1. SAT Vocabulary for Juniors Lesson 5

2. #1 Fop: n. an excessively fashion-conscious man syn: dandy The pretentious fop brought three suitcases full of clothes for a simple overnight business trip. The difference between a man of sense and a fop is that the fop values himself upon his dress; and the man of sense laughs at it, at the same time he knows he must not neglect it. -Lord Chesterfield

3. #2 Imprecation: n. a curse syn: condemnation; anathema / ant: blessing Standing sternly in the pulpit, the preacher hurled imprecations at the stunned congregation. The Westerly Wind asserting his sway from the south-west quarter is often like a monarch gone mad, driving forth with wild imprecations the most faithful of his courtiers to shipwreck, disaster, and death. -Joseph Conrad

4. #3 Non sequitur: n. something that does not logically follow syn: fallacy; misconception The professor of logic detested false conclusions and therefore banned non sequiturs from her classroom. “You will do what I say because you are my wife!” or “Because I said so.”

5. #4 Sanguine: adj. cheerful; optimistic Arlene’s perpetually sanguine outlook made some people wonder if she lived in the real world. This sanguine coward, this bed-presser, this horse-back- breaker, this huge hill of flesh. -Shakespeare

6. #5 Bowdlerize: v. to remove offensive passages of a play, novel, etc. syn: censor After Dr. Thomas Bowdler expurgated Shakespeare, many angry critics began asserting that to censor a book is to bowdlerize it. Ophelia's death in Hamlet is referred to as an accidental drowning, not a possible suicide.

7. #6 Impair: v. to weaken; to cause to become worse syn: damage; deteriorate / ant: enhance Bigots allows their bias to impair their sense of justice. Never read bad stuff if you're an artist; it will impair your own game. -James Lee Burke

8. #7 Panegyric: n. an expression of praise syn: tribute; extolment / ant: denunciation The author didn’t write an analytical biography; he threw together a mere panegyric. “The highest panegyric, therefore, that private virtue can receive, is the praise of servants.” -Samuel Johnson

9. #8 Quandary: n. a puzzling situation; a dilemma syn: predicament Rob faced the pleasant quandary of choosing to go to the movies or play video games. You're confronted with the quandary: do I grind things to a halt? Ideally you would, but I have better things to do than educate people. -Wentworth Miller

10. #9 Ebullient: adj. enthusiastic syn: exuberant; lively / ant: dejected; dispirited A noisily ebullient crowd kept the visiting team from hearing the signals. Talking about their hopelessness darkens his otherwise ebullient demeanor.

11. #10 Deference: n. respect; consideration Deference must be given only to those who have earned it. People who expect deference resent mere civility. -Mason Cooley

12. #11 Carnal: adj. relating to physical appetite, especially sexual syn: erotic / ant: chaste; modest Before being overrun and executed, the emperor spent most of his time at his summer palace, feasting and engaging in other carnal pleasures. Man cannot live without joy; therefore when he is deprived of true spiritual joys it is necessary that he become addicted to carnal pleasures. -Thomas Aquinas

13. #12 Nebulous: adj. hazy; vague; uncertain syn: cloudy; indistinct; obscure / ant: distinct; precise Modern life can oppress us with a nameless and nebulous feeling of dread. Truth cannot be defined or tested by agreement with 'the world'; for not only do truths differ for different worlds but the nature of agreement between a world apart from it is notoriously nebulous. -Nelson Goodman

14. #13 Rakish: adj. dashingly stylish and confident syn: dapper; jaunty / ant: slovenly; disheveled The “Dapper Don” flashed his patented rakish smile as the feds frog-marched him off to jail. Previous to placing it before him, he went into the Aged's room with a clean white cloth, and tied the same under the old gentleman's chin, and propped him up, and put his nightcap on one side, and gave him quite a rakish air. -Charles Dickens (Great Expectations)

15. #14 Elegy: n. a sad or mournful poem syn: dirge; lament In deference to the mourners at graveside, the pastor kept his elegy eloquent but short. “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,” by Thomas Gray

16. #15 Pedantic: adj. tending to show off one’s learning syn: bookish The pedantic teacher paraded his knowledge of tiny facts and ignored the important ideas in the book. Nothing is as peevish and pedantic as men's judgments of one another. -Desiderius Erasmus