ACT vocab week 2

intervene

other forms: intervention, intervened, intervening, intervenes

part of speech: verb

definition: to come between to help or change a situation

sentence: The principal had to intervene when the students wouldn’t stop arguing.

trick: think “enter in between” — step in to stop or help.

interlude

other forms: interludes

part of speech: noun

definition: a short break or pause between events or parts of something

sentence: There was a musical interlude between the acts of the play.

trick: "inter" = between, "lude" = play → a break between plays or scenes.

intramural

other forms: intramurals

part of speech: adjective

definition: happening within the same school, especially for sports or activities

sentence: She joined an intramural basketball team at her college.

trick: “intra” = within, “mural” = walls → within the same walls (same school).

intravenous

other forms: X

part of speech: adjective

definition: occurring within or administered through a vein

sentence: The doctor gave the patient an intravenous injection of fluids.

trick: “intra” = within, “venous” = veins → within the veins.

extraneous

other forms: X

part of speech: adjective

definition: irrelevant or unrelated to the subject being considered

sentence: The professor asked the student to remove the extraneous details from the essay.

trick: "extra" = additional, "aneous" = relating to → extra, unnecessary information.

extrapolate

other forms: extrapolated, extrapolating, extrapolates

part of speech: verb

definition: to infer or estimate something based on known information

sentence: From the data, we can extrapolate the future trends in sales.

trick: "extra" = beyond, "polate" = to estimate → estimate beyond known data.

gratuitous

other forms: gratuitously

part of speech: adjective

definition: unnecessary or uncalled for; given freely but without reason

sentence: The movie had gratuitous violence that didn’t add to the story.

trick: think “gratuity” (a tip) — something given freely, but gratuitous means unneeded or over-the-top.

audacity

other forms: none (related adjective: audacious)

part of speech: noun

definition: boldness or daring, often in a rude or shocking way

sentence: She had the audacity to interrupt the speaker mid-sentence.

trick: sounds like “awe-dacity” — someone with awe-level daring (sometimes too much!).

emulate

other forms: emulated, emulating, emulates, emulation (noun)

part of speech: verb

definition: to try to match or surpass someone by imitating them

sentence: He tried to emulate his older brother’s success in school.

trick: think “imitate to elevate” — copy someone to reach their level.

nepotism

other forms: none

part of speech: noun

definition: favoritism shown to relatives, especially in jobs or positions of power

sentence: The company was accused of nepotism after the CEO hired his niece as a manager.

trick: “nephew” is in nepotism — think favoring your nephew or family.

conundrum

other forms: conundrums

part of speech: noun

definition: a confusing or difficult problem or question

sentence: Choosing between the two job offers was a real conundrum.

trick: sounds like "confusing drum" — a problem that keeps beating in your head.

disingenuous

other forms: disingenuously, disingenuousness

part of speech: adjective

definition: not sincere or honest; pretending to know less than you really do

sentence: Her surprise seemed disingenuous since she helped plan the party.

trick: “dis” = not, “genuine” = real → not genuine or fake.

dubious

other forms: dubiously, dubiousness

part of speech: adjective

definition: doubtful or suspicious; not to be trusted

sentence: he gave a dubious excuse for missing the meeting.

trick: sounds like “do you buy this?” — when something seems sketchy or unconvincing.

morose

other forms: morosely, moroseness

part of speech: adjective

definition: gloomy, sullen, or bad-tempered

sentence: She became morose after hearing the bad news.

trick: sounds like "more roses" — someone sadly wishing for more happiness or joy.

fortuitous

other forms: fortuitously, fortuitousness

part of speech: adjective

definition: happening by chance, often in a lucky or beneficial way

sentence: It was fortuitous that we ran into each other at the airport.

trick: sounds like “fortunate” — a lucky coincidence.