Build Your ACT Vocabulary with Our Top 100 Word List and Examples

The ACT (American College Testing) is one of the most critical standardized tests for high school students in the United States. A strong vocabulary is essential for excelling in the ACT, particularly in the English, Reading, and Writing sections. ACT vocabulary words are high-frequency terms that often appear in questions or passages. Mastering these words not only boosts your ACT score but also enhances your overall communication skills.

This guide explores what ACT vocabulary words are, why they matter, and the best ways to learn them. Plus, we’ve compiled a list of the top 100 ACT words, their definitions, and examples to help you get started.

What Are ACT Vocabulary Words?

ACT vocabulary words are terms that frequently show up on the test. These words are often selected because they are used in academic, professional, or formal contexts. Understanding their meanings, as well as how to use them in sentences, helps test-takers grasp the nuances of questions and eliminate incorrect answers.

Why Are ACT Vocabulary Words Important?

Critical Reading and Comprehension: A robust vocabulary improves your ability to interpret passages and answer comprehension questions accurately.
Grammar and Usage: The English section often tests your understanding of word usage, requiring a good grasp of vocabulary.
Writing Excellence: A diverse vocabulary enables you to craft sophisticated, clear, and concise essays.

Top 100 ACT Vocabulary Words

To get you started, here’s a table of 100 commonly tested ACT vocabulary words. Each word comes with its definition and an example sentence to help you understand how it’s used.

