ACT Prep Vocabulary

1. ACT Prep Vocabulary Gage, Keeler, and Wexler

2. 1 • Abeyance : She petitioned the king to terminate the abeyance in her favor. • Cajole: You can easily cajole a small child with candies or toys. • Beacon: At regular intervals we could see the flashing beacons on the ground that showed us the way to the border. • Delineate: Like most terms applied to jazz music, hard bop does not define a precisely delineated genre. • Eclectic: This double issue has a somewhat eclectic mix of articles on a range of different topics.

3. Definitions • Abeyance: temporary suspension • Cajole: to coax with flattery and insincere talk • Beacon: any light for warning or guiding • Delineate: to describe: to depict in words • Eclectic: selecting from various systems, doctrines, or sources

4. 2 • Fallacious: Fallacious reasoning needs to be exposed and rebutted. • Gamut: The film contains footage of the whole gamut of royal navy ships of the time. • Jaunty: The song is slightly out of place, but quite jaunty and cheeky; it only lasts for 1:27, so it doesn't grate.

5. Definitions • Fallacious: misleading or deceptive • Gamut: the entire range or extent of anything • Jaunty: carefree; perky

6. 3 • Lament: His amiable personality acquired him a large circle of friends, who deeply lament his death. • Malfeasance: The malfeasance he committed was proven true by the court. • Noisome: Mrs. Meyer’s classroom was noisome after a class period with 28 boys after they had been to PE.

7. Definitions • Lament: to mourn or grieve • Malfeasance: wrongdoing or misconduct • Noisome: having a bad odor; foul-smelling

8. 4 • Occult: He who studies the occult, studies all the deepest mysteries of existence and nature. • Peccadillo: I was very ashamed of this little peccadillo of mine; I didn’t mean to lie to my teacher. • Historicity: For these three reasons, the accuracy of the burial story supports the historicity of the empty tomb.

9. Occult: secret; mysterious • Peccadillo: minor or petty sin; slight fault • Historicity: authenticity

10. 5 • Querulous: Her querulous tone suggested her dismay with the assignment. • Reciprocate: He frequently came in contact with his employer and entertained for him strong friendship and deep respect, which was fully reciprocated by his boss. • Servile: Though he is not servile or mercenary, he is the victim of poverty.

11. Definitions • Querulous: full of complaint; peevish • Reciprocate: to cause to move alternately back and forth • Servile: humbly yielding or submissive; of a slave or slaves

12. Tenet: Peter Abelard leads his teacher to the verge of a nervous breakdown with his philosophical tenets. • Volatile: Sadly the modern game has higher stakes than the past which in turn has made the game more volatile • Idiosyncrasy: The hunter proved interesting company talking about the idiosyncrasies of canyon life.

13. Tenet: principle, doctrine, or believe held as truth • Volatile: flying or able to fly • Idiosyncrasy: personal peculiarity or mannerism

14. 7. sentences • Augment—He augmented his summer income by painting houses. • Petulant—The toddler was moody and petulant after they had to leave the park. • Rescind—The government eventually rescinded the directive.

15. definitions • Augment—enlarge or increase; grow or intensify • Petulant—easily irritated or annoyed • Rescind—annul by recalling

16. 8. sentences • Taciturn—Normally taciturn, Mr. Roberts was unexpectedly chatty yesterday. • Succinct—Use short, succinct sentences when writing articles. • Urbane—He was a gentlemanly and urbane host at dinner parties.

17. definitions • Taciturn—disinclined to talk or speak • Succinct—briefly giving the gist of something • Urbane—polite and refined

18. 9. sentences • Grandiose—The governor proposed a grandiose plan to update all interstates in just ten years. • Furtive—He cast a furtive glance in our direction. • Perfunctory--The violinist delivered a perfunctory performance that displayed none of the passion and warmth he was once known for.

19. definitions • Grandiose—impressive because of unnecessary largeness or grandeur • Furtive—marked by quiet and cautious secrecy • Perfunctory—hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough

20. 10. sentences • Cupidity--Reports of great treasure in the Indies inflamed the cupidity of Columbus's crew. • Erudite—He attended an erudite lecture on the latest discoveries in astronomy. • Laud—He was an actor who in his lifetime received all the laud that the theater world could bestow.

21. Definitions • Cupidity—greed and strong desire for wealth • Erudite—well read or esteemed for knowledge • Laud—praise or high approval

22. 11 Abrasive (adj.) – His mother was disturbed by his rude and abrasive behavior. Capricious (adj.) – Her capricious moods are difficult to predict. Genial (adj.) – The woman has such a genial disposition that people love to be around her.

23. Definitions Abrasive (adj.) – harsh, causing irritation, rough Capricious (adj.) – changing suddenly; fickle Genial (adj.) – cordial; pleasantly warm

24. 12 • Jargon (n.) – The report from Wall Street was filled with confusing business jargon. • Rectify (v.) – The woman has donated $10,000 to the school gymnasium to rectify for recent damages. • Pallor (n.) – The strange skin disease left the man with a sickly pallor.

