|
 abate | subside or moderate |
| aberrant | abnormal or deviant |
| abridge | condense or shorten |
| absolute | complete; totally unlimited; certain |
| abstemious | sparing in eating and drinking; temperate |
| abstract | theoretical; not concrete; non-representational |
| abstruse | abscure; profound; difficult to understand |
| accessible | easy to approach; obtainable |
| acclaim | applaud; announce with great approcal |
| accolade | award or merit |
| acknowledge | recognize; admit |
| acquiesce | assent; agree witout protesting |
| acrimonious | bitter in words or manner |
| acute | quickly perceptive; keen; brief and severe |
| address | direct a speech to; deal with or discuss |
| adherent | supporter; follower |
| adjacent | neighboring; adjoining |
| adroit | skillful; nimble |
| adulation | flattery; admiration |
| zealot | fanatic; person who shows excessive zeal |
| withhold | refuse to give; hold back |
| willful | intentional; headstrong; stubbornly set on getting one's way |
| whimsical | capricious; fanciful |
| vulnerable | susceptible to wounds |
| voluminous | bulky; large |
| voluble | fluent; glib; talkative |
| volatile | changeable; explosive; evaporating rapidly. |
| virulent | extremely poisonous; hostile; bitter |
| virtuoso | highly skilled artist |
| vindictive | out for revenge; malicious |
| vindicate | clear from blame; exonerate; justify or support |
| vilify | slander |
| vigor | active strength |
| viable | practical or workable; capable of maintaining life |
| verbose | wordy |
| veracity | truthfulness |
| venerate | revere |
| vacillate | waver; fluctuate |
| usurp | seize another's power or rank |
| adversary | opponent |
| adverse | unfavorable; hostile |
| advocate | urge; plead for. |
| aesthetic | artistic; dealing with or capable or appreciation of the beautiful |
| affable | easily approachable; warmly friendly |
| affinity | natural liking; kinship; similarity |
| affirmation | positive assertion; confirmation; solemn pledge by one who refuses to take an oath |
| aggressor | attacker |
| alienate | make hostile; separate |
| alleviate | relieve |
| unwarranted | unjustified; groundless; undeserved |
| unprecedented | novel; unparalleled |
| unkempt | disheveled; uncared for in appearance |
| universal | characterizing or affecting all; present everywhere |
| uniformity | sameness; monotony |
| undermine | weaken; sap |
| tyranny | oppression; cruel government |
| turmoil | great commotion and confusion |
| turbulence | state of violent agitaion |
| trivial | unimportant; trifling |
| aloof | apart; reserved; standoffish |
| altruistic | unselfishly generous; concerned for others |
| ambiguous | unclear or doubtful in meaning |
| ambivalence | the state of having contrdictory or conflicting emotional attitudes |
| ameliorate | improve; make more satisfactory |
| amend | correct; change, generally for the better |
| amorphous | formless; lacking shape of definition |
| ample | abundant |
| analogy | similarity; parallelism |
| anarchist | person who seeks to overturn the established government; advocate of abolishing authority |
| trite | hackneyed; commonplace |
| trifling | trivial; unimportant |
| trepidation | fear; nervous apprehension |
| transparent | easily detected; permitting light to pass through freely |
| transient | momentary; temporary; staying for a short time |
| transcendent | surpassing; exceeding ordinary limits; superior |
| tranquillity | calmness; peace |
| tractable | docile; easily managed |
| torpor | lethargy; sluggishness;dormacy |
| tirade | extended scolding; denunciation; harangue |
| anecdote | short account of an amusing or interesting event |
| animosity | active enmity |
| antagonism | hostility; active resistance |
| antidote | medicine to counteract a poison or disease |
| antiquated | old-fashioned; obsolete |
| antithesis | contrast; direct opposite of or to |
| apathy | lack of caring; indifference |
| apocryphal | untrue; made up; not genuine |
| appease | pacify or soothe; relieve |
| appreciate | be thankful for; increase in worth |
| thrive | prosper; flourish |
| threadbare | worn through till the threads show; shabby and poor |
| terse | concise; abrupt; pithy |
| termination | end |
| tentative | provisional; experimental; doubtful |
| tenacity | firmness; persistence |
| temper | moderate; tone down or restrain |
| tedious | boring; tiring |
| tantamount | equivalent in effect or value |
