PSAT Words
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367 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 abet | encourage; aid |
| abeyance | suspended action |
| abscond | depart secretly to avoid capture |
| acrimony | bitterness of words/manner |
| acumen | mental keenness |
| adjudicate | pass legal judgment on; sit in judgment |
| alacrity | cheerful promptness |
| allude | refer indirectly (n. allusion) |
| altercation | noisy quarrel; heated dispute |
| ambivalence | having contradictory/conflicting emotional attitudes |
| ambulatory | able to walk; not bedridden |
| amenable | readily managed; willing to give in; agreeable; submissive |
| ancillary | serving as an aid of accessory; auxiliary |
| antecedent | preceding events that influence what comes later; ancestors/early background |
| antipathy vs. apathy | aversion/dislike vs. lack of caring/indifference |
| apocryphal | untrue, made up |
| apostate | one who abandons his religious faith or political beliefs |
| append | attach (n. appendix) |
| archipelago | group of closely located islands |
| ascendancy | controlling influence |
| assiduous | diligent |
| attrtion | gradual decrease in numbers; reduction in work force w/o firing employees; wearing away of opposition by means of harassment |
| balk | foil/thwart; stop short; refuse to go on |
| bastion | stronghold; seen as source of protection |
| belie | contradict; give a false impression of |
| blandishment | flattery |
| blithe | gay; joyous; carefree |
| boon | blessing; benefit |
| brittle | easily broken; difficult (personality) |
| bungle | mismanage; blunder |
| burgeon | bloom; develop rapidly; flourish |
| candor | frankness; open honesty |
| cant | insincere, hypocritical speech; "pious" talk; jargon of thieves |
| carping | finding fault |
| caste | hereditary class in Hindu society; social stratification; prestige |
| censor vs. censure | inspector overseeing public morals or preventing publication of offensive material vs. blame; criticize |
| chafe vs. chaff | warm by rubbing; make sore by rubbing vs. husks and stems left from grain threshed; worthless by-products |
| charlatan | quack; pretender to knowledge |
| chary | cautious; sparing/restrained about giving |
| chauvinist | blindly devoted patriot |
| chicanery | trickery; deception |
| circumscribe | limit; confine |
| circumspect | prudent; cautious |
| cite | quote; refer to; commend |
| clemency | disposition to be lenient; mildness (weather) |
| coalesce | combine; fuse |
| collusion | conspiring in a fraudulent scheme |
| concerted | mutually agreed on; done together |
| condone | overlook voluntarily; forgive |
| console | lessen sadness/disappointment; comfort |
| contagion | infection |
| contention | claim; thesis |
| contrite | penitent |
| countenance (v.) | approve; tolerate |
| crass | very unrefined; grossly insensible |
| credibility vs. credulity | believability vs. belief on slight evidence/gullibility/naivete |
| cull | pick out; reject |
| cursory | casual; hastily done |
| curtail | shorten; reduce |
| decorous | proper (n. decorum) |
| decry | express strong disapproval of; disparage |
| defeatist | attitude of one who is ready to accept defeat as a natural outcome |
| defrock | strip a priest or minister of church authority |
| deign | condescend; stoop |
| delineate | portray/depict/sketch |
| demean | degrade; humiliate |
| demur | object (b/c of doubts or scruples); hesitate |
| deprecate vs. depreciate | express disapproval of; protest against vs. lessen in value |
| derelict | abandoned; negligent |
| derision | ridicule; mockery (v. deride) |
| derivative | unoriginal; derived from another source |
| desultory | aimless; haphazard; digressing at random |
| devious | roundabout; erratic; not straightforward |
| diffuse | wordy; rambling; spread out (like gas) |
| dilettante | aimless follower of the arts; amateur |
| diminutive | small in size |
| disclaimer | denial of legal claim/right; disavowal |
| discount (v.) | discredit; reduce in price |
| disparage | belittle |
| disparate | basically different; unrelated (n. disparity) |
| dispatch (n.) | speediness; prompt execution; message sent with all due speed |
| disputatious | argumentative |
| dissemble | disguise; pretend |
