ABC - vocab Flashcards
abate
become less in amount or intensity - [v]
make less active or intense - [v]
The storm abated
Something that abates becomes fewer or less intense. Your enthusiasm for skiing might abate after falling off a ski lift and getting a mouthful of snow.
Abate comes from the Old French verb abattre, “to beat down,” and means to reduce or become less intense or numerous. As an intransitive verb, it is often used with something physically, emotionally, or figuratively violent, as in “the flood of fan mail began to abate.” Using it transitively, if you take measures to abate pollution or noise, you reduce them. Pronounce abate with the stress on the second syllable (uh-BATE).
abdicate
give up, such as power, as of monarchs and emperors, or duties and obligations - [v]
The King abdicated when he married a divorcee
Sometimes someone in power might decide to give up that power and step down from his or her position. When they do that, they abdicate their authority, giving up all duties and perks of the job.
The original meaning of the verb abdicate came from the combination of the Latin ab- “away” and dicare “proclaim.” (Note that in the charming relationships between languages with common roots, the Spanish word for “he says” is dice, which comes directly from dicare.) The word came to refer to disowning one’s children, and it wasn’t until the 17th century that the first use of the word relating to giving up power or public office was recorded.
aberrant
markedly different from an accepted norm - [adj]
one whose behavior departs substantially from the norm of a group - [n]
aberrant behavior
Use the adjective aberrant to describe unusual conduct. Sitting in a bathtub and singing show tunes all day long might be considered aberrant behavior.
For conduct that departs from the norm, aberrant is at hand to describe it if you want to set a formal, or even scientific tone to the discussion. You can put the accent on either the first syllable (AB-er-ent) or the second (uh-BER-ent); both pronunciations are acceptable. The Latin root aberrare means “to go astray,” from the prefix ab- “off, away” plus errare “to wander.” Other descendants of errare in English, like error and errant, have that double -r- and also refer to something that’s either not wanted or not expected.
abeyance
temporary cessation or suspension - [n]
An abeyance is a temporary halt to something, with the emphasis on “temporary.” It is usually used with the word “in” or “into”; “in abeyance” suggests a state of waiting or holding.
The word abeyance has a legal ring to it, and for a good reason — appearing in English in the 16th century, it comes from the Anglo-French word abeiance, a legal term for waiting or hoping to receive property. Nowadays, the word is used in a similar way. Different legal rights, like property rights, can be held in abeyance until matters are resolved.
abject
of the most contemptible kind - [adj]
most unfortunate or miserable - [adj]
showing utter resignation or hopelessness - [adj]
showing humiliation or submissiveness - [adj]
abject cowardice
“the most abject slaves joined in the revolt”
“abject poverty”
If it reeks of humiliation or looks like the lowest of lows, then you can safely describe it as abject.
The pronunciation of abject is up for debate: you can decide whether to stress the first or the second syllable. But what’s more important is understanding how extreme this adjective is. Abject means absolutely miserable, the most unfortunate, with utter humiliation. You might have heard the phrase abject poverty, which is the absolute worst, most hopeless level of poverty you’ve ever seen.
abjure
formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure - [v]
She abjured her beliefs
- Abjure* means to swear off, and it applies to something you once believed. You can abjure a religious faith, you can abjure your love of another person, and you can abjure the practice of using excessive force in interrogation.
- Abjure* is a more dramatic way to declare your rejection of something you once felt or believed. When you see its Latin roots, it makes sense: from ab- (meaning “away”) and jurare (“to swear”). When you abjure something, you swear it away and dissociate yourself with it. You might abjure the field of astrology after receiving a bad fortune, or you might abjure marriage after a bitter divorce.
abscission
the act of cutting something off - [n]
shedding of flowers and leaves and fruit following formation of scar tissue in a plant - [n]
When an apple ripens and then falls off a tree, it’s called an abscission. It means the cutting off or removal of something, like an unsightly mole on the chin.
You can remember that abscission is all about cutting when you see how close it looks to the word scissors. If you are a public speaker who habitually cuts yourself off, your speeches may suffer from abscission. If you’re wounded in the leg in battle and gangrene sets in, you will be faced with the abscission of a limb. Layoffs at work are the abscission of workers.
abscond
run away; usually includes taking something or somebody along - [v]
the accountant absconded with the cash from the safe
- Abscond* is to escape, often taking something along. As a kid, you may have absconded from your lemonade stand — with the coffee can of cash in hand, and your bewildered sister still filling cups for your customers.
- Abscond* is generally used to describe someone running from law or capture, and the word abscond has been in use since the early sixteenth century — running away and hiding being nothing new. Dogs who get off the leash and dart into the woods are not necessarily absconding; they are simply making a break for it. On the other hand, the Ponzi schemer who went to live in the South of France with his client’s money? He absconded.
abstemious
marked by temperance in indulgence - [adj]
sparing in consumption of especially food and drink - [adj]
abstemious with the use of adverbs
““the pleasures of the table, never of much consequence to one naturally abstemious”- John Galsworthy”
Reserve abstemious for someone who exercises restraint, especially with regard to alcohol. A rock musician may sing about enjoying wine and women, but in his private life he may be abstemious.
