| A | B |
|---|
| astral | relating to the stars |
| astringent | binding; causing contraction |
| astronomical | enormously large or extensive |
| asunder | into parts; apart |
| asylum | place of refuge or shelter; protection |
| asymmetric | not identical on both sides of a dividing central line |
| atavism | reversion to an earlier type; throwback |
| atheistic | denying the existence of god |
| atlas | a bound volume of maps, charts, or tables |
| atone | make amends for; pay for |
| atrocity | brutal deed |
| attain | achieve or accomplish; gain |
| attentive | alert and watchful; considerate; thoughful |
| attenuate | make thin; weaken |
| attest | testify, bear witness |
| attribute | essential quality |
| attrition | gradual decrease in numbers; reduction in the work force without firing employees; wearing away opposition by means of harassment |
| atypical | not normal |
| audit | examination of accounts |
| auditory | pertaining to the sense of hearing |
| augury | omen; prophecy |
| august | impressive; majestic |
| aureole | sun's corona; halo |
| auroral | pertaining to the aurora borealis |
| auspicious | favoring success |
| authenticate | confirm as genuine |
| authoritative | having the weight of authority; peremptory and dictorial |
| autocratic | having absolute, unchecked power;; dictatorial |
| automaton | robot; person performing a task mechanically |
| autopsy | examination of a dead body; post-mortem |
| auxiliary | helper, additional or subsidiary |
| avalanche | great mass of falling snow or ice |
| avenge | take vengeance for something or on behalf of someone |
| aver | assert confidently; affirm |
| averse | reluctant; disinclined |
| avid | greedy; eager for |
| avocation | secondary or minor occupation |
| avow | declare openly |
| avuncular | like an uncle |
| awe | solemn wonder |
| awry | crooked; wrong; amiss |
| axiom | self evident truth requiring no proof |
| axure | sky blue |
| babble | chatter idly |
| bacchanalian | drunken |
| badger | perster; annoy |
| badinage | teasing converation |
| baffle | frustrate; perplex |
| bait | harass; tease |
| baleful | deadly; having a malign influence; ominous |
| balk | foil or thwart; stop short; refuse to go on |
| ballast | heavy substance used to add stability or weight |
| balm | something that relieves pain |
| balmy | mild; fragrant |
| banal | hackneyed; commonplace; trite; lacking originality |
| bandy | discuss lightly or glibly; exchange(words) heatedly |
| bane | cause of ruin; curse |
| bantering | good natured ridiculing |
| barb | sharp projection from fishhook, etc.; openly cutting remark |
