Sat 3500 Vocabulary Words

Front 1

abase (v)

Back 1

lower; humiliate.
Defeated, Queen Zenobia was forced to abase herself before the conquering Romans, who made her march in chains before the emperor in the procession celebrating his triumph.
abasement, N.

Front 2

abash (v)

Back 2

embarrass
He was not at all abashed by her open admiration.

Front 3

*abate (v)

Back 3

subside; decrease; lessen
Rather than leaving immediately, they waited for the storm to abate. abatement, N.

Front 4

abbreviate (v)

Back 4

shorten
Because we were running out of time, the lecturer had to abbreviate her speech.

Front 5

abdicate (v)

Back 5

renounce; give up
When Edward VIII abdicated the British throne to marry the woman he loved, he surprised the entire world.

Front 6

abduction (n)

Back 6

kidnapping
The movie describes the attempts to rescue a multimillionaire's son after the child's abduction by kidnappers.
abduct, V

Front 7

aberrant (adj, n)

Back 7

abnormal; deviant
Given the aberrant nature of the data, we doubted the validity of the entire experiment.

Front 8

abet (v)

Back 8

aid (usually in doing something wrong); encourage
She was unwilling to abet him in the swindle he had planned.

Front 9

abeyance (n)

Back 9

suspended action
The deal was held in abeyance until her arrival.

Front 10

abhor (v)

Back 10

detest; hate
She abhorred all forms of bigotry.
abhorrence, N

Front 11

abject (adj)

Back 11

wretched; lacking pride
On the streets of New York the homeless live in abject poverty, huddling in doorways to find shelter from the wind.

Front 12

abjure (v)

Back 12

renounce upon oath
He abjured his allegiance to the king.
abjuration, N

Front 13

ablution (n)

Back 13

washing
His daily ablutions were accompanied by loud noises that he humorously labeled "Opera in the Bath".

Front 14

abnegation (n)

Back 14

repudiation; self-sacrifice
No act of abnegation was more pronounced than his refusal of any rewards for his discovery.

Front 15

abolish (v)

Back 15

cancel; put an end to
The president of the college refused to abolish the physical education requirement.
abolition, N

Front 16

abominable (adj)

Back 16

detestable; extremely unpleasant; very bad
Mary liked John until she learned he was dating Ssuan; then she called him an abominable young man, with abominable taste in women.

Front 17

aboriginal (adj, n)

Back 17

being the first of its kind in a region; primitive; native
Her studies of the primitive art forms of the aboriginal Indians were widely reported in the scientific journals.
aborigines, N

Front 18

abortive (adj)

Back 18

unsucessful; fruitless
Attacked by armed troops, the Chinese students had to abandon their abortive attempt to democratize Beijing peacefully.
abort, V

Front 19

abrade (v)

Back 19

wear away by friction; scrape; erode
The sharp rocks abraded the skin on her legs, so she put iodine on her abrasions.
abrasion, N
abrasive, ADJ

Front 20

abrasive (adj)

Back 20

rubbing away; tending to grind down
Just as abrasive cleaning powders can wear away a shiny finish, abrasive remarks can wear away a listener's patience.
abrade, V

Front 21

**abridge (v)

Back 21

condense; shorten
Because the publishers felt the public wanted a shorter version of "War and Peace", the proceeded to abridge the novel.

Front 22

abrogate (v)

Back 22

abolish
He intended to abrogate the decree issued by his predecessor.

Front 23

abscond (v)

Back 23

depart secretly and hide
The teller who absconded with the bonds went uncaptured until someone recognized him from his photograph on "America's Most Wanted".

Front 24

absolute (adj)

Back 24

complete; totally unlimited; certain
Although the King of Siam was an absolute monarch, he did not want to behead his unfaithful wife without absolute evidence of her infidelity.

Front 25

absolve (v)

Back 25

pardon (an offense)
The father confessor absolved him of his sins.
absolution, N

Front 26

absorb (v)

Back 26

assimilate or incorporate; suck or drink up; wholly engage
During the nineteenth century, America absorbed hordes of immigrants, turning them into productive citizens.
absorption, N

Front 27

abstain (v)

Back 27

refrain; hold oneself back voluntarily from an action or practise
After considering the effect of alcohol on his athletic performance, he decided to abstain from drinking while he trained for the race
abstinence, N

Front 28

**abstemious (adj)

Back 28

sparing in eating and drinking; temperate
Concerned whether her vegetarian son's abstemious diet provided him with sufficient protein, the worried mother pressed food on him.

Front 29

abstinence (n)

Back 29

restraint from an activity or practise
The doctor recommended total abstinence from salted foods.
abstain, V

Front 30

**abstract (adj)

Back 30

theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational
to him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal.

Front 31

**abstruse (adj)

Back 31

obscure; profound; difficult to understand
She carries around abstruse works of philosophy, not because she understands them but because she wants her friends to think she does.

Front 32

abundant (adj)

Back 32

plentiful; possessing riches or resources
At his immigration interview, Ivan listed his abundant reasons for coming to America: the hope of religious freedom, the prospect of employment, the promise of a more abundant life.

Front 33

abusive (adj)

Back 33

coarsely insulting, physically harmful
An abusive parent damages of child both mentally and physically.

Front 34

abut (v)

Back 34

border upon; adjoin
Where our estates abut, we must build a fence.

Front 35

abysmal (adj)

Back 35

bottomless
His arrogance is exceeded only by his abysmal ignorance.

Front 36

abyss (n)

Back 36

enormous chasm; vast bottomless pit
Darth Vader seized the evil emperor and hurled him down into the abyss.

Front 37

academic (adj)

Back 37

related to school; not practical or directly useful
The dean's talk about reforming the college admission system was only an academic discussion: we knew little, if anything, would change.

Front 38

accede (v)

Back 38

agree
If I accede to this demand for blackmail, I am afraid that I will be the victim of future demands.