Word List 1 Flashcards

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1
Q

abash

A

to make embarrassed

e.g. She felt terribly abashed when she walked into the wrong hotel room.

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2
Q

embolden

A

to make (someone) more confident

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3
Q

abate

A

to reduce in degree or intensity; wane

e.g. abate their rancor to win peace

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4
Q

abdicate

A
to cast off; discard
to relinquish (as sovereign power) formally
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5
Q

aberrant

A

deviating from the right, usual, normal way; atypical

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6
Q

abet

A

to actively encourage (as an activity or plan)
to assist or support in the achievement of a purpose

e.g. He abetted the commission of a crime.
She abetted the thief in his getaway.

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7
Q

abeyance

A

temporary inactivity; suspension

e.g. Plans are held in abeyance.

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8
Q

abhor

A

to regard with extreme repugnance

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9
Q

abide

A

to endure without yielding; withstand
to bear patiently; tolerate

e.g. I cannot abide such bigots.

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10
Q

abject

A

miserable; wretched

degraded; base

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11
Q

abjure

A

to give up on oath

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12
Q

renounce

A

to give up by formal declaration

e.g. He renounced his old way of life.

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13
Q

recant

A

to withdraw or repudiate formally and publicly; renounce

e.g. Witnesses threatened to recant their testimony when the court released their names to the paper.

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14
Q

ablution

A

the washing of one’s body or part of it (as in religious ritual)

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15
Q

abnegate

A

deny; renounce
surrender; relinquish

e.g. He abnegated all claims to the deceased lord’s domain.
If the Congress adopted these security measures, it would be abnegating the nation’s fundamental commitment to individual rights.

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16
Q

abolish

A

to officially end or stop

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17
Q

abolitionism

A

principles or measures fostering abolition especially of slavery

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18
Q

aboveboard

A

honest(ly) and open(ly)

e.g. an aboveboard and responsible proposal

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19
Q

surreptitious

A

done, made, or acquired by stealth; clandestine

e.g. a private investigator adept at taking surreptitious pictures of adulterous couples

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20
Q

abrade

A

to scrape or rub off

e.g. The prisoner’s manacles abraded his wrists and ankles until they bled.

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21
Q

abrasive

A

causing irritation; irritating
tending to abrade

e.g. The waves had an abrasive action on the rocks.
an abrasive display of rude behavior

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22
Q

abreast

A

side by side

e.g. keep abreast of current affairs

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23
Q

abridge

A

to reduce in scope or extent
to shorten; condense

e.g. abridge a dictionary by omitting rare words
attempts to abridge the right of free speech

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24
Q

abrogate

A

to repeal by authority; abolish

e.g. The Congress can abrogate old treaties that are unfair to Native Americans.

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25
Q

abscission

A

removal

the natural separation of flowers, fruit, or leaves from plants

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26
Q

abscond

A

to depart secretly and hide oneself

e.g. Several prisoners absconded to Canada.

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27
Q

absenteeism

A

frequent absence from school or work

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28
Q

recondite

A

not understood or known by many people

e.g. Geochemistry is a recondite subject.

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29
Q

absolve

A

to set free from guilt, responsibility
forgive

e.g. No amount of remorse will absolve shoplifters who are caught.

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30
Q

inculpate

A

incriminate; to charge with involvement in a crime or fault

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31
Q

abstain

A

to refrain deliberately and often with an effort of self-denial from an action or practice

e.g. abstain from drinking

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32
Q

abstinence

A
  • abstain
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33
Q

abstention

A

the act or practice of abstaining

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34
Q

abstemious

A

marked by restraint especially in the consumption of food or alcohol

e.g. Being abstemious diners, they avoid restaurants with buffets.

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35
Q

abstruse

A

difficult to understand

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36
Q

patent

A

obvious; clear

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37
Q

abut

A

to border upon

e.g. Our land abuts a nature preserve, so we see a lot of wildlife.

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38
Q

abysmal

A

having immense or fathomless extension
immeasurably great; profound
immeasurably low or wretched

e.g. an abysmal cliff
abysmal ignorance
abysmal living conditions of the poor

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39
Q

accede

A

to agree to a request or a demand
to express approval or give consent

e.g. He finally acceded to their pleas for more time to complete the project.

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40
Q

accentuate

A

to pronounce with an accent or stress

to emphasize

41
Q

accessible

A

easy to approach
open to influences

e.g. accessible to new ideas

42
Q

acclaim

A

applaud; praise

e.g. She has long been acclaimed by the critics for her realistic acting.

43
Q

accolade

A

approval; appreciation
words of praise

e.g. For their exceptional bravery, the firefighters received accolades from both local and national officials.

44
Q

accommodating

A

willing to please; obliging

e.g. an accommodating waiter who readily honored our request to make substitutions

45
Q

accomplice

A

partner in crime

46
Q

duplicity

A

contradictory doubleness of though, speech, or action (especially belying of one’s true intentions by deceptive words or actions)

47
Q

accord

A

to bring into agreement; reconcile
agreement; conformity

e.g. He claims that the newspaper’s quote does not accord with what he actually said.
The two sides were able to reach an accord.

48
Q

accost

A

to approach and speak to often in a challenging or aggressive way

e.g. She was so famous that people would accost her on the street and ask for an autograph.

49
Q

accrete

A

to grow or become attached by accretion
to cause to adhere or become attached

e.g. silt accreting at the mouth of the river over time

50
Q

accrue

A

to increase in value or amount gradually

e.g. investments that have accrued interest and dividends

51
Q

acerbic

A

acid in temper, mood, or tone

e.g. acerbic commentary
an acerbic reviewer

52
Q

acme

A

the highest point; peak; summit

e.g. His fame was at its acme.

