ACT - SAT Vocab Words - F, G, H, L Flashcards
fabricate
(v.) to make up, invent (When I arrived an hour late to class, I fabricatedsome excuse about my car breaking down on the way to school.)
façade
(n.) the wall of a building (Meet me in front of the museum’s main façade.) 2. (n. a deceptive appearance or attitude (Despite my smiling façade, I am feeling melancholy.)
facile
(adj.) easy, requiring little effort (This game is so facilethat even a four-year- old can master it.) 2. (adj. superficial, achieved with minimal thought or care, insincere (The business was in such shambles that any solution seemed facileat best; nothing could really helpit in the long-run.)
fallacious
(adj.) incorrect, misleading (Emily offered me cigarettes on the fallacious assumption that I smoked.)
fastidious
(adj.) meticulous, demanding, having high and often unattainable standards (Mark is so fastidiousthat he is never able to finish a project because it always seems imperfect to him.)
fathom
(v.) to understand, comprehend (I cannot fathomwhy you like that crabby and mean-spirited neighbor of ours.)
fatuous
(adj.) silly, foolish (He considers himself a serious poet, but in truth, he only writes fatuouslimericks.)
fecund
(adj.) fruitful, fertile (The fecundtree bore enough apples to last us through the entire season.)
felicitous
(adj.) well suited, apt (While his comments were idiotic and rambling, mine were felicitousand helpful.) 2. (adj.) delightful, pleasing (I spent a felicitous afternoon visiting old friends.)
feral
(adj.) wild, savage (That beast looks so feralthat I would fear being alone with it.)
fervent
(adj.) ardent, passionate (The ferventprotestors chained themselves to the building and shouted all night long.)
fetid
(adj.) having a foul odor (I can tell from the fetidsmell in your refrigerator that your milk has spoiled.)
fetter
(v.) to chain, restrain (The dog was fetteredto the parking meter.)
fickle
(adj.) shifting in character, inconstant (In Greek dramas, the ficklegods help Achilles one day, and then harm him the next.)
fidelity
(n.) loyalty, devotion (Guard dogs are known for the great fidelitythey show toward their masters.)
figurative
(adj.) symbolic (Using figurativelanguage, Jane likened the storm to an angry bull.)
flabbergasted
(adj.) astounded (Whenever I read an Agatha Christie mystery novel, I am always flabbergastedwhen I learn the identity of the murderer.)
flaccid
(adj.) limp, not firm or strong (If a plant is not watered enough, its leaves become droopy and flaccid.)
flagrant
(adj.) offensive, egregious (The judge’s decision to set the man free simply because that man was his brother was a flagrantabuse of power.)
florid
(adj.) flowery, ornate (The writer’s floridprose belongs on a sentimental Hallmark card.)
flout
(v.) to disregard or disobey openly (I floutedthe school’s dress code by wearing a tie-dyed tank top and a pair of cut-off jeans.)
foil
(v.) to thwart, frustrate, defeat (Inspector Wilkens foiledthe thieves by locking them in the bank along with their stolen money.)
forage
(v.) to graze, rummage for food (When we got lost on our hiking trip, we foraged for berries and nuts in order to survive.)
forbearance
(n.) patience, restraint, toleration (The doctor showed great forbearancein calming down the angry patient who shouted insults at him.)
forestall
(v.) to prevent, thwart, delay (I forestalledthe cold I was getting by taking plenty of vitamin C pills and wearing a scarf.)
forlorn
(adj.) lonely, abandoned, hopeless (Even though I had the flu, my family decided to go skiing for the weekend and leave me home alone, feeling feverish and forlorn.)
forsake
(v.) to give up, renounce (My New Year’s resolution is to forsakesmoking and drinking.)
fortitude
(n.) strength, guts (Achilles’ fortitudein battle is legendary.)
fortuitous
(adj.) happening by chance, often lucky or fortunate (After looking for Manuel and not finding him at home, Harriet had a fortuitousencounter with him at the post office.)
forum
(n.) a medium for lecture or discussion (Some radio talk-shows provide a good forumfor political debate.)
foster
(v.) to stimulate, promote, encourage (To fostergood health in the city, the mayor started a “Get out and exercise!” campaign.)
fractious
(adj.) troublesome or irritable (Although the child insisted he wasn’t tired, his fractiousbehavior—especially his decision to crush his cheese and crackers all over the floor—convinced everyone present that it was time to put him to bed.)
fraught
(adj.) (usually used with “with”) filled or accompanied with (Her glances in his direction were fraughtwith meaning, though precisely what meaning remained unclear.)
frenetic
(adj.) frenzied, hectic, frantic (In the hours between night and morning, the freneticpace of city life slows to a lull.)