Word List 1

Front 1

abase

Back 1

v. lower; degrade

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.

Front 2

abash

Back 2

v. embarrass.

He was not at all abashed by her open admiration

Front 3

abbreviate

Back 3

v. shorten

Because we were running out of time, the lecturer had to abbreviate her speech

Front 4

abdicate

Back 4

v. renounce; give up.

When Edward VIII abdicated the British throne, he surprised the entire world.

Front 5

aberrant

Back 5

adj. abnormal or deviant

Given the aberrant nature of the data, we came to doubt the validity of the entire experiment.

Front 6

aberration

Back 6

n. abnormality; departure from the normal; mental irregularity or disorder

It remains the consensus among investors on Wall Street that current high oil prices are a temporary aberration and that we shall soon see a return to cheap oil.

Front 7

abet

Back 7

v. assist, usually in doing something wrong; encourage.

She was unwilling to abet him in the swindle he had planned.

Front 8

abeyance

Back 8

n. suspended action

Hostiles between the two rival ethnic groups have been in abeyance since the arrival of the United Nations peacekeeping force last month

Front 9

abhor

Back 9

v. detest; hate

She abhorred all forms of bigotry.

Front 10

abjure

Back 10

renounce upon oath; disavow

Pressure from university authorities caused the young scholar to abjure his heretical opinions

Front 11

abolish

Back 11

v. cancel; put an end to.

The president of the college refused to abolish the physical education requirement.

Front 12

abominable

Back 12

v. destestable; 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

Front 13

abortive

Back 13

adj. unsuccessful; fruitless.

Attacked by armed troops, the Chinese students had to abandon their abortive attempt to democratize Beijing peacefully.

Front 14

abrasive

Back 14

adj. 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

Front 15

abridge

Back 15

v. condense or shorten.

Because the publishers felt the public wanted a shorter version of War and Peace, they proceeded to abridge the novel

Front 16

abrogate

Back 16

v. abolish.

Responding to conservative attacks against an outspoken radical professor, the dean pledged to resist such attempts to abrogate academic freedom

Front 17

abscond

Back 17

v. depart secretly and hide.

The teller who absconded with the bonds went uncaptured until someone recognized him from his photograph academic freedom

Front 18

absolute

Back 18

adj. complete; totally unlimited; certain.

Although the Kind of Siam was an absolute monarch, he did not want to behead his unfaithful wife without absolute evidence of her infidelity

Front 19

absolve

Back 19

v. pardon (an offense)

The father confessor absolved him of his sins.

Front 20

abstain

Back 20

v. 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.

Front 21

abstemious

Back 21

adj. 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

Front 22

abstinence

Back 22

n. restraint from eating or drinking.

The doctor recommended total abstinence from salted foods.

Front 23

abstract

Back 23

adj. theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational.

To him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal

Front 24

abstruse

Back 24

adj. 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

Front 25

absymal

Back 25

adj. bottomeless.

His arrogance is exceeded only by his abysmal ignorance

Front 26

academic

Back 26

adj. related to a 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

Front 27

accede

Back 27

v. agree.

If I accede to this demand for blackmail, I am afraid that I will be the victim of future demands.

Front 28

acclaim

Back 28

v. applaud; announce with great approval.

The sportscasters acclaimed every American victory in the Olympics and decried every American defeat.

Front 29

accolade

Back 29

n. award of merit.

In Hollywood, an "Oscar" is the highest accolade

Front 30

accommodate.

Back 30

v. 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

Front 31

accomplice

Back 31

n. partner in crime

Because he had provided the criminal with the lethal weapon, he was arrested as an accomplice in the murder

Front 32

accord

Back 32

n. agreement.

She was in complete accord with the veridct.

Front 33

accretion

Back 33

n. growth; increase.

Over the years Bob put on weight; because of the accretion of flesh, he went from size M to size XL.

Front 34

acerbic

Back 34

adj. bitter or sour in nature; sharp and cutting.

Noted for her acerbic wit and gossiping. Alice Roosevelt Longworth had a pillow in her home embroidered with the legend "If you can't say something good about someone, sit right here by me."

Front 35

acerbity

Back 35

n. 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.

Front 36

acknowledge

Back 36

v. 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.

Front 37

acme

Back 37

n. peak; pinnacle; highest point.

Welles's success in Citizen Kane marked the acme of his career as an actor; never again did he achieve such popular acclaim.

Front 38

acquiesce

Back 38

v. 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.

Front 39

acquittal

Back 39

n. deliverance from a charge.

His acquittal by the jury surprised those who had thought him guilty.

Front 40

acrid

Back 40

sharp; bitterly pungent.

The acrid odor of burnt gunpowder filled the room after the pistol had been fired.

Front 41

acrimonious

Back 41

adj. bitter in words or manner.

The candidate attacked his opponent in highly acrimonious terms

Front 42

acuity

Back 42

n. sharpness.

In Time his youthful acuity of vision failed him, and he needed glasses

Front 43

acumen

Back 43

n. mental keenness.

Her business acumen helped her to succeed where others had failed

Front 44

acute

Back 44

adv. quickly perceptive; 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 acute one

Front 45

adamant

Back 45

adj. 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.

Front 46

adapt.

Back 46

v. alter; modify.

Some species of animals have become extinct because they could not adapt to a changing enironment.

Front 47

address

Back 47

v. direct a speech to; deal with or discuss.

Due to address the convention in July, Bron planned to address the issue of low-income housing in his speech

Front 48

adept.

Back 48

adj. expert at.

She was adept at the fine art of irritating peope.

Front 49

adhere

Back 49

v. stick fast.

I will adhere to this opinion until proof that I am wrong is presented

Front 50

adherent

Back 50

n. supporter; follower.

In the wake of the scandal, the senator's one-time adherents quietly deserted him

Front 51

adjacent

Back 51

adj. adjoining neighboring; close by. Philip's best friend Jason lived only four houses down the block, near but not immediately adjacent

Front 52

admonish

Back 52

v. warn; reprove.

When her courtiers questioned her religious beliefs, Mary Stuart admonished them, declaring that she would worship as she pleased.

Front 53

adorn

Back 53

v. decorate

Wall paintings and carved statues adorned the temple

Front 54

adroit

Back 54

adj. skillful

Her adroit handling of the delicate situation pleased her employers.

Front 55

adulation

Back 55

n. flattery; admiration.

The rock star thrived on the adulation of his groupies and yes-men

Front 56

adulterate

Back 56

v. make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances.

It is a crime to adulterate foods without informing the buyer; when consumers learned that Beechnut had adulterated its apple juice by mixing the juice with water, they protested vigorously

Front 57

advent

Back 57

n. arrival.

Most Americans were unaware of the advent of the Nuclear Age until the news of Hiroshimal reached them.

Front 58

adversary.

Back 58

n. opponent; enemy.

Batman struggled to save Gotham City from the machinations of his wicked adversary, the Joker

Front 59

adverse

Back 59

adj. unfavorable; hostile.

The recession had a highly adverse effect on Father's investment portfolio: he lost so much money that he could no longer afford the butler and the upstairs maid