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
rich; prosperous
affluent
Affluence means the same thing as wealth or prosperity.
A person can be affluent; all it takes is money. A country can be affluent, too, if it’s full of affluent people
program; the things to be done
an agenda
What’s on the agenda for the board meeting? A little gossip, then lunch
sum total; a collection of separate things mixed together
an aggregate
Chili is an aggregate of meat and beans
Aggregate can also be a verb or an adjective. You would make chili by aggregating meat and beans. Chili is an aggregate food.
Similar and related words include congregate, segregate, and integrate. To aggregate is to bring together; to congregate is to get
together; to segregate is to keep apart (or separate); to integrate is
to unite.
one who believes that the existence of a god can be neither proven nor disproven
an agnostic
An atheist is someone who does not believe in a god. An agnostic, on the other hand, isn’t sure.
relating to land; relating to the management or farming of land
agrarian
Politics in this country often pit the rural, agrarian interests against the urban interests.
cheerful eagerness or readiness
an alacrity
David could hardly wait for his parents to leave; he carried their luggage out to the car with great alacrity.
to assert without proof
to allege
/əˈledʒ/
an allegation
If I say, “Cedrick alleges that I stole his hat,” I am saying two things:
1. Cedrick says I stole his hat.
2. I say I didn’t do it.
The police have alleged that Mary committed the crime, but a jury hasn’t made a decision yet
to relieve, usually temporarily or incompletely; to make bearable; to lessen
to alleviate
Visiting the charming pet cemetery alleviated the woman’s grief over the death of her canary
to distribute; to assign; to allot
to give something to someone as their share of a total amount, to use in a particular way
to allocate
The office manager had allocated just seven paper clips for our entire department
a combination of two or more things, usually metals
an alloy
Unalloyed means undiluted or pure.
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, meaning you make brass by combining copper and zinc
To alloy two things is to mix them together. There is usually an implication that the mixture is less than the sum of the parts. That is, there is often something undesirable or debased about an alloy.
an indirect reference (often to a literary work); a hint
an allusion
to allude to something
When Ralph said, “I sometimes wonder whether to be or not to be,” he was alluding to a famous line in Hamlet.
If Ralph had said, “As Hamlet said, ‘To be or not to be, that is the question,’” his statement would have been a direct reference, not an allusion.
uninvolved; standing off; keeping one’s distance
aloof
Cats are often said to be aloof because they usually mind their own business and don’t crave the affection of people
selflessness; generosity; devotion to the interests of others
an altruism
To be altruistic is to help others without expectation of personal gain.
Giving money to charity is an act of altruism.
atmosphere; mood; feeling
an ambience
/ˈæm.bi.əns/
By decorating their house with plastic beach balls and Popsicle sticks, the Cramers created a playful ambience that delighted young children.
unclear in meaning; confusing; capable of being interpreted in different ways
ambiguous
/æmˈbɪɡ.ju.əs/
The poem we read in English class was ambiguous; no one had any idea what the poet was trying to say
undecided; having opposed feelings simultaneously
ambivalent
Susan felt ambivalent about Alec as a boyfriend. Her frequent desire to break up with him reflected this ambivalence
to make better or more tolerable
to ameliorate
The mood of the prisoners was ameliorated when the warden gave them extra free time outside
obedient; willing to give in to the wishes of another; agreeable
amenable
/əˈmiː.nə.bəl/
The plumber was amenable to my paying my bill with jelly beans, which was lucky because I had more jelly beans than money
pleasantness; attractive or comfortable feature
an amenity
The amenities at the local club include a swimming pool, a golf course, and a tennis court
If an older guest at your house asks you where the amenities are, he or she is probably asking for directions to the bathroom.
Those little bars of soap and bottles of shampoo found in hotel rooms are known in the hotel business as amenities.
friendly; agreeable
amiable
/ˈeɪ.mi.ə.bəl/
Our amiable guide made us feel right at home in what would otherwise have been a cold and forbidding museum
an official pardon for a group of people who have violated a law or policy
an amnesty
Most political prisoners were freed under the terms of the amnesty
The word amnesty always refers to a pardon given to a group or class of people. A pardon granted to a single person is simply a pardon.
lacking a sense of right and wrong; neither good nor bad, neither moral nor immoral; without moral feelings
amoral
A moral person does right; an immoral person does wrong; an amoral person simply does
feeling loving, especially in a sexual sense; in love; relating to love
amorous
The amorous couple made quite a scene at the movie. The movie they were watching, Love Story, was pretty amorous itself. It was
about an amorous couple, one of whom died
shapeless; without a regular
or stable shape; bloblike
amorphous
/əˈmɔː.fəs/
Ed’s teacher said that his term paper was amorphous; it was as shapeless and disorganized as a cloud.
something out of place in time or history; an incongruity
an anachronism
In this day of impersonal hospitals, a doctor who remembers your name seems like an anachronism
a comparison of one thing to another; similarity
an analogy
To say having an allergy feels like being bitten by an alligator would be to make or draw an analogy between an allergy and an alligator bite.
