A-B Flashcards
(138 cards)
1
Q
Abash
A
To make ashamed, to embarrass
2
Q
Abate
A
To subside, to reduce
3
Q
Abdicate
A
To step down from a position of power or responsibility
4
Q
Aberration
A
Something not typical; a deviation from the standard
5
Q
Abhor
A
To hate very, very much; to detest
6
Q
Abject
A
Hopeless; extremely sad and servile; defeated
7
Q
Abnegate
A
To deny oneself things; to reject; to renounce
8
Q
Abortive
A
Unsuccessful
9
Q
Abridge
A
To shorten; to condense
10
Q
Absolute
A
Total; unlimited
11
Q
Absolve
A
To forgive or free from blame; to free from sin; to free from an obligation
12
Q
Abstinent
A
Abstaining; voluntarily not doing something pleasant that is bad for you or has a bad reputation
13
Q
Abstract
A
Theoretical; impersonal
14
Q
Abstruse
A
Hard to understand
15
Q
Abysmal
A
Extremely hopeless or wretch; bottomless
16
Q
Accolade
A
An award; an honor
17
Q
Accost
A
To approach and speak to someone aggressively
18
Q
Acerbic
A
Sour; severe; like acid in temper, mood or tone
19
Q
Acquiesce
A
To comply passively; to accept; to assent; to agree
20
Q
Acrid
A
Harshly pungent; bitter
21
Q
Acrimonious
A
Full of spite; bitter; nasty
22
Q
Acumen
A
Keenness of judgement; mental sharpness
23
Q
Acute
A
Sharp; shrewd
24
Q
Adamant
A
Stubborn; unyielding; completely inflexible
25
Address
To speak to; to direct one's attention to
26
Adherent
Follower; supporter; believer
27
Admonish
To scold gently; to warn
28
Adroit
Skillful; dexterous; clever; shrewd; socially at ease
29
Adulation
Wild or excessive admiration; flattery
30
Adulterate
To contaminate; to make impure
31
Adverse
Unfavorable; antagonistic
32
Aesthetic
Having to do with artistic beauty; artistic
33
Affable
Easy to talk to; friendly
34
Affectation
Unnatural or artificial behavior, usually intended to impress
35
Affinity
Sympathy; attraction; kinship; similarity
36
Affluent
Rich; prosperous
37
Agenda
Program; the things to be done
38
Aggregate
Sum total; a collection of separate things mixed together
39
Agnostic
One who believes that the existence of a God can be neither proven nor disproven
40
Agrarian
Relating to land; relating to the management or farming of land
41
Alacrity
Cheerful eagerness or readiness to respond
42
Allege
To assert without proof
43
Alleviate
To relieve, usually temporarily or incompletely; to make bearable; to lessen
44
Allocate
To distribute; to assign; to allot
45
Alloy
A combination of two or more things, usually metals
46
Allusion
An indirect reference (often to a literary work); a hint
47
Aloof
Uninvolved; standing off; keeping one's distance
48
Altruism
Selflessness; generosity; devotion to the interests of others
49
Ambience
Atmosphere; mood; feeling
50
Ambiguous
Unclear in meaning; confusing; capable of being interpreted in different ways
51
Ambivalent
Undecided; having opposed feelings simultaneously
52
Ameliorate
To make better or more tolerable
53
Amenable
Obedient; willing to give in to the wishes of another; agreeable
54
Amenity
Pleasantness; attractive or comfortable feature
55
Amiable
Friendly; agreeable
56
Amnesty
An official pardon for a group of people who have violated a law or policy
57
Amoral
Lacking a sense of right and wrong; neither good nor bad; neither moral nor immoral; without moral feelings
58
Amorous
Feeling loving, especially in a sexual sense; in love; relating to love
59
Amorphous
Shapeless; without a regular or stable shape; bloblike
60
Anachronism
Something out of place in time or history; an incongruity
61
Analogy
A comparison of one thing to another; similarity
62
Anarchy
Absence of government or control; lawlessness; disorder
63
Anecdote
A short account of a humorous or revealing incident
64
Anguish
Agonizing physical or mental pain
65
Animosity
Resentment; hostility; ill will
66
Anomaly
An aberration; an irregularity; a deviation
67
Antecedent
