SAT and ACT Vocab 12
baleful
deadly or pernicious in influence; foreboding or threatening evil; baneful; ominous, portending evil; harmful or malignant
canard
false or unfounded report or story; fabricated report; groundless rumor
bête noir
bugbear or person or thing strongly detested or avoided
bucolic
relating to shepherds or herdsmen, pastoral; relating to or typical of rural life; idyllic
apostasy
renunciation of a religious faith; abandonment of a previous loyalty; defection
cavil
to raise trivial objections
braggadocio
braggart; cockiness, arrogant, empty boasting, pretension
aquiline
curving like an eagle's beak
barrage
dam placed in a watercourse to increase the depth of water or divert it into a channel for navigation or irrigation
buskin
laced boot reaching halfway or more to the knee
callow
lacking adult sophistication; immature (Begins with C)
bate
to reduce the force or intensity of, restrain, deduct; to take away; to diminish, decrease
capitulate
to parley, negotiate; to acquiesce, yield; to surrender after negotiation
burgeon
to send forth new growth; sprout, bloom; to flourish
anneal
to strengthen, toughen
alacrity
Cheerful willingness; eagerness; quickness, not hesitant or reluctant
bravado
blustering swaggering conduct; pretense of bravery; foolhardy
animadversion
a critical and usually censorious remark; criticism
caryatid
a draped female figure supporting an entablature
bolster
a long pillow or cushion, a structural part designed to eliminate friction
athwart
across, in opposition to
breviary
book of prayers, hymns, psalms, divine office; brief summary
catalyst
an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action
appurtenance
an incidental right attached to a principal property right and passing in possession with it; a subordinate part or adjunct; accessory object
chattel
an item of tangible movable or immovable property; slave, bondsman
apothegm
aphorism
codicil
appendix, supplement
blazon
armorial bearings; ostentatious display
cabal
artifices or intrigue of a group of persons secretly united in a plot
apropos
at an opportune time, by way of interjection or further comment with regard to the present topic
animus
basic attitude or governing spirit, disposition, intention; enmity; usually prejudiced and often spiteful or malevolent ill will; inner masculine part of the female personality in the analytic psychology of Jung
antediluvian
before the flood
arrant
being notoriously without moderation
canny
clever, shrewd, prudent, careful, steady, restrained, quiet snug
billingsgate
coarsely abusive language
aplomb
complete and confident composure or self-assurance; poise; confidence
aphorism
concise statement of principle
capacious
containing or capable of containing a great deal; spacious
chicanery
deception by artful subterfuge or sophistry; trickery
bereft
deprived or robbed of the possession or use; lacking; bereaved
apotheosis
elevation to divine status; deification; perfect example; quintessence
chauvinism
excessive or blind patriotism; an attitude of superiority toward members of the opposite sex
cataclysm
flood, deluge, catastrophe; momentous and violent event marked by overwhelming upheaval and demolition
avarice
greediness, cupidity
blithe
happy lighthearted character; casual, heedless, lacking due thought and consideration
chary
hesitant and vigilant about dangers and risks; slow to grant, accept or expend; discreetly cautious; dearly treasured
apogee
highest point
apposite
highly pertinent or appropriate
bugaboo
imaginary object of fear; bugbear
cant
inclined to sing, to talk in jargon; affected singsong or whining speech; the insincere use of pious words
burlesque
literary or dramatic work that seeks to ridicule by means of grotesque exaggeration or comic imitation; mockery usually by caricature
checkered
marked by alternation or contrast of fortune
captious
marked by an often ill-natured inclination to stress faults and raise objections; calculated to confuse, entrap, entangle in argument
assiduous
marked by careful unremitting attention or persistent application
baroque
marked by complexity, bold ornamentation, extravagance, flamboyance, grotesqueness
carping
marked by or inclined to querulous and often perverse criticism
bogus
not genuine; counterfeit, sham
brindled
obscure dark streaks or flecks on a usually gray or tawny ground
augury
omen portent
canto
one or more divisions of a long poem
cockade
ornament usually worn on a hat as a badge
caparison
ornamental covering for a horse; decorative trappings and harness; rich clothing, adornment
benighted
overtaken by darkness or night, unenlightened
andirons
pair of metal supports for firewood
chiromancy
palmistry
bilious
peevish ill-natured disposition; sickeningly unpleasant
bumptious
presumptuously, obtusely and often noisily self-assertive; obtrusive
celerity
rapidity of motion or action
casuistry
resolving of specific cases of conscience, duty, or conduct through interpretation of ethical principle or religious doctrine; specious argument; rationalization
carmine
rich crimson or scarlet lake made from cochineal; a vivid red
boorish
rudeness of manner due to insensitivity to others' feelings and unwillingness to be agreeable
argot
secret vocabulary and idiom peculiar to a particular group
bulwark
solid wall-like structure raised for defense; rampart; seawall; strong support or protection; side of the ship above the upper deck
blandishment
something that tends to coax or cajole; allurement
brazen
sounding harsh and loud like struck brass; boldness
aspersion
sprinkling of water especially in religious ceremonies; a false or misleading charge meant to harm someone's reputation; the act of making such a charge
chassis
supporting frame of a structure
bivouac
temporary encampment under little or no shelter
atavism
throwback; reversion to a past style
asseverate
to affirm or declare positively or earnestly
bode
to announce beforehand, foretell; to indicate by signs; presage (Begins with B)
beleaguer
to besiege, trouble , harass
clamber
to climb awkwardly
circumscribe
to constrict the range or activity of definitely and clearly; to define or make off carefully; to draw a line around
bedizen
to dress or adorn gaudily
bowdlerize
to expurgate by omitting or modifying vulgar parts; to modify by abridging, simplifying or distorting in style or content
adumbrate
to foreshadow vaguely: intimate; to suggest, disclose, or outline partially
apprise
to give notice, to tell
batten
to grow fat; to feed gluttonously; to grow prosperous especially at the expense of another; fatten
assuage
to lessen the intensity ; ease; pacify; quench
burnish
to make shiny or lustrous especially by rubbing; polish
besmirch
to sully, soil
calumniate
to utter false statements, charges or imputations about; malign
aver
to verify or prove to be true in pleading a cause; to declare positively
bedraggle
to wet thoroughly
cede
to yield or grant typically by treaty; to assign, transfer
bullion
uncoined gold or silver in bars; metal in the mass; lace, braid, or fringe of gold or silver threads
circumlocution
use of an unnecessarily large number of words to express an idea; evasion of speech
bootless
useless, unprofitable
churlish
vulgar, surly