ACT Prep Vocab
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Created by:
gurlygirl900 on November 30, 2011
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299 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 emaciated | abnormally thin, wasted away |
| surge | to rush suddenly |
| tranquil | quiet |
| sanctuary | shelter |
| ascend | to rise |
| sour grapes | disparagement of something that is unattainable |
| malnutrition | faulty or inadequate diet |
| afflict | to trouble greatly, to distress |
| besige | to surrond |
| privation | lack of necessities |
| sinister | evil, ominous |
| to swap horse in midstream | to vote against a candidate running for reelection, to change one's mind |
| ubiquitious | being everywhere at the same time |
| remote | distant, hidden away |
| thwart | to hinder, defeat |
| harbinger | a forerunner, advance notice |
| malignant | likely to cause death |
| to cool one's heels | to be kept watiting |
| excurciating | agonizing, torturing |
| respite | an interval of relif, delay |
| reverberating | reechoing, resounding |
| fretful | worrisome, irritable |
| succumb | to give away, yeild |
| a red herring | something that diverts attention from the main issue |
| impresario | one who presents cultural series, organizer |
| extortion | getting money by threats |
| adverse | unfavorable |
| asset | a useful or valuable quality |
| bigot | a narrow minded, prejudiced person |
| to spill the beans | to give away a secret |
| blatant | disagreeably loud, very showy |
| entourage | group of attendants |
| virulent | full of hate, harmful |
| venom | poison, spite, malice |
| spew | throw up, vomit, eject |
| to keep a stiff upper lip | to be courageous in the face of trouble |
| loath | unwilling, reluctant |
| solicit | to beg, seek earnestly |
| astute | keen, shrewd |
| advocate | to be in favor of, to support |
| ineffectual | not effective |
| to have cold feet | to hesitate because of fear or uncertainty |
| scrutinize | examine closely |
| nefarious | villainous, vicious |
| amicable | peaceful, friendly |
| vexatious | annoying |
| malady | disease |
| to look a gift horse in the mouth | to be critical of a present |
| inclement | unfavorable, stormy |
| peruse | to read carefully |
| premonition | forewarning |
| desist | cease |
| recoil | draw back |
| to pay the piper | to bear the consequences |
| pertinent | to the point |
| mastiff | large dog |
| obsess | to haunt, preoccupy |
| doleful | sad, melancholy |
| wan | sickly pale |
| on the carpet | being scolded |
| voracious | desiring or consuming great quantities |
| indiscriminate | choosing at random without careful selection |
| eminent | of high reputation, outstanding |
| steeped | soaked, drenched, saturated |
| replete | completely filled or supplied with |
| to eat humble pie | to admit your error and apologize |
| abound | to exist in great number |
| technology | branch of knowledge dealing with engineering, applied science, etc. |
| prognosticate | to predict or foretell a future event |
| automaton | a robot: a mechanical "person" |
| matron | an older married woman |
| a pig in a poke | an item you purchase without having seen; a disappointment |
| paradox | a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth |
| realm | special field of something or someone; kingdom |
| annals | historical records |
| compound | a trace, smattering, or slight degree |
| tinge | to increase or add to |
| a flash in the pan | promising at the start but then disappointing |
| badger | to pester, nag, annoy |
| implore | to plead urgently for aid or mercy |
| drudgery | unpleasent, dull or hard working |
| interminable | unending |
| percieve | to understand, know become aware of |
| to pour oil on troubled waters | to make peace, to calm someone down |
| laconic | expressing much in few words |
| throng | crowd |
| intrepid | brave |
| accost | to approach and speak to |
| reticent | silent |
| the sword of Damocles | any imminent danger (a king seated one of his subjects underneath a sword that was hanging by a hair, in order to teach him the dangers a king faces) |
