Vocabulary: A-words Flashcards
Ardor
Intense devotion, eagerness or enthusiasm; great warmth of feeling. Passion
Arduous
Requiring great exertion; laborious; difficult; strenuous.
ar•is•toc•ra•cy [air-uh-stok-ruh-see]
any class or group considered to be superior, as through education, ability, wealth, or social prestige.
Adept
Very skilled or proficient at something.
Acrimony
sharpness, harshness, or bitterness of nature, speech, disposition, etc.: The speaker attacked him with great acrimony
an•i•mos•i•ty [an-uh-mos-i-tee]:
a feeling of strong dislike, ill will, or enmity that tends to display itself in action: a deep-seated animosity between two sisters; animosity against one’s neighbor.
ab•hor•rent [ab-hawr-uh nt, -hor-]:
causing repugnance; detestable; loathsome: an abhorrent deed.
a•mal•ga•mate [uh-mal-guh-meyt]
To mix or merge so as to make a combination; blend; unite; combine: to amalgamate two companies.
a•men•i•ty [uh-men-i-tee, uh-mee-ni-]:
any feature that provides comfort, convenience, or pleasure: The house has a swimming pool, two fireplaces, and other amenities.
the quality of being pleasing or agreeable in situation, prospect, disposition, etc.; pleasantness: the amenity of the Caribbean climate.
a•cer•bic [uh-sur-bik]
harsh or severe, as of temper or expression: acerbic criticism.
a•mel•io•rate (uh-meal-e- or-reyt,)
to make or become better, more bearable, or more satisfactory; improve; meliorate.
Affable
pleasantly easy to approach and to talk to; friendly; cordial; warmly polite: an affable and courteous gentleman.
Admonished
to caution, advise, or counsel against something.
2.
to reprove or scold, especially in a mild and good-willed manner: The teacher admonished him about excessive noise.
3.
to urge to a duty; remind: to admonish them about their obligations.
a•nath•e•ma [uh-nath-uh-muh]
a person or thing detested or loathed. that subject is anathema to him
Auspicious (aw-spish-uhs)
Promising success; favorable. favored by fortune; prosperous
Assimilate
Take in( information, ideas, or culture) and understand fully or incorporate as one’s own; absorb.
ab•er•ra•tion [ab-uh-rey-shuh n]
the act of departing from the right, normal, or usual course.
2.
the act of deviating from the ordinary, usual, or normal type.
3.
deviation from truth or moral rectitude.
4.
mental irregularity or disorder, especially of a minor or temporary nature; lapse from a sound mental state.
Antics
Foolish, outrageous, or amusing behavior.
as•suage [uh-sweyj, uh-sway- J]
to make milder or less severe; relieve; ease; mitigate: to assuage one’s grief; to assuage one’s pain.
to appease; satisfy; allay; relieve: to assuage one’s hunger.
3.
to soothe, calm, or mollify: to assuage his fears; to assuage her anger.
an•te•cede [an-tuh-seed]
to go before, in time, order, rank, etc.; precede: Shakespeare antecedes Milton.
Aversion (uh-vur-zhuh N )
a strong feeling of dislike, opposition, repugnance, or antipathy (usually fol. by to ): a strong aversion to snakes and spiders.
2.
a cause or object of dislike; person or thing that causes antipathy: His pet aversion is guests who are always late
an•tip•a•thy an-tip-uh-thee
a natural, basic, or habitual repugnance; aversion.
2.
an instinctive contrariety or opposition in feeling.
3.
an object of natural aversion or habitual dislike.
a•lac•ri•ty [uh-lak-ri-tee]
. cheerful readiness, promptness, or willingness: We accepted the invitation with alacrity.
2.
liveliness; briskness.
Amiable(a•mi•a•ble)
Having or displaying a friendly and pleasant manner.
Absolution
a freeing from blame or guilt; release from consequences, obligations, or penalties.
ar•rear [uh-reer]
the state of being behind or late, especially in the fulfillment of a duty, promise, obligation, or the like.
a•skance [uh-skans]
with suspicion, mistrust, or disapproval: He looked askance at my offer.
av•a•rice [av-er-is]
insatiable greed for riches; inordinate, miserly desire to gain and hoard wealth.
Amok
Behave uncontrollably and distruptively.
Abate
to reduce in amount, degree, intensity, etc.; lessen; diminish: to abate a tax; to abate one’s enthusiasm.
