| azure | sky blue |
| axiom | self-evident truth requiring no proof |
| awry | distorted; crooked; bent; Ex. Our plans have gone awry. |
| awl | pointed tool used for piercing |
| awe | solemn wonder; feeling of respect mixed with wonder and fear; V: fill with awe; ADJ. awesome |
| avuncular | of or like an uncle |
| avow | declare openly; N. avowal |
| avocation | secondary or minor occupation esp. for pleasure; hobby |
| avid | greedy; extremely eager for; Ex. avid learner; N. avidity |
| aviary | enclosure for birds; large cage |
| avert | prevent; avoid; turn away ; Ex. An accident was averted by his quick thinking; Ex. She averted her eyes from the terrible sight. |
| aversion | firm dislike |
| averse | reluctant; disinclined; not liking or opposed; Ex. ~ to cats/doing the house work |
| aver | state confidently; declare as true |
| avenge | take vengeance for something or on behalf of someone; Ex. They avenged his death by burning the village; Ex. He swore to avenge his brother; Ex. They avenged themselves on their enemy. |
| avarice | greediness for wealth |
| avalanche | great mass of falling snow and ice |
| auxiliary | offering or providing help; additional or subsidiary; N: helper; assistant |
| autopsy | examination of a dead body; postmortem; V. |
| autonomous | self-governing; N. autonomy |
| automaton | mechanism that imitates actions of humans; machine that works by itself |
| autocratic | having absolute unchecked power; dictatorial; N. autocrat, autocracy |
| authoritative | having the weight of authority; regarded as providing knowledge that can be trusted; reliable; peremptory and dictatorial; Ex. authoritative dictionary/manner; CF. definitive |
| authoritarian | subordinating the individual to the state; completely dominating another"s will; Ex. authoritarian regime/father |
| authenticate | prove genuine |
| austere | forbiddingly stern; ascetic; without comfort or enjoyment; severely simple and unornamented; Ex. a monk"s austere life; Ex. austere grandeur of the cathedral; N. austerity |
| auspicious | favoring success; giving signs of future success; Cf. auspices |
| auroral | pertaining to the aurora borealis; CF. aurora australis |
| aureole | sun"s corona; halo; bright circle of light |
| august | impressive; majestic |
| augury | omen; prophecy; sign of coming events; V. augur: predict; foretell; be a sign of |
| augment | increase; add to |
| audit | examination of accounts of a business; official examination; V. |
| audacious | daring; bold; N. audacity |
| atypical | not normal; not typical |
| attrition | rubbing away by friction; gradual decrease in numbers or strength; reduction in the work force without firing employees; wearing away of opposition by means of harassment; Ex. a war of ~ |
| attribute | essential quality; V: ascribe; explain |
| attest | testify; bear witness |
| attenuate | make thin; weaken |
| attentive | alert and watchful; listening carefully; paying attention; considerate; thoughtful; politely helpful; Ex. attentive audience; Ex. He was attentive to the old lady; N. attentions: act of courtesy and consideration |
| atrophy | wasting away; V: weaken and lose flesh and muscle |
| atrocity | brutal deed; ADJ. atrocious |
| atone | make amends for; pay for; Ex. atone for |
| atheistic | denying the existence of God; N. atheism |
| atavism | resemblance to remote ancestors rather than to parents; reversion to an earlier type; throwback; ADJ. atavistic |
| asymmetric | not identical on both sides of a dividing central line |
| asylum | place of refuge or shelter; protection |
| asunder | into parts; apart; V. sunder |
| astute | wise; shrewd; keen; seeing quickly something that is to one's advantage |
| astronomical | enormously large or extensive |
| astringent | binding; causing contraction ; harsh or severe; stringent; Ex. ~ criticism |
| astral | relating to the stars |
| astigmatism | eye defect which prevents proper focus; OP. stigmatism |
| asteroid | small planet |
