"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 7

Philip Geer's "Simon's Saga" includes 820 SAT-level words and gives students an entertaining glimpse into college life.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12, Episode 13, Episode 14, Episode 15, Episode 16, Episode 17, Episode 18, Episode 19, Episode 20, Episode 21, Episode 22, Episode 23, Episode 24, Episode 25, Episode 26, Episode 27, Episode 28, Episode 29, Episode 30, Episode 31, Episode 32, Episode 33, Episode 34, Episode 35, Episode 36, Episode 37
20 words 1520 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. voluble
    marked by a ready flow of speech
    Maybe that’s why she likes me; I’m so voluble and uninhibited that my mind is quite open to her investigation.
  2. uninhibited
    not restrained
    Maybe that’s why she likes me; I’m so voluble and uninhibited that my mind is quite open to her investigation.
  3. tenet
    a basic principle or belief that is accepted as true
    Jaz says I have to have a subconscious, at least according to the tenets of Freudian psychology
  4. obsolete
    no longer in use
    (Freud’s ideas are considered obsolete in many universities, but the old geezer is still predominant in our psych department.)
  5. predominant
    having superior power or influence
    (Freud’s ideas are considered obsolete in many universities, but the old geezer is still predominant in our psych department.)
  6. plumb
    examine thoroughly and in great depth
    Anyway, Jaz says she’ll keep plumbing the depths of my mind looking for it.
  7. cryptic
    having a secret or hidden meaning
    She keeps waiting for me to make a cryptic remark so she can look for some profound meaning in it, but I never do.
  8. profound
    showing intellectual penetration or emotional depth
    She keeps waiting for me to make a cryptic remark so she can look for some profound meaning in it, but I never do.
  9. anomaly
    deviation from the normal or common order, form, or rule
    It would be an anomaly for me to say anything ambiguous or enigmatic.
  10. unprecedented
    novel; having no earlier occurrence
    The head of the psych department, Dr. Brown, says this is unprecedented in the annals of psychological research.
  11. affective
    characterized by emotion
    That means your affective abilities as opposed to your cognitive abilities, things like how well you empathize with people.
  12. empathize
    be understanding of
    That means your affective abilities as opposed to your cognitive abilities, things like how well you empathize with people.
  13. dissemble
    hide under a false appearance
    IQ is the one area where perhaps I dissemble just a little.
  14. atrophy
    undergo weakening or degeneration as through lack of use
    Number one: At least my score isn’t declining, which proves that my intellect isn’t atrophying.
  15. validity
    the quality of being legitimate and rigorous
    Number two: It confirms the validity of the test and its methodology.
  16. methodology
    the techniques followed in a particular discipline
    Number two: It confirms the validity of the test and its methodology.
  17. minuscule
    very small
    My IQ is still—well, not minuscule, but not exactly genius level, either.
  18. facile
    arrived at without due care or effort; lacking depth
    It’s so facile.
  19. conjure
    summon into action or bring into existence
    It conjures up an image of a pedestrian intellect in the body of an athlete.
  20. chimerical
    produced by a wildly fanciful imagination
    It’s not chimerical.
Created on Mon Aug 18 18:02:21 EDT 2014 (updated Tue Aug 19 13:02:37 EDT 2014)

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