SAT Words Week 4
taciturn – silent; sparing of words; close-mouthed
-Next to me on a bus sat a taciturn girl who said nothing during the four hour ride.
succinct – clearly and briefly stated; concise
-Ms. Davis asked us to write a succinct summary of our English papers.
garrulous – talkative; loquacious
-Garrulous gatherings of students are unwelcome in the library.
grandiloquent – using big and fancy words when speaking for the purpose of impressing others
-Mike used grandiloquent language to conceal his ignorance.
prattle- to speak on and on in a senseless and silly manner; to talk foolishly
-After twenty straight hours in the car, their intelligent conversation turned into prattle.
narcissistic – having to do with extreme self-adoration and feeling of superiority to everyone
-Laura is a full fledge narcissist; she spends half her day in front of the mirror adoring herself.
supercilious – looking down on others; proud and scornful
-While strutting into class with her nose in the air, supercilious Sue notices no one.
ostentatious– having to do with showing off; pretentious
-My parents prefer staying at a quiet inn by the sea to a glitzy, ostentatious Miami Beach
platitude- quality of being dull; an obvious remark uttered as if it were original
-How Rick’s poem won an award for originality boggles my mind, since it consists of nothing but platitudes.
lackluster– lacking vitality, energy, vitality, or brightness; boring
-Lackluster teachers who can’t engage their students’ interests give this school a bad name.
Puzzle: Your Turn!
Create a crossword puzzle on a piece of notebook paper. All words must be used!
SAT Words Week 3
pithy – brief and full of meaning and substance; concise
-For the yearbook, Jenny searched through Bartlett
quiescent – quiet; still; inactive
-On Sunday mornings, the city loses its bustle and is strangely quiescent.
colloquial – pertaining to common everyday speech; conversational
-Two examples of colloquial greetings are “Hey, how’s it going?” and “What’s up?”
diffuse - spread out, not concise; wordy
-The class discussion was so diffuse that few solid points were made.
complacent- self satisfied; smug
-Carol could get an A in English, but she’s too complacent to work for it.
contemptuous - lacking respect; scornful
-Accustomed to Fancy Feast, the cat glared contemptuously at the bowl of cheap, dry food from the grocery store.
hackneyed – made commonplace by overuse; trite
-Ms. Fain, our English teacher, said, “Because poets aim to create to new insights, they shun hackneyed language.”
insipid – lacking flavor or taste; unexciting
-The conversation at dinner was so insipid that Monica fell asleep at the table.
Of Mice and Men Words Week 3
monotony - sameness
-Because the teacher’s voice was so monotonous as she read the story, I almost fell asleep.
pugnacious– looking for a fight; combative; belligerent
-There are many pugnacious boys in my class that bully other kids after school.
Week 2 Words
Laconic-using few words in speech
Circumlocution-speaking in circles; roundabout speech
braggart-one who boasts a great deal
derivative-unoriginal; taken from something already existing
Of Mice and Men Words Week 2
aloof-apart, indifferent, detached, unconcerned
appreciate-to increase in value
apprehend-to seize, arrest, take into custody
belligerent-taking part in war or fighting; ready to fight
bemuse-to confuse or bewilder
brittle-fragile or frail, easily damaged
Directions: Review the vocabulary words & the sentences below. Be prepared for a quiz.
SAT Words & Of Mice and Men: Week 1
SAT Words Week 1
arrogant – overbearing; proud; haughty
-Peter’s arrogance annoyed his classmates, who thought he was vain and conceited.
banal – dull or stale because of overuse; trite
-To wake up and realize your adventure was all a dream is a banal ending for a story.
bombastic – using language in a pompous, showy way; speaking to impress others
-Luke’s speech was so bombastic; was he speaking to communicate or simply to show off?
brevity – briefness or conciseness in speech or writing
-Lindsey’s concise speech was a crowd pleaser because of her brevity.
Of Mice and Men Words Week 1
solitaire - a game played by one person alone, as a game played with marbles or pegs on a board having hollows or holes.
-George stacked the scattered cards and began to lay out his solitaire hand.
nuisance – an obnoxious or annoying person, thing, condition, practice, etc.
