PSAT List 4
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- Abrasive (adj)
- Just as abrasive cleaning powers can wear away a shiny finish, abrasive remarks can wear away a listener’s patience. Rubbing away, tending to grind down
- Ambiguous (adj)
- The proctor’s ambiguous instructions thoroughly confused us; we didn’t know which columns we should mark and which we should leave blank.Unclear or doubtful in meaning.
- Cajole (v)
- Diane tried to cajole her father into letting her drive the family car.Coax; wheedle,
- Concede (v)
- Despite all the evidence Monica had assembled, mark refused to concede that she was right.Admit, yield
- Degrade (v)
- Some secretaries object to fetching the boss a cup of coffee because they feel it degrades them to do such lowly tasks.Lower in rank or dignity, debase.
- Discrimination (adj)
- A superb interpreter of Picasso, she was sufficiently discriminating to judge the most complex works of modern art.Able to see differences; prejudiced
- Diverse (adj)
- The professor suggested diverse ways of approaching the assignment and recommended that we choose one of them.Differing in some characteristics, various
- Epic (n)
- Kurosawa’s film Seven Samurai is an epic that portrays the struggle of seven warriors to destroy a band of robbers.Long heroic poem, or similar work of art.
- Execute (v)
- The choreographer wanted to see how well Margaret could execute a pirouette.Put into effect, carry out.
- Fluctuate (v)
- The water pressure in our shower fluctuates wildly; you start rinsing yourself off with a trickle, and two minutes later, you think you’re going to drown.Waver, shift
- Genre (n)
- Both a short story writer and a poet, Langston Hughes proved himself equally skilled in either genre.Particular variety of art or literature.
- Impassive (adj)
- Refusing to let the enemy see how deeply shaken he was by his capture, the prisoner kept his face impassive.Without feeling, imperturbable, stoical
- Infamous (adj)
- Charles Manson and the Jeffrey Dahmer are both infamous killersNotoriously bad.
- Kindle (adj)
- Her teacher’s praise kindled a spark of hope inside Maya.To start a fire, inspire
- Misnomer (n)
- His tyrannical conduct proved to us all that his nickname, King Eric the Just, was a misnomer.Wrong name, incorrect designation.
- Oblivious (adj)
- Deep in her book, Nancy was oblivious to the noisy squabbles of her brother and his friends.Inattentive or unmindful, wholly absorbed
- Paradox (n)
- Richard presents a bit of paradox, for e is a card-carrying member of both the National Rifle Association and the relatively pacifist American Civil Liberties Union.Something apparently contradictory in nature; statement that looks false but is actually correct.
- Pervasive (adj)
- Despite airing them from several hours, Martha could not rid her clothes of the pervasive odor of mothballs that clung to them.
- Predator (n)
- Not just cats, but a wide variety of predators—owls, hawks, weasels, and foxes—catch mice for dinner. A carnivore is by definition predatory, for it preys on weaker creatures.Creature that seizes and devours another animal; person who robs or exploits other.
- Prologue (n)
- In the prologue to Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare introduces the audience to the feud between the Montagues and the Capulet.Introduction
- Renounce (v)
- Joan of Arc refused to renounce her testimony even though she knows she would be burned at the stake as a witch.Forswear, repudiate, abandon, discontinue.
- Sedentary (adj)
- Disliking the effect of her sedentary occupation on her figure, Stacy decided to work put at the gym every other day.Requiring sitting
- Subtlety (n)
- Never obvious, she expressed herself with such subtlety that her remarks went right over the heads of most of her audience.Perceptiveness, ingenuity, delicacy.
- Tedious (adj)
- The repetitious nature of work on the assembly line made Martin’s job very tedious.Boring, tiring.
- Venerate (v)
- In Tivet today, the common people still venerate their traditional spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.Revere
- Acquiesce (v)
- When we asked her to participate in the play, she immediately acquiesced. Assent, agree without protesting
- Animosity (n)
- By advocating cuts in campaign spending and limits in congressional powers, the reform candidate almost seemed to invite the animosity of the part’s leaders.Active enmity
- Chronicle (v)
- The gossip columnist was paid to chronicle the latest escapades of socially prominent celebritiesReport; record in chronological order
- Converge (v)
- African-American men from all over the United States converged on Washington to take part in the historical Million Man march.Approach, tend to meet, com together.
- Digression (n)
- Nobody minded when Professor Renoir’s lectures wandered away from their official theme; his digressions were always more fascinating than the topic of the day.Wandering away from the subject
- Dispassionate (adj)
- Known in the company for his cool judgment, Bill could impartially examine the causes of problem, giving a dispassionate analysis of what had gone wrong, and ho on to suggest how to correct the mess.Calm, impartial
- Emulate (v)
- In a brief essay, described a person you admire, someone whose virtues you would like to emulate.Imitate, rival
- Esteem (v)
- Though I reject Ezra Pound’s politics, I esteem him for his superb poetry and his acute literary criticismRespect, value, judge.
- Fallacious (adj)
- Paradoxically, fallacious reasoning does not always yield erroneous results: even though your logic may be faulty, the answer you get may nevertheless be correct.False, misleading
- Frivolous (adj)
- Though Nancy enjoyed Bill’s frivolous, lighthearted companionship, she sometimes wondered whether he could ever be serious.Lacking in seriousness; self indulgently carefree, relatively unimportant.
- Gregarious (adj)
- Typically, partygoers are gregarious; hermits are not.Sociable.
- Incentive (n)
- Mike’s strong desire to outshine his big sister was all the incentive he needed to do well in school.Spur, motive
- Injurious (adj)
- Smoking cigarettes can be injurious to your health.harmful
- Medley (n)
- The band played a medley of Gershwin tunes.Mixture
- Mutability (n)
- Going from rages to riches, and then back to rags again, the bankrupt financier was a victim of the mutability of fortune.Ability to change in form, fickleness
- Optimist (n)
- The pessimist says the glass is half-empty; the optimist says it is half-full.Person who looks on the good side.
- Pedantic (adj)
- Leavening his decisions with humorous, down-to-earth anecdotes, Judge Wapner was a pleasant contrast to the typical pedantic legal scholar.Showing off learning; bookish
- Placate (v)
- The store manager tried to placate the angry customer, offering to replace the damaged merchandise or to five back her money right away. Pacify, conciliate.
- Procrastinate (v)
- Looking at four years of receipts and checks he still had to sort through, Bob was truly sorry he had procrastinated for so long and not finished filing his taxes long ago.Postpone, delay or put off
- Prudent (v)
- I miser hoards money not because he is prudent but because he is greedy.Cautious, careful
- Sanctuary (n)
- The tiny attic was Helen’s sanctuary to which she fled when she had to get away from the rest of her family.Refuge, shelter, shrine, holy place.
- Spontaneity (n)
- When Betty and Amy met, Amy impulsively hugged her room-mate-to-be, but Better drew back, unprepared for such spontaneity. Lack of premeditation, naturalness
- Susceptible (adj)
- Said the patent medicine man to the extremely susceptible customer: “Buy this new miracle drug, and you will no longer be susceptible to the common cold.â€Impressionable, easily influenced, having little resistance
- Turmoil (n)
- Lydia running off with a soldier! Mother fainting at the news! The Bennet household was in turmoil.Great commotion and confusion.
- Volatile (adj)
- The political climate today is extremely volatile: no one can predict what the electorate will do next. Maria Callas’s temper was extremely volatile: the only thing you could predict was that she was sure to play up. Acetone is an extremely volatile liquid: it evaporates instantly.Changeable; explosive; evaporation rapidly.