Vocab List - 1
( A - B )
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{A}
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** abaft
(adv.) on or toward the rear of a
ship
* The passengers moved abaft of the
ship so as to escape the fire in the front of the ship.
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** abandon
(v) to leave behind; to give
something up;
(n) freedom; enthusiasm; impetuosity
* (v) After failing for several
years, he abandoned his dream of starting a grocery business.
* (n) Lucy embarked on her new adventure
with abandon.
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** abase
(v.) to degrade; to humiliate; to
disgrace
* The mother’s public reprimand
abased the girl.
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** abbreviate
(v.) to shorten; compress; diminish
* His vacation to Japan was
abbreviated when he acquired an illness treatable only in the United States.
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** abdicate
(v.) to reject, renounce, or abandon
* Due to his poor payment record, it
may be necessary to abdicate our relationship with the client.
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** aberrant
(adj.) abnormal; straying from the
normal or usual path
* The aberrant flight pattern of the
airplane alarmed the air traffic controllers.
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** abeyance
(n.) a state of temporary suspension
or inactivity
* Since the power failure, the town
has been in abeyance.
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** abhor
(v.) to hate
* By the way her jaw tensed when he
walked in, it is easy to see that she abhors him.
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** abject
(adj.) of the worst or lowest degree
* The Haldemans lived in abject
poverty, with barely a roof over their heads.
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** abjure
(v.) to give up
* The losing team may abjure to the
team that is winning.
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** abnegation
(n.) a denial
* The woman’s abnegation of her loss
was apparent when she began to laugh.
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** abominate
(v.) to loathe; to hate
* Please do not abominate the guilty
person until you hear the complete explanation.
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** abridge
(v.) to shorten; to limit
* The editor abridged the story to
make the book easier to digest.
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** abrogate
(v.) to cancel by authority
* The judge would not abrogate the
law.
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** abrupt
(adj.) happening or ending
unexpectedly
* The abrupt end to their marriage
was a shock to everyone.
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** abscond
(v.) to go away hastily or secretly;
to hide
* The newly wed couple will abscond
from the reception to leave on the honeymoon.
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** absolve
(v.) to forgive; to acquit
* The judge will absolve the person
of all charges.
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** abstemious
(adj.) sparing in use of food or
drinks
* If we become stranded in the snow
storm, we will have to be abstemious with our food supply.
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** abstinence
(n.) the act or process of
voluntarily refraining from any action or practice; self-control; chastity
* In preparation for the Olympic
games, the athletes practiced abstinence from red meat and junk food, adhering
instead to a menu of pasta and produce.
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** abstruse
(adj.) hard to understand; deep;
recondite
* The topic was so abstruse the
student was forced to stop reading.
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** abysmal
(adj.) very deep
* The abysmal waters contained
little plant life.
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** accede
(v.) to comply with; to consent to
* With defeat imminent, the rebel
army acceded to hash out a peace treaty.
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** acclaim
(n.) loud approval; applause
* Edward Albee’s brilliantly written
'Broadway revival of A Delicate Balance' received wide acclaim.
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** accolade
(n.) approving or praising mention;
a sign of approval or respect
* Rich accolades were bestowed on
the returning hero.
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** accomplice
** accomplice
(n.) co-conspirator; partner;
partner-in-crime
* The bank robber’s accomplice drove
the get-away car.
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** accretion
(n.) growth by addition; a growing
together by parts
* With the accretion of the new
members, the club doubled its original size.
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** accrue
(v.) a natural growth; a periodic
increase
* During his many years of
collecting stamps, he was able to accrue a large collection of valuable
items.
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** acerbic
(adj.) tasting sour; harsh in
language or temper
* The baby’s mouth puckered when she
was given the acerbic medicine.
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** acquiesce
(v.) to agree without protest
* The group acquiesced to the new
regulations even though they were opposed to them.