You might get the idea that abstemious is a relative of abstain with a change of consonant, but in fact the two words only share the abs- prefix, meaning “away.” The -temious bit in this adjective is from Latin temetum, “intoxicating drink,” so it came to refer to someone who keeps alcohol (or other temptations) at arm’s length. This word has the vowels a, e, i, o and u in alphabetical order; the adverb abstemiously adds the y!
abstinence
the trait of abstaining (especially from alcohol) - [n]
act or practice of refraining from indulging an appetite - [n]
If you are a chocolate lover you’ll have to show great restraint when the dessert cart rolls over if you are practicing abstinence, another word for “refraining.” It might take a lot of willpower not to throw yourself at the cart.
Abstinence is the opposite of indulgence. People who practice abstinence deny themselves something, often something they really want. Regardless of whether people are abstaining from food, alcohol, or sex, they have to practice self-control. In fact, the word is derived from the Latin term for “to hold back.” The word abstinence is often used in reference to sex education courses that teach kids to hold themselves back from having sex.
abysmal
resembling an abyss in depth; so deep as to be unmeasurable - [adj]
very great; limitless - [adj]
abysmal misery
“abysmal stupidity”
If you want to say something is really, really bad — then call it abysmal. If one person shows up to your party, well then that is an abysmal turnout. The 1958 Ford Edsel? An abysmal failure.
When someone describes the hole you just dug as abysmal, you may not know whether to take it as positive or negative feedback. That’s because starting in the 1650s, abysmal simply meant “resembling an abyss in depth.” By that definition you’ve just received a compliment on your deep digging skills. But since the early twentieth century, abysmal has been more commonly used to identify something as “extremely bad.” So it’s more likely that your hole has just been insulted.
accretion
an increase by natural growth or addition - [n]
(geology) an increase in land resulting from alluvial deposits or waterborne sediment - [n]
(biology) growth by addition as by the adhesion of parts or particles - [n]
(astronomy) the formation of a celestial object by the effect of gravity pulling together surrounding objects and gases - [n]
(law) an increase in a beneficiary’s share in an estate (as when a co-beneficiary dies or fails to meet some condition or rejects the inheritance) - [n]
he scraped away the accretions of paint
“the central city surrounded by recent accretions”
The process of increasing can be called accretion. Although you may say that stalactites “grow” from the ceilings of caves, they actually form from an accretion of limestone and other minerals.
So what’s the difference between an addition and an accretion? Addition implies adding to something that already exists, such as an addition to the cast (when a new actor joins an existing show). The noun accretion, on the other hand, implies an accumulation that causes increase, such as “an accretion of frost on the windows” or “an accretion of plaque on your teeth.” The latter, of course, is why the dentist always begs you to floss and brush.
accrue
grow by addition - [v]
come into the possession of - [v]
The interest accrues“The house accrued to the oldest son”
To accrue is to accumulate or to keep growing in value or size. If you can accrue enough extra credit to build up your grade, you won’t have to take the final exam.
Early forms of the word accrue were used as early as the 15th century with the meaning “to increase” or “to grow.” Many modern uses for accrue involve money or finances, as when you accrue, or earn, interest on a bank account. You can accrue debt too, as interest grows on top of money owed until you pay it back. It’s possible to accrue benefits over the time you work somewhere, or you can accrue demerits while you’re misbehaving somewhere.
adamant
very hard native crystalline carbon valued as a gem - [n]
impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, reason - [adj]
he is adamant in his refusal to change his mind
If you stubbornly refuse to change your mind about something, you are adamant about it.
This word’s story begins in ancient Greece, where philosophers spoke about a legendary unbreakable stone or metal they called adamos (literally, “invincible”). In English, people began to use the word to refer to something that cannot be altered, and then in the twentieth century — after adamant had been in English for about a thousand years — it came to be used as an adjective to mean “unyielding as stone.” If you’re adamant about something, no amount of persuasion is going to convince you otherwise.
adjunct
something added to another thing but not an essential part of it - [n]
a person who is an assistant or subordinate to another - [n]
a construction that can be used to extend the meaning of a word or phrase but is not one of the main constituents of a sentence - [n]
furnishing added support - [adj]
of or relating to a person who is subordinate to another - [adj]
Adjunct means something added on, but not part of the whole. An adjunct professor is someone who is hired by a college to teach but isn’t a full member of the faculty.
This is a word you can figure out by taking it apart. From ad- “to” and -junct “join” (think “junction”), you can see that this is about joining something to another. “During lunch, Tim always sat the girls’ lacrosse-team lunch table, and they joked that he was an adjunct member of the team.”
admonish
take to task - [v]
admonish or counsel in terms of someone’s behavior - [v]
warn strongly; put on guard - [v]
He admonished the child for his bad behavior
To admonish is to scold. If you want to show someone you’re not happy with his behavior, admonish him. It sounds better than “scolding,” and it’s less painful than spanking.
Coming to English through Old French from the Latin admonere “to advise, remind,” admonish is always used with an eye on improving someone’s behavior. The exact meaning of this formal verb varies in intensity depending generally on who is being corrected. If a child or subordinate is being admonished, it means “scold” or “rebuke” whereas if someone admonishes a person with equal standing, warn or advise are closer synonyms.
adulterate
corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients with inferior ones - [v]
mixed with impurities - [adj]
adulterate liquor
If you adulterate something, you mess it up. You may not want to adulterate the beauty of freshly fallen snow by shoveling it, but how else are you going to get to work?
