Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
250 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
abase
|
lower; degrade; humiliate; make humble; make (oneself) lose self-respect
|
|
abash
|
embarrass
|
|
abate
|
subside or moderate
|
|
abbreviate
|
shorten
|
|
abdicate
|
renounce; give up (position, right, or responsibility)
|
|
aberrant
|
abnormal or deviant
|
|
aberration
|
deviation from the normal; mental disorder
|
|
abet
|
assist usually in doing something wrong; encourage
|
|
abeyance
|
suspended action
|
|
abhor
|
detest; hate
|
|
abide
|
dwell; abide by: comply with; put up with; tolerate; Ex: abide by the rules;
|
|
abject
|
sunk to or existing in a low state or condition
showing utter hopelessness or resignation <abject surrender> expressing or offered in a humble and often ingratiating spirit <abject flattery> <an abject apology> |
|
abjure
|
renounce upon oath
|
|
ablution
|
washing
|
|
abnegation
|
renunciation; self-sacrifice; self-abnegation
|
|
abode
|
dwelling place; home
|
|
abolish
|
cancel; put an end to
|
|
abominable
|
detestable; extremely unpleasant
|
|
abominate
|
loathe; hate
|
|
aboriginal
|
being the first of its kind in a region; primitive; native; indigenous; N. aborigine
|
|
abortive
|
unsuccessful; fruitless
|
|
abrasive
|
rubbing away; tending to grind down
|
|
abridge
|
condense or shorten
|
|
abrogate
|
abolish
|
|
abscission
|
cutting off; separation
|
|
abscond
|
depart secretly and hide
|
|
absolute
|
complete; totally unlimited; having complete power; certain; not relative; Ex. absolute honesty/ruler; CF. absolutism
|
|
absolve
|
pardon (an offense)
To pronounce clear of guilt or blame |
|
abstain
|
refrain; withhold from participation; intentionally not use one's vote;
|
|
abstemious
|
sparing in eating and drinking; temperate
|
|
abstinence
|
restraint from pleasant things, esp. eating or drinking; CF. abstention: act of abstaining from vote
|
|
abstract
|
theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentationals representational (of a style of art) showing things as they actually appear in real life
|
|
abstruse
|
obscure; profound; difficult to understand
|
|
abusive
|
coarsely insulting; physically harmful
|
|
abut
|
border upon; adjoin
|
|
abysmal
|
bottomless
profound, limitless extremely bad |
|
abyss
|
enormous chasm; vast bottomless pit
|
|
academic
|
related to a school; not practical or directly useful
|
|
accede
|
agree
|
|
accelerate
|
move faster
|
|
accessible
|
easy to approach; obtainable
|
|
accessory
|
additional object; useful but not essential thing
|
|
acclaim
|
applaud; praise; greet with great approval; announce with great approval; N: strong expression of approval and praise
|
|
acclimate
|
adjust to climate or environment; adapt
|
|
acclivity
|
sharp upslope of a hill; OP. declivity
|
|
accommodate
|
oblige or help someone; adjust or bring into harmony; adapt; make enough space for; ADJ. accommodative; CF. accomodating: helpful and obliging
|
|
accomplice
|
partner in crime
|
|
accord
|
agreement
|
|
accost
|
approach and speak first to a person
|
|
accoutre
|
to outfit and equip as for military; N. accoutrement - equipment
|
|
accretion
|
growth or increase in size by gradual addition; growth; increase; increase by natural growth; Ex. towers and other accretions of the castle; V. accrete
|
|
acetic
|
vinegary
|
|
acidulous
|
slightly sour (in taste or manner); sharp; caustic
|
|
acknowledge
|
recognize; admit
|
|
acme
|
peak; pinnacle; highest point
|
|
acne
|
skin disease (on the face)
|
|
acoustics
|
science of sound; quality that makes a room easy or hard to hear in
|
|
acquiesce
|
assent; agree passively; comply without protest
|
|
acquittal
|
deliverance from a charge; V. acquit: free from a charge or accusation; discharge from a duty; conduct (oneself) in a specified manner
|
|
acrid
|
bitter (to the taste or smell); sharp; bitterly pungent
|
|
acrimonious
|
stinging; caustic; bitter in words or manner; N. acrimony: bitter ill-natured animosity in speech or behavior
|
|
acrophobia
|
fear of heights
|
|
actuarial
|
calculating; pertaining to insurance statistics
|
|
actuary
|
someone who advises insurance companies
|
|
actuate
|
motivate; activate; cause to act
|
|
acuity
|
sharpness (of mind or senses of sight or hearing)
|
|
acumen
|
mental keenness; sharpness of judgment; ability to judge quickly and well; Ex. business acumen
|
|
acute
|
(of the senses) sharp; quickly perceptive; keen; penetrating; brief and severe; Ex. acute sense of smell/analysis/pain
|
|
adage
|
wise saying; proverb s proverbadage; someone or something well known for notoriety; ADJ. proverbial: of a proverb; widely known; ADV. proverbially
|
|
adamant
|
hard; inflexible
|
|
adapt
|
make or become suitable for a specific use; alter; modify; adjust; N. adaptation: act of adapting; composition recast into a new form; Ex. The play is an adaption of a short novel.