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** acrid
(adj.) sharp; bitter; foul smelling
* The fire at the plastics factory
caused an acrid odor to be emitted throughout the surrounding
neighborhood.
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** acrimony
(n.) sharpness or bitterness in
language or manner.
* The acrimony of her response was
shocking.
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** adage
(n.) an old saying now accepted as
being truthful
* The adage “do unto others as you
wish them to do unto you” is still widely practiced.
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** adamant
(adj.) not yielding, firm
* The girl’s parents were adamant
about not allowing her to go on a dangerous backpacking trip.
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** addled
(adj.) rotten
* The egg will become addled if it
is left unrefrigerated.
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** adept
(adj.) skilled; practiced
* The skilled craftsman was quite
adept at creating beautiful vases and candleholders.
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** adjure
(v.) solemnly ordered
* The jurors were adjured by the
judge to make a fair decision.
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** adroit
(adj.) expert or skillful
* The driver’s adroit driving
avoided a serious accident.
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** adulation
(n.) praise in excess
* The adulation given to the movie
star was sickening.
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** adulterate
(v.) to corrupt, debase, or make
impure
* The dumping of chemicals will
adulterate the pureness of the lake.
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** adversary
(n.) an enemy; foe
* The peace treaty united two countries
that were historically great adversaries.
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** adverse
(adj.) negative; hostile;
antagonistic; inimical
* Contrary to the ski resort’s
expectations, the warm weather generated adverse conditions for a profitable weekend.
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** advocate
(v.) to plead in favor of;
(n.) supporter; defender
* (v.) Amnesty International
advocates the cause for human rights.
* (n.) Martin Luther King, Jr. was a
great advocate of civil rights.
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** aesthetic
(adj.) of beauty; pertaining to
taste in art and beauty
* She found that her aesthetic sense
and that of the artist were at odds.
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** affable
(adj.) friendly; amiable; good-natured
* Her affable puppy loved to play
with children.
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** affiliate
(v.) to connect or associate with;
to accept as a member
* The hiking club affiliated with
the bird-watching club.
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** affinity
(n.) a connection; similarity of
structure
* There is a strong emotional
affinity between the two siblings.
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** aggrandize
(v.) to make more powerful
* The king wanted to aggrandize
himself and his kingdom.
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** aghast
(adj.) astonished; amazed;
horrified; terrified; appalled
* The landlord was aghast at his
water bill.
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** agrarian
(adj.) of the land
* Many agrarian people are poor.
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** alacrity
(n.) eager readiness or speed
* The manager was so impressed by
the worker’s alacrity; he suggested a promotion.
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** alchemist
(n.) a person who studies chemistry
* The alchemist’s laboratory was
full of bottles and tubes of strange
looking liquids.
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** alchemy
(n.) any mysterious change of
substance or nature
* The magician used alchemy to
change the powder into a liquid
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** allegory
(n.) a symbolic description
* The book contained many allegories
on Russian history.
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** alleviate
(v.) to lessen or make easier
* The airport’s monorail alleviates vehicular
traffic.
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** allocate
(v.) set aside; designate; assign
* There have been front row seats
allocated to the performer’s family.
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** allude
(v.) to refer indirectly to something
* The story alludes to part of the
author’s life.
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** allure
(v) to attract;
(n) entice; attraction; temptation;
glamour
* The romantic young man allured the
beautiful woman by preparing a wonderful dinner.
* Singapore’s allure is its bustling
economy.
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** allusion
(n.) an indirect reference (often
literary); a hint
* The mention of the pet snake was
an allusion to the man’s sneaky ways.
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** aloof
(adj.) distant in interest;
reserved; cool
* Even though the new coworker was
aloof, we attempted to be friendly.
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** altercation
(n.) controversy; dispute
* A serious altercation caused the
marriage to end in a bitter divorce.
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** altruism
(n.) unselfish devotion to the
welfare of others
* After the organization aided the
catastrophe victims, it was given an award for altruism.
