English PSAT vocabulary

abbreviate

shorten, abridge

abstinence

act of refraining from

adulation

high praise

adversity

misfortune

aesthetic

pertaining to beauty

amicable

agreeable

anachronistic

out of date

anecdote

short account of events

anonymous

nameless

antagonist

opponent

arid

extremely dry

assiduous

hard workign

asylum

sanctuary

benevolent

friendly, helpful

camaraderie

trust among friends

censure

to criticize harshly

circuitous

indirect, roundabout

clairvoyant

able to see the future

callaborate

to work together

compassion

sympathy, mercy

compromise

to settle differences

condescending

patronizing

conditional

provisional, contingent

conformist

follower of customs

congregation

crowd of people

convergence

joining of parts

deleterious

harmful

demagogue

rabble rousing leader

digression

straying from main point

diligent

hard-working

discredit

dishonor, disgrace

disdain

to regard with scorn

divergent

variant, moving apart

empathy

sharing of feelings

emulate

follow an example

enervating

tiring, weakening

enhance

improve, augment

ephemeral

momentary, fleeting

evanescent

short-lived, as an image

exasperation

irritation, frustration

exemplary

outstanding

extenuating

guilt diminishing

florid

flushed, ornate

fortuitous

lucky

frugal

thrifty

hackneyed

overused, cliched

haughty

arrogant, condescending

hedonist

pleasure seeker

Hypothesis

theory requiring proof

impetuous

rash, impulsive

impute

to attribute to someone

incompatible

unable to work together

inconsequential

trivial

inevitable

unavoidable, certain

integrity

honesty, decency

intrepid

fearless, adventurous

intuitive

instinctive, untaught

jubilation

joy, exultation

lobbyist

persuader of legislators

longevity

long life

mundane

ordinary, commonplace

nonchalant

calm, casual

novice

beginner

opulent

wealthy

orator

speaker

ostentatious

displaying wealth

parched

dried up

perfidious

disloyal

precocious

talented beyond one's age

pretentious

pompous, self-important

procrastinate

to delay unnecessarily

prosaic

run-of-the-mill

prosperity

wealth, success

provocative

inflammatory

prudent

wise, careful, cautious

querulous

irritable

rancorous

hateful

reclusive

withdrawn, hermit-like

reconciliation

agreement after a quarrel

renovation

state of being renewed

resilient

quick to recover

restrained

controlled, restricted

reverence

profound respect

sagacity

wisdom

scrutinize

to observe carefully

spontaneity

impulsive action

spurious

phony, false

submissive

meek

substantiate

to verify, confirm

subtle

elusive, sly, ambiguous

superficial

lacking in depth

superfluous

more than enough

suppress

to end an activity

surreptitious

secret, stealthy

tactful

diplomatic, polite

tenacious

persistent, resolute

transient

temporary, fleeting

venerable

respectable due to age

vindicate

to clear from blame

wary

watchful, alert