UDEMY Flashcards
Abase (Verb)
Abase (Verb)
Meaning: To cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of
Example: Russian law says inmates must not be treated in a way that is
“harsh” or “abases human dignity”.
Abate (Verb)
Meaning: To lessen (something) in force or intensity
Example: The sky remained dark around us, but the clouds of dust
abated somewhat.
Abdicate (Verb)
Meaning: To relinquish or renounce a throne, or other high office or
dignity; to renounce sovereignty
Example: “You should know that the king will soon abdicate his throne
in favor of one of his children,” Madoc says, looking at all of us.
Aberrant (Adjective
Meaning: Straying from the right way; deviating from morality or truth.
Example: His lawyer told the court that Mr. Stacy’s heavy drinking and
the psychological effects of his accident accounted for his aberrant
behavior.
Abeyance (Noun)
Meaning: Suspension; temporary suppression; dormant condition.
Example: The Tony Awards, held in abeyance since June 2020, were
bestowed Sunday night, with a splashy effervescence that seemed to
declare: The best of times is now.
Abhor (Verb)
Meaning: To regard (someone or something) as horrifying or detestable;
to feel great repugnance toward.
Example: I abhor the rainbow stripe and would prefer something along
the lines of a simple skull and crossbones.
solemnity
the state or quality of being serious and dignified.
a formal, dignified rite or ceremony.
Abjure (Verb
Meaning: To reject with solemnity; to abandon forever; to repudiate; to
disclaim.
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Example: His new book, “Bad Faith,” offers a history of episodes in
which fringe groups abjured modern medicine, with deadly
consequences.
disposition
a person’s inherent qualities of mind and character.
the way in which something is placed or arranged, especially in relation to other things.
Abreast (Adverb)
Meaning: Informed, well-informed, familiar, acquainted.
Example: The Journal Club proved to be an ideal way to keep the lab
abreast of the latest advances in physics, but over time the agenda
reflected the lab’s own expanding prominence.
epitomize
be a perfect example of.give a summary of (a written work).
Abridge (Verb)
Meaning: To shorten or contract by using fewer words, yet retaining the
sense; to epitomize; to condense
Example: Baby Kochamma, who had been put in charge of their formal
education, had read them an abridged version of The Tempest by
Charles and Mary Lamb.
repeal
revoke/annul
Abrogate (Verb)
Meaning: To annul by an authoritative act; to abolish by the authority of
the maker or her or his successor; to repeal
Example: He did not hesitate to abrogate Indian treaties, though he
sometimes expressed concern for Indian life.
Abstain (Verb)
Meaning: To refrain from (something or doing something); keep from
doing, especially an indulgence.
Example: Even when Ramadan arrived during the season and I had to
play volleyball and fence while fasting from sunrise to sunset,
abstaining from food and water, I still didn’t want to quit.
Abscission (Noun)
Meaning: The act or process of cutting off.
Example: Students worked with collaborative teams to develop
innovative methods for quantifying leaf color change and abscission in
campus trees.
Abscond (Verb)
Meaning: To flee, often secretly; to steal away, particularly to avoid
arrest or prosecution.
Example: In 1995, the leader of a commercial expedition absconded with
tens of thousands of dollars of his clients’ money before the trip even got
off the ground.
Abyss (Noun)
Meaning: A bottomless or unfathomed depth, gulf, or chasm; hence, any
deep, immeasurable; any void space.
Example: I wonder about the deep, wide abyss between good intentions
and concrete action, and how many of them leapt across it.
Accede (Verb)
Meaning: To agree or assent to a proposal or a view; to give way.
Example: The Physical Review soon acceded to a system by which it
would accept articles on nuclear reactions but keep them in a vault, to
be published after the conclusion of the war.
Accretion (Noun)
Meaning: The act of increasing, or the matter added, by an accession of
parts externally; an extraneous addition
Example: Physicists grappled with the mysteries of subatomic behavior
into the mid-1920s, hoping that the steady accretion of observed results
would lead them to the truth.
Acerbic (Adjective)
Meaning: Sharp, harsh, biting.
Example: He was a captivating lecturer — feisty, acerbic and
challenging.
Acidulous (Adjective)
Meaning: Slightly sour; Sharp; caustic.
Example: “Bosh!” was his acidulous comment “I’ve caught the same fish
in New Zealand in broad daylight.”
