| abase | "To lower in position, estimation, or the like; degrade." |
| abbess | The lady superior of a nunnery. |
| abbey | The group of buildings which collectively form the dwelling-place of a society of monks or nuns. |
| abbot | The superior of a community of monks. |
| abdicate | To give up (royal power or the like). |
| abdomen | "In mammals, the visceral cavity between the diaphragm and the pelvic floor; the belly." |
| abdominal | "Of, pertaining to, or situated on the abdomen." |
| abduction | "A carrying away of a person against his will, or illegally." |
| abed | In bed; on a bed. |
| aberration | "Deviation from a right, customary, or prescribed course." |
| abet | "To aid, promote, or encourage the commission of (an offense)." |
| abeyance | A state of suspension or temporary inaction. |
| abhorrence | The act of detesting extremely. |
| abhorrent | Very repugnant; hateful. |
| abidance | An abiding. |
| abject | Sunk to a low condition. |
| abjure | "To recant, renounce, repudiate under oath." |
| able-bodied | Competent for physical service. |
| ablution | "A washing or cleansing, especially of the body." |
| abnegate | To renounce (a right or privilege). |
| abnormal | Not conformed to the ordinary rule or standard. |
| abominable | Very hateful. |
| abominate | To hate violently. |
| abomination | A very detestable act or practice. |
| aboriginal | Primitive; unsophisticated. |
| aborigines | The original of earliest known inhabitants of a country. |
| aboveboard adv. & | "Without concealment, fraud, or trickery." |
| abrade | To wear away the surface or some part of by friction. |
| abrasion | That which is rubbed off. |
| abridge | "To make shorter in words, keeping the essential features, leaning out minor particles." |
| abridgment | A condensed form as of a book or play. |
| abrogate | "To abolish, repeal." |
| abrupt | "Beginning, ending, or changing suddenly or with a break." |
| abscess | A Collection of pus in a cavity formed within some tissue of the body. |
| abscission | "The act of cutting off, as in a surgical operation." |
| abscond | "To depart suddenly and secretly, as for the purpose of escaping arrest." |
| absence | The fact of not being present or available. |
| absent-minded | Lacking in attention to immediate surroundings or business. |
| absolution | "Forgiveness, or passing over of offenses." |
| absolve | To free from sin or its penalties. |
| absorb | "To drink in or suck up, as a sponge absorbs water." |
| absorption | The act or process of absorbing. |
| abstain | To keep oneself back (from doing or using something). |
| abstemious | "Characterized by self denial or abstinence, as in the use of drink, food." |
| abstinence | Self denial. |
| abstruse | Dealing with matters difficult to be understood. |
| absurd | Inconsistent with reason or common sense. |
| abundant | Plentiful. |
| abusive | Employing harsh words or ill treatment. |
| abut | To touch at the end or boundary line. |
| abyss | Bottomless gulf. |
| academic | "Of or pertaining to an academy, college, or university." |
| academician | "A member of an academy of literature, art, or science." |
| academy | Any institution where the higher branches of learning are taught. |
| accede | To agree. |
| accelerate | To move faster. |
| accept | To take when offered. |
| access | A way of approach or entrance; passage. |
| accessible | Approachable. |
| accession | "Induction or elevation, as to dignity, office, or government." |
| accessory | A person or thing that aids the principal agent. |
| acclaim | To utter with a shout. |
| accommodate | To furnish something as a kindness or favor. |
| accompaniment | "A subordinate part or parts, enriching or supporting the leading part." |
| accompanist | One who or that which accompanies. |
| accompany | "To go with, or be associated with, as a companion." |
| accomplice | An associate in wrong-doing. |
| accomplish | To bring to pass. |
| accordion | A portable free-reed musical instrument. |
| accost | To speak to. |
| account | "A record or statement of receipts and expenditures, or of business transactions." |
| accouter | To dress. |
| accredit | To give credit or authority to. |
| accumulate | To become greater in quantity or number. |
| accuracy | Exactness. |
| accurate | Conforming exactly to truth or to a standard. |
| accursed | "Doomed to evil, misery, or misfortune." |
| accusation | "A charge of crime, misdemeanor, or error." |
| accusatory | "Of, pertaining to, or involving an accusation." |
| accuse | "To charge with wrong doing, misconduct, or error." |
| accustom | To make familiar by use. |
| acerbity | "Sourness, with bitterness and astringency." |
| acetate | A salt of acetic acid. |
| acetic | "Of, pertaining to, or of the nature of vinegar." |
| ache | To be in pain or distress. |
| Achillean | Invulnerable. |
| achromatic | "Colorless," |
| acid | A sour substance. |
| acidify | To change into acid. |
| acknowledge | To recognize; to admit the genuineness or validity of. |
| acknowledgment | Recognition. |
| acme | "The highest point, or summit." |
| acoustic | Pertaining to the act or sense of hearing. |
| acquaint | To make familiar or conversant. |
| acquiesce | To comply; submit. |
| acquiescence | Passive consent. |
| acquire | To get as one's own. |
| acquisition | "Anything gained, or made one's own, usually by effort or labor." |
| acquit | "To free or clear, as from accusation." |
| acquittal | A discharge from accusation by judicial action. |
| acquittance | "Release or discharge from indebtedness, obligation, or responsibility." |
| acreage | "Quantity or extent of land, especially of cultivated land." |
