With the help of reports from Reddit's r/PSAT, I’ve compiled a list of the most common and challenging vocabulary from the October 2025 US PSAT. I've put these into a quiz format for students and parents to challenge themselves. Good luck!

PSAT Vocabulary October 2025 - Round 1 - Warm-up Reading Passage

Instructions: Read this passage carefully before taking your quiz. All 10 vocabulary words from October 2025 PSAT Round 1 appear in context. Pay attention to how each word is used naturally in the story.

The Museum's Dilemma

Dr. Elena Rodriguez stood in the grand hall of the Contemporary Arts Museum, facing a challenge that would juxtapose traditional curatorial practices with modern audience expectations. For decades, the museum had eschewed digital installations and interactive exhibits, maintaining a purist approach to art presentation that emphasized contemplation over engagement. Now, with attendance declining and younger visitors gravitating toward more immersive experiences, the board demanded change.

The museum's aesthetic philosophy had always been unambiguous—pristine white walls, carefully controlled lighting, and minimal distractions from the artwork itself. This approach, while admired by traditionalists, increasingly seemed to engender a sense of alienation among millennial and Gen Z visitors who sought participatory cultural experiences. Elena understood that the institution needed to accommodate both perspectives without compromising its core mission.

Her proposal was deliberately ambiguous in certain aspects, leaving room for interpretation and adaptation as the transformation progressed. She argued that digital technology, rather than detracting from artistic appreciation, could actually enhance it when thoughtfully integrated. Virtual reality stations could allow visitors to step inside paintings, while augmented reality could reveal hidden layers of meaning in sculptures. This approach wouldn't replace traditional displays but would subsume them into a broader, more inclusive curatorial framework.

Critics worried that technology would attenuate the contemplative experience that made museums special—that constant stimulation would preempt the quiet moments of personal discovery that occur when standing alone before a masterpiece. Elena acknowledged these concerns but believed they reflected a false dichotomy. "Technology," she argued in her presentation to the board, "doesn't diminish art's power; it amplifies it for audiences who process information differently than previous generations."

The board's response was measured but supportive. They recognized that the museum's future depended on evolution rather than revolution—a careful balance between honoring artistic tradition and embracing contemporary modes of engagement. Elena's vision didn't seek to transform the museum into a digital playground but rather to create multiple pathways for different visitors to connect with art on their own terms.

As she walked through the galleries that evening, Elena reflected on how cultural institutions must constantly negotiate between preservation and progress. The challenge wasn't to choose one over the other but to find ways for both to coexist, creating spaces where contemplation and interaction, tradition and innovation, could thrive together. The museum's transformation would be neither purely digital nor stubbornly analog but something entirely new—a hybrid model that honored the past while embracing the future.

Vocabulary words practiced: eschewed, ambiguous, aesthetic, accommodate, engenders, subsumes, attenuates, preempts, juxtapose, unambiguous