Difficult Words -A Flashcards
1
Q
Abash
A
make (someone) feel embarrassed, disconcerted, or ashamed.
Her elder cousins abashed her by commenting on her shyness
2
Q
Abate
A
to become less strong; to make something less strong
The storm showed no signs of abating
3
Q
Abdicate
A
To step down from a position of power
To give up responsibility
4
Q
Aberration
A
a fact, an action or a way of behaving that is not typical, and that may be unacceptable. Deviation from standard
Snowstorm in July is aberration
5
Q
Abhor
A
to hate something very much
6
Q
Abject
A
terrible and without hope
They live in abject misery.
7
Q
Abnegate
A
To deny oneself things
Saman abnegated desserts for one month after on the scale .
8
Q
Abortive
A
Unsuccessful
9
Q
Abridge
A
To shorten ,condense
10
Q
Absolute
A
Total ,unlimited and perfect
11
Q
Absolve
A
To forgive or free from blame,sin or obligation .
12
Q
Abstinent
A
Abstaining ,voluntarily not doing something especially something pleasant that is bad for you and has a bad reputation
13
Q
Abstract
A
existing only as an idea, not as a physical thing
14
Q
Abstruse
A
Hard to understand
15
Q
Abysmal
A
Very bad ,hopeless
Abysmal despair is so deep that there seems no possible solution to it
16
Q
Abyss
A
Bottomless pit
17
Q
Accolade
A
a comment, prize, etc. that you receive that shows people’s high opinion of something that you have done
18
Q
Accost
A
To approach and speak to someone.
He was accosted by three gang members on the subway.
She was so famous that people would accost her on the street and ask for an autograph.
19
Q
Acerbic ,acerb
A
Bitter sour and severe
20
Q
Acquiesce
A
To comply passively , to accept,to assent and to agree
21
Q
Acrid
A
Harsh
Acrid smell ,taste ,personality or comment
22
Q
Acrimonious
A
Full of spite,bitter ,nasty
23
Q
Acumen
A
Keenness to judgement ,mental sharpness
24
Q
Acute
A
Sharp and shrewd
25
Adage
Old saying
26
Adamant
Stubborn,completely inflexible
27
Address
To give speech
To direct one's attention to
She addressed the problem of addressing the convention by preparing the speech
28
Adherent
Follower ,supporter
King's adherents threw him a party
To adhere to it means to stick to it
29
Admonish
To scold gently ,to warn
30
Adulterate
To contaminate,to make impure
31
Adverse
Unfavorable,antagonistic
32
Averse
against or not in favour of something
He is not averse to trying out new ideas
33
Aesthetic
Having to do with artistic beauty
34
Affable
Easy to talk to,friendly
35
Affectation
Unnatural or artificial behaviour,usually intended to impress
36
Affinity
a liking or sympathy for someone or something, especially because of shared characteristics:
She seems to have a natural affinity for/with water.
37
Affluent
Rich ,prosperous
38
Agenda
Program ,things to be done
39
Agrarian
Relating to land or farming
40
Aggregate
A sum total ,collection of seperate things mixed together
41
Agnostic
One who believes that the existence of a god can neither be proven nor disproven
42
Alacrity
great willingness, eagerness or enthusiasm
She accepted the assignment with alacrity.
43
Allege
to say that somebody has done something wrong, but without having any proof that this is true
44
Alleviate
To relieve,to lessen
45
Allocate
To allot ,assign ,to distribute
46
Alloy
A combination of two or more things ,usually metals .
47
Allusion
an implied or indirect reference especially in literature
He made an allusion to the years they spent apart .
48
Aloof
not friendly to other people; distant
Her shyness made her seem aloof.
49
Altruism
Selflessness,generosity,devotion to the interests of others
50
Ambience
Atmosphere,mood ,feeling
51
Ambiguous
Unclear and vague in meaning
52
Ambivalent
Undecided,neutral
having or showing a mixture of feelings or opinions about something or somebody
53
Ameliorate
to make something better
Steps have been taken to ameliorate the situation
54
Amenable
Willing to give in to the wishes of another ,agreeable
I’m amenable to any suggestions you may have
55
Amenity
something that makes a place pleasant or easy to live in
Among the town’s amenities are two cinemas and a sports centre.
56
Amiable
Friendly , agreeable
57
Amnesty
Official pardon for a group of people who have violated a law or policy
58
Amoral
Lacking a sense of right or wrong ,neither good nor bad,
An amoral CEO fires employees so he can make more money, unconcerned about how losing their jobs might affect them.