-Lennie is a nuisance because he frequently annoys George.
rheumatism - any disorder of the extremities or back, characterized by pain and stiffness.
-He’s all stiff with rheumatism. He ain’t no good to you, Candy.
subdued – quiet, inhibited, suppressed, controlled
-He subdued one hand with the other, and held it down while playing cards.
reverently - feeling, exhibiting, characterized by reverence; deeply respectful
-Lennie treats George with complete reverence.
solemnly - grave or sober as a person, the face, speech, tone, or mood
-Lennie’s face becomes solemn when George reprimands him.
SCIENCE FICTION UNIT (Cycle 1)
SAT Words Week 4
taciturn – silent; sparing of words; close-mouthed
-Next to me on a bus sat a taciturn girl who said nothing during the four hour ride.
succinct – clearly and briefly stated; concise
-Ms. Davis asked us to write a succinct summary of our English papers.
garrulous – talkative; loquacious
-Garrulous gatherings of students are unwelcome in the library.
grandiloquent – using big and fancy words when speaking for the purpose of impressing others
-Mike used grandiloquent language to conceal his ignorance.
prattle- to speak on and on in a senseless and silly manner; to talk foolishly
-After twenty straight hours in the car, their intelligent conversation turned into prattle.
narcissistic – having to do with extreme self-adoration and feeling of superiority to everyone
-Laura is a full fledge narcissist; she spends half her day in front of the mirror adoring herself.
supercilious – looking down on others; proud and scornful
-While strutting into class with her nose in the air, supercilious Sue notices no one.
ostentatious– having to do with showing off; pretentious
-My parents prefer staying at a quiet inn by the sea to a glitzy, ostentatious Miami Beach
platitude- quality of being dull; an obvious remark uttered as if it were original
-How Rick’s poem won an award for originality boggles my mind, since it consists of nothing but platitudes.
lackluster– lacking vitality, energy, vitality, or brightness; boring
-Lackluster teachers who can’t engage their students’ interests give this school a bad name.
Puzzle: Your Turn!
Create a crossword puzzle on a piece of notebook paper. All words must be used!
SAT Words Week 3
pithy – brief and full of meaning and substance; concise
-For the yearbook, Jenny searched through Bartlett
quiescent – quiet; still; inactive
-On Sunday mornings, the city loses its bustle and is strangely quiescent.
colloquial – pertaining to common everyday speech; conversational
-Two examples of colloquial greetings are “Hey, how’s it going?” and “What’s up?”
diffuse - spread out, not concise; wordy
-The class discussion was so diffuse that few solid points were made.
complacent- self satisfied; smug
-Carol could get an A in English, but she’s too complacent to work for it.
contemptuous - lacking respect; scornful
-Accustomed to Fancy Feast, the cat glared contemptuously at the bowl of cheap, dry food from the grocery store.
hackneyed – made commonplace by overuse; trite
-Ms. Fain, our English teacher, said, “Because poets aim to create to new insights, they shun hackneyed language.”
insipid – lacking flavor or taste; unexciting
-The conversation at dinner was so insipid that Monica fell asleep at the table.
Of Mice and Men Words Week 3
monotony - sameness
-Because the teacher’s voice was so monotonous as she read the story, I almost fell asleep.
pugnacious– looking for a fight; combative; belligerent
-There are many pugnacious boys in my class that bully other kids after school.
Annihilate-to destroy completely
Correlate-to figure out or create a relationship between two items or events
Expendable-not worth keeping; not essential
Infinitesimally-in amounts so small as to be barely measurable
Malfunctioning-not working or operating
Paradox-a statement or an event that sounds impossible but seems to be true
Resilent-strong but flexible; able to withstand stress without injury
Stagnating-becoming foul or rotten from lack of movement
Subliminal-below the level of consciousness
Undulate-to move in waves or in a smooth, wavelike motion
Harrison Bergeron
Consternation-confused amazement or fear
Cower-to crouch down in fear
Neutralize-to counteract or cancel out the effect of
Synchronize-to match the timing of
Vigilance-alert attention, watchfulness
Wince-to shrink or flinch involuntarily, especially in pain