Someone or something that went before; something that provides a model for something that came after it
68
Antipathy
Firm dislike
69
Antithesis
The direct opposite
70
Apartheid
The former policy of racial segregation and oppression in the Republic of South Africa
71
Apathy
Lack of interest; lack of feeling
72
Aphorism
A brief, often witty saying; a poverb
73
Apocalypse
A prophetic revelation, especially one concerning the end of the world
74
Apocryphal
Of dubious authenticity; fictitious; spurious
75
Apotheosis
Elevation to divine status; the perfect example of something
76
Appease
To soothe; to pacify by giving in to
77
Appreciate
To increase in value
78
Apprehensive
Worried; anxious
79
Approbation
Approval; praise
80
Appropriate
To take with permission; to set aside for a particular use
81
Aptitude
Capacity for learning; natural ability
82
Arbiter
One who decides; a judge
83
Arbitrary
Random; capricious
84
Arcane
Mysterious; known only to a select few
85
Archaic
Extremely old; ancient; outdated
86
Archetype
An original model or pattern
87
Ardent
Passionate; enthusiastic
88
Arduous
Hard; difficult
89
Aristocratic
Of noble birth; snobbish
90
Artful
Crafty; wily; sly
91
Artifice
A clever trick; cunning
92
Ascendancy
Supremacy; domination
93
Ascetic
Hermitlike; practicing self-denial
94
Assiduous
Hardworking; bus; quite diligent
95
Assimilate
To take in; to absorb; to learn thoroughly
96
Assuage
To soothe; to pacify; to ease the pain of; to relieve
97
Astute
Shrewd; keen in judgement
98
Atheist
One who does not believe in the existence of any god or divine being
99
Attrition
Gradual wearing away, weakening or loss; a natural or expected decreases in numbers or size
100
Audacity
Boldness; reckless daring; impertinence
101
Augment
To make bigger; to add to; to increase
102
Auspicious
Favorable; promising; pointing to a good result
103
Austere
Unadorned; stern; forbidding; without excess
104
Autocratic
Ruling with absolute authority; extremely bossy
105
Autonomous
Acting independently
106
Avarice
Greed; excessive love of riches
107
Avow
To claim; to declare boldly; to admit
108
Avuncular
Like an uncle, especially a nice uncle
109
Awry
Off course; twisted to one side
110
Axiom
A self-evident rule or truth; a widely accepted saying
111
Banal
Unoriginal; ordinary
112
Bane
Poison; torment; cause of harm
113
Bastion
Stronghold; fortress; fortified place
114
Beget
To give birth to; to create; to lead to; to cause
115
Belabor
To go over repeatedly
116
Beleaguer
To surround; to besiege; to harass
117
Belie
To give a false impression of; to contradict
118
Belittle
To make to seem little; to put someone down
119
Beligerent
Combative; quarrelsome; waging war
120
Bemused
Confused; bewildered
121
Benefactor
One who provides help, especially in the form of a gift or donation
122
Benevolent
Generous; kind; doing good deeds
123
Benign
Gentle; not harmful; kind; mild
124
Bequest
Something left to someone in a will
125
Bereaved
Deprived or left desolate, especially through death
126
Beset
To harass; to surround
127
Blasphemy
Irreverence; an insult to something held sacred; profanity
128
Blatant
Unpleasantly or offensively noisy; glaring
129
Blight
A disease in plants; anything that injures or destroys
130
Blithe
Carefree; cheerful
131
Bourgeois
Middle class, usually in a pejorative sense; boring conventional
132
Bovine
Cow related; cowlike
133
Brevity
Briefness
134
Broach
To open up a subject for discussion, often a delicate subject
135
Bucolic
Charmingly rural; rustic; country like
136
Bureaucracy
A system of government administration consisting of numerous bureaus or offices especially one run according to inflexible and inefficient rules; any large administrative system characterized by inefficiency lots of rules and red tape
137
Burgeon
To expand; to flourish
138
Burlesque
To ludicrous, mocking, lewd imitation
