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82 Cards in this Set
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Apothegm (n)
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Pithy, compact saying.
Proverbs are apothegms that have become familiar sayings. |
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Apotheosis (n)
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eleation to god hood; an ideal example of something.
The Roman empress Livia envied the late emperor Augusts his apotheosis; she hope that on her death she, too, would be exalted to the ranks of the gods. The hero of the novel Generation X was the apotheosis of a slacker, the quintessential example of a member of his generation. |
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Appall (v)
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dismay shock.
We were appalled by the horrifying conditions in the city's jails. |
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Apparition (n)
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ghost; phantom.
On the castle battlements, an apparition materialized and spoke to Hamlet, warning him of his uncle's treachery. In Ghostbusters, hordes of appanritions materialized, only to be dematerialized by the specialized apparatus wielded by Bill Murray. |
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* Appease (v) - Appeasement (n)
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pacify or sooth; relieve. Tom and Jody tried to appease the crying baby by offering him one toy after anoter. However, he would not calm down until they appeased his hunger by giving him a bottle.
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Appellation (n)
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name; title.
Macbeth was startled when the witches greeted him with an incorrect appellation. Why did they call him Thane of Cawdor, he wondered, when the holder of that title sill lived? |
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Append (v)
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Attach.
When you append a bibiliography to a text, you have created an appendix. |
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Application (n) - apply (v)
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diligent attention. Pleased with how well Tom had whitewashed the fence, Aunt Polly praised him for his application. (Tom had applied himself to applying the paint.) (secondary meaning)
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Apposite (a)
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appropriate; fitting.
She was always able to find the apposite phrase, the correct expression for every occasion. |
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Appraise (v) - Appriasal (n)
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estimate value of.
It is difficult to appraise old paintings; It is easier to call them priceless. |
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Appreciate (v)
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be thankful; increase in worth; be thoroughly conscious of.
Little Orphan Annie truly appreciated the stocks Daddy Warbucks gave her, whose value appreciated considerabley over the years. |
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Apprehend (v)
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arrest (a criminal); dread; perceive.
The police will apprehend the cultprit and convict him beore long. |
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Apprehensive (a)
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fearful; discerning.
His apprehensive glances at the people who were walking in the street revealed his nervousness. |
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*apprise (v)
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inform.
When NASA was apprised of the dangerous weather conditions, the head of the space agency decided to postpone the shuttle launch. |
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*approbation (n)
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approval.
Wanting her parents' regard, she looked for some sign of their approbation. Bejnamin Franklin, that shrewd observer of mankind, once wrote, "We must not in the course of public life expect immediate approbation and immediate grateful acknowledgment of our services." |
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*Appropriate (v)
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acquire; take possession of for one's own use.
The ranch owners appropriated the lands that had originally been set aside for the Indian's use. |
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Appurtenances (n)
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subordinate possessions.
He bought the estate and all its appurtenances. |
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Apropos (a)
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to the point and timely.
When Bob spoke out against drunk driving, some of our crowd called him a spoilsport, but the rest of us found his comments extremely apropos. |
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Apropos (prep)
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with reference to; regarding.
Apropos the waltz, the dance has its faults. |
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Aptitude (n)
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fitness; talent.
The American aviator Bessie Coleman grew up in Waxahatchie, Texas, where her mathematical aptitude freed her from working in the cotteon fields with her twelve brothers and sisters. |
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Aquiline (a)
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curved, hooked.
He can be recognized by his aquiline nose, curved like the beak of the eagle. |
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Arabesque (n)
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style of decoration involving intertwined plants and abstract curves; ballet position with one leg supporting the weight of the body, while the other leg is extended in back.
Because the Koran prohibits the creation of human and animal images, Moorish arabesques depict plants but no people. The statue of winged Mercury stands poised on one foot, frozen in an eternal arabesque. |
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Arable (a)
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fit for growing crops.
The first settlers wrote hom glowing reports of the New World, praising its vast acres of arable land ready for the plow |
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Arbiter (n)
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person with power to decide a matter in dispute; judge.
As an arbiter in labor disputes, she has won the confidence of the workers and the employers. |
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Arbitrary (a)
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unreasonable or capricious; tyrannical.
