the best sat prep guide and review | toptestprep.com

8/3/2019 The Best SAT Prep Guide and Review | TopTestPrep.com

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R

eading

T T Three subjects: Math, Reading, and Writing, each

featuring several dierent question types.Ten sections, most of which are multiple choice,

and each of which has a time limit between 10

and 25 minutes.Takes about four hours total.Calculators are allowed on Math sections.About 35% are of the questions are easy, 50% are

of medium diculty, 15% are hard.One of the nine multiple choice sections is ex-

perimental, meaning the testmakers are using itto test out new questions. It wont be scored, but

theres no way to tell which one it is.You need to register for the SAT about a month in

advance. You can do it at collegeboard.com.

SYou get a score between 200 and 800 in each

subject (Reading, Writing, and Math). These areadded to produce a total between 600 and 2400.Higher is beer.

Your test is scored automatically, not by hand,so make sure you mark your answer sheet as in -structed.

Your raw score is the total number of questionsyou get right minus the number of multiple

choice questions you get wrong.Your scaled score (600-2400) is propo

your raw score, and the exact calculationon the diculty of the specic test.

As your score gets higher, it gets hardprove: going from a 2200 to a 2400 ta

work than going from a 1300 to a 1500.

T D TBring a calculator, two pencils, and a snGet plenty of sleep the night before.Have a lile caeine, but not too much.If you dont know the right answer, gu

can eliminate at least one of the choices.

Basi

cs

Stud

ying

Maximize the eectiveness of your SAT prep:

Live the strategic life.We give you strat-egies for the SAT, but use them elsewhere too. BeAPTwhen you read the Internet. Notice grammati-cal errors in conversations. Use UnWrAP in yourmath class. Et cetera. Its great practice for the test,and the strategies will help with your other work.

Heed: read! To help on the Reading andWriting sections, read high-quality material onyour own. Choose articles that interest you fromwell-wrien publications like The Economist, NewYork Times , and Wall Street Journal , and read themwith your strategies. The best way to learn reading,

grammar, and vocab is to read good writing.

Deed before speed. There are two thingsyou have to be able to do on the SAT: answer thequestions correctly and answer them quickly. As youstudy, make sure youre geing the questions right

before you worry about going fast. If you learn toanswer the questions correctly, its easy to get faster.

If you try to go fast before you understand every -thing, youll end up confused.

Pick up the pace. Once you master the ma-terial, speed up by taking sections in less than thealloed time. Try a 25-minute section in 20 minutes,or 15. Its like running with ankle weights on: once

you go back to normal, itll seem easy.

Keep it real. Also when youre puse the most authentic conditions possibletaking the real test at 9 on a Saturday, spractice then too? For all practice, nd a qulit place with a good writing surface, andtiming yourself be strict about it. Dont ta

during sections or let in any distractions.Fear no test!One of the biggest mis

dents make on the SAT is thinking its hardis. The questions are designed for high schyou can do all of them! Dont ever assumlem is too hard for you before you try it.

Your SAT Roadm

There are two types of questions on the SAT Read-ing: Sentence Completions and Passage-BasedReading. Each test contains 19 Sentence Comple-tions and 48 Passage-Based Reading questions.

S CSentence Completions are ll-in-the-blank ques-tions, with either one or two blanks in a sentence.Heres an example of a one-blank question:

Martin was ------- to nd that his favorite breakfastcereal was no longer being sold at his local grocerystore.

(A) revitalized (B) eligible (C) substantiated(D) kindled (E) dismayed

Step into the void. There are two thingsthat make Sentence Completions dicult: the sen-tences are complicated, and the vocabulary is tough.Taking on both of them at the same time can getconfusing, so start by guring out what the sentenceis trying to say. Read it carefully and come up withyour own word(s) to ll in the blank before you lookat the answer choices. Your word doesnt have to

be fancy; for the example question, we could ll in

the blank with something like upset, unhappy,or sadwouldnt you be sad if you couldnt getyour Lucky Charms?

