| Term | Definition |
|---|
| abate | subside or moderate |
| aberrant | abnormal or deviant |
| abeyance | suspended action |
| abscond | depart secretly and hide |
| abstemious | sparing in eating and drinking; temperate |
| admonish | warn; reprove |
| adulterate | make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances |
| aesthetic | artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciating the beautiful |
| aggregate | gather; accumulate |
| alacrity | cheerful promptness; eagerness |
| alleviate | relieve |
| amalgamate | combine; unite in one body |
| ambiguous | unclear or doubtful in meaning |
| ambivalence | the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes |
| ameliorate | improve |
| anachronism | something or someone misplaced in time |
| analogous | comparable |
| anarchy | absence of governing body; state of disorder |
| anomalous | abnormal; irregular |
| antipathy | aversion; dislike |
| apathy | lack of caring; indifference |
| appease | pacify or soothe; relieve |
| apprise | inform |
| approbation | approval |
| appropriate | acquire; take possession of for one's own use |
| arduous | hard; strenuous |
| artless | without guile; open and honest |
| ascetic | practicing self-denial; austere |
| assiduous | diligent |
| assuage | ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger) |
| attenuate | make thinner; weaken or lessen (in density, force, degree) |
| audacious | daring; bold |
| austere | forbiddingly stern; severely simple and unornamented |
| aver | assert confidently or declare; as used in law, state formally as a fact |
| banal | hackneyed; commonplace; trite; lacking originality |
| belie | contradict; give a false impression |
| beneficent | kindly; doing good |
| bolster | support; reinforce |
| bombastic | pompous; using inflated language |
| boorish | rude; insensitive |
| burgeon | grow forth; send out buds |
| burnish | make shiny by rubbing; polish |
| buttress | support; prop up |
| cacophonous | discordant; inharmonious |
| capricious | unpredictable; fickle |
| castigation | punishment; severe criticism |
| catalyst | agent that stimulates or precipitates a reaction, development, or change |
| caustic | burning; sarcastically biting |
| chicanery | trickery; deception |
| coagulate | thicken; congeal; clot |
| coda | concluding section of a musical or literary composition; something that summarizes |
| cogent | convincing |
| commensurate | corresponding in extent, degree, amount, etc.; proportionate |
| compendium | brief, comprehensive summary |
| complaisant | trying to please; overly polite; obliging |
| compliant | yielding; conforming to requirements |
| conciliatory | reconciling; soothing |
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