Quotes, Life Principles, and Lexicon
Lexicon (SAT) Words of the Week
2010-2011
Week 1 –
banal – boring; commonplace; ordinary; dull
Sample sentence:
Coach told the same banal knock- knock joke at least a dozen times.
Week 2 –
benign – harmless; gentle
Sample sentence:
The southwest was having a particularly benign winter with little rainfall.
Week 3 –
boorish – crudely, insensitive person
Sample sentence:
The boorish child collided with his grandmother’s antique vase as he dashed through her house.
Week 4 –
bolster – to support; to encourage
Sample sentence:
Visitors to the hospital always bolster a patient’s spirits.
Week 5 –
candor – openness; straightforwardness
Sample sentence:
Please pardon my candor, but you have something stuck in your teeth.
Week 6 –
capitulate – surrender; yield to an enemy on conditions agreed upon
Sample sentence:
Either go in peace or capitulate.
Week 7 –
castigate – punish or criticize severely
Sample sentence:
Because her beliefs were not common to everyone, the outspoken woman was castigated.
Week 8 –
celerity – swiftness; fast
Sample sentence:
Although the accident was miles away, the ambulance responded with surprising celerity.
Week 9 –
daunted – discouraged; frightened
Sample sentence:
After the hurricane hit southern Florida, the family was daunted by the loss of all their possessions.
Week 10 –
dearth – a scarce supply; a lack
Sample sentence:
Upon their arrival to the new world, the Puritans found a dearth of food and were unable to satisfy their increasing hunger.
Week 11 –
defame – to attack someone’s good reputation
Sample sentence:
In a final attempt to defame Billy, the newspaper wrote a hurtful article.
Week 12 –
efface – to wipe out
Sample sentence:
Though the ruler had been absent for five years, it did nothing to efface the memory of his stern rule.
Week 13 –
effervescent – full of life and excitement; bubbly
Sample sentence:
Effervescent people tend to make friends easily.
Week 14 –
eclectic – from many sources; carefully selected
Sample sentence:
This magazine has an eclectic selection of articles.
Week 15 –
fallacious – deceptive; misleading
Sample sentence:
The belief that a diet of chocolate alone can sustain a healthy body is a fallacious one.
Week 16 –
flagrant – openly outrageous; scandalous
Failing to stop at a red light is flagrant disobedience of the law.
Week 17 –
furtive – crafty; secretive
Sample sentence:
The thief shot a furtive glance toward the abandoned shop at the end of the street.
Week 18 –
hamper – limit to move freely
Sample sentence:
Lack of cash may hamper Jack’s ability to spend at the auction.
Week 19 –
hardy – able to endure hardship
Sample sentence:
Some plants are hardy enough to survive the winter.
Week 20 –
imbue – to inspire or influence thoroughly
Sample sentence:
The author managed to imbue her stories with her own personal experiences.
Week 21 –
immutable – unable to change
Sample sentence:
Many believe that certain immutable truths should govern society.
Week 22 –
impetuous – moving quickly and violently; impulsively
Sample sentence:
He was an impetuous man, quick in his decisions.
Week 23 –
jargon – technical terms used by certain professions or trades
Sample sentence:
The young child surprised his parents with his knowledge of computer jargon.
Week 24 –
juxtapose – place close together or side by side
Sample sentence:
Juxtapose those two thoughts in one complete sentence, please.
Week 25 –
largess – liberal giving; generosity
Sample sentence:
Due to my father’s largess, I have many fine things.
Week 26 –
levity – lightness in manner or speech
Sample sentence:
The teacher told a joke to add some levity to an overly serious conversation.
Week 27 –
maneuver – to cause something to move skillfully; to scheme
Sample sentence:
To avoid being attacked by the mother eagle, the group decided to maneuver through the rocky passage.
Week 28 –
marred – ruined; damaged
Sample sentence:
The piano bench was marred by careless movers.
Week 29 –
objurgate – to rebuke; to scold
Sample sentence:
If Jan doesn’t take her turn with the dishes, Mom will be quick to objurgate.
