2000 SAT Words (with tumblers & pics)

quotidian

(adj.) daily (Ambika's quotidian routines include drinking two cups of coffee in the morning.)

poignant

(adj.) deeply affecting, moving (My teacher actually cried after reading to us the poignant final chapter of the novel.)

pejorative

(adj.) derogatory, uncomplimentary "Mad a pejorative statement on the evening news that her mom would never forgive her for." (The evening's headline news covered an international scandal caused by a pejorative statement the famous senator had made in reference to a foreign leader.)

perfidious

(adj.) disloyal, unfaithful (After the official was caught selling government secrets to enemy agents, he was executed for his perfidious ways.)

presumptuous

(adj.) disrespectfully bold (The princess grew angry after the presumptuous noble tried to kiss her, even though he was far below her in social status.) (of a person or their behavior) failing to observe the limits of what is permitted or appropriate. "I hope I won't be considered presumptuous if I offer some advice"

profligate

(adj.) dissolute, extravagant (The profligate gambler loved to drink, spend money, steal, cheat, and hang out with prostitutes.)

punctilious

(adj.) eager to follow rules or conventions (Punctilious Bobby, hall monitor extraordinaire, insisted that his peers follow the rules.)

pellucid

(adj.) easily intelligible, clear (Wishing his book to be pellucid to the common man, Albert Camus avoided using complicated grammar when composing The Stranger.)

pernicious

(adj.) extremely destructive or harmful "Everyone made room for the pernicious tyrannical, Ursula."(The new government feared that the Communist sympathizers would have a pernicious influence on the nation's stability.)

propitious

(adj.) favorable (The dark storm clouds visible on the horizon suggested that the weather would not be propitious for sailing.)

pliable

(adj.) flexible (Aircraft wings are designed to be somewhat pliable so they do not break in heavy turbulence.)

pert

(adj.) flippant, bold "Hi, Johnny! What you doing under there?" (My parents forgave Sandra's pert humor at the dinner table because it had been so long since they had last seen her.)

paramount

(adj.) greatest in importance, rank, character (It is paramount that we never drop the bomb again: it will be the end for humanity as we know it.)

pungent

(adj.) having a pointed, sharp quality—often used to describe smells "OMG! Her hair has a such a pungent smell! I think I am going to...."(The pungent odor in the classroom made Joseph lose his concentration during the test.)

rancid

(adj.) having a terrible taste or smell "Let me tell you something Jane, you smell rancid." (Rob was double-dog-dared to eat the rancid egg salad sandwich.)

pervasive

(adj.) having the tendency to spread throughout "Have you ever notice how pervasive a wink could be?" (Stepping off the plane in Havana, I recognized the pervasive odor of sugar cane fields on fire.)

quixotic

(adj.) idealistic, impractical (Edward entertained a quixotic desire to fall in love at first sight in a laundromat.)

punitive

(adj.) involving punishment Tinker Bells defiance called for punitive measures." (If caught smoking in the boys' room, the punitive result is immediate expulsion from school.)

puerile

(adj.) juvenile, immature, childishly silly and trivial. "you're making puerile excuses" Many times around his peers, Dr. House would be puerile behaving contrary to professional norms." (The judge demanded order after the lawyer's puerile attempt to object by stomping his feet on the courtroom floor.)

quandary

(n.) a perplexed, unresolvable state (Carlos found himself in a quandary: should he choose mint chocolate chip or cookie dough?)

pillage

(v.) "The Third Reich plunders European Master pieces during WWII" to seize or plunder, especially in war (Invading enemy soldiers pillaged the homes scattered along the country's border.)

proscribe

(v.) to condemn, outlaw (The town council voted to proscribe the sale of alcohol on weekends.)

perplex

(v.) to confuse --John was perplexed by daughter interest in dressing him in women's clothing.-- (Brad was perplexed by his girlfriend's suddenly distant manner.)

quell

(v.) to control or diffuse a potentially explosive situation She needs to quell her need to play with incendiary devices." (The skilled leader deftly quelled the rebellion.)

raze

(v.) to demolish, level (The old tenement house was razed to make room for the large chain store.)

prescribe

(v.) to lay down a rule "These pink rules have been prescribed by the most popular girls Everrrr so we can be all that!" (The duke prescribed that from this point further all of the peasants living on his lands would have to pay higher taxes.)