|
|
addendum
|
addition; appendix to book; something that is added (as at the end of a speech or book)
|
|
addiction
|
compulsive habitual need
|
|
addle
|
make or become confused; muddle; drive crazy; become rotten (egg)
|
|
address
|
direct a speech to; speak to; deal with or discuss; direct one's efforts or attention to; make with a destination; N: formal speech
|
|
adept
|
expert at; very skilled
|
|
adhere
|
stick fast; be a devotd follower; N. adhesion: adhering; devotion; loyality
|
|
adherent
|
supporter; follower
|
|
adjacent
|
adjoining; neighboring; close by
|
|
adjoin
|
be next to
|
|
adjourn
|
suspend until a later time; move from one place to another
|
|
adjunct
|
something attached to but holding an inferior position
|
|
adjuration
|
solemn urging; V. adjure: entreat earnestly; enjoin solemnly
|
|
adjutant
|
staff officer assisting the commander; assistant
|
|
admonish
|
warn or speak to with gentle disapproval; reprove
|
|
adore
|
love deeply and respect highly
|
|
adorn
|
decorate
|
|
adroit
|
skillful (in using mind or hand)
|
|
adulation
|
flattery; admiration that is more than is necessary or deserved
|
|
adulterate
|
make impure or of poorer quality by adding inferior or tainted(contaminated) substances
|
|
advent
|
arrival
|
|
adventitious
|
accidental; casual; happening by chance
|
|
adversary
|
opponent; enemy
|
|
adverse
|
going against; opposing; unfavorable; hostile
|
|
adversity
|
great hardship or affliction; misfortune; calamitous event
|
|
advert
|
refer
|
|
advocacy
|
support; active pleading on behalf of someone or something
|
|
advocate
|
speak in favor of; support (an idea or plan); urge; plead for
|
|
aegis
|
shield; protection; defense
|
|
aerie
|
nest of a large bird of prey
|
|
aesthetic
|
artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciating the beautiful (of a person or building); CF. aesthete; CF. aesthetics
|
|
affable
|
easily approachable; easy to talk to; warmly friendly
|
|
affected
|
artificial; pretended
|
|
affidavit
|
written statement made under oath (for use as proof in a court of law)
|
|
affiliation
|
joining; associating with
|
|
affinity
|
feeling of kinship; similarity; Ex. strong affinity for her; Ex. many affinities between two languages
|
|
affirmation
|
positive assertion; confirmation; solemn pledge by one who refuses to take an oath; V. affirm; ADJ. affirmative; CF. affirmative action: positive discrimination
|
|
affliction
|
state of distress; trial; cause of distress or suffering; V. afflict: inflict grievous suffering on
|
|
affluence
|
abundance; wealth
|
|
affront
|
insult; offense; intentional act of disrespect; V: insult or hurt the feelings of intentionally
|
|
afterlife
|
life after death; later part of one's life
|
|
agape
|
openmouthed
|
|
agenda
|
items of business at a meeting
|
|
agglomeration
|
collection; heap;
V. agglomerate: gather into a rounded mass; N. |
|
aggrandize
|
make greater; increase in power, wealth, rank, or honor; N. aggrandizement
|
|
aggregate
|
sum; total; ADJ. V: gather into a mass or whole; accumulate; add up to; Ex. aggregate 100 dollars
|
|
aghast
|
filled with great surprise or fear; horrified
|
|
agility
|
nimbleness; ability to move quickly
|
|
agitate
|
stir up; disturb
|
|
agnostic
|
one who is skeptical of the existence or knowability of a god or any ultimate reality
|
|
agog
|
highly excited; intensely curious
|
|
agrarian
|
pertaining to land or its cultivation; Ex. agrarian reform
|
|
airy
|
of air; high in the air; lofty; immaterial; unreal
|
|
alacrity
|
cheerful promptness without reluctance
|
|
alchemy
|
medieval chemistry
|
|
alcove
|
nook; recess
|
|
alias
|
an assumed name esp. by a criminal (usually to mislead people); ADV. alias
|
|
alienate
|
make unfriendly or hostile; estrange; separate; change the ownership of
|
|
alimentary
|
supplying nourishment
|
|
alimony
|
payments made regularly to an ex-spouse after divorce
|
|
allay
|
calm; pacify
|
|
allege
|
state without proof
|
|
allegiance
|
loyalty
|
|
allegory
|
story, play, or picture in which characters are used as symbols; fable
|
|
alleviate
|
relieve (pain)
|
|
alliteration
|
repetition of beginning sound in poetry
|
|
allocate
|
assign; set apart for a particular purpose
|
|
alloy
|
mixture as of metals; something added that lowers in value or purity; V: mix; make less pure; lower in value or quality; spoil; CF. unalloyed: not in mixture with other maetals; pure; complete; unqualified; Ex. unalloyed happiness
|
|
allude
|
refer indirectly; N. allusion: indirect reference
|
|
allure
|
entice; attract; tempt
|
|
alluvial
|
pertaining to soil deposits left by running water
|
|
alms
|
money or goods given to the poor
|
|
aloft
|
upward; high up in the air
|
|
aloof
|
apart; not open in one's relationship with other people; reserved; ADV.