| assurance | firm statement that something is certainly true; promise or pledge; certainty; confidence in one's own ability; self-confidence; Ex. In spite of all his assurances, he did not come back; Ex. assurance of his loyalty; Ex. The teacher lacked assurance in front of his class; V. assure; tell firmly with confidence; ensure; make certain to happen; make feel sure; give confidence to; ADJ. assured: self-assured; confident in one's own ability; showing certainty |
| assumption | something taken for granted; the taking over or taking possession of; Ex. her assumption of power; V. assume |
| assuage | make less severe; ease or lessen (pain) ; satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger) |
| assimilate | absorb; take (food) into the body and digest it; understand (knowledge) completely and be able to use properly; cause to become homogeneous (the people of a country or race in the ways of behaving or thinking) |
| assiduous | diligent |
| assert | state strongly or positively; demand recognition of ; make a claim to ; Ex. assert one's independence |
| assent | agree; accept; N. assessment |
| assay | analyze ; evaluate |
| assail | assault |
| aspire | seek to attain ; long for; Ex. ~ to become president; Ex. ~ to/after the leadership |
| aspirant | seeker after position or status |
| aspersion | slanderous remark; Ex. cast ~s on |
| asperity | sharpness; roughness; severity ; Ex. asperities of a Russian winter |
| askew | crookedly; slanted; at an angle |
| askance | with a sideways or indirect look ; Ex. look askance at |
| asinine | stupid; Ex. asinine remarks |
| ashen | ash-colored; deadly pale |
| aseptic | preventing infection; having a cleansing effect |
| ascribe | refer; attribute; assign |
| ascetic | practicing self-denial; avoiding physical pleasures and comforts; austere; Ex. ~ life of Buddhist monks; N. asceticism |
| ascertain | find out for certain; make certain |
| ascendancy | controlling influence; position of controlling influence; CF. in the ascendant |
| artless | without guile; open and honest |
| artisan | a manually skilled worker |
| artifice | deception; trickery |
| artifacts | object made by human beings, either hand-made or mass-produced |
| articulate | effective; distinct; expressing ideas clearly; having clear sounds; having joints; Ex. articulate speech; V: express thoughts and feeling clearly; pronounce clearly; unite by joints |
| arsenal | storage place for military equipment |
| arroyo | gully; narrow channel formed by rainwater |
| arrogance | pride; haughtiness; ADJ. arrogant: unpleasantly self-important |
| arrhythmic | lacking rhythm or regularity; N. arrhythmia |
| arrears | being in debt; money that should have been paid; work that should have been done |
| array | marshal; draw up in order; arrange in order; clothe splendidly; adorn; N: fine clothes; ordered group; Ex. in battle array |
| arraign | charge in court; indict |
| aromatic | fragrant; having a sweet smell; N. aroma: strong pleasant smell |
| armada | fleet of warships |
| aristocracy | hereditary nobility; privileged class; government by nobility; N. aristocrat |
| arid | dry; barren; unproductive |
| aria | operatic solo; a song sung by one person in an opera or oratorio |
| argot | slang; speech spoken by only a small group of people |
| arduous | hard; strenuous; Ex. arduous work |
| ardor | heat; passion; zeal; ADJ. ardent |
| archives | public records; place where public records are kept |
| archipelago | group of closely located islands |
| archetype | prototype; primitive pattern |
| archaic | antiquated; no longer used; belonging to the past; N. |
| archaeology | study of artifacts and relics of early mankind |
| arch- | chief; first; Ex. archbishop |
| arcane | esoteric; secret; mysterious; known only to the initiated; Ex. arcane ritual; Ex. arcane process closed to the uninitiated listener |
| arcade | a covered passageway usually lined with shops |
| arboretum | place where different trees and shrubs are studied and exhibited |
| arbitrate | act as judge |
| arbitrary | unreasonable or capricious; random; tyrannical; Ex. arbitrary ruler |
| arbiter | person with power to decide a matter in dispute; judge who is in a position to make influential judgments; Ex. supreme ~ of fashion in beachware |
| arable | fit for growing crops; Ex. arable land |
| aquiline | curved; hooked; of or like an eagle; Ex. aquiline nose |
| aptitude | fitness; talent |
