#1-20-ABASH-ADROIT Flashcards
TO ABASH
abashed adj
unabashedly adv
stress on BA
to feel abashed by smth
ashamed, embarrassed (2r + 2s)
she felt abashed by her inability to sing
to do smth unabashedly
he copied his paper unabashedly from Wikipedia
TO ABATE
unabated adj
stress on BAY
smth abates = subsides
(bad weather, storm, heat; but also pain, agony, stress)
his agony gradually abated
to continue unabated
the storm continued unabated
tax abatement = tax reduction
TO ABDICATE
stress on AB
to abdicate = step down (king, monarch)
King Edward VIII decided to abdicate in order to marry Wallis Simpson
to abdicate duties/responsibilities
she decided to abdicate her duties as a vice-president
an ABERRATION
[2r]
aberrant adj
stress on RAY
deviation from standard, smth not typical
(any noun, eg behaviour, meal, snowstorm)
his bad behaviour was an aberration
our meal in this excellent restaurant was an aberration
a snowstorm in June is an aberration
to be aberrant
his bad behaviour was aberrant
our meal in this excellent restaurant was aberrant
a snowstorm in June is aberrant
TO ABHOR
abhorrent adj
[2r]
stress on HOR
to hate smth very much, to detest
he abhors / abhorred (2 r) getting up early
to find smth abhorrent
I find eating raw meat abhorrent
ABJECT adj
stress on AB
smth or smb extremely sad, servile, hopeless, defeated, crushed
she felt abject humiliation
the slave was abject
idiom: abject poverty (overused)
TO ABNEGATE
root: negate
x self-abnegation
stress on AB
to deny oneself smth, to renounce a right, responsibility
the committee has abnegated its responsibility
the victim has abnegated his right to bring his case to a trial.
idiom: self-abnegation (usually for some higher cause)
ascetics practice self-abnegation
ABORTIVE adj
to abort
aborted pp
stress on BOR
unsuccessful
his attempt to climb Everest was abortive
to make an abortive effort to do smth
she made an abortive effort to bake a cake
to abort a pregnancy
aborted pregnancy
TO ABRIDGE
abridged pp
an abridgment
[dgm]
stress on BRI
to shorten, to condense smth
the editor abridged the book
shortened, condensed
this is an abridged dictionary
shortened, condensed version
this dictionary is an abridgment
TO ACCOST
stress on CO
to approach smb and speak aggressively (2g + 2s)
the stranger accosted her in the street
ACERBIC adj
acerbically adv
x acerbity
stress on CER
acid-like (temper, mood, tone)
his tone was acerbic
very severe (smth spoken or written: remark, comment)
the teacher wrote/made acerbic comments
cruelty, directness
she spoke with acerbity
she is known for her acerbity
TRICKY SPELLING
TO ACQUIESCE
[qui + es + ce]
root: quiet
x acquiescence
stress on KWEE
to comply unwillingly but without objection, passively
he looked at the stranger’s gun and acquiesced
to acquiesce to smth
reluctantly, he acquiesced to the plan
to nod acquiescence (to smth)
she nodded her acquiescence
I was surprised by her acquiescence to the plan
ACRID adj
stress on AK
pungent, bitter, with a burning feeling (taste, smell)
cheese had an acrid taste
we felt the acrid smoke
acrid smell of horse manure
offensive, harsh (comment, discussion, atmosphere, personality)
we had an acrid discussion
ACRIMONIOUS adj
[iou]
an acrimony
acrimoniously adv
stress on MO
full of spite, bitter, nasty (discussion, debate, divorce)
their marriage ended in an acrimonious divorce
anger, argument, bad feeling
the acrimony of a legal battle destroyed their relationship
with bad feelings, full of arguments
the band acrimoniously disbanded in the mid-80s
ACUMEN noun (-/the)
acute adj
x acuity
[ui]
stress on AK
to have a lot of acumen = a keen judgment (esp in business)
the opposite: his/her lack of acumen
he had a lot of business acumen
her lack of acumen destroyed the company
sharp (senses such as eyesight, but also pain, disease)
shrewd (mind)
the patient suffers from an acute disease
he has acute eyesight
he has an acute mind
sharpness, shrewdness in senses, mind
he has mental acuity
he has visual acuity
ADAMANT adj
x adamancy
an adamantine
stress on AD
smb who is impossible to persuade, unwilling to change an opinion or a decision
she was adamant, she will never go there again
to be adamant about smth
she was adamant about becoming a dancer
smth extremely hard (diamond, adamantine)
adamantine is a very hard rock
the quality of being impossible to persuade
the president’s adamancy caused a chill in relations between the two countries
TO ADDRESS
[2d + 2s]
stress on DRE
to speak to smb
he addressed the audience
to direct smb’s attention to smth
we want to address the problem of poverty
an ADHERENT
to adhere
x adherence
stress on HER
follower, supporter of smb, of some idea, religion, government
His adherents threw a party when he won the elections
the adherents of this philosophy
to stick to smth firmly (lit & fig)
glue does not adhere to wet surfaces
he decided to adhere to his plan
obeying to a standard, agreement, rule
Swiss are known for their adherence to the rules
TO ADMONISH
admonitory adj
an admonition
stress on MO
to scold smb (gently) or to warn not do to smth
he admonished his son for eating the cake
the offender was admonished
warning (remark, tone, tale, letter)
this is an admonitory tale
a piece of advice, warning esp about behaviour
a common parental admonition is “Don’t stay be late”
ADROIT adj
French origin: droit/maladroit
adroitly adv
stress on ROI
skillful, clever, shrewd, also socially at ease
he is an adroit salesperson
to do smth cleverly, shrewdly
the finance director managed the enquiry adroitly