procure

(v.) to obtain, acquire "Uncle Sam will procure more people for the draft" (The FBI was unable to procure sufficient evidence to charge the gangster with racketeering.)

preclude

(v.) to prevent (My grandfather's large and vicious guard dogs precluded anyone from entering the yard.)

promulgate

(v.) to proclaim, make known (The film professor promulgated that both in terms of sex appeal and political intrigue, Sean Connery's James Bond was superior to Roger Moore's.)

rebuke

(v.) to scold, criticize "Jane rebuked his advances with a slap on the hand." (When the cops showed up at Sarah's party, they rebuked her for disturbing the peace.)

rail

(v.) to scold, protest (The professor railed against the injustice of the college's tenure policy.)

permeate

(v.) to spread throughout, saturate (Mrs. Huxtable was annoyed that the wet dog's odor had permeated the furniture's upholstery.)

propagate

(v.)to multiply, spread out (Rumors of Paul McCartney's demise propagated like wildfire throughout the world.)

predilection

(n.) a preference or inclination for something "she has a ""Come These people had a predilection for country music and step dancing, but something went wrong and it became predilection gathering for kickers." (Francois has a predilection for eating scrambled eggs with ketchup, though I prefer to eat eggs without any condiments.)

parody

(n.) a satirical imitation Saturday Night Live did a parody on Hitler last last. "Austin Powers is a parody of the British and American Intelligence based on the premise of 007." (A hush fell over the classroom when the teacher returned to find Deborah acting out a parody of his teaching style.)

proclivity

(n.) a strong inclination toward something "She had a proclivity of choosing the wrong men." natural or habitual inclination or tendency; propensity; predisposition: a proclivity to meticulousness. (In a sick twist of fate, Harold's childhood proclivity for torturing small animals grew into a desire to become a surgeon.)

penchant

(n.) a tendency, partiality, preference Jimmy has a penchant for dancing on the deck of ships .-- (Jill's dinner parties quickly became monotonous on account of her penchant for Mexican dishes.)

pittance

(n.) a very small amount, especially relating to money (Josh complained that he was paid a pittance for the great amount of work he did at the firm.)

plethora

(n.) an abundance, excess "She took a plethora of dogs to the face." (The wedding banquet included a plethora of oysters piled almost three feet high.)

plenitude

(n.) an abundance: a plenitude of monarch butterflies fly south"(My grandmother was overwhelmed by the plenitude of tomatoes her garden yielded this season.)

polemic

(n.) an aggressive argument against a specific opinion (My brother launched into a polemic against my arguments that capitalism was an unjust economic system.)

pathos

(n.) an emotion of sympathy (Martha filled with pathos upon discovering the scrawny, shivering kitten at her door.)

propensity

(n.) an inclination, preference (Dermit has a propensity for dangerous activities such as bungee jumping.)

presage

(n.) an omen (When my tía's old war injury ached, he interpreted it as a presage of bad weather approaching.) 1. a presentiment or foreboding. 2. something that portends or foreshadows a future event; an omen, prognostic, or warning indication. 3. prophetic significance; augury. 4. foresight; prescience.

portent

(n.) an omen (When a black cat crossed my sister's path while she was walking to school, she took it as a portent that she would do badly on her spelling test.)

pariah

(n.) an outcast "In the final Matrix, we learn that the unpluged Agent Smith became a pariah because his narcissistic programming no longer supported the careful balance of the Matrix" (Following the discovery of his plagiarism, Professor Hurley was made a pariah in all academic circles.)

platitude

(n.) an uninspired remark, cliché (After reading over her paper, Helene concluded that what she thought were profound insights were actually just platitudes.)

prudence

(n.) cautious, circumspect The baby elephant learns that it is a good idea to exhibit prudence around water." "After almost drowning, she (After losing a fortune in a stock market crash, my father vowed to practice greater prudence in future investments.)

rancor

(n.) deep, bitter resentment (When Eileen challenged me to a fight, I could see the rancor in her eyes.)

plaudits

(n.) enthusiastic approval, applause (The controversial new film received plaudits from even the harshest critics.)

prowess

(n.) extraordinary ability Carla father never worried about his daughter's prowess to take care of herself in touchy moments." (The musician had never taken a guitar lesson in his life, making his prowess with the instrument even more incredible.)

parsimony

(n.) frugality, stinginess ' Scourge practice of parsimony without empathy aided in creating a miserable life' (Many relatives believed that my aunt's wealth resulted from her parsimony.)