| apropos | with reference to; regarding; Ex. remarks apropos the present situation; ADJ. ADV. |
| appurtenances | subordinate possessions; something added to a more important thing |
| appropriate | acquire; take possession of for one's own use without permission; set aside for a particular purpose; allocate; CF. mis~ |
| approbation | approval |
| apprise | inform |
| apprehensive | fearful; discerning |
| apprehend | arrest ; dread; perceive; N. apprehension |
| appreciate | be thankful for; increase in worth; be thoroughly conscious of; ADJ. appreciable: enough to be felt; Ex. appreciable difference |
| appraise | estimate value of; N. appraisal |
| apposite | appropriate; fitting |
| application | diligent attention; diligence; V. apply oneself |
| append | attach |
| appellation | name; title |
| appease | pacify or soothe; Ex. appease a crying baby; N. appeasement |
| apparition | ghost; phantom |
| appall | dismay; shock deeply |
| apotheosis | elevation to godhood; an ideal example of something |
| apothegm | pithy, compact saying |
| apothecary | druggist; pharmacist |
| apostate | one who abandons his religious faith or political beliefs; N. apostasy |
| apoplexy | stroke; loss of consciousness caused by too much blood in the brain |
| apologist | one who writes in defense of a cause or institution; N. apologia |
| apolitical | having an aversion or lack of concern for political affairs |
| apogee | highest point; the point farthest from the earth; OP. perigee |
| apocryphal | widely believed but untrue |
| apocalyptic | prophetic; pertaining to revelations especially of disaster; N. apocalypse |
| aplomb | poise; composure in difficult situations; assurance; self-confidence |
| apiary | a place where bees are kept |
| aphorism | pithy maxim or saying; ADJ. aphoristic |
| aphasia | loss of speech due to injury or illness |
| apex | tip; summit; climax; highest point |
| aperture | opening; hole; adjustable opening in a camera that limits the amount of light |
| ape | imitate or mimic |
| apathy | lack of caring; indifference; lack of concern or interest in important matters; Ex. He was sunk in apathy after his failure; ADJ. apathetic |
| anvil | iron block used in hammering out metals |
| antithesis | contrast; direct opposite of or to; ADJ. antithetic or antithetical |
| antiseptic | substance that prevents infection in a wound; ADJ. |
| antiquated | obsolete; old-fashioned; outdated |
| antipathy | aversion; dislike or opposition |
| antidote | remedy to counteract a poison or disease; Ex. antidote to the economic troubles |
| anticlimax | letdown in thought or emotion; something unexciting, ordinary, or disappointing coming after something important or exciting |
| anthropomorphic | having human form or characteristics |
| anthropologist | student of the history and science of humankind |
| anthropoid | manlike; resembling a human being; N. |
| anthology | book of literary selections by various authors; CF. omnibus |
| anthem | song of praise or patriotism; Ex. national anthem |
| antediluvian | antiquated; extremely ancient |
| antecedents | preceding events that influence what comes later; ancestors or early background |
| antecede | precede |
| antagonism | hostility; active opposition; V. antagonize: cause to become an enemy; N. antagonist: person who is opposed to another; opponent; adversary; principal character in opposition to the protagonist |
| anonymity | state of being nameless; anonymousness; ADJ. anonymous |
| anomaly | irregularity |
| anomalous | abnormal; irregular |
| anoint | consecrate; put oil on |
| anodyne | drug that relieves pain or trouble; opiate; ADJ. Ex. anodyne statement |
| annul | make void |
| annuity | yearly allowance |
| annotate | comment; make explanatory notes |
| annihilate | destroy |
| annex | attach; add to a large thing; take possession of; incorporate into a larger existing political unit ; N: building added to a large one |
| anneal | reduce brittleness and improve toughness by heating and cooling |
| annals | records arranged in yearly parts; history |
| animus | hostile feeling or intent; animosity; hostility; disposition |
