ACT VOCAB TO MEMMORISEE

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Abundant

Present in large quantities (Living next to a lake means we have an abundant supply of water.)

Accurate

Correct; free from errors (Make sure your address is accurate before submitting your online order.)

Acquire

To come into possession of (When my grandfather died, I acquired his baseball card collection.)

Adamant

Refusing to change an opinion (The defendant was adamant that he was innocent.)

Adequate

Enough to meet a specific task or purpose (Though his resume was adequate, the company doubted whether he’d be a good fit.)

Adjacent

Close to or next to (The park is adjacent to the school.)

Adverse

Unfavorable; against one’s desires (I had an adverse reaction to my medication and had to stop taking it.)

Affable

Friendly, easy to talk to (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 (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 (Kelsey is so ambitious she's settling for nothing less than the presidency.)

Annihilate

To destroy or kill (The dictator sent orders to annihilate the group of rebels.)

Antipathy

A strong feeling of dislike (Her antipathy toward the professor was obvious

Apparent

Readily seen or understood (Alexis said she was fine, but the tears in her eyes made it apparent she was lying.)

Ascent

Upward movement; advancement (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 (Be sure to attribute credit to your sources when writing a research paper.)

Arbitrary

Based on a whim or random decision (Flipping a coin is an arbitrary way to make a decision.)

Arduous

Requiring a lot of effort (After you cross the bridge, there’s an arduous walk up the hill.)

Benevolent

Kind, generous (Many cultures believe in benevolent spirits.)

Bias

A preconception that prevents objectivity (It’s important to avoid bias when investigating a crime.)

Bolster

To support, strengthen, or fortify (If we work together, we should be able to lift and then bolster the couch.)

Burgeoning

Growing quickly; flourishing (It didn't take long for my burgeoning cake business to have more customers than I could handle.)

Bypass

To avoid (The longtime cab driver knew the exact backstreet to take in order to bypass the traffic pileup.)

Candid

Direct, blunt (Josh is candid about his desire to become an actor.)

Candor

The trait of being honest and frank (I admire her candor, especially when nobody else bothers to speak up.)

Capitalize

To use to your advantage (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 (Everett's unfair conviction was the catalyst for his lifelong interest in justice and criminal reform.)

Ceaseless

Unending, without pause (No matter where you were on the island, it was possible to hear the ceaseless sound of the sea.)

Censure

To express strong disapproval (Every parent in our district censured the education cuts.)

Clarify

To make clear or intelligible (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 (It wasn’t until after I booked my ticket that I realized the concert coincided with my finals.)

Competent

Sufficiently qualified (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 (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 (This wine perfectly complements this platter of gourmet cheese.)

Conceal

To hide (Bram wore his hat low to conceal the scar on his face.)

Concur

To agree (Brian believes women should be paid as much as men, and I concur.)

Condense

To reduce to a shorter form; to make more compact (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 (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 (The confluence of hot and cold air created a powerful thunderstorm.)

Consecutively

One after another in uninterrupted succession (The robber was ordered to serve his two sentences consecutively, with the shorter sentence being served first.)

Console

To give comfort; to lessen grief (Maggie always remembered that Sebastian was the first to console her after her dog died.)

Contention

A dispute; opposition; rivalry (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 (The winding road followed the contours of the Vosges Mountains.)

Contradict

To be in contrast with (The camera footage contradicts his alibi.)

Controversial

Highly debatable and causing contention (Millions of viewers watched the controversial debate take place.)

Conventional

Abiding by accepted standards (Ebba lives a conventional life in the suburbs.)

Convey

To pass on or transfer (information) (I have trouble conveying my thoughts in French.)

Copious

Abundant (Jiro always takes copious notes during history class.)

Cordial

Friendly; courteous (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 (Once General Grant received crucial information about the position of enemy troops, he was able to plan his strategy.)

Crude

Rudimentary; unrefined (My own painting appeared crude and childlike compared to the prize winner's masterpiece.)

Cumbersome

Unwieldy; burdensome (The bag of overstuffed pillows was light, but its cumbersome shape made it difficult to carry.)

Deceive

To trick or deceive (My ex-boyfriend deceived me by pretending to be a millionaire.)

Deference

Respect; regard (Her deference to the elderly makes her the perfect candidate for an internship at the retirement center.)

Deficiency

A lack (Many sailors were stricken by scurvy until it was learned the disease was caused by a Vitamin C deficiency.)

