PSAT #1 2013- Group 3

Question 1

Rarefied

After studying daily for her SAT test, her scores became rarefied to what they were previously.

Answer 1

adj
extremely high or elevated, lofty; of or belonging to an exclusive group, select
F: ultrararefied (adj)
unrarefied (adj)

Question 2

Stagnate

After being diagnosed with lung cancer, the athlete’s dream of becoming an olympic runner was stagnated.

Answer 2

v
to stop growing, advancing, or progressing; to be or become slugglish or dull
F: stagnation (n)
stagnatory (adj)

Question 3

immaterial

Despite the athlete’s poor performance in the sporting event, it was immaterial as all her teammates had stellar performances.

Answer 3

adj
unimportant or irrelevant 
F: immaterially (adv)
immaterialness (n)
(im-=before)

Question 4

Scintillating

The broadway show, supposed to appeal to young children, had many different characters scintillatingly dancing across the stage.

Answer 4

adj
animated, lively, bubbling, witty
F:scintillatingly (adv)
scintillant (adj)

Question 5

anachronism

To honor Steve Jobs with the invention of the cotton gin is an anachronism.

Answer 5

n
someone or something that is not in its correct historical or chronological time or the exact error in chronology
F: anachronically (adv)
(ana-=up, against, or back; chrono-= time

Question 6

equivocate

When the magical elf was asked if he knew the secret to see the queen, he only equivocated.

Answer 6

v
using deliberately ambiguous expressions to mislead
F:equivocation (n)
equivocator (n)
equivocatingly (adv)
S:evade, stall, dodge

Question 7

decry

After the candidate lost the presidential election, he decried the winner attempting to change the public opinion.

Answer 7

v
to speak disparagingly of (belittling, depreciating), denounce as faulty or worthless
F: decrier (n)

Question 8

disarray

After learning the last unit of the course in a single class, the students left the room in disarray at the end of the block.

Answer 8

v
to put out of array or order; undress
n
disorder, confusion
(dis-=apart, away)

Question 9

Prodigious

After discovering the cure to cancer, the lab received a prodigious grant to continue their extraordinary research.

Answer 9

adj
extraordinary in size, amount, extent, or degree; wonderful or marvelous
F: prodigiously (adv)
prodigiousness (n)

Question 10

idiosyncrasy

Once the girl’s fidgeting with her knee started to annoy her family, they made her away of the idiosyncrasy they wished to terminate.

Answer 10

n
characteristic, mannerism, or habit that is peculiar to an individual
F:idiosyncratic (adj)
(idios-=own, personal, private

Question 11

execrate

The Greenwich field hockey team execrated the Darien field hockey team after Greenwich was defeated 10-0 in their first game of the season.

Answer 11

v
to utterly detest, abominate, abhor
F: execrable (n)
execrably (adv)
execrableness (n)
(ex-=out of, from)

Question 12

temporal

Playing field hockey was only a temporal joy for the athlete with her experience ending when she tore her ACL.

Answer 12

adj
of or pertaining to time; relating to present time; temporary
F:temporally (adv)
temporalness (n)

Question 13

chaste

The employee and her boss continued chaste conversations although co-workers suspected they were in a relationship.

Answer 13

adj
refraining from sexual intercourse; free from obsenities
(caste-=clean, pure)

Question 14

licentious

A teenager’s parent’s desire is to keep any licentious individuals out of contact with their children.

Answer 14

adj
sexually unrestrained; lascivious
F: licentiousness (n)
licentiously (adve

Question 15

imperious

The citizens execrated the imperious leader who exercised dictatorial rule over the citizens.

Answer 15

adj
ruling despotically, dictatorial, overbearing; urgent
F: imperiously (adv)
imperiousness (n)

Question 16

caustic

Although she scored poorly on her midterm exam, he was hurt by his mother’s caustic comments.

Answer 16

adj
capable of destroying, burning, or corroding human tissue; severely critical or sarcastic
F: caustically or casticaly (adv)
causticity or causticness (n)

Question 17

indignation

Despite the girl’s enthusiastic attempt to hide her true feelings, her indignation with the new school rules was unignorable.

Answer 17

n
strong displeasure with something considered unjust, offensive, or insulting
F: indignant (adj)
indignantly (adv)
(dignus-=worthy, -ion= noun)

Question 18

hamper

The fence surrounding the field hampered the dogs and little children from escaping.

Answer 18

v
to hold back, hinder, or impede
F: hamperdly (adv)
hamperedness (n)
S: obstruct, encumber, trammel

Question 19

obfuscate

The extra information given to the students regarding their math project obfuscated their understanding.

Answer 19

v
to confuse, bewilder, or stupefy; to make unclear or obscure
F: obfuscation (n)
obfuscatory (adj)
S: muddle, perplex
(ob-= to, towards, over, against; obfuscare= to darken)

Question 20

edify

One should always seek to edify their peers through teaching them lessons learned through mistakes made.

Answer 20

v
to instruct or improve someone mentally or intellectually
F: edifier (n)
edifying (adj)
edifyingly (adv)
(edificare= to construct, facare=to make)

Question 21

narcissism

His narcissistic nature made it difficult for him to find a life partner whom he fully appreciated.

Answer 21

n
excessive self-love, vanity
F: narcissist or narcist (n)
narcissistic or narcistic (adj)
S:egocentricism

Question 22

itinerant

The circus was a itinerant group which traveled every few days to a new location to put on a magnificent show.

Answer 22

adj
traveling from place to place, especially on a circuit
n
a person who alternates between working and wandering
F: itinerantly (adv)
(iter-=canal or passage)

Question 23

pundit

The pundit was fast to ofter her critic even though those individuals being judged were already confident in their technique.

Answer 23

n
a learned person, expert, or authority; critic or commentator
F: punditic (adj)
pundically (adv)

Question 24

terse

The teachers terse description of the project left her students flummoxed with the details.

Answer 24

adj
neatly or effectively concise in language
S: succinct, concise
(tergere= clean, polish)

Question 25

slovenly

The teenage girls slovenly emptied her suitcase from vacation all over her bedroom floor.

Answer 25

adj
untidy or unclean in appearance
adv
in an untidy or careless manner
F: slovenliness (n)
Related: sloven (n) someone who is negligent of cleanliness 
S: slatternly