ACT Vocab w/examples

Abundant

Present in large quantities

Ex. Living next to a lake means we have an abundant supply of water.

Accurate

Correct; free from errors

Ex. Make sure your address is accurate before submitting your online order.

Acquire

To come into possession of

Ex. When my grandfather died, I acquired his baseball card collection.

Adamant

Refusing to change an opinion

Ex. The defendant was adamant that he was innocent

Adequate

Enough to meet a specific task or purpose

Ex. Though his resume was adequate, the company doubted whether he’d be a good fit.

Adequate

Enough to suit your needs

Ex. Our house isn’t big, but it’s adequate for the two of us.

Adjacent

Close to or next to

Ex. The park is adjacent to the school

Adverse

Unfavorable; against one's desires

Ex. I had an adverse reaction to my medication and had to stop taking it.

Affable

Friendly, easy to talk to

Ex. As the most affable of the teachers, Mr. De Soto was the math teacher all the students wanted.

Ambiguous

Having several potential meanings; unclear and difficult to understand

Ex. When I asked HR what my chances were of getting the job, they gave me a very ambiguous reply.

Ambitious

Having a powerful desire for success or achievement

Ex. Kelsey is so ambitious she's settling for nothing less than the presidency.

Annihilate

To destroy or kill

Ex. The dictator sent orders to annihilate the group of rebels.

Antipathy

A strong feeling of dislike

Ex. Her antipathy toward the professor was obvious: she rolled her eyes whenever he entered the classroom.

Apparent

Readily seen or understood

Ex. Alexis said she was fine, but the tears in her eyes made it apparent she was lying.

Ascent

Upward movement; advancement

Ex. Ruthless and cunning, Mable refused to let anyone come in the way of her ascent to the country's highest political office.

Attribute

To give credit

Ex. Be sure to attribute credit to your sources when writing a research paper.

Arbitrary

Based on a whim or random decision

Ex. Flipping a coin is an arbitrary way to make a decision.

Arduous

Requiring a lot of effort

Ex. After you cross the bridge, there’s an arduous walk up the hill.

Benevolent

Kind, generous

Ex. Many cultures believe in benevolent spirits

Bias

A preconception that prevents objectivity

Ex. It’s important to avoid bias when investigating a crime.

Bolster

To support, strengthen, or fortify

Ex. If we work together, we should be able to lift and then bolster the couch.

Burgeoning

Growing quickly; flourishing

Ex. It didn't take long for my burgeoning cake business to have more customers than I could handle.

Bypass

To avoid

Ex. The longtime cab driver knew the exact backstreet to take in order to bypass the traffic pileup.

Candid

Direct, blunt

Ex. Josh is candid about his desire to become an actor.

Candor

The trait of being honest and frank

Ex. I admire her candor, especially when nobody else bothers to speak up.

Capitalize

To use to your advantage

Ex. I’d like to capitalize on your math skills by having you work the cash register.

Catalyst

Something that causes a change or new event

Ex. Everett's unfair conviction was the catalyst for his lifelong interest in justice and criminal reform.

Ceaseless

Unending, without pause

Ex. No matter where you were on the island, it was possible to hear the ceaseless sound of the sea.

Censure

To express strong disapproval

Ex. Every parent in our district censured the education cuts.

Clarify

To make clear or intelligible

Ex. Whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed, I try to take a walk to try to clarify my thoughts and decide what to do next.

Coincide

To happen at the same time

Ex. It wasn’t until after I booked my ticket that I realized the concert coincided with my finals.

Competent

Sufficiently qualified

Ex. We need to hire a competent web developer to create a good website for our company.

Complacent

Satisfied, with no desire to change or improve

Ex. Though he had never won any awards or even been published, he was complacent with his life as a poet.

Complement

To make perfect or complete

Ex. This wine perfectly complements this platter of gourmet cheese.

Conceal

To hide

Ex. Bram wore his hat low to conceal the scar on his face

Concur

To agree

Ex. Brian believes women should be paid as much as men, and I concur.

Condense

To reduce to a shorter form; to make more compact

Ex. Rhiannon's boss asked her to condense the 15-page report into a one-page memo.

Confine

To limit or restrict; to enclose within bounds

Ex. After breaking curfew for the third time, Tony's parents confined him to the house for a month.

Confluence

A coming together of people or things; a joining

Ex. The confluence of hot and cold air created a powerful thunderstorm.

Consecutively

One after another in uninterrupted succession

Ex. The robber was ordered to serve his two sentences consecutively, with the shorter sentence being served first.

Console

To give comfort; to lessen grief

Ex. Maggie always remembered that Sebastian was the first to console her after her dog died.

Contention

A dispute; opposition; rivalry

Ex. As they'd been enemies since childhood, Meena expected bitter contention from Jane when she voiced her opinion

Contours

Line or edge that defines the bounds of an object

Ex. The winding road followed the contours of the Vosges Mountains.

Contradict

To be in contrast with

Ex. The camera footage contradicts his alibi.

Controversial

Highly debatable and causing contention

Ex. Millions of viewers watched the controversial debate take place.

Conventional

Abiding by accepted standards

Ex. Ebba lives a conventional life in the suburbs.

Convey

To pass on or transfer (information)

Ex. I have trouble conveying my thoughts in French.

Copious

Abundant

Ex. Jiro always takes copious notes during history class.

Cordial

Friendly; courteous

Ex. Because she was the one to break their engagement, Anya was nervous about seeing Eric again, but he was nothing but cordial.

Crucial

Critical; extremely important

Ex. Once General Grant received crucial information about the position of enemy troops, he was able to plan his strategy.

