 | Term | Definition |
| |
adulation |
n. flattery; admiration |
| |
adulate |
v. excessive or slavish admiration or flattery |
| |
adulterate |
v. make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances |
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adulteration |
n. being mixed with extraneous material; |
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advent |
n. arrival |
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adventitious |
adj. accidental; casual |
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adversary |
n. opponent; enemy |
| |
adverse |
adj. unfavorable; hostile |
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adversity |
n. poverty, misfortune |
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advert |
v. refer (to) |
| |
advocacy |
n. support; active pleading on behalf of someone or something |
| |
advocate |
v. urge; plead for (also noun) |
| |
aegis |
n. shield; defense |
| |
aerie |
n. nest of a large bird of prey (eagle, hawk) |
| |
aesthetic |
adj. artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciating the beautiful |
| |
aesthete |
n. one having or affecting sensitivity to the beautiful especially in art |
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affable |
adj. easily approachable; warmly friendly |
| |
affability |
n. being pleasant and at ease in talking to others |
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affected |
adj. artificial; pretended; assumed in order to impress |
| |
affectation |
n. the act of taking on or displaying an attitude or mode of behavior not natural to oneself or not genuinely felt |
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affidavit |
n. written statement made under oath |
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affiliation |
n. joining; associating with |
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affinity |
n. kinship |
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affirmation |
n. positive assertion; confirmation; solemn pledge by one who refuses to take an oath |
| |
affix |
v. attach or add on; fasten |
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affliction |
n. state of distress; cause of suffering |
| |
affluence |
n. abundance; wealth |
| |
affront |
n. insult; offense, intentional act of disrespect (also v.) |
| |
agape |
adj. openmouthed |
| |
agenda |
n. items of business at a meeting |
| |
agglomeration |
n. collection; heap |
| |
aggrandize |
v. increase or intensify; raise in power, wealth, rank or honor |
| |
aggregate |
v. gather; accumulate (also adj.) |
| |
aggregation |
a group, body, or mass composed of many distinct parts or individuals |
| |
aggressor |
n. attacker |
| |
aghast |
adj. horrified; dumbfounded |
| |
agility |
n. nimbleness |
| |
agitate |
v. stir up; disturb |
| |
agnostic |
n. one who is skeptical of the existence of a god or any ultimate reality (also adj.) |
| |
agog |
adj. highly excited; intensely curious |
| |
agrarian |
adj. pertaining to land or to its cultivation |
| |
alacrity |
n. cheerful promptness; eagerness |
| |
alchemy |
n. medieval for of speculative thought that aimed to transform base metals (lead or copper) into silver or gold and to discover a means of prolonging life |
| |
alcove |
n. nook; recess |
| |
alias |
n. an assumed name (also adv.) |
| |
alienate |
v. make hostile; separate |
| |
alimentary |
adj. supplying nourishment |
| |
alimony |
n. payments made to an ex-spouse after divorce |
| |
allay |
v. calm; pacify |
| |
allege |
v. state without proof |
| |
allegation |
n. an assertion unsupported and by implication regarded as unsupportable |
| |
allegiance |
n. loyalty |
| |
allegory |
n. story in which characters are used as symbols; fable |
| |
allegorical |
adj. having hidden spiritual meaning that transcends the literal sense of a sacred text |
| |
alleviate |
v. relieve |
| |
alliteration |
n. repetition of beginning sound in poetry |
| |
allocate |
v. assign |
| |
alloy |
n. a mixture as of metals |
| |
alloy |
v. mix; make less pure; lessen or moderate |
| |
allude |
v. refer indirectly |
| |
allure |
v. entice; attract (also n.) |
| |
allusion |
n. indirect reference |
| |
alluvial |
adj. pertaining to soil deposits left by running water |
| |
aloof |
adj. apart; reserved |
| |
aloft |
adv. upward |
| |
altercation |
n. noisy quarrel; heated dispute |
| |
altruistic |
adj. unselfishly generous; concerned for others |
| |
altruism |
n. unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others |
| |
amalgamate |
v. combine; unite in one body |
| |
amass |
v. collect |
| |
amazon |
n. female warrior |
| |
ambidextrous |
adj. capable of using either hand with equal ease |
| |
ambience |
n. environment; atmosphere |
| |
ambiguous |
adj. unclear or doubtful in meaning |
| |
ambiguity |
n. uncertainty |
| |
ambivalence |
n. the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes |
| |
ambivalent |
adj. simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings (as attraction and repulsion) toward an object, person, or action |
| |
amble |
n. moving at an easy pace (also v.) |
| |
ambrosia |
n. food of the gods |
| |
ambulatory |
adj. able to walk; not bedridden |
| |
ameliorate |
v. improve |
| |
amenable |
adj. readily managed or willing to be led; answerable or accountable legally |
| |
amend |
v. correct; change, generally for the better |
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