PSAT 17

repartee: a quick witty reply, spirited conversation

ribald: vulgar or indecent language

salubrious: favorable to health

ruminate: to muse upon

sangfroid: extraordinary composure in the face of danger

saturnine: sullen, gloomy, depressed

sylvan: wooded; forest-like

synergy: the combined force of two distinct elements that is more powerful than each alone

temporize: to compromise, to draw something out in order to gain time

timorous: fearful, easily frightened

usury: lending money at a high interest rate

vacuous: empty, lacking intelligence

veneer: façade, coating, outward appearance

verdant: covered with green plants, leafy

vicarious: acting for another, sharing in an experience of another through the imagination

wont: custom, habit

zephyr: a gentle breeze

aphasia: loss of speech

arrant: notoriously without moderation

claque: an audience paid to clap, an obsequious audience