abase:
v. humiliate; lower or depress in rank or esteem | abash:
v. embarrass; make ashamed or uneasy; disconcert |
abbreviate:
v. make shorter; reduce to shorter form intended to represent full form, as for word or phrase | abdicate:
v. give up, renounce, abandon, lay down, or withdraw from, as a right or claim |
abdication:
n. the act of giving up or renouncing a right, office, or position of power etc. | abet:
v. aid, usually in doing something wrong; encourage |
abhorrent:
a. disgusting, loathsome | abjure:
v. renounce upon oath; abandon forever |
ablution:
n. washing or cleansing of the body, especially as part of religious rite | abnegate:
v. give up or surrender; deny something to oneself |
abnegation:
n. repudiation; self-sacrifice; renouncing your own interests in favor of interests of others | abrade:
v. wear away by friction; scrape; erode |
abridge:
v. condense; shorten; reduce length of written text | abrogate:
a. abolish, do away with, or annul, especially by authority |
abscond:
v. leave quickly and secretly and hide oneself, often to avoid arrest or prosecution | abstemious:
a. sparing or moderation in eating and drinking; temperate |
acclimate:
v. accustom or become accustomed to a new environment or situation; adapt | acclivity:
n. upward slope, as of hill |
accolade:
n. award of merit; expression of approval; praise | accost:
v. approach and speak to boldly or aggressively, as with demand or request |
accouter:
v. equip; provide with military equipment | accretion:
n. growth or increase in size by gradual external addition, fusion, or inclusion |
acerbity:
n. bitterness of speech and temper; sourness or acidness of taste, character, or tone | acetic:
a. having properties of vinegar; sour |
acidulous:
a. slightly sour in taste or in manner; sharp; caustic | acquisition:
n. the act of acquiring or gaining possession |
acrimonious:
a. bitter and sharp in language, tone, or manner | acrimony:
n. animosity, sharp or bitter hatred |
acrophobia:
n. fear of heights; abnormal fear of high places | actuarial:
a. calculating; pertaining to insurance statistics |
actuate:
v. put into motion or action; activate | acuity:
n. sharpness; acuteness of vision or perception; keenness |
adage:
n. an old saying, that has obtained credit by long use | addle:
v. muddle; drive crazy; become confused |
adjoin:
v. be next to; be contiguous to; border on | adjudicate:
v. hear and settle a case by judicial procedure |
adjunct:
n. something added on or attached generally nonessential or inferior | adjure:
v. appeal to or entreat earnestly; command or enjoin solemnly, as under oath |
admonition:
n. gentle or friendly reproof; cautionary advice or warning | adulation:
n. excessive flattery or admiration; unmerited praise |
adulterate:
v. make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances | adumbrate:
v. give hint or indication of something; disclose partially or guardedly; overshadow; shade |
adventitious:
a. accidental; casual; not inherent but added extrinsically | advert:
n. advertisement an ad; public promotion of some product or service |
aerie:
n. nest of bird, such as eagle, built on a cliff or other high place | affix:
v. fasten; append; add on; secure to something |
affluence:
n. abundance; a plentiful supply of material goods; wealth | agglomeration:
n. collection; heap; act or process of gathering into a mass |
aggrandize:
v. increase scope of; extend; intensify; make greater in power, influence, stature, or reputation | agnostic:
n. one who is skeptical of existence of a god or any ultimate reality |
aka:
ad. as known or named at another time or place; also known as | alacrity:
n. cheerful promptness or willingness; eagerness; speed or quickness |
algorithm:
n. established procedure for solving problem | alimentary:
a. providing nourishment; concerned with food, nutrition, or digestion |
allay:
v. calm; pacify; reduce the intensity of; relieve | allege:
v. to assert to be true |
allegory:
n. symbolic representation of abstract ideas or principles in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form | alliteration:
n. repetition of beginning sound in poetry |
allocate:
v. assign; distribute according to plan | allusion:
n. an indirect reference |
altar:
n. elevated place or structure before which religious ceremonies may be enacted or upon which sacrifices may be offered | amalgam:
n. a combination of many different things; an alloy of mercury and other metals |
amalgamate:
v. combine; unite in one body; mix or alloy a metal with mercury | amass:
v. collect; gather for oneself, as for one's pleasure or profit |
ambidextrous:
a. capable of using either hand with equal ease | ambivalence:
n. state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes, such as love and hate |
amble:
n. moving at an easy pace; walk slowly or leisurely | ambulatory:
a. able to walk; formed or adapted for walking; not stationary |
ameliorate:
v. make or become better; improve; grow better | amity:
n. friendship; peaceful relations, as between nations |
amorphous:
a. formless; lacking shape or definition | amphitheater:
n. oval building with tiers of seats from central open space or arena |
amplify:
v. broaden or clarify by expanding; intensify; make larger or more powerful; increase | amputee:
n. a person who has had one or more limbs removed by amputation |
anachronistic:
a. having time error in story; erroneous in date; in wrong time | analgesic:
a. serving to reduce sensibility to pain without loss of consciousness |
anathema:
n. solemn curse; someone or something regarded as a curse | ancestry:
n. family descent; series or line of ancestors; lineage |
ancillary:
a. serving as aid or accessory; auxiliary | anew:
