PSAT

264 flashcards · Other · by Malai Mottamalai

1. Exhilarating

   adj. invigorating, stimulating, or exciting The music playing at the club was catchy and exhilarating.

2. Exert

   v. to put into use (usu. as effort) Don’t exert all of your energy at once.

3. Excel

   v. to do something extremely well or to be superior in She was a well-rounded student but excelled especially in science.

4. Exacerbate

   v. to make worse or increase the severity of The doctor told me not to run as it can exacerbate my knee injury.

5. Evoke

   v. to draw forth or call up Horror movies are great at evoking fear.

6. Establish

   v. to enact They established a law that made it illegal to drive after drinking any amount of alcohol.

7. Erratic

   adj. having no fixed course; deviating from the norm The car became erratic after slipping on ice.

8. v. to admire and be jealous of She envies her coworker's social skills.

9. Envy

   n. excessive jealousy His envy of her is quite obvious.

10. Enumerate

    v. to specify or count I can’t enumerate how many times I’ve had to remind my students when their papers are due.

11. Entrenched

    adj. firmly established Her face will forever be entrenched in my memory.

12. Entail

    v. to involve or include A doctoral program entails long nights and a heavy workload.

13. Endure

    v. to withstand, sustain, or hold out against I can’t endure this wait any longer. Will Stanford accept or reject me?

14. Endow

    v. to equip or bestow (usu. a quality or ability) According to the myth, the gods endowed him with the gift of healing.

15. Empirical

    adj. derived from experience, observation, or an experiment You need empirical evidence to support your claim.

16. Emphatic

    adj. very expressive; using emphasis Her emphatic smile told me she was excited to ride the roller coaster.

17. Emit

    v. to discharge, give forth, or release Plants consume carbon dioxide and emit oxygen.

18. Eminent

    adj. superior or distinguished; high in position or status Our town made news when the eminent magician came to perform at our local theater.

19. Eloquent

    adj. having refined or expressive communication skills (in speaking or writing) His speech was not only eloquent but also extremely compelling.

20. Egregious

    adj. extremely bad After cheating on the exam, Emily began to feel as though she’d made an egregious mistake.

21. Eccentric

    adj. peculiar or odd; deviating from the norm She’s a little eccentric but still fun to be around.

22. Dubious

    adj. doubtful, questionable The man’s claims to the throne were dubious since nobody knew where he’d come from.

23. Dreary

    adj. sad, gloomy, dull The gray clouds in the sky made the day feel dreary.

24. Dominion

    n. power and authority (usu. over a territory) The country claimed to have dominion over parts of Russia.

25. Doctrine

    n. a principle, theory, or position, usu. advocated by a religion or gov’t Devoutly religious people often live their lives according to their doctrines.

26. Diversification

    n. the act of becoming diverse Lately, there’s been noticeable diversification of students at higher institutions.

27. Dispatch

    v. to send off a message or messenger The mother dispatched her daughter to their neighbor’s house.

28. Disparage

    v. to belittle or speak down to A good boss is stern but never disparages his or her employees.

29. Dismay

    n. hopelessness, stress, or consternation To Nick’s dismay, he got an F on the test.

30. Disdain

    n. a lack of respect and strong dislike (toward something or someone) He looked at me with such disdain that I immediately knew the job wouldn’t work out.

31. Discord

    n. disagreement Disputes over money caused intense discord in the family.

32. Dire

    adj. hopeless and dangerous or fearful When the police didn’t explain what was happening right away, Jane knew that the situation must be dire.

33. Diminish

    v. to become smaller in scope or degree The itchiness of mosquito bites usually starts to diminish after a few days.

34. Diligence

    n. conscientiousness; the quality of being committed to a task Diligence and confidence will get you far in life.

35. Dilemma

    n. a problem, usually requiring a choice between two options The main dilemma is whether to pay for a commercial or not.

36. Devise

    v. to come up with (a plan) Lana devised a plan to make herself famous.

37. Desolate

    adj. bare, barren, empty The moon is one giant, desolate landscape.

38. Deplete

    v. to (over)use over time (usu. resources) The lost campers quickly depleted their supply of food.

39. Demur

    v. to object to She demurred at my request to transfer to a different department.

40. Demonstrate

    v. to do as an example Could you demonstrate the dance move for me?

41. Deficient

    adj. not enough in degree or amount I feel as though the sources for my paper are deficient.

42. Deference

    n. respect; regard Her deference to the elderly makes her the perfect candidate for an internship at the retirement center.

43. Decree

    v. to declare formally and with authority The president decreed that Halloween would henceforth be a national holiday.

44. Cultivate

    v. to foster the growth of Teachers don’t just pass on new information to students—they cultivate their academic potential.

45. Culmination

    n. the final act or climax The culmination of the performance was unforgettable.

46. Counterproductive

    adj. hindering the achievement of a goal Bill’s idea to take a shortcut was ultimately counterproductive: it took us twice as long to get to the train station.

47. Counterargument

    n. an argument used to criticize or dismantle another argument Make sure to include a counterargument in your essay so that you can show you’ve considered the topic from all perspectives.

48. Counteract

    v. to work in opposition to This ingredient seems to counteract the other ones.

49. Corroborate

    v. to provide evidence for; to back up (a claim) The note signed by her father corroborates her claim that she was absent from class that day.

50. Conviction

    n. a firm belief in something Her religious convictions prevent her from eating meat.