|
|
altercation
|
noisy quarrel
|
|
altruistic
|
unselfishly generous; concerned for others; N. altiruism: unselfish concern for the welfare of others; unselfishness; OP. egoism
|
|
amalgam
|
combination of different things; mixture of metals (containing mercury) used for filling holes in teeth
|
|
amalgamate
|
(of societies or groups) combine; unite in one body
|
|
amass
|
collect (gradually, in a very large amount)
|
|
amazon
|
female warrior
|
|
ambidextrous
|
capable of using either hand with equal ease
|
|
ambience
|
environment; atmosphere; Ex. restraurant with a pleasant ambience; ADJ. ambient: completely surrounding; Ex. ambient temperature
|
|
ambiguous
|
unclear or doubtful in meaning; having more than one possible interpretation
|
|
ambivalence
|
the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes or opinions
|
|
amble
|
walking at an easy unhurried pace; V: walk slowly and aimlessly
|
|
ambrosia
|
food of the gods
|
|
ambulatory
|
able to walk
|
|
ambush
|
act of lying in wait to attack by surprise; sudden attack made from a concealed position; Ex. lie in ambush; V.
|
|
ameliorate
|
improve
|
|
amenable
|
obedient; compliant; readily managed; responsive; willing to be led; answerable or accountable legally; responsible; able to be tested by; Ex. amenable to sensible suggestions; Ex. He is very amenable; Ex. amenable to the usual tests
|
|
amend
|
correct; change ; generally for the better
|
|
amenities
|
convenient features that helps to make life pleasant; social courtesies
|
|
amiable
|
agreeable; lovable; warmly friendly
|
|
amicable
|
peaceful; politely friendly; not quarrelsome; Ex. amicable settlement
|
|
amiss
|
wrong; faulty; Ex. something amiss; ADV.
|
|
amity
|
friendship; peaceful relationship as between nations
|
|
amnesia
|
loss of memory
|
|
amnesty
|
pardon (allowed by government to political criminals)
|
|
amok(amuck)
|
in a state of rage; Ex. run amok
|
|
amoral
|
nonmoral; having no understanding of right and wrong
|
|
amorous
|
moved by sexual love; loving; of sexual love; Ex. amorous advances
|
|
amorphous
|
formless; lacking shape or definition
|
|
amphibian
|
able to live both on land and in water; N.
|
|
amphitheater
|
oval building with tiers of seats; CF. arena
|
|
ample
|
enough; abundant; spacious; large in size; Ex. ample opportunity/garden; N. amplitude: quality of being ample; abundance; largeness of space
|
|
amplify
|
increase in size or effect; expand; broaden or clarify by expanding; intensify; make stronger; Ex. amplify one's remarks with a graph
|
|
amputate
|
cut off part of body; prune (a limb)
|
|
amulet
|
charm; talisman; an object worn believed to protect against evil, bad luck
|
|
anachronism
|
an error involving time in a story; something or someone misplaced in time; ADJ. anachronistic
|
|
analgesia
|
condition of being unable to feel pain
|
|
analgesic
|
causing insensitivity to pain; N.
|
|
analogous
|
comparable; similar
|
|
analogy
|
similarity; parallelism; comparing two similar things
|
|
anarchist
|
person who seeks to overturn the established government; advocate of abolishing authority
|
|
anarchy
|
absence of governing body; state of disorder
|
|
anathema
|
solemn curse; someone or something regarded as a curse; V. anathematize
|
|
ancestry
|
family descent; ADJ. ancestral
|
|
anchor
|
secure or fasten firmly; be fixed in place; N. anchorage
|
|
ancillary
|
serving as an aid or accessory; auxiliary; N.
