Week Seven SAT Words

May 3rd-7th

ostentatious: (adj) showy, displaying wealth

Nelly is certainly not alone among rappers having a rather ostentatious collection of jewelry.Variation: ostentatiously (adv) Nelly rather ostentatiously displays his jewelry collection.

querulous: (adj) complaining, irritable

President Bush was happy to hand the querulous baby back to its parents.

Variations: querulously (adv) The child querulously commented in later years that Bush should have offered him a lollipop.

rancorous: (adj) bitter, hateful

The story of Romeo and Juliet depends largely on the rancorous relationship between the Montague and Capulet families.

Variations: rancor (n) The rancor between the two families in Romeo and Juliet is what provides the drama of the play.

sagacity: (n) wisdom

The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, is a man well loved around the world for his sagacity and message of peace.

Variations: sagacious (adj) The Dalai Lama is appreciated for his sagacious nature.

spurious: (adj) lacking authenticity, false

The cigarette industry sold millions of cigarettes using such spurious claims as this in the earlier part of the 20th century.

surreptitious: (adj) secret, stealthy

Bobby was always very surreptitious in his note-passing, until the day Jane took offense at his breaking up with her via note, and squealed to the teacher, putting an end to his habit.

Variations: surreptitiously (adv) Bobby surreptitiously passed his “break-up note” to the unsuspecting Mary during English class.

subtle: (adj) hard to detect or describe

Bob eventually resorted to wearing this t-shirt whenever he went out, because the subtle comments women made always went right over his head.

Variations: subtly (adv) After years of women subtly dropping hints and always missing them, Bob began wearing the shirt his mom bought for him in college.

superfluous: (adj) extra, more than enough, redundant

Thanks to Mrs. Hudson, superfluous hair on women is a thing of the past.

tenacious: (adj) determined, keeping a firm grip on

The tenacious mouse made his second attempt on the wedge of cheddar.Variations: tenacity (n) One cannot

help but admire such tenacity in such a tiny creature.

venerable: (adj) respected because of age

Angkor Wat is a venerable temple complex in Cambodia, hidden for generations in jungle growth.