| acrid | Harshly pungent or bitter. |
| acrimonious | Full of bitterness. |
| acrimony | Sharpness or bitterness of speech or temper. |
| actionable | "Affording cause for instituting an action, as trespass, slanderous words." |
| actuality | Any reality. |
| actuary | "An officer, as of an insurance company, who calculates and states the risks and premiums." |
| actuate | To move or incite to action. |
| acumen | "Quickness of intellectual insight, or discernment; keenness of discrimination." |
| acute | Having fine and penetrating discernment. |
| adamant | Any substance of exceeding hardness or impenetrability. |
| addendum | "Something added, or to be added." |
| addle | To make inefficient or worthless; muddle. |
| adduce | To bring forward or name for consideration. |
| adhere | To stick fast or together. |
| adherence | Attachment. |
| adherent | Clinging or sticking fast. |
| adhesion | The state of being attached or joined. |
| adieu | Good-by; farewell. |
| adjacency | The state of being adjacent. |
| adjacent | That which is near or bordering upon. |
| adjudge | To award or bestow by formal decision. |
| adjunct | "Something joined to or connected with another thing, but holding a subordinate place." |
| adjuration | A vehement appeal. |
| adjutant | Auxiliary. |
| administrator | One who manages affairs of any kind. |
| admissible | Having the right or privilege of entry. |
| admittance | "Entrance, or the right or permission to enter." |
| admonish | To warn of a fault. |
| admonition | Gentle reproof. |
| ado | unnecessary activity or ceremony. |
| adoration | Profound devotion. |
| adroit | Having skill in the use of the bodily or mental powers. |
| adulterant | An adulterating substance. |
| adulterate | To make impure by the admixture of other or baser ingredients. |
| adumbrate | To represent beforehand in outline or by emblem. |
| advent | "The coming or arrival, as of any important change, event, state, or personage." |
| adverse | Opposing or opposed. |
| adversity | Misfortune. |
| advert | To refer incidentally. |
| advertiser | "One who advertises, especially in newspapers." |
| advisory | Not mandatory. |
| advocacy | The act of pleading a cause. |
| advocate | "One who pleads the cause of another, as in a legal or ecclesiastical court." |
| aerial | "Of, pertaining to, or like the air." |
| aeronaut | "One who navigates the air, a balloonist." |
| aeronautics | the art or practice of flying aircraft |
| aerostat | A balloon or other apparatus floating in or sustained by the air. |
| aerostatics | "The branch of pneumatics that treats of the equilibrium, pressure, and mechanical properties." |
| affable | Easy to approach. |
| affect | To act upon |
| affectation | A studied or ostentatious pretense or attempt. |
| affiliate | Some auxiliary person or thing. |
| affirmative | Answering yes; to a question at issue. |
| affix | To fasten. |
| affluence | A profuse or abundant supply of riches. |
| affront | An open insult or indignity. |
| afire adv. & | "On fire, literally or figuratively." |
| afoot | In progress. |
| aforesaid | Said in a preceding part or before. |
| afresh | "Once more, after rest or interval." |
| afterthought | A thought that comes later than its appropriate or expected time. |
| agglomerate | To pile or heap together. |
| aggrandize | To cause to appear greatly. |
| aggravate | "To make heavier, worse, or more burdensome." |
| aggravation | "The fact of being made heavier or more heinous, as a crime , offense, misfortune, etc." |
| aggregate | "The entire number, sum, mass, or quantity of something." |
| aggress | To make the first attack. |
| aggression | An unprovoked attack. |
| aggrieve | To give grief or sorrow to. |
| aghast | Struck with terror and amazement. |
| agile | "Able to move or act quickly, physically, or mentally." |
| agitate | To move or excite (the feelings or thoughts). |
| agrarian | "Pertaining to land, especially agricultural land." |
| aide-de-camp | An officer who receives and transmits the orders of the general. |
| ailment | Slight sickness. |
| airy | "Delicate, ethereal." |
| akin | Of similar nature or qualities. |
| alabaster | A white or delicately tinted fine-grained gypsum. |
| alacrity | Cheerful willingness. |
| albeit | Even though. |
| albino | "A person with milky white skin and hair, and eyes with bright red pupil and usually pink iris." |
| album | A book whose leaves are so made to form paper frames for holding photographs or the like. |
| alchemy | "Chemistry of the middle ages, characterized by the pursuit of changing base metals to gold." |
| alcohol | "A volatile, inflammable, colorless liquid of a penetrating odor and burning taste." |
| alcoholism | A condition resulting from the inordinate or persistent use of alcoholic beverages. |
| alcove | A covered recess connected with or at the side of a larger room. |
| alder | "Any shrub or small tree of the genus Alumnus, of the oak family." |
| alderman | "A member of a municipal legislative body, who usually exercises also certain judicial functions." |
| aldermanship | "The dignity, condition, office, or term of office of an alderman." |
| alias | An assumed name. |
| alien | One who owes allegiance to a foreign government. |
| alienable | "Capable of being aliened or alienated, as lands." |
| alienate | To cause to turn away. |
| alienation | Estrangement. |
| aliment | That which nourishes. |
| alkali | "Anything that will neutralize an acid, as lime, magnesia, etc." |
| allay | To calm the violence or reduce the intensity of; mitigate. |
| allege | "To assert to be true, especially in a formal manner, as in court." |