| Term | Definition |
|---|
| abacus | an instrument for performing calculations by sliding counters along rods or in grooves |
| abandon | forsake, leave behind, desert; reject, renounce, give up,impulsiveness, lack of restraint, lack of inhibition |
| abashed | ashamed, embarrassed; bewildered disconcert, make someone feel ashamed, embarrass |
| abate | reduce, decrease, lessen; become less, diminish; annul, suppress (Law) |
| abbreviate | shorten, reduce in length, make brief |
| abbreviation | act of shortening by removing or omitting a part; shortened form of a word or words |
| abdicate | relinquish office or power, resign; renounce, give up |
| abdication | act of relinquishing office or power, resignation |
| abdomen | (in vertebrates) section of the body between the thorax and the pelvis in which most of the digestive organs are located, belly; section of the body behind the thorax (Entomology) |
| aberrant | abnormal, irregular, straying from the norm; deviant, perverse |
| aberration | deviation, irregularity, abnormality |
| abet | encourage or help someone to do something (especially something illegal) |
| abeyance | condition of being temporarily postponed, suspension |
| abhor | hate, detest, dislike |
| abject | dejected, hopeless; disgraceful, shameful |
| abjure | renounce upon oath; deny |
| abnegate | waive or surrender rights or privileges; abstain, refrain, deny oneself |
| abnormal | unusual, not normal; irregular, exceptional |
| abominate | loathe intensely, detest, hate |
| aboveboard | exposed, obvious; fair, just |
| abrade | wear off; wear down by rubbing or scraping; rub against an object; strike against an object |
| abraded | wear off; wear down by rubbing or scraping; rub against an object; strike against an object |
| abrasion | abrasion |
| abrasive | tending to rub or scrape, tending to abrade n. substance used for grinding, substance used for polishing (i.e. sandpaper) |
| abreast | adv. side by side, in alignment; on top of, up-to-date; well-informed |
| abridge | v. condense, shorten |
| abrogate | v. officially annul or abolish; terminate, put an end to |
| abruptly | adv. suddenly; without continuity; steeply |
| abscission | n. cutting off, removal by cutting (as in surgery) |
| abscond | v. avoid, evade, dodge; flee secretly, leave discreetly and hide oneself |
| absentmindedness | n. state of being distracted, state of being confused |
| absolete (obsolete?) | ancient, archaic; no longer in use, outdated; disappearing; useless |
| absolute | n. something definite, something absolute adj. complete, perfect; pure; unlimited; definite, positive; not relative |
| absolutely | adv. independently; without limits; without relation to anything else; unconditionally; definitely; completely |
| absolution | n. act of freeing from guilt or blame, exoneration; state of being free from guilt or blame, forgiveness |
| absolve | v. acquit; release, set free; forgive, pardon |
| absorb | v. suck up; take up, take in |
| absorbed | adj. taken in, swallowed up; engrossed, engaged, preoccupied |
| absorbent | adj. able to soak up; able to take in |
| absorption | n. sucking up; taking in; preoccupation, mental engrossment |
| abstain | v. avoid; refrain from |
| abstemious | adj. not indulgent, satisfied with little, sparing, moderate |
| abstention | n. act of abstaining, act of refraining, self denial; act of refraining from voting |
| abstinence | n. self-restraint, forbearance, avoidance |
| abstract | v. remove, take away; steal; theorize, conceptualize; summarize, simplify adj. intangible, unconnected to concrete reality; theoretical, not practical; unconnected to a specific instance or example; difficult to understandn. summary, synopsis; essence; something that is not concrete, something that is abstract |
| abstraction | n. abstract idea; unrealistic idea; act of removing or separating; preoccupation, absentmindedness; abstract work of art |
| abstractness | n. quality of being abstract, state of being separate from the concrete or the real |
| abstruse | adj. ambiguous, difficult to understand obscure |
| absurd | adj. unreasonable; nonsensical; ridiculous, preposterous; silly, foolish |
| absurdity | n. something ridiculous; nonsense; illogic |
| abundance | n. plentifulness, copiousness; richness, wealth; number of creatures of a certain species found within a given area (Ecology) |
| abundant | adj. plentiful, copious, profuse; full, abounding with |
| abuse | v. misuse; injure, harm, mistreat; insult, malign, curse, revilen. misuse; maltreatment; corrupt practice; foul language |
| abut | v. join, adjoin, be adjacent; touch, border on |
| abysmal | adj. of or pertaining to an abyss, immeasurable, bottomless; terrible, very bad |
| abyss | n. yawning chasm, immeasurable void; something unfathomable; abode of the dead, hell |
| academic | n. one who has scholarly leanings; member of an academic institution, professor adj. learned, educated; scholastic; theoretical; of learning or academia |
| academician | n. member of an academy which promotes the sciences or arts; one who has received an academic degree from an institution of higher learning |
| academy | n. secondary school; school which offers special instruction; academic association or institution |
| accede | v. agree, concur; enter office; become party to an agreement |
| accelerate | v. cause to move or happen faster, hasten; increase the speed of, quicken |
| accelerating | n. quickening, hastening |
| acceleration | n. increase of speed |
| accentuate | v. stress, emphasize, accent |
| acceptable | adj. satisfactory, worthy of acceptance; admissible, suitable; bearable, tolerable |
| acceptance | n. act of accepting or receiving; approval; state of accepting or believing in something |
| accessible | adj. approachable; easily obtainable; easy to relate to; persuadable, easy to influence |
| accessory | adj. supplementary, auxiliary, aiding in a secondary way |
| accidental | adj. casual, incidental; unexpected |
