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ACT Vocab > Chapter 12 > Flashcards

Chapter 12 Flashcards

1
Q

falter

A

start to lose strength or momentum: her smile faltered and then faded.

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2
Q

fanatic

A

a person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal, especially for an extreme religious or political cause: religious fanatics.

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3
Q

fantastic

A

imaginative or fanciful; remote from reality: fantastic hybrid creatures | novels are capable of mixing fantastic and realistic elements.

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4
Q

fastidious

A

very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail: he chooses his words with fastidious care.

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5
Q

facetious

A

treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor; flippant: a facetious remark.

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6
Q

fathom

A

[usually with negative] understand (a difficult problem or an enigmatic person) after much thought: [with clause] : he couldn’t fathom why she was being so anxious | he could scarcely fathom the idea that people actually lived in Las Vegas.

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7
Q

fawn

A

(of a person) give a servile display of exaggerated flattery or affection, typically in order to gain favor or advantage: congressmen fawn over the President.
• (of an animal, especially a dog) show slavish devotion, especially by crawling and rubbing against someone: the dogs started fawning on me.

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8
Q

faze

A

disturb or disconcert (someone): she was not fazed by his show of anger.

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9
Q

fearsome

A

frightening, especially in appearance: the cat mewed, displaying a fearsome set of teeth.

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10
Q

fearful

A

feeling afraid; showing fear or anxiety

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11
Q

feast

A
  1. a large meal, typically one in celebration of something: a wedding feast.
  2. • [with object] give (someone) a plentiful and delicious meal: he was feasted and invited to all the parties.
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12
Q

feat

A

an achievement that requires great courage, skill, or strength: the new printing presses were considerable feats of engineering.

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13
Q

feeble

A

lacking physical strength, especially as a result of age or illness: my legs are very feeble after the flu.

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14
Q

feign

A

pretend to be affected by (a feeling, state, or injury): she feigned nervousness.

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15
Q

muster

A

assemble (troops), especially for inspection or in preparation for battle: 17,000 men had been mustered on Haldon Hill.

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16
Q

ferment

A

发酵

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17
Q

ferocious

A

savagely fierce, cruel, or violent: the wolverine is nature’s most ferocious and violent animal.

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18
Q

fertilize

A

cause (an egg, female animal, or plant) to develop a new individual by introducing male reproductive material.

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19
Q

festive

A
  1. relating to a festival

2. cheerful and jovially celebratory

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20
Q

jovial

A

cheerful and friendly

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21
Q

celebratory

A

feeling or expressing happiness and pride

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22
Q

fetching

A

attrative

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23
Q

ficititious

A

not real or true, being imaginary or having been fabricated: she pleaded guilty to stealing thousands in taxpayer dollars by having a fictitious employee on her payroll.

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24
Q

feud

A

a prolonged and bitter quarrel or dispute: one of the most volatile feuds that currently rock the scientific community.

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25
Q

fickle

A

changing frequently, especially as regards one’s loyalties, interests, or affection: Web patrons are a notoriously fickle lot, bouncing from one site to another on a whim | the weather is forever fickle.

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26
Q

fiddle

A
  1. [no object] touch or fidget with something in a restless or nervous way: Laura fiddled with her cup.
  2. (fiddle around) pass time aimlessly, without doing or achieving anything of substance.
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27
Q

fidgety

A

restless or uneasy

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28
Q

figment

A

a thing that someone believes to be real but that exists only in their imagination: it really was Ross and not a figment of her overheated imagination.

29
Q

flich

A

pilfer or steal (something, especially a thing of small value) in a casual way: I was promptly accused of filching Mr. Muir’s idea.

30
Q

file

A
  1. a line of people or things one behind another: Plains Cree warriors riding in file down the slopes.
  2. (of a group of people) walk one behind the other, typically in an orderly and solemn manner: the mourners filed into the church.
31
Q

filial

A

dutiful; conscientiously or obediently fulfilling one’s duty.

32
Q

fiscal

A

relating to government revenue, especially taxes: monetary and fiscal policy.

33
Q

fitful

A

active or occurring spasmodically or intermittently; not regular or steady: a few hours’ fitful sleep | business was fitful.

34
Q

spasmodically

A

occurring or done in brief, irregular bursts: spasmodic fighting continued.

35
Q

intermittently

A

at irregular intervals; not continuously or steadily: he has worked intermittently in a variety of jobs | an intermittently amusing plot.

36
Q

fizzle

A

make a feeble hissing or spluttering sound: the strobe lights fizzled and flickered.
• end or fail in a weak or disappointing way: their threatened revolt fizzled out at yesterday’s meeting.

