SAT Vocabulary for Juniors

Lesson 5

#1 Fop: n. an excessively fashion-conscious mansyn: 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

#2 Imprecation: n. a cursesyn: 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

#3 Non sequitur: n. something that does not logically followsyn: 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.”

#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

#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.

#6 Impair: v. to weaken; to cause to become worsesyn: 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

#7 Panegyric: n. an expression of praisesyn: 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

#8 Quandary: n. a puzzling situation; a dilemmasyn: 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

#9 Ebullient: adj. enthusiasticsyn: 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.

#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

#11 Carnal: adj. relating to physical appetite, especially sexualsyn: 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

#12 Nebulous: adj. hazy; vague; uncertainsyn: 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

#13 Rakish: adj. dashingly stylish and confidentsyn: 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)

#14 Elegy: n. a sad or mournful poemsyn: 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

#15 Pedantic: adj. tending to show off one’s learningsyn: 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