John Wiley And Sons Webster''s New World - Essential vocabulary_O

O
obdurate (AHB dyoo RAYT) adj. 1. not easily moved to feeling empathy;
2. not readily giving in; stubborn; inflexible
• Despite his tenants’ having a difficult time coming up with the rent,
Simon Legree was obdurate in his intention to evict them.
• Although Susan tried to get her employer to allow her to work flexible
hours so that she could take some courses, the manager remained obdurate
in insisting she stick to a fixed schedule.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. inflexible]
oblique (oh BLEEK) adj. 1. Neither vertical, nor horizontal, but slanting;
2. indirect rather than to the point; 3. evasive and underhanded
• The hypotenuse of a right triangle is always oblique to both of the
triangle’s legs.
• Despite Joe’s trying to get a direct answer from his supervisor as to
whether his taking vacation time would impair his chances of promotion,
the supervisor’s answers remained oblique.
• The lawyer tried to pin Alice down on how much of the conversation she
had overheard, but she was oblique in most of her responses.
[-ly adv., -ness n.]
obscurity* (ahb SKYUR i tee) n. the condition or quality of being difficult to
perceive, hard to see, not well known, vague, or ambiguous
• Because the soldier had taken care to completely camouflage his position,
despite the enemy’s closeness, his presence remained in obscurity.
• Elvis’s presence at the top of the pop music scene elevated him to the
limelight from near obscurity.
• The obscurity of the wording of the contract made it difficult to determine
what was expected from either party.
[obscurities pl.]
observation (AHB zir VAY shin) n. 1. the following or keeping a law, custom,
principle, etc.; 2. a noticing of something; 3. being seen or noticed; 4. the noting
and recording of facts; 5. a comment or remark

• The observation of the Sabbath was a key part of Allan’s upbringing.
• Helen’s observation of a stranger near her car made her suspicious.
• The burglar kept low to the ground, hoping to elude everyone’s observation.
• Kenny’s observations during the chemical experiment were kept in his
chemistry notebook.
• Rosa noticed the mismatch of Pedro’s socks and could not help making an
observation to him.
[Syn. remark]
167
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obsessiveness (ahb SES iv nis) n. 1. having the nature of being haunted by
something; 2. a being preoccupied by some emotion, thought, desire, etc. in defi-
ance of reason
• His obsessiveness with being right all the time has driven away all his
friends.
• Xavier has pursued excellence in the field of motorsports with an obsessiveness
that can only be described as being driven (no pun intended).
obstacle (AHB stik il) n. anything that gets in the way or hinders; impediment;
obstacle; barrier
• Police barriers are obstacles meant to keep fans back from parades during
festive occasions.
• Lack of a high school diploma or equivalency diploma can be a real
obstacle to getting a college degree.
obstreperous (ahb STRE pir us) adj. noisy, unruly, or boisterous, especially in
one’s opposition to something
• College students at a fraternity party generally turn obstreperous after a
couple of hours.
• The opposition party member was obstreperous in his outcry against the
position of the prime minister.
[Syn. vociferous]

offensive (aw FEN siv) adj. 1. attacking; 2. designating the side that is seeking
to score in a contest; 3. aggressive; 4. unpleasant; disgusting; repugnant
• In the game of chess, white always starts out on the offensive, even though
it doesn’t always remain such.
• In volleyball, the offensive side is the one with the serve.
• Offensive action is needed to clean up toxic waste sites.
• A skunk’s odor is extremely offensive to most.
office (AWF is) n. 1. a function or duty assigned to someone; 2. a post or posi-
tion of trust and/or authority; 3. any government branch; 4. the room, suite, or
building occupied by people in definition #2 or #3
• Seeing to it that packages were shipped out on time was the office assigned
to Stanley.
• It was Hillary’s desire to change things that caused her to run for office.
• The post office sees to the delivery of the mail six days a week and rests on
the seventh.
• The senators’ offices are for the most part, unsurprisingly, in the Senate
Office Building.
[Syn. position, function]
onerous (OH nir is) adj. 1. laborious; burdensome; 2. more burdensome than
rewarding
• The onerous task of cutting wood for the winter is tedious as well as diffi-
cult; that’s what makes it onerous.
• A job that requires a great amount of energy and pays a very small return
is onerous.
• Slave labor is the perfect example of onerous work.
168 Essential Vocabulary
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opponent (uh POH nint) n. a person against one in a fight, argument, debate, etc.
• The navy will carry the fight to our opponent.
• The opponents sat across the chess board from each other.