Are you a good word or a bad word?If you arent sure about what word should go inthe blank, dont panic! You can still narrow downthe answer choices by deciding what kind of wordshould go in the blank: a good word or a bad word.Use this logic to help with your eliminations. In ourexample, the blank clearly needs a bad word.

Be a hater. Now that you know what needsto go in the blank(s), its time to match your wordto the answer choices. This is easy if you know themeanings of the answer choices, but tricky if youdont. The rst step is to cross out any choice that

you know is wrong. If youre dealing with a two-blank question, eliminate any choice that has eitherword wrong. Dont get sucked in by half-right an-

swers: on the SAT, half right is all wrong.

Lets RaP. Now you know what goes inthe blank, youve crossed o wrong answers, andtheres still more than one word you dont recog-nize (and which therefore could be the answer).To crack the denitions of hard words, try to pickout Roots andPhrases. Roots are parts of wordsthat appear in lots of words with similar meanings.

You may not know revitalized but you knowre- means again and youve heard of vitalsigns and vitamins. You may also know that inRomance languages like French and Spanish, thewords for life begin vi-, so it makes sense thatrevitalized means to give new life to and can

be eliminated. You may not recognize any roots foreligible, but youve probably heard it before invarious phrases: an ineligible receiver is one youcant throw to in football, and an eligible bacheloris a desirable one, so eligible seems like a goodword and therefore wont work here. Likewise, youcan eliminate substantiated (same roots as sub-stance) and kindled (would Amazon give theirproduct a negative name?). The answer is (E).

P-B R For Passage-Based Reading questions, the SAT givesyou one or two passages and asks you questions totest your comprehension. Heres a sample passage:

Historically, about once in every three generationsa social convulsion has occurred; such catastro-phes must continue to occur in order that laws andinstitutions may be adapted to the growth of thecitizenry. Human society is a living organism andfunctions mechanically, just like any other organ-ism: citizens are molecules, transit systems are the

blood ow, mass media and telecommunicationsare the nervous system, and laws and institutionsare a sort of skin or envelope. This skin, however,does not expand automatically, but is only ed tonew conditions by those painful and conscious ef-

forts which we call revolutions. Usually these revo-lutions are warlike, but sometimes they are benign.

Why does the author think revolution is n

(A) Like the human body, human sociesionally grow cancerous cells of dissenmust eradicate them to maintain the peac(B) Historically, human institutions have acally changed in response to societal chan(C) People prefer peaceful transitions toones because society is a delicate living or

(D) Society is constantly changing, and thstructure must change accordingly.(E) People forget the lessons of the pastcourse of generations because societyssystem experiences change.

Be APT. Before you look at the questthe whole passage thoroughly. As you go,the passage with notes (one or two wordhelp you remember whats being talkwhere. Pay special aention to the authoof view. And when youre done, take a give the passage your own Title that suthe main idea and aitude of the passageread passages thoroughly before you woreading them fast or answering the questi

Keep hating. Eliminate answerstoo extreme (using words like always,none, etc.), too specic (referring to detthe passage or not relevant to the questioroneous. Remember: all the answer choicsigned to sound right if youre not payingto details. These questions arent subjectianswer except the right one is objectively wlook for wrong answersthey often standthan right ones. In the example, (A) mencer but the passage doesnt. (B) is wrong bthe word automatically. (C) is true, buevant to the question. (D) is true, if a lile bsounds plausible, but the passage doesnanything being forgoen over generation

fore (D) is correct.Authors: Morgan Henderson, JackRoss Blankenship | Designer: Jack

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Math

OThere are 54 Math questions on the SAT, but its notas hard as you think. It only goes up to Algebra II,and you dont need to know trigonometry, loga -rithms, or calculus. Heres an example:

A (1, 1)x

y

D (3, 3)

B (2, 4)

Line segments AB, AC (not pictured), and AD lie inthe coordinate plane pictured above. Point A is at(1, 1), point B is at (2, 4), and point D is at (3, 3). Ifthe average of the slopes of segments AB, AC, andAD is 2, which of the following could be the coor-dinates of point C?

