Vocab Booster SAT Supplement Vocabulary: Unclear and Deceptive Words

YSB Admin (Canada)
p. 127-30.
134 words 0 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. addle
    mix up or confuse
  2. befuddle
    be confusing or perplexing to
  3. bewilder
    cause to be confused emotionally
  4. confound
    be confusing or perplexing to
  5. conundrum
    a difficult problem
  6. elusive
    skillful at evading capture
  7. enigma
    something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
  8. enigmatic
    not clear to the understanding
  9. illusory
    having the nature of something unreal or deceptive
  10. impalpable
    not perceptible to the touch
  11. incoherent
    without logical or meaningful connection
  12. indecipherable
    not easily decoded
  13. inscrutable
    difficult or impossible to understand
  14. intricate
    having many complexly arranged elements; elaborate
  15. knotty
    tangled in snarls
  16. labyrinth
    complex system of paths in which it is easy to get lost
  17. nonsensical
    having no intelligible meaning
  18. obfuscate
    make obscure or unclear
  19. oxymoron
    conjoined contradictory terms
  20. paradox
    a statement that contradicts itself
  21. perplex
    be a mystery or bewildering to
  22. quandary
    state of uncertainty in a choice between unfavorable options
  23. abstract
    existing only in the mind
  24. abstruse
    difficult to understand
  25. allude
    make an indirect reference to
  26. ambiguous
    having more than one possible meaning
  27. amorphous
    having no definite form or distinct shape
  28. anonymous
    having no known name or identity or known source
  29. apocryphal
    being of questionable authenticity
  30. arcane
    requiring secret or mysterious knowledge
  31. convoluted
    highly complex or intricate
  32. contorted
    twisted, especially as in pain or struggle
  33. cryptic
    having a secret or hidden meaning
  34. equivocal
    open to two or more interpretations
  35. equivocate
    be deliberately ambiguous or unclear
  36. esoteric
    understandable only by an enlightened inner circle
  37. evasive
    avoiding or escaping from difficulty or danger
  38. intangible
    incapable of being perceived by the senses, especially touch
  39. muddle
    make clouded as with sediment
  40. muddy
    soft and watery, of soil
  41. nebulous
    lacking definite form or limits
  42. nondescript
    lacking distinct or individual characteristics
  43. obscure
    not clearly understood or expressed
  44. shroud
    burial garment in which a corpse is wrapped
  45. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
  46. turbid
    clouded as with sediment
  47. vague
    lacking clarity or distinctness
  48. belie
    be in contradiction with
  49. chimerical
    like a grotesque product of the imagination
  50. contrived
    showing effects of planning or manipulation
  51. counterfeit
    not genuine; imitating something superior
  52. decoy
    something used to lure fish or other animals
  53. delude
    be dishonest with
  54. delusion
    a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea
  55. denial
    renunciation of one's own interests in favor of others
  56. deny
    declare untrue; contradict
  57. fabricate
    put together out of artificial or natural components
  58. fallacious
    containing or based on incorrect reasoning
  59. falsity
    the state of being untrue
  60. inauthentic
    intended to deceive
  61. mirage
    optical illusion in which hot air distorts distant objects
  62. myth
    a traditional story serving to explain a world view
  63. mythical
    based on or told of in traditional stories
  64. non sequitur
    a reply that has no relevance to what preceded it
  65. pseudonym
    a fake name used to engage in some activity
  66. saccharine
    overly sweet
  67. specious
    plausible but false
  68. spurious
    plausible but false
  69. true
    consistent with fact or reality; not false
  70. untruth
    a false statement
  71. affectation
    a deliberate pretense or exaggerated display
  72. artifice
    the use of deception or trickery
  73. beguile
    attract; cause to be enamored
  74. charlatan
    a flamboyant deceiver
  75. chicanery
    the use of tricks to deceive someone
  76. corrupt
    dishonest or immoral or evasive
  77. cunning
    showing inventiveness and skill
  78. deceive
    cause someone to believe an untruth
  79. disingenuous
    not straightforward or candid
  80. dupe
    fool or hoax
  81. duplicitous
    marked by deliberate deceptiveness
  82. duplicity
    the act of deceiving or acting in bad faith
  83. elude
    escape, either physically or mentally
  84. embellish
    make more attractive, as by adding ornament or color
  85. feign
    make believe with the intent to deceive
  86. fictitious
    formed or conceived by the imagination
  87. furtive
    secret and sly
  88. gambit
    a chess move in which the player sacrifices minor pieces
  89. fraudulent
    intended to deceive
  90. guile
    shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception
  91. guise
    an artful or simulated semblance
  92. hoax
    something intended to deceive
  93. imposter
    a person who makes deceitful pretenses
  94. incognito
    without revealing one's identity
  95. insidious
    working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way
  96. legerdemain
    an illusory feat
  97. knave
    a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
  98. mendacious
    given to lying
  99. mendacity
    the tendency to be untruthful
  100. perfidious
    tending to betray
  101. perfidy
    an act of deliberate betrayal
  102. ploy
    a maneuver in a game, conversation, or situation
  103. pretense
    the act of giving a false appearance
  104. pretext
    a fictitious reason that conceals the real reason
  105. prevaricate
    be deliberately ambiguous or unclear
  106. quack
    the sound made by a duck
  107. rogue
    a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
  108. ruse
    a deceptive maneuver, especially to avoid capture
  109. scoundrel
    someone who does evil deliberately
  110. semblance
    the outward or apparent appearance or form of something
  111. shyster
    a person who uses unscrupulous or unethical methods
  112. stratagem
    an elaborate or deceitful scheme to deceive or evade
  113. subterfuge
    something intended to misrepresent the nature of an activity
  114. sycophant
    a person who tries to please someone to gain an advantage
  115. treacherous
    dangerously unstable and unpredictable
  116. trickery
    the use of cunning actions to deceive someone
  117. trickster
    someone who plays practical jokes on others
  118. undermine
    weaken or impair, especially gradually
  119. vulpine
    resembling or characteristic of a fox
  120. wily
    marked by skill in deception
  121. cabal
    a clique that seeks power usually through intrigue
  122. clandestine
    conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods
  123. classify
    arrange or order by categories
  124. covert
    secret or hidden
  125. eavesdrop
    listen without the speaker's knowledge
  126. espionage
    the systematic use of spies to obtain secrets
  127. infiltrate
    pass through an enemy line in a military conflict
  128. machination
    a crafty and involved plot to achieve your ends
  129. secretive
    reluctant to divulge information
  130. surreptitious
    marked by quiet and caution and secrecy
  131. surveillance
    close observation of a person or group
  132. ulterior
    lying beyond what is openly revealed or avowed
  133. undercover
    conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods
  134. untold
    of an incalculable amount
Created on Fri Jan 31 17:31:55 EST 2020 (updated Thu Apr 02 20:05:48 EDT 2020)

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