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** altruistic
(adj.) unselfish
* The altruistic volunteer donated
much time and energy in an effort to raise funds for the children’s
hospital.
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** amalgam
(n.) a mixture or combination (often
of metals)
* That ring is made from an amalgam of minerals; if it were pure gold it would never hold its shape.
* That ring is made from an amalgam of minerals; if it were pure gold it would never hold its shape.
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** amalgamate
(v.) to mix, merge, combine
* The three presidents decided to
amalgamate their businesses to build one strong company.
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** amass
(v.) to collect together; accumulate
* The women amassed a huge
collection of priceless diamonds and pearls.
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** ambiguous
(adj.) not clear; uncertain; vague
* The ambiguous law did not make a
clear distinction between the new and old land boundary.
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** ambivalent
(adj.) undecided
* The ambivalent jury could not
reach a unanimous verdict.
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** ameliorate
(v.) to improve or make better
* A consistent routine of exercise
has shown to ameliorate health.
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** amendment
(n.) a positive change
* The amendment in his ways showed
there was still reason for hope.
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** amiable
(adj.) friendly
* The newcomer picked the most
amiable person to sit next to during the meeting.
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** amiss
(adj.) wrong; awry;
(adv.)wrongly; in a defective manner
* (adj.) Linda knew something was
amiss when she discovered a missing report.
* (adv.) Due to poor planning and
inadequate organization, the project went amiss.
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** amity
(n.) friendly relations
* The amity between the two
bordering nations put the populations at ease.
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** amorphous
(adj.) with no shape; unorganized;
having no determinate form
* The amorphous gel seeped through
the cracks.
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** amortize
(v.) to put money into a fund at
fixed intervals
* The couple was able to amortize
their mortgage sooner than they
thought.
thought.
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** anachronism
(n.) something out of place in time
(e.g., an airplane in 1492)
* He realized that the film about
cavemen contained an anachronism when he saw a jet cut across the horizon
during a hunting scene.
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** analogy
(n.) similarity; correlation;
parallelism
* The teacher used an analogy to
describe the similarities between the two books.
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** anaphylaxis
(n.) an allergic reaction
* The boy’s severe anaphylaxis to a
series of medications made writing prescriptions a tricky proposition.
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** anarchist
(n.) one who believes that a formal
government is unnecessary
* The yell from the crowd came from
the anarchist protesting the
government.
government.
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** anchorage
(n.) something that can be relied on
* Knowing the neighbors were right
next door was an anchorage for the elderly woman.
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** anecdote
(n.) a short account of happenings
* The speaker told an anecdote about
how he lost his shoes when he was young.
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** animosity
(n.) a feeling of hatred or ill will
Animosity grew between the two
feuding families.
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** anoint
(v.) to crown; ordain;
* A member of the monarchy was
anointed by the king.
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** anomaly
(n.) an oddity, inconsistency; a
deviation from the norm
* An anomaly existed when the report
listed one statistic, and the spokeswoman reported another.
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** anonymous
(adj.) nameless; unidentified
* Not wishing to be identified by
the police, he remained anonymous by returning the money he had stolen by
sending it through the mail.
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** antagonism
(n.) hostility; opposition
* The rebellious clan captured a
hostage to display antagonism to
the new peace treaty.
the new peace treaty.
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** antipathy
(n.) a strong dislike or repugnance
* The vegetarian had an antipathy
toward meat.
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** apathy
(n.) lack of emotion or interest
* He showed apathy when his relative
was injured.
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** apocalyptic
** apocalyptic
(adj.) pertaining to a discovery or
new revelation
* Science-fiction movies seem to
relish apocalyptic visions.
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** apocryphal
(adj.) counterfeit; of doubtful
authorship or authenticity
* The man who said he was a doctor
was truly apocryphal.
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** appease
(v.) to satisfy; to calm
* A milk bottle usually appeases a
crying baby.
