100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z

At times it was even needful to take out the loads and, wading knee-deep in the ice-cold waters, drag the boats across the many shoals.Greely, Adolphus W.

Emmy Lou getting down from the breakfast table, her still unfinished waffle abandoned for all time now, was dumbfounded.Martin, George Madden

We were again wafted through the air, and were once more moving over the tops of countless houses on the way.Suyematsu, Baron Kencho

Dinner, however, came, and the little waggish doctor could not, for the life of him, avoid his jokes.Carleton, William

Had they not been poor children, little waifs, they would not have been locked in the cabin to perish like rats.Debs, Eugene V.

“Is our house going to be covered in mud forever?” she wailed, tears streaming down her cheeks.New York Times (Sep 11, 2011)

Before Australian authorities would release Watson to the United States, Alabama had to agree to waive the death penalty as a possible punishment, prosecutors said.

The new federal health care law prohibits lowering Medicaid eligibility, and only a few states have received waivers to do so on a limited basis.New York Times (Dec 23, 2011)

It was a crushing blow, but instead of wallowing in depression and giving up on being active, Irish started biking more.Seattle Times (Aug 17, 2011)

Tom was leaning back, pale and exhausted, his breath was short, his face gray, wan and wasted.Wood, Mrs. Henry

Perhaps a trip like this would have satisfied his wanderlust.Ferber, Edna

India’s biggest producer, reported an 89 percent decline in second-quarter group profit because of waning demand and higher raw material costs at its European operations.

You went sick When orders looked unwholesome: then, with trick And lie, you wangled home.Sassoon, Siegfried

A hundred eighty days continuous feast He has oppressed the people of his rule With drunken revels and with wanton waste.Noe, Cotton

Any singer who could warble away at runs and trills was a great artist.Cooke, James Francis

Betty wore amazingly costly clothes, paying for a single dress far more than for her year's wardrobe in Rhode Island.Terhune, Albert Payson

An inmate needs additional evidence of a separate constitutional violation to warrant a federal court’s involvement, the high court ruled.

Such sales to investors typically came with promises, known as representations and warranties, to buy back defective loans.

Their entrances were cunningly contrived to look like rabbit holes, so that strangers might think they led to nothing more than some sandy warren.Gask, Lilian

Many chronic homeless people, however, after years on the street, become wary of shelters and sleeping near others.New York Times (Jan 5, 2012)

The Coles Hill watershed eventually drains into the drinking water supply for coastal cities.New York Times (Dec 1, 2011)

Those among the tribes who had thus far stood neutral, wavering between the French and English, now hesitated no longer.Parkman, Francis

Carols had existed for centuries, though their popularity waxed and waned as different governments and religious movements periodically declared them sinful.

Some of them even waited until I ventured from the house, and waylaid me on the road.Bartlett, Frederick Orin

Substance addiction and wayward behaviour are not unheard of in someone with such a stormy family background.

If the mother becomes pregnant it will be necessary to wean, because pregnancy invariably affects the quality of the milk.Hague, W. Grant (William Grant)

The tired, wearied, exhausted cattle refused to struggle through the snow-mountains any longer.Harper, Charles G. (Charles George)

High welfare costs in an impoverished country also ensure that the government does not have enough funds to spend on primary education and infrastructure.New York Times (May 23, 2012)

Of the nonseafood starters, artichoke hearts were slightly lost in a welter of cherry peppers, cubed eggplant, pine nuts and bits of chèvre.New York Times (Apr 7, 2012)

I thought a night of peace and quietness preferable, although perhaps very unsportsmanlike, and so we wended our way homeward.Various

They would wonder why she was not on the wharf when the boat got in, to meet them.Prichard, Katharine Susannah

Horace knew exactly the right way to wheedle his mother, and very soon persuaded her to allow them to start on their expedition.Dixon, Arthur A.

