PSAT List 1
Terms
undefined, object
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- Accolade (n)
- In the world of public relations, a “Clio†is the highest accolade and advertising campaign can receive.
- Aloof (adj)
- His classmates thought James was a snob because, instead of joining in their conversations, he remained silent and aloof.
- Austerity (n)
- The bishops charged with conduction the heresy inquiry where a solemn, somewhat forbidding group; their demeanor reflected their austerity.
- Charlatan (n)
- When they realized that the Wizard didn’t know how to get them back to Kansas, Dorothy and her companions were indignant that they’d been duped by a charlatan.
- Cursory (adj)
- Because a cursory examination of the ruins indicates that possibility of arson, we believe the insurance agency should have deeper investigation of the fire’s cause.
- Deprecate (v)
- A firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy, Miss Post deprecated the modern tendency to address new acquaintances by their first names.
- Distant (adj)
- His distant greeting made me feel unwelcome from the start.
- Esoteric (adj)
- New Yorkers short stories often include esoteric allusion to obscure people and events: if you are in the in-crowd, you’ll get the reference; if you come from Cleveland, you won’t.
- Facile (adj)
- Words came easily to Jason: he was a facile speaker and prided himself on being ready to make a speech at a moment’s notice.
- Founder (v)
- After hitting the submerged iceberg, the Titanic started taking in water rapidly and soon foundered.
- Hindrance (n)
- Stalled cars along the highway present a hindrance to traffic that tow trucks should remove without delay.
- Inaugurate (v)
- The airline decided to inaugurate its new route to the Far East with a special reduced fare offer.
- Indiscriminate (adj)
- Disapproving of her son’s indiscriminate television viewing, Shirley decided to restrict him to watching educational programs.
- Inimical (adj)
- I’ve always been friendly to Martha. Why is she so inimical to me?
- Judicious (adj)
- At a key moment in his life, Tom mad a judicious investment that was the foundation of his later wealth.
- Mundane (adj)
- Uninterested in philosophical or spiritual discussions, Tom talked only for mundane matters such as the daily weather forecast or the latest basketball results.
- Opaque (adj)
- The opaque window shade kept the sunlight out of the room
- Passive (adj)
- Mahatma Gandhi urged his followers to pursue a program of passive resistance rather than resorting to violence and acts of terrorism.
- Pomposity (n)
- Although the commencement speaker had some good things to say, we had to laugh at his pomposity and general air of parading his own dignity.
- Proliferation (n)
- Times of economic hardship inevitably encourage the proliferation of countless get-rich-quick schemes.
- Remorse (n)
- The murderer felt no remorse for his crime.
- Sage (n)
- Hearing tales of a mysterious Master of All Knowledge who lived in the fills of Tibet, Sandy was possessed with a burning desire to consult the legendary sage.
- Static (adj)
- Nothing had changed at home; life was static.
- Tirade (n)
- The cigar smoker went into a bitter tirade denouncing the anti-smoking forces that had succeeded in banning smoking from most planes and restaurants
- Usurp (v)
- The revolution ended when the victorious rebel general succeeded in his attempt to usurp the throne
- Adversary (n)
- The young wrestler struggled to over come his adversary.
- Apprehension (n)
- The tourist refused to drive his rental car through downtown Miami because he felt some apprehension that he might be carjacked.
- Benevolent (adj)
- Mr. Fezziwig was a benevolent employer who wished to make Christmas merrier for young Scrooge and his other employees.
- Confound (v)
- No mystery could confound Sherlock Holmes for long.
- Defiance (n)
- When john reached the “terrible two’s,†he responded to every parental request with howls of defiance.
- Discredit (v)
- The campaign was highly negative in tone; each candidate tried to discredit the others.
- Enumerate (v)
- Huck hung his head in shame as Miss Watson enumerated his many flaws.
- Exacting (adj)
- Cleaning the ceiling of the Sistine chapel was an exacting task, one that demanded extremely meticulous care on the part of the restorers.
- Flippant (adj)
- When Mark told Mona he loved her, she dismissed his earnest declaration with a flippant “Oh, you say that to all the girls!â€
- Gravity (n)
- We could tell we were in serious trouble from the gravity of the principle’s expression.
- Iconoclast (n)
- A born iconoclast, Jean Fenet deliberately set out to shock conventional theatergoers with his radical plays.
- Incoherent (adj)
- The bereaved father sobbed and stammered, his words becoming almost incoherent in his grief.
- Inert (adj)
- “Get up, you lazybones,†Tina cried to Tony, who lay in bed inert.
- Intervene (v)
- Rachel tried to intervene the quarrel between her two sons.
- Magnanimous (adj)
- Philanthropists by definition are magnanimous; misers, by definition, are not.
- Oblivion (n)
- After a brief period of popularity, Hurston’s works fell into oblivion; no one pothered to reprint them or even to read them any more.
- Paltry (adj)
- One hundred dollars for a genuine imitation Rolex watch! Lady, this is a paltry sum to pay for such a high-class piece of jewelry.
- Perpetuate (v)
- Some critics attack The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because they believe Twain’s book perpetuates a false image of African-Americans in this country.
- Preclude (v)
- The fact that the band was already booked to play in Hollywood, precluded their accepting the gig in London they were offered
- Quiescent (adj)
- After the great eruption, fear of Mount Etna was great’ people did not return to cultivate its rich hillside lands until the volcano had been quiescent for a full two years
- Reticent (adj)
- Fearing his competitors might get advance word about his plans from talkative staff members, Hughes preferred reticent employees to loquacious ones.
- Skeptical (adj)
- I am skeptical about the new health plan; I want some proof that it can work.
- Substantial (adj)
- The scholarship represented a substantial sum of money
- Trivial (adj)
- Too many magazines ignore newsworthy subjects and feature trivial affairs.
- Virtuoso (n)
- The child prodigy Yehudi Menuhin grew into a virtuoso whose violin performance trilled millions.