ACT Prep VocabularyGage, Keeler, and Wexler

1• Abeyance : She petitioned the king to terminate the

abeyance in her favor.• Cajole: You can easily cajole a small child with candies

or toys.• Beacon: At regular intervals we could see the flashing

beacons on the ground that showed us the way to the border.• Delineate: Like most terms applied to jazz music, hard

bop does not define a precisely delineated genre.• Eclectic: This double issue has a somewhat eclectic

mix of articles on a range of different topics.

Definitions1.Abeyance: temporary suspension2.Cajole: to coax with flattery and insincere talk3.Beacon: any light for warning or guiding4.Delineate: to describe: to depict in words5.Eclectic: selecting from various systems,

doctrines, or sources

2• Fallacious: Fallacious reasoning needs to be exposed and

rebutted.• Gamut: The film contains footage of the whole gamut of

royal navy ships of the time.• Jaunty: The song is slightly out of place, but quite jaunty

and cheeky; it only lasts for 1:27, so it doesn't grate.

Definitions

• Fallacious: misleading or deceptive• Gamut: the entire range or extent of

anything• Jaunty: carefree; perky

3• Lament: His amiable personality

acquired him a large circle of friends, who deeply lament his death.•Malfeasance: The malfeasance he

committed was proven true by the court.• Noisome: Mrs. Meyer’s classroom was

noisome after a class period with 28 boys after they had been to PE.

Definitions• Lament: to mourn or grieve•Malfeasance: wrongdoing or misconduct• Noisome: having a bad odor; foul-smelling

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• Occult: He who studies the occult, studies all the deepest mysteries of existence and nature.• Peccadillo: I was very ashamed of this little

peccadillo of mine; I didn’t mean to lie to my teacher.• Historicity: For these three reasons, the

accuracy of the burial story supports the historicity of the empty tomb.

•Occult: secret; mysterious•Peccadillo: minor or petty sin; slight

fault•Historicity: authenticity

5• Querulous: Her querulous tone suggested

her dismay with the assignment.• Reciprocate: He frequently came in

contact with his employer and entertained for him strong friendship and deep respect, which was fully reciprocated by his boss.• Servile: Though he is not servile or

mercenary, he is the victim of poverty.

Definitions

•Querulous: full of complaint; peevish•Reciprocate: to cause to move

alternately back and forth• Servile: humbly yielding or

submissive; of a slave or slaves

• Tenet: Peter Abelard leads his teacher to the verge of a nervous breakdown with his philosophical tenets.• Volatile: Sadly the modern game has higher stakes than

the past which in turn has made the game more volatile• Idiosyncrasy: The hunter proved interesting company

talking about the idiosyncrasies of canyon life.

• Tenet: principle, doctrine, or believe held as truth• Volatile: flying or able to fly• Idiosyncrasy: personal peculiarity or mannerism

7. sentences• Augment—He augmented his summer income by

painting houses. • Petulant—The toddler was moody and petulant

after they had to leave the park. • Rescind—The government eventually rescinded

the directive.

definitions

• Augment—enlarge or increase; grow or intensify• Petulant—easily irritated or annoyed• Rescind—annul by recalling

8. sentences

• Taciturn—Normally taciturn, Mr. Roberts was unexpectedly chatty yesterday. • Succinct—Use short, succinct sentences when

writing articles. • Urbane—He was a gentlemanly and urbane host

at dinner parties.

definitions

• Taciturn—disinclined to talk or speak• Succinct—briefly giving the gist of something• Urbane—polite and refined

9. sentences

• Grandiose—The governor proposed a grandiose plan to update all interstates in just ten years. • Furtive—He cast a furtive glance in our direction. • Perfunctory--The violinist delivered a perfunctory

performance that displayed none of the passion and warmth he was once known for.

definitions

• Grandiose—impressive because of unnecessary largeness or grandeur• Furtive—marked by quiet and cautious secrecy• Perfunctory—hasty and without attention to

detail; not thorough

10. sentences

• Cupidity--Reports of great treasure in the Indies inflamed the cupidity of Columbus's crew.• Erudite—He attended an erudite lecture on the

latest discoveries in astronomy. • Laud—He was an actor who in his lifetime

received all the laud that the theater world could bestow.

Definitions

• Cupidity—greed and strong desire for wealth• Erudite—well read or esteemed for knowledge • Laud—praise or high approval

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• Abrasive (adj.) – His mother was disturbed by his rude and abrasive behavior.• Capricious (adj.) – Her capricious moods are

difficult to predict.• Genial (adj.) – The woman has such a genial

disposition that people love to be around her.

Definitions

• Abrasive (adj.) – harsh, causing irritation, rough• Capricious (adj.) – changing suddenly; fickle• Genial (adj.) – cordial; pleasantly warm

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• Jargon (n.) – The report from Wall Street was filled with confusing business jargon.• Rectify (v.) – The woman has donated $10,000 to

the school gymnasium to rectify for recent damages.• Pallor (n.) – The strange skin disease left the man

with a sickly pallor.

Definitions

• Jargon (n.) – language used by a special group that is often confusing• Rectify (v.) – to set right; correct• Pallor (n.) – Extreme paleness in the face

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• Impermeable (adj.) – Boats are sealed with an impermeable substance to keep water out.• Knoll (n.) – The deer stood upon the knoll and

looked at the valley below.• Narcissistic (adj.) – The narcissistic boy cared for

no one but himself.

