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113 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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abacus
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device to figure arithmetic equations using beads
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abdicate
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To formally give up a position or responsibility
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The king, as we all know, abdicated rather than give up the woman he loved.
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abet
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To encourage or assist a plan or activity. To abet is to entice or help, usually in a misdeed.
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abbreviated
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shortened
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abduct
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To take a person away secretly and illegally, often by use of force; to kidnap.
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abject
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To reduce to a low state or condition; also, demonstrating hopelessness.
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ADJECTIVE. I gave up golf when I realized I was an abject failure on the green.
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abominate
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To loathe or hate; to view with extreme hostility.
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Miss Green abominated the notion of children working twelve-hour days, and sought legislation forbidding companies from hiring minor workers.
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abrade
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To wear away or rub off; to wear down in spirit. To abrade is to erode of break down. Sandpaper abrades the surface of wood.
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The campaign had hoped for a hard-hitting, informative television commercial, but the ad - widely perceived as negative and mean-spirited - served only to abrade voter support.
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absolution
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the condition of having been forgiven or freed of guilt.
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absolve
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to formally pronounce guitless or blameless
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abstain
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to refrain from; to refuse to partake in; to go without voluntarily
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abstemious
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Consuming food and drink in moderation. Those who are abstemious restrict themselves to the bare necessities of life. In a larger sense, the word can refer to any austere or unassuming lifestyle.
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abstruse
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Complex and difficult to comprehend. Abstruse refers to something complex or specialized that requires special effort to grasp.
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Scientists may understand Einstein's theory of relativity, but for most laymen it remains an abstruse collection of surrealistic ideas.
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abyss
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An endless black void; an emptiness; a huge hole with no bottom.
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accentuate
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To intensify of accent. To accentuate something is to emphasize or stress it.
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accolade
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A mark of acknowledgement or expression of praise. Originally an accolade was the ceremonial bestowal of knighthood upon a person with sword tap on each shoulder. That which confers praise or honor is an accolade.
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accost
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To greet or approach, usually in a confrontational way; to approach in order to confront.
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Uncle Glen accosted me at the bar and demanded to know when I planned to get a job.
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acme
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The highest point; the summit.
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acquisitive
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Someone marked by a hunger to obtain and possess things.
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Fred stopped dating Laura after it became clear that she was disturbingly acquisitive.
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acrid
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Biting or harsh in odor or taste; deeply or violently bitter. Acrid refers to anything unpleasantly sharp and pungent to the senses of smell or taste. Acrid can also be used to describe a bitter or harsh verbal exchange between persons.
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Florence's acrid remarks did not sit well with the board of directors.
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acronymn
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A word formed by combining the first letters of several other words. (Example: NOW is an acronymn for the National Organization of Women.
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adamant
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Unwilling to submit; stubborn and unyielding. Historically, adamant refers to a legendary stone of infinite hardness.
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Despite the objections of their families, Robin and Time were adamant about moving away from the town in which they had been raised.
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adapt
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To adjust; to make something or oneself fit in to a particular circumstance; to conform.
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addendum
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Something to be added; an addition.
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The treay included an addendum setting out the terms of troop withdrawal.
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adept
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Proficient; expert; highly skilled. Adept refers to someone who is very good at performing a given task.
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adhere
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To hold fast to, usually with a sense of honor or allegiance.
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adjunct
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An unessential addition; an appendage or complement.
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Fast cars and designer clothes are only adjuncts to a comfortable lifestyle, Lyle argued, while health insurance is something a family simply can't do without.
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adobe
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A type of brick made of clay and straw; the clay used to form such bricks.
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adrenalline
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a chemical produced in the body that gives one added strength and energy
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Having run up and down the basketball court for nearly an hour, Bob hoped for a burst of adrenaline to carry him through to the end of the game.
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adroit
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Clever, expert, skilled with hands or feet
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Basil Rathbone was an adroit swordsman.
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adulation
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Extreme praise, admiration, or flattery, especially of a servile nature. Adulation is generally taken to describe acclaim and admiration that is out of scope with its object.
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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.
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adulterate
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To make impure or tainted. To adulterate is to reduce the quality of something - for instance, by substituting inferior ingredients.
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adverse
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Unfavorable; acting in opposition to. Also, tending to discourage.
