A Flashcards
to embarrass, to make ashamed
to abash
/əˈbæʃ/
Karl handed in a term paper that he had unabashedly copied from Wikipedia
/ˌʌn.əˈbæʃt.li/
to subside, to reduce
to abate
Bad weather abates when good weather begins to return. A rainstorm that doesn’t let up continues unabated
to step down from a position of power or responsibility
to abdicate
If a king […], he makes a statement that he no longer wants to be king
Abby abdicated her responsibilities as a vice president by dumping in the garbage the reports she was supposed to present to the board of directors and flying to the Bahamas
something not typical, a deviation from the standard
an aberration
A snowstorm in June is an aberration; snow doesn’t normally fall in June
to hate very, very much; to detest
to abhor
To abhor raw chicken livers is to have an abhorrence of them or to
find them abhorrent
hopeless; extremely sad and servile;
defeated
abject
The phrase “abject poverty” is overused.
While most people would quickly recover from a stumble on stage, Mia felt abject humiliation
to deny oneself things; to
reject; to renounce
to not allow yourself to have something, especially something you like or want
to abnegate
Ascetics practice self-abnegation because they believe it will bring them closer to spiritual purity
unsuccessful
abortive
Marie and Elizabeth made an abortive effort to bake a birthday cake
To abort something is to end it before it is completed.
to shorten; to condense
to abridge
An abridgment is a shortened or condensed work
The thoughtful editor abridged the massive book by removing the boring parts
total; unlimited
absolute
An absolute ruler is one who is ruled by no one else
to forgive or free from blame; to free
from sin; to free from an obligation
to absolve
The act of absolving is called absolution
The priest absolved the sinner who had come to church to confess
abstaining; voluntarily not doing something, especially something pleasant that is bad for you or has a bad reputation
abstinent
/ˈæb.stɪ.nənt/
Beulah used to be smoker; now she’s abstinent
A person who abstains from something is an abstainer and engages
in abstinence
theoretical; impersonal
abstract
To like something in the abstract is to like the idea of it.
He liked oysters in the abstract, but when he actually tried one he
became nauseated
hard to understand
abstruse
The professor’s article, on the meaning of meaning, was abstruse.
Michael couldn’t even pronounce the words in it.
extremely hopeless or wretched;
bottomless
abysmal
Abysmal is often used somewhat sloppily to mean very bad.
The nation’s debt crisis was abysmal; there seemed to be no possible solution
an award; an honor
an accolade
This word is generally used in the plural.
The first break-dancing troupe to perform in Carnegie Hall, the Teflon Toughs, received accolades from the critics as well as from the fans
to approach and speak to someone aggressively
to accost
Amanda karate-chopped the stranger who accosted her in the street and was embarrassed to find he was an old, blind man.
sour; severe; like acid in temper, mood, or tone
acerbic
Acerb & acerbic are synonyms. Acerbity is the state of being acerbic.
Barry sat silently as his friends read the teacher’s acerbic comments on his paper
to comply passively; to accept;
to assent; to agree
to acquiesce
/ˌæk.wiˈes/
isn’t really possible to acquiesce noisily, enthusiastically, or eagerly
The pirates asked Pete to walk the plank; he took one look at their swords and then acquiesced
harshly pungent; bitter
acrid
Acrid is used most often with tastes and smells
Long after the fire had been put out, we could feel the acrid stingof smoke in our nostrils
full of spite; bitter; nasty;
full of anger, arguments, and bad feeling
acrimonious
Relations between the competing candidates were so acrimonious that each refused to acknowledge the presence of the other
keenness of judgment; mental
sharpness
acumen
Ernie’s lack of acumen led him to invest all his money in a company that had already gone out of business
sharp; shrewd
acute
means sharp only in a figurative sense
If your eyesight is acute, you can see things that other people can’t. You have visual acuity.
An acute mind is a quick,intelligent one. You have mental acuity.
An acute pain is a sharp pain
stubborn;
completely inflexible
adamant
Candice was adamant: she would never go out with Paul again
A very hard substance, like a diamond, is also adamant. Adamantine and adamant are synonyms. Adamancy is being adamant.
completely unwilling to change a decision, opinion, demand, etc.:
unyielding
/ʌnˈjiːl.dɪŋ/
Korea is unyielding in its demands for a new treaty
to speak to; to direct one’s attention to
to adress
The issue of funding has yet to be addressed
To address a convention is to give a speech to the convention. To
address a problem is to face it and set about solving it
follower; supporter; believer
an adherent
/ədˈhɪə.rənt/
The king’s adherents threw a big birthday party for him
To adhere to something is to stick to it. Adherents are people who adhere to, or stick to, something or someone. Following someone or something, especially rules or laws, is adherence
to scold gently; to warn
to admonish
The noun is admonition, and the adjective is admonitory
The boys’ father admonished them not to eat the pie he had just baked. When they did so anyway, he admonished them
skillful; dexterous; clever; shrewd; socially at ease
adroit
/əˈdrɔɪt/
Julio was an adroit salesperson: his highly skilled pitch, backed up by extensive product knowledge, nearly always resulted in a sale
1) behaving in a way that is offensive to other people, esp. because of not knowing what is correct or not caring about the feelings of others
2) socially awkward
gauche
It was gauche to invite them just two days before the party
wild or excessive
admiration; flattery
an adulation
/ˌædʒ.əˈleɪ.ʃən/
to adulate
The rock star grew to abhor the adulation of his fans
to contaminate; to make impure
to adulterate
Unadulterated means pure.
We discovered that the town’s drinking water had radioactive waste in it; we discovered, in other words, that it had been adulterated
unfavorable; antagonistic
adverse
We had to play our soccer match under adverse conditions.
Airplanes often don’t fly in adverse weather. An airplane that took off in bad weather and reached its destination safely would be said to have overcome adversity
adverse ≠ averse
To be averse to something is to be opposed to doing it—to have an
aversion to doing it
having to do with artistic beauty; artistic
aesthetic
aesthete
Someone who greatly admires beautiful things can be called an aesthete
Our art professor had a highly developed aesthetic sense; he found things to admire in paintings that, to us, looked like garbage
easy to talk to; friendly
affable
affability
Susan was an affable girl; she could strike up a pleasant conversation with almost anyone
unnatural or artificial
behavior, usually intended to impress
an affectation
Elizabeth had somehow acquired the absurd affectation of pretending that she didn’t know how to turn on a television set
To affect a characteristic or habit is to adopt it consciously, usually in the hope of impressing other people.
Edward affected to be more of an artist than he really was. Everyone hated him for it
sympathy; attraction; kinship;
similarity
an affinity
Ducks have an affinity for water; that is, they like to be in it
Magnets and iron have an affinity for each other; that is, each is attracted to the other
Affinity also means similarity or resemblance. There is an affinity between snow and sleet
