Test sheet for ACT Vocabulary Test Online

ambiguous

(1)

a. E.g. His ambiguous instructions misled us; we did not know which road to take.

Select answer:
portending evil; harmful in intent or effect.
concerning each of two or more persons or things; exchangeable; interacting
passionate; hot or scorching; hurried or rapid
unclear or doubtful in meaning
increasing by successive addition
Don't select.

blunder

(2)

n. E.g. The criminal's fatal blunder led to his capture.

Select answer:
lever used to turn a rudder and steer a boat; drawer in table, chest, or counter
serious mistake typically caused by ignorance or confusion
subtle but base deception; trickery; cleverness or skill; ingenuity
vocabulary of technical terms used in a particular field, subject, science, or art
condition of balance among various forces; inactivity resulting from static balance
Don't select.

chafe

(3)

v. E.g. The high collar used to chafe against my neck.

Select answer:
wear away or irritate by rubbing; make sore by rubbing; annoy; vex
be or go beyond, as in degree or quality; exceed
punish, as by beating; criticize severely; rebuke
violate with violence, especially to sacred place
frustrate as by confusing or perplexing; impede force or movement of
Don't select.

disingenuous

(4)

a. E.g. Now that we know the mayor and his wife are engaged in a bitter divorce fight, we find their earlier remarks regretting their lack of time together remarkably disingenuous.

Select answer:
extending in scope or effect to a prior time or to prior conditions
struck by shock, terror, or amazement
giving a false appearance of frankness; not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating
good-natured; marked by good cheer; cheerful and good-humored
done routinely and with little interest or care; acting with indifference; showing little interest or care
Don't select.

fetid

(5)

a. E.g. These dogs are housed in fetid, dark sheds and barns or left outside in cages exposed to the cold, the heat, the rain and the snow.

Select answer:
able to see differences; showing careful judgment or fine taste
tending to overthrow; in opposition to civil authority or government
put forth or held out as real, actual, or intended; proper or intended to be shown
unpleasant-smelling; having offensive smell; stinking
relating to essential nature of a thing; inherent; built-in
Don't select.

harrowing

(6)

a. E.g. At first the former prisoner did not wish to discuss his harrowing months of captivity as a political hostage.

Select answer:
agonizing; distressing extremely painful
being the first of its kind in a region; primitive; native
impenetrable by light; not transparent; not reflecting light; having no luster
difficult to please; having complicated requirements; excessively particular demanding about details
firmly or constant loyal; fixed or unchanging
Don't select.

irrevocable

(7)

a. E.g. As Sue dropped the "Dear John" letter into the mailbox, she suddenly wanted to take it back, but she could not: her action was irrevocable.

Select answer:
tough; strong and firm; possessing physical strength and weight
dark and gloomy; thick with fog; vague
unalterable; irreversible; impossible to retract or revoke
silent; muffled; toned down; indistinct
hardened in wrongdoing or wickedness; not giving in to persuasion
Don't select.

metropolis

(8)

n. E.g. Every evening the terminal is filled with thousands of commuters going from this metropolis to their homes in the suburbs.

Select answer:
natural consequence or effect; result
waste or impure matter; worthless, commonplace, or trivial matter
conventions; moral standards; accepted traditional customs
act of two things flowing together; junction or meeting place where two things meet
major city, especially chief city of country or region
Don't select.

preclude

(9)

v. E.g. The fact that the band was already booked to play in Hollywood on New Year's Eve would preclude their accepting the New Year's Eve gig in London.

Select answer:
leave to someone by a will; hand down
fall straight down; plunge; decline suddenly and steeply
degrade; debase, as in dignity or social standing
make impossible, as by action taken in advance; prevent; eliminate
move or cause to move energetically and busily; teem
Don't select.

reprimand

(10)

v. E.g. Every time Ermengarde made a mistake in class, she was afraid that Miss Minchin would reprimand her and tell her father how badly she was doing in school.

Select answer:
stare foolishly; look in open-mouthed awe
reprove severely, especially in a formal or official way; rebuke formally; censure severely or angrily
make uneasy or anxious; trouble
guess; infer something without sufficiently conclusive evidence
contradict; give a false impression
Don't select.

spartan

(11)

a. E.g. Looking over the bare, unheated room, with its hard cot, he wondered what he was doing in such spartan quarters.

Select answer:
widespread; widely or commonly occurring, existing, accepted
able to be dissolved; able to be explained
not fitting; lacking in harmony or compatibility
avoiding luxury and comfort; sternly disciplined
curving outward; having surface that bulges outward, as the exterior of sphere
Don't select.

ventriloquist

(12)

n. E.g. This ventriloquist does an act in which she has a conversation with a wooden dummy.

Select answer:
dominant theme or central idea; repeated figure or design in architecture or decoration
shameless or brazen boldness; insolent and shameless audacity
goat's horn overflowing with fruit and grain; symbol of abundance
pen name; fictitious name used when someone performs a particular social role
one who can make his voice seem to come from another person or thing
Don't select.