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Despite adverse circumstances, Jenny and I managed, after a month of looking, to find an apartment we could afford.
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adverse
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Unfavorable; acting in opposition to. Tending to discourage
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advocate
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Noun: one who supports or defends the cause of another. Verb: act of pleading in favor of another
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affect
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to influence; to stir the emotions of; to produce an effect (in something)
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affinity
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natural liking or affection for something or someone
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affirmative
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positive in nature
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affliction
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suffering; a state of pain
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alacrity
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Eager, cheerful rapidity or promptness. Someone who is willing to extend themselves politely and quickly for another is said to show alacrity.
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Jane made a special effort to show alacrity her first day on the job.
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alibi
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A story or circumstance that proves one is innocent of a crime or misdeed; a credible excuse.
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allay
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To calm or help put aside fear or uneasiness.
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My report will help allay suspicions that our profits have been fallling.
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allege
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To accuse someone of something - usually wrongdoing - without proof.
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allegiance
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Loyalty, particularly to a government.
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allocate
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To distribute for a special purpose or to a specific person or group.
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allude
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to make a passing reference to. A person who gives a few details but does not describe an event openly and completely could be said to allude to that event. Someone who makes a brief reference to an incident in a certain novel is considered to have made an allusion to the work.
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alluring
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Tempting; possessing the power to entice.
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ally
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A confederate or fellow associate in a cause. Verb: to join with another in a common pursuit.
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altar
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platform in a church or synagogoue.
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alter
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to cause to change
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altruism
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Unselfish devotion to the well-being of others.
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ambidextrous
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Capable of using both hands with equal skill. Latin: ambi = both + dexter = right. The idea is that an ambidexterous person is able to act as though he has two right hands.
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ambiguous
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Unclear in meaning. Open to more than one interpretation.
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ambivalent
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uncertain, undecided
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I'm ambivalent as to whether we should invite Ralph to the party; he's a great storyteller, but he sometimes drinks too much.
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amend
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to modify or update
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amenity
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A pleasant manner or custom. Also: a component or feature that gives pleasure or satisfaction. Basic meaning has to do with customs of social interaction, but meaning of a "convenient and desirable extra" is a recent addition.
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Chris's home, which was once spare, now featured all the amenities: a sauna, a plasma TV, and even a new swimming pool in the back.
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amiable
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Possessing a pleasant, cordial nature
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amicable
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Generally, amicable means characterized by goodwill or peace, but the term is typically used to describe things most people don't consider particularly amicable
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The Hudson's divorce is so amicable that they often go out to dinner together.
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amnesty
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Freedom from imprisonment of large numbers of people, initiated by a government
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The prisoners of war waited years for amnesty
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amorous
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Strongly disposed toward love or sexuality. Someone who is amorous is preoccupied with thoughts of love, especially sexual love
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The young man's amorous attentions merely annoyed Rose.
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androgynous
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Neither specifically male nor female; appearing with both male and female characteristics.
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Amy said her new short hair was rather easy to maintain compared to the long mane she used to have, but I thought it made her look rather androgynous.
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anecdote
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A short interesting story, often amusing and biographical.
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The speaker filled his talk with funny anecdotes of his time in the US Navy.
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animosity
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intense hostility toward a person or thing, usually taking the form of action. Bitter dislike toward someone of something
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anomaly
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A seemingly abnormal example; a deviation form established form. When something differs markedly from the expected order of things, it is an anomaly.
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antagonist
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The "bad guy" in a story, novel, film, etc. The character who opposes a story's main character.
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As an antagonist, you can't get any better than John Milton's version of Satan in Paradise Lost.
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antecedent
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A trend, idea, fashion, historical event, etc. that came before. Also, an earlier word to which a pronoun refers.
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anticlimactic
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A disappointing decline in contrast to a previous rise; an average ending to a series of important events.
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antiquity
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Ancient times, such as Greek and Roman civilization.
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antithesis
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The opposite or highest possible contrast. The exact opposite of a given thing. The name of a form of rhetoric in which 2 ideas are dramatically contrasted: ' We will live as heroes or die in the attempt.'