37
Q

flag

A

(of a person) become tired, weaker, or less enthusiastic: if you begin to flag, there is an excellent cafe to revive you.

38
Q

flair

A

aptitude/ability for doing something well

39
Q

flake out

A

fall asleep; drop from exhaustion: he got back in time to flake out until morning.

40
Q

flashback

A

a scene in a movie, novel, etc., set in a time earlier than the main story: in a series of flashbacks, we follow the pair through their teenage years.
• a sudden and disturbing vivid memory of an event in the past, typically as the result of psychological trauma or taking LSD.

41
Q

flaunt

A

display (something) ostentatiously, especially in order to provoke envy or admiration or to show defiance: newly rich consumers eager to flaunt their prosperity.

42
Q

ostentatiously

A

in a pretentious or showy way designed to impress

43
Q

fleet

A
  1. a group of ships sailing together, engaged in the same activity, or under the same ownership: the small port supports a fishing fleet.
  2. fast and nimble in movement: a man of advancing years, but fleet of foot.
44
Q

flick

A
  1. a sudden sharp movement

2. propel (something) with a sudden sharp movement, especially of the fingers: Emily flicked some ash off her sleeve.

45
Q

flicker

A

(of light or a source of light) shine unsteadily; vary rapidly in brightness: the interior lights flickered, and came on.

46
Q

flinch

A

make a quick, nervous movement as an instinctive reaction to fear, pain, or surprise: she flinched at the acidity in his voice | he had faced death without flinching.

47
Q

flop

A

[with adverbial] fall, move, or hang in a heavy, loose, and ungainly way: black hair flopped across his forehead.

48
Q

florid

A
  1. having a red or flushed complexion: a stout man with a florid face.
  2. elaborately or excessively intricate or complicated: florid operatic-style music was out.
49
Q

flounder

A

struggle or stagger helplessly or clumsily in water or mud: he was floundering about in the shallow offshore waters.
• struggle mentally; show or feel great confusion: she floundered, not knowing quite what to say.

50
Q

flout

A

openly disregard (a rule, law or convention): these same companies still flout basic ethical practices.

51
Q

fluke

A

侥幸

52
Q

fluster

A

make (someone) agitated or confused: there’s nothing you can do or say to fluster Bernie | the false start flustered me a bit.

53
Q

flutter

A

(of a bird or other winged creature) fly unsteadily or hover by flapping the wings quickly and lightly: a couple of butterflies fluttered around the garden.

  1. • [with adverbial of direction] (of a person) move restlessly or uncertainly: the hostess fluttered forward to greet her guests.
54
Q

fluttering

A

moving with a light irregular or trembling motion: a fluttering banner.

55
Q

foment

A

instigate or stir up (an undesirable or violent sentiment or course of action): they accused him of fomenting political unrest.

56
Q

focal

A

relating to the center or main point of interest: tapestries in which birds or animals provide the focal interest.

57
Q

fondly

A

with affection or liking: he talks fondly of his grandfather | things I fondly recall from my childhood.

58
Q

forbear

A

forbear from = refrain from = abstain from

59
Q

forbearance

A

patient self-control; restraint and tolerance: forbearance from taking action.

60
Q

forbidding

A

unfriendly or threatening in appearance: a grim and forbidding building.

61
Q

foreclose

A

[with object] rule out or prevent (a course of action): the decision effectively foreclosed any possibility of his early rehabilitation.

62
Q

forefront

A

the leading or most important position or place: we are at the forefront of developments.

63
Q

foreshadow

A

be a warning or indication of (a future event): it foreshadowed my preoccupation with jazz.

64
Q

foresight

A

the ability to predict or the action of predicting what will happen or be needed in the future: he had the foresight to check that his escape route was clear.

65
Q

forestall

A

prevent or obstruct (an anticipated event or action) by taking action ahead of time: vitamins may forestall many diseases of aging.

66
Q

forfeit

A

lose or be deprived of (property or a right or privilege) as a penalty for wrongdoing: those unable to meet their taxes were liable to forfeit their property.

67
Q

forlorn

A

1 pitifully sad and abandoned or lonely: forlorn figures at bus stops.
2 (of an aim or endeavor) unlikely to succeed or be fulfilled; hopeless: a forlorn attempt to escape.

68
Q

formative

A

serving to form something, especially having a profound and lasting influence on a person’s development: his formative years.
• relating to a person’s development: a formative assessment.

69
Q

formidable

A

inspiring fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful, intense, or capable: a formidable opponent.

ACT Vocab (24 decks)

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