Vocabulary Unit 20: Top SAT Words

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the act of improving by renewing and restoring

NOUN

Renovation is the act of renewing or restoring something. If your kitchen is undergoing a renovation, there’s probably plaster and paint all over the place and you should probably get take-out.

RENOVATION

under restraint VERB

Use the adjective restrained to describe something that's kept under control, such as strong emotion or even physical movement. If you're angry but you don't want it to show, you might speak in a restrained manner.

RESTRAINED

a feeling of profound respect for someone or something

NOUN or VERB

Reverence is a feeling of deep respect or awe — like what you have for a president, a hero, or a favorite football player.

REVERENCE

the mental ability to understand and discriminate between relations

NOUN

If you are wise and prone to evaluating information before making a decision, you possess sagacity, the trait of solid judgment and intelligent choices. And if that is indeed the case, then good for you! We need more sound thinkers.

SAGACITY

examine carefully for accuracy with the intent of verification

ADJECTIVE

If you want to examine something closely and go over every single detail, then you should scrutinize it. Like the way your mom probably assesses your outfit before you leave the house for school.

SCRUTINIZE

said or done without having been planned or written in advance

ADJECTIVE

Something spontaneous happens when you're least expecting it. Spontaneous things are natural or instinctive, and they happen without warning..

SPONTANEOUS

plausible but false

ADJECTIVE

Something false or inauthentic is spurious. Don't trust spurious ideas and stories. Spurious statements often are lies, just as a spurious coin is a counterfeit coin — a fake.

SPURIOUS

inclined or willing to submit to orders or wishes of others or showing such inclination

ADJECTIVE

When animals live in packs, one animal is usually the dominant leader, while the others fall into more submissive roles. To be submissive is to obey or yield to someone else.

SUBMISSIVE

establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts

ADJECTIVE

To substantiate is to give support to a claim. We’d really like to believe in the Tooth Fairy; however, more evidence is needed to substantiate her existence (besides that quarter in your pocket).

SUBSTANTIATE

difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze

ADJECTIVE

Something that is subtle is not obvious: a professional food

taster might be able to perceive subtle differences of flavor that most people don't notice.

SUBTLE