Word Smart (1-20) Flashcards
abash
To make ashamed; to embarrass
abate
To subside; to reduce
abdicate
To step down from a position of power or responsibility
aberration
Something not typical; a deviation from the standard
abhor
To hate very very much; to detest
abject
Hopeless; extremely sad and servile; defeated; utterly bummed out
abnegate
To deny oneself things; to reject; to renounce
abortive
Unsuccessful
abridge
To shorten; to condense
absolute
Total; unlimited; perfect
absolve
To forgive or free from blame; to free from sin; to free from an obligation
abstinent
Abstaining; voluntarily not doing something especially something pleasant that is bad for you or has a bad reputation
abstract
Theoretical; impersonal
abstruse
Hard to understand
abysmal
Extremely hopeless or wretched; bottomless
accolade
An award; an honor
accost
To approach and speak to someone
acerbic
Bitter; sour; severe
acquiesce
To comply passively; to accept; to assent; to agree
acrid
Harsh; like acid
acrimonious
Full of spite; bitter; nasty
acumen
Keenness of judgment; mental sharpness
acute
Sharp; shrewd
adamant
Stubborn; unyielding; completely inflexible
address
To speak to; to direct ones attention to
adherent
Follower; supporter; believer
admonish
To scold gently; to warn
adroit
Skillful; dexterous; clever; shrewd; socially at ease
adulation
Wild or excessive admiration; flattery
adulterate
To contaminate; to make impure
adverse
Unfavorable; antagonistic
aesthetic
Having to do with artistic beauty; artistic
affable
Easy to talk to; friendly
affectation
Unnatural or artificial behavior usually intended to impress
affinity
Sympathy; attraction; kinship; similarity
affluent
Rich; prosperous
agenda
Program; the things to be done
agrarian
Relating to land; relating to the management or farming of land
aggregate
Sum total; a collection of separate things mixed together
agnostic
One who believes that the existence of a god can be neither proven nor disproven
alacrity
Cheerful eagerness or readiness to respond
allege
To assert without proof
alleviate
To relieve usually temporarily or incompletely; to make bearable; to lessen
allocate
To distribute; to assign; to allot
alloy
A combination of two or more things usually metals
allusion
An indirect reference often to a literary work; a hint hint
aloof
Uninvolved; standing off; keeping ones distance
altruism
Selflessness; generosity; devotion to the interests of others
ambiance
Atmosphere; mood; feeling mood
ambiguous
Unclear in meaning; confusing; capable of being interpreted in different ways
ambivalent
Undecided; neutral; wishy-washy
ameliorate
To make better or more tolerable ;
amenable
Obedient; willing to give in to the wishes of another; agreeable
amenity
Pleasantness; attractive or comfortable feature
amiable
Friendly; agreeable
amnesty
An official pardon for a group of people who have violated a law or policy
amoral
Lacking a sense of right and wrong; neither good nor bad neither moral nor immoral; without moral feelings
amorous
Feeling loving especially in a sexual sense; in love relating to love
amorphous
Shapeless; without a regular or stable shape
anachronism
Something out of place in time or history; an incongruity
analogy
A comparison of one thing to another; similarity similarity
anarchy
Absence of government or control; lawlessness; disorder
anecdote
A short account of a humorous or revealing incident
anguish
Agonizing physical or mental pain
animosity
Resentment; hostility; ill will
anomaly
An aberration; an irregularity; a deviation ;
antecedent
Someone or something that went before; something that provides a model for something that came after it
antipathy
Firm dislike; a dislike _sympathy ;
antithesis
The direct opposite
apartheid
The abhorrent policy of racial segregation and oppression in the Repubic of South Africa
apathy
Lack of interest; lack of feeling
aphorism
A brief often witty saying; a proverb
apocalypse
A prophetic revelation especially one concerning the end of the world
apocryphal
Of dubious authenticity; fictitious; spurious
apotheosis
Elevation to divine status; the perfect example of something
appease
To soothe; to pacify by giving in to
appreciate
To increase in value
apprehensive
adj. Anxious or fearful about the future; uneasy.