Crude

Basic; unrefined

Ex. My own painting appeared crude and childlike compared to the prize winner's masterpiece.

Cumbersome

Unwieldy; burdensome

Ex. The bag of overstuffed pillows was light, but its cumbersome shape made it difficult to carry.

Deceive

To trick or deceive

Ex. My ex-boyfriend deceived me by pretending to be a millionaire.

Deference

Respect; regard

Ex. Her deference to the elderly makes her the perfect candidate for an internship at the retirement center.

Deficiency

A lack

Ex. Many sailors were stricken by scurvy until it was learned the disease was caused by a Vitamin C deficiency.

Depict

To represent

Ex. Mama was furious after the caricaturist depicted her with a unibrow and buck teeth.

Deplete

To overuse over time so that resources become scarce.

Ex. The lost campers quickly depleted their supply of food.

Desolate

Bare, empty

Ex. The moon is one giant, desolate landscape.

Derive

To deduce; to obtain from a source or origin

Ex. Many English words are derived from German

Devoid

Lacking

Ex. As he charged, the knight's face was devoid of any fear.

Dexterity

Skill in moving the hands or body; cleverness

Ex. The brain surgeon used great dexterity as she made the tiny incision.

Digress

To stray from the main topic

Ex. I don't mean to digress from your story, but have you seen this new YouTube video?

Diminish

To shrink or reduce

Ex. Sprinkle baking soda on the carpet to diminish red wine stains.

Discrepancy

An inconsistency or difference

Ex. A discrepancy in her tax returns caused Geraldine to receive half the refund she was owed

Dismantle

To take apart

Ex. To stem rampant corruption, the new CEO dismantled the entire C-suite and hired new managers.

Distinctive

Distinguishing

Ex. Aunt Lola's distinctive turquoise hair always makes her easy to find in a crowd.

Dominant

Ruling, controlling; being in a position of authority

Ex. The dominant male gorilla is the only one permitted to produce offspring.

Efficient

Maximizing productivity

Ex. Now that I’m following a schedule at work, I’m much more efficient.

Eliminate

To remove

Ex. Our team lost the match and was eliminated from the competition.

Eminent

Superior or distinguished; high in position or status

Ex. Our town made news when the eminent magician came to perform at our local theater.

Engrossed

To fully occupy the mind or attention

Ex. Lydia was so engrossed in her magazine that she missed her train stop.

Erode

To wear away (figuratively or literally)

Ex. The constant lies eroded my trust in James.

Estimate

An approximate value

Ex. Try to get an estimate of the number of people attending the concert.

Eternal

Without beginning or end

Ex. Many people who are afraid of dying have searched for the secret to eternal life.

Exemplify

To serve as a superior example of a thing

Ex. Mark Twain's writings exemplified the humorist style.

Expend

To use up (as in energy or money)

Ex. Be careful not to expend all your energy in the first half of a marathon.

Expedite

To speed the process

Ex. You'll need to expedite the shipping if you want the gift to arrive in time for your brother's birthday.

Expertise

Expert knowledge or skill in a particular skill

Ex. The doctor's expertise is in knee surgeries

Expose

To reveal or unmask

Ex. The emails sent to the journalist exposed the company's corruption

Extensive

Covering a large area; great in number

Ex. Ash bought the car for a great price, but its issues were extensive.

Fastidious

Hard to please; taking excessive care

Ex. Mrs. Pelton was fastidious and never had so much as a speck of dirt on her clothes

Flaw

An imperfection or defect

Ex. Alexei was devastated when she discovered an unsightly flaw in the diamond her fiance had given her.

Fluctuate

To be unstable; to rise and fall

Ex. Stocks can fluctuate on a daily basis, making it difficult to determine when to buy or sell one.

Frenetic

Frantic, frenzied

Ex. After three cups of coffee, Wally ran through the house, filled with frenetic energy.

Functional

Capable of working or operating

Ex. The television looked impressive, but it wouldn't be functional until Dad fixed the wiring problem

Grandeur

Being awesome or impressive

Ex. The Palace of Versailles was designed to show the grandeur of the French court.

Historic

Important in history

Ex. July 20, 1969, is a historic day: it's the first day men walked on the moon

Hitherto

Up until now

Ex. All attempts to lead into gold have hitherto been unsuccessful

Hostile

Harmful, dangerous

Ex. The voices around the corner sounded angry, hostile even.

Hypothetical

Supposed; related to a hypothesis

Ex. For my physics homework, I must come up with a hypothetical situation.

Indifferent

Apathetic, not caring

Ex. Anjuli's father was indifferent to her Tik Tok fame

Immense

Huge, vast

Ex. Alone in the immense forest, the hiker could see nothing but trees.

Imminent

About to happen

Ex. As the black clouds towered in the sky, Madeleine knew the storm was imminent.

Inconceivable

Unimaginable

Ex. Manuel found it inconceivable that Alfred Hitchcock never won a Best Director Oscar.

Informal

Casual, without ceremony

Ex. I wasn't expecting the party to be so informal and wished I'd worn sandals instead of heels.

Inhibit

To hinder or prohibit

Ex. Keeping the wound clean and covering it with a bandage will inhibit infection.

Innovative

New or different

Ex. The inventor's innovative designs for flying machines stunned his audience.

Intricate

Complex; having many interrelated parts

Ex. It takes Alma at least a week to complete each intricate weaving.

Jumbled

An unorganized mess; confused or muddled

Ex. The young boy searched for his homework among the jumbled clutter on his bedroom floor.

Languid

Slow; lacking energy

Ex. During the languid days of summer, there's nothing I like more than sitting on the porch with a glass of lemonade.