Hot SAT Words Lessons 21-30

LESSON # 27 It just doesn’t matter! Words Relating to Things of Little Importance or Value

EXTRANEOUS Adj. not necessary; not an essential part; not relevant

extraneous Are two heads really better than one?

EXTRANEOUS In your report, include only the highlights. Leave out all EXTRANEOUS matters.

FRIVOLOUS Adj. not having substance or a sense of importance or seriousness; silly, trivial, trifling

FRIVOLOUS Lenny sued the chef because there was a fly in his soup, but the judge threw out the complaint on the grounds that it was FRIVOLOUS.

INCIDENTAL Adj. less important; minor

INCIDENTAL An INCIDENTAL benefit of not having your own car is that you walk a lot and get plenty of exercise.

INCONSEQUENTIAL Adj. irrelevant; of no significance; unimportant

inconsequential During the term Malcolm failed one quiz, but the impact on his final grade was INCONSEQUENTIAL.

IRRELEVANT Adj. not relating to the matter at hand

IRRELEVANT The teacher said that since the essay was awful, the amount of time I spent writing it is IRRELEVANT to the grade.

NEGLIGIBLE Adj. able or likely to be neglected or bypassed due to smallness or lack or importance

NEGLIGIBLE Peter refused the offer because the increase in salary was NEGLIGIBLE.

PERIPHERAL Adj. only marginally connected to what is truly important; minor or incidental; relating to the field of vision

PERIPHERAL The class discussion got bogged down in PERIPHERAL matters that had nothing to do with the real issue.

PETTY Adj. minor or trivial; Small in quantity

PETTY Their argument was about PETTY matters. There was no big issue between them. Igor complained about some PETTY flaws like a wrinkled bedsheet.

SUPERFICIAL Adj. lacking in depth or importance; on the surface

SUPERFICIAL The wound was only SUPERFICIAL – just skin deep. I hate the SUPERFICIAL conversation at parties.

SUPERFICIAL

TRIFLING Adj. lacking significance; unimportant

TRIFLING In the long run, cutting down one tree may seem TRIFLING, but once the precedent is set, the whole forest may be cut down.

TRIVIAL Adj. unimportant; trifling; ordinary

TRIVIAL Because rain is needed badly, the TRIVIAL amount that fell yesterday is not going to ease the drought.