“Margaret tells me that she was apprehensive from the start of the voyage – and even before.”
approbation
Approval; praise
appropriate
To take without permission; to set aside for a particular use
aptitude
Capacity for learning; natural ability
arbiter
One who decides; a judge
arbitrary
Random; capricious random
arcane
Mysterious; known only to a select few mysterious
archaic
Extremely old; ancient; outdated
archetype
An original model or pattern
ardent
Passionate half-hearted
arduous
Hard; difficult
aristocratic
Of noble birth; snobbish
artful
Wily; sly ; crafty
artifice
A clever trick; cunning ;
ascendancy
Supremacy; domination
ascetic
Hermit like; practicing self-denial
assiduous
Hardworking; busy; quite diligent
assimilate
To take in; to absorb; to learn thoroughly
assuage
To soothe; to pacify; to ease the pain of; to relieve
astute
Shrewd; keen in judgment ;
attrition
Gradual wearing away weakening or loss; a natural or expected decrease in numbers of size
audacity
Boldness; reckless daring; impertinence ;
augment
To make bigger; to add to; to increase ;
auspicious
Favorable; promising; pointing to a good result
austere
Unadorned; stern; forbidding; without excess
autocratic
Ruling with absolute authority; extremely bossy
autonomous
Acting independently
avarice
Greed; excessive love of riches
avow
To claim; to declare boldly; to admit
avuncular
Like an uncle especially a nice uncle ;
awry
Off course; twisted to one side ;
axiom
Self-evident rule or truth; a widely accepted saying
banal
Unoriginal; ordinary
bane
Poison; torment; cause of harm
bastion
Stronghold; fortress; fortified place
beget
To give birth to; to create; to lead to; to cause
belabor
To go over repeatedly or to an absurd extent
beleaguer
To surround; to besiege; to harass
belie
To give a false impression of; to contradict
belittle
To make to seem little; to put someone down
belligerent
Combative; quarrelsome; waging war
bemused
Confused; bewildered
benefactor
One who provides help especially in the form of a gift or donation
benevolent
Generous; kind; doing good deeds
benign
Gentle; not harmful; kind; mild
bequest
Something left to someone in a will
bereaved
Deprived or left desolate especially through death
beset
Harass; to surround
blasphemy
Irreverence; an insult to something held sacred; profanity
blatant
Unpleasantly or offensively noisy; glaring
blight
Disease in plants; anything that injures or destroys
blithe
Carefree; cheerful
bourgeois
Middle class usually in a pejorative sense; boringly conventional
bovine
Cow related; cow like cf canine equine feline pis cine porcine ursine
brevity
Briefness
broach
To open up a subject for discussion often a delicate subject
bucolic
Charmingly rural; rustic; country like
bureaucracy
A system of government administration consisting of numerous bureaus or offices especially one run according to inflexible and inefficient rules; any large administrative system characterized by inefficiency lots of rules and red tape
burgeon
To expand; to flourish
burlesque
A ludicrous mocking or exaggerated imitation
cacophony
Harsh-sounding mixture of words voices or sounds
cadence
Rhythm the rise and fall of sounds
cajole
To persuade someone to do something he or she doesn’t want to do
callow
inexperienced and immature: earnest and callow undergraduates.
candor
Truthfulness; sincere honesty
Capitalism
Free enterprise
capitulate
To surrender; to give up or give in
capricious
Unpredictable; like to change at any moment
caricature
A portrait or description that is purposely distorted or exaggerated often to prove some point about its subject
castigate
To criticize severely; to chastise
catalyst
In chemistry~; anyone or anything that makes something happen without being directly involved in it
categorical
Unconditional; absolute
catharsis
Purification that brings emotional relief or renewal
catholic
Universal; embracing everything
caustic
Like acid; corrosive
celibacy
Abstinence from sex
censure
To condemn severely for doing something bad
cerebral
Brainy; intellectually refined
chagrin
Humiliation; embarrassed disappointment
charisma
A magical-seeming ability to attract followers or inspire loyalty
charlatan
Fraud; quack; con man
chasm
A deep gaping hole; a gorge
chastise
To inflict punishment on; to discipline
chicanery
Trickery; deceitfulness; artifice; especially legal or political
chimera
An illusion; a foolish fancy
choleric
Hot-tempered; quick to anger
chronic
Constant; lasting a long time; inveterate
chronicle
A record of events in order of time; a history