privation

(n.) lacking basic necessities (After decades of rule by an oppressive government that saw nothing wrong with stealing from its citizens, the recent drought only increased the people's privation.)

rapport

(n.) mutual understanding and harmony "Jane was surprised that her rapport with Tarzan was growing into extravagant affair." (When Margaret met her paramour, they felt an instant rapport.)

potentate

(n.) one who has great power and authority, as a sovereign, monarch, or ruler. The last potentate to be assassinated was J.F. Kennedy (All the villagers stood along the town's main road to observe as the potentate's procession headed towards the capital.)

pulchritude

(n.) physical beauty (Several of Shakespeare's sonnets explore the pulchritude of a lovely young man.)

petulance

(n.) rudeness, irritability (The Nanny resigned after she could no longer tolerate the child's petulance.)

precipice

(n.) the face of a cliff, a steep or overhanging place "He did a back-flip off a precipice." (The mountain climber hung from a precipice before finding a handhold and pulling himself up.)

pinnacle

(n.) the highest point The pinnacle of the game was the score in the last 10 seocnds of play.-- (Book reviewers declared that the author's new novel was extraordinary and probably the pinnacle of Western literature.)

propriety

(n.) the quality or state of being proper, decent "What's wrong with combing your hair while eating, Ariel said?"(Erma's old-fashioned parents believed that her mini-skirt lacked the propriety expected of a "nice" girl.)

probity

(n.) virtue, integrity (Because he was never viewed as a man of great probity, no one was surprised by Mr. Samson's immoral behavior.)

partisan

(n.)a follower, adherent (The king did not believe that his rival could round up enough partisans to overthrow the monarchy.)

pretense

(n.)an appearance or action intended to deceive " The floor is a pretense, don't stand...." (Though he actually wanted to use his parents' car to go on a date, Nick borrowed his parents' car under the pretense of attending a group study session.)

profane

(adj.) lewd, indecent (Jacob's profane act of dumping frogs in the holy water in the chapel at his boarding school resulted in his dismissal.)

raucous

(adj.) loud, boisterous (Sarah's neighbors called the cops when her house party got too raucous.)

penurious

(adj.) miserly, stingy (Stella complained that her husband's penurious ways made it impossible to live the lifestyle she felt she deserved.)

penultimate

(adj.) next to last (Having smoked the penultimate cigarette remaining in the pack, Cybil discarded the last cigarette and resolved to quit smoking.)

perusal

(n.) a careful examination, review ""The perusal of her throat freaked her out." (The actor agreed to accept the role after a two-month perusal of the movie script.)

pathology

(n.) a deviation from the normal (Dr. Hastings had difficulty identifying the precise nature of Brian's pathology.)

quagmire

(n.) a difficult situation (We'd all like to avoid the kind of military quagmire characterized by the Vietnam War.)

preponderance

(adj. )Also, pre·pon·der·an·cy. "Of all the preponderant of stars, ours shines most brightly to us." superiority in importance or quantity the fact or quality of being preponderant; superiority in weight, power, numbers, etc. (Britain's preponderance of naval might secured the nation's role as a military power.) The preponderance of votes is against the proposal. preponderant [adjective] superior in weight, force, influence, numbers, etc.; prevailing: a preponderant misconception.

prurient

(adj.) "Jessica has prurient thoughts." eliciting or possessing an extraordinary interest in sex (David's mother was shocked by the discovery of prurient reading material hidden beneath her son's mattress.) 2. having, inclined to have, or characterized by lascivious or lustful thoughts, desires, etc. 2. causing lasciviousness or lust. 3. having a restless desire or longing.

precocious

(adj.) advanced, developing ahead of time "It is typical for other children to become jealous of precocious children because they make the others feel insignificant in incapable." (Derek was so academically precocious that by the time he was 10 years old, he was already in the ninth grade.)

plausible

(adj.) believable, reasonable "Like that is plausible." (He studied all the data and then came up with a plausible theory that took all factors into account.)

placid

(adj.) calm, peaceful (The placid lake surface was as smooth as glass.)

quaint

(adj.) charmingly old-fashioned (Hilda was delighted by the quaint bonnets she saw in Amish country.)

pithy

(adj.) concisely meaningful (My father's long-winded explanation was a stark contrast to his usually pithy statements.)

