Yearly Vocabulary Flashcards
Students will slowly learn 1000 new words that they can use this year, and for the rest of their lives.
0
Q
Abrogate
A
To abolish, usually by authority.
1
Q
Abridge
A
To shorten by omission while retaining the basic contents.
2
Q
Abscond
A
To sneak away and hide
3
Q
Absolution
A
Freedom from blame
4
Q
Abstain
A
To freely choose not to commit an action
5
Q
Abstruse
A
Hard to comprehend
6
Q
Abort
A
To give up on a half-finished project or effort
7
Q
Abyssal
A
Immeasurable, unfathonable
8
Q
Abscise
A
To separate by cutting off. Sudden termination.
9
Q
Abscess
A
A localized collection of pus in the tissue of the body.
10
Q
Acceede
A
To agree (as in to a request)
11
Q
Accentuate
A
To stress, to highlight
12
Q
Accord
A
An Agreement, to be in agreement
13
Q
Accolade
A
Hi praise or special distinction
14
Q
Accost
A
To confront verbally
15
Q
Accretion
A
Slow growth in size or amount. One becomes educated through an accretion of facts.
16
Q
Acerbic
A
Biting, bitter in tone or taste. The teacher’s acerbic comments upset the entire class.
17
Q
Acquiesce
A
To agree without protesting, to give in.
18
Q
Acrimony
A
Bitterness, discord. There is often great acrimony between divorcing couples.
19
Q
Acumen
A
Keen insight. It takes much acumen to understand old British literature.
20
Q
Acute
A
Sharp, severe keen (as in insight or pain)
21
Q
Adamant
A
Impervious, immovable, unyielding (Though their teacher was passionate about getting work done on time, the students seemed adamantly opposed to the idea.
22
Q
Adept
A
Extremely skilled. The guitar player was so adept that he could play an entire solo with his teeth.
23
Q
Admonish
A
to caution, criticize, reprove. Joe’s mother admonished him that he’d ruin his appetite by eating cookies before dinner.
24
Adorn
To decorate. We adorned the room with posters and colored lights.
25
Adroit
Skillful, dexterous. Spiders are some of natures most adroit weavers.
26
Adulation
Extreme praise. Though the singer was ok, she really didn't deserve all the adulation she received.
27
Aesthetic
Artistic, related to the appreciation of beauty. Artists usually have a keen sense of aesthetics.
28
Adverse (verb)
To be opposed to, antagonistic, unfavorable, dangerous. Because of the adverse weather conditions, the hikers decided to camp for the night.
29
Affable
Friendly, Amiable. People like being around Frank because he is usually so affable.
30
Affinity
A spontaneous or natural liking or sympathy for something or someone. As soon as I picked up my first guitar, it was clear I had an affinity for it.
31
Affluent
Wealthy. The woman's affluence convinced her that she was equally wise–she wasn't. She believed she was rich because she was smart, but this isn't always the case.
32
Affront
An action or remark that causes outrage or offense. The theft was an affront to the expectations of both God and our school. It was an offence to school rules and God's desire that we love each other and not steal.
33
Aggrandize
Increase the power, wealth, or status of. Countries sometimes go to war for no other reason than a sense of self aggrandizement.
34
Aggregate
A whole by combining several (generally disparate) elements, fragments, or particles. Your knowledge today is the aggregate of many experiences and an awful lot of school. This word is similar to ACCRETION.
35
Aggrieved
Feeling resentment at having been unfairly treated. Frank felt very aggrieved at having lost the game to a technical error.
36
Agile
Able to move quickly and easily. An agile mind struggles little with grammar or math.
37
Adverse
Preventing success or development; harmful; unfavorable. Failing school has an adverse effect on nearly all dropouts.
38
Agnostic
A person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or anything beyond material phenomena. When it comes to love, I feign a certain agnosticism. (this not a literal use of the word, but a creative misuse that expands the actual definition)
39
Alacrity
Brisk and cheerful readiness. Because I studied for the test all night, I put myself to answering the questions with alacrity. (happy and excited to take the test)
40
Allay
To soothe, ease, put to rest. We often speak use the word allay when speaking of fears. The little girl uses a security blanket to allay her fears at night.
