Vocab Page 5-20

Front 1

abash

Back 1

verb:
To disconcert, humiliate, or shame. To cause someone to lose composure.

ex) the older boys had no qualms about ABASHING the new arrivals; it was an old tradition at the school.

Front 2

abate

Back 2

verb:
To put an end to or reduce in intensity. To reduce or diminish something.

ex) the flood waters ABATED when the rain stopped.

Front 3

abdicate

Back 3

verb:
To formally give up a position or responsibility.

ex) The King, as we all know, ABDICATED rather than give up the woman he loved.

Front 4

aberration

Back 4

noun:
Diverging from a moral standard or expected course. Usually temporary departure from what is normal or expected.

ex) Sally's poor work in the first part of October was hardly grounds for dismissal; it was an ABERRATION caused by serious problems at home.

Front 5

abet

Back 5

verb:
To encourage or assist a plan or activity. To entice or help, usually in a misdeed.

ex) An accomplice to a robbery ABETS the crime.

Front 6

abhorrent

Back 6

adj:
Loathsome or contemptible. Refers to something that is reprehensible or repulsive.

ex) Julie found the book's recounting of the details of serial murders particularly ABHORRENT.

Front 7

abide

Back 7

verb:
To withstand, patiently wait for, or tolerate.

ex) I could ABIDE my dinner companion's bigotry for only so long; by evening's end, I had to challenge him.

Front 8

abject

Back 8

adj:
Utter hopelessness, destitution, or resignation. Refers to the worst or most miserable kind of something.

ex) It is high time we did something about the ABJECT suffering of the impoverished in that war-torn nation.

Front 9

abjure

Back 9

verb:
To renounce, repudiate, or reject one's word of professed beliefs. to solemnly swear off or recant.

ex) After some soul-searching following his financial and domestic problems, Brad ABJURED drinking and gambling.

Front 10

ablution

Back 10

noun:
Washing or cleansing the body as part of a religious rite; any cleansing, purification, or purging.

ex) Pilate turned away from the crowd and called for a bowl of scented water with which to perform his ABLUTIONS.

Front 11

abnegate

Back 11

verb:
to renounce, surrender, or deny privilege to oneself.

ex) The activist's fast lasted for 47 days; in an election year, such ABNEGATION draws headlines and attention from elected officials.

Front 12

aboriginal

Back 12

adj:
Indigenous or native to an area; the first of its kind in a region.

ex) The General Assembly was presented with a petition on environmental matters signed by representatives of the world's various ABORIGINAL peoples.

Front 13

abortive

Back 13

adj:
unsuccessful or fruitless

ex) Although it was the astronauts' failure to dock at the station that drew media attention, the ABORTIVE mission had many potentially more serious problems as well.

Front 14

abrade

Back 14

verb:
to wear away or to rub off; to wear down in spirit.

ex) Sandpaper ABRADES the surface of wood.

Front 15

abrogate

Back 15

verb:
to nullify or cancel. An official action used to formally and unilaterally conclude an agreement or deed.

Front 16

abscond

Back 16

verb:
To depart quickly and in secret, especially to avoid criminal charges. To secretly flee the consequences of one's acts.

ex) the bank robbers immediately ABSCONDED with the money to Mexico.

Front 17

absolve

Back 17

verb:
to formally pronounce guiltless or blameless. to relieve of any responsibility for an actual or alleged misdeed.

ex) The judge ABSOLVED the accused of any wrongdoing.

Front 18

abstemious

Back 18

adj:
Consuming food and drink in moderation. Restrict themselves to the bare necessities of life.

ex) Despite the hardships of his ABSTEMIOUS way of life, the monk radiated the confidence that comes with knowing one has chosen the correct path.

Front 19

abstinence

Back 19

noun:
Voluntarily foregoing the indulgence of an appetite. The act of abstaining from food, drink, or pleasure.

ex) After years of indulgence, it was difficult for Evelyn to follow her doctor's order of complete ABSTINENCE from liquor.