(A) (4.1, 2.1) (B) (3.9, 2.2) (C) (3.8, 2.4)(D) (3.6, 2.6) (E) (3.8, 1.8)

All you need to do is break questions that seem hardinto smaller chunks and use those chunks to buildyourself an answer. Heres how:

Dont Be a Hero. The SAT gives you twogreat tools to help you on the Math section: yourcalculator and a formula box at the beginningof each section. Use these! You can probably solvemost of the problems without them, but why makeit harder on yourself?

UnWrAP. This is a four-step process that willtake you through any math problem, especially ifyou dont now how to get started.

Step 1: Underline the prompt. Whats the questionactually asking for? In our problem, we would un -derline Which of the following could be the coor-dinates of point C?

Step 2: Write out relevant formulas. If you alreadyknow how to do the problem, go for it. If youre hav-ing trouble geing started, think of it this way: in

Math problems, the test gives you some informationand asks for other information. Sometimes ndingthis other information is straightforward, but notalways. If youre stuck, start writing out everythingyou know about the problem and look for how itmight t together to give you the information youunderlined. For the example, we could write out thefollowing:

Average =sum of numbers

number of numbers

Slope =y1 -y2x

1- x

2

A (1, 1), B (2, 4), D (3, 3)Average

Slopes of AB, AC, and AD= 2

Step 3: Assemble equations. Once youve wrien

out everything you know, think about what mightt together to give you the thing you dont know,and then assemble it accordingly. In our case, us-ing the slope formula, we can nd the slopes of seg-ments AB and AD:

mAB

= (4 1) / (2 1) = = 3,m

AD= (3 1) / (3 1) = = 1.

We dont know the slope of segment AC (mAC

) but ifwe did we could use it to check whether the pointsin the answer choices work, so lets use the averageformula to nd it. If the average of all three slopesis 2, then we have

(3 + mAC

+ 1) / 3 = 2 Multiply both sides by 3

(3 + mAC + 1) = 6 Combine terms4 + m

AC= 6 Subtract 4 from both sides

mAC

= 2.

So the slope of segment AC is 2.

Step 4: Plug in and solve. Now that we have ourplan of aack, we can plug in the relevant numbersand solve. For the example, we just need to try eachanswer choice and see which one would give AC aslope of 2 (use a caclulator!):

(A) (4.1 - 1) / (2.1 - 1) = 2.81(B) (3.9 - 1) / (2.2 - 1) = 2.63(C) (3.8 - 1) / (2.4 - 1) = 2(D) (3.6 - 1) / (2.6 - 1) = 1.625(E) (3.8 - 1) / (1.8 - 1) = 3.5

So the answer is (C).

These strategies apply to all SAT Math problems, ofwhich there are four categories:

N & OThis is basically pre-algebra. It includes things likepercentages, fractions, factors & multiples, sequenc-es, and sets. Heres an example:Four times a given number is 2 more than twice thenumber. What is one possible value of the number?

(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5

Lets UnWrAP it:

Underline: one possible value of the number

Write out relevant formulas: Here we need to trans-late the words were given into math: we can call agiven number x. So four times a given numberwould be 4x. Twice the number would be 2x, and2 more than would be + 2. Is means =.

Assemble equations: Now we need to put all thoseparts together:

Four times (4 ) a given number (x) is (=) 2 more than(2 +) twice (2 ) the number (x)

4x = 2 + 2x

Plug in and solve: Now we solve for x:

4x = 2 + 2x subtract 2x from both sides2x = 2 divide both sides by 2x = 1

The correct answer is (A).

G & MThis includes problems related to shapes or measur-ing space. Heres an example:A box has length and width x and height 2x. Its vol-ume is 250. What is its height to the nearest tenth?

(A) 5.0 (B) 10.0 (C) 20.0 (D) 6.3 (E) 12.6

Time to UnWrAP:

Underline: height to the nearest tenth.