philanthropic

(adj.) charitable, giving Though he Tony Stark is self-centered, his philanthropic behavior helps many." (Many people felt that the billionaire's decision to donate her fortune to house the homeless was the ultimate philanthropic act.)

prepossessing

(adj.) occupying the mind to the exclusion of other thoughts or feelings that impresses or possess favorably; engaging or attractive: a confident and prepossessing young man. (His prepossessing appearance made it impossible for me to think of anything else.) Verb] 1. to possess or dominate mentally beforehand, as a prejudice does. 2. to prejudice or bias, especially favorably. 3. to impress favorably beforehand or at the outset. "Here, let me take off my shirt so I can prepossess your thoughts.

primeval

(adj.) original, ancient --A primeval forest.-- (The first primates to walk on two legs, called Australopithecus, were the primeval descendants of modern man.)

prosaic

(adj.) plain, lacking liveliness (Heather's prosaic recital of the poem bored the audience.)

profuse

(adj.) plentiful, abundant --What killed King Kong was a profuse amount of bullets to his body-- (The fans were profuse in their cheers for the star basketball player.)

pragmatic

(adj.) practical (The politician argued that while increased security measures might not fit with the lofty ideals of the nation, they were a pragmatic necessity to ensure everyone's safety.)

pugnacious

(adj.) quarrelsome, combative (Aaron's pugnacious nature led him to start several barroom brawls each month.)

patent

(adj.) readily seen or understood, clear 'Trying to understand his patent mind, made Dexter feel like a pariah," (The reason for Jim's abdominal pain was made patent after the doctor performed a sonogram.)

penitent

(adj.) remorseful, regretful (The jury's verdict may have been more lenient if the criminal had appeared penitent for his gruesome crimes.

putrid

(adj.) rotten, foul Since I did't shower, maybe Tommy won't notice my putrid smell if I just spray on a little cologne to hide to hide my rancid body odor." (Those rotten eggs smell putrid.)

perfunctory

(adj.) showing little interest or enthusiasm "He showed perfunctory interest in her caresses as she tried to meliorate their differences." (The radio broadcaster announced the news of the massacre in a surprisingly perfunctory manner.)

perspicacity

(adj.) shrewdness, perceptiveness (The detective was too humble to acknowledge that his perspicacity was the reason for his professional success.)

paucity

(adj.) small in quantity "The paucity amount of food encouraged Oliver to say"Please Sir, may I have some more?" (Gilbert lamented the paucity of twentieth century literature courses available at the college.) After dropping out of school, Troy has a paucity of opportunities in our 21st century world. 1. smallness of quantity; scarcity; scantiness: a country with a paucity of resources. 2. smallness or insufficiency of number; fewness. [paw-si-tee]

pertinacious

(adj.) stubbornly persistent (Harry's parents were frustrated with his pertinacious insistence that a monster lived in his closet. Then they opened the closet door and were eaten.)

potable

(adj.) suitable for drinking "Though it doesn't taste like OJ, Sunny-D is potable and cheap." (During sea voyages it is essential that ships carry a supply of potable water because salty ocean water makes anyone who drinks it sick.)

prescient

(adj.) to have foreknowledge of events (Questioning the fortune cookie's prediction, Ray went in search of the old hermit who was rumored to be prescient.)

phlegmatic

(adj.) uninterested, unresponsive (Monique feared her dog was ill after the animal's phlegmatic response to his favorite chew toy.)

querulous

(adj.) whiny, complaining (If deprived of his pacifier, young Brendan becomes querulous.)

protean

(adj.)able to change shape; displaying great variety (Among Nigel's protean talents was his ability to touch the tip of his nose with his tongue.)

rash

(adj.)hasty, incautious "Tarzan was a little rash with his with his curiosity" (It's best to think things over calmly and thoroughly, rather than make rash decisions.)

paradox

(n.) "Because he met his father when he went back in time, Marty created a time paradox" an apparently contradictory statement that is perhaps true (The diplomat refused to acknowledge the paradox that negotiating a peace treaty would demand more resources than waging war.)

paradigm

(n.) 'She is a paradigm for younger gymnast.' an example that is a perfect pattern or model (Because the new SUV was so popular, it became the paradigm upon which all others were modeled.)

paragon

(n.) 'She is the paragon of what a yoga instructor should be: flexible, good balance, and strong" a model of excellence or perfection (The mythical Helen of Troy was considered a paragon of female beauty.)