Vocabulary - 1

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

(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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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

(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.

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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

(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

(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.

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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.

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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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