| A | B |
| abase | to embarrass or shame one's self or someone else |
| abdicate | to give up power or control |
| acquiesce | to surrender; to agree without enthusiasm |
| abet | to help someone who is doing something immoral or illegal |
| abeyance | a temporary period of inactivity |
| abjure | to take back or claim that something you said wasn't true; to give up on your previous beliefs |
| abrasive | describes something that is rough like sandpaper or that causes tension |
| abridge | to cut short; to reduce in size |
| abstruse | complicated and hard to understand |
| abysmal | terrible; awful |
| amiable, affable | friendly |
| antecede | to come before something |
| assiduous | diligent, dedicated, and determined |
| belligerent | hostile & always wanting to fight |
| coerce | to force |
| commiserate | to sympathize; to show sorrow for |
| deter | to prevent and discourage |
| estrange | to separate and remove affection from another |
| languish | to lose energy and vigor |
| malevolent | describes someone who wishes harm on another |
| accrue | to grow in number over time; to add to something slowly |
| acrid | bitter, acidic, & stinging in taste or manner |
| acumen | skill |
| adept | skillful |
| addendum | an addition at the end of a book or other document |
| adjunct | an assistant; person with a lower status |
| adverse | unfavorable and rebelling against something or someone |
| affinity | a family relationship by marriage or a feeling of similarity and natural attraction to something else |
| agnostic | a person who is uncertain about the existence of God |
| chastened | remorseful |
| contrite | remorseful |
| penitent | remorseful |
| compunction | remorse |
| erratic | inconsistent, unpredictable |
| duplicitous | two-faced; lies often |
| slovenly | nasty, sloppy, dirty |
| dereliction | abandonment; bad situation that gets worse; neglectfulness |