SAT Word Play

Abase
(v.)
to humiliate, degrade
(after being overthrown and abased, the deposed leader offered to bow down to his conqueror)
"Abase" makes me think of racism. Anybody of another race not of their own, degrades another race.

Abate
(v.)
to reduce, lessen
(the rain poured down for a while, then abated)
"Abate" makes me think of weight loss. A girl weighed over 200 pounds, then after her new diet plan and exercise system her weight abated.

Abdicate
(v.)
to give up a position, usually one of leadership
(when he realized that the revolutionaries would surely win, the king abdicated his throne)
"Abdicated" makes me think of politics. When the president's sex scandal was made public, he abdicated his presidency.

Abduct
(v.)
to kidnap, take by force
(the evildoers abducted the fairy princess from her happy home.)
"Abduct" makes me think of Amber Alert. Because of the increase of abductions over the past years, Amber Alerts have been issued in every state more then ever.

Aberration
(v.)
something that differs from the norm
(in 1918, the Boston Red Sox won the world series, but the success turned out to be an aberration, and the Red Sox have not won a World Series since.)
"Aberration" makes me think of rituals. Trish has had the same rituals ever since she was 16 and she fears any aberrations.

Abet
(v.)
to aid, help, encourage
(the spy succeeded only because he had a friend on the inside to abet him)
"Abet" makes me think of hospitals. The nurse abet the old man through the final days of his life.

Abhor
(v.)
to hate, detest
(because he always wound up kicking himself in the head when he tried to play soccer, Oswald began to abhor the spot.)
"Abhor" makes me think of insecurities. Jenna believed her nose was to big for her face so she began to abhor it.

Abide
(v.)
to put up with
(though he did not agree with the decision, Chuck decided to abide by it)
"Abide" makes me think of Spartacus. Spartacus didn't wish to be a gladiator but he abade by the government's wishes in order to avenge his wife's death.

Abject
(adj.)
wretched, pitiful
(after losing all her money, falling into a puddle, and breaking her ankle, Eloise was abject)
"Abject" makes me think of homelessness. The homeless man was accustomed to the misfortunes, his spirit was broken and he was abject.

Abjure
(v.)
to reject, renounce
(to prove his honesty , the president abjured the evil policies of his wicked predecessor.)
"Abjure" makes me think of individuality. Jessie abjured the idea of doing drugs just because all of her friends were doing it.

Acrid
(adj.)
sharp; pungent (used of smells and taste)
(When the detective arrived at the scene of the crime, the smell of blood and marijuana was acrid.)
"Acrid" makes me think of acid. The acidic scent was acrid.

Acquiesce
(v.)
to agree to; give in to
(Because the soldiers were out numbered, they acquiesced to a truce.)
"Acquiesce" makes me think of debating. The democratic party acquiesced.

Bigot
(adj.)
narrow-minded, prejudiced person
(The Ku Klux Klan are all bigots.)
"Bigot" makes me think of the civil rights movement. Bigots played a major role in sabotaging the civil rights movement.

Boorish
(adj.)
ill-mannered
(Kanye West's arrogance can be confused as being boorish to people that don't know him personally.)
"Boorish" makes me think of snotty people. The girls who attended private school acted boorish towards the other girls coming from public school.

Counterfeit
(adj.)
fake; false
(The store clerk was furious after receiving counterfeit money.)
"Counterfeit" makes me think of money. The twenty dollar bill was a convincing counterfeit copy.

Cynical
(v.)
believing that people act only out of selfish motives
(The manager acted extremely cynical, knowing that because of his good job, he'll receive a large profit.)
"Cynical" makes me think of management. Sometimes managers concern aren't the artist, but their share of that artist success.

Enfranchise
(v.)
give voting rights
(In history, many women fought for the government to enfranchise to the opposite sex.)
"Enfranchise" makes me think of the loss of equality.

Epistle
(noun.)
a letter (form of communication)
(The distant lovers sent epistles back and forth.)
"Epistle" makes me think of the days phones weren't invented when people had to send letters to one another.

Hamper
(v.)
hinder; obstruct


Heresy
(adj.)
against orthodox opinion

Kindle
(v.)
to start a fire
(Because Jenine was so stubborn she refused to re-kindle the flame with her husband.)

Lance
(noun.)
spear; spike; javelin
(During the time of mesoamerica, Aztecs and other tribes used forms of lances as weaponry.)

Noxious
(adj.)
harmful; poisonous; lethal
(The gases that were leaking through the pipe were noxious for elder workers.)

Obscure
(v.)
difficult to understand; partially hidden
(The accusations of infidelity were obscure seeing as the husband was home all night.)

Placid
(adj.)
calm; peaceful
(The Alps in which I took a skiing trip to was very placid.)

Poignant
(adj.)
deeply moving; strong affecting the emotions
(The movie was poignant, so i couldn't help but to cry.)

Remuneration
(v.)
payment for work done
(The man who painted the living room never returned for his remuneration.)

Respite
(v.)
a break; intermission
(The play had a twenty minute respite.)

Talisman
(noun.)
lucky charm
(Before every game, Jordan rubs his talisman around his neck to increase his luck.)

Terse
(adj.)
concise; to the point
(The lawyer was terse when talking about what the prosecutor had committed.)