ad. once more; again; in a new and different way |
angular:
a. sharp-cornered; consisting of an angle or angles; stiff in manner | animus:
n. feeling of animosity |
annotate:
v. comment; make explanatory notes | anodyne:
n. source of relaxation or comfort; medicine that relieves pain |
antecede:
v. precede; go before in time, and sometimes in place, rank, or logical order | antecedents:
n. preceding events or circumstances that influence what comes later; ancestors or early background |
antediluvian:
a. antiquated; extremely old and ancient; belonging to very ancient times | anthology:
n. book of literary selections by various authors |
anthropocentric:
a. regarding human beings as the center of the universe | anthropoid:
a. manlike; resembling a human, especially in shape or outward appearance |
anthropomorphic:
a. having human form or characteristics | anticlimax:
n. letdown in thought or emotion; decline viewed in disappointing contrast with previous rise |
antipathy:
n. strong feelings of aversion or dislike | apartheid:
n. South Africa's policy of racial separation, in place from 1948 to 1990. |
aphasia:
n. loss of speech due to injury or illness | aphorism:
n. definition or concise statement of principle; tersely phrased statement of truth or opinion |
apiary:
n. place where bees and beehives are kept, especially where bees are raised for their honey | aplomb:
n. poise; self-confident assurance |
apogee:
n. the highest point; point in orbit most distant from the body being orbited | apolitical:
a. having aversion or lack of concern for political affairs |
apologist:
n. person who argues in defense or justification of something, such as doctrine, policy, or institution | apostate:
n. one who abandons his religious faith or political beliefs |
apotheosis:
n. elevation to godhood; fact or action of becoming a god; an ideal example of something | appall:
v. depress or discourage with fear; grow faint or become weak |
append:
v. attach; add as supplement or appendix | apposite:
a. strikingly appropriate and relevant; well-suited |
appraise:
v. estimate value of; evaluate, especially in official capacity | apprenticeship:
n. term during which one learns a trade from skilled worker; service or legal condition of an apprentice |
apprise:
v. inform; give notice to; make aware | aquifer:
n. underground bed or layer yielding ground water for wells and springs etc |
archetype:
n. prototype; original model or type after which other similar things are patterned | archipelago:
n. a large group of islands; a sea, containing a large number of scattered islands |
arena:
n. an enclosed area, often outdoor, for the presentation of sporting events or other spectacular events | aristocracy:
n. hereditary nobility; privileged class |
arraign:
v. officially charge someone in a court of law | arrogate:
v. claim without justification; claim for oneself without right |
artisan:
n. manually skilled worker; craftsman, as opposed to artist | aseptic:
a. preventing infection; having cleansing effect |
ashen:
a. ash-colored; very pale; consisting of ashes | askance:
a. with sideways or indirect look; Turned to side, especially of eyes |
aspect:
n. look, or particular appearance of the face; the visual percept of a region | asperity:
n. harshness of manner, roughness |
aspirant:
n. one who aspires, as to advancement, honors, or a high position | assay:
v. analyze; evaluate; examine by trial or experiment; put to test |
assimilate:
v. to make similar, to incorporate or absorb into | astigmatism:
n. eye defect that prevents proper focus |
astringent:
a. causing contraction; having the effect of drawing tissue together; stern or austere | asymmetric:
a. not identical on both sides of a dividing central line |
at loggerheads:
ad. engaged in a dispute | atavism:
n. resemblance to remote ancestors rather than to parents; deformity returning after passage of two or more generations |
atavistic:
a. displaying characteristics of previous cultural era or of previous ancestral form | atheistic:
a. denying existence of God; godless |
atrocity:
n. extreme criminality or cruelty; quality of being shockingly cruel and inhumane | attenuate:
v. make slender, fine, or small; weaken; lessen density of |
attrition:
n. gradual decrease in numbers; reduction in work force without firing employees; wearing away of opposition by means of harassment | atypical:
a. not normal; unusual or irregular; not representative of a group, class, or type |
aura:
n. an invisible breath; distinctive atmosphere or quality associated with something | aureole:
n. the outermost region of the sun's atmosphere; halo |
auroral:
a. characteristic of dawn; dawning, eastern, like new beginning; relating to the atmospheric phenomenon auroras | austerity:
n. severe and rigid economy; severe or rigorous simplicity; absence of adornment or luxury |
authenticate:
v. prove genuine; establish authenticity of | authoritarian:
a. expecting absolute obedience; completely dominating another's will |
autocrat:
n. dictator; ruler having unlimited power | autocratic:
a. having absolute, unchecked power; dictatorial |
automaton:
n. mechanism that imitates actions of humans | autonomous:
a. self-governing; not controlled by others or by outside forces; independent |
avalanche:
n. fall or slide of a large mass, as of snow or rock, down a mountainside | aviation:
n. art or act of flying; specifically, the science or art of directing and controlling flying-machines |
avocation:
n. activity taken up in addition to one's regular work or profession, usually for enjoyment | avuncular:
a. in manner of uncle, pertaining to uncle; kind, genial, benevolent or tolerant |
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