• Sometimes we must sit down with our opponents and try to work things out.
[Syn. adversary, enemy, foe]
opportunity (AHP oer TOO ni tee or AHP oer TYOO ni tee) n. 1. a good
chance; 2. a set of circumstances favorable to
• Every person deserves an opportunity to succeed.
• Billy is looking for an opportunity for advancement.
• The United States has been called the land of opportunity.
[opportunities pl.]
QUICK REVIEW #59
Match the word from column 2 with the word from column 1 that means most
nearly the same thing.
O: SAT Words 169
1. obdurate
2. oblique
3. obscurity
4. observation
5. obsessiveness
6. obstacle
7. obstreperous
8. offensive
9. office
10. onerous
11. opponent
12. opportunity
a. remark
b. repugnant
c. barrier
d. burdensome
e. vociferous
f. position

g. vagueness
h. preoccupation
i. adversary
j. slanted
k. chance
l. stubborn
oppression* (uh PRESH in) n. 1. a weighing heavily on the mind, spirit, or soul;
worry; troubling; 2. a keeping down by cruel or unjust use of power; 3. a feeling of
being weighed down as with worries or problems
• Oppression can have a paralyzing effect on a person’s ability to act.
• The oppression of slavery was a terrible weight on many Americans prior to
the Civil War.
• The oppression of separate-but-equal educational opportunities that were
inherently unequal was not legally terminated until almost a century after
the Civil War.
[oppressive adj., oppressively adv.]
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optimism (AHP ti mi zm) n. 1. the belief that good triumphs over evil; 2. the
tendency to take the most cheerful point of view or hope for the best possible
outcome
• If you believe that bad will be vanquished and good will win in the end,
then you are a practitioner of optimism.
• Optimism permits one to look at a half empty container of chocolate milk
and see it as half full.
[optimistic adj., optimistically adv.]
orator (AW ruh tir) n. 1. a person who delivers a formal public speech;
2. an eloquent public speaker
• An orator was a person who impressed and swayed his listeners before the
days of telecommunication.
• Cicero was perhaps the orator of greatest fame to emerge from the senate of

ancient Rome.
[oration n.] [Syn. declaimer]
orchard (AWR chird) n. 1. an area of land set aside for the raising of fruit-
bearing trees; 2. such a stand of trees; a grove of fruit trees
• Peach orchards dot the countryside in certain parts of Georgia.
• In New York’s southern Catskill Mountains, it is common to find roads
lined by apple orchards.
orchestra (AWR kes truh) n. 1. the main floor of a theater; 2. a large musical
ensemble, specifically a symphony orchestra; 3. the instruments of definition 2
• As a general rule, the most expensive seats in the theater are the front and
center orchestra seats.
• The United States is fortunate to have at least five world-class symphony
orchestras.
• The instruments of the orchestra are divided into strings, brass, woodwinds,
and percussion.
ordain (awr DAYN) vt. 1. to order; establish; decree; 2. to predestine; predeter-
mine; 3. to invest with the office of a rabbi, minister, or priest
• In 1789, the framers ordained the U.S. Constitution to be the law of the
country.
• Some people believe that the future is ordained, and no matter what we do,
we can’t change it.
• New clergypersons are ordained, usually from among the ranks of the
seminarians.
[-ed, -ing, -ment, ordination n.]
origin (AWR i jin) n. 1. a beginning; a coming into existence; 2. the birth;
lineage; parenthood; 3. that in which something has its root, source, cause, etc.
• The Nile River’s origin is in Lake Victoria.
• The origin of the practical home computer can be traced to Steve Wozniak’s
garage.
• Musical drama with fixed songs and story lines had its origin with the