| animosity | active enmity; a feeling of strong dislike, ill will, or enmity that tends to display itself in action: a deep-seated ~ between two sisters; ~ against one's neighbor |
| animated | lively; spirited |
| animadversion | critical remark; V. animadvert: comment critically with disapproval |
| angular | sharp-cornered; having an angle; not rounded ; bony; lean; gaunt; stiff in manner |
| anguish | acute pain; extreme suffering |
| anesthetic | substance that removes sensation with or without loss of consciousness; N. anesthesia |
| anemia | condition in which blood lacks red corpuscles; ADJ. anemic |
| anecdote | short story of an amusing or interesting event |
| ancillary | serving as an aid or accessory; auxiliary; N. |
| anchor | secure or fasten firmly; be fixed in place; N. anchorage |
| ancestry | family descent; ADJ. ancestral |
| anathema | solemn curse; someone or something regarded as a curse; V. anathematize |
| anarchy | absence of governing body; state of disorder |
| anarchist | person who seeks to overturn the established government; advocate of abolishing authority |
| analogy | similarity; parallelism; comparing two similar things |
| analogous | comparable; similar |
| analgesic | causing insensitivity to pain; N. |
| anachronism | an error involving time in a story; something or someone misplaced in time; ADJ. anachronistic |
| amulet | charm; talisman; an object worn believed to protect against evil, bad luck |
| amputate | cut off part of body; prune |
| amplify | increase in size or effect; expand; broaden or clarify by expanding; intensify; make stronger; Ex. amplify one's remarks with a graph |
| ample | enough; abundant; spacious; large in size; Ex. ~ opportunity/garden; N. amplitude: quality of being ample; abundance; largeness of space |
| amphitheater | oval building with tiers of seats; CF. arena |
| amphibian | able to live both on land and in water; N. |
| amorphous | formless; lacking shape or definition |
| amorous | moved by sexual love; loving; of sexual love; Ex. amorous advances |
| amoral | nonmoral; having no understanding of right and wrong |
| amok | in a state of rage; Ex. run amok |
| amnesty | pardon |
| amnesia | loss of memory |
| amity | friendship; peaceful relationship as between nations |
| amiss | wrong; faulty; Ex. something amiss; ADV. |
| amicable | peaceful; politely friendly; not quarrelsome; Ex. ~ settlement |
| amiable | agreeable; lovable; warmly friendly |
| amenities | convenient features that helps to make life pleasant; social courtesies |
| amend | correct; change ; generally for the better |
| amenable | obedient; compliant; readily managed; responsive; willing to be led; answerable or accountable legally; responsible; able to be tested by; Ex. amenable to sensible suggestions; Ex. He is very amenable; Ex. amenable to the usual tests |
| ameliorate | improve |
| ambulatory | able to walk |
| ambrosia | food of the gods |
| amble | walking at an easy unhurried pace; V: walk slowly and aimlessly |
| ambivalence | the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes or opinions |
| ambiguous | unclear or doubtful in meaning; having more than one possible interpretation |
| ambience | environment; atmosphere; Ex. restaurant with a pleasant ambience; ADJ. ambient: completely surrounding; Ex. ambient temperature |
| ambidextrous | capable of using either hand with equal ease |
| amazon | female warrior |
| amass | collect |
| amalgamate | combine; unite in one body |
| amalgam | combination of different things; mixture of metals used for filling holes in teeth |
| altruistic | unselfishly generous; concerned for others; N. altruism: unselfish concern for the welfare of others; unselfishness; OP. egoism |
| altercation | noisy quarrel |
| aloof | apart; not open in one's relationship with other people; reserved; ADV. |
| aloft | upward; high up in the air |
| alluvial | pertaining to soil deposits left by running water |
| allure | entice; attract; tempt |
| allude | refer indirectly; N. allusion: indirect reference |
| alloy | mixture as of metals; something added that lowers in value or purity; V: mix; make less pure; lower in value or quality; spoil; CF. unalloyed: not in mixture with other metals; pure; complete; unqualified; Ex. unalloyed happiness |
