Vocabulary

Abash: To disconcert; embarrass

He looked rather abashed at her criticism.

Abate: To lessen; reduce in amount or intensity; lower
The rain has started to abate slightly.

Abdicate: To resign from a high position; renounce some right
She has abdicated all responsibility for the project.

Abduct: Carry off (a person) by force; kidnap
The company director was abducted from his car by terrorists.

Abductor: Kidnapper; one who forcibly carries a person away
He was tortured by his abductors.

Abet: To encourage; assist or support, often in wrongdoing
They claimed that the riot had been abetted by the police.

Abide: To endure; bear patiently; accept
He can’t abide laziness.

Abjure: When we abjure a belief, we renounce or repudiate it
He abjured his religion.

Abort: To terminate a procedure before completion
His arrest aborted our plan.

Abound: To be plentiful; grow or exist in abundance
Fish abound in that lake.

Abscond: To depart suddenly and secretly; to go into hiding, as from the law
Two prisoners absconded last night.

Abstain: To refrain from action; hold back from participation
He took a vow to abstain from alcohol.

Abstract: Theoretical; lacking specific factual instances; difficult to understand; abstruse
I don’t want your abstract ideas; give me something concrete.

Abstruse: Hard to understand
I found her arguments very abstruse.

Abut: To border on; touch
Their house abutted (on to) the police station.

Abyss: Chasm; deep crack or fissure in the earth, immeasurable rift
He was killed in a climbing accident when a rope broke and he fell into an abyss.

Acclamation: Enthusiastic approval by loud applause; cheering, shouts
His speech was greeted with sounds of acclamation.

Acclimation: An adaptation; becoming accustomed to a new climate or environment
It takes many months for acclimation to life in a tropical climate.

Accolade: Praise; award; honour; acclaim
Your approval is the highest accolade for a poet.

Accord: To grant or bestow as suitable or proper; allow; award
The crowd of supporters accorded him a hero’s welcome.

Accost: To confront boldly or aggressively
When he stepped down from his jeep, a man from the mob accosted him.

Accost: To address; approach and speak to; speak first to
When the two young men accosted me, I was frightened because I thought they were going to attack me.

Acerbic: Bitter; having a biting, caustic way of expressing oneself
His acerbic remarks upset the minister.

Acoustic: Relating to sound or hearing
The microphone converts acoustic waves to electrical signals for transmission.

Acquiescence: Passive consent; agreement with reservations
I was surprised by her acquiescence in the scheme.

Adamant: Unyielding, as in the sense of great strength of will; inflexible
He’s absolutely adamant in not allowing smoking in his house.

Addicted: Habitually dependent; taken over by something habit-forming
He has been addicted to drugs.

Adduce: To cite or allege; bring forward as pertinent or conclusive
She adduced several facts to support her thesis.

Adept: Skilful; proficient; expert
She is very adept in making people feel at ease.

Adjudicate: Determine judicially
He was asked to adjudicate on the dispute.

Adjunct: Non-essential addition; something added to the main thing but not fundamentally a part of it
I hope I would find the computer course a useful adjunct to my other studies.

Adjure: To repudiate; renounce under oath; disavow; forswear; recant
He adjured his life of dissipation.

Adroit: Skilful and resourceful; reacting and thinking quickly as the hockey player’s adroit move
He became adroit at dealing with difficult questions.

Adverse: Whatever opposes, is harmful or interferes
This medicine has no adverse effects.

Aesthetic: Artistic; appreciative of or keen about beauty in art and nature
The new building has little aesthetic value.

Affect: To influence; produce a noticeable reaction, response or slight change
The team’s performance was affected by the rain.

Affectation: Artificial behaviour intended to impress others
I detest all affectation.

Affix: To fasten to; attach; add; append
She affixed a stamp to the envelope.

Affluent: Having plenty of money; rich
This colony is mostly inhabited by affluent families.

Agglomeration: Jumbled collection; heap or cluster of dissimilar items
The country is an agglomeration of different ethnic and religious groups.

Aggressive: Assertive; acting boldly or vigorously; enterprising
Aggressive nations threaten world peace.

Aghast: Dumbfounded; horrified or appalled by something terrible or frightening
I was aghast at the violence I was witnessing.

 Alacrity: Cheerful willingness
She accepted the proposal with alacrity.