operas of Giuseppi Verdi.
[Syn. source, inception]
170 Essential Vocabulary
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originality (uh RIJ in AL i tee) n. 1. the quality or condition of never having
occurred before; 2. the ability to be creative or inventive
• The person who wrote “Roses are red, violets are blue, monkeys are hairy,
and so are you” can hardly lay claim to having any originality.
• When it comes to cooking contests, originality in use of seasonings usually
plays a large part in determining the winner.
ornate (awr NAYT) adj. 1. heavily adorned, often to excess; 2. showy or flowery,
as in some musical or literary styles
• Corinthian capitals (column tops) are known for their exceptionally ornate
decoration.
• Paganini was an exceptionally gifted violinist, and some of his composi-
tions are so ornate that nobody else can play them.
orthodox (AWR thuh DAHKS) n. 1. conforming to the established beliefs and
doctrines (as in religion, politics, etc.); 2. designating any of the churches of the
Eastern Orthodox Church
• The orthodox politician makes it a point not to offend any potential voters.
• Admiral Yamamoto’s unorthodox reliance on aircraft carriers was the main
reason for early Japanese successes in World War II.
• The Catholic Church celebrates Easter at a different time from the Orthodox
Church.
[-y* n.] [Ant. unorthodox]
ostensible (ahs TEN sib il) adj. apparent; seeming; professed
• There was an ostensible misunderstanding between the valet parking
attendant and his client.
• An ostensible difference of opinion exists between those voting for one
candidate and those supporting the other.

[ostensibly adv.]
ostentatious* (AHS tin TAY shuhs) adj. showy display of wealth or learning;
pretentious
• The lobby of the Ritz Carlton Hotel can only be described as slightly
ostentatious, as one would expect.
• As a Harvard graduate, Andrew felt it necessary to place his diploma in an
ostentatious frame in his law office.
[-ly adv., ostentation n.]
ostracism (AHS truh sizm) n. barring; banishment; excluding (from the ancient
Greek word ostra, for a shard of pottery)
• In ancient Athens, a man’s name might be written on a broken piece of
pottery, and if enough ostra had his name on it, an ostracism took place;
that is, he was banished.
• Ostracism is a rather cruel form of social punishment.
[ostracize v., ostracized, ostracizing] [Syn. banish]
outcast (OWT kast) n. one cast out; a person or thing rejected by society
• One who has been ostracized is an outcast.
• Persons serving jail time for having committed crimes can be considered
social outcasts.
O: SAT Words 171
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outcome (OWT kuhm) n. result; consequence
• When a coin is tossed, there are two possible outcomes.
• The outcome of a day at the beach is too often a sunburn.
[Syn. effect]
QUICK REVIEW #60
Match the word from column 2 with the word from column 1 that means most
nearly the same thing.
172 Essential Vocabulary
1. oppression

2. optimism
3. orator
4. orchard
5. orchestra
6. ordain
7. origin
8. originality
9. ornate
10. orthodox
11. ostensible
12. ostentatious
13. ostracism
14. outcast
15. outcome
a. decree
b. traditional
c. ensemble
d. creativity
e. source
f. fancy
g. weighing down
h. grove
i. apparent
j. cheerfulness
k. declaimer
l. pretentious
m. banishment
n. result
o. rejected
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P – Q
palette (PAL it) n. 1. a thin board, usually with a thumbhole, on which an artist
mixes paint colors; 2. the colors used by a certain artist for a certain painting or
paintings
• An artist’s palette usually contains only the colors that he is using to make
a particular painting.
• During Picasso’s blue period, his palette was heavily tilted in the direction
of that color.
pallid (PAL id) adj. pale; wan; faint in color
• Margaret had been out of the sun for so long that her face had taken on an
unhealthy, pallid color.
[Syn. pale]
pantomime (PAN tuh MYM) vt. 1. a play or presentation wherein the charac-
ters perform actions and gesticulate, but speak no words; 2. an actor or actress who
performs in this way; 3. actions and gestures without words used as a means of
expression
• It is customary in Japanese Kabuki theater for characters to pantomime
while made up in whiteface.
• In Mel Brooks’s Silent Movie, everyone pantomimed except for the famous
mime Marcel Marceau, who spoke the only word.
• Pantomiming is a way of conveying information to one’s teammates in the
game of charades.
[-d, pantomiming]
paramount (PA ruh mownt) adj. ranking above all others; utmost; chief;
supreme
• A child’s education, both intellectually and socially, is of paramount impor-
tance to society.
• The meaning of what they say is not paramount for the French; rather, it’s
how they pronounce it.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. dominant]