Aspire
to long, aim, or seek ambitiously; be eagerly desirous, especially for something great or of high value (usually fol. by to, after, or an infinitive): to aspire after literary immortality; to aspire to be a doctor.
Adulate (aj-uh-late)
to show excessive admiration or devotion to; flatter or admire servilely.
Addendum [uh-den-duh m]
: And item of additional material, typically omissions, added at the end of a book.
an•a•logues Analogues
: A person or a thing seen as comparable to another.
Assiduous
Showing great care and perseverance
constant; unremitting: assiduous reading.
2.
constant in application or effort; working diligently at a task; persevering; industrious; attentive: an assiduous student.
Abject
utterly hopeless, miserable, humiliating, or wretched: abject poverty
contemptible; despicable; base-spirited: an abject coward.
Adage
A proverb or short statement expressing a general truth. a traditional saying expressing a common experience or observation; proverb
at•test [uh-test]
to bear witness to; certify; declare to be correct, true, or genuine; declare the truth of, in words or writing, especially affirm in an official capacity: to attest the truth of a statement.
Ascribe
to credit or assign, as to a cause or source; attribute; impute: The alphabet is usually ascribed to thePhoenicians.
2.
to attribute or think of as belonging, as a quality or characteristic: They ascribed courage to me forsomething I did out of sheer panic.
Apotheosis
The highest point in the development of something; culmination or climax
Abysmal
Extremely bad or appalling
as•tute [uh-stoot, uh-styoot]
Having or showing the ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one’s advantage
ax•i•om [ak-see-uh m]
a self-evident truth that requires no proof.
2.
a universally accepted principle or rule.
3.
Logic, Mathematics a proposition that is assumed without proof for the sake of studying the consequences that follow from it
Anecdotal
(Of an account) not necessarily true or reliable, because based on personal accounts rather than facts and research
ac•qui•esce [ak-wee-es]
Accept something reluctantly but without protest
Amnesty
a general pardon for offenses, especially political offenses, against a government, often granted before any trial or conviction.
2.
Law. an act of forgiveness for past offenses, especially to a class of persons as a whole.
3.
a forgetting or overlooking of any past offense.
ac•cli•mate [ak-luh-meyt, uh-klahy-mit]
to accustom or become accustomed to a new climate or environment; adapt.
aph•ro•dis•i•ac [af-ruh-dee-ze-ak, -diz-ee-ak]
a food, drug, potion, or other agent that arouses sexual desire.
a•pos•ta•sy [uh-pos-tuh-see]
a total desertion of or departure from one’s religion, principles, party, cause, etc.
a•me•na•ble [uh-mee-nuh-buh l, uh-men-uh-]
ready or willing to answer, act, agree, or yield; open to influence, persuasion, or advice; agreeable; submissive; tractable: an amenable servant.
2.
liable to be called to account; answerable; legally responsible: You are amenable for this debt.
ad•ven•ti•tious [ad-vuh n-tish-uh s]
associated with something by chance rather than as an integral part; extrinsic.
appearing in an abnormal or unusual position or place
adroit
expert or nimble in the use of the hands or body. cleverly skillful, resourceful, or ingenious: an adroit debater.
Apophenia
is the experience of seeing meaningful patterns or connections in random or meaningless data.
Appended
Add (something) as an attachment or supplement
Aphorism
A pithy observation that contains a general truth; such as “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
Aggrandizement
an act or instance of aggrandizing, or increasing in size, or intensity: aggrandizement of mercantile trade in the early colonies.
the act of making something appear greater than is actually warranted by the facts: Some saw it as ego aggrandizement.
expansion of power, wealth, rank, or honor: The department was used for the aggrandizement of its leaders.
Anachronism
A thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which if exists. A thing that is conspicuously old fashioned .
An act of attributing a custom, event, or object to a period to which it does not belong.
Amorous
Showing, feeling, or relating to sexual desire.
Acculturation
the process of adopting the cultural traits or social patterns of another group.
Anterograde
Of or denoting a type of amnesia involving inability to remember anything new.
Acumen
The ability to make good judgements and quick decisions. Typically in a particular domain
Appetence
(N) a eager desire, an indistinctive inclination, an attraction or a natural bond.
Apace
Swiftly;quickly: work continuous apace
Amiable
Having or displaying a friendly and pleasant manner
addled
Unable to think clearly; confused. Being in love must have addled your brain.
Avuncular
Kind and friendly toward a younger or less experienced person.
Attenuate
Reduce the force, effect, or value of; reduce the amplitude of. Reduce the thickness of