• Impermeable (adj.) – Not able to be penetrated• Knoll (n.) – A small round hill• Narcissistic (adj.) – Excessively loving oneself

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• Reprehensible (adj.) – Some think kissing on the first date is reprehensible behavior.• Impudent (adj.) – The student’s impudent act of

hitting a teacher caused him to be expelled.• Matriarch (n.) – Mrs. Rumpleman is the

matriarch of her family.

• Reprehensible (adj.) – Deserving blame or reprimand• Impudent (adj.) – Characterized by bold,

improper behavior• Matriarch (n.) – A female who runs a family or

state

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• Abandon (n.)– Some say Teddy Roosevelt charged up San Juan Hill with reckless abandon.• Decorum (n.) – The students’ decorum in the

library left much to be desired.• Effigy (n.) – The football team destroyed an effigy

of one of the opposing team’s members at the pep rally.

• Abandon (n.)– an act of unrestrained behavior with no thought of consequence• Decorum (n.) – Appropriate conduct; correct and

proper behavior• Effigy (n.) – a dummy or image of someone

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• Deplore (v.) – The young lady deplored the death of her piano teacher.• Homage (n.) – Many people who practice Islam

go to Mecca to pay homage to their faith.• Malady (n.) – The poor old woman seems to

suffer one malady after another.

• Deplore (v.) – To regret strongly or deeply; to grieve for• Homage (n.) – a regard, an honor, respect

through action• Malady (n.) – A disease or unwholesome

condition

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• Quiescent (adj.) – The eruption was a surprise because the volcano had been quiescent for many years.• Thwart (v.) – We were able to thwart the

opposing team with our superior knowledge of chemicals.• Scrupulous (adj.) – The scrupulous police officer

never took a bribe and always put safety first.

• Quiescent (adj.) – Inactive; dormant• Thwart (v.) – To effectively oppose or stop• Scrupulous (adj.) – Very careful and

conscientious

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• Abdicate (v.) – In order to marry the commoner, the king was forced to abdicate his throne.• Equivocate (v.) – Tell the truth; do not

equivocate!• Kindle (v.) – The boys were taught to kindle a

fire.

• Abdicate (v.) – to renounce or give up power• Equivocate (v.) – to mislead; to attempt to lie• Kindle (v.) – to stir up

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• Obeisance (n.) – The obeisance of the audience showed their respect for the speaker.• Loquacious (adj.) – The twins are quite different;

while one is shy, the other is loquacious.• Pacifistic (adj.) – The man refused to fight in the

war because of his pacifistic beliefs.

• Obeisance (n.) – An attitude of respect• Loquacious (adj.) – Very talkative• Pacifistic (adj.) – Supporting peace

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• Befuddled (adj.) – He was befuddled by the difficult calculus problem.• Elicit (v.) – I would like to elicit your participation

in the blood drive.• Goad (v.) – He was goaded by his friends to jump

off the bridge.

• Befuddled (adj.) – confused• Elicit (v.) – to bring out a response; to evoke• Goad (v.) – to urge on in a negative sense

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• Abject (adj.) – The abject prisoner felt that life was worthless once he realized he’d never get out.• Adherent (n.) – Try not to be adherent to others;

make your own opinions and voice them!• Adverse (adj.) – Completing homework without

really trying is adverse to learning.

• Abject (adj.) – Lowly; miserable• Adherent (n.) – A follower of a person or idea• Adverse (adj.) – Not helpful

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• Anatomy (n.) – The anatomy of the engine was difficult to figure out.• Apparition (n.) – Susie swore she saw an

apparition in the old haunted house.• Convoluted (adj.) – The drama between Jen and

her boyfriend is so convoluted that no one can keep up with their relationship.

• Anatomy (n.) – The structure or parts• Apparition (n.) – An unreal figure• Convoluted (adj.) – Overly complicated

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• Compel (v.) – The students tried to compel their teacher into giving less homework over the weekend.• Complacent (adj.) – Many doctors seemed

surprisingly complacent with the nurses’ strike.• Concise (adj.) – The president gave a concise

speech that summarized his plans for this year.

• Compel (v.) – To strongly persuade• Complacent (adj.) – Satisfied with a situation that

should be improved• Concise (adj.) – Brief and straightforward

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• Conducive (adj.) – A clean, organized classroom is most conducive to learning.• Destitute (adj.) – Homeless people are usually

destitute and often have mental problems.• Docile (adj.) – The students were calm and docile

for the substitute teacher, which made his day easy for him.

• Conducive (adj.) – Supportive, encouraging• Destitute (adj.) – Poor• Docile (adj.) – Submissive to instruction

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• Deduce (v.) – From what has happened so far in the story, I can deduce that the protagonist will probably get caught in the end.• Deference (n.) – In deference to my parents’

conservative preferences, I restrain from playing rap music around them.• Dejected (adj.) – After receiving his third

rejection letter, Tom felt dejected.

• Deduce (v.) – To draw a conclusion; to infer• Deference (n.) – An act of yielding to one’s

authority• Dejected (adj.) – Downcast or sad