Front 20

abstruse

Back 20

adj:
Complex and difficult to comprehend.

ex) Scientists may understand Einstein's theory of relativity, but for most laymen it remains an ABSTRUSE collection of surrealistic ideas.

Front 21

a capella

Back 21

adj:
Singing without musical accompaniment

ex) The group's A CAPELLA rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" was remarkably good.

Front 22

accede

Back 22

verb:
To give one's consent. To signal one's acceptance of something.

ex) The college president eventually ACCEDED to the demands of the student demonstrators.

Front 23

accentuate

Back 23

verb:
to intensify or accent. To emphasize or stress. To strengthen or heighten the effect of something.

ex) Brian's new glasses ACCENTUATE his nose unflatteringly.

Front 24

accolade

Back 24

noun:
a mark of acknowledgment or expression of praise.

ex) The firm's president had hung on his office wall many plaques, citations, and ACCOLADES.

Front 25

accord

Back 25

noun:
A formal reaching of agreement.

ex) After a prolonged strike, with the issue of healthcare benefits was resolved, the representatives finally reached an ACCORD acceptable to both labor and management.

Front 26

accrue

Back 26

verb:
To accumulate or grow.

ex) She disputed the bank's figures on the interest her account had ACCRUED.

Front 27

acculturation

Back 27

noun:
Alteration of one culture traceable to interaction with another.

ex) While there are often severe adjustment problems among senior citizens who immigrate to this country, ACCULTURATION among younger children occurs remarkably quickly.

Front 28

acquiescence

Back 28

noun:
The act of passive agreement or assent without objection

ex) Hank, enchanted by first-time grandfatherhood, gave over to complete ACQUIESCENCE on his first day with little Laura.

Front 29

acrid

Back 29

adj:
Biting or harsh in odor or taste; deeply or violently bitter.

ex) Florence's ACRID remarks did not sit well with the Board of Directors.

Front 30

acrimonious

Back 30

adj:
Mean-spirited, bitter, or ill-natured

ex) Divorce is, we must remember, an expensive, emotionally devastating, and ACRIMONIOUS affair.

Front 31

acrophobia

Back 31

noun:
an abnormal fear of heights.

ex) Of course, his ACROPHOBIA ruled out any ride in the hot-air balloon.

Front 32

acumen

Back 32

noun:
keenness of judgment. ability to make quick, accurate decisions and evaluations.

ex) After only two years as a restaurant owner, Clyde developed a remarkable business ACUMEN.

Front 33

acute

Back 33

adj:
sharp, shrewd, or severe

ex) After she fell off the horse, Doris felt an acute pain in her side.

Front 34

adage

Back 34

noun:
a short proverb or saying

ex) The old man quoted ADAGES endlessly, which the reporter dutifully took down in his notebook.

Front 35

adamant

Back 35

adj:
unwilling to submit; stubborn and unyielding

ex) Despite the objections of their families, Robin and Tim were ADAMANT about moving away from the town in which they had been raised.

Front 36

addendum

Back 36

noun:
something additional; an item to be added on

ex) Before we adjourn, please let me add the following brief ADDENDUM to the record.

Front 37

adduce

Back 37

verb:
to cite as an example or justification. to bring something forward for consideration.

ex) I would ADDUCE the following reasons in support of rewriting the club charter.

Front 38

adept

Back 38

adj:
proficient; expert; highly skilled

ex) Hans, an ADEPT formulator of crossword puzzles, sometimes seems to me to have memorized the entire dictionary.

Front 39

adherent

Back 39

noun:
someone who adheres to an opinion. one who is devoted to or strongly associated with a cause or opinion.

ex) The measure's ADHERENTS were outspent by its opponents.

Front 40

ad hoc

Back 40

adj:
for a specific purpose or end; formed for immediate or present need

ex) The council established an AD HOC committee to review textbook standards in face of the sudden complaints from parents.

