ACT - SAT Vocab Words - U-Z

Question 1

ubiquitous

Answer 1

(adj.) existing everywhere, widespread (It seems that everyone in the United States has a television. The technology is ubiquitoushere.)

Question 2

umbrage

Answer 2

(n.) resentment, offense (He called me a lily-livered coward, and I took umbrageat the insult.)

Question 3

uncanny

Answer 3

(adj.) of supernatural character or origin (Luka had an uncannyability to know exactly what other people were thinking. She also had an uncannyability to shoot fireballs from her hands.)

Question 4

unctuous

Answer 4

(adj.) smooth or greasy in texture, appearance, manner (The unctuous receptionist seemed untrustworthy, as if she was only being helpful because she thought we might give her a big tip.)

Question 5

undulate

Answer 5

(v.) to move in waves (As the storm began to brew, the placid ocean began to undulateto an increasing degree.)

Question 6

upbraid

Answer 6

(v.) to criticize or scold severely (The last thing Lindsay wanted was for Lisa to upbraidher again about missing the rent payment.)

Question 7

usurp

Answer 7

(v.) to seize by force, take possession of without right (The rogue army general tried to usurpcontrol of the government, but he failed because most of the army backed the legally elected president.)

Question 8

utilitarian

Answer 8

(adj.) relating to or aiming at usefulness (The beautiful, fragile vase couldn’t hold flowers or serve any other utilitarianpurpose.)

Question 9

utopia

Answer 9

(n.) an imaginary and remote place of perfection (Everyone in the world wants to live in a utopia, but no one can agree how to go about building one.)

Question 10

vacillate

Answer 10

(v.) to fluctuate, hesitate (I prefer a definite answer, but my boss kept vacillatingbetween the distinct options available to us.)

Question 11

vacuous

Answer 11

(adj.) lack of content or ideas, stupid (Beyonce realized that the lyrics she had just penned were completely vacuousand tried to add more substance.)

Question 12

validate

Answer 12

(v.) to confirm, support, corroborate (Yoko’s chemistry lab partner was asleep during the experiment and could not validatethe accuracy of her methods.)

Question 13

vapid

Answer 13

(adj.) lacking liveliness, dull (The professor’s comments about the poem were surprisingly vapidand dull.)

Question 14

variegated

Answer 14

(adj.) diversified, distinctly marked (Each wire in the engineering exam was variegatedby color so that the students could figure out which one was which.)

Question 15

vehemently

Answer 15

(adv.) marked by intense force or emotion (The candidate vehemently opposed cutting back on Social Security funding.)

Question 16

veneer

Answer 16

(n.) a superficial or deceptively attractive appearance, façade (Thanks to her Chanel makeup, Shannen was able to maintain a veneerof perfection that hid the flaws underneath.)

Question 17

venerable

Answer 17

(adj.) deserving of respect because of age or achievement (The venerableSupreme Court justice had made several key rulings in landmark cases throughout the years.)

Question 18

venerate

Answer 18

(v.) to regard with respect or to honor (The tributeto John Lennon sought to venerate his music, his words, and his legend.)

Question 19

veracity

Answer 19

(n.) truthfulness, accuracy (With several agencies regulating the reports, it was difficult for Latifah to argue against its veracity.)

Question 20

verbose

Answer 20

(adj.) wordy, impaired by wordiness (It took the verboseteacher two hours to explain the topic, while it should have taken only fifteen minutes.)

Question 21

verdant

Answer 21

(adj.) green in tint or color (The verdantleaves on the trees made the world look emerald.)

Question 22

vestige

Answer 22

(n.) a mark or trace of something lost or vanished (Do you know if the Mexican tortilla is a vestigeof some form of Aztec corn-based flat bread?)

Question 23

vex

Answer 23

(v.) to confuse or annoy (My little brother vexesme by poking me in the ribs for hours on end.)

Question 24

vicarious

Answer 24

(adj.) experiencing through another (All of my lame friends learned to be social through vicariousinvolvement in my amazing experiences.)