The verb adulterate comes from the Latin word adulterare, which means “to falsify,” or “to corrupt.” Whenever something original, pure, fresh, or wholesome is marred, polluted, defaced, or otherwise made inferior, it has been adulterated. Your grandfather may, for instance, believe that bartenders adulterate the name “Martini” by applying it to combinations of vodka, chocolate or anything other than a mixture of five parts gin to one part dry vermouth, on the rocks, with a twist.
aesthetic
concerning or characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste - [adj]
aesthetically pleasing - [adj]
relating to or dealing with the subject of aesthetics - [adj]
(philosophy) a philosophical theory as to what is beautiful - [n]
the aesthetic faculties
“an aesthetic person”
“aesthetic feeling”
The adjective aesthetic comes in handy when the subject at hand is beauty or the arts. A velvet painting of dogs playing poker might have minimal aesthetic appeal.
Aesthetic, from a Greek word meaning “perception,” comes to us from German philosophers who used it for a theory of the beautiful. From this technical sense, it soon came to refer to good taste and to artistry in general; if something has “aesthetic value,” it has value as a work of art (even if nobody will pay much for it). It does not, however, refer to the objects themselves; do not talk about an “aesthetic painting.”
affected
acted upon; influenced - [adj]
speaking or behaving in an artificial way to make an impression - [adj]
If a company is hit by job cuts, its employees will probably wonder whether they’ll be affected — meaning they’ll experience a change to their employment status.
One of the most common vocabulary mix-ups is effect and affect: effect is usually a noun, and affect is usually a verb that means “to influence” of “act upon.” Affected is the adjective form of the verb. After a flood, affected homeowners might try to get insurance. A sad movie might leave you deeply affected. The word can also refer to behavior that’s done only to impress someone: if you’re acting affected, you might use big, fake melodramatic gestures.
affinity
a natural attraction or feeling of kinship - [n]
a close connection marked by community of interests or similarity in nature or character - [n]
(anthropology) kinship by marriage or adoption; not a blood relationship - [n]
(biology) state of relationship between organisms or groups of organisms resulting in resemblance in structure or structural parts - [n]
inherent resemblance between persons or things - [n]
an affinity for politics
“the mysterious affinity between them”
“James’s affinity with Sam”
If you get along with someone very well, you have an affinity with them. Sometimes opposites attract, so you might feel a strange affinity to someone who is seemingly very different from you.
When you are attracted to someone or something a great deal, we say that you have an affinity, a natural connection. Likewise, scientists use affinity to describe organisms that are alike or resemble each other. Interestingly, the Middle English word, affinite, originally applied to people who were connected or related by marriage, rather than by biology.
aggrandize
add details to - [v]
If you are a window washer, but you refer to yourself as a “vista enhancement specialist,” then you are aggrandizing your job title — that is, making it sound greater than it is.
The verb aggrandize not only means “to make appear greater”; it can also be used to mean simply “to make greater.” If you buy an estate and sink millions of dollars into its improvement, then you are actually aggrandizing the estate. If you are making yourself seem greater, then people may say you are “self-aggrandizing.”
aggregate
a sum total of many heterogenous things taken together - [n]
the whole amount - [n]
material such as sand or gravel used with cement and water to make concrete, mortar, or plaster - [n]
formed of separate units gathered into a mass or whole - [adj]
composed of a dense cluster of separate units such as carpels or florets or drupelets - [adj]
aggregate expenses include expenses of all divisions combined for the entire year
“raspberries are aggregate fruits”
To aggregate is to collect many units into one. If you’re writing a novel, you might create a character who is an aggregate of five or six real people.
Aggregate comes from the Latin verb aggregare, which means to add to. As a verb it means to collect into a mass or whole. You can also use it as an adjective, as in your aggregate sales for February, March and April. It can also be a noun. The mountain of foam in bubble bath is an aggregate of small bubbles. If you plan to work in economics or business, expect to see the word aggregate quite a lot.
alacrity
liveliness and eagerness - [n]
he accepted with alacrity
Someone with alacrity shows cheerful willingness and eager behavior, like a kid whose mother has told him he can buy anything in a candy store.
While the noun alacrity normally refers to someone’s peppy behavior, it can also describe a certain mood or tempo of a musical composition, indicating how the music should be played. Alacrity comes from the Latin alacritas, and the Italian musical term allegro is a near relation.
alchemy
a pseudoscientific forerunner of chemistry in medieval times - [n]
the way two individuals relate to each other - [n]
a mysterious alchemy brought them together
If your favorite but perpetually losing team picks up a couple of new players and the result is suddenly an unbeatable combo, that’s alchemy — any seemingly magical act involving the combining of elements into something new.
In medieval times alchemy meant the mysterious science of trying to convert one form of matter into another using fire, potions, spells, and all kind of other tricks. Alchemists often got a bad rap for their obsession with trying to turn base metals into gold, but in fact true alchemy was concerned with a far loftier ideal — that of finding a “universal elixir” that could overcome death.
allay
lessen the intensity of or calm - [v]
satisfy (thirst) - [v]
The verb allay is used when you want to make something better or eliminate fears and concerns.