Write out relevant formulas:

Volumebox

= length width heightlength = width = xheight = 2x

Assemble equations: Lets substitute the valueswere given for base, width, and height:

Volumebox

= xx 2x

Plug in and solve: Now plug in the given numberand solve:

250 = xx 2x Now combine terms250 = 2x3 Divide both sides by 2125 = x3 Take the cube root of both sides

x = 5

But were not done yet. We need the heigh

height = 2x soheight = 2(5) = 10

The answer is (B).

A & FThis includes, well, algebra and functions: exponents, roots, quadratics, graphs, dorange, inequalities, et cetera. Heres an exa

Letf(x) = x5 andg(z) = |z|. What is the valug(f(-1))?

(A) -1 (B) 0 (C) 1 (D) 5(E) Answer cannot be determined

Shall we UnWrAP? Indeed, we shall:

Underline: value ofg(f(-1)) To solve thisrst we need to ndf(-1), then we need tointog.

Write out relevant formulas: From the quehavef(x) = x5 andg(x) = |x|.

Assemble equations: Were looking for glets spell out what that means:

g(f(-1)) = |f(-1)|

f(-1) = (-1)5

Plug in and solve: Now we just solve forplug the answer intog:

f(-1) = (-1)5 = -1 plug that answer intogg(f(-1)) = |-1| = 1

So our answer is C.

D & SThese questions cover probability, averagmedian, & mode), and data representationtables, scaerplots, etc.). Heres an exampA car race has 2 red cars, 3 green cars, andcars. If a blue car comes in last, what is theability that a red car comes in rst?

(A) (B) (C) 7 (D) (

Now for a change of pace, lets UnWrAP t

Underline: probability that a red car rst.

Write out relevant formulas:

2 red cars, 3 green cars, 4 blue cars

Probabilityevent

=

number of ways it could ctotal possible outco

Assemble equations: We need to gure otal number of possible outcomes and the nways a red car could come in rst. Since2 red cars, there are 2 ways one could com(either one could win). Since there are 9 to+ 3 + 4 = 9), we might think there are 9 totaoutcomes. But since a blue car denitelylast, we know that there are only 3 bluecould come in rst. So we get these equati

Probabilityred car winning

=number of red c

total cars that coul

number of red cars = 2total cars that could win = 8

Plug in and solve: This should be easy:

Probabilityred car winning

= =

The answer is (E).

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others ask about how the sentences work

Flow like Flo-Rida. A lot of thtions are about how sentences work togfocus on making them ow well. If Sennegative and Sentence 4 is positive, Sneeds to start by acknowledging the chatitude (However, Conversely, etc.).

T EEvery SAT begins with an essay. You geutes to write up to two pages. Heres an Think carefully about the issue presentfollowing excerpt and the assignment be

Scientic elds as varied as economevolutionary biology paint a picture

mans as selsh and competitive, just rest of Earths creatures. Some peoplewe should ght this instinct, that thhas become too competitive and people

be more cooperative and less adversathis view underestimates the extent tthe competitive drive is hard-wired i

brains: one persons success will alsomeone elses failure.

Assignment: Must one persons successsomeone elses expense? Plan and writein which you develop your point of vieissue. Support your position with reasoexamples taken from your reading, studrience, or observations.

Follow the recipe. This is easyneed to do is follow our recipe to bake ydelicious, nutritious, high-scoring essay:1 Answer, rephrased. The essay promp

has a question, and theres no right answer, but you must pick a side. Be clyour position, but dont restate the quthe example, either one persons succcome at someone elses expense, or not,use those words. Instead, try sometThough life may sometimes seem liksum game, genuine win-win situations

2 or 3 specifc examples that support youSAT questions are lofty and abstract, essay shouldnt be. Consider: Rather tpeting for grades, my Chemistry classm

I studied together and all improved ouDown-to-Earth but prey convincinKeep your examples simple and be sunect them back to your answer: We allfrom studying together, at no ones exp

1 conclusion. Restate your thesis, menexamples, rephrase everything. Its tha

Assemble the ingredients get 25 minutes for the essay. Take the choose an answer and make an outline. have to be beautiful, just enough so yostand your notes and always know whgoing to say next. Heres one for the exam

Intro. No, there are win-wins.

