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81 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Abase
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verb: lower; degrade; humiliate. Anna expected to have to curtsy to the King of Siam; when told to cast herself down on the ground before him, however, she refused to abase herself
noun: abasement |
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Abate
(frequent word) |
verb: subside or moderate. Rather than leaving immediately, they waited for the storm to abate.
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Abdicate
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verb: renounce; give up.
When Edward VIII abdicated the British throne, he surprised the entire world. |
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Aberrant
(frequent word) |
Adjective: abnormal or deviant.
Given the aberrant nature of the data, we came to doubt the validity of the entire experiment. |
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Aberration
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Noun: deviation from the expected or the normal; mental irregularity or disorder.
Survivors of a major catastrophe are likely to exhibit aberrations of behavior because of the trauma they have experienced. |
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Abet
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Verb: assist, usually in doing something wrong; encourage.
She was unwilling to abet him in the swindle he had planned. |
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Abeyance
(frequent word) |
Noun: suspended action
The deal was held in abeyance until her arrival. |
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Abhor
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Verb: detest; hate.
She abhorred all forms of bigotry. Noun: abhorrance Bigotry is an abhorrance. |
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Abject
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Adjective: wretched; lacking pride.
On the streets of New York the homeless live in abject poverty, huddling in doorways to find shelter from the wind. |
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Abjure
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Verb: renounce upon oath.
He abjured his allegiance to the king Noun: abjuration |
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Ablution
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Noun: washing.
His daily ablutions were accomplished by loud noises that he humorously labeled "Opera in the Bath." |
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Abnegation
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Noun: renunciation; self-sacrifice.
Though Rudolph and Duchess Flavioa loved one another, their love was doomed, for she had to wed the king; their at of abnegation was necessary to preserve the kingdom. |
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Abolish
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Verb: cancel; put an end to.
The president of the college refused to abolish the physical education requirement. Noun: abolition |
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Abominable
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Adjective: detestable; extremely unpleasant; very bad.
Mary liked John until she learned he was also dating Susan; then she called him an abominable young man with abominable taste in women. |
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Abominate
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Verb: loathe; hate.
Moses scolded the idol worshippers in the tribe because he abominated the custom. |
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Aboriginal
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Adjective, Noun: being te first of its kind in a region; primitive; native.
Her studies of the primitive art forms of the aboriginal Indians were widely reported in the scientific journals. Noun: Aborigine |
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Abortive
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Adjective: unsuccessful; fruitless.
Attacked by armed troops, the Chinese students had to abandon their abortive attempt to democratize Beijing peacefully. Verb: abort |
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Abrasive
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Adjective: rubbing away; tending to grind down.
Just as abrasive cleaning powders can wear away a shiny finish, abrasive remarks can wear away a listener's patience. Verb: abrade |
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Abridge
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Verb: condense or shorten.
Because the publishers felt the public wanted a shorter version of War and Peace, they proceeded to abridge the novel. |
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Abrogate
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Verb: abolish.
The king intended to abrogate the decree issued by his predecessor. |
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Abscission
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Noun: cutting off; separation.
When a flower or leaf separates naturally from the parent plant, the process is called abscission. |
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Abscond
(frequent word) |
Verb: depart secretly and hide.
The teller who absconded with the bonds went uncaptured until someone recognized him from his photograph on America's Most Wanted. |
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Absolute
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Adjective: complete; totally unlimited; certain.
Although the King of Siam was an absolute monarch, he did not want to behead his unfaithful wife without absolute evidence of her infidelity. |
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Absolve
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Verb: pardon (an offense)
The father confessor absolved him of his sins. Noun: absolution |
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Abstain
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Verb: refrain; withhold from participation.
After considering the effect of alcohol on his athletic performance, he decided to abstain from drinking while he trained for the race. |
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Abstemious
(frequent word) |
Adjective: sparing in eating and drinking; temperate.
Concerned whether her vegetarian son's abstemious diet provided him with sufficient protein, the worried mother pressed food on him. |
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Abstinence
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Noun: restraint from eating or drinking.
The doctor recommended total abstinence from salted foods. Verb: abstain |
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Abstract
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Adjective: theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational.
To him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal. |
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Abstruse
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Adjective: obscure; profound; difficult to understand.
Baffled by the abstruse philosophical texts assigned in class, Dave asked Lexy to explain Kant's Critique of Pure Reason |
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Abusive
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Adjective: coarsely insulting; physically harmful.
An abusive parent damages a child both mentally and physically. |
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Abut
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Verb: border upon; adjoin.
Where our estates abut, we must build a fence. |
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Abysmal
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Adjective: bottomless.
His arrogance is exceeded only by his abysmal ignorance. |
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Abyss
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Noun: enormous chasm; vast, bottomless pit.
Darth Vader seized the evil emperor and hurled him into the abyss. |
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Academic
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Adjective: related to school; not practical or directly useful.
The dean's talk about reforming academic policies was only an academic discussion: we knew little, if anything, would change. |
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Accede
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Verb: agree.
If I accede to this demand for blackmail, I am afraid that I will be the victim of future demands. |
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Accelerate
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Verb: move faster.
In our science class, we learn how falling bodies accelerate. |
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Accessible
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Adjective: easy to approach; obtainable.
We asked our guide whther the ruins were accessible on foot. |
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Accessory
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Noun (also adjective): additional object; useful but not essential thing.
She bought an attractive handbag as an accessory for her dress. |
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Acclaim
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Verb: applaud; announce with great approval.
The sportscasters acclaimed every American victory in the Olympics and decried every American defeat. Noun: acclamation |
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Acclimate
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Verb: adjust to climate or environment; adapt.
One of the difficulties of our present air age is the need of travelers to acclimate themselves to their new and often strange environments. |
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Acclivity
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Noun: award of merit.
