abate | v. subside; decrease; become less in amount or intensity |
abdicate | v. give up, renounce, abandon, lay down, or withdraw from, as a right or claim |
aberration | n. a disorder in one's mental state; a state or condition markedly different from the norm |
abject | a. being of the most miserable kind; wretched; lacking pride; brought low in condition or status |
abstruse | a. obscure; profound; difficult to understand. |
abysmal | a. bottomless; very profound; limitless; very bad |
acerbic | a. sour or bitter in taste; harsh or corrosive in tone |
acquiesce | v. assent; accept, comply, or submit tacitly or passively |
acrimonious | a. bitter and sharp in language, tone, or manner |
acumen | n. mental keenness; quickness of perception |
adept | a. expert at; very skilled; having or showing knowledge and skill and aptitude |
admonish | v. warn; counsel someone against something to be avoided |
aesthetic | a. elegant or tasteful; of or concerning appreciation of beauty or good taste |
affectation | n. a deliberate pretense or exaggerated display |
aggregate | v. gather into a mass, sum, or whole; amount to |
allure | v. attract with something desirable; be highly, often subtly attractive |
allusion | n. indirect reference; symbolical reference or comparison; metaphor |
ambience | n. particular environment or surrounding influence; atmosphere of environment |
amphitheater | n. oval building with tiers of seats from central open space or arena |
annihilate | v. destroy completely; reduce to nonexistence |
annul | v. make or declare void or invalid; reduce to nothing |
antithesis | n. a contrast or opposition between two things; direct contrast |
apathetic | a. feeling or showing a lack of interest or concern; indifferent |
apex | n. highest point; vertex; summit; climax |
aphorism | n. definition or concise statement of principle; tersely phrased statement of truth or opinion |
appalling | a. causing or fitted to cause dismay or horror; frightful |
ardent | a. displaying or by strong enthusiasm or devotion; passionate |
atrocious | a. shockingly brutal or cruel; exceptionally bad or displeasing |
august | a. impressive; majestic; inspiring awe or admiration |
auspicious | a. attended by favorable circumstances; marked by success; prosperous |
authoritative | a. having weight of authority; peremptory and dictatorial |
automation | n. act or process of converting the controlling of a machine or device to a more automatic system, such as computer or electronic controls |
avow | v. declare openly; acknowledge openly, boldly, and unashamedly |
banal | a. obvious and dull; commonplace; lacking originality |
befall | v. happen, occur, or be the case in the course of events or by chance |
bland | a. lacking stimulating or mild; agreeable |
blasphemy | n. act of claiming for oneself the attributes and rights of God; utterance or writing concerning God or a sacred entity |
blurb | n. a promotional statement; a short description of a book, movie, or other product for promotional purposes |
bogus | a. counterfeit or fake; not authentic; not genuine |
bourgeois | a. middle class; selfishly materialistic; dully conventional |
brandish | v. move or wave, as a weapon; raise and move in various directions |
brevity | n. quality or state of being brief in duration; concise expression |
broach | v. introduce; bring up for discussion or debate; announce |
bureaucracy | n. over regulated administrative system |
cajole | v. influence or urge by gentle urging or flattering |
callow | a. youthful; immature; inexperienced; without feathers |
cancellation | n. act of cancelling; calling off some arrangement |
candor | n. frankness; quality of being honest and straightforward in attitude and speech |
capillary | n. long and slender with a very small internal diameter |
capricious | a. fickle; impulsive and unpredictable; apt to change opinions suddenly |
carnivorous | a. eating or feeding on flesh; predatory |
castigate | v. criticize severely; punish; revise or make corrections to publication |
cater | v. supply what is needed or desired; provide food professionally for special occasion |
catharsis | n. purging or cleansing of any passage of body |
catholic | a. broadly sympathetic; universal; related to Roman Catholic Church |
celibacy | n. state of being unmarried; single life |
cervical | a. of or relating to the cervix of the uterus; relating to the neck |
chagrin | n. anxiety caused by humiliation or injured pride; disappointment |
charisma | n. divine gift; great popular charm or appeal of political leader |
charlatan | n. quack; one who pretends to knowledge, skill, or importance |
choleric | a. hot-tempered; easily angered; bad-tempered; expressing anger |
choreography | n. art of representing dances in written symbols; arrangement of dances |
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