| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Adulation | n. flattery; admiration |
| *Adulterate | v. make impure by adding inferior or tainted |
| Advent | n. arrival |
| Adventitious | adj. accidental; casual |
| Adversary | n. opponent; enemy |
| Adverse | adj. unfavorable; hostile |
| Adversity | n. poverty; misfortune |
| Advert | v. refer (to) |
| Advocacy | n. support; active pleading on behalf of someone or something |
| Advocate | v. urge; plead for |
| Aegis | n. shield; defense |
| Aerie | n. nest of a large bird of prey |
| *Aesthetic | adj. artistic; dealing with or capable of approaching the beautiful |
| Affable | adj. easily approachable |
| Affected | adj. artificial; pretended; assumed in order to impress |
| Affidavit | n. written statement made under oath |
| Affiliation | n. joining; associating with |
| Affinity | n. kinship |
| Affirmation | n. positive assertion; confirmation; solemn pledge by one who refuses to take an oath |
| Affix | v. attach or add on; fasten |
| Affliction | n. state of distress; cause of suffering |
| Affluence | n. abundance; wealth |
| Affront | n. insult; offense; intentional act or disrespect |
| Agape | adj. openmouthed |
| Agenda | n. items of business at a meeting |
| Agglomeration | n. collection; heap |
| Aggrandize | v. increase or intensify; raise in power, wealth, rank or honor |
| *Aggregate | v. gather; accumulate |
| Aggressor | n. attacker |
| Aghast | adj. horrified; dumbfounded |
| Agility | n. nimbleness |
| Agitate | v. stir up; disturb |
| Agnostic | n./adj. one who is skeptical of the existence of a god or any ultimate reality |
| Agog | adj. highly excited; intensely curious |
| Agrarian | adj. pertaining to land or its cultivation |
| *Alacrity | n. cheerful promptness; eagerness |
| Alchemy | n. medieval chemistry |
| Alcove | n. nook; recess |
| Alias | n. an assumed name |
| Alienate | v. make hostile; separate |
| Alimentary | adj. supplying nourishment |
| Alimony | n. payments made to an ex-spouse after divorce |
| Allay | v. calm; pacify |
| Allege | v. state without proof |
| Allegiance | n. loyalty |
| Allegory | n. story in which characters are used as symbols; fable |
| *Alleviate | v. relieve |
| Alliteration | n. repetition of beginning sound in poetry |
| Allocate | v. assign |
| Alloy (n.) | n. a mixture as of metals |
| Alloy (v.) | v. mix; make less pure; lessen or moderate |
| Allude | v. refer indirectly |
| Allure | v. entice; attract |
| Allusion | n. indirect reference |
| Alluvial | adj. pertaining to soil deposits left by running water |
| Aloof | adj. apart; reserved |
| Aloft | adv. upward |
| Altercation | n. noisy quarrel; heated dispute |
| Altruistic | adj. unselfishly generous; concerned for others |
| *amalgamate | v. combine; unite in one body |
| Amass | v. collect |
| Amazon | n. female warrior |
| Ambidextrous | adj. capable of using either hand with equal ease |
| Ambiance | n. environment; atmosphere |
| *ambiguous | adj. unclear or doubtful in meaning |
| *ambivalence | n. the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes |
| Amble | n. moving at an easy pace |
| Ambrosia | n. food of the gods |
| Ambulatory | adj. able to walk; not bedridden |
| *ameliorate | v. improve |
| Amenable | adj. readily managed |
| Amend | v. correct; change, generally for the better |
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