OF GROUP 3 WORDS
List adapted from one compiled by SAT instructor Dr. Steve Baba; his list of 5,000 is available at http://www.freevocabulary.com/