The wolf must have had several litters of whelps during the six or seven years that the boy was with her.Sleeman, William

How good that dinner did smell to the hungry boys with appetites whetted by exercise in the keen air!Burgess, Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo)

Perhaps he had even got a whiff of the sweet on the spring air, and his nose had told him what was going on.Copeland, Charles

Too many frivolous youngsters were falling in love and eloping on a whim, only to have their marriages end in divorce.New York Times (Jul 11, 2011)

Norway has bragged about her prerogatives without any feeling of responsibility, like an unreasoning whimsical child.Nordlund, Karl

Now, we are exactly what and where we used to be: not a whit wiser nor better, poorer nor prouder.Lever, Charles James

"Too bad your horse fell," he remarked stupidly, gathering up the handful of shavings he had whittled from a piece of pine board.Bower, B. M.

Dalmatia has been possessed wholly or in part by Romans, Goths, Slavs, Hungarians, Turks, Venetians.Hichens, Robert (Robert Smythe)

Univalves are conical and spiraling, with a series of whorls coming down like widening steps from the tiny nucleus on top.Shell Union Oil Corporation

As more women share their experiences, it is clear how widespread domestic violence is, cutting across community, caste and economic lines.New York Times (Mar 27, 2012)

For all a chimpanzee’s impressive arm strength, he said, humans are much better at wielding a hammer to crack open a nut.New York Times (Feb 27, 2012)

It was a plain case of willful, deliberate and premeditated murder.Post, Melville Davisson

"Thank you, my kind friend;" and the wily villain continued his deceiving tale, with an eloquence we will not trouble ourselves to repeat.Aguilar, Grace

His fingers buried themselves in Meredith’s shoulder, till the pale face winced with pain.Goodchild, George

House prices doubled in the golden decade but that unearned windfall for the lucky generation went untaxed.

Mr. Thompson winnowed out the chaff from the heap, and has given us the golden grain in this volume.Upton, George P. (George Putnam)

She was an awkward-looking girl about fourteen, all arms and elbows, but with a rather winsome face lighted by big, serious eyes.Halsey, Rena I.

He was a little dark man, with a very big forehead, thin, wispy hair, and sad, large eyes.Lawrence, D. H. (David Herbert)

She watched the firelight dancing on Al's sombre face, softening its hardness, making it almost wistful when he gazed thoughtfully into the coals.Bower, B. M.

While deeply absorbed in sad reflection, Dorothy stole to his side and, looking up, wistfully, in his face, said: “Dear papa, isn’t mama here, either?”Rice, Alfred Ernest

So saying, the duke, as if charmed with his own wit, burst into a loud and long peal of laughter.Sue, Eugène

As most shops and businesses stayed closed in Cairo, people rushed to withdraw money from bank cash machines.

Starting in the early 20th century, another key factor in diagnosing addiction was the occurrence of physical withdrawal symptoms upon quitting the substance in question.New York Times (Jun 5, 2012)

But they were worried that their son, whose sister was eight years younger, was too solitary and withdrawn.

While summer withered some crops, a hillside dip or rock outcropping might shelter just enough moisture for other plants to survive.

My old, withered, dry eyes are full of tears yet.Herndon, William H.

David A. Paterson, arguing that his decision to unilaterally withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in scheduled payments to school districts violated New York’s Constitution.New York Times (Dec 17, 2009)

Winter is coming and the scramble is on to amass enough warm sleeping bags and clothing so that the occupiers could withstand below freezing temperatures.

Wah! they were like a flock of sheep, witless, huddling together, springing this way and that without any sense.Strang, Herbert

We laughed amazingly at your epigrammatic witticisms; your reputation is already established here.Various

"I accept the augury," cried Frederick, laughing heartily at the witty misapplication of the phrase, and resumed his seat once more.Lever, Charles James

When it came to word wizardry, he had Billy Sunday, master of slang and argot of one language, skinned by miles.London, Jack

Old Harry grinned, crinkling up his wizened face in a mass of fine wrinkles.Garrett, Randall

Big businesses that have gone bankrupt: Facing scandal, shrinking profits or other woes, these big-name firms have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in recent months.Washington Post (May 14, 2012)

Looking at his work now, though, it strikes me that what he actually did, more often than not, was make the commonplace wondrous and beautiful.

