Sat Vocab.

Front 1

Candid

Back 1

completely honest, straightforward

Candace's candidness overwhelmed her business colleagues, who were not used to such honesty.

Front 2

conjecture

Back 2

inference; guesswork

At this point, Kim's hypothesis about single-cell organisms is still conjecture: She doesn't have conclusive evidence.

Front 3

didactic

Back 3

instructive

The tapes were entertaining and didactic; they both amused and instructed children.

Front 4

euphemism

Back 4

a mild, indirect, or vague term substituting for a harsh, blunt, or offensive term

"To pass away" is a common euphemism for dying.

Front 5

extrapolate

Back 5

to infer or estimate by extending or projecting known info

Seeing the wrecked bike and his daughter's skinned knees, Heath extrapolated that she had had a biking accident.

Front 6

incoherent

Back 6

lacking cohesion or connection

Maury's sentences were so incoherent that nobody understood a word.

Front 7

insinuate

Back 7

to imply or communicate stealthily

Sean insinuated that Grace stold the arsenic, but he never came out and said it.

Front 8

lucid

Back 8

easily understood; cleaver

Our teacher provides lucid explanation of even the most difficult concepts so that we can all understand them.

Front 9

rhetoric

Back 9

the are of using language effectively and persuasively

Since they are expected to make speeches, most politicians and lawyers are well-versed in the are of rhetoric.

Front 10

acumen

Back 10

quickness, accuracy, and keenness of judgment or insight

Judge Ackerman's legal acumen was so well regarded that he was nicknamed the "Solomon of the South".

Front 11

adroit

Back 11

dexterous; deft

An androit balloon-animal maker, Andy became popular at kids' parties.

Front 12

ascertain

Back 12

to find out, as through investigation or experimentation

The private investigator had long suspected my dog; before long, he ascertained that Toto was indeed the murderer.

Front 13

astute

Back 13

shrewd; clever

Stewart is financially astute; he invests wisely and never falls for scams.

Front 14

circumspect

Back 14

careful; prudent; discreet

Ned's circumspect manner makes him a wise appointment to the diplomatic corps.

Front 15

disseminate

Back 15

to scatter widely, as in sowing seed

The news about David's embarrassing moment disseminated quickly throughout the school.

Front 16

erudition

Back 16

deep, extensive learning

Professor Rudy's erudition was such that she could answer any question she was asked.

Front 17

husbandry

Back 17

the application of scientific principles to agriculture, especially to animal breeding

After years of practicing animal husbandry, Marsha's husband was able to create a breed of dog that actually walked itself.

Front 18

pedantic

Back 18

excessively concerned with book learning and formal rules

Pedro's pedantic tendencies prompted him to remind us constantly of all the grammatical rules we were breaking.

Front 19

perspicacious

Back 19

shrewd; clear-sighted

Penny's perspicacious mind had solved so many cases that the popular private investigator was able to retire.

Front 20

pragmatic

Back 20

practical

Never one for wild and crazy schemes, Matt took a pragmatic approach to research.

Front 21

precocious

Back 21

exhibiting unusually early intellectual aptitude or maturity

Bobby' precocious intellect made him one of the world;s best chess players.

Front 22

prospectus

Back 22

formal proposal

Before writing my thesis, I had to submit a detailed prospectus to the department for approval.

Front 23

rudimentary

Back 23

basic; elementary; in the earliest stages of development

Josh's rudimentary golf skills were easily overpowered by Tiger Wood's amazing performance on the green.

Front 24

abstruse

Back 24

difficult to understand

Abby found her professor's lecture on non-Euclidian geometry abstruse.

Front 25

callous

Back 25

emotionally hardened; unfeeling

Callie's callous remark about her friend's cluttered room really hurt his feelings.

Front 26

convoluted

Back 26

intricate; complex

The directions were so convoluted the we became hopelessly lost.

Front 27

enigma

Back 27

a puzzle, mystery, or riddle

The emu was an enigma; you could never tell what it was thinking.

Front 28

inscrutable

Back 28

difficult to fathom or understand; impenetrable

The ancient poet's handwriting was so inscrutable, that even the most prominent Latin scholars could not read it.

Front 29

reticent

Back 29

inclined to keep silent; reserved

Rose's reticent behavior caused the interviewer to think her incapable of conversing with other students.

Front 30

staid

Back 30

unemotional; serious

Mr. Estado was well known for his staid demeanor; he stayed calm even when everyone else celebrated the team's victory.

Front 31

arcane

Back 31

known or understood by only a few

The dusty archive includes an arcane treasure trove of nautical charts from the Age of Discovery

Front 32

assimilate

Back 32

to absorb or become absorbed; to make or become similar

Keisha assimilated so quickly at her new school that she was named head of the social comittee a month after enrolling.

Front 33

autonomy

Back 33

independence; self-determination

Candice gained autonomy upon moving out of her parent's house into her own apartment.

Front 34

cosmopolitan

Back 34

worldly; widely sophisticated

Inga was surprisingly cosmopolitan considering how sheltered she was growing up.

Front 35

derivative (n)

Back 35

something that comes from another source

"Special Victims Unit" and "Criminal Intent" are derivatives of the original "Law and Order" series.