abhor:
fill with horror and loathing; horrify; hate | abrasive:
rubbing away; tending to grind down |
abrogate:
abolish, do away with, or annul, especially by authority | absolution:
act of absolving or the state of being absolved; formal remission of sin imparted by a priest |
abstain:
refrain; hold oneself back voluntarily from an action or practice | abstemious:
sparing or moderation in eating and drinking; temperate |
abstruse:
obscure; profound; difficult to understand. | accolade:
award of merit; expression of approval; praise |
acquiesce:
assent; agree without protesting | acrid:
unpleasantly sharp or bitter to taste or smell; bitterly pungent |
acrophobia:
fear of heights; abnormal fear of high places | acuity:
sharpness; acuteness of vision or perception; keenness |
adamant:
extremely hard; inflexible; stubbornly unyielding | adroit:
skillful and adept under pressing conditions |
adulation:
excessive flattery or admiration; unmerited praise | adversity:
state of misfortune, hardship, or affliction; misfortune |
advocate:
speak, plead, or argue in favour of; plead for; push for something | aesthetic:
elegant or tasteful; of or concerning appreciation of beauty or good taste |
affable:
easily approachable; warmly friendly | alacrity:
cheerful promptness or willingness; eagerness; speed or quickness |
alchemy:
medieval chemistry; magical or mysterious power or process of transforming | allay:
calm; pacify; reduce the intensity of; relieve |
alleviate:
provide physical relief, as from pain; make easier; remove in part | aloof:
apart; remote in manner; distant physically or emotionally; reserved and remote |
amass:
collect; gather for oneself, as for one's pleasure or profit | ambiguity:
state of being ambiguous; doubtfulness or uncertainty |
ambiguous:
unclear or doubtful in meaning | ambivalence:
state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes, such as love and hate |
ambulatory:
able to walk; formed or adapted for walking; not stationary | ameliorate:
make or become better; improve; grow better |
amiable:
good-natured and likable; lovable; warmly friendly | amity:
friendship; peaceful relations, as between nations |
amorphous:
formless; lacking shape or definition | analgesic:
serving to reduce sensibility to pain without loss of consciousness |
analogous:
comparable; similar or alike | anarchy:
absence of governing body; state of disorder; political disorder and confusion |
anecdote:
short account of amusing or interesting event; short narrative; secret story of history or biography | animosity:
bitter hostility; active hatred; hostile feeling or act |
annex:
append or attach; take possession of; incorporate into an existing political unit | annex:
append or attach; take possession of; incorporate into an existing political unit |
anomaly:
irregularity; person or something that is unusual; departure from normal or common order | antagonism:
active resistance; condition of being an opposing principle, force, or factor |
antediluvian:
antiquated; extremely old and ancient; belonging to very ancient times | anthology:
book of literary selections by various authors |
antiquated:
too old to be fashionable, suitable, or useful; obsolete; aged | apathetic:
feeling or showing a lack of interest or concern; indifferent |
apathy:
lack of caring; indifference | apocryphal:
untrue; of questionable authorship or authenticity; erroneous; fictitious |
appease:
bring peace, quiet, or calm to; satisfy or relieve | apprehensive:
capable of apprehending; knowing; conscious; relating to the faculty of apprehension; sensible; feeling; perceptive |
arable:
fit for growing crops, as by plowing | arbitrary:
randomly chosen; determined by chance or impulse, and not by reason or principle |
arcane:
secret; mysterious; known only to the initiated | archaic:
no longer current or applicable; antiquated |
bigot:
hypocrite, especially, superstitious hypocrite; one who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics | bilk:
defraud or cheat; frustrate or disappoint; evade or escape from |
billowing:
swelling out in waves; surging; stormy; affected by storms | blasphemy:
act of claiming for oneself the attributes and rights of God; utterance or writing concerning God or a sacred entity |
blatant:
flagrant; conspicuously obvious; loudly offensive | blighted:
suffering from a disease; destroyed, ruined, or spoiled |
blithe:
gay; joyous; carefree and lighthearted | bolster:
support or prop up with or as if with a long narrow pillow or cushion |
boorish:
rude and clumsy in behavior; ungentlemanly; awkward in manners | bourgeois:
middle class; selfishly materialistic; dully conventional |
braggart:
boaster; one given to loud, empty boasting; very talkative person | brevity:
quality or state of being brief in duration; concise expression |
broach:
introduce; bring up for discussion or debate; announce | brusque:
abrupt and curt in manner or speech; rudely abrupt, unfriendly |
bulwark:
earthwork or other strong defense; person who defends | bureaucracy:
over-regulated administrative system |
burgeon:
grow forth; send out buds; grow or develop rapidly | burnish:
make shiny by rubbing; polish |
buttress:
support physically; prop up; support something or someone by supplying evidence | cajole:
influence or urge by gentle urging or flattering |
caldron:
large kettle or boiler of copper, brass, or iron | callow:
youthful; immature; inexperienced; without feathers |
candid:
straightforward; frank; free from prejudice; impartial | candor:
frankness; quality of being honest and straightforward in attitude and speech |
cantankerous:
ill humored; irritable; marked by ill-tempered contradiction or opposition; ugly; malicious | capacious:
capable of containing a large quantity; spacious or roomy |
capitulate:
surrender; end all resistance; give up; go along with or comply | carping:
fault-finding; excessive complaining; of unreasonable criticism or censure |
cartographer:
one who makes maps or charts | castigate:
criticize severely; punish; revise or make corrections to publication |
catharsis:
purging or cleansing of any passage of body | caucus:
private meeting of members of a party to select officers or determine policy |
caustic:
capable of burning, corroding, dissolving, or eating away by chemical action | cavalcade:
ceremonial procession or display; succession or series |
celerity:
swiftness of action or motion; speed | censorious:
critical; addicted to censure; severe in making remarks on others, or on their writings or manners; implying or expressing censure |
censure:
expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism; blame | cerebral:
relating to the brain or cerebrum; intellectual rather than emotional |
certitude:
state of being certain; complete assurance; confidence | chary:
cautious; sparing or restrained about giving |
chicanery:
mean or unfair artifice to obscure truth; deception by trickery or sophistry | chimerical:
fantastically improbable; highly unrealistic; imaginative |
choleric:
hot-tempered; easily angered; bad-tempered; expressing anger | circuitous:
being or taking a roundabout, lengthy course; going round in a circuit; not direct |
circumlocution:
indirect or roundabout expression; evasion in speech or writing | |
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