The coach claimed the team lost because the umpire made some arbitrary calls. |
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Arbitrate (v)
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act as judge. She was called upon to arbitrate the dispute between the union and the management
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Arboretum (n)
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place where different varieties of trees and shrubs are studied and exhibited.
Walking along the treelined paths of the arboretum, Rita noted poplars, firs, and some particularly fine sycamores. |
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Arcade (n)
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a covered passageway, usually lined with shops.
The arcade was popular with shoppers because it gave them protection from the summer sun and winter rain. |
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Arcane (a)
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secret; mysterious; known only to the initiated.
Secret brotherhoods surround themselves with arcane rituals and trappings to mystify oursiders. So do doctors. Consider the arcane terminology they use and the impression they try to give that what is arcane to us is obvious to them. |
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Archaeology (n)
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study of artifacts and relics of early mankind.
The professor of archaeology headed an expedition to the Gobi desert in search of ancient ruins |
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Archaic (a)
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antiquated.
"Methinks," "thee," and "thou" are archaic words that are no longer part of our normal vocabulary |
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Archetype (n)
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prototype; primitive patern.
The Broklyn Bridge was the archetype of the many spans that now connect Manhattan with Long Island and New Jersey. |
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Archipelago (n)
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group of closely located islands.
When he looked at the map and saw the archielagoes in the South Seas, he longed to visit them. |
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Archives (n)
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public records place where public records are kept.
Thse documents should be part of the archives so that historians may be able to evaluate them in the future. |
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Ardor (n) - Ardent (a)
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heat; passion; zeal.
Katya's ardor was contagious; soon all her fellow demonstrators wre busily making posters and hanging out flyers, inspired by her ardent enthusiasm for the cause. |
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*Arduous (a)
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hard; strenuous.
Her arduous efforts had sapped her energy. |
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Argot (n)
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slang.
In the argot of the underworld, she was taken for a ride. |
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Aria (n)
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operatic solo.
At her metropolitan Operaa audition, Marian Anderson sang an aria from Norma |
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Arid (a)
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dry; barren.
The cactus has adapted to survive in an arid environment. |
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Aristocracy (n)
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herditary nobility; privileged class.
Americans have mixed feelings about hereditary aristocracy: we say all men are created equal, but we describe particularly outstanding people as natural aristocrats. |
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Armada (n)
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fleet of warships.
Queen Elizabeth's navy was able to defeat the mighty armada that threatened the English coast. |
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Aromatic (a)
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fragrant.
Medieval sailing vessels brough aromatic herbs from China to Europe. |
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Arraign (v)
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change in court; indict.
After his indictment by the Grand Jury, the accused man was arraigned in the County Criminal Court. |
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Array (v) - 1
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marsha; draw up in order.
His actions were bound to array public sentiment against him. |
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Array (v) - 2
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clothe; adorn.
She liked to watch her mother array herself in her finest clothese before going out for the evening. |
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Arrears (n)
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being in debt.
Because he was in arears with his car payments, the repo men repossessed his Porsche. |
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Arrest (v)
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stop r check; seize or capture (the attention).
According to Connolly's "Thery of Permanent Adolescence," the triumphs and disappointments that boys experience at the great British public schools are so intense as to demoniate their lives and to arrest their development. |
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Arrhythmic (a) - Arrhythmia (n)
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Lacking rhythm or regularity.
The doctors feared his arrhythmic heartbeat might be the first symptoms of an imminent heart attack. |
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Arrogance (n)
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pride; haughtiness.
Covinced that Emma thought she was better than anyone else in the class, Ed rebuked her for her arrogance. |
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Arroyo (n)
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gully.
Until the heavy rains of the past spring, this arroyo had been a dry bed. |
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Arsenal (n)
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storage place for military equipment.
People are forbidden to smoke in the arsenal lest a stray spark set off the munitions stored there. |
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Artful (a)
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cunning; craft; sly;
By using accurate details to suggest a misleading picture of the whole, the artful propoagandist turns partial truths into more effective instruments of decption than lies. |
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Articulate (a) - Articulate (v)
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effective; distinct;
Her articulate presentation of the advertising campaign impressed her employers. |
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Artifact (n)
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object made by human beings, either hand-made or mass-produced.