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antonym
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word with opposite meaning to another
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apathy
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not caring or seeming not to care how a situation will resolve itself
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ape
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to imitate someone else's characteristics, mannerisms, or voice
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apex
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the highest point
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aplomb
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a sense of self-possession and calm amidst chaos
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The police chief showed remarkable aplomb amid the noise and confusion of the riot
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apocalyptic
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Having to do with revelation of prophecy. Also: presaging imminent destruction or disaster. Apocalypse has come to suggest a cataclysmic conflict of forces, and apocalyptic to reflect a sense of imminent mass destruction.
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apparition
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a ghostly figure; something appearing to be a ghost.
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appease
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to placate; to soothe or satisfy
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apportion
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to divide and distribute something in an equitable manner
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appraise
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to estimate value of something
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apprehension
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Uneasiness about the future; suspicion of impending bad fortune. Also: the act of arresting or stopping. Another sense of apprehension is "idea or understanding."
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apprentice
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One who is learning a trade or art form by assisting a veteran practitioner or professional.
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apprise
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To notify; to cause to be aware of.
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Have you been apprised of the most recent news from home?
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arbitrary
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Unregulated by law or reason; determined by impulse. Arbitrary refers to decisions made, not according to established laws or procedures, but purely through the discretion of an individual. It carries a sense of capriciousness or even lack of responsibility.
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archival
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Of or pertaining to important records or archives.
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ardent
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Intense, passionate, devoted; characterized by high emotion. Ardent people show great enthusiasm for causes and people close to them.
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arduous
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Requiring exceptional effort or care. Something is arduous if it mentally or physically challenging, or if it pushes one to the limit of one's abilities.
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Stacy has been preparing all week for the arduous marathon competion.
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aromatic
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Possessing a pleasant odor. An aromatic flower is one that is pleasing to the smell. Many sweet-scented things share a certain chemical structure known as an aromatic compound.
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The herbs lent what would have been an ordinary meal a satisfying aromatic touch.
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ascend
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to climb or mount, especially a mountain.
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ascertain
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To find out something by experimenting or by making inquiries.
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ascribe
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To attribute or assign causal responsibility to a person or thing. Ascribing something to someone is acknowledging their responsibility or creation of it.
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This work has been ascribed to Rousseau, but his authorship now seems uncertain.
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assent
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To agree that an opinion, view, or proposal is correct; to concur, corroborate or acquiesce.
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assertion
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A positive claim or statement. An assertion is something claimed straightforwardly without support of evidence or logical justification.
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assimilate
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To absorb knowledge, food, etc. To become similar to those already living in one's new environment.
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assuage
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to ease; to make less severe; to mitigate.
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astute
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Skilled; quick to learn or grasp; shrewd; sharp-witted.
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Carl was an astute investor who knew when to follow the crowd and when to ignore it.
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atrophy
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To shrivel or shrink from lack of use.
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attrition
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The gradual wearing down of something or the gradual reduction of a group.
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audacious
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Brazen, daring, or fearless. Bold, unrestrained, uncompromising behavior. Carries a sense of bending accepted rules of disregarding prevalent standards.
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auger
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a tool for drilling holes
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augment
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to make bigger; increase; enhance.
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aura
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A field of energy that some believe emanates from human beings.
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auspicious
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Promising; seemingly favorable or likely to be accompanied by good fortune. Encouraging signals or reason for optimism at the beginning of an undertaking.
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austere
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severe in appearance or nature; self-disciplined or strict to a high degee. An austere person is self-controlled and somber.
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autism
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a condition in which the sufferer has difficulty with or indifference to social contact, residing almost exclusively in his or her own world.
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auxillary
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back-up, reserve, extra
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avail
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To be of benefit or use. Someone whose actions are to no avail acts in vain.
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In November we decided to avail ourselves of the opportunity for a vacation.
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avid
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Earnest; eager; passionate, and committed.
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avoid
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to shun; to stay removed from
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azure
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the color of the sky on a clear day; sky-blue
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baccalaureate
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degree award upon completion of undergraduate study; also the farewell address to the graduation class.
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balk
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to hesitate and refuse to go forward; to prevent from accomplishing an aim; to stop oneself in order to consider whether to go on or not.
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ballistics
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study of projects and impacts
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baritone
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second-deepest voice range on the scale, higher than bass and deeper than treble
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