Acme (Noun)
Meaning: A high point - the highest point of any range, the most
developed stage of any process, or the culmination of any field or
historical period.
Example: “Even though Donald Trump is no longer president, I believe
the latest round” of attacks are the acme of Trump’s rhetoric, she says.
discernment
ability to judge well
Acumen (Noun)
Meaning: Quickness of perception or discernment; penetration of mind;
the faculty of nice discrimination.
Example: He showed his business acumen by selling the compasses
relatively cheaply and charging a healthy tuition fee to anyone who
wanted to know how to use it.
Adhere (Verb)
Meaning: To stick; to become joined or united.
Example: Converts were required to attend weekly meetings and to
adhere to a strict code of conduct.
Admonish (Verb)
Meaning: To inform or notify of a fault; to rebuke gently or kindly, but
seriously
Example: And once more the court admonished the witness: “Answer
yes or no, do you have an opinion?”
Adulterate (Verb)
Meaning: To make less valuable or spoil (something) by adding
impurities or other substances.
Example: Shady dealers along the supply chain frequently adulterate
olive oil with low-grade vegetable oils and add artificial coloring.
Adumbrate (Verb)
Meaning: To give a vague outline.
Example: I muttered that in fragments, but the lines only adumbrated
the longing without revealing its hidden fount.
Adverse (Adjective)
Meaning: Unfavorable; actively opposing one’s interests or wishes;
working in an opposing direction.
Example: The prince should be on guard against them and fear them as
if they were declared enemies, because they will always help to bring
about his downfall in adverse times.
Advocate (Verb)
Meaning: To plead in favour of; to defend by argument, before a tribunal
or the public; to support, vindicate, or recommend publicly.
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Example: That autumn, on October 14, 1964, I heard that Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advocating
a policy of nonviolence.
Aerie (Noun)
Meaning: The nest of a bird of prey; Any high and remote but
commanding place.
Example: He ran full speed downhill for the West Branch of the
Delaware, looking at rocks and trees for white streaks of bird excrement
that marked a peregrine falcon aerie.
Affable (Adjective)
Meaning: Friendly, courteous, sociable.
Example: A writer for Chicago magazine described Barack as “a tall,
affable workaholic,” suggesting that he should someday run for office,
an idea that he simply shrugged off.
Affectation (Noun)
Meaning: An attempt to assume or exhibit what is not natural or real;
false display; artificial show.
Example: The Hymn is written objectively, simply, without a touch of
affectation.
Aggrandize (Verb)
Meaning: To make great; to enlarge; to increase.
Example: Trump’s goal was to rid the place of Obama supporters and
climate change analysts, and to aggrandize the oil and coal sectors.
Alacrity (Noun)
Meaning: A cheerful readiness, willingness, or promptitude; joyous
activity; briskness
Example: The soldiers advanced with alacrity to meet the enemy.
Albeit (Conjunction)
Meaning: Although, despite
Example: He was making progress, albeit rather slowly
Altruism (Noun)
Meaning: The principle of living and acting for the interest of others.
Example: The researchers discovered that when people are given a small
stipend for donating blood rather than simply being praised for their
altruism, they tend to donate less blood
Ambivalent (Adjective)
Meaning: Simultaneously experiencing or expressing opposing or
contradictory feelings, beliefs, or motivations.
Example: He was vague and ambivalent on matters of policy.
Ameliorate (Verb)
Meaning: To make better, or improve, something perceived to be in a
negative condition.
Example: Why is the American healthcare system so woefully
inadequate, and what, if anything, has been done to ameliorate this
distressing state of affairs?
Amenable (Adjective)
Meaning: Willing to respond to persuasion or suggestions.
Example: She said her peers wanted her to bend the rules, but she wasn’t
amenable.
Amiable (Adjective)
Meaning: Of a pleasant and likeable nature; kind-hearted; easy to like.
Example: His amiable North Country personality cloaked a sharp legal
mind and soaring political ambition.
Amortize (Verb)
Meaning: To wipe out a debt or liability gradually or in installments.
Example: He added that the cost of the show would be amortized over
13 episodes.
Anachronism (Noun)
Meaning: A person or thing which seems to belong to a different time or
period of time.
Example: The show’s uniformly tall and thin models seem an
anachronism in a world that increasingly celebrates body diversity
Analgesia (Noun)
Meaning: Medication that acts to relieve pain
Example: “Along with the neglect of diagnosis, the lack of good
analgesia marks Mother Teresa’s approach,” he wrote in an article for
the journal.
