Page 24 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

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A: SAT Words
adversity (ad VER si tee) n. a state of poverty and trouble; a condition of mis- 15
fortune or wretchedness; an instance of calamity
• Those who lived through the Great Depression of the early 1930s learned
how to triumph over adversity.
• The only solution to the adversity of those living in the Dust Bowl of
Oklahoma in the 1930s was to move away.
• The Japanese automobile and electronics industries helped the country to
recover from the adversity of defeat.
aerate (AER ayt) vt. 1. to open to air or to cause air to circulate through; 2. to
get oxygen to the blood (as in respiration); 3. to charge a liquid with gas (such as
making soda pop)
• To improve the taste of drinking water, huge plants aerate it before it is
sent to your home.
• Your lungs aerate the blood that is brought there from your heart as part of
your pulmonary circulation.
• Soft drink makers aerate their drinks by forcing carbon dioxide to dissolve
under pressure.
[-d, aerating, aeration n.]
aesthetic* (es the tik) adj. 1. of beauty; 2. sensitive to art and beauty; demon-
strating good taste; being artistic
• Van Gogh’s Starry Night has an aesthetic quality that defies being expressed
in words.
• Aaron was touched by the aesthetic arrangement of the flowers blooming
in the garden.
[aesthetically adv., aesthetical, aesthete n.]
affect (uh FEKT) vt. 1. to influence; to produce a change; 2. to move or cause an
emotional response; 3. to pretend to be, have, feel, or like —n. an emotional
response; an emotion or feeling attached to an idea
• Both crosswind and current affect our ability to row straight across to the
other side of the river.
• Seeing the photos of the liberated concentration camp inmates affects
many people.
• As the voice of Shrek, Mike Meyers affects the role of a lovable green ogre.
[-ed, -ing, affectable adj.] [Syn. assume (sense 3)]
affront (uhf RUHNT) vt. 1. to openly or purposefully insult; offend; slight; 2. to
confront in a defiant manner —n. an open or deliberate insult
• Don’t affront Bill’s mother by telling her the chicken she prepared tasted
like the take-out chicken’s bucket.
• When you tell your parents you’ll do anything you want regardless of
what they think, you affront them.
• Debbie’s not inviting Sally to her birthday party was a deliberate affront.
[-ed, -ing] [Syn. offend]