Words That Start With The Letter A

Front 1

abase

Back 1

to humble; to disgrace

My intention was not to abase the comedian.

Synonyms: demean; humiliate

Front 2

abate

Back 2

to reduce in amount, degree or severity

As the hurricane's force abated, the winds dropped and the sea became calm.

Synonyms: ebb; lapse; let up; moderate; relent; slacken; subside; wane

Front 3

abdicate

Back 3

to give up a position, right or power

With the angry mob clamoring outside the palace, the king abdicated his throne and fled.

Synonyms: cede; quot; relinquish; resign; yield

Front 4

aberrant

Back 4

deviating from what is normal or expected

Since he had been a steady, cheerful worker for many years, his fellow postal workers did not expect his aberrant burst of rage.

Synonyms: abnormal; anomalous; deviant; divergent; errant; irregular

Front 5

abeyance

Back 5

temporary suppression or suspension

The baseball game was held in abeyance while it continued to rain.

Synonyms: deferral; delay; dormancy; postponement; remission

Front 6

abjure

Back 6

to reject; to abandon formally

The spy abjured his allegiance to the United States when he defected to Russia.

Synonyms: forswear; recall; recant; retract; take back

Front 7

abscond

Back 7

to leave secretly

The patron absconded from the restaurant without paying his bill by sneaking out the back door.

Synonyms: decamp; escape; flee

Front 8

abstain

Back 8

to choose not to do something

Before the medical procedure, you must abstain from eating.

Synonyms: forbear; refrain; withhold

Front 9

abstemious

Back 9

moderate in appetite

Because Alyce is a vegetarian, she was able to eat only an abstemious meal at the Texas Steakhouse.

Synonyms: abstinent; continent; self-restraining; sober; temperate

Front 10

abyss

Back 10

an extremely deep hole

The submarine dove into the abyss to chart the previously unseen depths.

Synonyms: chasm; void

Front 11

accretion

Back 11

a gradual growth in size; an increase in amount

The committee's strong fund-raising efforts resulted in an accretion in scholarship money.

Synonyms: accumulation; buildup

Front 12

acidulous

Back 12

sour in taste or manner

The acidulous taste of the spoiled milk made the young boy's lips pucker.

Synonyms: acerbic; acetous; biting; piquant; pungent; tart

Front 13

acme

Back 13

the highest point; the summit; the highest level or degree attainable

Just when he reached the acme of his power, the dictator was overthrown.

Synonyms: apex; peak; summit

Front 14

adulterate

Back 14

to make impure

The restaurateur made his ketchup last longer by adulterating it with water.

Synonyms: debase; doctor; load

Front 15

advocate

Back 15

to speak in favor of

The vegetarian advocated a diet containing no meat.

Synonyms: back; champion; support

Front 16

aerie

Back 16

a nest built high in the air; an elevated, often secluded, dwelling

Perched high among the trees, the eagle's aerie was filled with eggs.

Synonyms: perch; stronghold

Front 17

aesthetic

Back 17

concerning the appreciation of beauty

The aesthetic movement regarded the pursuit of beauty as the only true purpose of art.

Synonyms: artistic; tasteful

Front 18

affected

Back 18

phony; artificial

The affected hairdresser sprouted French phrases, though she had never been to France.

Synonyms: insincere; pretentious; put-on

Front 19

Aggrandize

Back 19

to increase in power, influence, and reputation

The supervisor sought to aggrandize himself by claiming that the achievements of his staff were actually his own.

Synonyms: amplify; apotheosize; augment; dignify; elevate; enlarge; ennoble; exalt; glorify; magnify; swell; uplift

Front 20

alacrity

Back 20

speed or quickness

The restaurant won a reputation for fine service since the wait staff responded to their clients' requests with alacrity.

Synonyms: celerity; dispatch; haste; swiftness

Front 21

alleviate

Back 21

to make more bearable

Taking aspirin helps to alleviate a headache.

Synonyms: allay; assuage; comfort; ease; lessen; lighten; mitigate; palliate; relieve

Front 22

Amalgamate

Back 22

to combine; to mix together

Giant Industries amalgamated with Mega Products to form Giant-Mega Products Incorporated.

Synonyms: admix; blend; coalesce; combine; commingle; commix; compound; fuse; intermingle; intermix; merge; mingle; mix; unite

Front 23

ambiguous

Back 23

doubtful or uncertain; can be interpreted several ways

The directions he gave were so ambiguous that we disagreed on which way to turn.

Synonyms: cloudy; doubtful; dubious; equivocal; indeterminate; nebulous; obscure; unclear; vague

Front 24

ameliorate

Back 24

to make better; to improve

The doctor was able to ameliorate the patient;s suffering using painkillers.

Synonyms: amend; better; improve; pacify; upgrade

Front 25

amortize

Back 25

to diminish by installment payments

While college students are notorious for accumulating credit card debt, they are not as well known for amortizing it.

Synonyms: decrease; reduce

Front 26

amulet

Back 26

an ornament worn as a charm against evil spirits

Though she claimed it was not because of superstition, Vivian always wore an amulet around her neck.

Synonyms: fetish; talisman

Front 27

anachrnonism

Back 27

Something out of place in time

The play was set in the 19th century, but was ruined by anachronisms, like the lead actor's digital watch.

Synonyms: archaism; incongruity

Front 28

analgesia

Back 28

a lessening of pain without loss of consciousness

After having her appendix removed, Tatiana welcomed the analgesia that the painkillers provided.

Front 29

analogous

Back 29

similar or alike in some way; equivalent

His mother argued that not going to college was analogous to throwing his life away.