Analogous (Adjective)
Meaning: bearing some resemblance to something else.
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Example: Churchill’s place in history’s purgatory is analogous to that of
Jefferson, a flawed human who made the world better.
Anarchy (Noun)
Meaning: A chaotic and confusing absence of any form of political
authority or government; Confusion; disorder.
Example: “Rules are needed even more now. Without them there is
anarchy.”
Anathema (Noun)
Meaning: Something which is vehemently disliked by somebody; a
curse; a malediction.
Example: He had a notoriously high failure rate, which of course made
him the anathema of Carter High School
Annul (Verb
Meaning: To formally revoke the validity of; To dissolve marriage on the
grounds that it is not valid.
Example: His desire to annul his existing marriage to Catherine of
Aragon and marry Anne instead led to a split with the Roman Catholic
church
Anodyne (Noun)
Meaning: any medicine or other agent that relieves pain
squalor
the state of being extremely dirty and unpleasant, especially as a result of poverty or neglect.
Anoint (Verb)
Meaning: To choose or nominate somebody for a leading or otherwise
important position, especially formally or officially.
Example: The Golden Globes anointed two best pictures: La La Land for
musical or comedy and Moonlight for drama.
Anomaly (Noun)
Meaning: Something or someone that is strange or unusual.
Example: “My dad was the only Asian in like a hundred-mile radius.
The next town over was like ninety-six percent African American, so I
saw nonwhite people all the time, but I was definitely an anomaly.”
Antagonize (Verb)
Meaning: To work against; to oppose
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Example: They conducted their duties humbly and reticently, with a
minimum of fuss, and went to great lengths not to antagonize anyone.
Antedate (Verb)
Meaning: To occur before an event or time; to exist further back in time.
Example: However, most of the older residences in Fredericksburg
antedate the fire, and are of an earlier Colonial period.
Antipathy (Noun)
Meaning: A feeling of dislike (towards someone/something)
Example: I was also quite religious, and the party’s antipathy to religion
put me off.
Antithetical (Adjective)
Meaning: directly opposed or contrasted; mutually incompatible.
Example: His wrong-headed beliefs are antithetical to everything we
stand for as a community.
Apathy (Noun)
Meaning: Lack of emotion or motivation; lack of interest or enthusiasm
towards something
Example: Despite congressional apathy and obstruction, the suffragists
remained steadfast
Apocryphal (Adjective)
Meaning: Of doubtful authenticity, or lacking authority.
Example: In one possibly apocryphal story, doctors once trained a
homeless man to do routine lab tests because there was no one else
available.
Apostate (Noun)
Meaning: A person who has renounced a religion or faith.
Example: Labeling Mr. Daoud an apostate and “an enemy of religion,”
he called on the Algerian state to impose a public execution of Mr.
Daoud for the “war he is leading against God and the prophet.”
Apostle (Noun)
Meaning: A pioneer or early advocate of a particular cause, prophet of a
belief.
Example: As the apostle of publicity for publicity’s sake, Trump has
adopted the practices of reality TV, building his reputation on insults,
humiliation and a discourse of provocation and hate
Appease (Verb)
Meaning: To make quiet; to calm; to dispel anger or hatred.
Example: “Let me explain, sir,” she began, trying to appease Nathan’s
father.
Appreciable (Adjective)
Meaning: Large enough to be estimated; perceptible; considerable.
Example: The sudden illness or death of farmers, spraymen, pilots, and
others exposed to appreciable quantities of pesticides are tragic and
should not occur.
Apposite (Adjective)
Meaning: Well suited to the circumstance or in relation to something.
Example: As Cole is an art connoisseur, it is apposite to compare his
book with the old masters that he has studied.
Apprise (Verb)
Meaning: To notify, or to make aware; to inform.
Example: She asked him, “Would you please wait until seven p.m., to
allow me to apprise my corporate headquarters of recent
developments?”
Approbation (Noun)
Meaning: Approval or official recognition.
Example: Their cause enjoys such unquestioning approbation that few
complain or even notice.
Appropriate (Adjective)
Meaning: Suitable or fit; proper; socially correct.
Example: Remarkably, in the United States, a life sentence is deemed
perfectly appropriate for someone whose only crime is a first-time drug
offense.
