| A | B |
|---|
| abstract | theoretical; not concrete |
| abstruse | difficult to understand |
| acclaim | praise; applaud |
| accolade | an award, or praise |
| acquiescent | reluctantly agreeable; compliant |
| acrimony | words or behavior filled with harshness, anger, or bitterness |
| adamant | refusing to change; stubborn, unyielding |
| adroit | skillful in the use of the hands, or in handling difficult situations |
| advocate | support; plead for; speak on behalf of |
| affable | friendly; easygoing |
| affirmation | positive statement; assertion; agreement |
| alienate | to push someone away, or cause him to separate from people |
| aloof | detached; apart; indifferent |
| altrusitic | unselfish; caring |
| ambidexterous | able to use both hands with equal skill |
| ambiguous | unclear; vague; having several possible interpretations |
| ambivalence | indecision; feeling of being pulled in two directions |
| ameliorate | to make an unpleasant situation better; to improve |
| amity | friendship |
| amorphous | without form or shape |
| analogous | similar |
| anarchy | a lack of order; chaos |
| anathema | a religious curse, or the thing or person being cursed |
| antagonistic | in hostile competition; opposing |
| antiquated | too old to be useful; outdated; obselete |
| antithesis | opposite |
| apathy | lack of interest or concern |
| apex | top; highest point; summit |
| appease | calm; pacify |
| arbitrary | selected by random choice and without solid reason |
| arcane | secret; mysterious |
| archaic | old; antiquated |
| arrogant | acting superior, obnoxious, smug, or rude |
| articulate | able to speak clearly and effectively |
| ascendance | domination; controlling power |
| ascetic | person who rejects personal comfort and luxury for self-discipline |
| asperity | roughness; harshness; irritability |
| assail | attack with words or force |
| assiduous | persistent; hardworking |
| assuage | relieve; ease; pacify |
| astute | wise; insightfully clever; shrewd |
| atrophy | waste away; wither |
| audacious | brazen; brash; nervy |
| augment | make larger; increase |
| auspicious | taking place under promising conditions; likely to succeed |
| austere | stern; plain; without luxuries |
| avarice | greed |
| averse | feeling repelled; wanting to avoid |
| baleful | harmful; menacing |
| banal | boring; trite; insipid |
| beguile | to cheat or decieve, usually through charm; also, to amuse |
| belie | to give an impression that is the opposite of the way things really are; to misrepresent |
| belligerent | having a strong tendency to argue and fight |
| benediction | good wishes; a blessing |
| benevolent | kindhearted; good-natured; generous |
| benign | gentle; kind-hearted; mild |
| bequeath | to leave behind or hand down through a will; transmit |
| blight | decay; disease; widespread death |
| bolster | to support; to reinforce |
| bombast | speech or writing intended to impress the audience; pompous |
| brevity | briefness; conciseness |
| bumptious | pushy; obnoxiously self-assertive |
| cacophony | a collection of sounds or voices that don't blend well; harshness of sound |
| cajole | to fool with flattery or false promises; coax; decieve |
| candor | honesty; frankness |
| capacious | large; roomy; spacious |
| capitulate | surrender; yield |
| capricious | unpredictable |
| castigate | scold; punish |
| caustic | burning, either with chemicals or sarcasm |
| celerity | speed |
| censure | to criticize |
| chasten | punish; discipline; castigate |
| chastise | scold; punish; castigate |
| choler | anger |
| circumscribe | draw a line around; define limits; confine; restrict |
| circumspect | cautious |
| clemency | mercy |
| cloister | secluded or isolated from the outside world; also, a place of seclusion |
| coalesce | unite; grow together |
| coerce | to force someone by threatening or physically overpowering him |
| complacent | self-satisfied; unconcerned |
| compliant | to change your behavior at someone else's request; sonforming; obeying; yielding |
| composure | calmness; equanimity |
| concede | admit reluctantly; yield |
| concise | short and to the point; terse |
| concur | agree |
| condone | to overlook, excuse, or pardon |
| confound | to mix up (in your own mind); or, to confuse someone else |
| consonance | a blending of sounds or opinions; harmony; agreement |
| consummate | to complete or make whole |
| contend | to argue a point or position; or, to struggle for |
| contingent | dependant upon other circumstances; conditional |
| contract | squeeze together; shrink |
| contrite | sorry; penitent |
| conundrum | riddle; mystery |
| converge | move together to meet at a common point |
| conviction | an opinion that is strongly held |
| convivial | fond of parties; sociable |
| copious | in large quantity; abundant |
| cordial | friendly; welcoming; gracious |
| corporeal | having to do with the body or physical world |
| corroborate | support with evidence; tell the same story; confirm |
| criteria | requirements or standards used to make a decision |
| cryptic | hidden; secret; mysterious |
| culpable | guilty; blameworthy |
| cupidity | greed, especially for money |
| cursory | quickly and incompletely done; superficial |
| daunted | dismayed; disheartened; discouraged (made less courageous) |
| decadence | moral decay or decline |
| defame | to say things harmful to a person's reputation; malign; vilify |
| deference | the act of yielding to someone else out of respect |
| denounce | criticize; condemn |
| depleted | emptied; drained; used up |
| deplore | to express regret or disapproval; complain; criticize |
| deprecate | disapprove; belittle |
| deride | make fun of; ridicule |
| despodent | feeling hopeless or depressed |
| despot | tyrant |
| destitute | poor; lacking possessions |
| desultory | lacking a plan; aimless |
| dexterity | high level of skill, especially with the hands; adroitness |
| diatribe | a bitterly critical speech |
| digress | to move away from the main topic when writing or speaking; to go off on a tangent |
| dilatory | causing lateness; stalling |
| discerning | insightful; perceptive |
| disclose | provide information; reveal |
| discord | disagreement; dissonance |
| discourse | exchange of ideas; conversation |
| disdain | a feeling of scorn or contempt |
| disparage | say negative things; belittle |
| disparate | different |
| disperse | spread around; scatter |
| dissent | to disagree, especially with the majority, or with an authority |
| dissolution | separation into parts; the process of dissolving |
| distended | swollen; extended |
| divergence | the act of splitting off into different directions |
| diverse | different; various |
| dogmatic | sticking to widely-accepted beliefs, even when faced with contrary evidence; closed-minded |
| doleful | extremely sad |
| eccentric | different from most, especially in personality or behavior |
| eclectic | choosing from many different sources; carefully selective |
