SAT Vocabulary Level 3 — Set 125

Set 125 of SAT Vocabulary Level 3 covers 5 words: apostate, pathos, bombast, maelstrom, retrenchment. Each entry below includes its definition, an example sentence, and synonyms — practice them with the interactive cards above.

1. apostate · noun/əˈpɑːsteɪt/

   a person who renounces a religious or political belief or principle

   The community viewed him as an apostate after he publicly rejected the tenets of his faith.

   Synonyms: renegade, traitor, defector

   Origin: from the late Latin 'apostata', meaning 'deserter, runaway', which in turn comes from the Greek 'ἀποστάτης' (apostatēs), meaning 'deserter'.

2. pathos · noun/ˈpeɪθoʊs/

   a quality that evokes pity or sadness

   The film's pathos is what made it so deeply moving, leaving the audience in tears over the main character's struggles.

   Synonyms: sorrow, pity, sadness

   Origin: The word 'pathos' originates from the Greek word 'πάθος' (pathos), meaning 'suffering' or 'experience'.

3. bombast · noun/ˈbɑːm.bæst/

   language that is overly showy or inflated but lacks real meaning

   The politician's speech was filled with bombast, promising change but providing no real solutions to the issues at hand.

   Synonyms: grandiloquence, rhetoric, pomposity

   Origin: The word 'bombast' originated from the Middle French 'bombace' which referred to cotton, derived from the Latin 'bombax' and the Greek 'bombax', ultimately meaning 'cotton, padding', reflective of the inflated nature of the language.

4. maelstrom · noun/ˈmeɪlstrəm/

   a powerful whirlpool in the sea or a situation characterized by confused movement or violent turmoil

   The ship was caught in the maelstrom of fierce waves, struggling against the powerful whirlpool as it threatened to pull them under.

   Synonyms: whirlpool, vortex, turmoil

   Origin: The word 'maelstrom' originates from the Dutch 'maelstrom', which means 'grind stream'; it combines ' malen' meaning 'to grind' and ' stroom' meaning 'stream'. The term entered English usage in the early 17th century, primarily referring to the dangerous waters of a specific whirlpool in Norway.

5. retrenchment · noun/rɪˈtrɛnʧ·mənt/

   the reduction of costs or spending in response to economic difficulty

   The company announced a retrenchment of its operational budget to survive the financial crisis.

   Synonyms: cutback, reduction, downsizing

   Origin: derived from the French word 'retrenchér' meaning to cut back or reduce, originating from the Old French 're-' (back) and 'trencher' (to cut)