ACT Power Plus Vocabulary Lesson Fourteen

bombast – (n.) impressive but meaningless language Please, professor, spare me the bombast; just give me the facts.

orthography – (n.) correct spelling Anne’s excellent spelling grades are testament to her grasp of orthography.

paleontology – (n.) a science dealing with prehistoric life through the study of fossils The expert in paleontology dated the skeleton to 2000 B.C.

recoil – (v.) to retreat; to draw back Liz recoiled from the harsh words as though she had been struck.

panache – (n.) self-confidence; a showy manner The actor always exhibited great panache, so his first appearance on the talk show didn’t make him the least bit nervous. Synonyms charisma spirit

saturnine – (adj.) gloomy; sluggish The hostess’s saturnine attitude caused the party to end early. Synonyms sullen morose Antonyms genial

endemic – (adj.) confined to a particular country or area Once it had been endemic to Africa, but now it is becoming a world-wide epidemic. Synonyms native indigenous Antonyms alien foreign

mendacious – (adj.) lying; false; deceitful Everyone knows the politician is mendacious, yet voters keep talking about electing her. Synonyms duplicitous Antonyms truthful

obviate – (v.) to prevent; to get around They delayed the release of the film in order to obviate a barrage of criticism. Synonyms circumvent

paroxysm – (n.) a sudden outburst; a fit The class, in a paroxysm of laughter, went silent as soon as the principal walked into the room. Synonym outburst commotion

aggrandize– (v.) 1) to increase the range of; to expand; 2) to make appear larger Much of what they did was not intended to aide their country, but to aggrandize their own positions. Synonyms 1) enlarge; augment; enrich 2) exaggerate; embellish Antonyms 1) decrease; diminish 2) belittle; devalue

deign – (v.) to lower oneself before an inferior “After what she did to me, I would not deign to say hello to her,” said Mary about her former best friend. Synonyms stoop condescend

flaunt – (v.) to show off Some people flaunt their wealth by buying islands. Synonyms boast exhibit Antonyms conceal

shibboleth – (n.) a word of pronunciation that distinguishes someone as of a particular group Pronouncing “creek” as “crick” is a shibboleth of people in mid-Atlantic states.

elicit – (v.) to draw forth; to call forth The attorney tried to elicit a response from his client, but the man remained silent. Synonyms evoke extract Antonyms cover suppress