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** apposite
(adj.) suitable; apt; relevant
* Discussion of poverty was apposite
to the curriculum, so the professor allowed it.
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** apprehensive
(adj.) fearful; aware; conscious
* The nervous child was apprehensive
about beginning a new school year.
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** approbatory
(adj.) approving or sanctioning
* The judge showed his acceptance in
his approbatory remark.
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** arable
(adj.) suitable (as land) for
plowing
* When the land was deemed arable
the farmer decided to plow.
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** arbiter
(n.) one who is authorized to judge
or decide
* The decision of who would
represent the people was made by the arbiter.
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** arbitrary
(adj.) based on one’s preference
orjudgment
* Rick admitted his decision had
been arbitrary, as he claimed no expertise on the matter.
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** arcane
(adj.) obscure; secret; mysterious
* With an arcane expression, the
young boy left the family wondering what sort of mischief he had committed.
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** archetype
(n.) original pattern or model;
prototype
* The scientist was careful with the
archetype of her
invention so that once manufacturing began, it would be easy to reproduce it.
invention so that once manufacturing began, it would be easy to reproduce it.
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** ardent
(adj.) with passionate or intense
feelings
The fans’ ardent love of the game
kept them returning to watch the terrible team.
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** arduous
(adj.) laborious, difficult;
strenuous
* Building a house is arduous
work, but the result is well worth the labor.
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** arid
** arid
(adj.) extremely dry, parched;
barren, unimaginative
* The terrain was so arid that not
one species of plant could survive.
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** aromatic
(adj.) having a smell which is sweet
or spicy
* The aromatic smell coming from the
oven made the man’s mouth water.
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** arrogant
(adj.) acting superior to others;
conceited
* After purchasing his new,
expensive sports car, the arrogant doctor refused to allow anyone to ride with
him to the country club.
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** arrogate
(v.) to claim or demand unduly
* The teenager arrogated that he
should be able to use his parent’s car whenever he desired.
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** articulate
(v.) to utter clearly and distinctly
;
(adj.) clear, distinct; expressed
with clarity; skillful with words
* (v.)It’s even more important to
articulate your words when you’re on the phone.
* (adj.) You didn’t have to vote for
him to agree that Adlai Stevenson was articulate.
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** artifice
(n.) skill in a craft
* The artifice of glass-making takes
many years of practice.
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** ascetic
(n.) one who leads a simple life of
self-denial;
(adj.) rigorously abstinent
* (n.) The monastery is filled with
ascetics who have devoted their lives to religion.
* (adj.) The nuns lead an ascetic
life devoted to the Lord.
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** aseptic
(adj.) germ free
* It is necessary for an operating
room to be aseptic.
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** askance
(adv.) a sideways glance of
disapproval
* The look askance proved the guard
suspected some wrongdoing.
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** asperity
(n.) harshness
* The man used asperity to frighten
the girl out of going.
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** aspersion
(n.) slanderous statement; a
damaging or derogatory criticism
* He blamed the loss of his job on
an aspersion stated by his co-worker to his superior.
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** aspirant
(n.) a person who goes after high
goals
* The aspirant would not settle for
assistant director—only the top job was good enough.
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** assay
(n.) to determine the quality of a
substance.
* Have the soil assayed.
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** assess
(v.) to estimate the value of
* She assessed the possible rewards
to see if the project was worth her time and effort.
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** assiduous
(adj.) carefully attentive;
industrious
* It is necessary to be assiduous if
a person wishes to make the most of his time at work.
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** assuage
(v.) to relieve; ease; make less
severe
* The medication helped assuage the
pain of the wound.
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** astringent
(n.) a substance that contracts
bodily tissues;
(adj.) causing contraction;
tightening; stern, austere
* (n.) After the operation an
astringent was used on his skin so that the stretched area would return to
normal.
* (adj.) The downturn in sales
caused the CEO to impose astringent measures.
