SAT Special (Vocabulary V)

...continued

• Amity (n) friendship. The fight strained their amity.
• Stringent (adj) strictly controlled or enforced; strict or restrictive. The stringent dress code at the party didn't go down well with me. The stringent discipline master was always happy to brandish his oak stick. We undertook stringent security checks to ensure nothing untoward happens. [!] Do not assume that astringent is related to it any sense, it means sharp or acrid in tone.
• Voluminous (adj) large or spacious. The voluminous town hall was the site of the annual ball. 
• Auspicious (adj) promising for the future. Linda and Josh began their auspicious relationship, I must admit, they had a remarkable understanding of each other. The captain stood at the docks for a while, taking in the auspicious weather, before finally making his way too the doomed vessel. (Dangerous Waters)
• Fickle (adj) unpredictable, whimsical. The fickle general sent in his best men on the suicide mission just after stating that the job was too risky to be done.
• Lethargy (n) tiredness or languor. Lethargy found me quite comforting for some peculiar reason. I downed a pitcher of coffee in a futile effort to see the torpor abate. (Mafioso)
• Hackneyed (adj) overused; predictable. I try to be myself; to be original in style, not like everyone else who go by hackneyed fashion trends.
• Willful (adj) intentional; obstinate, stubborn. The willful kid wanted to have the toy at all costs, when his Dad didn't oblige, he went into a tantrum. I didn't want to run her down willfully, the slippery road is the culprit. [!] Note the spelling, be careful about that second l of ful.
• Bastion (n) stronghold or fortress. Reality TV is and should remain the last bastion of the desperate. The Kinova Sector was the bastion of the conflict; the post-Apocalyptic view it presented wretched the heart, bloody bodies lay strewn across the landscape, crashed building and the rickety remains of once beautiful abodes punctuated the region and a silver smoke covered the area much like doom once had. (The Battle)
• Trepidation (n) fear or uneasiness about a future event. Her heart protested in trepidation, smashing against her ribcage with ever increasing vigor, as the sound of those heavy boots came closer and closer...(Mafioso). He clung to me with growing trepidation; and on Mr. Heathcliff 's taking a seat and bidding him `` come hither " he hid his face on my shoulder and wept...(Wuthering Hights)
• Desecrate (v) insult or damage something holy. What about those desecrations at the Church? (The Exorcist). How dare you desecrate the Holy Koran and the Bible?
• Fortuitous (adj) occurring by fortune; accidental. The fortuitous bet on the yellow horse earned Jack a lottery. A fortuitous delay in crossing the road saved Anne from an out of control SUV that passed moments later.
• Vehement (adj) done with vigor, force or passion. Linda's vehement denial of being involved in the murder came as a surprise as she was caught on the security camera. Ali vehemently defended his case. Despite vehement protests from Manchester United players, the match continued as the referee didn't consult the linesman.
• Assuage (v) to provide relief from something distressing or painful. Constant reassurances couldn't assuage the fears of the passengers aboard the sinking steam liner. The painkiller assuaged the pain in my left thigh for the rest of the battle.
• Prodigious (adj) sizable or marvelous. This NatGeo documentary shows us how seals are able to perform their prodigious diving feats. Nathan was prescribed prodigious amounts of paracetamol for his spinal pain.
• Furtive (adj) done in a secretive or offhand way; shifty. The conspirators passed each other furtive glances as the poisonous gassed leaked into the parliament chamber..The burglar was easily identified at the police station because he was acting all furtive  and itchy.
• Supercilious (adj) haughty; patronizing. The arrogant girl passed a glance at poor Mary before superciliously rolling her eyes and looking away. [!] Patronize means to be condescending to someone; treating them as inferior.
• Prudent (adj) wise and careful in considering potential consequences. Linda's prudent brother didn't allow her to play with the plastic bag, lest she suffocates. It will be imprudent to keep all those sharp objects accessible to your toddler. It will be financially prudent to keep investing in this business.
• Verbose (adj) using to many words. The verbose 500-word assignment was well over the 250-word limit.
• Pedestrian (adj) commonplace. His pedestrian dressing style was always questionable due to his job as a receptionist, you have to look good here.
• Innocuous (adj) lacking the capacity to do harm. Even the seemingly innocuous Broad was accused of ball-tampering. Jane thought the creature to be innocuous, and prodded at it, but to her surprise it gave her one nasty bite.
• Fanatic (n) an extremist. The religious fanatic thought that Muslim women without a head-cover were punishable with death.
• Retract (v) to pull something back; to move back; withdraw statement. Cats can retract their claws much like tigers and leopards. The politician retracted his earlier statement. She retracted from her demands for a separate house. You have to die if you do not retract from your infamous calumny.
• Ambiguous (adj) confusable in interpretation. Old 19th century stories can be ambiguous for today's generation, considering the amount of change English language has underwent.
• Paucity (n) dearth; scarcity. The paucity of oil is evident nowadays by the hiking prices.
• Rescind (v) to make something invalid or void. Lets hope Obama rescinds everything Bush has done. The clock is fast ticking away; rescind the bargain while there is still time. I have made the agreement in the heat of things, no telling how soon I may have to rescind it. (The Kingdom of the Blind). She could not rescind her orders without a fresh wave of suspicions.
• Subtle (adj) crafty; ingenious; not obvious; able to make fine distinctions. The subtle hacker changed his IP every now and then so he could not be tracked. A subtle mind. Subtle differences in the original and fake painting. Subtle Joe immediately picked up the discrepancies in the two pictures. [!] Subtle is pronounced sut HAL and not sub THUL.
• Zealous (adj) showing passionate enthusiasm; energetic. Zealous fans.
• Benign (adj) harmless. A benign tumor.
• Compliant (adj) yielding or submissive. The forward was compliant to the demands of his coach and at once changed his off side position.
• Emulate (v) to be successful in competition or try to equal someone. Joey tried his utmost to emulate his ideal but always fell short on ideas. Emulates the revenues of other top class companies.
• Meander (v) to zigzag or wander aimlessly. We meandered in the vast, unending tundra.
• Authoritarian (adj) demanding strict following of rules or commands; like a dictator. The president was not at all authoritarian and therefore his grip over the government was meager or to put it right was nonexistent.