Vocab Flashcards
(14 cards)
Abject
Wretched; lacking pride.
On the streets of New York the homeless live in abject poverty, huddling in doorways to find shelter from the wind.
Abeyance
Suspended action.
The deal was held in abeyance until her arrival.
Abjure
Renounce upon oath.
He abjured his allegiance to the king.
Ablutions
Washing.
His daily ablutions are accompanied by loud notices that he humorously labeled “opera in the bath.”
Abnegation
Self-sacrifice.
No act of abnegation is more pronounced than his refusal of any rewards for his discovery.
Aboriginal
Being first of its kind in a region, primitive, native.
Abrade
Wear away by friction, scrape, erode. Abrasions.
Abridge
Condense or shorten.
Because the publishers felt the public wanted a shorter version of war and peace, they proceeded to abridge the novel.
Abrogate
Abolish.
He intended to abrogate the decree issued by his predecessors.
Abscond
Depart secretly and hide.
The teller absconded with the bonds went uncaptured until someone recognized him from his photograph on America’s most wanted.
Absolve
Pardon ( an offense ), acquit.
Abstemious
Sparring from eating and drinking, temperate.
Concerned whether her vegetarian son’s abstemious diet provided him with sufficient protein, the worried mother pressed food on him.
Abstruse
Obscure, profound, hard to understand.
She carries around abstruse works of philosophy, not because she understands them but because she wants her friends to think she does.
Abut
Border upon, adjoin.
Where our estates abut, we must build a fence.
