Page 238 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

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T: SAT Words
• It is appropriate to be tremulous when unarmed and face to face with an 229
uncaged 600 lb. Siberian tiger.
[-ly adv., -ness n.]
trivialize (TRI vee uh lyz) vt. 1. to regard or treat as unimportant or insignifi-
cant; 2. to make seem unimportant
• It is easy for an adult to trivialize the fears of a child and, by so doing, to
traumatize him or her.
• A good teacher will not trivialize the questions of students.
[-d*, trivializing, trivialization n.]
truculent (TRUHK yoo lint) adj. 1. cruel; fierce; savage; 2. rude; mean; 3. belli-
cose; warlike; pugnacious
• Genghis Khan took a truculent attitude toward nearly everyone but his
wife, Sylvia.
• The North Koreans have been truculent toward those in the South since
shortly after World War II.
[-ly adv., truculence n.]
trustee (TRUS tee) n. 1. a person entrusted with the management of someone
else’s property or money; 2. a country in charge of administering a trust territory;
3. a group of persons or a board appointed to manage the affairs of an institution
•A trustee is often appointed by a bankruptcy court to manage the appli-
cant’s financial affairs.
• The United Kingdom was made trustee over much of the former territory of
the Ottoman Empire after World War I.
• Many major instutions’ financial affairs are in the hands of a board of
trustees.
turmoil (TOER moyl) n. uproar; confusion; disarray; tumult; commotion
• The floor of the New York Stock Exchange always appears to be in a state
of turmoil.
• The police do their best to control the turmoil as the crowd leaves the race-
track at the end of the Indianapolis 500.
• Fear and turmoil gripped the passengers and crew of the Titanic in their
attempt to leave the stricken ship.
turpitude* (TOER pi TOOD) n. 1. depravity or vileness; baseness; 2. any
instance of the foregoing
• One of the approved reasons for removing a public official from office is
moral turpitude.
• The turpitude of Adolph Hitler is without parallel in modern times.
tyranny (TIR uh nee) n. 1. the government of an absolute ruler; 2. oppressive
government; unjust government; 3. cruel and unjust use of authority; harshness;
severity; despotism
• The first so-called tyrannies took place in ancient Greece, and tyranny
comes from the Greek word tyrant.
• Any modern-day dictatorship is a tyranny.
• The Reign of Terror, which followed the French Revolution, was not a
tyranny in the first sense of the word but was one in the third sense.
[tyrannies pl.]