| furtive | secret, stealthy |
| felon | a person guilty of a major crime |
| plethora | excess |
| hapless | unfourtunate |
| irate | angry, incensed |
| pyrrhic victory | a too-costly victory |
| pretext | an excuse |
| fabricate | to lie; to construct |
| adroit | skillful |
| gesticulate | move arms energetically |
| vigilant | watchful |
| a wet blanket | one who spoils the fun |
| avid | eager |
| cajole | coax |
| rudimentary | elementary |
| enhance | intensify, heighten |
| nuance | slight variation in meaning, tone, etc |
| to beard the lion in his den | to visit and oppose a person on his own grounds |
| loathe | to hate |
| reprimand | to show sharp disapproval |
| lackluster | dull |
| caustic | srcastic, biting |
| wrest | to take by force |
| crocodile tears | insincere tears |
| infamous | having a bad reputation |
| jostle | to shove hard |
| dupe | an easily tricked person |
| incipient | just beginning to exist |
| inadvertant | heedless, not attentive |
| to carry the day | to win approval of the majority |
| ominous | threatening |
| tremulous | quivering |
| repudiate | to reject, decline |
| cessation | a stopping |
| bristle | to stiffen with fear or anger |
| Skid Row | disreputable part of town, inhabited by derelicts and people "on the skid" |
| euphemism | a less offensive term |
| mundane | worldly |
| incongruous | inappropriate |
| condolence | pity |
| stipulate | to specify a condition |
| to go up in smoke | to come to no practical result (kindling smokes but it will not light a fire) |
| alacrity | briskness, lively action |
| disdain | contempt |
| belligerent | warlike |
| intimidate | to overawe |
| feint | a false attack |
| to throw down the gauntlet | to challenge someone (when the gauntlet, or medieval glove, was thrown down, the challenger was required to pick it up) |
| pugnacious | quarrelsome |
| promulgate | to make know offically |
| brash | impudent |
| scoff | to sneer at |
| belittle | to make seem less important |
| feeling no pain | drunk |
| tangible | having actual form |
| laceration | jagged wound |
| castigate | to correct by punishing |
| sordid | dirty, base |
| octogenarian | person in his or her eighties |
| Hobson's choice | to have no choice at all (Mr. Hobson owned a livery stable but he did not allow the customers to pick their own horses) |
| solace | easing of grief |
| aspirant | candidate for high position |
| dregs | most worthless part |
| frenzy | wild fit |
| scurrilous | coarse |
| to rule the roost | to be in charge, to be master (a roost is a perch where domestic birds can sleep) |
| rampant | going unchecked, widespread |
| inane | foolish |
| ethics | code of principles |
| concur | agree |
| clandestine | secret, undercover |
| stock in trade | the goods, tools, and other requisites of a profession |
| flagrant | outrageous, glaring bad |
| admonish | to warn, to reprove |
| duress | compulsion, force |
| culprit | the guilty person |
| inexorable | inflexible, unrelenting |
| to take down a peg | to take conceit out of a braggart (ship's colors used to be raised or lowered by pegs-the higher the colors, the greater the honor) |
| egregious | remarkably bad |
| distraught | mentally confused, crazed |
| acrimonious | bitter |
| paucity | scarcity |
| to pass the buck | to evade responsibility (the "buck" may have been a piece of buckshot passed from one poker player to another to keep track of whose turn it was to deal) |
| elicit | to draw forth |
| pernicious | harmful, causing injury |
| tolerate | to put up with, to bear |
| construe | to make a deduction, to infer |
| impunity | freedom from punishment |
| to lionize a person | to make a big fuss over someone (the lions at the Tower of London were considered its main attraction) |
| affluent | rich |
| feasible | possible |
| discern | percieve |
| sally | suddenly rush forth |
| consternantion | dismay |
| I'm from Missouri | a skeptic, one who is not easily convinced |
| precocious | reaching maturity early |
| prefunctory | done without care |
