SAT Vocabulary Page 23

• pillory n. A wooden framework in which an offender is fastened to boards and is exposed to public scorn.
• pincers n. An instrument having two lever-handles and two jaws working on a pivot.
• pinchers n. An instrument having two jaws working on a pivot.
• pinnacle n. A high or topmost point, as a mountain-peak.
• pioneer n. One among the first to explore a country.
• pious adj. Religious.
• pique v. To excite a slight degree of anger in.
• piteous adj. Compassionate.
• pitiable adj. Contemptible.
• pitiful adj. Wretched.
• pitiless adj. Hard-hearted.
• pittance n. Any small portion or meager allowance.
• placate v. To bring from a state of angry or hostile feeling to one of patience or friendliness.
• placid adj. Serene.
• plagiarism n. The stealing of passages from the writings of another and publishing them as one's own.
• planisphere n. A polar projection of the heavens on a chart.
• plasticity n. The property of some substances through which the form of the mass can readily be
• changed.
• platitude n. A written or spoken statement that is flat, dull, or commonplace.
• plaudit n. An expression of applause.
• plausible adj. Seeming likely to be true, though open to doubt.
• playful adj. Frolicsome.
• playwright n. A maker of plays for the stage.
• plea n. An argument to obtain some desired action.
• pleasant adj. Agreeable.
• pleasurable adj. Affording gratification.
• plebeian adj. Common.
• pledgee n. The person to whom anything is pledged.
• pledgeor n. One who gives a pledge.
• plenary adj. Entire.
• plenipotentiary n. A person fully empowered to transact any business.
• plenitude n. Abundance.
• plenteous adj. Abundant.
• plumb n. A weight suspended by a line to test the verticality of something.
• plummet n. A piece of lead for making soundings, adjusting walls to the vertical.
• pluperfect adj. Expressing past time or action prior to some other past time or action.
• plural adj. Containing or consisting of more than one.
• plurality n. A majority.
• plutocracy n. A wealthy class in a political community who control the government by means of their money.
• pneumatic adj. Pertaining to or consisting of air or gas.
• poesy n. Poetry.
• poetaster n. An inferior poet.
• poetic adj. Pertaining to poetry.
• poetics n. The rules and principles of poetry.
• poignancy n. Severity or acuteness, especially of pain or grief.
• poignant adj. Severely painful or acute to the spirit.
• poise n. Equilibrium.
• polar adj. Pertaining to the poles of a sphere, especially of the earth.
• polemics n. The art of controversy or disputation.
• pollen n. The fine dust-like grains or powder formed within the anther of a flowering plant.
• pollute v. To contaminate.
• polyarchy n. Government by several or many persons of what- ever class.
• polycracy n. The rule of many.
• polygamy n. the fact or condition of having more than one wife or husband at once.
• polyglot adj. Speaking several tongues.
• polygon n. A figure having many angles.
• polyhedron n. A solid bounded by plane faces, especially by more than four.
• polysyllable adj. Having several syllables, especially more than three syllables.
• polytechnic adj. Pertaining to, embracing, or practicing many arts.
• polytheism n. The doctrine or belief that there are more gods than one.
• pommel v. To beat with something thick or bulky.
• pomposity n. The quality of being marked by an assumed stateliness and impressiveness of manner.
• pompous adj. Marked by an assumed stateliness and impressiveness of manner.
• ponder v. To meditate or reflect upon.
• ponderous adj. Unusually weighty or forcible.
• pontiff n. The Pope.
• populace n. The common people.
• populous adj. Containing many inhabitants, especially in proportion to the territory.
• portend v. To indicate as being about to happen, especially by previous signs.
• portent n. Anything that indicates what is to happen.
• portfolio n. A portable case for holding writing-materials, drawings, etc.
• posit v. To present in an orderly manner.
• position n. The manner in which a thing is placed.
• positive adj. Free from doubt or hesitation.
• posse n. A force of men.
• possess v. To own.
• possession n. The having, holding, or detention of property in one's power or command.
• possessive adj. Pertaining to the having, holding, or detention of property in one's power or command.
• possessor n. One who owns, enjoys, or controls anything, as property.
• possible adj. Being not beyond the reach of power natural, moral, or supernatural.
