Word Lists 1-10 Flashcards
abasa
lower, humiliate
abash
embarass
abdicate
renounce; give up
aberrant
abnormal or deviant
abet
aid, usually in doing something wrong
abject
wretched, lacking pride
abjure
renounce upon oath
abnegation
repudiation, self-sacrifice
aboriginal
being the first of its kind in a region
abortive
unsuccessful; fruitless
abrade
wear away by friction, scrape, erode
abscond
depart secretly and hide
absolve
pardon
abut
border upon
abysmal
bottomless
accede
agree
acclivity
sharp upslope of a hill
accord
agreement
accost
approach and speak first to a person
accoutre
equip (The fisherman was accoutred with the best supplies) (accoutrements - n.)
acerbity
bitterness of speech and temper
acetic
vinegary
acidulous
slightly sour
acme
top, pinnacle
acrophobia
fear of heights
actuarial
calculating, pertaining to insurance statistics
acuity
sharpness
acumen
mental keenness
acute
quickly perceptive
adage
saying; proverb
addle
muddle
adjunct
something added on or attached
admonition
warning
adroit
skillful
adulterate
make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances
advent
arrival
aerie
nest of a large bird of prey
affected
artificial; pretended
affidavit
written statement made under oath
affinity
kinship
affix
fasten, attach, add on
affront
insult, offense, intentional act of disrespect
aggrandize
increase or intensify
alacrity
cheerful promptness
alcove
nook; small, recessed section of a room
alimentary
supplying nourishment
allay
calm; pacify
allege
state without proof
allegory
story in which characters are used as symbols
alloy (n.)
mixture of metals
alloy (v.)
mix; make less pure
aloft
upward
amalgamate
combine; unite in one body
amble
moving at an easy pace
ambulatory
able to walk; not bedridden
ameliorate
improve
amenable
readily managed
amnesia
loss of memory
amnesty
pardon
anathema
solemn curse; someone or something regarded as a curse
anemia
condition in which blood lacks red corpuscles
anesthetic
substance that removes sensation with or without loss of consciousness
animus
hostile feeling or intent
annals
records; history
antecede
precede
antecedents
preceding events or circumstances that influence what comes later
anthropocentric
regarding human beings as the center of the universe
anthropoid
manlike
anticlimax
letdown in thought or emotion
antithesis
contrast; direct opposite of or to
ape
imitate or mimic
apex
tip; summit; climax
aplomb
poise; assurance
apologist
one who writes in defense of a cause or institution
apostate
one who abandons his religious faith or political beliefs
apotheosis
elevation to godhood, an ideal example of something
appellation
name, title
append
attach
apposite
appropriate; fitting
apprise
inform
approbation
approval
apropos
with reference to
aquiline
curved, hooked
arbiter
a person with power to decide a dispute
arbitrator
judge
arcane
secret; mysterious
arraign
charge in court; indict
array
marshal; draw up in order OR clothe, adorn
arrears
being in debt (in arrears with his payments on the car)
arrest
stop or slow down
artifice
deception; trickery
artless
without guile; open and honest
ascertain
find out for certain
ascribe
refer; attribute; assign
aseptic
preventing infection
askance
with a sideways or indirect look
asperity
sharpness (of temper)
aspersion
slander; slur; derogatory remark
aspirant
seeker after position or status
assail
assault
assay
analyze; evaluate
assent
agree; accept
astral
relating to the stars
asunder
apart; in parts
atavism
reversion to an earlier type; throwback (In his love for gardening, Martin seemed an atavism to his Tuscan forebears)
attenuate
make thin, weaken
attrition
gradual decrease in numbers
audit
examination of accounts
august
impressive, majestic
auspicious
favoring success
autocratic
having absolute, unchecked power
automaton
robot
auxiliary
helper, additional or subsidiary
aver
assert confidently; affirm
averse
reluctant; disinclined
avocation
secondary or minor occupation
avow
declare openly
axiom
self-evident truth requiring no proof
azure
sky blue
badinage
teasing conversation
baleful
deadly; having a malign influence; ominous
balk
foil or thwart; stop short
ballast
heavy substance used to add stability or weight
banal
hackneyed; commonplace
bandy
discuss lightly or glibly
bane
cause of ruin
barb
sharp projection from fishhook, etc.
