A Flashcards
apposite
(adjective)
Highly appropriate, suitable, or relevant.
He searched his brain for an apposite word to describe wealthy Americans’
addiction to consumer goods, until he discovered the neologism “affluenza”.
approbation
(noun)
Praise/approval, especially formal approval.
In her speech for class president, she won the approbation of her peers by promising not only to save the prom, but to raise enough money to make it free for everyone.
ascribe
(verb)
Assign or credit to a certain cause or source.
He ascribed his good grades to diligent studying.
aseptic (2nd function, other than medical)
lacking vitality or emotion.
Not only did Marlene dump
Tom via email, but the email was so aseptic she might as well have been sending an interoffice memo.
asperity
(noun)
severity, harshness, physical roughness
aspersions (noun) / asperse (verb)
remember “to cast aspersions”!
damaging remarks, defamation, slander
if you asperse me one more time, i will sue you for libel!
assiduous
(adjective)
diligent, persevering, constant
attenuate
(verb)
to weaken or thin out
Sadly, the day care center was so understaffed that the carers’
efforts were attenuated, and many of the children barely received any attention at all.
attuned
in harmony, in sympathetic relationship
In the sixth week of Melanie’s
foreign study program, she finally attuned herself to life on a French farm.
avarice
(noun)
insatiable greed, a desire to hoard wealth
It is hard to fathom the sheer avarice of a company that would fraudulently
overcharge a struggling school system for new computers.
axiom / axiomatic (adj)
(noun)
Self-evident truth requiring no proof; universally or generally accepted principle.
ameliorate
(verb)
to alleviate, to improve, to make better
