A Brief Vocabulary Study Guide for the ACT or SAT

ABDUCT - to kidnap - to take a person to a state of unlawful restraint ABHOR - to hate strongly; to loathe ABJURE - to step down ACRIMONIOUS - bitter AGGREGATE - to add AUTISM - a developmental disorder made up of a spectrum of deficits in social communication, dissociative behaviors, or excessively repetitive behaviors AUTOMOBILE - a car AUTOMOTON - a robot BALLISTIC - related to combat; enemy; having an attitude of pugnaciousness BELITTLE - to disparage BICENTENNIAL - a period of two hundred years CACHE - a hiding place CARCINOGENIC - cancer-causing; a chemical or substance known to cause cancer. CENTENNIAL - a period of 100 years CLASSIFIED - secret; clandestine. CLIQUE - a big group of select people, especially in a street gang. CLOAK - to hide CONTRAPUNTAL - in music, related or or having to do with the use of counterpoint. CONVECTION - thunderstorms or any condition related to the occurrence of thunderstorms. CONVECTIVE - related to thunderstorms or any condition related to the occurrence of thunderstorms; also refers to winter precipitation which related to heavy snowfall or heavy barrage of ice pellets - with or without the occurrence of thunder. COTERIE - a small group. COUNTERPOINT - in music, at least 2 or more voices moving independent of each other. CRAP - riff-raff; garbage. DEFICIENCY - a state of lacking in something (for example, a vitamin or mineral) DETONATION - explosion (of a bomb, firework, TNT, dynamite, etc.) DEFILLADE - cover against gunfire, grenades, bullets, or bombs DISCO - meaning "disc" or "record" in Spanish, it was a style of dance music mainly in the 1970s. DISCOTHEQUE - a dance club where people danced to disco music or have disco dance parties during mainly the 1970s. ERRONEOUS - incorrect; misleading EFFERVESCENT - bubbling EGREGIOUS - obviously mistaken; blatantly erroneous ELEVATED - up high in the area of concern; in meteorology, it refers to the atmosphere about 700 millibars or above in height above the earth. FELON - a serious infection of the palm side of the fingertip usually caused by staph bacteria FLAG - to report somebody for a violation or transgression of a rule or regulation FLUENT - have sufficient skill or ability (in) GARGATUAN - giant; huge GENIUS - very smart; highly intelligent HEMORRHAGE - bleeding HYPOGLYCEMIA - low blood sugar HYPONATREMIA - low blood sodium HYPOTENSION - low blood pressure HYPERGLYCEMIA - high blood sugar HYPERNATREMIA - high blood sodium HYPERTENSION - high blood pressure IMPLOSION - an explosion of a building designed to bring the building down in collapse instead of spreading it out. INTERCONTINENTAL - between continents JURIS DOCTOR - also known as J.D., it means "doctor of law" in Latin. JURY - a group of peers picked to do duty in the courtroom to decide if the defendant is guilty or not guilty KAPUT - out of action; out of service; no longer functiong KARATE - a type of marital art mainly from Japan, which means "empty hand" in Japanese MARTIAL - referring to something happening or something used in combat, fighting, or duelling. MYOCARDIAL - related to the heart muscle MYOCARDIUM - heart muscle; the heart NAVAL - related to the armed forces called The Navy, or related to the Navy NAVIGATE - to travel; to roam; to trek; to go on a trip to somewhere. NECROSIS - death or deceasing of a tissue or tissues in the body NECROTIC - the process of death or deceasing of a tissue or tissues in the body NINJA - a student or teacher who practices or uses the art of ninjitsu. NINJITSU - a Japanese secret martial art focusing on deception, stealthiness, and the ability to take out enemies without being noticed by other ninjas or authorities OCTOGENARIAN - a person who is from 80 to 89 years old. OCTAGON - a geometric shape with 8 sides. ORWELLIAN - a law, decree, rule, or regulation that is extremely strict and often strictly enforced PARIAH - someone shunned completely from society - an outcast PENURY - strong or severe poverty POLYGLOT - a person who has at least working or advanced knowledge of several foreign languages as well as one's native language POLYPHONY - something with many voices POLYRHYTHMIC - in music, having several rhythms in a single measure or having multiple subdivisions in meter in a single measure PUGNACIOUS - easily provoked to belligerence PYROTECHNIC - related to fireworks or its chemicals; something or event that involves fireworks QUADRIVALENT - a vaccine that has 4 killed strains of a virus or organism in its shot ROTOGATE - a rotary gate used for entry or exit to a building, or to a subway or train. SAYONARA - originally Japanese to mean "good bye", it is often used in English to mean a "farewell". SESQUICENTENNIAL - a period of 150 years. SYNDROME - a serious of physical symptoms that usually gets worse and cause gradual deterioration of the body, sometimes leading to death TAEKWONDO - a type of martial art from South Korea, which means "foot, fist, way of life" in Korean TRESPASS - entry into a property without authorization or permission to do so TRIVALENT- a vaccine that has 3 killed strains of a virus or microorganism in its shot VAPORIZE - to turn into a gas VITRIOL - abuse; severe, acidic let-down or put-down XENON - an inert gas YODEL - a series of high-pitched musical notes in singing with lots of leaps, often used to depict the peaks and valleys of mountains (such as the Swiss Alps)