ACT Power Plus Vocabulary Lesson Seven

adroit – (adj.) skillful; clever He was not an adroit speaker, but he was a genius with numbers. Synonyms Antonyms dexterous apt clumsy awkward

macroscopic – (adj.) visible to the naked eye On a clear night, the Milky Way appears macroscopic. Antonyms microscopic

fatuous – (adj.) foolish; inane Her fatuous simpering began to grate on our nerves. Synonyms Antonyms silly sensible wise

bovine – (adj.) pertaining to cows or cattle The large animal figures in the cave drawing depict bovine creatures.

ferret – (v.) to search or drive out John knew the answer was in the text, but he just couldn’t ferret it out.

affectation – (n.) a phony attitude; pose Ginger could not stand the affectations of the girls in the fashion clique. Synonyms Antonyms insincerity sham sincerity genuineness

knell – (n.) a sound made by a bell, often rung slowly for a death or funeral The knell of the church bell told the town that Gertrude had passed away.

dichotomy – (n.) a division into two parts Disagreements among board members created a dichotomy of the charitable organizations.

callow – (adj.) young and inexperienced The callow boy left for the war, but an exhausted man returned. Synonyms Antonyms immature mature sophisticated

laconic – (adj.) using few words; short; concise He was a laconic man who wasted few words. Synonyms Antonyms pithy taciturn verbose loquacious

quiddity – (n.) an essential quality Patience is the quiddity of a good teacher. Synonyms essence

patent – (adj.) evident or obvious When the electronics store saw the patent abuse of the game system, they refused to grant a refund. Synonyms indisputable apparent

peccadillo – (n.) a minor offense; a misdeed Stealing tips from tables was a peccadillo in Bill’s mind, but a major offense in the minds of the waiters.

sagacious – (adj.) wise; having keen perception and sound judgement The sagacious old man always had the answers to moral problems. Synonyms Antonyms shrewd intelligent obtuse fatuous

rationalize – (v.) to make an excuse for The boy tried to rationalize his absence from school. Synonyms justify