| dissent | disagree (adj. dissident) |
| dissipate | squander; waste; scatter |
| docile | obedient |
| dogmatic | opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal |
| draconian | extremely severe |
| dross | waste matter |
| duplicity | double-dealing; hypocrisy |
| effervescence | inner excitement; bubbling from fermentation/carbonation |
| egregious | notorious; gross; shocking |
| elucidate | explain; enlighten |
| empirical | based on experience |
| enterprising | ready to undertake ambitious projects |
| equivocal | ambiguous; intentionally misleading |
| eschew | avoid |
| eventuality | possible occurence |
| exculpate | clear from blame |
| exonerate | acquit; exculpate |
| expunge | wipe out; remove; destroy |
| fastidious | difficult to please; squeamish |
| feint | trick; shift; sham blow |
| ferment (n.) | agitation; commotion |
| fester | provoke keen irritation/resentment |
| fetid | having a foul, disgusting odor |
| fiasco | total failure |
| flout | reject; mock |
| foible | weakness; slight fault |
| forestall | prevent by taking action in advance |
| franchise | right granted by authority; right to vote; business licensed to sell product in particular territory |
| galvanize | stimulate by shock; stir up; revitalize |
| gratuitous | given freely; uncalled for |
| harangue | noisy speech |
| heresy | opinion contrary to popular belief or to accepted religion |
| hermetic | sealed by fusion to be airtight |
| hypocritical | pretending to be virtuous; deceiving (n. hypocrite) |
| iconoclastic | attacking cherished traditions |
| illusory | deceptive; not real |
| imbibe | drink in |
| imbue | permeate completely; dye thoroughly; fill |
| immutable | unchangeable |
| impecunious | without money |
| impel | drive or force onward |
| impertinent | insolent; rude |
| importune | beg persistently |
| incipient | beginning; in an early stage |
| incorrigible | uncorrectable |
| indelible | not able to be erased |
| indomitable | unconquerable; unyielding |
| ineffable | unutterable; unable to be expressed in speech |
| ingenious vs. ingenuous | clever; resourceful vs. naive and trusting; young; unsophisticated |
| insidious | treacherous; stealthy; sly |
| insipid | lacking in flavor; dull |
| insolvent | bankrupt; lacking money to pay |
| instigate | urge; start; provoke |
| insurgent | rebellious |
| intransigence | refusal of any compromise; stubbornness |
| invective | abuse |
| irascible | easily angered |
| itinerant | wandering; traveling |
| jaunty | lighthearted; animated; easy/carefree |
| abut | border (land) |
| unequivocal vs. pedestrian | unambiguous vs. dull |
| idiomatic | natural to native speaker; appropriate to particular style (art/music) |
| intrepid | fearless, adventurous |
| ardor | enthusiasm, passion |
| frenetic | fast/energetic in wild/uncontrolled way |
| perfunctory | with minimum effort/reflection |
| fortuitous | accidental |
| jocose vs. jocular | given to joking vs. said/done in jest |
| laconic | brief and to the point |
| laggard | slow; sluggish |
| lampoon | ridicule |
| languid | weary; feeble; listless; apathetic |
| listless | lacking energy/enthusiasm |
| larceny | theft |
| latent | potential but undeveloped; dormant; hidden |
| leaven | cause to rise or grow lighter; mix in something that transforms, alleviates, or enlivens |
| lethargic | drowsy; dull |
| lilliputian | extremely small |
| loath vs. loathe | reluctant; disinclined (adj) vs. detest (v) |
| lucid | easily understood; clear; intelligible |
| lucrative vs. ludicrous | profitable vs. ridiculous |
| lugubrious | mournful; funereal |
| maelstrom | whirlpool |
| manifest (adj) | evident; visible; obvious |
| marshal (v) | put in order |
| martinet | strict disciplinarian |
| maverick | rebel; nonconformist |
| mawkish | mush and gushy; sentimental; maudlin |
| maudlin | self-pitying or tearfully sentimental (drunk) |
| mealymouthed | indirect in speech; hypocritical; evasive |
| mellifluous | sweetly/smoothly flowing; melodious |
| mercantile vs. mercenary | concerning trade vs. interested in money/gain |
| mercurial | capricious; changing; fickle |
| ministration | act of giving care; attending to sb's needs |
| misrepresent | give false impression (intentionally) |