absence of government or control; lawlessness; disorder
an anarchy
The country fell into a state of anarchy after the rebels kidnapped the president and locked the legislature inside the Capitol
agonizing physical or mental pain
an anguish
Theresa had been a nurse in the emergency room for twenty years, but she had never gotten used to the anguish of accident victims
In her anguish she forgot to leave a message
strong dislike, opposition, or anger
an animosity
The rivals for the state championship felt great animosity toward each other. Whenever they ran into each other, they snarled
A person whose look could kill is a person whose animosity is evident
an aberration; an irregularity;
a deviation
an anomaly
A snowy winter day is not an anomaly, but a snowy July day is.
Something that is anomalous is something that is not normal or regular.
someone or something that went before; something that provides a model for something that came after it
(an) antecedent
/ˌæn.tiˈsiː.dənt/
The horse-drawn wagon is an antecedent of the modern automobile
The oil lamp was antecedent to the light bulb
firm dislike
an antipathy
I feel antipathy toward bananas wrapped in ham. I do not want them for dinner
the direct opposite
an antithesis
/ænˈtɪθ.ə.sɪs/
Erin is the antithesis of Aaron: Erin is bright and beautiful; Aaron is dull and plain
lack of interest; lack of feeling
an apathy
Jill didn’t care one bit about current events; she was entirely apathetic
a brief, often witty saying; a proverb
an aphorism
Benjamin Franklin was fond of aphorisms. He was frequently aphoristic
a prophetic revelation, especially one concerning the end of the world
an apocalypse
/əˈpɒk.ə.lɪps/
of dubious authenticity; fictitious; spurious
an apocryphal
/əˈpɒk.rɪ.fəl/
Brandi’s blog discredited the apocryphal report of Martians in Congress
elevation to divine status; the perfect example of something
an apotheosis
/əˌpɒθ.iˈəʊ.sɪs/
pl. apotheoses /əˌpɒθ.iˈəʊ.siːz/
Some people think that the Corvette is the apotheosis of American car making. They think it’s the ideal
to soothe; to pacify by giving in to
to appease
an appeasement
Jaleel appeased his angry mother by promising to make his bed every morning without fail until the end of time
to increase in value
to appreciate
opp. depreciate
Harry bought Joe’s collection of old chewing tobacco tins as an investment. His hope was that the tins would appreciate over the next few years, enabling him to turn a profit by selling them to someone else
worried; anxious
apprehensive
misapprehension = misunderstanding
The apprehensive child clung to his father’s leg as the two of them walked into the main circus tent to watch the lion tamer
approval; praise
an approbation
The crowd expressed its approbation of the team’s performance by gleefully covering the field with toilet paper
to take without permission; to set aside for a particular use
to appropriate
Nick appropriated my lunch; he grabbed it out of my hands and ate it. So I appropriated Ed’s.
capacity for learning; natural ability
an aptitude
/ˈæp.tɪ.tʃuːd/
Some rare students have a marked aptitude for taking the SAT.
They earn high scores without any preparation.
one who decides; a judge
an arbiter
An arbiter of fashion determines what other people will wear by wearing it herself.
An arbiter arbitrates, or weighs opposing viewpoints and makes decisions. The words arbiter and arbitrator mean the same thing.
random; capricious
based on chance rather than being planned or based on reason
arbirtrary
/ˈɑː.bɪ.trər.i/
The grades Mr. Simone gave his English students appeared to be arbitrary; they didn’t seem related to the work the students has done in class
mysterious; known only to a select few
arcane
The rites of the secret cult were arcane; no one outside the cult knew what they were
extremely old; ancient; outdated
archaic
The tribe’s traditions are archaic. They have been in force for thousands of years
an original model or pattern
an archetype
Plato is the archetype of all philosophers
An archetype is similar to a prototype. A prototype is a first, tentative model that is made but that will be improved in later versions.
An archetype is usually something that precedes something else.
passionate; enthusiastic
ardent
be ardent = have ardor
Blanche happily made cakes from morning to night. She was an ardent baker
hard; difficult
arduous
/ˈɑː.dʒu.əs/
Climbing the mountain was arduous. We were so exhausted when we got to the top that we forgot to enjoy the view.
clever and skilful, especially in getting what you want
artful
/ˈɑːt.fəl/
He has shown himself to be an artful politician
a clever trick; cunning
an artifice
The Trojan Horse was an artifice designed to get the soldiers inside the walls
supremacy; domination
an ascendancy
Handheld gadgets have been in ascendancy for the past few years
hermitlike; practicing self-denial
ascetic
The college student’s apartment, which contained no furniture except a single tattered mattress, was uncomfortably ascetic
hardworking; busy; quite
diligent
assiduous
The workmen were assiduous in their effort to get nothing done; instead of working, they drank coffee all day long