41
Alleviate
To relieve, or make bearable. When I got a sinus infection, the doctor gave me some pain medication to alleviate that pain.
42
Allocate
To distribute or set aside for something. The president allocated 35% of our federal budget to the military, and 5% of our budget to education, clearly demonstrating his priorities.
43
Aloof
Reserved, distant. At the dance, I didn't meet any new people. I think I was just a bit too aloof to talk to anyone.
44
Amalgamate
To bring together, unite. Because of he great charisma, the mayoral candidate was able to amalgamate all the city officials into a formidable campaign committee.
45
Ambiguous
Uncertain, variably interpretable. I asked the girl if she was 16 or 17. She said yes. Her answer was ambiguous, because her age was left still uncertain.
46
Ameliorate
To improve (as in a condition). In this country we could certainly ameliorate many of the negative consequences of poverty by simply changing our focus from war to peace, from death of our enemies, to improving the lives of our citizens.
47
Amenable
Willing, compliant. I asked Mrs. Blake to marry me a very long time ago, and to this day I am happy that she was amenable to my proposal.
48
Amenity
An item that increases comfort. I chose to stay at the Hilton because of all the amenities--free wireless, free HBO, a large pool, a beautiful view of downtown San Bernardino, a small gym, and a very comfortable California king sized bed.
49
Amiable
Friendly. The best way to make friends is with a genuine smile and an amiable disposition.
50
Ambivalent
Having opposing feelings. My feelings about President are ambivalent because on the one hand, I think he is trying very hard to do well, but on the other, he supports the collecting of private data by the NSA.
51
Amicable
Friendly. John got divorced, but the process was so amicable that his former wife attended his new wedding.
52
Amorphous
Without definite shape or type. The effort was doomed from the reasons behind it were so amorphous and hard to pin down.
53
Anachronistic
Being out of correct chronological order. The book you are reading claims the Titanic sank when the Great pyramid was built, which is anachronistic.
54
Analgesic
Something that reduces pain. Put this analgesic on the wound so that the poor man at least feels a little better.
55
Analogous
Similar to, so that an analogy can be drawn. The cold and hardness of ice is analogous to the feelings I have about my former friend.
56
Anarchist
One who wants to eliminate all government. An anarchist, Carmine, wanted to dissolve every government everywhere.
57
Anathema
A cursed, detested person. To the Geets, Grendel was pure anathema because of his murderous behavior.
58
Annul
To make void or invalid. The law was annulled by congress after it was realized that it would end up costing trillions of dollars over the course of 10 years.
59
Anomaly
Something that does not fit into the normal order. A cat with 3 eyes and 2 tails would be considered an anomaly.
60
Antecedent
Something that came before. American politics had an antecedent in Ancient Rome.
61
Antediluvian
Ancient. The antediluvian man spoke warmly of his talks with Abraham Lincoln.
62
Antipathy
Strong Dislike, repugnance. I like you most of the time, but I have a real antipathy for you when you lie.
63
Antiseptic
Clean, Sterile. We often are forced to read material that feels rather antiseptic because otherwise, many people might be offended. The doctor cleaned my wound with an antiseptic.
64
Antithesis
The absolute opposite. The antithesis of the right answer, is a wrong answer.
65
Apathetic
Lacking concern, emotion. We've heard so much about global warming that many people have begun to apathetic to the whole subject.
66
Apocryphal
Fictitious, false, wrong. Most rumors are apocryphal, and that is why we shouldn't listen to them or spread them.
67
Appalling
Inspiring shock, horror, disgust. The lack of concern for your grade is appalling.
68
Appease
To Calm, satisfy. When the child cries, the mother gives him candy to appease him.
69
Appraise.
To assess the worth or value of. Before you buy a house, you should have someone appraise it to make sure you are getting your money's worth.
70
Approbation
(n.) praise (The crowd welcomed the heroes with approbation.)
71
Arable
(adj.) suitable for growing crops (The farmer purchased a plot of arable land on
which he will grow corn and sprouts.)
72
Arbiter
(n.) one who can resolve a dispute, make a decision (The divorce court judge
will serve as the arbiter between the estranged husband and wife.)
73
Arbitrary
(adj.) based on factors that appear random (The boy’s decision to choose one
college over another seems arbitrary.)
