Week 29 SAT Word Wall Vocabulary Pre-Assessment

Define "laud."

• to praise; to applaud; to extol; to celebrate

• to laugh; to make fun of

• to criticize; to complain

• to lift; to exert great effort

Define "judicious."

• to make a judgment and/or ruling on

• exercising sound judgement

• making a hasty decision; impulsive

• overly cautious; indecisive

Define "predicament."

• a puzzler; a quandary

• a pleasant situation;

• a premonition; a foretelling of the future

• a dangerous or unpleasant situation; a dilemma

Define "catalyst."

• something that creates a reaction and in turn itself is changed

• a inconsequential element and/or factor

• anyone or anything that makes something happen without being directly involved in it

• an innocuous element that does not induce and/or create change

Define "precursor."

• conclusion; something that goes after and completes the narrative for that which came before it

• forerunner; something that goes before and anticipates or paves the way for whatever it is that follows

• sequel; the "next step" in a process

• successor; something that completes a formula as it relates to chemistry

Define "quell."

• to put an end to; to squelch; to surpress

• to begin; to announce; to encourage

• to continue; to keep pace with; to maintain

• to put a voice to something; to protest

Define "amass."

• a religious ceremony; a gathering of individuals in prayer

• to reach critical mass; to detonate

• to clean out and/or empty

• to pile up; to accumulate; to collect for one's own use

Define "pragmatic."

• impractical; based on theory rather than experience

• practical; down-to-earth; based on experience rather than theory

• problematic; fraught with issues and/or complications

• mechanical in nature; a planned response to problem solving

Define "posthumous."

• describes the reaction after a joke and/or humorous story; an anecdote

• after an event; post-completion

• an occurrence during one's lifetime; recognition of one's lifetime achievements

• occurring after one's death; published after the death of an author

Define "lament."

• to celebrate

• to mourn

• to berate

• to criticize