51. Convey

    v. to pass on or transfer (information) I have trouble conveying my thoughts in French.

52. Conventional

    adj. abiding by accepted standards She lives a conventional life in the suburbs.

53. Controversial

    adj. highly debatable and causing contention Millions of viewers watched the controversial debate take place.

54. Contradict

    v. to be in contrast with The camera footage contradicts his alibi.

55. Contend

    v. to maintain or assert (an opinion) The president contends that the US government will not negotiate with terrorists.

56. Contemplate

    v. to think deeply about She contemplated telling her teacher about the cheating student.

57. Constitute

    v. to form or compose (part of) something The desire for equality constituted the civil rights movement.

58. Consensus

    n. overall agreement After weeks of debating, the panel finally came to a consensus.

59. Confine

    v. to put limits on; to restrict We are going to confine the use of this drinking fountain.

60. Confide

    v. to share something secretive with someone She confided all of her biggest secrets in her best friend.

61. Conduct

    v. to control or manage The group conducted their research abroad last year.

62. Conducive

    adj. able to bring about or be suitable for The noisy students hardly made the campus library conducive to studying.

63. Condone

    v. to overlook, approve, or allow She couldn't condone her daughter's rebellious behavior.

64. Conceive

    v. to imagine or come up with The plan to build the city was originally conceived in the early 1900s.

65. v. to admit to a transgression Dan conceded to pranking his sister.

66. Concede

    v. to be forced to agree or surrender With no chance of winning the battle, the army at last conceded.

67. Complement

    v. to make perfect or complete This wine perfectly complements this platter of gourmet cheese.

68. Complacent

    adj. satisfied, with no desire to change or improve Though he had never won any awards or even been published, he was complacent with his life as a poet.

69. Competent

    adj. sufficiently qualified We need to hire a competent web developer to create a good website for our company.

70. Comparable

    adj. able to be compared This novel is comparable to Huckleberry Finn.

71. Commission

    n. the use of payment to request something (e.g., a service or product) This painting was commissioned by a rich merchant in 1589.

72. Coincide

    v. to happen at the same time It wasn’t until after I booked my ticket that I realized the concert coincided with my finals.

73. Coarse

    adj. indicating a rough texture The horse’s mane was coarse, as if it had never been washed.

74. Clout

    n. special advantage or power Children of rich and famous people often believe they have a lot of clout.

75. Clinical

    adj. emotionally unattached (usu. used in medical or scientific setting) Her clinical approach to situations allows her to handle them more effectively.

76. Civic

    adj. relating to the city or citizens Voting is a civic duty.

77. Capture

    v. to trap or take possession of The spy was captured by the enemy. "v. to successfully represent or imitate Your painting beautifully captures the ephemerality of life." "v. to captivate, mesmerize I was captured by her beauty." "v. to catch or seize The cops captured the criminal three days after the incident."

78. Capitalize

    v. to use to your advantage I’d like to capitalize on your math skills by having your work the cash register.

79. Candor

    n. the trait of being honest and frank I admire her candor, especially when nobody else bothers to speak up.

80. Candid

    adj. direct, blunt Josh is candid about his desire to become an actor.

81. Brevity

    n. the quality of being brief or terse The brevity of their time together made it all the more romantic.

82. Bolster

    v. to support, strengthen, or fortify If we work together, we should be able to lift and then bolster the couch.

83. Bittersweet

    adj. tinged with a feeling of sadness The ending of the romance movie was bittersweet.

84. Bias

    n. a preconception that prevents objectivity It’s important to avoid bias when investigating a crime.

85. Benevolent

    adj. kind, generous Many cultures believe in benevolent spirits.

86. Bear

    v. to have as a characteristic She bears a strong resemblance to your mother. "v. to have (a child) Judy will bear her first child later this year." "v. to bring forth My garden is going to bear pumpkins this year." "v. to put up with I can’t bear her complaining any longer!"

87. Basic

    adj. relating to the foundation or basis of something You have to start with basic Russian before you can move on to the advanced level.

88. Avid

    adj. actively interested in or enthusiastic about something Gerald is an avid soccer fan.

89. Avenue

    n. an intangible path or approach to something The company has decided to pursue other avenues.

90. Authenticity

    n. the quality of being real and true instead of fake and contrived The police officer doubted the authenticity of the suspect’s story.

91. Austere

    adj. extremely plain He lived in a small, austere cabin in the middle of the woods. "adj. stern and forbidding My boss had an austere expression on her face." "adj. relating to self-denial An austere lifestyle, like that of monks, isn’t for everybody."

92. Assertion

    n. a strong declaration His assertion that sharks are mammals made everyone laugh.

93. Artificial

    adj. something made; not occurring naturally Many candies use artificial flavors to make them taste fruity.

94. Articulate

    v. to clearly express in words She articulated her opinion on the price of the house.

95. Apprehension

    n. fearful expectation of something Her apprehension to leave her house resulted in her missing the train.

96. Apex

    n. the highest point of something The spring play was the apex of our school year.

97. Antipathy

    n. a strong feeling of dislike Her antipathy toward the professor was obvious: she rolled her eyes whenever he entered the classroom.

98. Anticipate

    v. assume to be likely to happen The party was just as fun as I had anticipated it would be.

99. Anomaly

    n. something different from the norm This result is an anomaly and very rarely happens.

100. Annihilate

     v. to destroy or cause devastating destruction The dictator sent orders to annihilate the group of rebels.