Ex. 1 Chem. class studying togethe

Ex. 2 Discovery of penicillin helpspeople and drug companies.

Ex. 3 Yahoo using Googles algoritets users and both compani

Concl. In school, medicine, & businple help each other and hurt

Add some avor. Three more quincrease your score easily:Throw in your new vocabulary.Use transitions to make the last and

tences of each paragraph ow well.Vary your sentence structure and leng

Make it a meal. Use the full twStudies show longer SAT essays get high

The SAT Writing section includes multiple choice questions of three types. Most tests have 18 Error Iden -tications, 25 Improving Sentences questions, and 6 Improving Paragraphs questions. In all three questiontypes, youre asked to nd errors in small pieces of writing, and the same errors come up over and over:

T T E SAT W SPithy Title Example Explanation

The numbersdont add up

The department of hu-man resources have ameeting today.

The department of human resources, though it includesmany people, is one thing, so the verb should be has. Verbsmust match subjects and pronouns must match nouns.

Time keepson slippin.

Sue had a meeting to-morrow.

If the meeting is tomorrow, Sue has it or will have it.You cant say she had is already. Make sure the verb tensesmatch all the sentences clues about time.

Dont treadon I.

Sue and me have a meet-ing today.

This should be Sue and I. A simple trick to test for this:when a pronoun is part of a list, take out the rest of the list

to see if its the right pronoun: youd never say Me have ameeting today, so you cant say Sue and me have a meet-ing today.

Whos onrst?

Liz knows Sue has ameeting today becauseits on her calendar.

Whose calendarLizs or Sues? If a sentence could be in-terpreted more than one way, its ambiguous and needs to

be edited.

Does yourconjunctionfunction?

Sue has a meeting allday, but she will not beable to answer the phone.

But should be so. Conjunctions need to reect the at-titude of the sentence. Here, the rst part is the cause and thesecond part is the eect, so so is beer than but.

The sentenceis wrong, bad,and its ter-rible.

Sues meeting will befaster than Liz.

Liz should be Lizs. It makes no sense to compare Lizsspeed to Sues meetings speed; you should compare Lizsmeetings speed to Sues meetings speed. This error alsocomes up in lists: all the elements of a list should be the sametype of thing phrased the same way; if the rst two are -ing

verbs, the third should be too.Now mis-placed, youwill nevernd yourmodier.

On her way to the meet-ing, a bus nearly hit Sue.

Tricky one: when the rst half of the sentence refers to aspecic word (in this case, Sue), the second half needs to

begin with that word. Since Sue is the thing on her way tothe meeting, Sue needs to be the rst word after the com-ma: On her way to the meeting, Sue nearly got hit by a bus.

Be good; dowell.

Sue has a briey meetingtoday.

Briey should be brief. Adverbs (usually ending in-ly) modify verbs and adjectives; adjectives modify nouns.

Brevity is thesoul of wit.

Sue is planning to go toa meeting that she doesnot anticipate missing onthis, the current day.

This could be Sue plans to go to a meeting today. It con -veys exactly the same meaning but is much shorter; there-fore, its beer.

Youve got thewrong word.

Sue will go at a meetingtoday.

At should be to. In English, certain words just go togeth-er. Watch for odd word choices on the SAT.

E IIn Error IDs, youre given a sentence with four un-derlined parts and asked to pick the one that needsto be edited or pick No Error. Heres an example:Trisha is a brilliant student, a savvy negotiator, and

works very hard; her inability to secure a job forA B

next year is a shocking failure ofthe supposedly ef-C D

cient labor market.No error.E

See no evil; hear the evil. Whether youknow it or not, you have the rules of English gram-mar in your head. Maybe you cant explain the dif -ference between a participle and a preterite verb,

but you can hear when one is used incorrectly. Tryto hear each sentence in your head; dont just scanfor mistakes. Use your ears, not your eyes. In theexample, nothing looks particularly wrong, but readit aloudit sounds wrong, doesnt it? Thats becausethe last item in the list in the sentenceworks veryhardis dierent from the rst twoa brilliantstudent, a savvy negotiator. Its an error in paral-lelism. The answer is (A).