When you allay something, you are calming it or reducing difficulties. It is used commonly in the context of to allay concerns and to comfort and some of its many synonyms are alleviate, decrease, mitigate, assuage and mollify. Allay comes from the Old English word alecgan, which means “to put down,” as in literally “to lighten.” So, if you can allay someone’s fears, you are lightening their mood!
alleviate
provide physical relief, as from pain - [v]
make easier - [v]
Do all these words make your head ache? If so, take an aspirin to alleviate, or relieve, your pain.
The verb, alleviate, stems from the Latin root, levis “light” and is related to modern English words such as elevator and levitate — both words implying a lightening of one’s load. Alleviate also has this sense of lightening a burden such as physical pain or emotional duress. You can take medicine to alleviate symptoms or do exercise to alleviate stress. Or if you want a bigger challenge: try alleviating traffic congestion or world hunger.
alloy
a mixture containing two or more metallic elements or metallic and nonmetallic elements usually fused together or dissolving into each other when molten - [n]
the state of impairing the quality or reducing the value of something - [n]
make an alloy of - [v]
lower in value by increasing the base-metal content - [v]
brass is an alloy of zinc and copper
You may have heard of aluminum alloy on a car. What that means is that there is another metal mixed in with the aluminum, to save money and/or to strengthen the wheels. The wheels are an alloy (a mix), rather than pure.
In addition to indicating a dilution of one metal with another, alloy can refer to the dilution of a feeling or a quality. Knowing that you look awesome in your Halloween costume would be an alloy to the embarrassment of showing up to a party where you are the only one in a costume.
allure
the power to entice or attract through personal charm - [n]
dispose or incline or entice to - [v]
If you find yourself making eyes at that stranger across the coffee shop, chances are there is an allure about him or her — something mysteriously, powerfully attractive and tempting.
You’ve probably noticed that allure contains lure, from the German word luder meaning “bait.” A well-made lure is so alluring to a fish that it won’t notice the hook. First used in the 15th century, this word has even landed its own fashion magazine — “Allure,” which tries to tempt people to buy it by putting powerfully attractive people on the cover and hoping you’ll believe that if you buy it, you’ll have some allure as well.
amalgamate
to bring or combine together or with something else - [v]
joined together into a whole - [adj]
To amalgamate is to combine different things to create something new. Institutions — such as banks, schools, or hospitals — often join forces and amalgamate with one other. But other things — like musical genres — get amalgamated as well.
The verb amalgamate original referred specifically to the mixture of metals, now however, it refers to any mixing or blending. A school board might decide to amalgamate two schools into one school due to a decrease in the student population, but amalgamating their mascots would be impossible.
ambiguous
having more than one possible meaning - [adj]
open to two or more interpretations; or of uncertain nature or significance; or (often) intended to mislead - [adj]
having no intrinsic or objective meaning; not organized in conventional patterns - [adj]
ambiguous words
“frustrated by ambiguous instructions, the parents were unable to assemble the toy”
“the polling had a complex and equivocal (or ambiguous) message for potential female candidates”
Look to the adjective ambiguous when you need to describe something that’s open to more than one interpretation, like the headline “Squad helps dog bite victim.”
Newspaper headlines can be unintentionally funny when they’re ambiguous. In “Squad helps dog bite victim,” is the squad helping a victim of a dog bite or helping a dog bite a victim? The ambi- prefix means “both ways,” while the guous part is from the Latin verb agere, “to lead or drive.” Thus an ambiguous sentence or situation drives us in two different directions at once. The accent is on the second syllable, “big,” which you can remember since something that’s ambiguous can lead to big misunderstandings.
ambivalence
mixed feelings or emotions - [n]
Someone who shows ambivalence about a person or thing has conflicting feelings. If you love your mom but find her totally embarrassing you might feel ambivalent about having her give a presentation at your school.
Originally a psychological term, ambivalence was borrowed from the German word Ambivalenz, coined in 1910 by the Swiss psychologist Eugen Bleuler. The German word was formed from the Latin prefix ambi- “in two ways” plus Latin valentia “vigor, strength.”
ambrosia
(classical mythology) the food and drink of the gods; mortals who ate it became immortal - [n]
any of numerous chiefly North American weedy plants constituting the genus Ambrosia that produce highly allergenic pollen responsible for much hay fever and asthma - [n]
In Greek mythology, ambrosia was the food of the gods. At a picnic, ambrosia is a dessert made with oranges and shredded coconut. While the former bestowed immortality on all who ate it, the latter tastes very refreshing after fried chicken and potato salad.
In the Odyssey and the Iliad, Homer uses the word ambrosia for three things: the food of the Olympians, a salve used to treat corpses, and as a perfume to cover up the smell of uncured seal skins. Some scholars have identified ambrosia as honey while others feel that a type of hallucinogenic mushroom was meant in the myths. Regardless of all this confusion, the word is now used metaphorically to mean anything so fragrant, so delicious that it seems divine — including a popular orange-and-coconut confection.
ameliorate
to make better - [v]
get better - [v]
To ameliorate is to step in and make a bad situation better. You could try introducing a second lollipop to ameliorate a battle between two four-year-olds over a single lollipop.
