Word List

Letter A

WORD LIST
LETTER A
Abandon: to leave a place, thing or person forever
Abase: degrade
Abashed: embarrassed
Abate: to become less strong
Abbreviate: to make a word or phrase shorter by using only the first letters of each
word:
Aberration: a temporary change from the typical or usual way of behaving
Abject: when someone is extremely unhappy, poor, frightened, etc
Abjure: to state publicly that you no longer agree with a belief or way of behaving
Ablution: the act of washing yourself
Abominate: to hate something very much
Aboriginal: describes a person or living thing that has existed in a country or continent
since the earliest time known to people
Abort: to cause something to stop or fail before it begins or before it is complete
Abrasive: rude and unfriendly
Abrogate: to end a law, agreement or custom formally
Abscond: to go away suddenly and secretly in order to escape from somewhere
Absolve: o free someone from guilt, blame or responsibility for something
Abet: to help or encourage someone to do something wrong or illegal
Abdicate: to stop controlling or managing something that you are in charge of
Abstemious: not doing things which give you pleasure, especially not eating good food
or drinking alcohol
Abstruse: difficult to understand
Abut: If a building or area of land abuts on something, it is next to it or touches it on one
side:
Abysmal: very bad
Academic: describes someone who is clever and enjoys studying

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Letter A

Accessory: something added to a machine or to clothing, which has a useful or

decorative purpose:
Acclaim: public approval and praise
Acclimate: to (cause to) change to suit different conditions of life, weather, etc
Accolade: praise and approval
Accomplice: a person who helps someone else to commit a crime or to do something
morally wrong
Accost: to approach or stop and speak to someone in a threatening way
Accoutre: the equipment needed for a particular activity or way of lift
Accretion: gradual increase or growth by the addition of new layers or parts
Accrue: to increase in number or amount over a period of time
Acerbic: describes something that is spoken or written in a way that is direct, clever and
cruel
Acoustics: the way in which the structural characteristics of a building or room affect the
qualities of musical or spoken sound
Acquiesce: to accept or agree to something, often unwillingly
Acrid: describes a smell or taste that is strong and bitter and causes a burning feeling in
the throat:
Acrimonious: full of anger, arguments and bad feeling
Actuate: to make a machine work or be the reason a person acts in a certain way
Acumen: skill in making correct decisions and judgments in a particular subject, such as
business or politics:
Adage: a wise saying
Adamant: impossible to persuade, or unwilling to change an opinion or decision
Addle: to make someone feel confused and unable to think clearly
Adept: having a natural ability to do something that needs skill
Adjunct: something added or connected to a larger or more important thing
Adjure: to ask or order someone to do something
Admonish: to tell someone that they have done something wrong
Adorn: to add something decorative to a person or thing
Adroit: very skilful and quick in the way you think or move

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Word List

Letter A

Adulation: very great admiration or praise for someone

Adulterate: to make food or drink weaker or to lower its quality, by adding something
else
Advent: the arrival of an event, invention or person
Adverse: having a negative or harmful effect on something
Advert: an informal advertisement
Aegis: with the protection or support of someone or something, especially an
organization
Aesthetic: relating to the enjoyment or study of beauty
Affable: friendly and easy to talk to
Affected: artificial and not sincere
Affiliation: a connection with a political party or religion, or with a larger organization
Affinity: an attraction or sympathy for someone or something, especially because of
shared characteristics
Affirm: to state something as true
Affluence: having a lot of money or owning a lot of things
Agape: with the mouth open, especially showing surprise or shock
Aggrandize: increase in power, importance or wealth
Aggregate: something formed by adding together several amounts or things; a total
Aghast: suddenly filled with strong feelings of shock and anxiety
Agile: able to move your body quickly and easily
Agnostic: someone who does not know, or believes that it is impossible to know,
whether a god exists
Agrarian: related to the land, especially farms, and its ownership
Alacrity: speed and eagerness
Alcove: a small space in a room, formed by one part of a wall being further back than the
parts on each side
Alias: used when giving the name that a person is generally known by, after giving their
real name:
Alienate: to cause someone or a group of people to stop supporting and agreeing with
you

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Word List

Letter A

Allay: to make someone feel less worried or frightened

Allege: to state that someone has done something illegal or wrong without giving proof
Allegiance: loyalty and support for a ruler, country, group or belief
Allegory: a story, play, poem, picture or other work in which the characters and events
represent particular qualities or ideas, related to morality, religion or politics:
Alleviate: to make something bad such as pain or problems less severe
Alloy: a metal that is made by mixing two or more metals, or a metal and another
substance
Allude: to mention someone or something in an indirect way
Allure: attraction, charm or excitement
Aloof: describes an unfriendly person who refuses to take part in things
Altercation: a loud argument or disagreement
Altruism: willingness to do things which benefit other people, even if it results in
disadvantage for yourself
Alchemy: a process that is so effective that it seems like magic
Amalgamate: to join or unite to form a larger organization or group, or to make separate
organizations do this
Ambidextrous: able to use both hands equally we
Ambiguous: having or expressing more than one possible meaning, sometimes
intentionally
Ambivalent: having two opposing feelings at the same time, or being uncertain about
how you feel
Amble: to walk in a slow and relaxed way
Ameliorate: to make a bad or unpleasant situation better
Amiable: describes a person or their behaviour that is pleasant and friendly
Amicable: relating to behaviour between people that is pleasant and friendly often
despite a difficult situation
Amiss: wrong; not suitable or as expected
Amity: friendship; a good relationship
Amoral: without moral principles
Amorous: of or expressing sexual desire