I SIn these questions, youre given a sentence withone part underlined, and ve options for what toput in the underlined portion. The rst option (A)is always the same as the original; its like No Error.

Heres an example:Walking through the countryside, the pink and bluewildowers were especially beautiful to Marcus.

(A) the pink and blue wildowers were especiallybeautiful to Marcus.(B) the pink and blue wildowers, beautiful, werespecial to Marcus.(C) the wildowers, in both blue and pink colors,were found to be especially beautiful by Marcus.(D) Marcus found the pink and blue wildowersespecially beautiful.(E) Marcus, nding pink and blue wildowers, andthinking they are beautiful.

Keep it in context. Most of the answerchoices are designed to look good on their own; youneed the rest of the sentence to gure out which oneis correct. Re-read the whole sentence with eachchoice in context, and hear each one in your head.

In the example, only (B) contains a grammatical er -ror on its own. The other choices could all work,depending on the rest of the sentence. But if weread the whole sentence, we see it has a misplacedmodier: the rst part (Walking through the coun-tryside) is about Marcus, so Marcus needs to bethe rst word after the comma. That still leaves (D)and (E) as possibilities. But again, substituting eachof them and reading the whole sentence, we shouldsee that if we choose (E), the sentence (Walkingthrough the countryside, Marcus, nding pink and

blue wildowers, and thinking they are beautiful)has no verb. Therefore (D) is correct.

I PImproving Paragraphs are a lot like Improving Sen-

tences, exceptyoure not going to believe thisyoure dealing with whole paragraphs instead ofsentences. Some of the questions are similar, but

Writing

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V

ocabulary

The easiest way to improve your Reading score isto learn vocabulary words. Learn ve of these everyweek and youll know all 240 in less than a year.

TTP T 240 SAT WAbdicate: v. to cast o or relinquishAberration: n. large dierence from the normAbject: a. in low or miserable circumstancesAbridge: v. to shorten without losing meaningAbstemious: a. sparing in consumption; temperantAccolade: n. a symbol of approval or distinctionAcrimonious: a. harsh in language or expressionAcquiesce: v. to agree or express agreementAcumen: n. shrewdness shown by keen insightAable: a. friendly; having an outgoing dispositionAlacrity: n. liveliness or eagernessAlleviate: v. to make easier to endure; to mitigateAloof: a. remote in manner; distant; shyAmass: v. to collect or gather; to gather togetherAmbivalence: n. mixed feelings or emotionsAmeliorate: v. to get beer; to make beerAmity: n. a cordial disposition; a state of friendshipAntagonize: v. to provoke the hostility ofAntediluvian: a. very old; n. a very old personApathy: n. an absence of interest or enthusiasmApocryphal: a. of doubtful authenticityArcane: a. obscure; largely unknownAtrophy: n. weakening or degenerationAugment: v. to enlarge, grow, or intensifyAvuncular: a. like an uncle; kindBelie: v. to represent falsely; to contradictBellicose: a. showing a ready disposition to ghtBelile: v. to express a negative opinion ofBelligerence: n. hostile or warlike dispositionBenign: a. not harmfulBlatant: a. noisy, oensive, or obviousBrevity: n. the aribute of being brief or eetingBucolic: a. relating to the countrysideBurgeon: v. to grow and ourishCallous: a. emotionally hardenedCandid: a. openly straightforward; honestCantankerous: a. stubbon; irritableCapitulate: v. to surrender under agreed conditionsCapricious: a. impulsive; motivated by whimCensure: n. harsh criticism; v. to rebuke formallyCharlatan: n. a quack; one showing false pretensesChurlish: a. having a bad disposition; surly; rudeClairvoyant

:n.

psychic person;a.