74
Arboreal
(adj.) of or relating to trees (Leaves, roots, and bark are a few arboreal traits.)
75
Arcane
(adj.) obscure, secret, known only by a few (The professor is an expert in arcane
Lithuanian literature.)
76
Archaic
(adj.) of or relating to an earlier period in time, outdated (In a few select regions
of Western Mongolian, an archaic Chinese dialect is still spoken.)
77
Archetypal
(adj.) the most representative or typical example of something (Some
believe George Washington, with his flowing white hair and commanding stature,
was the archetypal politician.)
78
Ardor
(n.) extreme vigor, energy, enthusiasm (The soldiers conveyed their ardor with
impassioned battle cries.)
79
Arid
(adj.) excessively dry (Little other than palm trees and cacti grow successfully in
arid environments.)
80
Arrogate
(v.) to take without justification
(The king arrogated the right to order
executions to himself exclusively.)
81
Artisan
(n) a craftsman (The artisan used old tree branches to make walking sticks) (Artisan bread is much better tasting than the name brands.)
82
Ascertain
(v) to perceive, learn (with a little research, the student ascertained that some plants can live weeks without water.)
83
Ascetic
(adj) practicing restraint as a means of self-discipline. Usually religious. (The ascetic monk fasted for several months as he contemplated his place in this world).
84
Ascribe
(v) to assign credit, to attribute to (Some ascribe the invention of fireworks and dynamite to the Chinese)
85
Aspersion
(n) A curse, expression of ill-will (The football team did not like the aspersions cast by the opposing team).
86
Assail
(v) to attack. (At dawn the drones assailed the boats in the harbor.)
87
Assiduous
(adj) Hardworking, diligent (Most teachers spend many hours at night assiduously working to finish lesson plans and grades.
88
Assuage
(v) to ease, pacify (To assuage her hurt feelings, her husband bought her flowers and candy).
89
Astute
(adj) Very clever, crafty (Much of his success in politics can be attributed to his ability to give astute answers to reporters' questions.
90
Asylum
1. (n.) a place of refuge, protection, a sanctuary (For Thoreau, the forest served
as an asylum from the pressures of urban life.) 2. (n.) an institution in which the
insane are kept (Once diagnosed by a certified psychiatrist, the man was put in an
asylum.)
91
Atone
(v.) to repent, make amends (The man atoned for forgetting his wife’s birthday
by buying her five dozen roses.)
92
Atrophy
y (v.) to wither away, decay (If muscles do not receive enough blood, they will
soon atrophy and die.)
93
Attribute
1. (v.) to credit, assign (He attributes all of his success to his mother’s undying
encouragement.) 2. (n.) a facet or trait (Among the beetle’s most peculiar attributes is
its thorny protruding eyes.)
94
Atypical
(adj.) not typical, unusual (Screaming and crying is atypical adult behavior.)
95
Audacious
s (adj.) excessively bold (The security guard was shocked by the fan’s
audacious attempt to offer him a bribe.)
96
Auspicious
(adj.) favorable, indicative of good things (The tennis player
97
Austere
(adj.) very bare, bleak (The austere furniture inside the abandoned house made
the place feel haunted.)
98
Avarice
(n.) excessive greed (The banker’s avarice led him to amass a tremendous
personal fortune.)
99
Aversion
(n.) a particular dislike for something (Because he’s from Hawaii, Ben has an
aversion to autumn, winter, and cold climates in general.)
100
Balk
V - to stop, block abruptly. Edna's boss balked at her request for another raise.
101
Banal
Adj - Dull, commonplace. The client rejected our proposal because they found our presentation banal and unimpressive.
102
Bane
N - A burden. Reading Shakespeare is the bane of many first year college students.
103
Beguile
V - To trick, deceive. The thief beguiled his partners into surrendering all their money to him.
104
Behemoth
N - Something of tremendous power or size. When it comes to books, many people consider the Christian bible to be quite a behemoth.
105
Benign
Adj - Favorable, not threatening, mild. In California, spring generally has the most benign weather, while summers are sometimes intolerable.
106
Bequeath
V - To pass on, give. When I leave this school, it is my hope that I will have bequeathed to at least some of you a love of reading.
