Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
108 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
abash
|
embarrass
|
|
abate
|
subside or moderate
|
|
abdicate
|
renounce; give up (position, right, or responsibility); OP. espouse
|
|
aberration
|
deviation from the normal; mental disorder; OP. regular, usual
|
|
abhor
|
detest; hate
|
|
abject
|
(of a condition) wretched; as low as possible; lacking pride; very humble; showing lack of self-respect; Ex. abject apology;honorable, felicitous
|
|
ablution
|
washing
|
|
abnegate
|
to reject; to renounce
|
|
abortive
|
unsuccessful; fruitless
|
|
abridge
|
condense or shorten
|
|
absolute
|
complete; totally unlimited; having complete power; certain; not relative; Ex. absolute honesty/ruler; CF. absolutism
|
|
absolve
|
pardon (an offense); OP. convict, indict
|
|
abstinent
|
adj. voluntarily not doing something especially something that causes pleasure
|
|
abstract
|
theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational
|
|
abstruse
|
obscure; profound; difficult to understand; OP. simple, easy to understand
|
|
abysmal
|
bottomless
|
|
accolade
|
award of merit; strong praise and approval
|
|
accost
|
to approach and to speak to someone
|
|
acerbic
|
bitter; sour; severe
|
|
acquiesce
|
assent; agree passively; comply without protest
|
|
acrid
|
bitter (to the taste or smell); sharp; bitterly pungent
|
|
acrimonious
|
stinging; caustic; bitter in words or manner; N. acrimony: bitter ill-natured animosity in speech or behavior
|
|
acumen
|
mental keenness; sharpness of judgment; ability to judge quickly and well; Ex. business acumen
|
|
acute
|
(of the senses) sharp; quickly perceptive; keen; penetrating; brief and severe; Ex. acute sense of smell/analysis/pain
|
|
adamant
|
hard; inflexible; OP. amenable, pliable, controlable
|
|
address
|
direct a speech to; speak to; deal with or discuss; direct one's efforts or attention to; make with a destination; N: formal speech
|
|
adherent
|
supporter; follower
|
|
admonish
|
to scold gently; to warn
|
|
adroit
|
skillful (in using mind or hand)
|
|
adulation
|
excessive admiration; flattery
|
|
adulterate
|
to contaminate; to make impure
|
|
adverse
|
adj. unfavorable; antagonistic
|
|
aesthetic
|
adj. having to do with artistic beauty
|
|
affable
|
easily approachable; easy to talk to; warmly friendly; OP. unfriendly
|
|
affectation
|
unnatural or artificial behavior, usually intended to impress
|
|
affinity
|
sympathy; attraction
|
|
affluent
|
adj. rich; prosperous
|
|
agenda
|
items of business at a meeting
|
|
agrarian
|
pertaining to land or its cultivation; Ex. agrarian reform
|
|
aggregate
|
sum total; a collection of separate things mixed together
|
|
agnostic
|
one who is skeptical of the existence or knowability of a god or any ultimate reality
|
|
alacrity
|
cheerful eagerness or readiness to respond
|
|
allege
|
state without proof
|
|
alleviate
|
to relieve; to lessen
|
|
alloy
|
mixture as of metals; something added that lowers in value or purity; V: mix; make less pure; lower in value or quality; spoil; CF. unalloyed: not in mixture with other metals; pure; complete; unqualified; Ex. unalloyed happiness
|
|
allusion
|
an indirect reference, often to a literary work
|
|
aloof
|
apart; not open in one's relationship with other people; reserved
|
|
altruism
|
selflessness; generosity
|
|
ambience
|
environment; atmosphere; Ex. restraurant with a pleasant ambience; ADJ. ambient: completely surrounding; Ex. ambient temperature
|
|
ambiguous
|
unclear or doubtful in meaning; having more than one possible interpretation
|
|
ambivalent
|
adj. undecided; neutral
|
|
ameliorate
|
improve
|
|
amenable
|
obedient; compliant; readily managed; responsive; willing to be led; answerable or accountable legally; responsible; able to be tested by; Ex. amenable to sensible suggestions; Ex. He is very amenable; Ex. amenable to the usual tests
|
|
amenity
|
convenient feature that helps to make life pleasant; social courtesy
|
|
amiable
|
agreeable; lovable; warmly friendly
|
|
amnesty
|
pardon (allowed by government to political criminals)
