A Flashcards
abash (un BASH)
v. to make ashamed; to embarrass
• Meredith felt abashed by her inability to remember her lines in the school chorus of “Old McDonald Had a Farm.”
To do something without shame or embarrassment is to do it unabashedly.
• Karl handed in a term paper that he had unabashedly copied from Wikipedia.
abate (uh BAYT)
v. to subside; to reduce
• George spilled a cup of hot coffe on his leg. It hurt quite a bit. Then, gradually, the agony abated.
A tax abatement is a reduction in taxes
abdicate (AB duh kayt)
v. to step down from a position of power or responsibility
• 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.
aberration (ab uh RAY shun)
n. something not typical; a deviation from the standard
• The chef at this restaurant is dreadful; the meal we just had was an aberration.
• A snowstorm in June is an aberration; snow doesn’t normally fall in June.
An aberration is an aberrant (un BER unt) occurrence.
• The summer snowstorm was aberrant.
abhor (ab HOR)
v. to hate very, very much; to detest
• Emanuel abhorred having to wake up before dawn
To abhor something is to view it with horror. Hating a person is almost friendly in comparison with abhorring him or her.
To a
abhor (ab HOR)
v. to hate very, very much; to detest
• Emanuel abhorred having to wake up before dawn
To abhor something is to view it with horror. Hating a person is almost friendly in comparison with abhorring him or her.
To abhor raw chicken livers is to have an abhorrence of them or to find them abhorrent.
abject (AB jekt)
adj. hopeless; extremely sad and servile; defeated
• While most people would quickly recover from a stumble on stage, Mia felt abject humiliation.
abnegate (AB nuh gayt)
v. to deny oneself things; to reject; to renounce
• Ascetics practice self-abnegation because they believe it will bring them closer to spiritual purity.
abnegate (AB nuh gayt)
v. to deny oneself things; to reject; to renounce
• Ascetics practice self-abnegation because they believe it will bring them closer to spiritual purity.
abortive (uh BOR tiv)
adj. unsuccessful
• Marie and Elizabeth made an abortive effort to bake a birthday cake.
abridge (uh BRIJ)
v. to shorten; to condense
• The thoughtful editor abridged the massive book by removing the boring parts.
absolute (AB suh loot)
adj. total; unlimited
absolve (ab ZOLV)
v. to give or free from blame; to free from sin; to free from an obligation
• Tom’s admisssion of guilt absolved Mary, who had originally been accused of the crime.
• Jake absolved Ciara of her obligation to go to the prom with him
The act of absolving is called absolution (ab suh LOO shun)
absolve (ab ZOLV)
v. to give or free from blame; to free from sin; to free from an obligation
• Tom’s admisssion of guilt absolved Mary, who had originally been accused of the crime.
• Jake absolved Ciara of her obligation to go to the prom with him
The act of absolving is called absolution (ab suh LOO shun)
abstinent (AB stuh nunt)
adj. abstaining; voluntarily not doing something, especially something pleasant that is bad for you or has a bad reputation
• Beth used to be a chain-smoker; now she’s abstinent.
abstruse (ab STROOS)
adj. hard to understand
abysmal (uh BIZ mul)
adj. extremely hopeless or wretched; bottomless
• The nation’s debt crisis was abysmal; there seemed to be no possible solution
related to abyss, a bottomless pit, or something so deep that it seems bottomless
accolade (AK uh layd)
n. an award; an honor
usually used in the plural
• The first break-dancing troupe to perform in
accolade (AK uh layd)
n. an award; an honor
usually used in the plural
• The first break-dancing troupe to perform in Carnegie Hall, the Teflon Toughs, recieved accolades from the critics as well as from the fans.
accost (uh KAWST)
v. to approach and speak to someone aggressively
• Amanda karate- chopped the stranger who accosted her in the street and was embarrassed to find he was an old, blind man.
acerbic (uh SER bik)
adj. sour; severe; like acid in temper, mood , or tone
• Barry sat silently as his friends read the teacher’s acerbic comments on his paper.
Acerbity is the state of being acerbic.
acquiesce (ak wee ES)
v. to comply passively; to accept; to assent; to agree
• The pirates asked Pete to walk the plank; he took one look ot their swords and then aquiesced.
It isn’t really possible to acquiesce noisily, enthusiastically or eagerly
acquiesce (ak wee ES)
v. to comply passively; to accept; to assent; to agree
• The pirates asked Pete to walk the plank; he took one look ot their swords and then aquiesced.
It isn’t really possible to acquiesce noisily, enthusiastically or eagerly
acrimonious (ak ruh MOH nee us)
adj. full of spite; bitter; nasty
• Relations between the competing candidates were so acrimonious that each refused to acknowledge the presence of the other.
acumen (AK yoo mun)
n. keenness of judgement; mental sharpness
• A women who knows how to turn one dollar into a million overnight might be said to have a lot of business acumen.
acumen (AK yoo mun)
n. keenness of judgement; mental sharpness
• A women who knows how to turn one dollar into a million overnight might be said to have a lot of business acumen.
adamant (AD uh munt)
adj. stubborn; unyielding; completely inflexible
Adamantine (ad uh MAN teen) and adamant are synonyms. Adamancy is being adamant.
admonish (ad MAHN ish)
v. to scold gently; to warn
• The boys’ father admonished them not to eat the pie he had just baked. When they did so anyway, he admonished them.
The noun is admonition (ad muh NISH un) and the adjective is admonitory (ad MAHN i tor ee)
adroit (uh DROYT)
adj. skillful; dexterous; clever; shrewd; socially at ease
• Julio was an adroit salesperson: His highly skilled pitch, backed up by extensive product knowledge, nearly always resulted in a sale.
Synonym: dexterous
Antonym: gauche, maladroit
adulation (ad uh LAY shun)
n. wild or excessive admiration; flattery
• The rock star grew to abhor the adulation of his fans.
The verb is adulate
aggregate (AG ruh gut)
n. sum total; a collection of separate things mixed together
• Chili is an aggregate of meat and beans.