107
Berate
V - To scold vehemently. The angry teacher berated the entire class for not completing the homework.
108
Bereft
Adj - Devoid of, without. To not have God in your life is to be bereft of peace and comfort.
109
Beseech
V - To beg, plead, implore. I beseech you to study these vocabulary words so that you will do well in my class.
110
Bilk
(v.) cheat, defraud (The lawyer discovered that this firm had bilked several clients
out of thousands of dollars.)
111
Blight
(n.) a plague, disease (The potato blight destroyed the harvest and bankrupted
many families.) 2. (n.) something that destroys hope (His bad morale is a blight
upon this entire operation.)
112
Boisterous
(adj.) loud and full of energy (The candidate won the vote after giving
several boisterous speeches on television.)
113
Bombastic
(adj.) excessively confident, pompous (The singer’s bombastic performance
disgusted the crowd.)
114
Boon
(n.) a gift or blessing (The good weather has been a boon for many businesses
located near the beach.)
115
Bourgeois
```
(n.) a middle-class person, capitalist (Many businessmen receive criticism for
their bourgeois approach to life.)
```
116
Brazen
(adj.) excessively bold, brash (Critics condemned the novelist’s brazen attempt
to plagiarize Hemingway’s story.)
117
Brusque
(adj. ) short, abrupt, dismissive (The captain’s brusque manner offended the
passengers. )
118
Burnish
(v.) to polish, shine (His mother asked him to burnish the silverware before
setting the table.)
120
Buttress
(v. ) to support, hold up (The column buttresses the roof above the statue.) 2.
(n. ) something that offers support (The buttress supports the roof above the statues.)
121
Cacophony
(n.) tremendous noise, disharmonious sound (The elementary school
orchestra created a cacophony at the recital.)
122
Cadence
(n.) a rhythm, progressi
123
Cajole
(v.) to urge, coax (Fred’s buddies cajoled him into attending the bachelor party.)
124
Callous
(adj. ) harsh, cold, unfeeling (The murderer’s callous lack of remorse shocked the
jury. )
125
Calumny
(n.) an attempt to spoil someone else’s reputation by spreading lies (The local
official’s calumny ended up ruining his opponent’s prospect of winning the election.)
126
Candor
(n.) honesty, frankness (We were surprised by the candor of the mayor’s speech
because he is usually rather evasive.)
127
Canny
(adj.) shrewd, careful (The canny runner hung at the back of the pack through
much of the race to watch the other runners, and then sprinted past them at the end.)
128
Capacious
(adj. ) very spacious (The workers delighted in their new capacious office
space. )
129
Capitulate
(v. ) to surrender (The army finally capitulated after fighting a long costly
battle. )
130
Capricious
(adj.) subject to whim, fickle (The young girl’s capricious tendencies made it
difficult for her to focus on achieving her goals.)
131
Carouse
(v.) to party, celebrate (We caroused all night after getting married.)
132
Carp
(v.) to annoy, pester (The husband divorced his wife after listening to her carping voice for decades.)
133
Catalyze
(v.) to charge, inspire (The president’s speech catalyzed the nation and resuscitated the economy.)
134
Caustic
(adj.) bitter, biting, acidic (The politicians exchanged caustic insults for over an hour during the debate.)
135
Cavort
(v.) to leap about, behave boisterously (The adults ate their dinners on the patio, while the children cavorted around the pool.)
136
Censure
(n.) harsh criticism (The frustrated teenager could not put up with anymore of her critical mother’s censure.) 2. (v.) to rebuke formally (The president censured the new members of the club for having broken several rules).
137
Cerebral
(adj.) related to the intellect (The books we read in this class are too cerebral—they don’t engage my emotions at all.)
138
Chastise
(v.) to criticize severely (After being chastised by her peers for mimicking Britney Spears, Miranda dyed her hair black and affected a Gothic style.)
139
Chide
(v.) to voice disapproval (Lucy chided Russell for his vulgar habits and sloppy
140
Chronicle
1. (n.) a written history (The library featured the newly updated chronicle of World War II.) 2. (v.) to write a history (Albert’s diary chronicled the day-to-day growth of his obsession with Cynthia.)
