- It is appropriate to be tremulouswhen unarmed and face to face with an
uncaged 600 lb. Siberian tiger.
[-ly adv., -ness n.]
trivialize(TRI vee uh lyz) vt. 1. to regard or treat as unimportant or insignifi-
cant; 2. to make seem unimportant - It is easy for an adult to trivializethe fears of a child and, by so doing, to
traumatize him or her. - A good teacher will not trivializethe questions of students.
[-d*, trivializing, trivialization n.]
truculent(TRUHK yoo lint) adj. 1. cruel; fierce; savage; 2. rude; mean; 3. belli-
cose; warlike; pugnacious - Genghis Khan took a truculentattitude toward nearly everyone but his
wife, Sylvia. - The North Koreans have been truculenttoward those in the South since
shortly after World War II.
[-ly adv., truculence n.]
trustee(TRUS tee) n. 1. a person entrusted with the management of someone
else’s property or money; 2. a country in charge of administering a trust territory;
- a group of persons or a board appointed to manage the affairs of an institution
•A trusteeis often appointed by a bankruptcy court to manage the appli-
cant’s financial affairs.- The United Kingdom was made trusteeover much of the former territory of
the Ottoman Empire after World War I. - Many major instutions’ financial affairs are in the hands of a board of
trustees.
turmoil (TOER moyl) n. uproar; confusion; disarray; tumult; commotion - The floor of the New York Stock Exchange always appears to be in a state
of turmoil. - The police do their best to control the turmoilas the crowd leaves the race-
track at the end of the Indianapolis 500. - Fear and turmoilgripped the passengers and crew of the Titanicin their
attempt to leave the stricken ship.
turpitude* (TOER pi TOOD) n. 1. depravity or vileness; baseness; 2. any
instance of the foregoing - One of the approved reasons for removing a public official from office is
moral turpitude. - The turpitude of Adolph Hitler is without parallel in modern times.
tyranny(TIR uh nee) n. 1. the government of an absolute ruler; 2. oppressive
government; unjust government; 3. cruel and unjust use of authority; harshness;
severity; despotism - The first so-called tyranniestook place in ancient Greece, and tyranny
comes from the Greek word tyrant. - Any modern-day dictatorship is a tyranny.
- The Reign of Terror, which followed the French Revolution, was not a
tyrannyin the first sense of the word but was one in the third sense.
[tyrannies pl.]
T: SAT Words 229