59
Amorous
Feeling loving ,especially in a sexual sense in love
60
Amorphous
Shapeless,without a regular or stable shape
61
Anachronism
Something out of place in time or history
In this day of impersonal hospitals ,a family doctor who will visit you at home seems like an anachronism .
62
Analogy
A comparison of one thing to another ,similarity
63
Anarchy
Absence of government ,lawlessness or disorder
64
Anecdote
Short account of a humorous or revealing incident .
65
Anguish
great mental pain or suffering
66
Animosity
Resentment,hostility,ill will
67
Anomaly
A deviation ,irregularity,aberration
A snowy July is an anomaly
68
Antecedent
a thing or an event that exists or comes before another, and may have influenced it
the people in somebody’s family who lived a long time ago
69
Antipathy
Firm dislike
70
Antithesis
Direct opposite
71
Apartheid
the former official government policy in South Africa of separating people of different races and making them live apart
72
Apathy
the feeling of not being interested in or enthusiastic about anything
73
Aphorism
Witty saying ,proverb
74
Apocalypse
The apocalypse is the total destruction and end of the world.
75
Apocryphal
of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true.
"there is an apocryphal story about a disgraced rock star who ended up in bankruptcy court"
76
Apotheosis
the elevation of a person to the rank of a god,perfect example of something
77
Appease
To soothe or to pacify
Larry appraised his angry mother by promising to make his bed every morning
78
Appreciate
to enjoy something or to understand the value of somebody/something
to understand a problem, situation, etc.
79
Apprehensive
Worried and anxious about future
80
Misapprehension
to have the wrong idea about something or to believe something is true when it is not,misunderstanding
81
Approbation
Approval,praise
The council has finally indicated its approbation of the plans
82
Disapprobation
Disapproval
83
Appropriate
suitable or right for a particular situation, person
to take something to use for yourself, usually without permission
84
Expropriates
take (property) from its owner for public use or benefit.
"their assets were expropriated by the government"
85
Misappropriate
dishonestly or unfairly take (something, especially money, belonging to another) for one's own use.
86
Aptitude
Capacity for learning ,natural ability
87
Ineptitude
lack of skill
88
Arbiter
One who decides ,a judge
a person with power to decide a dispute :
89
Arbitrary
Random ,capricious
I don't know why I chose that one; it was a completely arbitrary decision.
90
Arcane
known to very few people and therefore difficult to understand
91
Archaic
Extremely old,ancient,outdated
92
Archetype
the most typical example of a particular kind of person or thing,orignal model
Archetypal or archetypical
93
Ardent
Passionate,showing strong feelings, especially a strong liking for somebody/something
94
Arduous
Hard ,difficult
Climbing the mountain was arduous .
95
Aristocratic
Noble birth ,snobbish
Prince Charles is aristocratic .
96
Artful
Crafty,clever at getting what you want, perhaps by not telling the truth
97
Artless
Simple and honest
98
Artifice
the use of clever methods to trick somebody
The whole story was just an artifice to win our sympathy.
99
Ascendancy
Supremacy ,domination
The ascendancy of the new regime had been a great boon .
Small computers have been in ascendancy for the last few years .
100
Ascetic
Hermitlike
101
Assiduous
Hardworking ,quite diligent ,busy
102
Assimilate
to become or allow somebody/something to become part of a country, a social group, etc.
to learn and understand something
103
Assuage
to make an unpleasant feeling less strong
104
Astute
very clever; good at judging people or situations
105
Attrition
Gradually wearing a way ,weakening ,natural or expected decrease in numbers or size.
106
Audacity
Boldness ,reckless daring
107
Augment
To make bigger ,to add ,to increase
The army augmented it's attack by sending more soldiers .
108
Auspicious
Favorable ,pointing to good result .
109
Austere
Unadorned very simple; without decoration
very strict and serious
110
Autocratic
Ruling with absolute authority ,extremely bossy .
111
Autonomous
Acting independently
An autonomous nation is one that is independent ,it governs itself
112
Avarice
Greed ,excess love of riches
113
Avow
To declare boldly , to claim ,to admit
An avowed criminal is the one who admits he is the criminal.
114
Avuncular
Like an uncle ,kind helpful
115
Awry
wrong, not in the way that was planned; untidy
Then your plans are almost certain to go awry.
116
Axiom
Widely accepted saying