	Word	Definition	Example
1	Adulation	Excessive admiration or praise	"The actor enjoyed the adulation of his fans after the premiere."
2	Arbitrary	Based on random choice or whim	"His decision seemed arbitrary and lacked any logical reasoning."
3	Abbreviate	To shorten	"You can abbreviate 'Doctor' to 'Dr.' in your writing."
4	Abstain	To refrain from doing something	"She decided to abstain from eating sweets during her diet."
5	Adversity	Misfortune or difficulties	"He showed great resilience in the face of adversity."
6	Aesthetic	Pertaining to beauty	"The painting has a unique aesthetic appeal."
7	Amicable	Friendly and agreeable	"The dispute was settled in an amicable manner."
8	Anachronistic	Out of its time period	"The use of typewriters in the office is anachronistic."
9	Anecdote	A short personal story	"She shared a humorous anecdote about her childhood."
10	Anonymous	Nameless, without identity	"The letter was sent by an anonymous donor."
11	Antagonist	An opponent or adversary	"The protagonist must overcome the antagonist in the story."
12	Arid	Extremely dry	"The desert's arid climate makes it hard for plants to grow."
13	Assiduous	Hardworking and diligent	"Her assiduous efforts earned her a promotion."
14	Asylum	A place of safety	"The refugees sought asylum in a neighboring country."
15	Benevolent	Kind and generous	"Her benevolent acts of charity inspired many."
16	Cacophony	A harsh mixture of sounds	"The construction created a cacophony outside the office."
17	Censure	To criticize harshly	"The board will censure any unethical behavior."
18	Circuitous	Indirect, roundabout	"The GPS took us on a circuitous route to avoid traffic."
19	Clairvoyant	Able to foresee the future	"The clairvoyant claimed she could predict the outcome."
20	Collaborate	To work together	"The team will collaborate on the project to meet the deadline."
21	Compassion	Sympathy and concern for others	"She showed great compassion for the homeless."
22	Compromise	To settle differences	"Both sides must compromise to reach an agreement."
23	Condescending	Acting superior	"His condescending tone made the audience feel uncomfortable."
24	Conditional	Dependent on a condition	"Her acceptance was conditional on completing the required forms."
25	Conformist	A follower of customs or rules	"He is a conformist who avoids challenging authority."
26	Congregation	A gathering of people	"The congregation gathered for Sunday service."
27	Convergence	Coming together	"The convergence of ideas led to a breakthrough."
28	Deleterious	Harmful	"Smoking has deleterious effects on health."
29	Demagogue	A leader who appeals to emotions	"The politician was criticized as a demagogue for exploiting fears."
30	Digression	Straying from the main point	"The speaker's digression confused the audience."
31	Diligent	Hardworking and persistent	"She is a diligent student who completes all her assignments."
32	Discredit	To harm someone’s reputation	"The scandal served to discredit the politician."
33	Disdain	Lack of respect, contempt	"She viewed his actions with disdain."
34	Divergent	Different, moving apart	"Their opinions became increasingly divergent over time."
35	Eloquent	Fluent or persuasive in speech	"The politician gave an eloquent speech that moved the audience."
36	Empathy	Understanding others’ feelings	"Her empathy for the victims was evident."
37	Emulate	To imitate or match	"He tried to emulate his mentor’s success."
38	Enervating	Draining energy	"The heat was enervating, making it hard to work."
39	Ephemeral	Short-lived	"Fame in the digital age is often ephemeral."
40	Evanescent	Quickly fading	"The evanescent rainbow disappeared after the storm."
41	Exemplary	Serving as a model	"Her exemplary behavior earned her an award."
42	Extenuating	Excusing, lessening the severity	"There were extenuating circumstances for her late submission."
43	Florid	Excessively ornate or flowery	"His writing style was too florid for my taste."
44	Foster	To promote growth or development	"The program was designed to foster creativity in young children."
45	Fortuitous	Happening by luck	"It was a fortuitous coincidence that they met at the airport."
46	Frugal	Economical, not wasteful	"Living frugally helped them save for a house."
47	Hackneyed	Overused, cliché	"The plot of the movie was hackneyed and predictable."
48	Haughty	Arrogant, condescending	"Her haughty attitude alienated her peers."
49	Hedonist	Someone who seeks pleasure	"As a hedonist, he spent his life pursuing luxury."
50	Hypothesis	An educated guess	"The scientist tested the hypothesis with an experiment."
51	Impetuous	Acting without thought	"His impetuous decision led to unexpected consequences."
52	Impute	To attribute to someone	"They imputed the blame for the accident to him."
53	Incompatible	Unable to work together	"Their personalities were completely incompatible."
54	Inconsequential	Unimportant	"The typo was inconsequential to the overall message."
55	Inevitable	Certain to happen	"Change is inevitable in any organization."
56	Integrity	Honesty and strong morals	"Her integrity was evident in her actions."
57	Intrepid	Fearless	"The intrepid explorer ventured into the unknown."
58	Jubilation	Great joy	"There was jubilation in the streets after the victory."
59	Lobbyist	Someone who influences legislation	"The lobbyist worked to pass the new law."
60	Longevity	Long life	"Her longevity is attributed to a healthy lifestyle."
61	Mundane	Ordinary, dull	"He found his desk job mundane."
62	Nonchalant	Calm and relaxed	"She remained nonchalant despite the chaos."
63	Novice	Beginner	"He is a novice at playing the guitar."
64	Opulent	Luxurious	"The hotel featured opulent furnishings and décor."
65	Orator	Skilled public speaker	"The orator captivated the audience with his speech."
66	Ostentatious	Showy, pretentious	"Her ostentatious outfit drew attention."
67	Parched	Extremely dry	"The parched soil needed water."
68	Perfidious	Deceitful	"He was betrayed by her perfidious actions."
69	Pragmatic	Practical	"Her pragmatic approach solved the problem."
70	Precocious	Advanced for one’s age	"The precocious child could read at age three."
71	Pretentious	Self-important	"His pretentious comments annoyed everyone."
72	Procrastinate	To delay unnecessarily	"He tends to procrastinate when faced with a difficult task."
73	Prolific	Producing a large amount of something	"She is a prolific author, having written over 50 novels."
74	Prosaic	Lacking originality	"His prosaic writing failed to inspire the readers."
75	Prosperity	Wealth or success	"The country experienced years of prosperity."
76	Provocative	Provoking thought or reaction	"The article was provocative and sparked debate."
77	Prudent	Careful and wise	"It’s always prudent to save for emergencies."
78	Querulous	Complaining	"The querulous customer demanded a refund."
79	Rancorous	Bitter, resentful	"Their rancorous feud lasted for decades."
80	Reclusive	Avoiding others	"The writer led a reclusive life in the countryside."
81	Reconciliation	Restoring friendly relations	"The reconciliation between the two countries was historic."
82	Resilient	Able to recover quickly	"She is resilient in the face of setbacks."
83	Restrained	Controlled, reserved	"His restrained response kept the situation calm."
84	Reverence	Deep respect	"She spoke with reverence about her mentor."
85	Sagacity	Wisdom	"His sagacity helped him make wise decisions."
86	Scrutinize	To examine closely	"The manager will scrutinize the budget report."
87	Spontaneity	Impulsive action	"Her spontaneity led to some of the best adventures."
88	Submissive	Ready to yield	"The dog was submissive to its owner."
89	Substantiate	To provide evidence	"The scientist substantiated her claims with data."
90	Subtle	Not obvious	"The changes were so subtle that they went unnoticed."
91	Superficial	Shallow, lacking depth	"His superficial analysis missed the underlying issues."
92	Superfluous	Unnecessary	"The superfluous details made the report too long."
93	Surreptitious	Secret, stealthy	"They held a surreptitious meeting to avoid attention."
94	Tactful	Diplomatic, polite	"He was tactful in delivering the bad news."
95	Tenacious	Persistent, determined	"Her tenacious efforts finally paid off."
96	Transient	Temporary	"Their stay in the city was transient."
97	Venerable	Respected due to age or wisdom	"The venerable professor was admired by all."
98	Vindicate	To clear of blame	"The evidence will vindicate her innocence."
99	Vivid	Producing powerful, clear images	"Her vivid description brought the story to life."
100	Wary	Cautious	"He was wary of strangers offering help."

Building a strong ACT vocabulary doesn’t happen overnight, but with consistent practice, you can achieve mastery. Use the table above as a starting point and incorporate these words into your daily conversations and writing. By the time test day rolls around, you’ll be ready to ace those tricky vocabulary questions and improve your overall score.

Good luck with your ACT preparation!