|
|
amoral
|
nonmoral; having no understanding of right and wrong
|
|
amorous
|
moved by sexual love; loving; of sexual love; Ex. amorous advances
|
|
amorphous
|
formless; lacking shape or definition
|
|
anachronism
|
an error involving time in a story; something or someone misplaced in time; ADJ. anachronistic
|
|
analogy
|
a comparison of one thing to another
|
|
anarchy
|
absence of governing body; state of disorder
|
|
anguish
|
acute pain; extreme suffering
|
|
animosity
|
active enmity
|
|
anomaly
|
irregularity
|
|
antecedent
|
preceding event that influence what comes later; ancestor or early background
|
|
antipathy
|
aversion; dislike or opposition
|
|
antithesis
|
contrast; direct opposite of or to; ADJ. antithetic or antithetical
|
|
apartheid
|
the abhorrent policy of racial segregation and opression in the Republic of South Africa
|
|
apathy
|
lack of caring; indifference; lack of concern or interest in important matters; Ex. He was sunk in apathy after his failure; ADJ. Apathetic; nonchalant
|
|
aphorism
|
pithy maxim or saying; ADJ. aphoristic
|
|
apocalypse
|
a prophetic revelation; especially one concerning the end of the world; adj. apocalyptic pertaining to revelations especially of disaster
|
|
apocryphal
|
(of a story) widely believed but untrue;OP. canonical
|
|
apotheosis
|
elevation to godhood; an ideal example of something. OP. denigration, decadence
|
|
appease
|
pacify or soothe; Ex. appease a crying baby; N. appeasement
|
|
appreciate
|
be thankful for; increase in worth; be thoroughly conscious of; ADJ. appreciable: enough to be felt; Ex. appreciable difference
|
|
apprehensive
|
fearful; discerning
|
|
approbation
|
approval
|
|
appropriate
|
acquire; take possession of for one's own use without permission; set aside for a particular purpose; allocate; CF. misappropriate
|
|
aptitude
|
fitness; talent
|
|
arbiter
|
person with power to decide a matter in dispute; judge who is in a position ot make influential judgments; Ex. supreme arbiter of fashion in beachware
|
|
arbitrary
|
unreasonable or capricious; random; tyrannical; Ex. arbitrary ruler
|
|
arcane
|
esoteric; secret; mysterious; known only to the initiated; Ex. arcane ritual; Ex. arcane process closed to the uninitiated listener
|
|
archaic
|
antiquated; no longer used; belonging to the past
|
|
archetype
|
prototype; primitive pattern; OP. forerunner, precursor
|
|
ardent
|
passionate
|
|
arduous
|
hard; strenuous; Ex. arduous work
|
|
aristocratic
|
adj. of nobel birth; snobbish
|
|
artful
|
adj. crafty; wily; sly
|
|
artifice
|
deception; trickery
|
|
ascendancy
|
controlling influence; position of controlling influence; CF. in the ascendant
|
|
ascetic
|
practicing self-denial; avoiding physical pleasures and comforts; austere; Ex. ascetic life of Buddhist monks; N. asceticism
|
|
assiduous
|
diligent
|
|
assimilate
|
absorb; take (food) into the body and digest it; understand (knowledge) completely and be able to use properly; cause to become homogeneous (the people of a country or race in the ways of behaving or thinking)
|
|
assuage
|
to soothe; to pacify
|
|
astute
|
wise; shrewd; keen; seeing quickly something that is to one's advantage
|
|
attrition
|
rubbing away by friction; gradual decrease in numbers or strength; reduction in the work force without firing employees; wearing away of opposition by means of harassment; Ex. a war of attrition. OP.accretion
|
|
audacity
|
boldness; reckless daring
|
|
augment
|
increase; add to
|
|
auspicious
|
favoring success; giving signs of future success; Cf. auspices
|
|
austere
|
forbiddingly stern; ascetic; without comfort or enjoyment; severely simple and unornamented; Ex. a monk's austere life; Ex. austere grandeur of the cathedral; N. austerity
|
|
autocratic
|
having absolute unchecked power; dictatorial; N. autocrat, autocracy
|
|
autonomous
|
self-governing; N. autonomy
|
|
avarice
|
greediness for wealth
|
|
avow
|
declare openly; N. avowal
|
|
avuncular
|
of or like an uncle
|
|
awry
|
distorted; crooked; bent; Ex. Our plans have gone awry.
|
|
axiom
|
self-evident truth requiring no proof
|