parasite (PA ruh syt) n. 1. one who lives at the expense of others and con-
tributes nothing in return; 2. an organism that lives on or in another, getting nour-
ishment from the host but contributing nothing useful and sometimes causing
harm, for example, a leech
• Sometimes their maternal instincts cause women to take in parasites who
prey upon their better nature.
• Tapeworms are parasites that can live inside a person’s intestines and take
all the nourishment ingested for themselves.
[parasitic adj., parasitically adv.]
173
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parboil (PAR boyl) vt. 1. partially boil to cut down on final cooking time, usually
as a precursor to roasting; 2. to make uncomfortably hot; overheat
• Frozen vegetables are parboiled for a minute or more before freezing—a
process known as blanching.
• Saunas are excellent places for parboiling people.
[-ed, -ing]
parch (PARCH) vi. 1. to expose to great heat; 2. to dry up from heat; make hot
and dry; 3. to make or be very thirsty
• The peppers were parched by their stint on the grate of the charcoal grill.
• Tomatoes are often parched by sun-drying, which both wrinkles them up
and intensifies their flavor.
• After two hours in the boat, Roxane was parched and reached for a bottle of
iced tea.
[-ed, -ing]
parenthetical (PAR in THE ti kl) adj. 1. contained in parentheses; 2. interjected
as explanatory or qualifying information; 3. using or containing parentheses
• The source of the article was parenthetical.
• Hailee was a very talented artist, and the parenthetical inclusion of her age,
five, was just for the viewers’ information.

• Often, as in the last sentence and in this one, parenthetical information is
enclosed between commas.
pariah (puh RY uh) n. 1. an undesirable; one despised and rejected by others;
an outcast; 2. a member of the lowest social caste in India
• The pariahs in India comprise a caste known as “the untouchables.”
• The soldiers returning home from the Vietnam War were treated as pariahs
by much of the American public.
parish (PA rish) n. 1. an administrative district of many churches; 2. the mem-
bers of the congregation of any church; 3. in Louisiana, the equivalent of a county
in any other state
• A British local government’s territory is often identical with the size of the
original church parish.
• On any given Sunday, about half the members of the parish show up for
church.
• In Louisiana, the state is carved into local parishes that are equivalent to
counties in all the other states.
174 Essential Vocabulary
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QUICK REVIEW #61
Match the word from column 2 with the word from column 1 that means most
nearly the same thing.
P – Q: SAT Words 175
1. palette
2. pallid
3. pantomime
4. paramount
5. parasite
6. parboil
7. parch
8. parenthetical

9. pariah
10. parish
a. overheat
b. pale
c. dominant
d. dry
e. gesticulate
f. leech
g. congregation
h. dry
i. interjected
j. colors
partisan* (PAHR ti zin) n. 1. a person who takes one side or the other in a con-
test or dispute; 2. any of a group of guerrilla fighters —adj. 1. like or characteristic
of a partisan; 2. blindly loyal
• In the argument between Stan and Gilda, Fred was a partisan of Gilda.
• Armed partisans have been common over the years in much of Central
America.
• Partisan politics tends to get in the way of Congress ever doing very much.
• No matter what Carolina does, Rocio is partisan and follows her lead.
[Syn. follower]
passive (PAS iv) adj. 1. acted upon without acting back; 2. yielding; submissive;
patient; 3. taking no active part
• When sanding a block of wood, the sander is the active participant, while
the wood is passive.
• Boxing is not a sport for a passive person.
• In pleading not guilty to the charge of robbery, Bonnie insisted that she
had been passive, driving the car but having no idea that a robbery had
even taken place until the police pulled her over.
[-ly adv.]