|
|
anecdote
|
short story of an amusing or interesting event
|
|
anemia
|
A pathological deficiency in the oxygen-carrying component of the blood, measured in unit volume concentrations of hemoglobin, red blood cell volume, or red blood cell number.
|
|
anesthetic
|
substance that removes sensation with or without loss of consciousness; N. anesthesia
|
|
anguish
|
acute pain; extreme suffering
|
|
angular
|
sharp-cornered; having an angle; not rounded (body); bony; lean; gaunt; stiff in manner
|
|
animadversion
|
critical remark; V. animadvert: comment critically with disapproval
|
|
animated
|
lively; spirited
|
|
animosity
|
active enmity
|
|
animus
|
hostile feeling or intent; animosity; hostility; disposition
|
|
annals
|
records arranged in yearly parts; history
|
|
anneal
|
reduce brittleness and improve toughness by heating and cooling (metal or glass)
|
|
annex
|
attach; add to a large thing; take possession of; incorporate (territory) into a larger existing political unit (by force); N: building added to a large one
|
|
annihilate
|
destroy
|
|
annotate
|
comment; make explanatory notes
|
|
annuity
|
yearly allowance
|
|
annul
|
make void
|
|
anodyne
|
drug that relieves pain or trouble; opiate; ADJ. Ex. anodyne statement
|
|
anoint
|
consecrate; put oil on (in a religious ceremony)
|
|
anomalous
|
abnormal; irregular
|
|
anomaly
|
irregularity
|
|
anonymity
|
state of being nameless; anonymousness; ADJ. anonymous
|
|
antagonism
|
hostility; active opposition; V. antagonize: cause to become an enemy; N. antagonist: person who is opposed to another; opponent; adversary; principal character in oppostion to the protagonist
|
|
antecede
|
precede
|
|
antecedents
|
preceding events that influence what comes later; ancestors or early background
|
|
antediluvian
|
antiquated; extremely ancient
|
|
anthem
|
song of praise or patriotism; Ex. national anthem
|
|
anthology
|
book of literary selections by various authors; CF. omnibus
|
|
anthropoid
|
manlike; resembling a human being; N.
|
|
anthropologist
|
student of the history and science of humankind
|
|
anthropomorphic
|
having human form or characteristics
|
|
anticlimax
|
letdown in thought or emotion; something unexciting, ordinary, or disappointing coming after something important or exciting
|
|
antidote
|
remedy to counteract a poison or disease; Ex. antidote to the economic troubles
|
|
antipathy
|
aversion; dislike or opposition
|
|
antiquated
|
obsolete; old-fashioned; outdated
|
|
antique
|
made in an earlier period and usu. valuable; N: object that was made in an earlier period and that is rare or valuable
|
|
antiquity
|
quality of being very old; ancient times; antisepticsubstance that prevents infection in a wound; ADJ.
|
|
antithesis
|
contrast; direct opposite of or to; ADJ. antithetic or antithetical
|
|
antler
|
bony growth on the head of a deer
|
|
anvil
|
iron block used in hammering out metals
|
|
apathy
|
lack of caring; indifference; lack of concern or interest in important matters; Ex. He was sunk in apathy after his failure; ADJ. apathetic
|
|
ape
|
imitate or mimic (a person's behavior or manner)
|
|
aperture
|
opening; hole; adjustable opening in a camera that limits the amount of light
|
|
apex
|
tip; summit; climax; highest point
|
|
aphasia
|
loss of speech due to injury or illness
|
|
aphorism
|
pithy maxim or saying; ADJ. aphoristic
|
|
apiarist
|
person who keeps bees
|
|
apiary
|
a place where bees are kept
|
|
apiculture
|
bee-keeping
|
|
vapid
|
lacking liveliness; dull and unimaginative; insipid and flavorless; Ex. vapid lecture
|
|
aplomb
|
poise; composure in difficult situations; assurance; self-confidence
|
|
apocalyptic
|
prophetic; pertaining to revelations especially of disaster; N. apocalypse
|
|
apocryphal
|
(of a story) widely believed but untrue
|
|
apogee
|
highest point; the point farthest from the earth; OP. perigee
|
|
apolitical
|
having an aversion or lack of concern for political affairs
|
|
apologist
|
one who writes in defense of a cause or institution; N. apologia
|
|
apoplexy
|
stroke; loss of consciousness caused by too much blood in the brain
|
|
apostate
|
one who abandons his religious faith or political beliefs; N. apostasy
|
|
apothecary
|
druggist; pharmacist
|
|
apothegm
|
(apophthegm) pithy, compact saying
|
|
apotheosis
|
elevation to godhood; an ideal example of something
|
|
appall
|
dismay; shock deeply
|