Week 30 –
obtuse – lacking quickness of perception or intellect; stupid
Sample sentence:
I don’t mean to sound obtuse, but I really don’t understand your question.
Week 31 –
paragon – model; ideal; shining example
Sample sentence:
The elephant could be considered a paragon of giants in the animal kingdom.
Week 32 –
parity – equality; similarity between things (often numbers)
Sample sentence:
In schools there is not always a parity of skills among students.
Week 33 –
rampant – unrestrained; without ability to be stopped
Sample sentence:
With cold weather setting in, sore throats have become rampant.
Week 34 –
remote – unfriendly; far away
Sample sentence:
Robin Hood’s hideout was nestled in a remote area of Sherwood Forest.
Week 35 –
scrutinize – to examine; to investigate
Sample sentence:
If Susan is stopped by a police officer, he may scrutinize her driver’s license.
Week 36 –
table – to postpone indefinitely; to put off until a later time
Sample sentence:
The club members agreed to table the discussion until the following meeting.
Life Principles of the Week/Quotes
2010-2011
Sept. 7-10 Fortitude – courage in bearing pain or trouble
“Gold is tried by fire, brave men by adversity.”
~William Arthur Ward (American inspirational
writer)
Sept. 13-17 Optimism – a tendency to take a hopeful
of things
“Optimism is the foundation of courage.”
~Nicholas Murray Butler (educator/advisor to
seven presidents)
Sept. 20-24 Courtesy – politeness; graciousness
“Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as
courage.” ~Theodore Roosevelt (US pres)
Sept. 27- Sincerity – genuine; real; without pretence or
Oct 1 deceit
“To give real service you must add something
which cannot be bought or measured with
money, and that is sincerity and integrity.”
~Douglas Adams (20th century writer)
Oct. 4-6 Dedication – devotion to a cause or task
“The person who makes a success of living is the
one who sees his goal steadily and aims for it
unswervingly. That is dedication.
~ Cecil B. De Mille (famous movie director,
The Ten Commandments)
Oct. 11-15 Propriety – correctness of behavior
“A laugh, if purchased at the expense of propriety,
costs too much.”
~Marcus Fabius Quintilian (Roman educator
and writer)
Oct. 18-22 Silence – complete lack of sound; a situation
where someone refrains from speaking
“Choose silence of all virtues, for by it you hear
men’s imperfections, and conceal your own.”
~George Bernard Shaw
Oct. 25-29 Orderly – neatly arranged; organized;
efficient
“To love rightly is to love what is orderly and
beautiful in an educated and disciplined way.”
~Plato (ancient Greek philosopher)
Nov. 1-4 Scrupulous – conscientious; exact; painstaking
“Certainly one of the highest duties of the citizen
is a scrupulous obedience to the laws of a nation.”
~Thomas Jefferson (United States president)
Nov. 8-12 Frugality – economical; simple and costing little
“Frugality is founded on the principle that all riches
have limits.” ~Edmund Burke (British statesman)
Nov. 15-19 Industry – hard work
“Waste neither time nor money, but make the best
use of both. Without industry and frugality, nothing
will do, and with them everything.”
~Benjamin Franklin (author, diplomat, inventor,
politician, printer)
Nov. 29- Moderation – not extreme or excessive
Dec. 3 “Never go to excess; but let moderation be your
guide.” ~Marcus Tillius Cicero (ancient Roman
orator, lawyer, writer, statesman)
Dec. 6-10 Tranquility – peaceful and untroubled
“The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater his
success, his influence, his power for good.
“Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels
of wisdom.”
~James Allen (British writer, 1864-1912)
Dec. 13-17 Discretion – acting with reason; wise
“Discretion is the perfection of reason, and a guide
to us in all the duties of life.”
~Sir Walter Scott (Scottish novelist, historian,
poet, 1771-1832)
Jan. 3-7 Endurance – continue; persist; survive pain or
hardship
“Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard
thing but to turn it into glory.” ~William Barclay
(Scottish theologian, 16th and 17th century)
Jan. 10-14 Flexibility – able to bend easily; adaptable
“Flexible people never get bent out of shape.”
