Week 5 SAT Words April 19th-23rd

extenuating: (adj) excusing; also, lessening the seriousness of guilt or crime Due to extenuating circumstances beyond the students control (the death of her grandmother), the teacher gave her an extension on the research project.

florid: (adj) red-colored, flushed; gaudy, ornate Prince Harry of England has a slightly florid complexion.

fortuitous: (adj) happening by luck, fortunate It was rather fortuitous that his older brother had provided suggestions on how to hide from the bullies, thereby allowing Jim to avoid the “head in toilet” embarassment that his friends suffered.

frugal: (adj) thrifty, cheap These difficult economic times have forced many families to be more frugal than they had been in the past. Variations: frugality (n) The young couples frugality became even more necessary when the husband lost his job.

hackneyed: (adj) cliched, worn out by overuse When writing, it is a good idea to avoid hackneyed phrases, such as “good as gold,” “crystal clear” or “cool as a cucumber.”

impetuous: (adj) rash, impulsive, acting without thinking Jimmy soon regretted his impetuous act, intended to impress the cute new girl. It backfired. Badly.

impute: (v) to attribute an action to particular person or group; to attribute fault or responsibility to The investigators were forced to impute the accident to an over eager soccer coach, intent upon destroying the coach of a rival team.

inconsequential: (adj) unimportant, trivial So often in life, people get sidetracked by inconsequential details; tragic events tend to put things back in perspective.

intrepid: (adj) fearless, adventurous Depending upon how you view it, Christopher Columbus was either an intrepid explorer or the man responsible for the annihilation of a people and culture.

innocuous (adj): harmless, producing no injury Chemical waste disposal comes within environmental protection legislation so appropriate steps must be taken to render waste innocuous before disposal.