| A | B |
|---|
| agamic | not involving the fusion of male and female gametes in reproduction |
| agnostic | uncertain of all claims to knowledge; n : a person who doubts truth of religion |
| acephalous | Lacking a leader or head |
| amoral | without moral standards or principles |
| amorphous | Lacking definite organization or form; shapeless |
| anhydrous | Without water, especially water of crystallization |
| aphyllous | Leafless |
| abyss | An immeasurably deep chasm, depth, or void |
| atheism | Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods. |
| atom | irreducible, indestructible material unit; extremely small part or quantity |
| analgesic | N: Medication that reduces or eliminates pain; Adj: Capable of relieving pain |
| apathy | Lack of interest, concern, feeling |
| anarchy | Absence of government or law; chaos |
| aphobic | Fearless; free from irrational fears |
| achromatic | Colorless |
| atrophy | Wasting or shrinking of a bodily organ or part |
| anonymous | Nameless; having an unknown or unacknowledged name |
| anomalous | Difficult to classify; Deviating from the normal or common order, form, or rule |
| anesthesia | Loss of feeling/sensation |
| asymmetrical | Not balanced (not the same measurement in both parts) |
| acrobat | One skilled in feats of agility (e.g. one who steps on the ends of high wires, etc!) |
| acrolith | A statue whose extremities are of stone, the trunk being generally of wood. |
| acrocephaly | Abnormality in which the top of the skull grows in a cone shape |
| acromegaly | Enlargement of the bones of the extremities |
| acropolis | Fortified height or citadel (highest point) of a city, esp. a Greek city |
| acronym | A word made from the initials of other words |
| allergy | High sensitivity to certain substances (i.e. “other” substances at “work” in the body) |
| allomorphic | (of mineral crystals) Able to change form without changing chemical composition |
| amphibian | Animal capable of living both on land and in water |
| amphitheater | Theater with seats all around the central arena |
| anachronism | Something out of its proper time |
| anagram | Word or phrase formed by reordering letters of another word |
| anathema | A curse or excommunication |
| antagonize | To provoke hostility or enmity; to struggle against |
| antidote | A remedy given to counteract (act against!) a poison or disease |
| antipathy | A strong feeling of aversion or dislike (feeling strongly against someone!) |
| antiseptic | Capable of preventing infection |
| antiphony | Responsive singing |
| antithesis | Direct contrast; an opposite; something set in contrast to another |
| antibody | A protein produced as an immune response (it works against a foreign body, e.g. virus/bacterium/parasite, in the blood stream) |
| antipodes | Two places on opposite sides of the Earth |
| antitoxin | Antibody formed in response to a toxin |
| apotheosis | Deification; Exaltation to divine rank or stature |
| apocalypse | A prophetic disclosure; a revelation (removing the cover from information about the future) |
| archaic | Ancient; Old-fashioned; Outdated |
| archives | Place containing records, documents, etc. (presumably old ones!) |
| archaeozoic | Like or belonging to the earliest forms of animal life. |
| autocracy | Absolute rule by a single person |
| autopsy | Examination of a cadaver to determine cause of death (a view of a self!) |
| autonomy | Self-government or the right of self-government |
| automatic | Self-regulating; acting on its own |
| cacoepy | Incorrect pronunciation |
| cacography | Bad handwriting or spelling |
| cacoethes | An irresistible compulsion; a mania; a bad habit |
| cacogenesis | inability to produce viable, fertile hybrids |
| cataclysm | Violent and destructive upheaval |
| catalog | an itemized list |
| diarrhea | excessively frequent bowel movements |
| diagonal | a slanted or oblique direction |
| diathermy | therapeutic generation of local heat in body tissue by electromagnetic currents |
| dialysis | cleansing of blood by separation of smaller molecules from larger molecules through semipermeable membrane |
| diacritical | distinguishing; marking a distinction (as in accent marks on vowels) |
| diadem | crown worn as sign of royalty |
| diaphanous | of such fine texture as to be transparent (e.g. fabric) |
| diagnose | to distinguish or identify (i.e. a disease) |
| dysphonia | difficulty (hoarseness) in speaking |
| dysphoria | feeling of anxiety, unease, depression (something difficult to bear) |
| ectoderm | outermost of three germ layers of embryo (from which sense organs originate) |
| eccentric | departing from recognized or established norm or pattern |
| exogamy | custom of marrying outside one’s social unit |
| ectogenous | able to live and develop outside a host (i.e. parasites) |
| endemic | native to a particular region or people |
| empathy | identification with and understanding of another’s feelings |
| enzootic | affecting animals of a specific geographic area (i.e. a disease) |
| endoderm | innermost of the three germ layers of an embryo (forms the gastrointestinal, lungs, & assoc. structures) |
| endogenous | produced/growing from within (e.g. secretions within a cell) |
| endogamy | custom of marrying within one’s social unit |
| epicenter | point on the earth’s surface directly over the center of an earthquake |
| epigram | short, witty poem expressing a single thought or observation upon a subject |
| epitome | a brief summary; or, a representative or example of a class or type |
| euthanasia | mercy killing |
| eugenics | study of hereditary improvement of the human race by controlled selective breeding. |
| eutrophy | healthy nutrition |
| euphony | agreeable sound, especially in the sound of words |
| heteromorphic | Having different forms at different periods of the life cycle, as in stages of insect metamorphosis. |
| hierocracy | Government by the clergy |
| holocaust | Great destruction resulting in the extensive loss of life, especially by fire |
| homogeneous | all of the same or similar kind or nature |
| hypodermic | Injected beneath the skin |
| hypercritical | Excessively critical |
| ideology | set of doctrines or beliefs |
| idiosyncrasy | structural or behavioral trait peculiar to an individual or a group |
| isometrics | muscle-building exercises involving muscular contractions against resistance without movement (the muscles contracts but the length of the muscle does not change) |
| macroscopic | Large enough to be seen by the unaided eye |
| hieroglyphics | system of writing using pictorial symbols for sounds or words |
| hierarchy | Categorization of a group of people according to ability or status |
| holocryptic | wholly concealed; incapable of being deciphered |
| holographic | written entirely in the handwriting of the person whose signature it bears (e.g. of a will) |
| homology | the quality of being similar (homologous) in position or value |
| homophone | Words that are pronounced the same but differ in meaning, origin, and sometimes spelling |
| homograph | words that have the same spelling, may have different pronunciation, and differ in meaning |
| homonym | words that have the same sound and often the same spelling but differ in meaning |
| hypothetical | conditional; supposed or uncertain |
| hypocrite | A person who professes beliefs he does not carry out |
| hypocrisy | the practice of holding beliefs one does not carry out |
| hypokinesis | decreased muscular activity |
| hyperpnea | abnormally deep or rapid breathing |
| hypergamy | a practice of marrying into an equal or better social group than one’s own |
| hyperkinesis | hyperactivity; abnormal increase in muscular movement |
| ideogram | A graphic symbol that stands for an idea ($, @, etc.) |
| idiom | manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language |
| idiot | foolish or stupid person |
| isobar | line on weather map connecting areas of equal atmospheric pressure |
| isodynamic | having equal force or strength |
| isocracy | rule whereby everyone has equal power |
| isochronal | equal in duration of time |
| isothermal | of equal or constant temperature |
| isochromatic | having the same color or wavelength |
| isosceles | having two sides of equal length |
| macrocosm | the entire world; the universe |
| macrocephalic | having an abnormally large head |