Arbiter (Noun)
Meaning: A person or object having the power of judging and
determining.
Example: “He is the arbiter of all disputes and no provision is made for
an appeal from his decision,” the Tribune reported.
Arbitrary (Adjective)
Meaning: Based on individual discretion or judgment; not based on any
objective distinction, perhaps even made at random.
Example: The choice of coordinates is arbitrary; one can use any three
well-defined spatial coordinates and any measure of time.
Arcane (Adjective)
Meaning: Obscure, mysterious.
Example: The paper, with dozens of tables and arcane symbols to denote
traits and variants, was challenging even for statisticians.
Archaic (Adjective)
Meaning: Old-fashioned, no longer in ordinary use.
Example: I opened the book with some apprehension, wondering what
archaic spelling and punctuation I would face.
Ardent (Adjective)
Meaning: Expressing passion, spirit, or enthusiasm.
Example: Jane Eyre, who had been an ardent, expectant woman—almost
a bride, was a cold, solitary girl again: her life was pale; her prospects
were desolate.
Arduous (Adjective)
Meaning: Difficult; hard to climb.
Example: He is on his own journey, one that will be arduous and long,
filled with missteps and stumbles
Arrogate (Verb)
Meaning: To appropriate or lay claim to something for oneself without
right.
Example: Success has either earned him that right, or else he arrogated
it to himself.
Articulate (Verb)
Meaning: To speak clearly; to explain.
Example: A million questions rush through her head and she cannot
properly articulate any of them.
Artifact (Noun)
Meaning: An object made or shaped by human hand or labor;
something observed in a scientific investigation or experiment that is not naturally present but occurs as a result of the preparative or investigative procedure.
Example: The dig produced many Roman artifacts.
Artless (Adjective)
Meaning: Free of artificiality; natural.
Example: This pendant has artless charm.
Ascertain (Verb)
Meaning: To find out definitely; to discover or establish.
Example: As soon as we ascertain what the situation is, we can plan how
to proceed.
Ascetic (Noun)
Meaning: One who is devoted to the practice of self-denial, either
through seclusion or stringent abstinence.
Example: Female ascetics find shelter in a wide variety of establishments
and vary greatly in the degree to which they travel.
Ascribe (Verb)
Meaning: To attribute a cause or characteristic to someone or something.
Example: One may ascribe these problems to the federal government;
however, at this stage it is unclear what caused them.
Aseptic (Adjective)
Meaning: Free of disease-causing microbes.
Example: The lack of aseptic tools during surgery has resulted in many
deaths.
Asperity (Noun)
Meaning: The quality of being harsh or severe in the way one speaks or
behaves toward people; Something that is harsh and difficult to endure.
Example: Sir Richard’s asperity invariably made the young man more
nervous.
Aspersion (Noun)
Meaning: An attack on somebody’s reputation or good name.
Example: Their influence has already cast aspersions and suspicions on
many of the Democratic candidates for president
Assail (Verb)
Meaning: To attack with harsh words or violent force.
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Example: Our ears were assailed by her joyous efforts on her new
saxophone.
Assiduous (Adjective)
Meaning: Hard-working, diligent or regular (in attendance or work);
industrious.
Example: Klein rose to prominence in the 1960s by assiduous
application of accounting methods to the music industry.
Assuage (Verb)
Meaning: To lessen the intensity of, to mitigate or relieve.
Example: People tend to assuage their guilt by accusing others of their
own transgressions.
Attenuate (Verb)
Meaning: To lessen the intensity of, to mitigate or relieve hunger,
emotion, pain etc.
Example: By the second wave in the fall, mutations had attenuated
the coronavirus, many people were immune and drugs were shown
effective in treating it and even in reducing infection.
Attuned (Adjective)
Meaning: Having been changed to fit in with a particular context or to
be in sync with a phenomenon.
Example: He was so attuned to my every movement I was sure he was
reading my mind.
Audacious (Adjective)
Meaning: Showing willingness to take bold risks; recklessly daring.
Example: Taking an audacious step, he booked a train east, got off in
Detroit, and somehow talked his way into a meeting with Will Durant,
chief of Buick Automobiles and future founder of General Motors.
Augment (Verb)
Meaning: To grow; to increase; to become greater.
Example: The augmented piles of clothes have been put away, and the
windows have been opened to dispel the diminished air.
Augury (Noun)
Augury (Noun)
Meaning: An omen or prediction; a foreboding; a prophecy.