| chagrin | feeling of disappointment, humiliation |
| perverse | to ridicule, scoff at |
| deride | contrary, persisting in error |
| red-letter day | day of happiness, time for rejoicing (holidays are red-letter days on out calenders) |
| disparge | to discredit, belittle |
| laudable | praiseworthy |
| fiasco | complete failure |
| masticate | to chew up |
| eschew | avoid |
| to let sleeping dog lie | to let well enough alone, to avoid stirring up old hostilities |
| quell | put an end to |
| voluable | talkative |
| confidante | one whom you confide your secrets |
| obsolescence | process of wearing out |
| dubious | doubtful |
| thumb's down | signal of rejection |
| implacable | cannot be pacified, inexorable |
| paroxysm | a fit, sudden outburst |
| reprhensible | worthy of blame |
| jurisdiction | power, range of authority |
| skirmish | small fight, brief encounter |
| cause celebre | a famous law case or controversy |
| harass | to trouble, tourment |
| monolithic | massively solid |
| indignent | poor, needy |
| arbitrary | based on a whim, dictatorial |
| fray | a fight |
| one swallow does not make a summer | don't jump to conclusions based on incomplete evidence |
| stymie | to hinder, impede |
| effigy | a likeness |
| flout | show contempt, scoff |
| cognizant | aware |
| turbulent | unruly, agitated |
| a bitter pill to swallow | a humiliating defeat |
| terminate | to end |
| forthwith | immediately |
| exaceberate | to irritate, make worse |
| revert | return |
| oust | to drive out, eject |
| an ax to grind | having a selfish motive in the background |
| inundate | to flood |
| fruitless | useless |
| poignant | moving, painful to the feelings |
| garbled | confused, mixed up |
| sanguine | optimistic |
| to feather one's nest | grow rich by taking advantage of circumstances |
| phlegmatic | calm, hard to rouse to action |
| corroborate | confirm, support |
| comprehensive | thorough |
| zealous | enthusiastic |
| coerce | to force |
| fair-weather friends | unreliable, they fail one in time of distress |
| elapse | to slip by |
| meticulous | careful |
| domicile | home |
| lax | careless, negligent |
| sporadic | occasional |
| to sow one's wild oats | to lead a wild, carefree life |
| rash | too hasty, reckless |
| conjecture | guess |
| obviate | do away with, eliminate |
| lurid | sensational |
| quip | joke |
| windfall | unexpected financial gain |
| diatribe | bitter criticism |
| inhibition | restraint |
| fortuitous | accidental |
| incoherent | disjointed |
| ilk | kind, sort |
| to wear one's heart on one's sleeve | to make one's feelings evident |
| prestigious | illustrious |
| placard | poster |
| integral | essential |
| remuneration | reward, pay |
| nominal | slight |
| to wash dirty linen in public | to openly discuss private affairs |
| expunge | erase |
| flamboyant | showy, colorful |
| anathema | something greatly detested |
| schism | split |
| utopia | place of perfection |
| to save face | to avoid disgrace |
| timorous | fearful |
| truncated | cut short |
| jaunty | sprightly, gay |
| fractious | quarrelsome |
| ostentatious | showy |
| Indian summer | warm autumn weather |
| importune | ask urgently |
| incontrovertible | undeniable |
| surreptitious | stealthy, accomplished by secret |
| haven | place of safety |
| subjugate | conquer |
| to take the bull by the horns | to face a problem directly |
| ultimate | final |
| eventuate | to result finally |
| emit | to give off |
| subterranean | underground |
| viable | practicable, workable |
| the lion's share | the major portion |
| premise | grounds for a conclusion |
| jeopardize | endanger |
| incredulous | skeptical |
| permeate | to spread through |
| propitious | favorable |
| out of the frying pan and into the fire | to go from a difficult situation to a worse one |
| surmise | guess |
| curtail | to cut short |
| repress | to put down |
| cryptic | puzzling |
| inchoate | in an early stage |
| to keep the pot boiling | to see that interest doesn't die down |
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