Webster Essential Vocabulary

postscript(POHST skript) n. 1. a note added after the signature of a letter; 2. an afterthought or supplementary information •A ...

preamble(PREE AM bl orpre AM bl) n. an introduction, especially to a consti- tution, law, etc. stating what its purpose is The ...

precedent(PRE si DINT) n. 1. an earlier decision, judgment, act of law, case, etc. that serves as an example for a later one; 2. ...

precocious(pri KOH shis) adj. 1. matured to a level beyond that which is nor- mal for one of that age (a precocious child); 2. o ...

Quick Review #67. Match the word from column 2 with the word from column 1 that means most nearly the same thing. 190 Essential ...

preservation(PREZ ir VAY shin) n. 1. protected from harm; 2. kept from spoil- ing or rotting; 3. maintaining by regulating Acid ...

primate (PRY mayt) n. 1. any of an order of mammals that has soft hands and feet, each terminating in five digits (monkeys, lemu ...

procrastinate (proh CRAS tin AYT) vi. to put off doing something to a future time and to do this habitually; to often postpone ...

provocative*(pruh VAHK uh tiv) adj. 1. provoking or tending to provoke to action, thought, feeling, etc.; stimulating; 2. erotic ...

quizzical (KWIZ i kuhl) adj. 1. comical; odd; 2. teasing; bantering; 3. perplexing The cat had a seemingly quizzicalexpression ...

R radicalism* (RAD i kil IZ im) n. 1. the quality or state of being extreme, espe- cially in political matters; 2. extreme in pr ...

R: SAT Words 197 rebuff (ri BUF) vt. 1. to snub; bluntly reject; 2. to check or turn back (an advance) —n. a snubbing; an abrupt ...

reconnoiter (REE kin OY tir) vt. 1. to make a reconnaisance, that is, to seek out information about enemy installations or posit ...

refract(rif RAKT) vt. 1. to cause a ray of light to bend, as it does when passing obliquely from one medium to another of differ ...

Quick Review #71. Match the word from column 2 with the word from column 1 that means most nearly the same thing. 200 Essential ...

The ice-cream cake disappeared without leaving a remnantbehind. Carpet remnantsare usually very good buys and, in some cases, c ...

repudiate*(ri PYOO dee AYT) vt. 1. refuse to have anything to do with; dis- own; 2. to deny the validity or authority of (a char ...

resolution (rez i LOO shin) n. 1. the act or process of breaking something up into its constituent parts; 2. a determining or de ...

retroactive(RET roh AK tiv) adj. 1. affecting things that took place earlier; going into effect at a specified date in the past ...

Great reverencepermeates the state funeral of a former U.S. president. [Syn. honor, awe] revulsion (riv UHL shin) n. extreme sh ...