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Example: The auguries of the imminent government spending review
all suggest that the cuts will fall disproportionately upon those already
most economically disadvantaged.
August (Adjective)
Meaning: Awe-inspiring, majestic, noble, venerable.
Example: As early as 1932, Sproul sponsored him for membership in the
Bohemian Club, the most august organization of prominent citizens in
San Francisco.
Austere (Adjective)
Meaning: Grim or severe in manner or appearance; lacking decoration.
Example: The interior of the church was as austere as the parishioners
were dour.
Autonomous (Adjective)
Meaning: Acting on one’s own or independently.
Example: It is amazing that such an institution, exerting so much
influence on academic science, has been able to remain so absolutely
autonomous.
Avarice (Noun)
Avarice (Noun)Meaning: Excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greed for wealth.
Example: I ask the teacher what he thinks about Leo Tolstoy’s
relationship to the church, which excommunicated him after he
denounced their bureaucracy, rituals and avarice.
Aver (Verb)
Meaning: To assert the truth of something; to affirm something with
confidence; to declare something in a positive manner.
Example: Many politicians, she averred, have little information or
understanding of the issue.
Avert (Verb)
Meaning: To ward off, or prevent, the occurrence or effects of.
Example: How can the danger be averted?
Avid (Adjective)
Meaning: Enthusiastic; keen; eager; showing great interest in something
or desire to do something
Example: He is an avid fan of 1960s sci-fi movies.
Axiom (Noun)
Meaning: An established principle in some artistic practice or science
that is universally received.
Example: The axiom that a man is innocent until proved guilty by a court
of law has been flagrantly ignored once again in the State of Mississippi.
abash
cause to be embarrased
abbreviate
shorten
abet
assist or encourage usually in wrongdoing
abiding
lasting a long time; enduring.
abject
(of something bad) experienced or present to the maximum degree.
“his letter plunged her into abject misery”
2.
(of a person or their behaviour) completely without pride or dignity; self-abasing.
abnegate
renounce or reject (something desired or valuable).
abominate
detest loathe
above board
legitimate, honest, and open.
abrade
scrape or wear away by friction or erosion.
absolute
perfect or complete or pure
absolve
declare (someone) free from guilt, obligation, or punishment.
abstemious
indulging only very moderately in something, especially food and drink.
abstruse
difficult to understand
abut
lie adjacent to another or share a boundary
abysmal
exceptionally bad or displeasing
acclimate
get used to a certain environment
accolade
a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction
accost
approach and speak to someone aggressively or insistently
accrete
grow together (of plants and organs)
achromatic
having no hue
acquiesce
agree or express agreement
acrid
strong and sharp, as a taste or smell
acrimonious
marked by strong resentment or cynicism
addendum
textual matter that is appended to the end of a publication
adjourn
close at the end of a session
adjunct
something added to another thing but not essential to it
ad-lib
perform without preparation
adulate
praise (someone) excessively.
adventitious
happening as a result of an external factor or chance rather than design or inherent nature.coming from outside; not native.
adversary
one’s opponent in a contest, conflict, or dispute.
advert
advertisement
affidavit
written declaration made under oath
affinity
a natural attraction or feeling of kinship
affluent
having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value
aggravate
make worse
aggrieve
cause to feel distress
agog
highly excited
agrarian
relating to rural matters
allay
lessen the intensity of or calm
allegiance
the act of binding yourself to a course of action
alliterate
contain words which begin with the same sound or letter.
allude
make an indirect reference to
allure
the power to entice or attract
amble
walk leisurely
ambrosial
worthy of the gods
amicable
characterized by friendship and good will
amity
a state of friendship and cordiality
amorphous
having no definite form or distinct shape
anarchist
an advocate of the abolition of governments
ancillary
providing necessary support to the primary activities or operation of an organization, system, etc
anecdote
a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person.an account regarded as unreliable or hearsay.the depiction of a minor narrative incident in a painting.
animus
a feeling of ill will arousing active hostility
annals
a chronological account of events in successive years
antediluvian
of or belonging to the time before the biblical Flood.
ridiculously old-fashioned.
anterior
of or near the head end or toward the front plane of a body
anthology
a collection of selected literary passages
aphorism
observation which contains a general truth.
pithy
terse and vigorously expressive.
apophasis
mentioning something by saying it will not be mentioned