psychicClemency: n. leniency; pardon for crimesCoalesce: v. to fuse or cause to mix togetherComplacent: a. contented to a fault; unambitiousConfound: v. to be confusing or perplexing toCongeal: v. to change from liquid to solid stateConvivial: a. friendly, lively, and enjoyableCopious: a. large in number or quantityCupidity: n. greed and strong desire for wealthCursory: a. hasty and without aention to detailCredence: n. plausibility; acceptance as truthCryptic: a. mysterious; having a hidden meaningDecorous: a. dignied in conduct or mannersDeviate: v. to stray from the norm or standardDerelict: a. neglected by owner or occupantDictum: n. an authoritative declaration

Didactic: a. designed or intended to teachDisdain: n. lack of respect; v. to have contempt forDisingenuous: a. not honest; fakeDistend: v. to swell; to cause to expandDocile: a. easily handled or managed; placidDubious: a. not convinced; doubtfulEdict: n. a proclamation having the force of lawEace: v. to make insignicant; to erase completelyEervescent: a. bubbly or enthusiasticEloquent: a. well-spoken; articulateEnigmatic: a. not clear or understandableEphemeral: a. lasting a very short timeEpitome: n. a perfect example; archetypeEquivocate: v. to be deliberately ambiguousErudite: a. well-read or esteemed for knowledgeEschew: v. to avoid or shun

Evanescent: a. tending to vanish like vaporExacerbate: v. to exasperate, irritate, or make worseExculpate: v. to clear from fault or guilt

Extol: v. to praise, glorify, or honorFathom: v. to understand or comprehendFastidious: a. giving aention to detail; demandingFlourish: v. to grow stronger; to bloomFoible: n. a distinctive behavioral aributeFrivolous: a. not important; lacking seriousnessFrugal: a. avoiding waste; thriftyFurtive: a. marked by quiet or secrecyFutile: a. producing no result; unproductiveGarner: v. to acquire or deserve by ones eortsGaudy: a. conspicuous; tastelessly showyGermane: a. relevant or appropriateGlean: v. to gather bit by bitGluony: n. eating to excess; excessivenessGlib: a. well-spoken but insincere or shallow

Gregarious: a. enjoying company; sociableGuile: n. the use of tricks for deception; cunningGusto: n. vigorous and enthusiastic enjoymentHackneyed: a. repeated too often; unoriginalHarbinger: n. omen; sign of bad newsHaughty: a. blatantly and disdainfully proudHinder: v. to put at a disadvantageHone: v. to make perfect or complete; to sharpenHyperbole: n. extravagant exaggerationIconoclast: n. someone who aacks cherished ideasIdiosyncratic: a. peculiar to the individualImpudent: a. marked by casual disrespectIncite: v. to provokeIncorrigible: a. willful; unruly; not easily swayedIndignant: a. angered at something unjust or wrongIndolent: a. disinclined to work or exertion; lazy

Insolent: a. marked by casual disrespectInnocuous: a. producing no injury; harmlessIneable: a. defying expression or descriptionIrascible: a. quickly aroused to angerIrrefutable: a. impossible to deny or disproveJargon: n. specialized technical terminologyJeison: v. to throw, as from an airplaneJocular: a. characterized by jokes and good humorJudicious: a. marked by the use of good judgmentJuxtapose: v. to place side by side to show contrastKindle: v. to cause to catch re; to call forthLaconic: a. brief and to the point; succinctLackadaisical: a. lacking spirit or liveliness; lazyLanguid: a. lacking spirit or livelinessLaud: v. to give praise; to approve of highlyLevity: n. a manner lacking seriousness

Listless: a. lacking zest or vivacity; lethargicLoquacious: a. full of trivial conversation; talkativeLucid: a. having a clear mind; easily understandableLugubrious: a. excessively mournfulMagnanimous: a. generous; taking the high roadMaladroit: a. clumsy; lacking skill or adroitnessMalleable: a. capable of being shaped or bentMaxim: n. a general truth or proverbial statementMelliuous: a. pleasing to the ear; owing in natureMendacious: a. lying or deceitfulMendicant: n. a beggarMele: n. the courage to carry onMercurial: a. prone to sudden unpredictable changeMisanthrope: n. one who hates or distrusts humansMiscreant: n. a person without moral scruplesMitigate: v. to make less severe or harsh