paternal (puh TER nil) adj. 1. like or typical of a father; fatherly; 2. inherited
from or related on the father’s side
• Willis, the pug, acted paternally toward both kittens.
• Lois had inherited her hairy legs from her paternal side.
• Natalie was a paternal aunt, being a sister of the child’s father.
[-ly adv.]
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pellagra (pil AG ruh) n. a vitamin deficiency disease caused by a lack of ade-
quate supply of Vitamin B
6
, characterized by skin eruptions, gastrointestinal prob-
lems, and mental disorders
• Pellagra is endemic in certain parts of the world.
• Those who consume a lot of protein-rich foods need not be concerned
with contracting pellagra.
penurious (pen YOOR ee uhs) adj. 1. unwilling to part with money; miserly;
stingy; 2. very poor; in poverty
• Mythical King Midas had a well-documented history of being penurious.
• Strangely enough, sharecroppers also have a history of being penurious but
in the second sense of the word.
[-ly adv., -ness n.] [Syn. stingy]
perceive (poer SEEV) vt. 1. to mentally grasp; observe; take note of; 2. to
become aware of through one of the senses
• The ant was able to perceive that when the spider invited her to dinner, she
was the main course.
• By the odor of food and hickory in the air, Raldo perceived that there was a
barbecue nearby.
[-d, perceiving*] [Syn. discern]
perception (poer SEP shin) n. 1. the act of perceiving or the ability to perceive
by means of the senses; 2. insight or intuition or the possession of either of them;

3. the idea, concept, or impression formed as a result of perceiving something
• The nose of the wine gave David the perception of ripe cherries and
blackberries.
• Despite knowing that they were meeting for the first time, Helene could
not shake the perception that she knew him from somewhere.
perceptive (poer SEP tiv) adj. 1. of or capable of perceiving; 2. having sharp
insight or intuition; penetrating
• It was extremely perceptive of Frederika to know who the real murderer was
before completing even half of Agatha Christie’s tale.
• Bruce was perceptive enough to tell from the interview that the position
had already been filled and that the interviewer was just going through the
motions.
[-ly adv.]
perfidy (POER fi dee) n. a deliberate breaking of trust; faithlessness; treachery
• Susan could not belive Jonathan’s perfidy in seeing Daphne behind her
back.
• General Washington could scarcely believe Benedict Arnold’s perfidy in giv-
ing the British the plans to West Point.
[perfidious* adj., perfidiously adv.]
176 Essential Vocabulary
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QUICK REVIEW #62
Match the word from column 2 with the word from column 1 that means most
nearly the same thing.
P – Q: SAT Words 177
1. partisan
2. passive
3. paternal
4. pellagra
5. penurious

6. perceive
7. perception
8. perceptive
9. perfidy
a. intuition
b. submissive
c. discern
d. treachery
e. intuitive
f. follower
g. fatherly
h. miserly
i. illness
performance (poer FAWR mins) n. 1. the act of doing something; accomplish-
ment; execution; fullfillment; 2. effectiveness of operation; 3. some deed or feat
done; 4. a presentation before an audience
• Jack Nicholson has won the Oscar for best performance by an actor on more
than one occasion.
• Running on clean oil improves the performance of your car’s engine.
• The boxer’s manager was pleased with his performance in his last fight.
• Lois and Barney attended last night’s performance of Cats.
perfunctory (poer FUHNK tir ee) adj. 1. done without care; done routinely;
superficial; 2. indifferent; lacking in concern
• The mechanic gave a perfunctory look at the car before telling its owner
that it needed a new muffler.
• When told that she’d need to update her medical insurance coverage,
Greta gave a perfunctory shrug.
[perfunctorily adv., perfunctoriness n.]
periphery (poer IF ir ee) n. 1. the edge; an outside boundary line; the perime-
ter; 2. an outside surface, especially of a spherical object; 3. the immediate sur-

rounding territory; outskirts
• The airport was just at the periphery of the pilot’s field of vision.
• One can usually tell if a basketball is properly inflated by squeezing its
periphery and giving it a bounce.
• The new mall is being built just at the periphery of the most heavily popu-
lated area.
[peripheral adj., peripherally adv.] [Syn. circumference]
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