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91 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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abase
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to humiliate, degrade
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After being overthrown and abased, the deposed leader offered to bow down to his conqueror.
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aberration
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something that differs from the norm
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In 1918, the Boston Red Sox won
the World Series, but the success turned out to be an aberration, and the Red Sox have not won a World Series since. |
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abet
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to aid, encourage
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The spy succeeded only because he had a friend on the
inside to abet him.) |
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abhor
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to hate, detest
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Because he always wound up kicking himself in the head
when he tried to play soccer, Oswald began to abhor the sport. |
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abide
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to put up with; to remain
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Though he did not agree with the decision, Chuck decided
to abide by it. Despite the beating they’ve taken from the weather throughout the millennia, the mountains abide. |
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abject
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pitiful, wretched
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After losing all her money, falling into a puddle, and
breaking her ankle, Eloise was abject. |
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abjure
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to reject, to renounce
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To prove his honesty, the President abjured the evil
policies of his wicked predecessor |
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abnegation
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denial of comfort to oneself
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The holy man slept on the floor, took only
cold showers, and generally followed other practices of abnegation. |
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abrogate
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to abolish, usually by authority
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The Bill of Rights assures that the
government cannot abrogate our right to a free press. |
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abscond
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to sneak away and hide
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In the confusion, the super-spy absconded into the
night with the secret plans. |
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abstruse
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hard to comprehend
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Everyone else in the class understood geometry
easily, but John found the subject abstruse |
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accede
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to agree
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When the class asked the teacher whether they could play baseball
instead of learn grammar they expected him to refuse, but instead he acceded to their request. |
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accolade
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high praise, special distinction
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Everyone offered accolades to Sam after
he won the Noble Prize. |
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accost
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to confront verbally
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Though Antoinette was normally quite calm, when the
waiter spilled soup on her for the fourth time in 15 minutes she stood up and accosted the man. |
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accretion
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slow growth in size or amount
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Stalactites are formed by the accretion of
minerals from the roofs of caves. |
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acerbic
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biting, bitter in taste or tone
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Jill became extremely acerbic and began to
cruelly make fun of all her friends. |
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acquiesce
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to agree without protesting
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Though Mr. Correlli wanted to stay outside
and work in his garage, when his wife told him that he had better come in to dinner, he acquiesced to her demands. |
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admonish
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to caution, criticize, reprove
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Joe’s mother admonished him not to ruin
his appetite by eating cookies before dinner. |
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adulation
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extreme praise
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Though the book was pretty good, Marcy did not believe
it deserved the adulation it received. |
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adumbrate
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to sketch out in a vague way
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The coach adumbrated a game plan, but
none of the players knew precisely what to do. |
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adverse
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antagonistic, unfavorable
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Because of adverse conditions, the
hikers decided to give up trying to climb the mountain. |
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affinity
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a spontaneous feeling of closeness
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Jerry didn’t know why, but he felt an
incredible affinity for Kramer the first time they met. |
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aggrandize
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to increase or make greater
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Joseph always dropped the names of the
famous people his father knew as a way to aggrandize his personal stature. |
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affront
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to insult
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Bernardo was very touchy, and took any slight as an affront to his
honor. |
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aggregate
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a whole or total; to gather into a mass
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The three branches of the U.S. Government form an
aggregate much more powerful than its individual parts. The dictator tried to aggregate as many people into his army as he possibly could. |
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aggreieved
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distressed, wronged
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The foreman mercilessly overworked his
aggrieved employees. |
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allocate
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to distribute, set aside
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The Mayor allocated 30 percent of the funds for
improving the town’s schools. |
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aloof
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reserved, distant
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The scientist could sometimes seem aloof, as if he didn’t
care about his friends or family, but really he was just thinking about quantum mechanics. |
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amalgamate
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to bring together, unite
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Because of his great charisma, the presidential
candidate was able to amalgamate all democrats and republicans under his banner. |
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ameliorate
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to improve
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The tense situation was ameliorated when Sam proposed a
solution everyone could agree upon. |
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amenable
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willing, compliant
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Our father was amenable when we asked him to
drive us to the farm so we could go apple picking. |
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amenity
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an item that increases comfort
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Bill Gates’s house is stocked with so many
amenities, he never has to do anything for himself. |
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amorous
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showing love, particularly sexual
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Whenever Albert saw Mariah wear
her slinky red dress, he began to feel quite amorous. amorphous |
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amorphous
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shapeless
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The effort was doomed from the start,
because the reasons behind it were so amorphous and hard to pin down. |
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analgesic
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something that reduces pain
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Put this analgesic on the wound so that the
poor man at least feels a little better. |
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analogous
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similar to, so that an analogy can be drawn
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Though they are unrelated
genetically, the bone structure of whales and fish is quite analogous. |
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anathema
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a cursed, detested person
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I never want to see that murderer. He is an
anathema to me. |
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anecdote
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a short, humorous accont
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After dinner, Marlon told an anecdote about
the time he got his nose stuck in a toaster. |
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anesthesia
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loss of sensation
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When the nerves in his spine were damaged, Mr.
Hollins suffered anesthesia in his legs. |
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antecedent
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something that came before
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The great tradition of Western culture had
its antecedent in the culture of Ancient Greece. |
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antipathy
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a strong dislike, repugnance
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I know you love me, but because you are a
liar and a thief, I feel nothing but antipathy for you. |
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antithesis
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the absolute oppostie
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Your values, which hold war and violence in the
highest esteem, are the antithesis of my pacifist beliefs. |
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apocryphal
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fictitious, false, wrong
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Because I am standing before you, it seems
obvious that the stories circulating about my demise were apocryphal. |
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approbation
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praise
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The crowd welcomed the heroes with approbation.