Question 25

vicissitude

Answer 25

(n.) event that occurs by chance (The vicissitudesof daily life prevent me from predicting what might happen from one day to the next.)

Question 26

vigilant

Answer 26

(adj.) watchful, alert (The guards remained vigilantthroughout the night, but the enemy never launched the expected attack.)

Question 27

vilify

Answer 27

(v.) to lower in importance, defame (After the Watergate scandal, almost any story written about President Nixon sought to vilifyhim and criticize his behavior.)

Question 28

vindicate

Answer 28

(v.) to avenge; to free from allegation; to set free (The attorney had no chance of vindicatingthe defendant with all of the strong evidence presented by the state.)

Question 29

vindictive

Answer 29

(adj.) vengeful (The vindictivemadman seeks to exact vengeance for any insult that he perceives is directed at him, no matter how small.)

Question 30

virtuoso

Answer 30

(n.) one who excels in an art; a highly skilled musical performer (Even though Lydia has studied piano for many years, she’s only average at it. She’s no virtuoso, that’s for sure.)

Question 31

viscous

Answer 31

(adj.) not free flowing, syrupy (The viscoussyrup took three minutes to pour out of the bottle.)

Question 32

vitriolic

Answer 32

(adj.) having a caustic quality (When angry, the woman would spew vitriolicinsults.)

Question 33

vituperate

Answer 33

(v.) to berate (Jack ran away as soon as his father found out, knowing he would be vituperatedfor his unseemly behavior.)

Question 34

vivacious

Answer 34

(adj.) lively, sprightly (The vivaciousclown makes all of the children laugh and giggle with his friendly antics.)

Question 35

vocation

Answer 35

(n.) the work in which someone is employed, profession (After growing tired of the superficial world of high-fashion, Edwina decided to devote herself to a new vocation: social work.)

Question 36

vociferous

Answer 36

(adj.) loud, boisterous (I’m tired of his vociferouswhining so I’m breaking up with him.)

Question 37

wallow

Answer 37

(v.) to roll oneself indolently; to become or remain helpless (My roommate can’t get over her breakup with her boyfriend and now just wallowsin self-pity.)

Question 38

wane

Answer 38

(v.) to decrease in size, dwindle (Don’t be so afraid of his wrath because his influence with the president is already beginning to wane.)

Question 39

wanton

Answer 39

(adj.) undisciplined, lewd, lustful (Vicky’s wantondemeanor often made the frat guys next door very excited.)

Question 40

whimsical

Answer 40

(adj.) fanciful, full of whims (The whimsicallittle girl liked to pretend that she was an elvin princess.)

Question 41

wily

Answer 41

(adj.) crafty, sly (Though they were not the strongest of the Thundercats, wilyKit and Kat were definitely the most clever and full of tricks.)

Question 42

winsome

Answer 42

(adj.) charming, pleasing (After such a long, frustrating day, I was grateful for Chris’s winsomeattitude and childish naivete.)

Question 43

wistful

Answer 43

(adj.) full of yearning; musingly sad (Since her pet rabbit died, Edda missed it terribly and sat around wistfulall day long.)

Question 44

wizened

Answer 44

(adj.) dry, shrunken, wrinkled (Agatha’s grandmother, Stephanie, had the most wizenedcountenance, full of leathery wrinkles.)

Question 45

wrath

Answer 45

(n.) vengeful anger, punishment (Did you really want to incur her wrathwhen she is known for inflicting the worst punishments legally possible?)

Question 46

yoke

Answer 46

(v.) to join, link (We yokedtogether the logs by tying a string around them.)

Question 47

zealous

Answer 47

(adj.) fervent, filled with eagerness in pursuit of something (If he were any more zealousabout getting his promotion, he’d practically live at the office.)

Question 48

zenith

Answer 48

(n.) the highest point, culminating point (I was too nice to tell Nelly that she had reached the absolute zenithof her career with that one hit of hers.)

Question 49

zephyr

Answer 49

(n.) a gentle breeze (If not for the zephyrsthat were blowing and cooling us, our room would’ve been unbearably hot.)