ACT Vocab

Abbreviate

shorten, abridge (verb)

Abstinence

act of refraining from (noun)

Adulation

high praise; excessive devotion (noun)

Adversity

misfortune (noun)

Aesthetic

pertaining to beauty (noun/adj.)

Amicable

agreeable (adj.)

Anachronistic

out of date (adj.)

Anecdote

short account of an event, story (noun)

Anonymous

nameless (adj.)

Antagonist

opponent (noun)

Arid

extremely dry (adj.)

Assiduous

hard-working (adj.)

Asylum

sanctuary (noun)

Benevolent

friendly, helpful (adj.)

Camaraderie

trust among friends (noun)

Censure

to criticize harshly (verb)

Circuitous

indirect roundabout (adj.)

Clairvoyant

able to see the future (adj.)

Collaborate

to work together (verb)

Compassion

sympathy, mercy (noun)

Compromise

to settle differences (verb)

Condescending

patronizing (adj.)

Conditional

subject to certain terms (adj.)

Conformist

follower (noun)

Congregation

crowd of people (noun)

Convergence

joining of parts (noun)

Deleterious

harmful (adj.)

Demagogue

rabble-rousing leader; a political leader who tries to influence people by making emotional speeches (noun)

Digression

straying from the main point in speech or writing (noun)

Diligent

hard working (adj.)

Discredit

dishonor, disgrace (verb/noun)

Disdain

to regard with scorn (noun)

Divergent

variant, moving apart (adj.)

Empathy

Sharing of feelings (noun)

Emulate

follow an example (verb)

Enervating

tiring, weakening (adj./verb)

Enhance

improve, augment (verb)

Exasperation

irritation, frustration (noun)

Exemplary

outstanding (adj.)

Extenuating

factor(s) that lessen the seriousness of a situation or crime (adj.)

Florid

flushed, ornate (adj.)

Fortuitous

lucky (adj.)

Frugal

thrifty; sparing; economical (adj.)

Hackneyed

overused, cliche (adj.)

Impetuous

rash; impulsive; moving too quickly (adj.)

Impute

to attribute to someone (verb)

Intrepid

fearless, adventurous (adj.)

Jubilation

joy, exultation (noun)

Lobbyist

persuader of legislatures

Mundane

ordinary, common (adj.)

Nonchalant

calm, casual (adj.)

Novice

beginner (n./adj.)

Ostentatious

displaying wealth (adj.)

Perfidious

disloyal (adj.)

Pretentious

pompous, self-important (adj)

Procrastinate

to delay unnecessarily (v)

Prosaic

Having the style or diction of prose; lacking beauty, uninteresting (adj.)

Precocious

talented beyond one’s age (adj.)

Prosperity

wealth, success (noun)

Provocative

inflammatory (adj)

Prudent

wise, careful, cautious (adj)

Querulous

habitually whining (adj)

Rancorous

hateful (adj.)

Reclusive

avoiding the company of other people;

solitary (adj.)

Reconciliation

the restoration of friendly relations (n.)

Renovation

the restoration of friendly relations (n.)

Resilient

quick to recover (adj.)

Restrained

controlled, restricted (adj)

Reverence

profound respect (noun)

Sagacity

the quality of having or showing

understanding (noun)

Scrutinize

examine or inspect closely and

thoroughly (verb)

Spontaneity

happening naturally and without

being planned (noun)

Spurious

false or fake (adj.)

Submissive

ready to conform to the authority or will of

others; meekly obedient or passive (adj.)

Substantiate

provide evidence to support or

prove the truth of (v.)

Subtle

elusive, sly, ambiguous (adj)

Superficial

lacking in depth (adj)

Superfluous

more than enough (adj)

Suppress

prevent the development, action, or expression of (verb)

Surreptitious

kept secret, especially because it would not be approved of (adj.)

Tactful

the ability to tell the truth in a way that considers other people's feelings (adj.)

Tenacious

tending to keep a firm hold of something (adj.)

Transient

lasting only for a short time (adj./n.)

Venerable

accorded a great deal of respect, especially because of age, wisdom, or character (adj.)

Vindicate

to clear from blame (verb)

Wary

watchful, alert (adj)

Ephemeral

momentary, fleeting (adj)

Evanescent

quickly fading or disappearing (adj.)

Haughty

arrogantly superior and disdainful (adj.)

Hedonist

a pleasure-seeker (noun)

Hypothesis

 A supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation (n.)

Incompatible

(of two things) so opposed in character as to 

be incapable of existing together (adj.)

Inconsequential

not important or significant (adj.)

Inevitable

unavoidable, certain (adj)

Integrity

honesty, decency (noun)

Intuitive

instinctive, untaught (adj)

Longevity

long life (noun)

Opulent

wealthy (adj)

Orator

speaker (noun)

Parched

dried out with heat (adj.)