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** astute
(adj.) cunning; sly; crafty
The astute lawyer’s questioning
convinced the jury of the defendant’s guilt.
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** atrophy
** atrophy
(v.) to waste away, as from lack of
use; to wither;
(n.)failure to grow
* The atrophy of the muscles was due
to the injury.
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** attenuate
(v.) to thin out; to weaken
* The chemist attenuated the
solution by adding water.
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** atypical
(adj.) something that is abnormal
* The atypical behavior of the wild
animal alarmed the hunters.
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** audacious
(adj.) fearless; bold
* The audacious soldier went into
battle without a shield.
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** augment
(v.) to increase or add to; to make
larger
* They were able to augment their
savings over a period of time.
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** august
(adj.) to be imposing or magnificent
* The palace was august in gold and
crystal.
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** auspicious
(adj.) being of a good omen;
successful
* It was auspicious that the sun
shone on the first day of the trip.
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** austere
(adj.) having a stern look; having
strict self-discipline
* The austere teacher assigned five
pages of homework each day.
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** authentic
(adj.) real; genuine; trustworthy
* An authentic diamond will cut
glass.
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** authoritarian
(n.); acting as a dictator;
(adj.)demanding obedience
* (n.) The authoritarian made all of
the rules but did none of the work.
* (adj.)Fidel Castro is reluctant to
give up his authoritarian rule.
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** autocracy
(n.) an absolute monarchy;
government where one person holds power
* She was extremely power-hungry and
therefore wanted her government to be an autocracy.
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** autocrat
(n.) an absolute ruler
* The autocrat in charge of the
government was a man of power and prestige.
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** avarice
(n.) inordinate desire for gaining
and possessing wealth
* The man’s avarice for money kept
him at work through the evenings and weekends.
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** aver
(v.) to affirm as true
* The witness was able to aver the
identity of the defendant.
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** awry
(adj.)turned or twisted toward one
side; not functioning properly
(adv.) away from the correct or
expected course
* (adj.) Reena's skirt was awry and
looked silly with her silk blouse.
*(adv.) Hearing the explosion in the laboratory, the scientist realized the experiment had gone awry.
*(adv.) Hearing the explosion in the laboratory, the scientist realized the experiment had gone awry.
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** azure
(adj.) the clear blue color of the
sky
* The azure sky made the picnic day
perfect.
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{B}
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** baleful
(adj.) harmful, malign, detrimental
* The strange liquid could be baleful if ingested.
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** banal
(adj.) trite; without freshness or
originality
* Attending parties became trite
after a few weeks.
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** baneful
(adj.) deadly or causing distress,
death
* Not wearing a seat belt could be
baneful.
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** baroque
(adj.) extravagant; ornate;
embellished
* The baroque artwork was made up of
intricate details which kept the museum-goers enthralled.
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** bastion
(n.) a fortified place or strong
defense
* The strength of the bastion saved
the soldiers inside of it.
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** batten
(v.) to gain
* The team could only batten by
drafting the top player.
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** bauble
(n.) a showy yet useless thing
* The woman had many baubles on her
bookshelf.
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** beget
(v.) to bring into being
* The king wished to beget a new
heir.
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** beholden
(adj.) indebted to
* The children were beholden to their
parents for the car loan.
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** behoove
(v.) to be advantageous; to be
necessary
* It will behoove the students to
buy their textbooks early.
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** belittle
(v.) to make small; to think lightly
of
* The unsympathetic friend belittled
her friend’s problems and spoke of her own as the most important.
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** bellicose
(adj.) quarrelsome; warlike
* The bellicose guest would not be
invited back again.
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** bemuse
(v.) to preoccupy in thought
* The girl was bemused by her
troubles.
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** benefactor
(n.) one who helps others; a donor
* An anonymous benefactor donated
$10,000 to the children’s hospital.
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** beneficent
(adj.) conferring benefits; kindly;
doing good
* A beneficent donation helped the
organization meet its goal.