The verb ameliorate comes from the Latin word meliorare, meaning “improve.” Food drives can ameliorate hunger. Aspirin can ameliorate a headache. A sympathy card can ameliorate grief. Family therapy can ameliorate severe sibling rivalry. Anything that can lift a burden can ameliorate.
amenable
disposed or willing to comply - [adj]
liable to answer to a higher authority - [adj]
readily reacting to suggestions and influences - [adj]
open to being acted upon in a certain way - [adj]
someone amenable to persuasion
“the president is amenable to the constitutional court”
“an amenable hospitalization should not result in untimely death”
If your friends want to try sky diving and you’re amenable to the idea, sounds like you’re going to be jumping out of a plane. If a person or thing is amenable to something, they are ready, willing, or responsive.
Note that amenable is often followed by the preposition to, which makes amenable mean “able to be controlled or affected by something,” as in “They are usually amenable to our wishes;” or “Her heart condition is not amenable to treatment.” An amenable personality is open to influence or control and is willing to agree or yield.
amulet
a trinket or piece of jewelry usually hung about the neck and thought to be a magical protection against evil or disease - [n]
If you rub your pendant while praying to your gods, it sounds like you have an amulet, a necklace or similar item attributed with magical powers.
An amulet is something that wards off evil spells and all manner of bad luck. Often found in undeveloped societies — or Brady Bunch episodes — an amulet acts as a charm to protect its wearer from evil. Often worn close to the heart as a necklace, the word amulet can refer to any a piece of jewelry or other trinket that is kept close to the body and believed to keep evil and danger at bay.
anachronism
something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred - [n]
an artifact that belongs to another time - [n]
a person who seems to be displaced in time; who belongs to another age - [n]
An anachronism is something that doesn’t fit its time period, like if you say you’ll “dial” your smartphone.
Anachronism comes from the Greek roots ana- which means “against” and chron- which means “time.” Together they represent a situation in which something happens that should not because it belongs to another time period. You see anachronisms all the time in the movies — they occur when you see a jet fly over a Civil War battle! Or knights jousting over a maiden during the time of Shakespeare!
analgesic
capable of relieving pain - [adj]
a medicine used to relieve pain - [n]
an analgesic effect
An analgesic is a medicine that takes away physical pain. If you ask for pain relief, and the nurse says “Here’s an analgesic,” she’s not trying to worsen your headache with a difficult word; she’s just giving you a painkiller.
Breaking apart the word analgesic helps with pronunciation, ann-ull-JEE-zick. This isn’t a proper root-word study, but the last three letters of the word look like “sick.” If you’re sick and have some pain and discomfort, you might get relief from an analgesic. As a noun, analgesic is the actual medicine, and as an adjective, it describes the effect of the medicine — a pill will have an analgesic effect, relieving the pain — unless it’s really bad pain, in which case you’ll need two.
analogous
similar or equivalent in some respects though otherwise dissimilar - [adj]
corresponding in function but not in evolutionary origin - [adj]
brains and computers are often considered analogous“salmon roe is marketed as analogous to caviar”
“the wings of a bee and those of a hummingbird are analogous”
Use the adjective analogous to describe something that is similar to something else and can be compared to another.
Analogous things can be compared to each other, so a near synonym is the adjective comparable. Analogous is a term used in biology to refer to body parts that have a similar function but differ in structure, such as the wings of a bird and the wings of an airplane. Analogous is from Latin analogus, from Greek analogos, meaning “according to a proper ratio or proportion.”
anarchy
a state of lawlessness and disorder (usually resulting from a failure of government) - [n]
Use the noun anarchy to describe a complete lack of government — or the chaotic state of affairs created by such an absence. A substitute teacher might worry that an unruly classroom will descend into anarchy.
From the Greek for “without a ruler” we get this word for the political philosophy that the best government is no government at all — a movement that enjoyed surprising success worldwide in the early and middle parts of the twentieth century. Today, the word is more commonly used to describe not a political ideal but a state of total disorder, chaos and even violence: “A type of bloody anarchy is beginning to reign.” A good synonym would be “lawlessness.”
anodyne
capable of relieving pain - [adj]
a medicine used to relieve pain - [n]
the anodyne properties of certain drugs
When your back is killing you from helping your friend move furniture into his new apartment, you need to take an anodyne, a painkiller.
An anodyne doesn’t have to be actual medicine. If the pure joy of helping your friend is soothing enough to make you forget your aching back, that counts as an anodyne too (though perhaps an unlikely one). Anodyne can also be used as an adjective to describe something that relieves pain, or is at least inoffensive. When you’re stressed out or unhappy, try looking at anodyne pictures of kittens. Er, unless you had a bad experience with a cat once.
anomalous
deviating from the general or common order or type - [adj]
advanced forms of life may be anomalous in the universe
Something that deviates from the norm is anomalous. Something anomalous can be good, such as an exciting new direction in music or art. But that anomalously low score on your math test? Not so good.
To find the origins of the word anomalous we can go back to the Greek anṓmalos, meaning “uneven or irregular.” Something that is anomalous is not just different; it is also unexpected, and may even be completely inconsistent with the norm. For example, the recent discovery of ice, and therefore water, on the moon was anomalous to all previous ideas that the moon was lifeless. .
antediluvian
of or relating to the period before the biblical flood - [adj]
so extremely old as seeming to belong to an earlier period - [adj]
any of the early patriarchs who lived prior to the Noachian deluge - [n]
a very old person - [n]
antediluvian man
“a ramshackle antediluvian tenement”
“antediluvian ideas”
Antediluvian means “before the flood” — that is, the Biblical flood with Noah’s ark. Generally, though, the word is used — often humorously — to describe something really, really old.