Archaeologists debated the significance of the artifacts discvered in the ruins of Asia Minor but came to no conclusion about the culture they represented. |
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Artifice (n)
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deception; trickery.
The Trojan War proved to the Greeks that cunning and artifice were often more effective than military might. |
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Artisan (n)
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manually skilled worker; craftsman, as opposed to artist.
Elderly artisans from Italy trained Harlem teenagers to carve the stone figures that would decorate the new wing of the cathedral. |
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*Artless (a)
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without guile; open and honest.
Red Riding Hood's artless comment. "Grandma, what big eyes you have!" indicates the child's innocent surprise at her "grandmother's" changed appearance. |
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Ascendancy (n)
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controlling influence.
President Marcos failed to maintain his ascendancy over the Philippines. |
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Ascertain (v)
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find out for certain.
Please ascertain her present address. |
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*Ascetic (a) - Asceticism (n)
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Practicing self-denial; austere.
The wealthy, self-indulgent young man felt oddly drawn to the strict, ascetic life led by members of some monastic orders. |
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Ascribe (v)
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refer; attribute; assign.
I can ascribe no motive for her acts. |
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Aseptic (v)
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refer; attribute; assign.
I can ascribe no motive for her acts. |
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Ashen (a)
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ash-colored; deadly pale.
Her face was ashen with fear. |
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Asinine (a)
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stupid.
Your asinine remarks prove that you have not given this problem any serious consideration. |
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Askance (adv)
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with a sideways or indirect look.
Looking askance at her questioner, she displayed her scorn. |
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Askew (adv)
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crookeldy; slanted; at an angle.
When the clown placed his hat askew upon his head, the children in the audience laughed. |
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Asperity (n)
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sharpness (of temper).
These remarks, spoken with asperity, stung the boys to whom they had been directed |
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Aspersion (n)
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Slanderous remark.
Rather than attacking President Clevelands's arguments with logic, his opponent resorted to casting aspersions on the president's moral character. |
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Aspirant (n) - Aspirant (a)
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seeker after position or status.
Although I am an aspirant for public office, I am not willing to accept the dictates of the party bosses. |
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Aspire (v) - Aspiration (n)
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seek to attain; long for.
Because he aspired to a career in professional sports, Philip enrolled in a greduate program in sports management. |
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Assail (v)
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assault.
He was assailed with questions after his lecture. |
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Assay (v) - Assay (n)
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analyze; evaluate;
When they assayed the ore, they found that they had discovered a very rich vein. |
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Assent (v) - Assent (n)
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agree; accept;
It gives me great pleasure to assent to your request. |
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Assert (v) - Assertion (n)
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state strongly or positively; insist on or demand recognition of (rights, claims, etc.).
When Jill asserted that nobody else in the junior class had such an early curfew, her parents asserted themselves, telling her that if she didn't get home by nine o'clock she would be grounded for the week. |
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Assessment (n)
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estimation; appraisal.
I would like to have assiduous labor before he was satisfied with his portrait of his son. |
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*Assiduous (a)
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diligent.
It took Rembrandy weeks of assiduous labor before he was satisfied with his portrait of his son. |
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Assimilate (v)
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absorb; cause to become homogenous.
The manner in which the United States was able to assimilate the hordes of immigrants during the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth centuries will always be a source of pride. |
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*Assuage (v) - Assuagement (n)
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ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger).
Jilted by Jane, Dick tried to assuage his heartache by indulging in ice cream. One gallon later, he had assuaged his appetite but not his grief. |
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Assumption (n) - Assume (v)
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something taken for granted; the taking over or taking possession of.
The young princess made the foolish assumption that the regent would nt object to her assumption of power. |
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Assurance (n) - Assure (v) - Assured (a)
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promise or pledge; certainity; self-confidence;
When Guthrie gave Guinness his assurance that rehearsals were going well, he spoke with such assurance that Guinness was convinced. |
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Asteroid (n)
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Small planet.
Asteroids have become commonplace to the readers of interstellar travel stories in science fiction magazines. |
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Astigmatism (n)
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eye defect that prevents propoer focus.
As soon as his parents discovered that the boy suffered from astigmatism, they took him to the optometrist for corective glasses. |
