| apothegm | pithy, compact saying |
| apotheosis | n. (of a human being) making or becoming a god or a sain; model of excellence |
| appall | shock or dismay |
| appease | v. make quiet or calm, usu by making concessions or by satisfying demands |
| appellation | n. name or title; system of naming ; |
| append | v. attach or add something |
| apposite | adj. ~ (of a remark, etc) very appropriate (for a purpose or an occasion) |
| appraise | v. assess the value or quality of |
| apprehend | v. seize (sb); arrest |
| apprehensive | adj. ~ ~ (that.../for sb/sth) feeling anxiety; fearful; uneasy |
| apprise | v. ~ sb of sth inform sb of sth |
| approbation | n. approval; consent |
| appurtenances | a secondary or less significant thing or part; gear accessories equipment |
| apropos | adv, adj appropriate or relevant to what is being said or done |
| aquiline | adj. of or like an eagle |
| arable | n. , adj suitable for ploughing and for growing crops |
| arbiter | n. ~ person who has power to decide what will be done, accepted, etc with regard to sth |
| arbitrary | adj. based on personal opinion or impulse, not on reason; randomly chosen; subjective/based on personal reason; capricious; unreasonable |
| arbitrate | v. ~ (between A and B) make a judgement about or settle (a dispute) between two parties (usu when asked by them to do so) |
| arboreal | adj. of or living in trees |
| arboretum | n. place where trees are grown for scientific study or for display |
| arcade | n. covered passage or area, esp one with an arched roof and shops along one or both sides |
| arcane | requiring secret or mysterious knowledge |
| arch | comb form chief; most important |
| archaeology | n. study of ancient civilizations by scientific analysis of physical remains found in the ground |
| archaic | adj. of a much earlier or an ancient period in history |
| archetype | n. original or ideal model from which others are copied; prototype ; |
| archipelago | n. (sea surrounding a) group of many islands |
| archives | n. historical documents or records of a government, town, etc |
| ardor | extreme vigor or energy:INTENSITY |
| arduous | adj. needing much effort or energy; laborious |
| argot | n. words and phrases used by a particular group and not intended to be understood by others; cant ; |
| aria | n. song for one voice, esp in an opera or oratorio |
| arid | adj. having little or no rainfall; dry |
| aristocracy | n. highest social class; the nobility |
| armada | n. large fleet of ships |
| aromatic | adj. having a pleasant, distinctive smell; fragrant |
| arraign | v. ~ sb (law ) bring a criminal charge against sb; bring sb to court for trial |
| array | v. place (esp armed forces, troops, etc) in battle order; clothing; arrangement |
| arrears | n. money that is owed and should have been paid earlier |
| arrhythmic | lacking rhythm or regularity |
| arrogance | a feeling or an impression of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or presumptuous claims |
| arroyo | a brook; a creek a water-carved gully or channel |
| arsenal | n. place where weapons and ammunition are made or stored |
| artery | n. any of the tubes carrying blood from the heart to all parts of the body |
| artful | adj. cunningly clever at getting what one wants; crafty |
| articulate | adj. able to express one's ideas clearly in words |
| artifacts | something created by humans usually for a practical purpose; especially :an object remaining from a particular period |
| artifice | n. clever trickery; deception |
| artisan | a manually skilled worker |
| artless | adj. simple and natural; without deceit |
| ascendancy | n. ~ (position of) having dominant power or control |
| ascertain | v. discover (sth) so that one is certain; get to know |
| ascetic | adj. not allowing oneself pleasures and comforts; having or involving a very austere life |
| ascribe | v. ~ sth to sb/sth consider sth to be caused by, written by or belonging to sb/sth |
| aseptic | adj. free from bacteria that cause a thing to become septic; surgically clean |
| ashen | adj. like ashes in colour; very pale |
| asinine | adj. stupid or stubborn |
| askance | adv. sideways glance/look |
| askew | adj. , adv not in a straight or level position; crooked |
| asperity | n. harshness or severity, esp of manner |
| aspersion | slanderous remark |
| aspiration | n. ~ ~ (to do sth) strong desire or ambition |
| aspire | v. ~ after/to sth desire strongly to achieve sth; have ambition for sth |
| assail | v. ~ sb (fml ) attack sb violently or repeatedly |
| assay | n. testing of esp metals for quality; analysis |
| assent | n. ~ (fml ) agreement; approval |
| assert | v. make others recognize (sth) by behaving firmly and confidently |
| assessment | n. action of assessing |
| assiduous | adj. showing constant and careful attention |
| assimilate | v. (cause sth to) become absorbed into the body after digestion |
| assuage | v. make (sth) less severe; soothe |
| assumption | n. thing accepted as true or as sure to happen, but not proved |
| assurance | n. confident belief in one's own abilities and powers |
| asteroid | n. any of many small planets revolving round the sun, esp between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter |
| astigmatism | n. defect in an eye or a lens that prevents correct focusing |