~Mary Engelbreit (author)
Jan. 17-21 Enthusiasm – eager liking or interest in
something
“Enthusiasm is contagious. Be a carrier.”
~Susan Rabin (author)
Jan. 24-28 Gentleness – kind and mild; moderate
“Nothing is so strong as gentleness; nothing so
gentle as real strength.”
~St. Francis de Sales (French Roman Catholic
of Geneva, 1567-1622)
Jan. 31- Hospitality – friendly and welcoming
Feb. 4 “Small cheer and great welcome make a merry
feast.” ~William Shakespeare (English poet and
playwright, 1564-1516)
Feb. 7-9 Joyfulness – delight; pleasure; elated
“Joy is not in things; it is in us.” ~Richard Wagner
(German dramatic composer, 1813-1883)
Feb. 15-18 Meekness – quiet and obedient
“Glances of true beauty can be seen in the faces of
those who live in true meekness.”
~Henry David Thoreau (American essayist, poet,
philosopher, 1817-1862)
Feb. 21-25 Obedience – doing what you are told to do
“Let the child’s first lesson be obedience; and the
second will be what thou wilt.”
~Benjamin Franklin (author, diplomat, inventor,
politician, printer)
Feb. 28- Liberty – freedom, a right or privilege, self-rule
Mar.4 “Liberty is obedience to the law one has laid down
for oneself.” ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau (French
philosopher, writer, 1712-1778)
Mar. 7-11 Persuasiveness – to use reasoning or argument to
make someone believe or do something
“To be persuasive we must be believable; to be
believable we must be credible; to be credible we
we must be truthful.”
~Edward R. Murrow (American journalist 1908-65)
Mar. 14-18 Gratefulness – thankful and appreciative
“Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.”
~Seneca (Roman philosopher, mid-1st century, AD)
Mar. 9-13 Resourcefulness – clever at finding ways of doing
things
“Remember you will not always win. Some days the
most resourceful individual will taste defeat. But there
is always tomorrow – after you have done your best to
achieve success today.” ~origin unknown
Mar. 28- Sensitivity – appreciating the feelings of others; quick
Apr. 1 to detect or be affected by slight changes
“Do not give in too much to feelings. An overly
sensitive heart is an unhappy possession on this shaky
earth.”
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (18th century
German poet, dramatist, novelist)
Apr. 4-7 Alertness – watchful; observant
“Judgment can be acquired only by acute observation,
by actual experience in the school of life, by ceaseless
alertness to learn from others and by the studies of
the activities of notable men.” ~B.C. Forbes
(Scottish-born American editor/Forbes magazine)
Apr.11-15 Thoroughness – complete in every way; detailed
and careful
“Thoroughness characterizes all successful men.
Genius is the art of taking infinite pains. All great
achievement has been characterized by extreme care,
infinite, painstaking, even to the minutest detail.”
~Elbert Hubbard (American editor, publisher, writer
1856-1915)
Apr. 18-22 Attentiveness – paying attention; considerate and
helpful
“Those who are silent, self-effacing and attentive
become the recipients of confidences.”
~Thornton Wilder (American novelist & playwright)
Apr. 25-29 Clarity – clearness
“Perfect clarity would profit the intellect but damage
the will.” ~Blaise Pascal (French philosopher,
mathematician, 1623-62)
May 2-6 Boldness – confident and courageous
“Plunge boldly into the thick of life, and seize it where
you will. It is always interesting.”
~Wolfgang von Goethe (18th century German poet,
dramatist, novelist)
May 9-13 Cautiousness – care to avoid danger or error
“Prudent, cautious self-control is wisdom’s root.”
~Robert Burns (Scottish poet, 1759-96)
May 16-20 Contentment – satisfied with what you have
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you
have not; remember that what you now have was
once among the things you only hoped for.”
~Epicurus (Greek philosopher, BC 341-270)
May 23-27 Honor – great respect; admiration
“Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud.”
~Sophocles (Classical Athens playwright)
May 31- Deference – polite respect
June 2 “Great men always pay deference to greater.”
~Walter Savage Landor (English writer, poet
1765-1864)