Test sheet for ACT Vocabulary Test Online

arroyo

(1)

n. E.g. Until the heavy rains of the past spring, this arroyo had been a dry bed.

Select answer:
capacity of guardian; guardianship; capacity or activity of tutor; instruction or teaching
lizard that changes color in different situations
study of historical development of languages, particularly as manifested in individual words
gift for finding valuable or desirable things by accident; accidental good fortune or luck
deep gully; a dry gulch; brook or creek; watercourse
Don't select.

beset

(2)

v. E.g. Many vexing problems beset the American public school system.

Select answer:
border upon; adjoin; touch or end at one end or side; lie adjacent
lay responsibility or blame for, often unjustly
represent in a picture or sculpture; portray in words; describe
attack from all sides; trouble persistently; hem in
revoke or annul, especially by official or formal act
Don't select.

cession

(3)

n. E.g. The cession of Alaska to the United States is discussed in this chapter.

Select answer:
noisy speech; speech or piece of writing with strong feeling or expression
separation or division into factions; formal division or split within religious body
support; active pleading on behalf of something
yielding to another; ceding or surrendering
remedy; compensation; act of correcting error or fault
Don't select.

elated

(4)

a. E.g. Grinning from ear to ear, Bonnie Blair was clearly elated by her fifth Olympic gold medal.

Select answer:
marked by or having equity; just and impartial
overjoyed; extremely happy and excited
tangible; easily perceptible; unmistakable
giving a false appearance of frankness; not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating
standing out above other things; high in rank, office, or worth
Don't select.

evocative

(5)

a. E.g. Scent can be remarkably evocative: the aroma of pipe tobacco evokes the memory of my father.

Select answer:
full of pores; able to absorb fluids; full of tiny pores that allow fluids or gasses to pass through
tending to call up emotions, memories
open to view; not secret or hidden
acting or speaking very disrespectfully toward what is held to be sacred; violating sacred things; profane
plentiful; possessing riches or resources
Don't select.

hue

(6)

n. E.g. The aviary contained birds of every possible hue.

Select answer:
act of coming or going out; emergence; right to leave; path or opening for going out
color; appearance; particular gradation of color
mental disorder marked by confusion
minor quarrel; noisy quarrel, usually about a trivial matter
isolation; solitude; secluded place; shutting out or keeping apart
Don't select.

insurmountable

(7)

a. E.g. Faced by almost insurmountable obstacles, the members of the underground maintained their courage and will to resist.

Select answer:
stubbornly adhering to insufficiently proven beliefs; inflexible, rigid
extremely poor; utterly lacking; devoid
unrestrained; willfully malicious; immoral or unchaste
overwhelming; incapable of being passed over or overcome
lacking stylishness or neatness; shabby; old-fashioned
Don't select.

oaf

(8)

n. E.g. "Watch what you're doing, you clumsy oaf!" Bill shouted at the waiter who had drenched him with iced coffee.

Select answer:
person regarded as stupid or awkward
greediness for wealth; insatiable desire of gain
departure of a large number of people
deadlock; situation in which further action is blocked
gladness and gaiety, especially when expressed by laughter
Don't select.

pithy

(9)

a. E.g. While other girls might have gone on and on about how un-cool Elton was, Liz summed it up in one pithy remark: "He's bogus!"

Select answer:
precisely meaningful; forceful and brief
existing only in imagination; feigned; not true or real
acceptable; sufficiently agreeable in flavor to be eaten
not literal, but metaphorical; using figure of speech
in disrepair, run down; of very poor quality or condition
Don't select.

retentive

(10)

a. E.g. The pupil did not need to spend much time studying, for he had a retentive mind and remembered all he read.

Select answer:
healthily plump and ample of figure; full-bosomed; vigorous; jolly
suitable; appropriate to a purpose; serving to promote your interest
over-bright in color; tastelessly showy
dark and gloomy; thick with fog; vague
holding; having quality, power, or capacity of retaining, as to retain knowledge with ease
Don't select.

tactile

(11)

a. E.g. His callused hands had lost their tactile sensitivity.

Select answer:
twisted; knotty; made rough by age or hard work
used for feeling; relating to sense of touch; perceptible to the sense of touch; tangible
existing only in imagination; feigned; not true or real
shining; emitting light, especially emitting self-generated light
requiring sitting; accustomed to sitting or to taking little exercise; living in one area, not migratory
Don't select.

unearth

(12)

v. E.g. When they unearth the city, the archeologists find many relics of an ancient civilization.

Select answer:
determine votes; examine carefully or discuss thoroughly; scrutinize
make less severe or harsh; moderate
bring up out of earth; dig up; bring to public notice; uncover
request earnestly; seek to obtain by persuasion or formal application
gather into a mass, sum, or whole; amount to
Don't select.