Level 2A Words Flashcards
abase
to humiliate or degrade
abash
to make ashamed; to embarrass
abate
to subside; to reduce
aberration
something not typical; a deviation from the standard
abhor
to hate very, very much; to detest
abject
hopeless; extremely sad and serville; defeated; utterly bummed out
abomination
something awful
abound
to be numerous
abysmal
extremely hopeless or wretched; awful; bottomless
accede
to express approval for; to give into
acerbic
bitter; sour; severe
acrimonious
full of spite; bitter; nasty
acumen
keenness of judgement; mental sharpness
admonish
to scold gently; to warn
adorned
decorated
adroit
skillful; dexterious; clever; shrewd; socially at ease
adulterate
to contaminate; to make impure
affable
easy to talk to; friendly
affectation
unnatural or artificial behavior, usually intended to impress
aggrandized
made greater; enhanced
aghast
struck by fear or amazement
algorithm
a mathematical formula or procedure
alleviate
to relieve, usually temporarily or incompletely; to make bearable; to lessen
altruism
selflessness; generosity; devotion to the interests of others
amalgam
a mixture of different things
amalgamate
unify; join parts into a whole
ameliorate
to make better or more tolerable
amenable
obedient; willing to give in to the wishes of another; agreeable
amicable
amicable = politely friendly, not hostile
anachronism
something out of place in time or history; an incongruity
anathema
something hated; a curse
annotation
a comment or note on a literary work
antithesis
the direct opposite
apartheid
the abhorrent policy of racial segregation and oppression in the Republic of South Africa
aplomb
confidence
apoplectic
enraged
apportion
to divide and distribute
approbation
approval; praise
arch
sassy
arduous
hard; difficult
artifice
a clever trick; cunning
artless
simple; without cunning
ascendency
supremacy; domination
aspersion
a false claim intended to harm
assail
to attack violently
assiduous
hardworking; busy; quite diligent
assuage
to soothe; to pacify; to ease the pain of; to relieve
astute
shrewd; keen in judgement
august
majestic
auspicious
favorable; promising; pointing to a good result
autocrat
an all-powerful ruler
automaton
one who acts in a robotic way
avuncular
like an uncle, especially a nice uncle
bauble
a small, inexpensive piece of jewelry or toy
beautific
extremely happy
bedlam
a state of uproar and confusion
beguile
to trick
behemoth
something huge
belie
to give a false impression of; to contradict
belligerent
combative; quarrelsome; waging war
bemoan
to mourn over; to express grief for
beneficence
the quality of being kind or charitable
bereft
deprived or left desolate, especially through death
bifurcated
split in two
bilious
bad-tempered
bludgeon
to hit forcefully
brusque
abrupt; curt; harsh
bumptious
assertive in a loud, arrogant way
burgeon
to expand; to flourish
buttress
a support
bygone
past
cacophany
harsh sounding mixture of words, voices, or sounds
calamitous
related to a terrible event
callous
unsympathetic; hard-hearted
camraderie
togetherness
capacious
spacious
capitulate
to surrender; to give up or give in
capricious
unpredictable; likely to change at any moment
captious
overly critical
cardinal
of main importance
castigate
to criticize severely; to chastise
caterwaul
to cry or to complain loudly
celerity
accelerate
censure
to condemn severely for doing something bad
cerebral
brainy; intellectually refined
chagrin
humiliation; embarrassed disappointment
champion
to fight for
chary
very cautious
chide
to scold
choleric
hot-tempered; quick to anger
circuitous
roundabout; not following a direct path
circumspect
cautious
circumvent
to frustrate as though by surrounding; avoids; gets around something
clandestine
secret; sneaky; concealed and, usually, up to no good
clemency
mercy; forgiveness; mildness
cloying
gross because it’s too much
cocksure
overconfident
coddle
to treat with excessive care
coerced
forced
cognizant
aware; conscious
commiserate
to sympathize with
companionable
sociable; friendly
complicit
having helped with a crime
complicity
participation in wrongdoing; the act of being an accomplice
concord
harmony; agreement
conflagration
a fire
conflate
to confuse
conscientious
driven by the urge to do what’s right; careful
consternation
confusion; agitation; dismay
conundrum
a difficult problem
conversant
familiar with
corroborate
to confirm; to back up with evidence
cosmopolitan
at home in many places or situations; internationally sophisticated
countenance
face; facial expression, especially an encouraging one
covert
secret; hidden
cowed
intimidated
crestfallen
dejected; depressed
culpable
deserving blame; guilty
curtail
to shorten; to cut short