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** benevolent
(adj.) kind; generous
* The benevolent gentleman
volunteered his services.
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** benign
(adj.) mild; harmless; kind
* A lamb is a benign animal,
especially when compared with a lion.
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** berate
(v.) scold; reprove; reproach;
criticize
* The child was berated by her
parents for breaking the china.
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** bereft
(v.) to be deprived of; to be in a
sad manner;
(adj.) hurt by someone’s death
* (v.) The widower was bereft for
many years after his wife’s death.
* (adj.) The loss of his job will
leave the man bereft of many luxuries
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** beseech
(v.) to ask earnestly
* The soldiers beseeched the
civilians for help.
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** besmirch
(v.) to dirty or discolor
* The soot from the chimney will
besmirch clean curtains.
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** bestial
(adj.) having the qualities of a
beast; brutal
* The bestial employer made his
employees work in an unheated room.
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** betroth
(v.) to promise or pledge in
marriage
* The man betrothed his daughter to
the prince.
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** biased
(adj.) prejudiced; influenced; not
neutral
* The vegetarian had a biased
opinion regarding what should be ordered for dinner.
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** biennial
(adj.) happening every two years;
(n.) a plant which blooms every two
years
* (adj.) The biennial journal’s
influence seemed only magnified by its infrequent publication.
* (n.) She has lived here for four
years and has seen the biennials bloom twice.
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** bilateral
(adj.) pertaining to or affecting
both sides or two sides; having two sides
* The brain is a bilateral organ,
consisting of a left and right hemisphere.
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** blasphemous
(adj.) irreligious; away from
acceptable standards; speaking ill of using profane language
* The upper-class parents thought
that it was blasphemous for their son to marry a waitress.
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** blatant
(adj.) obvious; unmistakable; crude;
vulgar
* The blatant foul was reason for
ejection.
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** blighted
(adj.) causing frustration or destruction
* The blighted tornado left only one
building standing in its wake.
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** blithe
(adj.) happy; cheery; merry; a
cheerful disposition
* The blithe child was a pleasant
surprise.
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** bode
(v.) to foretell something
* The storm bode that we would not
reach our destination.
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** bombast
(n.) pompous speech; pretentious
words
* The presenter ended his bombast
with a prediction of his future success.
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** bombastic
(adj.) pompous; wordy; turgid
* The bombastic woman talks a lot
about herself.
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** boor
(n.) a rude person
* The boor was not invited to the
party, but he came anyway.
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** breadth
(n.) the distance from one side to
another
* The table cloth was too small to
cover the breadth of the table.
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** brevity
(n.) briefness; shortness
* On Top 40 AM radio, brevity was
the coin of the realm.
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** brindled
(adj.) mixed with a darker color
* In order to get matching paint we
made a brindled mixture.
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** broach
(v.) to introduce into conversation
* Broaching the touchy subject was
difficult.
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** brusque
(adj.) abrupt in manner or speech
* His brusque answer was neither
acceptable nor polite.
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** bucolic
(adj.) having to do with shepherds
or the country
* The bucolic setting inspired the
artist.
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** bumptious
(adj.) arrogant
* He was bumptious in manner as he
approached the podium to accept his
anticipated award.
anticipated award.
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** bungler
(n.) a clumsy person
The one who broke the crystal vase
was a true bungler.
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** burgeon
(v.) to grow or develop quickly
* The tumor appeared to burgeon more
quickly than normal.
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** burlesque
(v.); to imitate in a non-serious
manner;
(n.) a comical imitation
* (v.) His stump speeches were so
hackneyed,he seemed to be burlesquing of his role as a congressman.
* (n.) George Burns was considered
one of the great practitioners of burlesque.
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** burly
(adj.) strong; bulky; stocky
* The lumberjack was a burly man.
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** burnish
(v.) to polish by rubbing
* The vase needed to be burnished to
restore its beauty.
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