• postdate v. To make the date of any writing later than the real date.
• posterior n. The hinder part.
• postgraduate adj. Pertaining to studies that are pursued after receiving a degree.
• postscript n. Something added to a letter after the writer's signature.
• potency n. Power.
• potent adj. Physically powerful.
• potentate n. One possessed of great power or sway.
• potential n. Anything that may be possible.
• potion n. A dose of liquid medicine.
• powerless adj. Impotent.
• practicable adj. Feasible.
• prate v. To talk about vainly or foolishly.
• prattle v. To utter in simple or childish talk.
• preamble n. A statement introductory to and explanatory of what follows.
• precarious adj. Perilous.
• precaution n. A provision made in advance for some possible emergency or danger.
• precede v. To happen first.
• precedence n. Priority in place, time, or rank.
• precedent n. An instance that may serve as a guide or basis for a rule.
• precedential adj. Of the nature of an instance that may serve as a guide or basis for a rule.
• precession n. The act of going forward.
• precipice n. A high and very steep or approximately vertical cliff.
• precipitant adj. Moving onward quickly and heedlessly.
• precipitate v. To force forward prematurely.
• precise adj. Exact.
• precision n. Accuracy of limitation, definition, or adjustment.
• preclude v. To prevent.
• precocious adj. Having the mental faculties prematurely developed.
• precursor n. A forerunner or herald.
• predatory adj. Prone to pillaging.
• predecessor n. An incumbent of a given office previous to another.
• predicament n. A difficult, trying situation or plight.
• predicate v. To state as belonging to something.
• predict v. To foretell.
• prediction n. A prophecy.
• predominance n. Ascendancy or preponderance.
• predominant adj. Superior in power, influence, effectiveness, number, or degree.
• predominate v. To be chief in importance, quantity, or degree.
• preeminence n. Special eminence.
• preempt v. To secure the right of preference in the purchase of public land.
• preemption n. The right or act of purchasing before others.
• preengage v. To preoccupy.
• preestablish v. To settle or arrange beforehand.
• preexist v. To exist at a period or in a state earlier than something else.
• preexistence n. Existence antecedent to something.
• preface n. A brief explanation or address to the reader, at the beginning of a book.
• prefatory adj. Pertaining to a brief explanation to the reader at the beginning of a book.
• prefer v. To hold in higher estimation.
• preferable adj. More desirable than others.
• preference n. An object of favor or choice.
• preferential adj. Possessing, giving, or constituting preference or priority.
• preferment n. Preference.
• prefix v. To attach at the beginning.
• prehensible adj. Capable of being grasped.
• prehensile adj. Adapted for grasping or holding.
• prehension n. The act of laying hold of or grasping.
• prejudice n. A judgment or opinion formed without due examination of the facts.
• prelacy n. A system of church government.
• prelate n. One of a higher order of clergy having direct authority over other clergy.
• prelude n. An introductory or opening performance.
• premature adj. Coming too soon.
• premier adj. First in rank or position.
• premise n. A judgment as a conclusion.
• premonition n. Foreboding.
• preoccupation n. The state of having the mind, attention, or inclination preoccupied.
• preoccupy v. To fill the mind of a person to the exclusion of other subjects.
• preordain v. To foreordain.
• preparation n. An act or proceeding designed to bring about some event.
• preparatory adj. Having to do with what is preliminary.
• preponderant adj. Prevalent.
• preponderate v. To exceed in influence or power.
• prepossession n. A preconceived liking.
• preposterous adj. Utterly ridiculous or absurd.
• prerogative adj. Having superior rank or precedence.
• presage v. To foretell.
• prescience n. Knowledge of events before they take place.
• prescient adj. Foreknowing.
• prescript adj. Prescribed as a rule or model.
• prescriptible adj. Derived from authoritative direction.
• prescription n. An authoritative direction.
• presentient adj. Perceiving or feeling beforehand.
• presentiment n. Foreboding.
• presentment n. Semblance.
• preservation n. Conservation.
• presumption n. That which may be logically assumed to be true until disproved.
• presumptuous adj. Assuming too much.
• pretension n. A bold or presumptuous assertion.
• pretentious adj. Marked by pretense, conceit, or display.
• preternatural adj. Extraordinary.