| tangible | able to be touched; real; palpable |
| apprehension | fear; discernment; capture |
| arable | fir for growing crops. |
| arbitrary | unreasonable or capricious; randomly selected without any reason; based solely on one's unrestricted will or judgment |
| archaic | antiquated |
| ardor | heat; passion; zeal |
| arid | dry; barren |
| arrogance | pride; haughtiness |
| articulate | effective; distinct |
| artifact | object made by human beings, either handmande or mass-produced |
| artisan | manually skilled worker; craftsman, as opposed to artist |
| tangential | peripheral; only slightly connected; digressing |
| taint | contaminate; cause to lose purity; comodify with a trace of something bad |
| taciturn | habitually silent; talking little |
| symmetry | arrangement of parts so that balance is obtained; congruity |
| sycophant | servile flatterer; bootlicker; yes man |
| swindler | cheat |
| sustain | experience; support; nourish |
| susceptible | impressionable; easily influenced; having little resistance, as to a disease; receptive to |
| surreptitious | secret; furtive; sneaky; hidden |
| surpass | exceed |
| surmount | overcome |
| suppress | crush; subdue; inhibit |
| supplant | replace; usurp |
| superfluous | excessive; overabundant; unnecessary |
| superficial | trivial; shallow |
| supercilious | arrogant; condescending; patronizing |
| succinct | brief; terse; compact |
| subtlety | perceptiveness; ingenuity; delicacy |
| substantiate | establish by evidence; verify; support |
| substantial | ample; solid |
| ascendancy | controlling influence |
| ascetic | practicing self-denial; austere |
| aspire | seek to attain; long for |
| assuage | ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger) |
| astute | wise; shrewd |
| atrophy | waste away |
| attentive | considerate; thoughtful; paying attention |
| attribute | ascribe; explain |
| audacious | daring; bold |
| augment | increase; add to |
| austerity | sternness; severity; strict economy; lack of luxuries |
| authentic | genuine |
| authoritarian | subordinating the individual to the state; completely dominating another's will |
| autonomous | self-governing |
| aversion | firm dislike |
| banal | hackneyed; commonplace; trite |
| bane | cause of ruin; curse |
| belie | contradict; give a false impression |
| belittle | disparage; make fun of |
| belligerent | quarrelsome |
| subside | settle down; descend; grow quiet |
| subordinate | occupying a lower rank; inferior; submissive |
| submissive | yielding; timid |
| subdued | less intense; quieter |
| stupefy | make numb; stun; amaze |
| strut | pompous walk; swagger |
| strident | loud and harsh; insistent |
| stoic | impassive; unmoved by joy or grief |
| steadfast | loyal; unswerving |
| static | unchanging; lacking development |
| stanza | division of a poem |
| stagnant | motionless; stale; dull |
| squander | waster |
| squalor | filth; degradation; dirty; neglected state |
| spurn | reject; scorn |
| spurious | false; counterfeit |
| sporadic | occurring irregularly |
| spontaneity | lack of premeditation; naturalness; freedom from constraint |
| spendthrift | someone who wastes money |
| sparse | not thick; thinly scattered; scanty |
| benevolent | generous; charitable |
| benign | kindly; favorable; not malignant |
| bequeath | leave to someone by a will; hand down |
| biased | slanted; prefudiced |
| bland | soothing; mild; dull |
| blasphemy | irreverence; sacrilege; cursing |
| bolster | support; reinforce |
| braggart | boastful person |
| brawn | muscular; sturdiness |
| brevity | conciseness; briefness |
| abrasive | rubbing away; tending to grind down |
| somber | gloomy; depressing; dark; drab |
| soluble | able to be dissolved; able to be explained |
| solitude | state of being alone; seclusion |
| solicit | request earnestly; seek |
| solemnity | seriousness; gravity |
| sluggish | slow; lazy; lethargic |
| slothful | lazy |
| slander | defamation; utterance of false and malicious statements |
| slacken | slow up; loosen |
| skeptical | doubting; suspending judgment until one has examined the evidence supporting a point of view |
| buttress | support; prop up |
| cacophonous | discordant; inharmonious |
| cajole | coax; wheedle |
| calculated | deliberately planned; likely |
| candor | frankness |
| capricious | unpredictable; fickle |
| caricature | distortion; burlesque |
| censorious | critical |
| censure | blame; criticize |
| certitude | certainty |