Front 41

ad infinitum

Back 41

adj:
without end. to infinity. limitless.

ex) Wilbur remarked wryly that he could probably discuss the treatment facility's weaknesses AD INFINITUM

Front 42

adjudicate

Back 42

verb:
to employ judicial procedure as a means of hearing and settling a case

ex) Gentlemen, if this case is hard for you to argue, rest assured it is equally difficult for me to ADJUDICATE.

Front 43

adjure

Back 43

verb:
to command solemnly as if under oath

ex) The witnesses were ADJURED to avoid any contact with the accused.

Front 44

adroit

Back 44

adj:
nimble, expert, or skillful in the use of one's hands or body; adept at accomplishing one's aim

ex) Matthews, an ADROIT swordsman, easily bested his opponent.

Front 45

adulation

Back 45

noun:
extreme praise, admiration, or flattery, especially of a servile nature

ex) Despite great hardship, upheaval, and death resulting from the violent tactics of the secret police, ADULATION of Stalin continued as though the country was paradise itself.

Front 46

adulterate

Back 46

verb:
to make impure or tainted

ex)At the turn of the century, the sale of ADULTERATED dairy products in the US caused a major scandal.

Front 47

aesthetic

Back 47

adj:
of or related to a sense of what is attractive or beautiful

ex) It is not my place to comment on the AESTHETICS of the car; I am here to report on whether it won the race, which it did.

Front 48

affect

Back 48

verb:
to influence or produce an effect on

ex) Jane's affectations have really begun to bother me, and I think they have started to AFFECT her relationships with other people as well.

Front 49

affinity

Back 49

noun:
a natural attraction or inherent similarity between two things

ex) My AFFINITY for the works of Poe is well documented in previous letters to you.

Front 50

affirmative

Back 50

adj:
positive in nature; factually valid

ex) When asked whether or not he lived at 1267 Main, the defendant answered in the AFFIRMATIVE.

Front 51

affliction

Back 51

noun:
suffering; a state of pain

ex) Carl's arthritis was at times quite painful, but he found the most remarkable ways to work around his AFFLICTION

Front 52

agape

Back 52

noun:
divine love for humanity, unselfish love

ex) The nurse's work among the poor and dispossessed seemed rooted, not in a well-meaning and temporary humanitarian instinct, but in a deeper and profound AGAPE totally unfamiliar to most of us.

Front 53

aggrandize

Back 53

verb:
to raise the importance of or make to appear great

ex) What had started out as a simple report quickly degenerated into meaningless self-promotion; Peter could not resist the urge to AGGRANDIZE himself.

Front 54

agnosticism

Back 54

noun:
the belief that it is impossible to know whether or not a God exists

ex) Frank, who had been raised in a deeply religious home, knew that it would hurt his parents to speak openly of his AGNOSTICISM.

Front 55

akin

Back 55

adj:
showing a similar feature or quality

ex) I feel that Harry's repeated falsification of his records is much more than a breach of policy: it is AKIN to outright perjury.

Front 56

alacrity

Back 56

noun:
eager, cheerful rapidity or promptness

ex) Jones made a special effort to show ALACRITY his first day on the job.

Front 57

albatross

Back 57

noun:
a significant impediment, handicap, or burden. a large pelican-like bird.

ex) In Coleridge's poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a sailor shoots a friendly ALBATROSS and is made to wear the bird's carcass around his neck

Front 58

allay

Back 58

verb:
to ease or put something to rest; to mitigate; to calm or quiet by placing matters in perspective

ex) I know there have been rumors that the project will be quite expensive, but I think you will agree that these figures ALLAY that fear.

Front 59

allude

Back 59

verb:
to make passing reference to

ex) I am aware of the incident you are ALLUDING to, Mr. Mayor, but I am afraid you have been misinformed about the events of that night.

Front 60

altruism

Back 60

noun:
selflessness; good-natured action intended for the betterment of others

ex) For six years Vernon--an outwardly cold man--had worked tirelessly at the shelter, but his coworkers suspected nothing of his ALTRUISM

Front 61

amalgamate

Back 61

verb:
to blend into a coherent single unit

ex) The two boards voted to AMALGAMATE the firms as soon as possible