| mitigate | appease; moderate |
| mode | prevailing style; manner; way of doing something |
| mollify | soothe |
| moratorium | suspension of activity; authorized delay (e.g. of payment) |
| mutability | ability to change in form; fickleness (immutable) |
| myriad | very large number |
| neologism | newly coined word or phrase |
| neophyte | recent convert; beginner |
| nonchalance | indifference; lack of concern; composure |
| nondescript | undistinctive; ordinary |
| nonentity | person/thing of no importance; nonexistence |
| notable vs. notorious | conspicuous; important; distinguished vs. disreputably; widely known; scandalous |
| obdurate | stubborn |
| obfuscate | confuse; muddle; make unclear |
| oblique | indirect; slanting |
| obtrude | push forward/intrude; butt in; stick out/extrude |
| officious | meddlesome; excessively pushing in offering one's services |
| opprobrium | public disgrace/reproach; vilification |
| overt | open to view |
| pallid | pale; wan |
| panacea | cure-all; remedy for all diseases |
| partisan | one-sided; committed to a party |
| pastoral | rural; simple/peaceful; idyllic; relating to shepherds |
| patronize (3) | support; act superior toward; be a customer of |
| paucity | lack |
| pedantic | showing off learning; bookish |
| pedestrian | ordinary; unimaginative |
| perdition | damnation; complete ruin |
| peremptory vs. perfunctory | demanding and leaving no choice vs. superficial/not thorough; lacking interest/care/enthusiasm |
| perjury vs. plagiarism | false testimony while under oath vs. stealing another's ideas |
| permutation | transformation; rearrangement of elements |
| pernicious | very destructive |
| perpetrate | commit an offense |
| peruse | read with care |
| phlegmatic | not easily excited; calm; sluggish |
| pique (v) | provoke/arouse; annoy |
| pique (n) | irritation; resentment |
| platitude | trite remark |
| pluck (n) | courage |
| polemical | aggressive in verbal attack (debate) |
| ponderous | weighty/unwieldy |
| portend | foretell |
| potentate | monarch; sovereign |
| prate vs. prattle | speak foolishly; boast idly vs. babble |
| precarious | uncertain; riskly |
| precipitate (adj) vs. precipitous | rash; premature; abrupt; hasty vs. steep; overhasty |
| preclude | make impossible; eliminate |
| predetermine | influence markedly; settle beforehand |
| predilection | partiality; preference |
| preempt | head off; forestall by acting first; appropriate for oneself; supplant |
| prelate | church dignitary |
| profligate | dissipated; wasteful; wildly immoral |
| progenitor | ancestor |
| prominent vs. promontory | notable vs. high point of land jutting out into body of water |
| promulgate | proclaim doctrine/law |
| protract | prolong |
| protuberance | bulge |
| provident | displaying foresight; thrifty; preparing for emergencies |
| provisional | tentative |
| prudent | cautious; careful |
| puerile | childish |
| pulverize | crush into dust |
| punctilious | laying stress of manners; perhaps too attentive to fine points |
| purveyor | furnisher of foodstuffs; caterer |
| qaulified (2) | limited; restricted |
| quandary | dilemma |
| quarry (n) | victim; object of hunt |
| quarry (v) | dig into |
| quell | extinguish; quiet |
| quiver (n) | case for arrows |
| quixotic | idealistic but impractical |
| rally | call up; revive/recuperate |
| ramble | wander aimlessly (physically/mentally) |
| rampant | growing unrestrained |
| rancor | bitterness; deep-seated hatred |
| rarefied | made less dense (of gas) |
| raucous | harsh and shrill; disorderly |
| reacitonary | recoiling from progress; politically ultraconservative |
| rebuff | snub beat back |
| recalcitrant | obstinately stubborn |
| recant | disclaim or disavow; openly confess error |
| rectify vs. rectitude | set right vs. uprightness; moral virtue |
| recumbent | reclining |
| regress | move backward to more primitive state |
| rejoinder | retort |
| rejuvenate | make young again |
| relegate | lower in position |
| remiss | negligent |
| remonstrance | protest (remonstrate v) |
| remunerative | lucrative |
| renegade | deserter; traitor |
| rent (n) | rip |
| reprove | censure |
| repudiate | disavow; disown |
| rescind | cancel |
