Ws

Front 1

Abash (v.)

Back 1

To make ashamed; to embarrass


Meredith felt abashed by her inability to remember her lines in the school chorus.

To do something without shame or embarrassment is to do it unabashedly

Ken handed in a term paper that he had unabashedly copied from the National Enquirer

Front 2

Abate (v.)

Back 2

To subside; to reduce

It hurt quite a bit. Then, gradually, the agony abated.

Bad Weather abates when good weather begins to return. A rain storm that does not let up continues unabated.

Tax Abatement

Front 3

Abdicate (v.)

Back 3

To step down from a position of power or responsibility.

Mary Abdicated her responsibilities as a secretary by dumping in the garbage the reports.

Front 4

Abnegate (v.)

Back 4

To deny oneself things; to reject; to renounce

Samantha abnegated desserts for one month after getting on the scale

Ascetics practice self-abnegation because they believe it will bring them closer to spiritual purity.

Self-abnegation is giving up oneself, usually for some higher cause

Front 5

Abortive (adj.)

Back 5

Unsuccessful

Mary made an abortive effort to bake a birthday cake; that is, their effort did not result in a birthday cake.

Fred's attempt to climb the mountain was abortive; he fell off when he was halfway up.

To abort something is to end it before it is completed.

Front 6

Zealous (adj.)

Back 6

Enthusiastically devoted to something; fervent.

The zealous young policeman made so many arrests that the city jail soon became overcrowded.

To be zealous is to be full of zeal,or fervent enthusiasm. An overly zealous person is a zealot.

Front 7

Wistful (adj.)

Back 7

Yearning; sadly longing.

I felt wistful when i saw Steve's fancy new car.

The boys who had been cut from the football team watched wistfully as the team put together an undefeated season.

Front 8

Wanton (adj.)

Back 8

Malicious; unjustifiable; unprovoked; egregious.

Terrorists commit wanton acts on a helpless populace to make their point.

Wanton also means intemperate.

A hedonist lives a wanton life in the relentless, unremitting pursuit of pleasure; an ascetic does not.

Front 9

Volition (n.)

Back 9

Will, conscious choice.

Insects, lacking volition, simply aren't as interesting as humans are.

The questions the jury had to answer was whether the killing had been an accident or an act of volition.

Front 10

Vociferous (adj.)

Back 10

Loud, noisy.

Randy often becomes vociferous during arguments. He doesn't know what he believes, but he states it loudly nevertheless.