A's Flashcards
abstruse
difficult to understand
“an abstruse philosophical inquiry”
accentuate
make more noticeable or prominent
“his jacket, unfortunately, accentuated his paunch”
acclimatize
become accustomed to a new climate or new conditions; adjust.
“it’s unknown whether people will acclimatize to increasingly warm weather”
acclivity
upward slope
accord
to grant, to allow
“the powers accorded to the head of state”
accused
a person against whom allegation of offence in made
acrimonious
bitter in temper
“an acrimonious dispute about wages”
actuate
motivate to act in a particular way
“The defendants were actuated by malice”
acumen
ability to make good judgments and take quick decisions
“she hides a shrewd business acumen”
adduce
to give as proof
“a number of factors are adduced to explain the situation”
Adjoin
be next to and joined with (a building, room, or piece of land).
“The dining room adjoins a conservatory”
adjudicate
to act as judge and give the decision
“we asked him to adjudicate at the local flower show”
adjure
to state on oath
urge or request (someone) solemnly or earnestly to do something.
“I adjure you to tell me the truth”
aggrandize
to make or seem to make greater
“he hoped to aggrandize himself by dying a hero’s death”
agoraphobia
extreme fear of open or public places
extreme or irrational fear of entering open or crowded places, of leaving one’s own home, or of being in places from which escape is difficult.
agrarian
relating to farming
“Brazil is rapidly diversifying its agrarian economy”
alias
a false or assumed identity.
“a spy operating under the alias Barsad”
adverb
adverb: alias
used to indicate that a named person is also known or more familiar under another specified name.
“Eric Blair, alias George Orwell”
alienate
to cause a person to become unfriendly or indifferent
“the association does not wish to alienate its members”
allay
diminish or end
“the report attempted to educate the public and allay fears”
amass
to collect or pile up
ameliorate
to improve
make (something bad or unsatisfactory) better.
“the reform did much to ameliorate living standards”
amiable
inspiring friendliness
adj.
having or displaying a friendly and pleasant manner.
“the amiable young man greeted me enthusiastically”
analogy
reasoning from parallel cases
anatomy
structure of body
annals
a record of events year by year.
“eighth-century Northumberland annals”
apostasy
the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief or principle.
“The execution of their leader for apostasy brought widespread criticism”
arson
the criminal act of deliberately setting fire to property.
“police are treating the fire as arson”
articulate
having or showing the ability to speak fluently and coherently.
“an articulate account of their experiences”
axiomatic
self-evident or unquestionable.
“it is axiomatic that dividends have to be financed”
aye
yes
azoic
without life
having no trace of life or organic remains.
Abash
to make ashamed, to embarrass
Meredith get abashed by her inability to remember simple lines
Opposite: Unabashed
Abate
to reduce, to subside
“George spilled hot coffee on his leg. It hurt a quite bit. Then, gradually, agony abated”
A tax abatement is a reduction in taxes
Abdicate
To step from a position of power or responsibility
“Mary abdicated her responsibility as a baby sitter by locking the 5-year-old in the closet”
Abberation
something not usual, a deviation from the standard
“A snowstorm in June is an aberration, snow doesn’t normally fall in June”
Abstinent
Voluntarily not doing something, especially something pleasant that is bad for you
Cynthia, who was dieting, tried to be abstinent, but when she saw chocolate cake she realized that she would probably have to eat the entire thing
Abstruse
Hard to understand
The professor’s article was very abstruse., Michael couldn’t even pronounce the words in it.
Abysmal
Extremely hopeless or wretched, bottomless
An abyss is a bottomless pit, something so deep that it seems bottomless.
Abysmal despair is despair so deep, there seemed to be no possible solution to it.
Accolade
award or honor
Teflon Toughs received the accolades of the critics as well as of the fans
Accost
to approach and speak to someone
Amanda karate chopped the stranger who accosted her in the street and was embarrassed to find he was an old man
Acerbic
bitter, sour, severe
Barry sat silently as our teacher read aloud her acerbic comments on his paper
Acquiesce
to comply passively, to accept, to assent, to agree
To acquiesce is to do something without objection
The Pirates asked Pete to walk the plank; he took one look at their sword and then acquiesced.
acrid
like acid ( could also be used as a harsh comment)
The chile we had at the party had an acrid taste, it was harsh and unpleasant
Acumen
the keenness of judgment, mental sharpness
A woman who knows how to turn a dollar into a million dollars over-night might be said to have a lot of business acumen
Adage
an old saying, a familiar bit of wisdom
Honesty is the best policy is very often an adage is also a cliche
Adamant
stubborn, unyielding; completely inflexible
A very hard substance, like a diamond, is also adamant.
Adherent
follower, supporter, believer
The King’s adherents threw a big party for him, just to show how much they liked him.
Admonish
to scold gently, to warn
The boy mother admonished them to not eat the pie she had just baked
Affable
easy to talk to, friendly
approbation
approval, praise; fancy word for ‘approval’
“The ambassador’s actions met with approbation of his commander in chief”
arcane
mysterious, known only to a select few
esoteric (close synonym)
“the rites of the secret cult were arcane; no one outside the cult know what they were”
