Daily Word Flashcards
(v.) to humiliate, degrade (After being overthrown and abased, the deposed
leader offered to bow down to his conqueror.)
abase
(v.) to reduce, lessen (The rain poured down for a while, then abated.)
abate
(v.) to give up a position, usually one of leadership (When he realized that the
revolutionaries would surely win, the king abdicated his throne.)
abdicate
(n.) something that differs from the norm (In 1918, the Boston Red Sox won
the World Series, but the success turned out to be an aberration, and the Red Sox
have not won a World Series since.)
aberration
(v.) to aid, help, encourage (The spy succeeded only because he had a friend on the
inside to abet him.)
abet
(v.) to stop, block abruptly (Edna’s boss balked at her request for another raise.)
balk
(adj.) dull, commonplace (The client rejected our proposal because they found
our presentation banal and unimpressive.)
banal
(n.) a burden (Advanced physics is the bane of many students’ academic lives.)
bane
(n.) a poet, often a singer as well (Shakespeare is often considered the greatest bard
in the history of the English language.)
bard
(adj.) shy, excessively timid (Frankie’s mother told him not to be bashful when
he refused to attend the birthday party.)
bashful
(n.) tremendous noise, disharmonious sound (The elementary school
orchestra created a cacophony at the recital.)
cacophony
(n.) a rhythm, progression of sound (The pianist used the foot pedal to
emphasize the cadence of the sonata.)
cadence
(v.) to urge, coax (Fred’s buddies cajoled him into attending the bachelor party.)
cajole
(v.) to set, standardize (The mechanic calibrated the car’s transmission to
make the motor run most efficiently.)
calibrate
(adj. ) harsh, cold, unfeeling (The murderer’s callous lack of remorse shocked the
jury. )
callous