In popular language, antediluvian is almost always used to exaggerate how comically, ridiculously old and out-of-date something is. You may laugh at your parents’ antediluvian ideas of what’s proper for going out on a date. And how about those antediluvian computers they still insist are fine! When the word was coined in the seventeenth century, however, it was meant literally. Back then, the science of reconstructing the Earth’s history used the Bible as a frame of reference.
antipathy
a feeling of intense dislike - [n]
the object of a feeling of intense aversion; something to be avoided - [n]
cats were his greatest antipathy
An antipathy is a deep-seated dislike of something or someone. Usually it’s a condition that is long-term, innate, and pretty unlikely to change — like your antipathy for the Red Sox.
If you look at the Greek roots of this word — anti- (meaning “against”) and pathos (meaning “feeling”), you can see that antipathy is a feeling against someone or something. In general, antipathies are considered feelings that are kept at least somewhat under wraps and are not out on the surface.
apathy
an absence of emotion or enthusiasm - [n]
the trait of lacking enthusiasm for or interest in things generally - [n]
Use the noun apathy when someone is not interested in the important things that are happening. You might feel apathy for the political process after watching candidates bicker tediously with one another.
Although apathy is a lazy-sounding word that indicates a lack of interest, action or emotion towards something, it has traveled through many languages to arrive in English. Originating from the Greek apatheia meaning “without emotion,” the word has been a part of the English language since the 17th century. Not only a single person, but a whole segment of the population can be accused of inaction, indifference or emotional detachment: the expressions voter apathy, student apathy, and consumer apathy show just how unenthusiastic large groups of people can be.
apex
the highest point (of something) - [n]
the point on the celestial sphere toward which the sun and solar system appear to be moving relative to the fixed stars - [n]
When there’s no mountain left to climb and nothing but blue sky above, you know you’ve reached the highest peak — the apex.
Apex can mean the highest point in a literal sense, like climbing to the apex of the Eiffel Tower for a fabulous view of Paris. It also can be used to mean the highest point in a figurative sense. An actor who wins an Oscar can say she’s reached the apex of her career. If you’re describing more than one high point, you could add an -es to form the plural apexes, but apices would also be correct. And if you’re a botanist, you’d probably use apex to describe the tip of a flower or leaf.
apogee
apoapsis in Earth orbit; the point in its orbit where a satellite is at the greatest distance from the Earth - [n]
a final climactic stage - [n]
For an object in orbit around the earth, the apogee is the point that is highest or furthest from the earth. Early satellites had low apogees, so it wasn’t long before they burnt up in the atmosphere.
Apogee comes from two Greek words meaning “away” and “earth,” so it’s specific to things orbiting the earth. If you’re talking about something orbiting the sun, the equivalent word is aphelion (“away” + “sun”). Because apogee denotes the highest point something reaches in an orbit before falling back, it can also figuratively refer to other highs. For example, “Child stars sometimes reach their apogee by 20, and there’s nowhere to go but down from there.”
apothegm
a short pithy instructive saying - [n]
An apothegm is a short instructive saying that’s easy to remember and sometimes even slightly witty, like “haste makes waste.” An apothegm often expresses a fundamental truth or general rule.
To correctly pronounce apothegm, put the accent on the first syllable and give it the short a sound, as in apple: “A-puh-them.” It comes from the Greek word apophthegma, meaning “terse, pointed saying,” derived from apo-, meaning “from,” and phthengesthai, meaning “to utter.”
appease
make peace with - [v]
cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of - [v]
overcome or allay - [v]
Appease means to make or preserve peace with a nation, group, or person by giving in to their demands, or to relieve a problem, as in “the cold drink appeased his thirst.”
The word often implies abandoning your moral principles to satisfy the demands of someone who is greedy for power: Think of British Prime Minister Chamberlain’s attempt to appease the Nazis at Munich. The cold drink appeased his thirst. Appease is from Middle English apaisen, from apaisier, formed from the prefix a- “to” plus pais “peace,” from Latin pax.
appellation
identifying word or words by which someone or something is called and classified or distinguished from others - [n]
Appellation means the name or title by which someone is known. Mark Twain is the famous appellation by which everyone remembers author and humorist Samuel Clemens.
An appellation is what people call a person or thing — essentially, its name or title. George Herman Ruth’s parents may have known him as George, but the rest of the world knew this famous slugger by his appellation, Babe. If you use the word appellation in a discussion of wine, you’d mean the name of the region or vineyard where the wine originated. Champagne is an appellation for the bubbly white wine that comes from the Champagne region of France.
apposite
being of striking appropriateness and pertinence - [adj]
the successful copywriter is a master of apposite and evocative verbal images
Something apposite is fitting or relevant. It is apposite that radio stations play Christmas carols on Christmas Eve, and that your tax accountant takes vacation after April 15th. It all makes sense.
The adjective apposite is derived from the Latin terms appositus and apponere. Ponere means to place, and thus apponere is “well-placed or well-put.” Don’t confuse apposite with opposite; they have almost opposite meanings!
apprise
inform (somebody) of something - [v]
gain in value - [v]
Have the students been apprised of the tuition hike?