| restive | restlessly impatient; obstinately resisting control |
| resumption | taking up again; recommencement |
| retroactive | taking effect before enactment (law) |
| rift | opening made by splitting; break in friendship |
| rigor | severity |
| rue | regret; mourn |
| saccharine | cloyingly sweet |
| salutary | tending to improve; wholesome |
| savant | learned scholar |
| schism | division; split |
| sequester | isolate; segregate; seclude |
| shyster | lawyer using questionable methods |
| regale | entertain/amuse with talk |
| sinuous | winding, bending in and out; not morally honest (serpent) |
| skulk | move secretly |
| slag | residue from smelting metal; waste |
| slapdash | haphazard; sloppy; careless |
| sodden | soaked, dull, as if from drink |
| sordid | vile; filthy; wretched; mean |
| spat | squabble, minor dispute |
| specious | seemingly reasonable but incorrect; misleading (often intentionally) |
| spurious | false; counterfeit; illogical |
| staid | sober; sedate |
| static | unchanging; n. stasis |
| stem (v) | check the flow |
| stodgy | stuffy; boringly conservative |
| stolid | unruffled; impassive; dull |
| strident | loud and harsh; insistent |
| stupefy | make numb; stun/amaze; n. stupefaction |
| subsequent vs. simultaneous | following vs. at same time |
| subsidiary | something secondary/subordinate; auxiliary |
| superfluous vs. supercilious | excessive/unnecessary vs. acting superior to others |
| supple | flexible; pliant |
| surfeit | satiate; stuff; indulge to excess |
| susceptible | impressionable; easily influenced; receptive to; vulnerable to (disease) |
| taciturn | habitually silent |
| tantalize | tease; torture with disappointment |
| tarry | delay; dawdle |
| temper | moderate; tone down/restrain; toughen (steel) |
| temperament | frame of mind/disposition; emotional excess |
| tenet | doctrine; dogma |
| terse | concise; abrupt; pithy |
| tiff | minor quarrel; fit of annoyance |
| tiller | handle used to move boat's rudder (to steer) |
| tirade | extended scolding; harangue |
| toady | servile flatterer; yes man |
| torpor | lethargy; sluggishness |
| tractable | docile; easily managed |
| traduce | slander; malign |
| transparent | easily detected; not opaque |
| trenchant | cutting; keen (e.g. wit) |
| truism | self-evident truth |
| turbid | muddy; having the sediment distrubed |
| turgid | swollen; distended |
| undermine vs. underscore | weaken/sap vs. emphasize |
| unequivocal | plain; obvious |
| ungainly | awkward; clumsy; unwieldy |
| unseemly vs. unsightly | unbecoming/indecent/in poor taste vs. ugly |
| upbraid | reprimand |
| upright | honest; erect/perpendicular |
| uproarious | marked by commotion/noise; extremely funny |
| urbane | suave; refined/elegant |
| vacillate | waver; fluctuate |
| vacuous | empty; stupid |
| vanguard | advance guard of military force; forefront of movement |
| vantage | position giving an advantage |
| verisimilitude | appearance of truth; likelihood |
| vicissitude | change of fortune |
| vindictive | out for revenge; malicious |
| virulent | extremely poisonous; hostile; bitter |
| vise | tool for holding work in place |
| volatile | changeaBLE; EXPLOSIVE; evaporating rapidly |
| wallow | roll in; indulge in become helpless |
| wanderlust | strong longing to go off traveling |
| wanton | unrestrained; willfully malicious; unchaste |
| wayward | ungovernable; contrary |
| wheedle | cajole; coax; flatter to deceive |
| whet | sharpen; stimulate |
| willfull | intentional; headstrong |
| wile | trick intended to deceive; strategem |
| winnow | sift; separate good from bad |
| wretch | miserable/vile, despicable person |
| wry | twisted; with a humorous twist |
| zephyr | gentle breeze; west wind |
| zenith vs. apex | highest point |
| nadir | lowest point (opp. of zenith) |
| candor | frankness |
| coalesce | combine |
| didactic vs. dogmatic | intended to teach (esp. moral) vs. laying down ideas as incontrovertibly true |
| espouse | adopt/support |
| garrulous | talkative, esp. on trivialities |
| ingenious vs. ingenuous | clever/inventive vs. innocent/unsuspecting |
| languid | slow/relaxed; lazy |
| pedantic | excessively concerned with minor details or displaying academic learning |
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