PSAT Vocab Set #1

#1 out of 16

Ameliorate

v. to improve; make or become better

Approbation

n. approval; sanction

Avarice

n. greed for wealth

Depravity

n. state of behaving as if morally unsound or corrupt

Effrontery

n. impudent boldness; audacity

Embroider

v. to embellish (a narrative)

Euphonious (euphony)

adj. agreeable sound, esp. in the phonetic quality of words

Fathom

v. to determine the depth of; sound; to understand

Indigence

n. state of lacking the means of subsistence; impoverishment; quality of being needy

Nadir

n. a point on the celestial sphere diametrically opposite the zenith; the lowest point

Obsequious

adj. full of servile compliance, fawning

Perfunctory

adj. done or acting routinely with little interest or care

Repast

n. a meal or the food eaten or provided at a meal

Sequester

v. to remove or set apart; to withdraw into seclusion

Sycophant

(kiss up) n. one who tries to win favor or advance self by flattering persons of influence

Ubiquitous

adj. being or seeming to be everywhere at the same time

Zenith

n. point on a celestial sphere directly above the observer; any culmination or high point