SAT+Vocabulary+Set+5



irascible (i RAS uh bul) - easily angered; irritable
 * Normally, Rose was a pleasant wife and mother, but if a member of her family prevented her from watching her favorite soaps, she could become quite irascible.
 * Uncle Tim was a real grouch; even on his birthday he would find a way to become as irascible as a spoiled child.
 * The school principal became so irascible even his teachers avoided speaking to him.

queue (Q) - to form or to wait in line
 * During the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, fans queue outside the gates the day before and spend the night waiting for the gates to open the following morning.
 * The sisters decided not to attend the movie because a line was queuing up as they arrived, and they didn't want to stand in a queue in the cold, night air.

gossamer (GOSS uh mer) - delicate floating cobwebs; a sheer gauzy fabric; something delicate, light, flimsy


 * The bride wore a white silk wedding dress which touched the floor as she proceeded up the aisle to the altar. A gossamer of fine Italian lace gently touched her face.
 * Between the audience and the actors on the stage hung a thin gossamer of fabric, heightening the feeling that the actors were in a dream-like setting.



cower (KOW ur) - cringe from fear; to shrink away.
 * When Sheriff Wild Bill Hickok entered the Last Chance Saloon, the villains cowered in fear.
 * The sound of the rusty door opening in the middle of the night made Sue cower behind her bed.

chronic (KRAHN ik) - continuing for a long time; continuous
 * George was a chronic complainer; he never saw the positive side of anything.
 * When lower back pain becomes chronic, it's time to see a doctor.
 * Her chronic gossiping led to her being kicked out of the garden club.



giddy (GEDD ee) - a light-headed sensation; dizzy, frivolous
 * After Sue Ellen won the beauty contest, she was absolutely giddy with joy.
 * Jackie didn't faint, but she said the sun was so hot she felt giddy.
 * Bill never had more than one beer; anything more made him giddy.

harrowing (HARE roe ing) - extremely distressed; disturbing or frightening
 * After the harrowing experience when Eddie's main parachute didn't open, and his emergency chute saved him only at the last minute, he vowed never to jump again.
 * At first we were harried by the gang members, called names and insulted, but later it became a harrowing experience as they chased and threatened us with knives. (Harried is to be troubled or bothered while harrowing is to be frightened to the extreme.)



laconic (luh KAHN ik) - brief, using few words
 * Benjamin's laconic speech habits gave him a reputation for thoughtfulness and intelligence.
 * The doctor was laconic with his patients to the point of being rude.
 * The fictional heroes of the old west were usually cowboys who spoke laconically, when at all.

aptitude (ap TUH tude) - capacity for learning; natural ability
 * Chris has had a champion's aptitude for tennis since he was four years old.
 * Jess is all thumbs and has no aptitude for fixing things around the house.
 * The aptitude of flora and fauna to adapt to changing environmental conditions is absolutely marvelous.



endure (in DUR) - to carry on through despite hardships; to put up with.
 * Settlers in the 1800s endured many hardships on their way to California.
 * "I can't endure the solitude," Jimbo Marks told his lawyer, as the sheriff placed him in an isolation cell awaiting trial.
 * The enduring quality I recall most with loving memory about my Aunt Emma was that she never had a bad word to say about anyone.

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