| Term | Definition |
|---|
| astral | (adj) relating to the stars |
| astringent | (adj) binding; causing contraction |
| astronomical | (adj) enormously large or extensive |
| astute | (adj) wise; shrewd; keen |
| asunder | (adv) into parts; apart |
| asylum | (n) place of refuge or shelter; protection |
| asymmetric | (adj) not identical on bothe sides of a dividing central line |
| atavism | (n) reversion to an earlier type; throwback |
| atheistic | (adj) denying the existence of God |
| atlas | (n) a bound volume of maps, charts, or tables |
| atone | (v) make amends for; pay for |
| atrocity | (n) brutal deed |
| atrophy | (v) waste away |
| attain | (v) achieve or accomplish; gain |
| attentive | (adj) alert and watchful; considerate; thoughtful |
| attenuate | (v) make thin; weaken |
| attest | (v) testify, bear witness |
| attribute | (n) essential quality |
| attribute | (v) ascribe; explain |
| attrition | (n) gradual decrease in numbers; reduction in the work force without firing employees; wearing away opposition by means of harassment |
| atypical | (adj) not normal |
| audacious | (adj) daring; bold |
| audit | (n) examination of accounts |
| auditory | (adj) pertaining to the sesnse of hearing |
| augment | (v) increase; adde to |
| augury | (n) omen; prophecy |
| august | (adj) impressive; majestic |
| aureole | (n) sun's corona; halo |
| auroral | (adj) pertaining to the aurora borealis |
| auspicious | (adj) favoring success |
| austere | (adj) forbiddingly stern; severely simple and unornamented |
| authenticate | (v) confirm as genuine |
| authoritarian | (adj) subordinating the individual to the state; completely dominating another's will |
| authoritative | (adj) having the weight of authority; peremptory and dictatorial |
| autocratic | (adj) having absolute unchecked power; dictatorial |
| automaton | (n) robot; person performing a task mechanically |
| autonomous | (adj) self- governinga |
| autopsy | (n) examination of a dead body; post-mortem |
| auxiliary | (adj) helper, additional or subsidiary |
| avalanche | (n) great mass of falling snow and ice |
| avarice | (n) greediness for wealth |
| avenge | (v) take vengeance for something |
| aver | (v) assert confidently; affirm |
| averse | (adj) reluctant; disinclined |
| aversion | (n) firm dislike |
| avert | (v) prevent; turn away |
| aviary | (n) enclosure for birds |
| avid | (adj) greedy; eager for |
| avocation | (n) secondary or minor occupation |
| avow | (n) declar openly |
| avuncular | (adj) like an uncle |
| awe | (n) solemn wonder |
| awry | (adv) crooked; wrong; amiss |
| axiom | (n) self-evident truth requiring no proof |
| azure | (adj) sky blue |
| babble | (v) chatter idly |
| bacchanalian | (adj) drunken |
| badger | (v) pester; annoy |
| badinage | (n( teasing conversation |
| baffle | (v) frustrate; perplex |
| bait | (v) harass; tease |
| baleful | (adj) deadly; having a malign influence; ominous |
| balk | (v) foil or thwart; stop short; refuse to go on |
| ballast | (n) heavy substance used to add stability or weight |
| balm | (n) something that relieves pain |
| balmy | (adj) mild; gragrant |
| banal | (adj) hackneyed; commonplace; trite; lacking originality |
| bandy | (v) discuss lightly or glibly; exchange (words) heatedly |
| bane | (n) cause of ruin; curse |
| bantering | (adj) good-natured ridiculing |
| barb | (n) sharp projection from fishhook, etc.; openly cutting remark |
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