To apprise someone about something is to fill them in, to give them the scoop. If someone in your immediate family wins the mega-bucks lottery, you want to be the first one to be apprised of that event!
Don’t confused the verbs apprise and appraise. Appraise means to determine the value of something — either its quality or its monetary worth. Apprise, on the other hand, means to inform or make aware. This word has a rather formal, weighty tone. Presidents get apprised of foreign affairs, but you will most likely not get apprised of weather conditions or dinner plans.
approbation
official approval - [n]
official recognition or approval - [n]
Approbation is an official, important-sounding, and somewhat old-fashioned word for approval or praise. A princess, for example, might only consider marrying a prince that is met with her father’s, the King’s, approbation.
How is it possible that approbation means approval when probation is a form of being in trouble in school? Remember that probation is a testing period, to see if you can be good. Approbation means it’s all good. Or you can remember this rhyme: “Filled with approbation, the audience gave a standing ovation.”
appropriate
suitable for a particular person or place or condition etc - [adj]
take possession of by force, as after an invasion - [v]
a book not appropriate for children
“a funeral conducted the appropriate solemnity”
“it seems that an apology is appropriate”
Something appropriate is correct and fits the situation. A sweater-vest with reindeer on it is appropriate holiday apparel, even if it’s totally embarrassing.
The adjective appropriate is used when something is suitable or fitting. It comes from the Latin appropriare, which means “to make something fit, to make something one’s own.” Going back even further in its history, appropriate is related to the Latin word proprius, which means “to belong to a person, thing, or group.” Make sure you don’t confuse this word with apropos — it may sound and look similar but it entered English by way of the French words a propos, meaning “to propose.”
apropos
of an appropriate or pertinent nature - [adj]
introducing a different topic; in point of fact - [adv]
at an opportune time - [adv]
your letter arrived apropos
- Apropos* means regarding or appropriate to, as in: Apropos of your interest in fishing, your grandfather gave you his set of championship lures, rods, reels and lucky tackle box.
- Apropos* is a useful word to learn. But first you have to know how to pronounce it: AP-rə-pō. Then you can conveniently change the subject of a conversation by using the expression “Apropos of nothing,” which is a glib way of saying, “Oh, and by the way…” If someone’s remarks are suitable and appropriate to the occasion, you can get on their good side by saying: How apropos!
ardor
feelings of great warmth and intensity - [n]
a feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause) - [n]
intense feeling of love - [n]
he spoke with great ardor“they were imbued with a revolutionary ardor”
Are you inspired to write love poems to your crush? Sprinkle rose petals in her path? Then you’re feeling ardor — an intense kind of warmth and fervor most often associated with love.
The Brits spell ardor with an extra vowel, so you’ll often see this word written as ardour. But on either side of the pond it’s a noun that brings to mind Pepe Le Pew and his fervent pursuit of the female species. But ardor isn’t always about love. It’s perfectly platonic to be “an ardent supporter” of a certain cause, or show eagerness and ardor in your approach to anything.
arduous
characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort - [adj]
difficult to accomplish; demanding considerable mental effort and skill - [adj]
taxing to the utmost; testing powers of endurance - [adj]
worked their arduous way up the mining valley
“the arduous work of preparing a dictionary”
““your willingness after these six arduous days to remain here”- F.D.Roosevelt”
Use the adjective, arduous, to describe an activity that takes a lot of effort. Writing all those college essays and filling out the applications is an arduous process!
Arduous was first used in English to mean “steep” or “difficult to climb.” If you’re an outdoorsman, hiking up a mountain is a lot of fun, but if you’re a couch potato, it’s an arduous trek. Today, the word can be used figuratively for something that is difficult or takes a lot of work. If you spend an arduous week studying for your final exams, you’ll do well because you’ve worked really hard!
argot
a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves) - [n]
Argot is language particular to a specific group. It can mean a kind of slang, a technical language or a code. In high school, only those who spend their time studying computer manuals could understand the argot of the computer lab kids.
The word argot was originally used to describe the slang of thieves and rogues, who spoke in sneaky ways that the upright citizen couldn’t understand. We can also use argot to describe less criminal kinds of vocabularies. Any specialized practice can create an argot: boxers talk of bodyshots and jabs, just as grammar teachers complain of split infinitives and dangling participles.
artifact
a man-made object taken as a whole - [n]
An artifact is a man-made object that has some kind of cultural significance. If you find a 12th century vase, it’s an artifact of that time. Don’t drop it!
Artifact is a combination of two Latin words, arte, meaning “by skill” and factum which means “to make.” Usually when you use the word artifact, you are describing something crafted that was used for a particular purpose during a much earlier time.
artless
simple and natural; without cunning or deceit - [adj]
(of persons) lacking art or knowledge - [adj]
an artless manner
“artless elegance”
“an artless translation”
Yes, artless could mean lacking in art, but more often it means lacking in superficiality or deceit. An artless person could never make a living as a con artist.
Originally meaning “unskillful” or “uncultured,” artless evolved into meaning not skilled or cultured in the art of deceit. If you are artless, you are natural and uncontrived. Young people, animals, the socially inept — these can all be artless in the way they express themselves. They seem to mean exactly what they say.
ascetic
someone who practices self denial as a spiritual discipline - [n]
practicing great self-denial - [adj]
pertaining to or characteristic of an ascetic or the practice of rigorous self-discipline - [adj]
Be systematically ascetic…do…something for no other reason than that you would rather not do it”- William James”
“ascetic practices”
Want to live an ascetic lifestyle? Then you better ditch the flat panel TV and fuzzy slippers. To be ascetic, you learn to live without; it’s all about self-denial.
