 | Term | Definition |
| |
attenuate |
rarefy, weaken, make thinner, lessen |
| |
apocryphal |
of dubious authenticity; spurious |
| |
aver |
state as a fact, confirm, support |
| |
austere |
without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic |
| |
auspice |
protection, support; patronage; (sign, portent) |
| |
astringent |
having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe |
| |
antipathy |
aversion, dislike |
| |
ascetic |
one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion |
| |
aspersion |
an act of defamation or maligning |
| |
alacrity |
eager and enthusiastic willingness |
| |
arrest |
suspend, engage |
| |
abrogate |
abolish or annul by authority; put down |
| |
abjure |
renounce, reject, recant, avoid |
| |
ambivalence |
quality of having opposing ideas or feelings |
| |
assuage |
ease, lessen; appease, pacify |
| |
approbation |
an expression of approval or praise |
| |
augury |
omen, portent; the reading of omens |
| |
apprise |
give notice to, inform |
| |
adulterate |
reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients |
| |
apostate |
one who abandons long help religious or political convictions; betrayer of a cause |
| |
arrant |
impudent; in every way, completely such, utter |
| |
adroit |
adept, dextrous |
| |
articulate |
annunciate, pronounce clearly; express self clearly |
| |
aggrandize |
make appear greater; increase in intensity, power or prestige |
| |
audacious |
daring and fearless; recklessly bold |
| |
august |
majestic, venerable |
| |
auspicious |
favorable, propitious, successful, prosperous |
| |
amalgamate |
combine several elements into a whole |
| |
ambiguity |
uncertainty in meaning |
| |
asperity |
rigor, severity; roughness, harshness; acrimony, irritability |
| |
apposite |
appropriate, pertinent, relevant, apropos |
| |
archaic |
outdated, associated with earlier, primitive time |
| |
anathema |
solemn, ecclesiastical curse; loathed or accursed person or thing |
| |
accretion |
growth, increase by successive addition, building up |
| |
apotheosis |
deification, glorification to godliness, the perfect example |
| |
acerbic |
having a sour or bitter taste or character |
| |
avarice |
greed, esp. for wealth |
| |
axiom |
universally recognized principal; common saying |
| |
abscond |
depart clandestinely; steal off and hide |
| |
abscission |
the act of cutting off or removing |
| |
abrogate |
abolish or annul by authority |
| |
aberrant |
deviating from the norm |
| |
accolade |
expression of praise; award |
| |
abstain |
refrain from an activity |
| |
anachronism |
something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context |
| |
apathy |
lack of interest or feeling |
| |
anodyne |
soothing; something that soothes |
| |
appropriate |
take for one's own use |
| |
assiduous |
hard-working, diligent |
| |
amenable |
agreeable, responsive to suggestion |
| |
antithetical |
diametrically opposed |
| |
apogee |
farthest or highest point, culmination, zenith |
| |
artless |
completely without guile, natural, without artificiality |
| |
advocate |
argue for or support a cause |
| |
admonish |
reprove, express warning or disapproval |
| |
aesthetic |
dealing with, appreciative of or responsive to art or the beautiful |
| |
acumen |
quick, keen, accurate knowledge or insight |
| |
artifice |
ingenious or skillful device or expedient; clever skill |
| |
arcane |
mysterious, abstruse, esoteric, knowable only to initiates |
| |
ameliorate |
make better or more tolerable |
| |
antagonize |
irritate or cause hostility |
| |
abate |
lessen in intensity or degree |
| |
anomaly |
deviation from normal order or rule; abnormality |
| |
alchemy |
magical or wonderful transformation |
| |
adulation |
excessive praise; intense adoration |
| |
alloy |
commingle; debase by mixing with something inferior |
| |
adumbrate |
vaguely foreshadow, intimate, suggest, outline sketchily |
| |
arabesque |
complex, ornate design |
