Lesson One  SAT Words– AP Laying the Foundation Altruistic to Taciturn

Altruistic adj—self-less; unselfishly concerned for the welfare of others; generous Some of the richest people in America are also among the most altruistic; Bill Gates is a case in point.

Ambivalent- (adj) undecided; having contrary feelings or attitudes I am ambivalent about what college to attend; Virginia has many wonderful options.

Angular—adj lean; sharp cornered After being incarcerated, the prisoner’s face appeared gaunt and angular.

Arrogant—adj haughty, proud I can’t believe how arrogant the player was after he won the game; he trounced around the field as if he was invincible.

Aversion– n reluctance, loathing; strong disliking Donatti used aversion training, demonstrating the results by shocking a hungry rabbit, to get clients to quit smoking.

Discern-v to tell between; differentiate My vision is poor at night and I find it difficult to discern the lines on the roads.

Disdain—n. intense dislike; to treat with scorn or contempt He had utter disdain for his mother-in- law, which ultimately led to the couple’s divorce.

Disparity—n. inequality; the condition or fact of being unequal There is a disparity of wealth in Ashburn, as evidenced by the varied styles of housing.

Disparage—verb- belittle; deprecate; damage; to speak of someone or something in a derogatory manner He disparaged their reputations by posting the pictures of them at the party in the school newspaper.

Embellish-verb to decorate; make beautiful with ornamentation She embellished her handwriting with hearts, circles, and flowers, much to her teacher’s dismay.

Engender—v —to cause; create; to produce Initially the rallies engendered good will among the participants, but eventually, things became rowdy.

Innocuous- adj— harmless, producing no injury, benign I did not mean to offend her; I truly thought my comment was innocuous.

Insipid—adj flavorless; boring; stupid; inane When will we ever get out of this boring and insipid class? The vegetable dish was rather insipid; it begged for salt.

Lament—verb—to mourn, to express sorrow in a demonstrative manner The widow lamented the loss of her husband and dressed in black for ten years.

Laud —verb to praise; to extol The President was initially lauded for his victories; but lately, he has been criticized repeatedly.

Obscure—adj difficult to see; vague We found an obscure reference to my grandfather in a public document at the National Archives.

Ostentatious—adj—showy; pretentious Some people prefer subtle decorations at Christmas, while others love ostentatious displays.

Prodigal —adj wasteful, a person given to extravagance The prodigal son was warmly welcomed, even though he had lost his father’s fortune.

Repudiate —verb to reject; to disown; to disavow It is said that Chaucer actually repudiated his work, even while others lauded it.

Reticence—n. restraint in S peech; reluctance to speak Her reticence at school is out of character with the personality she displays at home.

Serene—adj— calm; placid The serene setting was so relaxing, I took a nap.

Revere-verb- to honor; to regard with respect We adults were raised in a time when children revered their elders.

Subtle - adj- delicate; elusive; not obvious I tasted a subtle hint of cinnamon in the prize winning chili dish.

Superfluous —adj beyond what is needed or required, an overflow Try to weed the superfluous words from your writing; be as direct and precise as you can be.

Taciturn—adj quiet; not verbose He had trouble keeping up a conversation with his blind date; she was too taciturn for him.