Vocabulary

It's time for twelve new vocabulary words that American students are actually expected to know (all taken from McGraw Hill's 400 Essential SAT Words).  Challenge yourself!  See if you can learn some of these words and use them in a conversation or in an essay!

ephemeral (Adj.)  Not real or authentic for any length of time; fleeting
The thrill of tearing down a hill on a sled is ephemeral because soon you have to get off the sled and climb to the top of the hill again.

erroneous (Adj. N: erroneousness  Adv: erroneously)  Mistaken or untrue
Erroneous information led the police force to pursue the wrong subject.

evanescent (Adj.  N: evanescence  V: evanesce)  Vanishing or likely to vanish; without much substance
One's dreams are often evanescent, because, soon after waking, most people forget the details.

fallacy (N.  Adj: fallacious)  (1) a false notion; (2) a rhetorical flaw in an argument; (3) an untruth.
(1) It is a fallacy to think black cats bring bad luck.
(2) There was such a glaring fallacy in the lawyer's argument that it was no surprise that he lost the case.
(3) Some pessimists believe that true love is a fallacy; it just doesn't exist.

fantasy (N.  Adj: fantastic, fantastical  V: fantasize)  A creation of the imagination; an imagined event; a dream
Tolkien is the author who introduced the reading public to a genre of fiction known as fantasy novels.

fleeting (Adj.  Adv: fleetingly)  Passing quickly; ephemeral
We caught a fleeting glimpse of the squirrel as it scampered away from the bird feeder.


hallucination (N.  Adj:  hallucinatory  V:  hallucinate)  (1) A false or mistaken idea; a delusion; (2) A multisensory experience with no external stimulus, often drug-induced
(1) After my grandfather's death, my grandmother experienced some strong hallucinations in which her late husband talked to her.
(2) While coming out of the anesthetic after my surgery, I kept having very strange hallucinations.

illusion (N.  Adj: illusionary)  An erroneous perception of reality; a fantastical plan.
Chaltu had a strong illusion about the possibility of someone following her.

imaginative (Adj)  Havine a lively, creative mind; creating fantastic dreams
imaginary (Adj.  Adv: imaginatively V: imagine)  Not real, from the imagination
It is not unusual for a child, especially an only child, to be very imaginative and to create an imaginary friend.

imprecise (Adj.  N: imprecision  Adv: imprecisely)  Not precise; not exact or sure
Since Mallory's answer was rather imprecise, Matthew's response sounded intelligent and specific by comparison.


inaccurate (Adj.  N: inaccuracy. Adv: inaccurately)  Mistaken or incorrect; not accurate.
Abraham stood by his beliefs and principles whether they were inaccuarate or exact.


mirage (N)  (1) soemthing that is illusory or insubstantial; (2) an optical phenomenon that creates the illusion of water.
(1) Thomas always visualized the mirage of a six-figure income.
(2) A typical mirage is a green and lush oasis in the middle of the desert.