Synonyms: alike; comparable; corresponding; equivalent; homogeneous; parallel; similar

Front 30

anodyne

Back 30

something that calms or soothes pain

the massage was an anodyne that helped remove the knots from the lawyer's tense shoulders.

Synonyms: narcotic; nepenthe; opiate

Front 31

anomaly

Back 31

deviating from what is normal

Albino animals may display too great an anomaly in their coloring to attract normally colored mates.

Synonyms: aberrancy; aberration; abnormality; deviance; deviation; irregularity; preternaturalness

Front 32

antagonize

Back 32

to annoy or provoke to anger

The child discovered that he could antagonize the cat by pulling its tail.

Synonyms: clash; conflict; incite; irritate; oppose; pester; provoke; vex

Front 33

antipathy

Back 33

extreme dislike

The antipathy between fans of the rival soccer team made the game even more electrifying to watch.

Synonyms: abhorrence; animosity; animus; antagonism; aversion; dislike; enmity; hatred; hostility; loathing; repellence; repugnance; repulsion; revulsion

Front 34

apathy

Back 34

lack of interest or emotion

The apathy of voters is so great that less than half the people who are eligible to vote actually bother to do so.

Synonyms: coolness; disinterest; disregard; impassivity; indifference; insensibility; lassitude; lethargy; listlessness; phlegm; stolidity; unconcern; unresponsiveness

Front 35

apocryphal

Back 35

of questionable authority or authenticity

There is no hard or authoritative evidence to support the apocryphal tales that link the Roswell, New Mexico incident to a downed UFO.

Synonyms: disputed; doubtful; fictitious; fraudulent

Front 36

apostate

Back 36

one who renounces a religious faith

So that he could divorce his wife, the king scoffed at the church doctrines and declared himself an apostate.

Synonyms: defector; deserter; traitor

Front 37

approbation

Back 37

approval and praise

The approbation that Jerry Lewis received in France included a medal from the Ministry of Culture.

Synonyms: acclaim; adulation; applause; commendation; compliments; exaltation; extolment; hail; kudos; praise

Front 38

arbitrary

Back 38

determined by chance or impulse

When you lack the information to judge what to do next, you will be forced to make an arbitrary decision.

Synonyms: changeable; erratic; indiscriminate; random; wayward

Front 39

arbitrate

Back 39

to judge a dispute between two opposing parties

Since the couple could not come to an agreement, a judge was forced to arbitrate their divorce proceedings.

Synonyms: adjudge; adjudicate; determine; intermediate; intervene; judge; moderate; referee; rule

Front 40

archaic

Back 40

ancient; old-fashioned

Her archaic Commodore computer could not run the latest software.

Synonyms: ancient; antediluvian; antique; bygone; dated; dowdy; fusty; obsolete; old-fashioned; outdated; outmoded; passe; prehistoric; stale; superannuated; superseded; vintage

Front 41

ardor

Back 41

intense and passionate feeling

Bishop's ardor for landscape was evident when he passionately described the beauty of the scenic Hudson Valley.

Synonyms: devotion; enthusiasm; fervency; fervidity; fervidness; fervor; fire; passion; zeal; zealousness

Front 42

arrogate

Back 42

to claim without justification; to claim for oneself without right

Gretchen watched in astonishment as her boss arrogated the credit for her brilliant work on the project.

Synonyms: appropriate; presume; take

Front 43

articulate

Back 43

able to speak clearly and expressively

She is extremely articulate when it comes to expressing her pro-labor views; as a result, unions are among her strongest supporters.

Synonyms: eloquent; expressive; fluent; lucid; silver-tongued; smooth-spoken

Front 44

assail

Back 44

to attack; to assault

The foreign army will try to assail our bases, but they will not be successful in their attack.

Synonyms: beset; storm; strike

Front 45

assauge

Back 45

to make something unpleasant less severe

Like many people, Philip Larkin used alcohol to assuage his sens of meaninglessness and despair.

Synonyms: allay; alleviate; appease; comfort; conciliate; ease; lighten; mitigate; mollify; pacify; palliate; placate; propitiate; relieve; soothe; sweeten

Front 46

attenuate

Back 46

to reduce in force or degree; to weaken

The Bill of Rights attenuated the traditional power of government to change laws at will

Synonyms: debilitate; devitalize; dilute; enervate; enfeeble; rarefy; sap; thin; undermine; undo; unnerve; weaken

Front 47

audacious

Back 47

fearless and daring

The audacious peasant dared to insult the king's mother.

Synonyms: adventuresome; aggressive; assertive; bold; brace; courageous; daring; dauntless; doughty; fearless; gallant; game; heroic; intrepid; mettlesome; plucky; stout; stouthearted; unafraid; undaunted; valiant; valorous; venturesome; venturous

Front 48

augury

Back 48

a prophecy; a prediction of events

Troy hoped the rainbow was an augury of good things to come.

Synonyms: auspice; harbinger; omen; portent; presage

Front 49

august

Back 49

dignified; grandiose

The august view of the Grand Teton summit took my breath away.

Synonyms: admirable; awesome; grand; majestic

Front 50

austere

Back 50

severe or stern in appearance; undecorated

The lack of decoration makes Zen temples seem austere to the untrained eye.

Synonyms: bleak; dour; grim; hard; harsh; severe

Front 51

axiom

Back 51

premise; postulate; self-evident truth

Halle lived her life based on the axioms her grandmother had passed on to her.

Synonyms: adage; aphorism; apothegm; maxim; rule