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appropriate
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to take, make use of
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The government appropriated the farmer’s land
without justification. |
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arable
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suitable for growing crops
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The farmer purchased a plot of arable land on
which he will grow corn and sprouts. |
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arbiter
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one who can resolve a dispute, make a decision
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The divorce court judge
will serve as the arbiter between the estranged husband and wife. |
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arcane
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obscure, secret, known only by a few
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The professor is an expert in arcane
Lithuanian literature. |
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ardor
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extreme vigor, enthusiasm, energy
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The soldiers conveyed their ardor with
impassioned battle cries. |
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archetypal
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the most representative or typical example of something
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Some
believe George Washington, with his flowing white hair and commanding stature, was the archetypal politician. |
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arid
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excessively dry
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Little other than palm trees and cacti grow successfully in
arid environments. |
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arrogate
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to take without justification
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The king arrogated the right to order
executions to himself exclusively. |
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aspersion
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a curse, an expression of ill-will
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The rival politicians repeatedly cast
aspersions on each others’ integrity. |
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ascetic
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practicing restraint as a means of self-discipline, usually religious
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The
priest lives an ascetic life devoid of television, savory foods, and other pleasures. |
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atypical
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not typical, unusal
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Screaming and crying is atypical adult behavior.
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augment
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to add to, expand
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The eager student seeks to augment his knowledge of
French vocabulary by reading French literature. |
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auspicious
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favorable, indicative of good things
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The tennis player considered the
sunny forecast an auspicious sign that she would win her match. |
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austere
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very bleak, bare
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The austere furniture inside the abandoned house made
the place feel haunted. |
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avarice
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excessive greed
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The banker’s avarice led him to amass a tremendous
personal fortune. |
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aversion
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a particular dislike for something
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Because he’s from Hawaii, Ben has an
aversion to autumn, winter, and cold climates in general. |
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abysmal
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hopelessly bad
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The food at this hospital is abysmal! It tastes like cardboard!
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aural
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pertaining to hearing
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The antibiotic label warned of possible aural side effects such as temporary hearing impairment, ringing in ears and, in rare cases, total hearing loss.
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audacious
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bold
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The shy chess champion shocked the homecoming queen when he kissed her in front of her boyfriend, announcing his lifelong love for her. How audacious!
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attrition
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a reduction in number or strength
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The medical school class had been thinned through attrition; with each test more students dropped out.
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atrophy
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to waste away from disuse
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After my ACL-reconstruction surgery, I was not allowed to stand on my right leg for six weeks. This caused all the muscles in that to atrophy and shrink in size.
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archaic
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antiquated
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The old boat's archaic navigation system confused the young sailor.
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astute
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shrewd; observant
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Brown is quite the astute little investigator. He always figures out the mystery.
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astringent
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caustic; sharply pungent
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Her speech included astringent comments about her opponent; we all found them offensive.
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assuage
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to soothe
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In an effort to assuage his wife, Keith brought Sue flowers.
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assiduous
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working diligently
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Success on the reading comprehension section of the SAT exam is difficult and requires assiduous preparation.
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assail
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to attack
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The senator assailed her opponent aggressively in the weeks leading up to the election, attacking his stance on the economy most viciously.
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ascertain
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to find out definitely
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Because of the thick fog, I was unable to ascertain the distance in front of me.
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archaeology
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the study of past cultures
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If you like archaeology, there are many fascinating sites right in the center of Athens.
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aptitude
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ability; capability
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The SAT tests your aptitude.
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approbation
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approval; commendation
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Derek received my approbation as an acceptable husband for my daughter.
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apprehensive
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uneasy or fearful about something
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It is normal to feel apprehensive on the morning of your driver's test.
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apostate
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a person who no longer belongs to a religion or political group
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He became an apostate to liberalism after he became wealthy.
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antiquated
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obsolete; no longer used
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The computer technology in rural Italy is antiquated.
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altruistic
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selfless
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The altruistic mayor was genuinely concerned with the plight of undernourished children.
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acumen
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keen perception
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Sherlock Holmes is known for his acumen.
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adept
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proficient; very skilled
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The adept mathematician completed the outrageously difficult calculus final in just twenty-five minutes.
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acrid
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having an irritatingly strong and unpleasant smell or taste
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This cleaning fluid has an acrid smell that is just awful!
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ambiguous
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unclear
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The instructor's ambiguous directions left us with no idea of what we were supposed to do.
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allay
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to calm or quiet
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To allay her fears, I reminded her that one grammatical mistake won't detract from the overall strength of her essay.
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alacrity
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liveliness
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The bright student was able to head out to recess early after completing all of her tasks with alacrity.
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abdicate
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to give up
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The young king abdicated his throne after the angry citizens said they would storm the castle if he didn't give up his crown.
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affect
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to pretend
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Hoping to fit in while in London, Jules affected a British accent.
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adroit
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cleverly skillful
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Annie is quite adroit when it comes to video games.
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amiable
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friendly
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Even though some people say Hollywood superstars are jerks, I have found a few that are quite amiable.
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ambulatory
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capable of walking
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Infants are not ambulatory.
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antediluvian
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from a much earlier time
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The piece of pottery they found was an antediluvian bowl that was made more than four thousand years ago.
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