1. ACT Power Plus Vocabulary
Lesson Seven

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

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

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

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

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

7. 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

8. 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.

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

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

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

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

13. 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

14. 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.

15. 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

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