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Word List

Letter A

Amputate: to cut off a part of the body

Anachronism: a person, thing or idea which exists out of its time in history, especially
one which happened or existed later than the period being shown, discussed, etc
Analgesic: a type of drug which stops you from feeling pain
Analogy: a comparison between things which have similar features, often used to help
explain a principle or idea
Anarchy: lack of organization and control, especially in society because of an absence or
failure of government
Ancillary: providing support or help; additional; extra
Anecdote: a short often amusing story, especially about something someone has done
Anaemia: a medical condition in which there are not enough red blood cells in the blood
Anaesthetic: a substance that makes you unable to feel pain
Anguish: extreme unhappiness caused by physical or mental suffering
Animated: to make someone seem more happy or active
Animosity: strong dislike, opposition or anger
Annals: historical records of the activities of a country or organization, or history in
general
Annihilate: to destroy completely so that nothing is left
Annotate: to add a brief explanation or opinion to a text or drawing
Annuity: a fixed amount of money paid to someone every year, usually until their death,
or the insurance agreement or investment which provides the money that is paid
Annul: to officially announce that something such as a law, agreement, or marriage no
longer exists
Anodyne: intended to avoid causing offence or disagreement, especially by not
expressing strong feelings or opinions
Anomaly: a person or thing that is different from what is usual, or not in agreement with
something else and therefore not satisfactory
Anonymous: made or done by someone whose name is not known or not made public
Antagonism: hate, extreme unfriendliness or active opposition
Antediluvian: extremely old-fashioned
Antidote: a chemical, especially a drug, which limits the effects of a poison

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Word List

Letter A

Apathy: when someone lacks interest or energy and is unwilling to take action especially
over a matter of importance
Aperture: a small and often narrow opening, especially one that allows light into a
camera
Aphorism: a short clever saying which is intended to express a general truth
Apiary: a place where people keep bees, especially a collection of hives (= containers in
which bees live) kept to provide hone
Arable: describes farming and farm land that is used for, or is suitable for, growing crops
Arbiter: someone who makes a judgment or solves an argument or decides what will be
done
Arbitrate: to make a judgment in an argument, usually because asked to do so by those
involved
Arcade: a covered area or passage in which there are shops, or a covered passage joined
to a building on one side and with columns and arches along the other side
Arrant: old fashioned
Armada: a large group of war ships
Arraign: to formally accuse someone in a court of law of a particular crime and ask them
to state whether they are guilty or not
Arrogant: unpleasantly proud and behaving as if you are more important than, or know
more than, other people
Artefacts: n object that is made by a person, such as a tool or a decoration, especially
one that is of historical interest
Artifice: clever trick or something intended to deceive
Aplomb: confidence and style
Apocalypse: a very serious event resulting in great destruction and change
Apocryphal: describes a story that is probably not true although often told and believed
by some people to have happened
Apogee: he most successful, popular or powerful point
Apostate: a person who has given up their religion or left a political part
Apotheosis: the best or most extreme example of something
Appal: o make someone have strong feelings of shock or of disapproval
Apparition: the spirit of a dead person appearing in a form which can be seen

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Word List

Letter A

Appease: to prevent further disagreement in arguments or war by giving to the other

side an advantage that they have demanded
Appellation: name or title
Append: to add something to the end of a piece of writing
Apposite: suitable and right for the occasion
Appraise: to examine someone or something in order to judge their qualities, success or
needs
Apprehend: to catch and arrest someone who has not obeyed the law
Apprise: to inform
Approbation: approval or agreement, often given by an official group; praise
Archaic: of or belonging to the distant past; from an ancient period in history
Archetype: a typical example of something; the original model of something from which
others are copied
Archipelago: a group of small islands or an area of sea in which there are many small
islands:
Ascendancy: a position of power, strength or success
Ascetic: avoiding physical pleasures and living a simple life, often for religious reasons
Askance: to look at or think about someone or something with doubt, disapproval or a
lack of trust
Asperity: the quality of being severe in the way that you speak and behave
Assiduous: showing hard work, care and attention to detail
Assimilate: to take in, fit into, or become similar (to)
Astringent: describes remarks which are clever but very critical or unkind
Astute: clever and quick to see how to take advantage of a situation
Atone: to do something that shows that you are sorry for something bad that you did
Audacious: showing a willingness to take risks or offend people
Augment: to increase the size or value of something by adding something to it
August: having great importance and especially of the highest social class
Auspicious: suggesting a positive and successful future
Austere: without comfort; plain and without decoration; severe

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Word List

Letter A

Authenticate: to prove that something is real, true, or what people say it is

Autocrat: a ruler with unlimited power, or someone who demands total obedience from
other people
Autonomy: the right of a group of people to govern itself, or to organize its own
activities
Autopsy: he cutting open and examination of a dead body in order to discover the cause
of death
Auxiliary: giving help or support, especially to a more important person or thing
Avarice: an extremely strong desire to obtain or keep wealth;
Aver: to state the truth of something strongly
Aversion: a feeling of strong dislike or a lack of willingness to do something
Avid: extremely eager or interested
Avow: to state or admit something
Axiom: a statement or principle which is generally accepted to be true, but is not
necessarily so
Azure: (having) the bright blue colour of the sky on a sunny day

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