ACT Vocabulary Flashcards

Flashcards for key vocabulary words to know for the ACT, including definitions and example sentences.

Adamant

Refusing to change an opinion

Adverse

Unfavorable; against one’s desires

Affable

Friendly, easy to talk to

Ambiguous

Having several potential meanings; unclear and difficult to understand

Ambitious

Having a powerful desire for success or achievement

Antipathy

A strong feeling of dislike

Ascent

Upward movement; advancement

Attribute

To give credit or to assign.

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

Arbitrary

Based on a whim or random decision

Arduous

Requiring a lot of effort

Benevolent

Kind, generous

Bolster

To support, strengthen, or fortify

Burgeoning

Growing quickly; flourishing

Bypass

To avoid

Candid

Direct, blunt

Candor

The trait of being honest and frank

Capitalize

To use to your advantage

Catalyst

Something that causes a change or new event

Ceaseless

Unending, without pause

Censure

To express strong disapproval

Clarify

To make clear or intelligible

Coincide

To happen at the same time

Competent

Sufficiently qualified

Complacent

Satisfied, with no desire to change or improve

Complement

To make perfect or complete

Concur

To agree

Condense

To reduce to a shorter form; to make more compact

Confine

To limit or restrict; to enclose within bounds

Confluence

A coming together of people or things; a joining

Consecutively

One after another in uninterrupted succession

Console

To give comfort; to lessen grief

Contention

A dispute; opposition; rivalry

Contours

Line or edge that defines the bounds of an object

Contradict

To be in contrast with

Conventional

Abiding by accepted standards

Convey

To pass on or transfer (information)

Copious

Abundant

Cordial

Friendly; courteous

Crude

Rudimentary; unrefined

Cumbersome

Unwieldy; burdensome

Deference

Respect; regard

Depict

To represent

Deplete

To overuse over time so that resources become scarce

Desolate

Bare, empty

Derive

To deduce; to obtain from a source or origin

Devoid

Lacking

Dexterity

Skill in moving the hands or body; cleverness

Digress

To stray from the main topic

Diminish

To shrink or reduce

Discrepancy

An inconsistency or difference

Dismantle

To take apart

Distinctive

Distinguishing

Efficient

Maximizing productivity

Eminent

Superior or distinguished; high in position or status

Engrossed

To fully occupy the mind or attention

Exemplify

To serve as a superior example of a thing

Expend

To use up (as in energy or money)

Expedite

To speed the process

Expose

To reveal or unmask

Fastidious

Hard to please; taking excessive care

Frenetic

Frantic, frenzied

Functional

Capable of working or operating

Grandeur

Being awesome or impressive

Hitherto

Up until now

Hostile

Harmful, dangerous

Hypothetical

Supposed; related to a hypothesis

Indifferent

Apathetic, not caring

Immense

Huge, vast

Imminent

About to happen

Inconceivable

Unimaginable

Informal

Casual, without ceremony

Inhibit

To hinder or prohibit

Innovative

New or different

Intricate

Complex; having many interrelated parts

Jumbled

An unorganized mess; confused or muddled

Languid

Slow; lacking energy

Latter

The second of two things

Listless

Indifferent; having little energy or interest

Lucrative

Capable of making a lot of money; profitable

Malicious

Harmful, spiteful

Malleable

Capable of being molded or changed

Modify

To change, alter, or tweak

Momentous

Historically significant

Novel

New, innovative

Nuance

A subtle difference in meaning

Objectivity

Judgment based on observations instead of emotions or opinions

Obsolete

No longer used; rare or uncommon

Omnipotent

Almighty and all powerful

Paradox

An idea that seems contradictory or improbable but is, in fact, true

Paramount

First in importance

Partial

Preferring one option over others

Perpetual

Continuous, everlasting

Perplex

To confuse or complicate

Plausible

Believable, worthy of trust

Pragmatic

Practical

Predate

To come before (in time)

Premature

Occurring too soon

Prescience

Foresight, knowing something before it happens

Proficient

Competent or skilled at a thing

Prolific

Producing great quantities, often frequently