| allocate | assign; set apart for a particular purpose |
| alliteration | repetition of beginning sound in poetry |
| alleviate | relieve |
| allegory | story, play, or picture in which characters are used as symbols; fable |
| allegiance | loyalty |
| allege | state without proof |
| allay | calm; pacify |
| alimony | payments made regularly to an ex-spouse after divorce |
| alimentary | supplying nourishment |
| alienate | make unfriendly or hostile; estrange; separate; change the ownership of |
| alias | an assumed name esp. by a criminal ; ADV. alias |
| alcove | nook; recess |
| alchemy | medieval chemistry |
| alacrity | cheerful promptness without reluctance |
| agrarian | pertaining to land or its cultivation; Ex. agrarian reform |
| agog | highly excited; intensely curious |
| agnostic | one who is skeptical of the existence or knowability of a god or any ultimate reality |
| agitate | stir up; disturb |
| agility | nimbleness; ability to move quickly |
| aghast | filled with great surprise or fear; horrified |
| aggregate | sum; total; ADJ. V: gather into a mass or whole; accumulate; add up to; Ex. aggregate 100 dollars |
| aggrandize | make greater; increase in power, wealth, rank, or honor; N. aggrandizement |
| agglomeration | collection; heap; V. agglomerate: gather into a rounded mass; N. agglomerate: jumbled mass; heap |
| agenda | items of business at a meeting |
| agape | open mouthed |
| affront | insult; offense; intentional act of disrespect; V: insult or hurt the feelings of intentionally |
| affluence | abundance; wealth |
| affliction | state of distress; trial; cause of distress or suffering; V. afflict: inflict grievous suffering on |
| affirmation | positive assertion; confirmation; solemn pledge by one who refuses to take an oath; V. affirm; ADJ. affirmative; CF. affirmative action: positive discrimination |
| affinity | feeling of kinship; similarity; Ex. strong affinity for her; Ex. many affinities between two languages |
| affiliation | joining; associating with |
| affidavit | written statement made under oath |
| affected | artificial; pretended |
| affable | easily approachable; easy to talk to; warmly friendly |
| aesthetic | artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciating the beautiful ; CF. aesthete; CF. aesthetics |
| aerie | nest of a large bird of prey |
| aegis | shield; protection; defense |
| advocate | speak in favor of; support ; urge; plead for |
| advocacy | support; active pleading on behalf of someone or something |
| advert | refer |
| adversity | great hardship or affliction; misfortune; calamitous event |
| adverse | going against; opposing; unfavorable; hostile |
| adversary | opponent; enemy |
| adventitious | accidental; casual; happening by chance |
| advent | arrival |
| adulterate | make impure or of poorer quality by adding inferior or tainted substances |
| adulation | flattery; admiration that is more than is necessary or deserved |
| adroit | skillful |
| adorn | decorate |
| admonish | warn or speak to with gentle disapproval; reprove |
| adjutant | staff officer assisting the commander; assistant |
| adjuration | solemn urging; V. adjure: entreat earnestly; enjoin solemnly |
| adjunct | something attached to but holding an inferior position |
| adjacent | adjoining; neighboring; close by |
| adherent | supporter; follower |
| adhere | stick fast; be a devoted follower; N. adhesion: adhering; devotion; loyalty |
| adept | expert at; very skilled |
| address | direct a speech to; speak to; deal with or discuss; direct one's efforts or attention to; make with a destination; N: formal speech |
| addle | make or become confused; muddle; drive crazy; become rotten |
| addiction | compulsive habitual need |
| addendum | addition; appendix to book; something that is added |
| adapt | make or become suitable for a specific use; alter; modify; adjust; N. adaptation: act of adapting; composition recast into a new form; Ex. The play is an adaption of a short novel. |
| adamant | hard; inflexible |
| adage | wise saying; proverb |
| acute | sharp; quickly perceptive; keen; penetrating; brief and severe; Ex. ~ sense of smell/analysis/pain |
