List of English Words and Their Meanings, Exams of English Literature

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SAT ENGLISH Numberless - too numerous to be counted Immeasurable - beyond calculation or measure Singular - Unique; extraordinary Duplicity - contradictory doubleness of thought, speech or action, especially the belying of one's true intentions by deceptive words or actions Apocryphal - Fictitious; of doubtful authenticity Immutable - Unchanging Marred - Made imperfect; spoiled; disfigured Abject - Of a situation - extremely bad, unpleasant, and degrading; miserable, mean, vile, wretched Futile - Serving no worthwhile purpose; frivolous Inestimable - Too great or valuable to be properly measured Implausible - Not Trustworthy or believable Nebulous - Indistinct, vague Myriad - An indefinitely large number Fracas - Noisy dispute or quarrel Imbibe - To drink Infinitesimal - Too small to be measured Incongruous - Lacking harmony or agreement; incompatible Ensconce - To place comfortably, snuggly, or securely Invaluable - Merge/fuse Verisimilitude - Something resembling the truth Vapid - Lacking liveliness, tang, briskness or force; flat; insipid Languor - Weakness or weariness of body or mind; listless indolence (laziness) Diaphanous - Sheer; characterized by such fineness of texture as to permit seeing through; insubstantial Euphemism - The substitution of a word or expression for one that may be offensive Vitriolic - Virulence (ability to infect) of feeling or of speech; caustic (ability to burn) like oil of vitriol Perfidy - Treachery Inchoate - Being only partially in existence or operation Vitiate - To make faulty, defective; to debase; to make ineffective Ignominious - Marked by disgrace or shame; dishonorable; degrading Vituperative - Uttering or given to censure (act of blaming or harsh criticism); containing verbal abuse Rumination - Going over in the mind repeatedly; engaging in contemplation; pondering Perspicacious - Very smart, perceptive, discerning; shrewd Protean - Variable; readily Promulgation - An announcement Veracity; verity - Truthfulness, truth Punctilious - Marked by or concerned with exact, precise accordance with conventions and behavior; careful Superficial - Near the surface Primordial - First created or developed: primeval; primitive Machination - A scheming or crafty action; plotting or contriving Eschew - To avoid habitually; shun Vicissitude - Changes, the ups and downs as in life Usurp - To seize and hold (as in place or power) in possession by force or wrongfully Approbation - Approval Vagary - An erratic, unpredictable action or notion; caprice Raconteur - A storyteller Anachronism - An error in chronology; a person or thing in the wrong time pace Sacrosanct - Sacred Obfuscate - Marked by hot temper and easily provoked anger Disciminating - Making a distinction: distinguishing; discerning Dogmatic - Something held as an established opinion, esp. a definite authoritative tenet Imperious - Marked by arrogant assurance; commanding, domineering Surreptitious - Done, made, or acquired by stealth; clandestine Ostentatious - Showy; marked by conspicuous display Obsequious - Subservient; exhibiting a servile attentiveness or complaisance Complaisance - Disposition to please or comply; affability Fecund - Fertile; fruitful in offspring or vegetation Supercilious - Haughtily disdainful or contemptuous Iconoclast - One who attacks tradition or orthodoxy Demagogue - A leader who uses popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power Hedonist - One who loves pleasure Recluse - A person who leads a secluded or solitary life Maverick - A nonconformist; an independent individual Benefactor - One who makes a gift or bequest Charlatan - One who pretends to be an expert; a phony Arbiter - A judge; a person with power to decide a dispute Sycophant - A flatterer Miser - A mean, grasping person, especially one who lives miserably to hoard his wealth Philanthropist - One who works to promote human welfare; one who gives money for humanitarian purposes Malefactor - One who breaks the law, a felon; one who does ill against another Expatriate - One who lives in a foreign country Ascetic - One who practices strict self-denial Glutton - One who eats excessively Altruist - A selfless person Paragon - A model of excellence or virtue Opportunist - One who takes advantage of opportunities, esp. with little regard for principles or consequences Virtuoso - One who excels in the technique of an art, esp. a highly skilled musical performer; one skilled in the fine arts Pedant - One who parades his learning; one who is unimaginative or unduly emphasizes minutiae in the presentation or use of knowledge Orator - One distinguished for his/her skill and power as a public speaker Firebrand - One who creates unrest or strife; agitator Curator - One who has the care and superintendence of something, such as a museum Dilettante - A lover of the arts; one with superficial interest in an art of branch of knowledge Dignitary - One who possesses exalted rank or holds a position of dignity or honor Potentate - One who wields controlling power Aesthete - One who loves beauty, esp. in art Luminary - A person brilliantly outstanding in some respect Curmudgeon - A crusty, ill-tempered and usually old man Pariah - An outcast Penitent - One who repents or shows remorse or contrition Stoic - One apparently or professedly indifferent to pleasure or pain Sybarite - Lover of luxury Cerebral - Intellectual Visceral - Connotes emotions, pertaining to internal organs (guts) Munificent - Generous Contentious - Argumentative, controversial Sanguine - Cheerful Indecorous - Lack of proper behavior (propriety) Decorum - Propriety Fastidious - Exacting, meticulous Enervating - Worn out, tired Illicit - Illegal Nefarious - Wicked, evil (ex. nefarious dealings) Truculent - Lethal, brutal, murderous Innocuous - Harmless Alacrity - Speedy enthusiasm (very enthusiastic) Emergent - Of or pertaining to a son or daughter; obedience; denoting the generation(s) after the parental generation Poignant - Evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret Sporadic - Scattered; isolated; occurring at irregular intervals Superfluous - Unnecessary, more than enough Incontrovertible - Not able to be denied or disputed Infallible - Never failing, always effective; incapable of making mistakes Dispel - To make a feeling, doubt or belief disappear; drive something away Vacillation - Hesitation, indecision in speech or action Paradigm - A model, a typical example of something Inure - Accustom someone to something, esp. unpleasant; to take effect Abate - To cause something to become smaller and less intense Reverberate - (Of a noise) Repeat several times like an echo; (of a place) to appear to vibrate or be disturbed because of a loud noise Fetid - Smelling extremely unpleasant Axiom - A statement or proposition that is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true Recalcitrant - Having an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority; a person with such attitude Indictment - A formal charge or accusation of a serious crime; the act of doing so Censure - To criticize Ineffable - Inexpressible in words Conflagration - A large, destructive fire Surly - Bad tempered and unfriendly Wry - Using or expressing dry, mocking humor Explicit - Speaking directly, so that nothing is or can be assumed Inconspicuous - Not clearly visible or attracting attention Sanguinary - Bloody Consanguinity - Descended from the same ancestor; of the same blood Corroborate - To confirm; support; strengthen Collaborate - To work together Willing - Favorably disposed or consenting; done cheerfully Willful - Said or done deliberately or intentionally Trenchant - Mentally sharp, shrewd Malfeasance - Wrong-doing Complacent - Self-satisfied, smug Incisive - Shrewd Rhapsody - Entranced state Hackneyed - Trite, overused, cliche Prosaic - Cliche Paucity - Small quantity Dirth - Paucity Reprehensible - Something worthy of condemnation, bad Magnanimous - Noble, Generous Querulous - Fretful, Whining/Complaining Proficient - Competent, skilled, expert Globetrotter - person who travels regularly to countries all over the world Verdant - Green with vegetation; unexperienced or unsophisticated Wizened - Withered; shriveled up Nascent - Beginning to exist or develop Scintillate - To emit sparks; sparkle; flash; twinkle Callow - Immature or inexperienced Vacuous - Without contents, empty; lacking ideas or intelligence Brazen - Shameless; made of brass; like brass Complacent - Pleased, self-satisfied; w/o awareness of danger Sardonic - Mocking, cynical, bitter or scornful Resigned - Submissive; unhopeful Contemptuous - Disdainful; scornful; showing contempt Didactic - Instructive; lecturing others too much Nonchalant - Indifferent, unconcerned Unabashed - Not ashamed or embarrassed Whimsical - Erratic; unpredictable; fanciful notions To infer or estimating known info Insinuate - To imply or communicate stealthily Lucid - Easily understood or clear Epigram - A short, often satirical poem, ends with witty thought Fractiousness - Unruly, irritable, quarrelsome Quandary - state of uncertainty or perplexity especially as requiring a choice between equally unfavorable options Digressia - Leaving the main subject Disparage - To regard as being of little worth Partisan - devoted to a cause or party Reverent - showing great reverence for god Substantiate - solidify, firm, or strengthen Delineate - Show the origin Prophetic - foretelling events as if by supernatural intervention Wayward - Disobedient, unpredictable, opposite of desired Depravity - Corruption morally Juxtapose - Place or deal with close together to contrast Conciliatory - Intended or likely to pacify Impetuous - characterized by undue haste and lack of thought or deliberation Disengenuousness - Not genuine, sincere or candid typically by pretending that knows more than actually knows Decry - To publicly denounce Antipathy - Hostility Callous - Insensitive Banal - Unoriginal Baleful - Evil, malicious Astute - Mentally sharp, perspicacious Cathartic - Cleansing of the spirit, purge (Catharsis- Noun) Transient - Fleeting, quickly, evanescent, ephemeral. (Transitory-Noun) Olfactory - Sense of smell Forthright - Honest, comes out with it Vibration Folly - Foolishness, lack of good sense Temparence - Moderation, self-restraint Satire - Mocking another's weaknesses/sarcastic Byword - a person that is an outstanding example or embodiment of something Forthright - honest, up-front Obdurate - Stubborn Vainglory - Boasting Intransient - Unwilling to compromise, adamant Abhorrent - Inspiring disgust and loathing Perverse - Contrary to the expected or accepted standard or practice Deride - Express contempt for; ridicule Lampoon - to satirize, parody Elucidate - To clarify Banal - unoriginal Baleful - Evil, malicious Diffidence - Lacking confidence Consecration - To make holy Material - Of relevance or importance Voluble - Wordy, loquacious Acrimonious - Bitter, sharp, ill-feeling Mellifluous - Harmonious, pleasant to hear Insolvent - bankrupt Idiosyncratic - peculiar; eccentric; unique to an individual Indomitable - Unconquerable Expeditious - fast, speedy Hubris - excessive pride or self-confidence Impetuosity - rash impulsiveness Valor - the qualities of a hero or heroine Substantiate - An occupation; a body of people doing the same kind of work Exclusive - not divided or shared with others Apparition - the appearance of a ghostlike figure; an act of appearing or becoming visible unexpectedly Concession - the act of conceding or yielding Allusion - indirect reference Erroneous - incorrect Inconclusive - not conclusive (no conclusion) Supposition - an uncertain belief Credence - belief or trust Irrefutable - impossible to deny or disprove Profligacy - reckless wastefulness Disrepute - disgrace; dishonor; the state of being held in low esteem Mitigate - to alleviate; to calm (circumstances) Ossified - Rigid Politicized - More opinionated Venerable - Honorable (venerate) Bureaucratization - Transforming into rigid policies Jingoism - Extreme Nationalism Dispassion - composed, calm; not influenced by strong emotion Irresolute - uncertain, undecided, undetermined Perpetuate - To make something continue on indefinitely; eternalized, immortalized Rectify - to correct Sultry - of weather - hot, humid Tempered - moderated, restrained; having a specified temper or disposition (ex. ill-tempered) Convoluted - Extremely complex and difficult to follow