53
Q

acolyte

A

one who follows and admires a leader

someone who helps the person leading a church service

54
Q

acorn

A

an oak nut

55
Q

acoustic

A

having to do with hearing or sound

56
Q

acquaint

A

to cause to know personally
to make familiar

e.g. This class is designed to acquaint students with the region's most important writers.
He was acquainted with the mayor.
57
Q

acquiesce

A

to accept, comply, or submit tacitly or passively

e.g. He passively acquired the reputation of being a snob, and acquiesced to it.

58
Q

acquisitive

A

strongly desirous of acquiring and possessing; greedy

e.g. Acquisitive developers are trying to tear down the historic home and build a shopping mall.

59
Q

acquit

A
to declare (someone) to be not guilty
to discharge completely as from an obligation
to pay off (as a claim or debt)

e.g. The jury acquitted the defendant of the robbery charge.

60
Q

acquittal

A

a setting free from the charge of an offense

61
Q

acrid

A

bitterly pungent; sharp
deeply or violently bitter

e.g. acrid smoke
acrid relations between two families

62
Q

acrimony

A

harsh sharpness especially or words, manner, or disposition

e.g. The dispute began again with increased acrimony.

63
Q

acrophobia

A

fear or heights

64
Q

acuity

A

keenness of perception

e.g. a worrisome deterioration in the acuity of his hearing over the years

65
Q

acumen

A

keenness and depth of perception

e.g. Her political acumen won her the election.

66
Q

acute

A

sharp and severe;
keen; shrewd; sensitive

e.g. acute pain/disease/hospitals
an acute thinker/sense of humor
a politically acute film that does not oversimplify the issues

67
Q

adage

A

an old saying accepted as a truth

68
Q

adamant

A

unshakable or insistent especially in maintaining a position or opinion; determined

e.g. He is adamant about staying there after we tried to talk him into coming with us.

69
Q

ineptitude

A

a lack of skill or ability

e.g. The team’s poor play is being blamed on the ineptitude of the coaching staff.

70
Q

aptitude

A

a natural ability to do or learn something

e.g. a test to measure the aptitudes of the students
bored teenagers with an aptitude for getting into trouble

71
Q

addendum

A

a thing added; addition

a supplement to a book

72
Q

adept

A

thoroughly proficient; expert

e.g. adept in several languages/ at fixing cars

73
Q

equable

A

tending to remain calm; free from sudden or harsh changes

e.g. equable climate

74
Q

adjourn

A

to suspend indefinitely or until a later stated time

75
Q

adjunct

A

something joined or added to another thing but not essentially part of it

e.g. Massage therapy can be used as an adjunct with to the medication.

76
Q

admonish

A

to express warning or disapproval to especially in a gentle, earnest, or solicitous manner
to give friendly earnest advice or encouragement to

e.g. They were admonished to take the advantage of the opportunity.
My physician is always admonishing me to eat more healthy food.

77
Q

admonitory

A
  • admonish; warning
78
Q

adobe

A

a brick of sun-dried earth and straw

79
Q

abode

A

the place where one abides (lives)

80
Q

oration

A

a formal speech

81
Q

inexorable

A

not to be persuaded, moved, or stopped; relentless

e.g. inexorable progress

82
Q

adorn

A

decorate; beautify

e.g. Her paintings adorn the walls.

83
Q

suborn

A
to induce secretly to do an unlawful thing
to obtain (perjured testimony) from a witness

e.g. He is accused of suborning a witness.

84
Q

adroit

A

very clever or skillful; expert

e.g. adroit at handling problems
With an adroit flick of the wrist, he flipped the omelet in the air and landed it squarely back in the pan.

85
Q

adulate

A

to praise or flatter excessively

86
Q

scorn

A

reject or dismiss as contemptible or unworthy
to show disdain

e.g. Her actions were scorned by many people.
They were scorned as fanatics.

87
Q

adumbrate

A

to foreshadow vaguely; intimate
to suggest, disclose, or outline partially

e.g. The strife in Bloody Kansas in the 1850s adumbrated the civil war that would follow.
adumbrate a plan

88
Q

advent

A

a coming into being or use

e.g. the advent of spring/pasteurization/computers

89
Q

adventitious

A

happening or carried on according to chance rather than design or inherent nature; unplanned
coming from outside; not native

e.g. My adventures were always adventitious, always thrust on me.
He felt that the conversation was not entirely adventitious.

90
Q

adverse

A

bad or unfavorable
acting against or in a contrary direction

e.g. adverse criticism/drug effects
hindered by adverse winds

91
Q

aegis

A

shield
protection
sponsorship

e.g. Having no claim to the land under the aegis of the law, the cattle baron decided to claim it by force.
A medical study was questioned by many because it was done under the aegis of a major pharmaceutical company.

92
Q

aerate

A

to cause air to circulate through

93
Q

aesthete

A

connoisseur; virtuoso
(aesthetics)

e.g. He regards art critics as a bunch of pretentious aesthetes.

94
Q

philistine

A

a person guided by materialism and usually disdainful of intellectual or artistic values
one uninformed in a special area of knowledge

95
Q

affable

A

pleasant and easy to approach or talk to; gentle; amiable

96
Q

ineffable

A

incapable of being expressed in words
unspeakable; not to be uttered

e.g. ineffable joy/disgust
the ineffable name of Jehovah

97
Q

irascible

A

marked by hot temper and easily provoked anger

98
Q

affectation

A

artificial behavior meant to impress others

e.g. His French accent is just an affectation.