In the queen’s time he was wont to go out of town every Saturday at ten o’clock, or on holiday eves.Hindley, Charles

Not far away were all their worldly possessions, a rusty stove, two cots, bedding and a box of cooking pans.Wirt, Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine)

R. R. is dead, thank God, and her unhappy wraith will haunt your path no more.Caine, Hall, Sir

Their women are quarrelsome, and wrangle over payment when selling their wares.Russell, R. V. (Robert Vane)

“ Wrath” differs from “anger” in so far as it may be called anger boiling over.Maclaren, Alexander

Giant solar storms can wreak havoc on satellites and power grids.New York Times (Mar 8, 2012)

The housewife watched him as he gave the nut a final twist with his wrench and stood up.Knight, David C.

The crazed strikers fought without weapons, except such as they could wrest from the soldiers.Stocking, Charles Francis

She says, “No.” “Do have pity—I am so wretched; it is only a little favour I ask of you.”Webster, Wentworth

When it had been finished, everyone was, in spite of slickers and gas suits, so drenched that water could be wrung out of every garment.Kilner, Frederic R.

The court publicly decided against the writs but secretly issued them.Judson, L. Carroll

His writhing, squirming twists would have made a circus contortionist gasp.Standish, Burt L.

Forging and Welding.—The process of pressing or hammering wrought iron when at a red or white heat into any desired shape is called forging.Low, David Allan

Matthew and Jonathan were trying to outwit each other, while Andrew, the oldest, looked on with a wry smile meant to trump all sarcasm.New York Times (Jul 14, 2010)

Some fear a return of the xenophobia that led to violent attacks on foreigners two years ago.New York Times (Jul 11, 2010)

What I wanted to bring to your distinguished notice is this—that you must not behave like a yahoo in my mathematical set.Hay, Ian

Now and then there is an extreme individualist who yearns to go through life absolutely unmolested, single file.Warner, Frances Lester

Each generation of foxes grew more approachable, many showing doglike yearning for human contact.Slate (Mar 13, 2012)

While faintly heard from somewhere outside there was the yelping, barking, howling whine of a dog.Fenn, George Manville

In the last decade, most major coinages have been faked, including British pounds, Russian rubles, Indian rupees, Japanese yen, and Canadian dollars.Slate (Feb 27, 2012)

On one extreme was the well-to-do yeoman farmer farming his own land.Reilly, S. A.

Cotton and coffee are both indigenous, the former yielding two crops per year.Alden, John B.

The reason was that it had been found unwise and unwholesome to mix up or yoke together believers and unbelievers.*Pierson, Arthur T. (Arthur Tappan)

Now, poor people, yokels, clods, cannot love what is incomprehensible to them.Meredith, George

“ Yonder,” said he, pointing to some distance down the river.Borrow, George Henry

Yore, long ago; generally used in the expression "of yore," formerly, once upon a time.Turner, Winifred

Style: Pleasantly earnest overall; on occasion displayed his goofy and zany side.

While many states, particularly in the West, have nonrestrictive gun laws, Arizona’s zeal for weapons has often made headlines.New York Times (Jan 9, 2011)

Finally having conquered his irritable bowel syndrome, he worked out like a zealot all winter, adding about 17 pounds of solid muscle.Seattle Times (Feb 29, 2012)

"You are so willing and zealous; but for that very reason I must guard against your enthusiasm carrying you too far."Madison, Lucy Foster

Zenith, the point in the celestial sphere directly overhead.Warren, Henry White

Nor I. On the contrary, all the allusions to the winds are of the gentler kind,—"balmy Zephyrs," "whispering breezes" and so forth.Pope, Alexander

So I pursued my studies with zest and unabated enthusiasm.Farrar, Geraldine