Ascetic is derived from the Greek asketes, meaning “monk,” or “hermit.” Later that became asketikos, meaning “rigorously self-disciplined,” which gives us the Modern English ascetic. Ascetic can be a noun: a person with incredible self-discipline and the ability to deprive herself, or an adjective that describes such a people or their lifestyle.
asperity
harshness of manner - [n]
something hard to endure - [n]
the asperity of northern winters
Asperity is the harsh tone or behavior people exhibit when they’re angry, impatient, or just miserable. When your supervisor’s “Late again!” greeting causes your entire future to pass before your eyes, he is speaking with asperity.
The harshness that asperity implies can also apply to conditions, like “the asperities of life in a bomb shelter.” Or even more literally to surfaces, like “the asperity of an unfinished edge.” But, most often, you will see asperity used in reference to grumpy human beings.
aspersion
a disparaging remark - [n]
the act of sprinkling water in baptism (rare) - [n]
in the 19th century any reference to female sexuality was considered a vile aspersion
An aspersion is a disparaging remark. It almost invariably appears as a plural, following the word “cast” — when you cast aspersions on someone, you are questioning their abilities or doubting them.
Finding out that a field-hockey coach had never played the sports might cast aspersions on her ability to coach it. Wendy’s ads don’t come out and say that McDonald’s hamburgers are made out of cardboard, but through shot after shot of their own thick and juicy and oddly square offering, they cast aspersions on the quarter-pounder.
assiduous
marked by care and persistent effort - [adj]
her assiduous attempts to learn French
“assiduous research”
If you call someone assiduous, it’s a compliment. It means they’re careful, methodical and very persistent. Good detectives are classically assiduous types.
Assiduous comes from two Latin words: assiduus, meaning “busy incessant, continual or constant,” and assidere, meaning “to sit down to” something. (Funnily enough, we also get the word sedentary, meaning someone who doesn’t move around much, a lazy couch potato, from this same last word.) Although we tend to think of sedentary types as being the very opposite of assiduous ones, many assiduous activities (like writing, thinking, or detective work) are best done sitting in a chair.
assuage
provide physical relief, as from pain - [v]
satisfy (thirst) - [v]
cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of - [v]
If you assuage an unpleasant feeling, you make it go away. Assuaging your hunger by eating a bag of marshmallows may cause you other unpleasant feelings.
The most common things that we assuage are fears, concerns, guilt, grief, anxiety, and anger. That makes a lot of sense — these are all things we seek relief from. The word comes from Old French assouagier, from the Latin root suavis, “sweet” — think of adding a bit of honey to something unpleasant. A word with a similar meaning is mollify.
astringent
tending to draw together or constrict soft organic tissue - [adj]
sour or bitter in taste - [adj]
astringent cosmetic lotions
You know that vinegar-like liquid teens put on their faces in order to tighten their pores and dry up their pimples? That’s astringent. An astringent personality, on the other hand, is perceived as bitter and perhaps even a bit toxic.
Astringent may be a lifesaver for an acne-prone teen, but when the term is used as an adjective and applied to you personally, it’s less positive. Since astringents are acid-based, an astringent personality can also be corrosive. If someone is prone to biting sarcasm and cynicism, he probably has an astringent view of the world.
asylum
a shelter from danger or hardship - [n]
a hospital for mentally incompetent or unbalanced person - [n]
Any mom taking care of the kids day in and day out is probably more than ready to seek asylum, or refuge, at a local spa.
You may have heard asylum used to describe an institution where insane people are housed, but did you know that an asylum can also be somewhere you’d happily and willingly go? An asylum offers shelter and protection, like the awning of a building in a downpour. Or a country that takes in refugees in danger of persecution — otherwise known as “political asylum.”
atavism
a reappearance of an earlier characteristic - [n]
Atavism is a return to a previous way of doing, saying, or seeing things. It can be casual, like wearing retro clothing and listening to vinyl records, or committed, like living in a straw hut without electricity.
It makes sense that atavism comes from a Latin word meaning “forefather,” since it refers to a way of doing things like our ancestors did them. It’s often used negatively, though, to refer to behavior the speaker finds primitive or unacceptable. Atavists are often called “throwbacks.” In biology, the term atavism or “evolutionary throwback” is used when animals are born with features that had disappeared, such as legs on a whale.
attenuate
become weaker, in strength, value, or magnitude - [v]
weaken the consistency of (a chemical substance) - [v]
reduced in strength - [adj]
Attenuate is a verb that means to make or become weaker. The effects of aging may be attenuated by exercise. (Or by drinking from the fountain of youth.)
The versatile word attenuate denotes a weakening in amount, intensity, or value. As a verb, attenuate is usually transitive, meaning it needs an object to be complete, such as in the sentence: “This tanning process tends to attenuate the deer hide, making it softer.” The word can be intransitive in past tense, as in “The rain attenuated, ending the storm.” And it can even be used as an adjective to describe something weakened: “Even an attenuated solution will remove the stain.”
