PSAT Vocabulary Flashcards
Conjecture
Inference; guesswork
Candid
Completely honest, straightforward
Didactic
Instructive
Euphemism
A mild, indirect, or vague term substituting for a harsh, blunt, or offensive term
Extrapolate
To infer or estimate by extending or projecting known information
Incoherent
Lacking cohesion or connection
Insinuate
To introduce or communicate steathily
Lucid
Easily understood; clear
Rhetoric
The art of using language effectively and persuasively
Acumen
Quickness, accuracy, and keenness of judgement or insight
Adroit
Dexterous; deft
Ascertain
To find out, as through investigation or experimentation
Astute
Shrewd; clever
Circumspect
Careful; prudent; discreet
Disseminate
To scatter widely, as in sowing seed
Erudition
Deep, extensive learning
Husbandry
The application of scientific principles to agriculture, especially to animal breeding
Pedantic
Excessively concerned with book learning and formal rules
Perspicacious
Shrewd; clear-sighted
Pragmatic
Practical
Precocious
Exhibiting unusually early intellectual aptitude or maturity
Prospectus
Formal proposal
Rudimentary
Basic; elementary; in the earliest stages of development
Abstruse
Difficult to understand
Callous
Emotionally hardened; unfeeling
Convoluted
Intricate; complex
Enigma
A puzzle, mystery, or riddle
Inscrutable
Difficult to fathom or understand; impenetrable
Reticent
Inclined to keep silent; reserved
Staid
Unemotional; serious
Arcane
Known or understood by only a few
Assimilate
To absorb or become absorbed; to make or become similar
Autonomy
Independence; self-determination
Cosmopolitan
Worldly; widely sophisticated
Derivative
Something that comes from another source
Entourage
A group of attendants or associates; a retinue
Esoteric
Intended for or understood by only a small group
Gaffe
A clumsy social error; a faux pas
Idiosyncrasy
Characteristic peculiar to an individual or group
Insular
Isolated; narrow or provincial
Orthodox
Adhering to the traditional and established, especially in religion
Potentate
One who has the power and position to rule over others; monarch
Castigate
To scold, rebuke, or harshly criticize
Censure
To issue official blame
Denounce
To condemn openly
Reclusive
Seeking or preferring seclusion or isolation
Relinquish
To retire from; give up or abandon
Renounce
To give up (a title, for example), especially by formal announcement
Vituperative
Marked by harshly abusive condemnation
Circumscribe
To draw a circle around; to restrict
Contiguous
Sharing an edge or boundary; touching
Conciliatory
Appeasing; soothing; showing willingness to reconcile
Credible
Capable of being believed; plausible
Exonerate
To free from blame
Incontrovertible
Indisputable; not open to question
Indict
To officially charge with wrongdoing or a crime
Litigious
Prone to engage in lawsuits
Parity
Equality, as in amount, status, or value (antonym: disparity)
Partisan
Devoted to or biased in support of a party, group, or cause
Rectitude
Moral uprightness; righteousness
Remiss
Lax in attending to duty; negligent
Repudiate
To reject the validity or authority of
Sanctimonious
Feigning piety or righteousness
Scrupulous
Principled, having a strong sense of right and wrong; conscientious and exacting
Solicitous
Concerned
Sophistry
Plausible but misleading or fallacious argument
Substantiate
To support with proof or evidence; verify
Veracity
Adherence to the truth; truthfulness
Vindicate
To free from blame
Cajole
To urge with repeated appeals, teasing, or flattery
Chicanery
Trickery
Obsequious
Fawning and servile
Sycophant
Insincere, obsequious flatter