25. Definitions • Jargon (n.) – language used by a special group that is often confusing • Rectify (v.) – to set right; correct • Pallor (n.) – Extreme paleness in the face

26. 13 • Impermeable (adj.) – Boats are sealed with an impermeable substance to keep water out. • Knoll (n.) – The deer stood upon the knoll and looked at the valley below. • Narcissistic (adj.) – The narcissistic boy cared for no one but himself.

27. Impermeable (adj.) – Not able to be penetrated • Knoll (n.) – A small round hill • Narcissistic (adj.) – Excessively loving oneself

28. 14 • Reprehensible (adj.) – Some think kissing on the first date is reprehensible behavior. • Impudent (adj.) – The student’s impudent act of hitting a teacher caused him to be expelled. • Matriarch (n.) – Mrs. Rumpleman is the matriarch of her family.

29. Reprehensible (adj.) – Deserving blame or reprimand • Impudent (adj.) – Characterized by bold, improper behavior • Matriarch (n.) – A female who runs a family or state

30. 15 • Abandon (n.)– Some say Teddy Roosevelt charged up San Juan Hill with reckless abandon. • Decorum (n.) – The students’ decorum in the library left much to be desired. • Effigy (n.) – The football team destroyed an effigy of one of the opposing team’s members at the pep rally.

31. Abandon (n.)– an act of unrestrained behavior with no thought of consequence Decorum (n.) – Appropriate conduct; correct and proper behavior Effigy (n.) – a dummy or image of someone

32. 16 Deplore (v.) – The young lady deplored the death of her piano teacher. Homage (n.) – Many people who practice Islam go to Mecca to pay homage to their faith. Malady (n.) – The poor old woman seems to suffer one malady after another.

33. Deplore (v.) – To regret strongly or deeply; to grieve for Homage (n.) – a regard, an honor, respect through action Malady (n.) – A disease or unwholesome condition

34. 17 • Quiescent (adj.) – The eruption was a surprise because the volcano had been quiescent for many years. • Thwart (v.) – We were able to thwart the opposing team with our superior knowledge of chemicals. • Scrupulous (adj.) – The scrupulous police officer never took a bribe and always put safety first.

35. Quiescent (adj.) – Inactive; dormant • Thwart (v.) – To effectively oppose or stop • Scrupulous (adj.) – Very careful and conscientious

36. 18 Abdicate (v.) – In order to marry the commoner, the king was forced to abdicate his throne. Equivocate (v.) – Tell the truth; do not equivocate! Kindle (v.) – The boys were taught to kindle a fire.

37. Abdicate (v.) – to renounce or give up power Equivocate (v.) – to mislead; to attempt to lie Kindle (v.) – to stir up

38. 19 • Obeisance (n.) – The obeisance of the audience showed their respect for the speaker. • Loquacious (adj.) – The twins are quite different; while one is shy, the other is loquacious. • Pacifistic (adj.) – The man refused to fight in the war because of his pacifistic beliefs.

39. Obeisance (n.) – An attitude of respect • Loquacious (adj.) – Very talkative • Pacifistic (adj.) – Supporting peace

40. 20 Befuddled (adj.) – He was befuddled by the difficult calculus problem. Elicit (v.) – I would like to elicit your participation in the blood drive. Goad (v.) – He was goaded by his friends to jump off the bridge.

41. Befuddled (adj.) – confused Elicit (v.) – to bring out a response; to evoke Goad (v.) – to urge on in a negative sense

42. 21 Abject (adj.) – The abject prisoner felt that life was worthless once he realized he’d never get out. Adherent (n.) – Try not to be adherent to others; make your own opinions and voice them! Adverse (adj.) – Completing homework without really trying is adverse to learning.

43. Abject (adj.) – Lowly; miserable Adherent (n.) – A follower of a person or idea Adverse (adj.) – Not helpful

44. 22 • Anatomy (n.) – The anatomy of the engine was difficult to figure out. • Apparition (n.) – Susie swore she saw an apparition in the old haunted house. • Convoluted (adj.) – The drama between Jen and her boyfriend is so convoluted that no one can keep up with their relationship.

45. Anatomy (n.) – The structure or parts • Apparition (n.) – An unreal figure • Convoluted (adj.) – Overly complicated

46. 23 Compel (v.) – The students tried to compel their teacher into giving less homework over the weekend. Complacent (adj.) – Many doctors seemed surprisingly complacent with the nurses’ strike. Concise (adj.) – The president gave a concise speech that summarized his plans for this year.

47. Compel (v.) – To strongly persuade Complacent (adj.) – Satisfied with a situation that should be improved Concise (adj.) – Brief and straightforward

48. 24 • Conducive (adj.) – A clean, organized classroom is most conducive to learning. • Destitute (adj.) – Homeless people are usually destitute and often have mental problems. • Docile (adj.) – The students were calm and docile for the substitute teacher, which made his day easy for him.

49. Conducive (adj.) – Supportive, encouraging • Destitute (adj.) – Poor • Docile (adj.) – Submissive to instruction

50. 25 Deduce (v.) – From what has happened so far in the story, I can deduce that the protagonist will probably get caught in the end. Deference (n.) – In deference to my parents’ conservative preferences, I restrain from playing rap music around them. Dejected (adj.) – After receiving his third rejection letter, Tom felt dejected.