| acumen | mental keenness; sharpness of judgment; ability to judge quickly and well; Ex. business acumen |
| acuity | sharpness |
| actuate | motivate; activate; cause to act |
| actuary | someone who advises insurance companies |
| actuarial | calculating; pertaining to insurance statistics |
| acrophobia | fear of heights |
| acrimonious | stinging; caustic; bitter in words or manner; N. acrimony: bitter ill-natured animosity in speech or behavior |
| acrid | bitter ; sharp; bitterly pungent |
| acquittal | deliverance from a charge; V. acquit: free from a charge or accusation; discharge from a duty; conduct in a specified manner |
| acquiesce | assent; agree passively; comply without protest |
| acoustics | science of sound; quality that makes a room easy or hard to hear in |
| acme | peak; pinnacle; highest point |
| acknowledge | recognize; admit |
| acidulous | slightly sour ; sharp; caustic |
| acetic | vinegary |
| acerbity | bitterness of speech and temper; ADJ. acerbic: bitter; acrid |
| accrue | come to one as a gain; accumulate over time; come about by addition; Ex. benefits that accrue from scientific research; Ex. interest accruing in a bank account; N. accrual |
| accretion | growth or increase in size by gradual addition; growth; increase; increase by natural growth; Ex. towers and other accretions of the castle; V. accrete |
| accoutre | equip; N. accoutrement |
| accost | approach and speak first to a person |
| accord | agreement |
| accomplice | partner in crime |
| accommodate | oblige or help someone; adjust or bring into harmony; adapt; make enough space for; ADJ. accommodative; CF. accomodating: helpful and obliging |
| accolade | award of merit; strong praise and approval |
| acclivity | sharp up slope of a hill; OP. declivity |
| acclimate | adjust to climate or environment; adapt |
| acclaim | applaud; praise; greet with great approval; announce with great approval; Ex. The new drug has been acclaimed as the most important discoveries for years; N: strong expression of approval and praise |
| accessory | additional object; useful but not essential thing |
| accessible | easy to approach; obtainable |
| accelerate | move faster |
| accede | agree |
| academic | related to a school; not practical or directly useful |
| abyss | enormous chasm; vast bottomless pit |
| abysmal | bottomless |
| abut | border upon; adjoin |
| abusive | coarsely insulting; physically harmful |
| abstruse | obscure; profound; difficult to understand |
| abstract | theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational |
| abstinence | restraint from pleasant things, esp. eating or drinking; CF. abstention: act of abstaining from vote |
| abstemious | sparing in eating and drinking; temperate |
| abstain | refrain; withhold from participation; intentionally not use one's vote; |
| absolve | pardon |
| absolute | complete; totally unlimited; having complete power; certain; not relative; Ex. absolute honesty/ruler; CF. absolutism |
| abscond | depart secretly and hide |
| abscission | cutting off; separation |
| abrogate | abolish |
| abridge | condense or shorten |
| abrasive | rubbing away; tending to grind down |
| abortive | unsuccessful; fruitless |
| aboriginal | being the first of its kind in a region; primitive; native; indigenous; N. aborigine |
| abominate | loathe; hate |
| abominable | detestable; extremely unpleasant |
| abolish | cancel; put an end to |
| abnegation | 1 : deny, renounce <~ed their God> 2 : surrender, relinquish <~ed her powers> |
| ablution | washing |
| abjure | renounce upon oath |
| abject | wretched; as low as possible; lacking pride; very humble; showing lack of self-respect; Ex. abject apology |
| abhor | detest; hate |
| abeyance | suspended action |
| abet | assist usually in doing something wrong; encourage |
| aberration | deviation from the normal; mental disorder |
| aberrant | abnormal or deviant |
| abdicate | to renounce or relinquish a throne, right, power, claim, responsibility, or the like, esp. in a formal manner: The aging founder of the firm decided to ~. |
| abbreviate | shorten |
| abate | subside or moderate |
| abash | embarrass |
| abase | lower; degrade; humiliate; make humble; make lose self-respect |