| acclaim | v. cheer for; praise, hail, extol; shout praise n. praise; applause |
| acclaimed | adj. celebrated, widely recognized; well known (especially in one's field of expertise) |
| accolade | n. laurels, award or honor, expression of praise; brace or vertical line used in music to connect 2 or more staves (Music); ceremonial bestowal of knighthood by tapping on a person's shoulders with a sword; curved molding (Architecture) |
| accommodate | v. host guests; provide lodging; adapt oneself; give, bestow |
| accommodating | adj. helping; pleasant, easygoing; polite; flexible |
| accommodation | n. housing; residence; lodging; adjustment; arrangement |
| accompaniment | n. decorative element; minor part which complements the main musical part; musical piece played while a song is being performed; act of accompanying a person |
| accompanist | n. someone who provides accompaniment (especially a musician who plays a minor part to complement the main instrument) |
| accompany | v. go along with, go together with; join, attach |
| accomplice | n. partner in crime |
| accomplish | v. complete, finish; perform, execute |
| accomplished | adj. skillful, masterful; complete, finished |
| accomplishment | n. fulfillment, realization; performance; characteristic; virtue, merit; achievement, attainment |
| accord | v. give, bestow; match, fit; complement n. agreement; settlement; harmony |
| accountability | n. quality of being accountable, responsibility |
| accountant | n. one who maintains financial records, one who does financial audits |
| accrete | v. accumulate slowly, grow together, increase by joining together |
| accretion | n. expansion or increase due to gradual build-up or additions; growth, increase in size; added part, addition; growing together or joining of separate parts |
| accumulate | v. amass, gather, collect; be gathered, be collected |
| accumulation | n. gathering; collection; agglomeration, pile |
| accuracy | n. preciseness, exactness |
| accurate | adj. precise, exact |
| accurately | adv. precisely, exactly |
| accusation | n. act of accusing, placing of blame; charge of an offense |
| accuse | v. place blame, charge with a crime |
| accused | n. one who has been charged with a crime, one who has been blamed |
| accuser | n. one who charges another with wrongdoing, one who blames |
| accustomed | adj. familiar with, used to;adapted to |
| acerbic | adj. astringent, sour, bitter; sharp-tempered |
| achieve | v. obtain, attain; perform, accomplish; succeed |
| achievement | n. attainment; performance, implementation; operation, mission |
| acidity | n. state or quality of being acid; sourness, tartness; increase in the production of acid |
| acknowledge | v. recognize, admit; confess; certify the receipt of |
| acknowledgment | n. act of recognizing or admitting; certification; recognition of a gift, expression of thanks |
| acolyte | n. altar boy, priest's assistant; assistant, attendant |
| acorn | n. fruit or seed of the oak tree |
| acquaintance | n. familiarity; knowledge, awareness; person one knows slightly |
| acquainted | adj. familiar, close, intimate; knowledgeable, informed, aware |
| acquiesce | v. accept without question; submit, yield, give in; agree |
| acquiescence | n. passive acceptance; compliance, yielding, submission, giving in |
| acquiescent | adj. submissive, yielding, compliant |
| acquire | v. buy, purchase; obtain, attain |
| acquisition | n. act of acquiring; purchase, something acquired or obtained |
| acquisitiveness | n. quality of being greedy, avaricious, desire to acquire and possess |
| acquittal | n. act of declaring innocent; act of freeing from a debt or duty |
| acrimonious | adj. bitter, rancorous, caustic |
| acrimony | n. bitterness, rancor, causticity |
| acrobat | n. one who performs gymnastic tricks |
| acting | n. profession of performers (of plays, films, etc.); art of performing (in plays, films, etc.) adj. replacing, filling in for; of the profession of stage performing |
| activate | v. set in motion, make active, start; speed up a reaction (Chemistry); make radioactive (Physics) |
| actuality | n. state of being actual, reality |
| acuity | n. acuteness, keenness (usually of the senses) |
| acumen | n. shrewdness, discernment, astuteness |
| acute | adj. grave, serious, severe; keen, sharp, sensitive; penetrating, shrewd; less than 90 degrees (Geometry); pointed |
| adamant | adj. unyielding, firm, immovable; hard n. something unyielding, something immovable; something hard; stone similar to a diamond |
| adapt | v. conform; change, make suitable; match, fit; adapt oneself, become adjusted |
| adaptability | n. ability to adjust to one's environment; ability to be modified |
| adaptable | adj. able to be modified; adjusting quickly |
| adaptation | n. act of adapting; process of making one thing fit another; modification, adjustment |
| adaptive | adj. capable of adapting; versatile |
| addiction | n. devotion to a certain habit, dependency |
| addition | n. act of joining one thing to another; basic mathematical operation in which separate numbers are brought together into one total sum; augmentation, supplement, something added |
| additional | adj. extra, supplemental |
| additive | n. supplement; something which is added |
| address | v. direct to; speak to; direct to a specific destination, mark with an address (as in a letter or package); refern. location; description of a location; (Computers) number specifying a location in a computers's memory or on a disk; (Computers) unique name or code identifying each computer and user (e.g. URL, email address); lecture; speech |
| adduce | v. offer as an example, bring forward in argument, offer as proof, cite as evidence |
| adept | adj. proficient, skilled, expert n. one who is an expert, one who is skilled |
| adequacy | n. fitness, suitability |
| adequate | adj. sufficient, suitable; barely passable, tolerable |
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