bard
poet
baroque
highly ornate
bate
let down, restrain
bawdy
indecent; obscene
beatific
giving bliss; blissful
beatitude
blessedness; state of bliss
bedraggle
wet thoroughly; stain with mud
beget
father; produce; give rise to
beleaguer
besiege or attack; harassed
bemoan
lament; express disapproval of
bemused
confused; lost in thought
benediction
blessing
benefactor
gift-giver; patron
beneficiary
person entitled to the benefits or proceeds of an insurance policy or will
bereavement
state of being deprived of something valuable or beloved
bereft
deprived of; lacking
beset
harass or trouble; hem in
besmirch
soil; defile
bestial
beastlike, brutal
biennial
every two years
bilious
suffering from indigestion
bilk
swindle; cheat
blanch
bleach, whiten
blandishment
flattery
blase
bored with pleasure or dissipation
blithe
gay; joyous; carefree
bluff (adj.)
rough but good-natured
bluff (n.)
pretense (of strength); deception; high cliff
bode
foreshadow; portend
bombastic
pompous; using inflated language
boon
blessing; benefit
boorish
rude; insensitive
bourgeois
middle class; selfishly materialistic
bowdlerize
expurgate (remove all traces of)
brandish
wave around
browbeat
bully; intimidate
brusque
blunt; abrupt
bucolic
rustic; pastoral
buffet (rhymes with muffet)
slap; batter; knock about
bulwark
earthwork or other strong defense; person who defends
bumptious
self-assertive (insistence on or an expression of one’s own importance, wishes, needs, opinions, or the like)
bungle
mismanage; blunder
bureaucracy
over-regulated administrative system
burgeon
grow forth; send out buds
burlesque
give an imitation that ridicules
burnish
make shiny by rubbing; polish
cabal
small group of persons secretly united to promote their own interests
cache
hiding place
callous
hardened; unfeeling
callow
youthful
calorific
heat-producing
calumny
malicious, misrepresentation; slander
cant
insincere expressions of piety; jargon of thieves
cantankerous
ill humored; irritable
canter
slow gallop
canto
division of a long poem
canvass
determine votes, etc.
capacious
spacious
capitulate
surrender
cardinal
chief
careen
lurch; sway from side to side
castigate
criticize severely
cataclysm
violent upheaval
categorical
without exceptions; unqualified; absolute
catholic
broadly sympathetic; liberal
caucus
private meeting of members of a party to select officers or determine policy
caulk
make watertight by filling in cracks
causal
implying a cause-and-effect relationship
caustic
burning; sarcastically biting
cavalcade
procession; parade
cavalier
offhand or casual; haughty
cavil
make frivolous objections
celerity
speed; rapidity
cerebration
thought
cessation
stoppage
chaff
worthless products of an endeavor
chaffing
bantering; joking
chary
cautious
chasten
discipline
chauvinist
blindly devoted patriot; blindly devoted to an ideal
chicanery
trickery, deception
chide
scold
chimerical
fantastically improbable
chisel (v.)
swindle or cheat
choleric
hot-tempered
churlish
boorish; rude
cipher
secret code OR nonentity; worthless person or thing
circumscribe
limit; confine
circumspect
prudent; cautious
clamber
climb by crawling
clandestine
secret
clangor
loud, resounding noise
clemency
disposition to be lenient; mildness, as of the weather
clime
region, climate
cloister
monastery or convent
clout
great influence
cloying
distasteful (because excessive); excessively sweet or sentimental
coagulate
thicken; congeal; clot
codify
arrange (laws, rules) as a code
cogent
convincing
cogitate
think over
cognate
related linguistically; allied by blood; similar or akin in nature
coiffure
hairstyle
collate
examine in order to verify authenticity
collateral
security given for loan
collusion
conspiring in a fraudulent scheme
comely
attractive; agreeable
comeuppance
rebuke; deserts
commensurate
equal in extent (to be commensurate with means to be equal to)
commiserate
feel or express pity or sympathy for
commodious
spacious ad comfortable
complaisant
trying to please; obliging
compunction
remorse
concentric
having a common center
concerted
mutually agreed upon
concomitant
that which accompanies
concord
harmony
condole
express sympathetic sorrow
congeal
freeze; coagulate
congenial
pleasant; friendly