Mollify: v. to soften, appease, or pacifyMotley: a. consisting of an assortmentMundane: a. ordinary; boring; everydayMunicent: a. very generous; givingMyopic: a. lacking foresight; narrow-mindedMyriad: n. a large number; a. numerous; manyNadir: n. an extreme state of adversity; lowest pointNarcissistic: a. self-centered; vainNebulous: a. lacking denition or denite formNefarious: a. extremely wickedNepotism: n. favoritism shown to relativesNexus: n. a connected series or groupNullify: v. to show to be invalid; to declare invalidObdurate: a. stubborn; persistent in wrongdoingObsequious: a. groveling; submissive to powerOnerous: a. not easily borne; wearing

Obtuse: a. lacking sharpness or intellectual abilityOdyssey: n. a long, eventful journeyOpulent: a ostentatiously rich or luxurious

Oscillate: v. to waver back and forthOstentatious: a. meant to aract notice or Overt: a. open and observable; not secret oPalpable: a. capable of being perceived; taPanacea: n. a cure-all; a remedy for all diPander: v. to give satisfaction to others deParity: n. equality or equal statusParsimony: n. extreme care in spending mPaucity: n. an insucient quantity or numPejorative: a. derogatory or demeaningPenchant: n. a strong liking or fondnessPenury: n. a state of extreme poverty or dePetulant: a. easily irritated or annoyedPerdy: n. betrayal of a trustPerfunctory: a. hasty and without aention

Peripatetic: a. often moving from place to Peripheral: a. related to the issue but not cePilfer: v. to make o with others belonginPlacate: v. to soothe or mollifyProbity: n. complete and conrmed integrProclivity: n. a natural inclinationProdigal: a. marked by rash extravaganceProdigious: a. impressively great in extenPrudence: n. caution in practical aairsProfuse: a. abundant; in great amountPugnacious: a. inclined to ght readilyPulverize: v. to destroy completelyPuerile: a. juvenile and immatureQuagmire: n. a tough position; a predicamQuerulous: a. habitually complainingQuixotic: a. impractically idealistic; unpre

Recalcitrant: a. stubbornly resistant to autRecant: v. to reject a formerly held beliefReclusive: a. withdrawn from society; soliReplete: a. lled to satisfactionRescind: v. to annul by recalling; to take bRespite: n. a pause, especially for relaxatioRhetoric: n. eective use of language to peRupture: v. to make a sudden and noisy bSaccharine: a. overly sweetSalubrious: a. favorable to health of mindSardonic: a. disdainfully or ironically humScrutinize: v. to examine carefully or in deSedulous: a. marked by care and persistenSeditious: a. inciting discontent or rebellioSparse: a. not dense; not thickly seledSpurn: v. to reject with contempt

Stringent: a. demanding strict aention toStymie: v. to hinder or prevent the progreSuccinct: a. expressed in few words; conciSumptuous: a. rich and superior in qualitySurreptitious: a. marked by caution and sSycophant: n. a servile, self-seeking aerSymbiotic: a. cooperative, as a relationshiTaciturn: a. disinclined to talk or speakTantamount: a. essentially equal toTawdry: a. cheap and shoddy; tastelessly sTenacious: a. sticking together; persistentTenuous: a. having lile substance or signTranquil: a. free from agitation or worry; pTransient: a. lasting a very short timeTruculence: n. deant aggressivenessTruncate: v. to shorten

Ubiquitous: a. existing everywhere at the sUrbane: a. polite and renedUsurp: v. to seize by force without rightVenturesome: a. disposed to venture or taVenal: a. associated with or open to briberVenerable: a. impressive by reason of ageVerbose: a. using or containing too many Vex: v. to bring trouble to; to annoyVilication: n. a rude expression intendedVirulence: n. extreme hostility or harmfulWanton: a. done maliciously or unjustiabWillful: a. disposed to disobedience; intenWily: a. marked by skill in deceptionWhet: v. to make keen or more acuteWont: n. paern of behavior; established cWhile: v. to cut small bits or pare shavin

Zealot: n. a fervent or militant proponentZenith: n. highest point; culmination

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