Essential Vocabulary - Noel's ESL eBook Library

A: SAT Words 29
arrogant (AR uh gnt) adj. full of or due to undeserved pride and selfimportance;
overbearing; haughty
• The entertainer in the lounge seemed very arrogant for one who was not
even close to being a headliner.
• The arrogant bearing of the heavyweight champion was justly rewarded
when he was knocked out in round one.
[-ly adv., arrogance n.] [Syn. proud]
artist (AHRT ist) n. 1. a person who is skilled in or works in the techniques of
fine arts, especially in drawing, painting, sculpture, etc.; 2. someone who does anything
very well, imaginatively, and with a feeling for form, effect, etc.; 3. one in
any of the performing arts (dance, theater, etc.)
• When asked how he’d managed to sculpt Muhammad Ali so realistically,
the artist replied, “I used Cassius clay.”
• Mark Twain was an artist with the spoken and written word.
• The Beatles were the most prolific recording artists of their day.
artistic (ahr TIS tik) adj. 1. of or by art or artist(s); 2. skillful and tasteful; aesthetically
satisfying; 3. sensitive to artistic values
• Life in Tahiti was romanticized by the artistic touch of Paul Gaugin’s paintings
of the islanders’ customs.
• Van Gogh’s Sunflowers is very artistic, with a balanced composition that is
very pleasing to the eye.
• Picasso’s revulsion by the Spanish Civil War comes through in his artistic
antiwar statement, Guernica.
[-ally adv.]
artwork (AHRT woerk) n. a single work of art, or works of art, collectively
• Leonardo daVinci’s Mona Lisa is an artwork that has withstood the test of
time.
• If you get to Paris, don’t miss the opportunity to check out the magnificent
artwork that’s housed in the Louvre.
ascetic (uh SET ik) adj. self-denying; austere —n. 1. a person who lives a life of
rigorous self-denial for whatever purpose; 2. anyone living with strict self-discipline
and renouncing the usual comforts and pleasures
• Gandhi led an ascetic life, permitting himself few comforts.
• The ascetic refused to buy chairs with any kind of cushions or padding, lest
he be thought of as pampering himself.
[-ally adv., -ism n.] [Syn. severe]
ascribe (uhs KRYB) vt. 1. to credit to or blame something on a specific cause,
event, person, etc.; 2. to regard something as being the work of or belonging to
someone
• The falling of nuclear power plants into mistrust and disrepute is ascribed
to events at Chernobyl in the USSR.
• The Iliad and The Odyssey are epics that were passed down over the centuries
as part of oral tradition, until they were finally written down and
ascribed to Homer.
[-d, ascribing]