SAT Vocabulary: List #6

  1. exonerate (verb): to officially free someone from blame or fault, particularly of a crime
  2. When the judge analyzed the evidence, he EXONERATED Cindy, clearing her of all blame and releasing her from state custody.
  3. altruism (noun): an attitude/way of behaving characterized my unselfish concern for the welfare of others; the belief that acting for the benefit of others I right and good
  4. Mother Theresa practiced a life full of ALTRUISM; she committed her entire life to helping others and encouraged others to do the same.
  5. ignominy (noun): a total loss of dignity and self-respect, particularly a public disgrace
  6. After spending years of his life publicly denouncing and brutally insulting gay Americans, Reverend Ted Haggard faced IGNOMINY when he was found to have had an affair with a man.
  7. soporific (adj): causing sleep or drowsiness or dull and boring, as though it would put a person to sleep
  8. I like to put on SOPORIFIC music when I go to bed; the soft white noise helps me fall asleep.
  9. enigma (noun): somebody or something that is not easily explained or understood, of then the point mysteriousness
  10. The famous author, J.D. Salinger, is such and ENIGMA; nobody quite understands how a man could have written such social and thoughtful
  11. dilatory (adj): tending to waste time or move slowly; intended to cause a delay
  12. I hate DILATORY pitchers in baseball; they purposely stall the game to psyche out the hitter, calling time out, stepping off the mound repeated to chalk their hands, and kicking up dirt just to slow things down even more.
  13. myopic (adj): short sighted, both literally and figuratively. Literal: can only see up close, so needs glasses to see long distances. Figurative: showing a lack of foresight or long-term planning, only seeing the short term and not looking beyond the immediate
  14. I need glasses because I am severely MYOPIC, but I can read just fine without my glasses; it’s seeing far away that I have issues with.
  15. I often tell my students that choosing a college based on where your friend (or particularly girl/boyfriend) is going can be rather MYOPIC; it may seem like the right decision now, but in the long run this short-sighted decision might not be the best choice because so much changes over time.
  16. moribund (adj): nearly dead, having lost all sense of purpose or vitality
  17. Kaylee’s depression was so extreme, she was rather MORIBUND, with absolutely no sense of desire to attempt anything in life.
  18. alacrity (noun): eager and speedy readiness
  19. I just love Isla on the soccer team I coach; she plays with such ALACRITY that no girl can match her excited intensity.
  20. surfeit (noun): an excess number or quantity of something, especially so much of it that people become sickened, repelled, or bored by it.
  21. By day three of the cruise, the SURFEIT of food began to disgust me; how could one person eat so much!
  22. At the convention, there was a SURFEIT of speeches; I was so tired of listening the so many that I just tuned out.