In Hollywood, an "Oscar" is the highest accolade. |
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Accommodate
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Verb: oblige or help someone; adjust or bring into harmony; adapt.
Mitch always did everything possible to accommodate his elderly relatives, from driving them to medical appointments to helping them with paperwork. (secondary meaning) |
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Accomplice
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Noun: partner in crime.
Because he had provided the criminal with the lethal weapon, he was arrested as an accomplice to murder. |
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Accord
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Noun: agreement.
She was in complete accord with the verdict. |
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Accost
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Verb: approach and speak first to a person.
When the two young men accosted me, I was frightened because I thought they were going to attack me. |
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Accoutre
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Verb: equip.
The fisherman was accoutred with the best that the sporting goods store could supply. Noun: accoutrement |
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Accretion
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Noun: growth; increase.
Over the years Bob put on weight; because of this accretion of flesh, he went from size M to size XL. Verb: accrete |
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Accrue
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Verb: come about by addition.
You must pay the interest that has accrued on your debt as well as the principal sum. Noun: accrual. |
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Acerbity
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Noun: bitterness of speech and temper.
The meeting of the United Nations Assembly was marked with such acerbity that observers held little hope of reaching any useful settlement of the problem. Adjective: acerbic |
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Acetic
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Adjective: vinegary.
The salad had an exceedingly acetic flavor. |
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Acidulous
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Adjective: slightly sour; sharp; caustic.
James was unpopular because of his sarcastic and acidulous remarks. |
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Acknowledge
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Verb: recognize; admit.
Although I acknowledge that the Beatles' tunes sound pretty dated nowadays, I still prefer them to the gangsta rap songs my brothers play. |
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Acme
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Noun: peak; pinnacle; highest point.
Welles' success in Citizen Kane marked the acme of his career as an actor; never again did he achieve such popular acclaim. |
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Acoustics
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Noun: science of sound; quality that makes a room easy or hard to hear in.
Carnegie Hall is liked by music lovers because of its fine acoustics. |
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Acquiesce
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Verb: assent; agree passively.
Although she appeared to acquiesce to her employer's suggestions, I could tell she had reservations about the changes he wanted made. Noun: acquiescence Adjective: acquiescent |
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Acquittal
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Noun: deliverance from a charge.
His acquittal by the jury surprised those who had thought him guilty. Verb: acquit |
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Acrid
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Adjective: sharp; bitterly pungent.
The acrid odor of the burnt gunpowder filled the room after the pistol had been fired. |
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Acrimonious
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Adjective: bitter in words or manner.
The candidate attacked his opponent in highly acrimonious terms. Noun: acrimony |
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Acrophobia
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Noun: fear of heights.
A born salesman, he could convince someone with a bad case of acrophobia to sign up for a life membership in a skydiving club. |
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Actuarial
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Adjective: calculating; pertaining to insurance statistics.
According to recent actuarial tables, life expectancy is greater today than it was a century ago. |
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Actuate
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Verb: motivate
I fail to understand what actuated you to reply to this letter so nastily. |
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Acuity
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Noun: sharpness.
In time his youthful acuity of vision failed him, and he needed glasses. |
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Acumen
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Noun: mental keenness.
Her business acument helped her to succeed where others had failed. |
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Acute
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Adjective: quickly perceive; keen; brief and severe.
The acute young doctor realized immediately that the gradual deterioration of her patient's once-acute hearing was due to a chronic illness, not an accute one. |
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Adage
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Noun: wise-saying; proverb.
There is much truth in the old adage about fools and their money. |
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Adamant
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Adjective: hard; inflexible.
In this movie Bronson played the part of a revenge-driven man, adamant in his determination to punish the criminals who destroyed his family. Noun: adamancy |
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Adapt
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Verb: alter; modify.
Some species of animals have become extinct because they could not adapt to a changing environment. |
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Addendum
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Noun: addition; appendix to a book.
Jane's editor approved her new comparative literature text but thought it would be even better with an addendum on recent developments in literary criticism. |
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Addiction
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Noun: compulsive, habitual need.
His addiction to drugs caused his friends much grief. |
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Addle
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Verb: muddle; drive crazy; become rotten.
This idiotic plain is confusing enough to addle anyone. Adjective: addled |
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Address
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Verb: direct a speech to; deal with or discuss.
Due to address the convention in July, Brown planned to address the issue of low-income housing in his speech. |
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Adept
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Adjective (and Noun): expert at.
She was adept at the fine art of irritating people. |
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Adhere
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Verb: stick fast.
I will adhere to this opinion until proof that I am wrong is presented. Noun: adhesion, adherence |
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Adherent
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Noun: supporter; follower.
In the wake of the scandal, the senator's one-time adherents quietly deserted him. |
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Adjacent
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Adjective: adjoining; neighboring; close by.
Phillip's best friend Jason lived only four houses down the block, near but not immediately adjacent. |
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Adjunct
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Noun (and adjective): something (generally nonessential or inferior)added on or attached.
Although I don't absolutely need a second computer, I plan to buy a laptop to serve as an adjunct to my desktop model. |
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Adjuration
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Noun: solemn urging.
Her adjuration to tell the truth did not change the witnesses' testimony. Verb: adjure |
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Adjutant
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Noun: staff officer assisting the commander; assistant.
Though Wellington delegated many tasks to his chief adjutant, Lord Fitzroy Somerset, Somerset was in no doubt as to who made all major decisions. |
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Admonish
(frequent word) |
Verb: warn; reprove.
He admonished his listeners to change their wicked ways. Noun: admonition |
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Adorn
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Verb: decorate.
Wall paintings and carved statues adorned the temple. Noun: adornment |
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Adroit
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Adjective: skillful.
Her adroit handling of the delicate situation pleased her employers. |