Depict

To represent (Mama was furious after the caricaturist depicted her with a unibrow and buck teeth.)

Deplete

To overuse over time so that resources become scarce. (The lost campers quickly depleted their supply of food.)

Desolate

Bare, empty (The moon is one giant, desolate landscape.)

Derive

To deduce; to obtain from a source or origin (Many English words are derived from German.)

Devoid

Lacking (As he charged, the knight's face was devoid of any fear.)

Dexterity

Skill in moving the hands or body; cleverness (The brain surgeon used great dexterity as she made the tiny incision.)

Digress

To stray from the main topic (I don't mean to digress from your story, but have you seen this new YouTube video?)

Diminish

To shrink or reduce (Sprinkle baking soda on the carpet to diminish red wine stains.)

Discrepancy

An inconsistency or difference (A discrepancy in her tax returns caused Geraldine to receive half the refund she was owed.)

Dismantle

To take apart (To stem rampant corruption, the new CEO dismantled the entire C-suite and hired new managers.)

Disparage

To belittle or speak down to (A good boss is stern but never disparages his or her employees.)

Disseminate

To spread widely (The news was disseminated broadly after the president's announcement.)

Dissent

To disagree (The Supreme Court's dissenting opinion was written by Justice Ginsburg.)

Distort

To twist out of shape (The funhouse mirrors distort our reflections.)

Divulge

To reveal something secret (The spy refused to divulge any details of his mission.)

Eclectic

Deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources (Her musical tastes are eclectic, ranging from classical to hip-hop.)

Elaborate

Involving many carefully arranged parts or details (The wedding decorations were elaborate and beautiful.)

Eloquent

Fluent or persuasive in speaking or writing (The politician gave an eloquent speech about the importance of education.)

Elusive

Difficult to find, catch, or achieve (The police are finding it difficult to catch the elusive bank robber.)

Embark

To begin a journey (They embarked on their journey across the country last week.)

Eminent

Famous and respected within a particular sphere or profession (The eminent scientist was awarded the Nobel Prize.)

Empirical

Based on observation or experience (The scientists collected empirical data to support their theory.)

Endorse

To support or approve of something (The senator endorsed the bill.)

Enhance

To improve the quality of something (Adding spices will enhance the flavor of the dish.)

Ephemeral

Lasting for a very short time (The ephemeral beauty of the sunset was breathtaking.)

Equitable

Fair and impartial (The teacher aimed to create an equitable learning environment for all students.)

Erroneous

Wrong or incorrect (The reporter retracted the erroneous statement in the article.)

Esoteric

Intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with specialized knowledge (The philosopher's theories were esoteric and difficult for the average person to understand.)

Evoke

To bring or recall to the conscious mind (The painting evoked memories of her childhood.)

Exacerbate

To make a problem worse (His rude comments only exacerbated the situation.)

Exemplary

Serving as a desirable model; very good (The student's project was exemplary and received the highest grade.)

Exhort

To strongly encourage or urge someone to do something (The coach exhorted his team to give their best effort.)

Exonerate

To clear from blame or wrongdoing (The new evidence exonerated the wrongly accused man.)

Expedite

To make an action or process happen sooner (We need to expedite the approval process for this application.)

Exuberant

Filled with lively energy and excitement (The children were exuberant as they opened their presents.)

Fallacy

A mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound argument (The idea that vaccines cause autism is a fallacy.)

Feasible

Possible to do easily or conveniently (With the current budget, it’s not feasible to renovate the entire building.)

Fervent

Having or displaying a passionate intensity (The fans were fervent in their support for the team.)

Fiasco

A complete failure, especially in a humiliating way (The concert turned into a fiasco when the sound system broke down.)

Fleeting

Lasting for a very short time (She experienced a fleeting moment of happiness before the sadness returned.)

Fortuitous

Happening by chance, often in a beneficial way (It was fortuitous that she found the missing wallet on her way to work.)

Foster

To encourage or promote the development of something (The teacher aimed to foster a love of reading in her students.)

Frugal

Sparing or economical with regard to money or food (He lived a frugal lifestyle, saving most of his income.)

Garrulous

Excessively talkative (The garrulous man held up the checkout line with his chatter.)

Gratuitous

Uncalled for; lacking good reason (The movie's gratuitous violence was criticized by many reviewers.)

Gregarious

Fond of company; sociable (She was a gregarious person who enjoyed socializing with friends.)